A Maid for the Lycan King

It was my first time traveling by sea. Not only was I petrified by the sight of the roaring waves, I was terrified of what our captors will do to us. I wanted to move, but the chains bound around my neck and feet made it impossible. “Mother, I’m scared!” “Adanne,” she cried. The look on my mother’s face was heartbreaking. She’d cried until she could not, the pain of losing a spouse and home is far better imagined than experienced. “You will be fine, Adanne,” she whispered. Why was she sounding like that? After losing my father in a gruesome battle three nights ago, I wasn’t ready to lose her too. “Mother. Why are you sounding like that?” I cried. She lowered her gaze to the wound on her waist and all I could do is shake my head and sob more. “No—no. You're not dying, Mother,” I teared at her unsaid words. A wave of sadness flooded my heart and shook my whole body. “Adanne?” I was still crying but not listening. “Adanne!” She used her Luna voice and I had to stop crying and looked at her. “You have to be strong. Look at all these people, they need you.” Sobbing, my eyes traveled about the ship, to the several men and women on the main deck of the ship. And couldn’t hold it anymore, I broke into tears all over. These were my people, used to be my people. I wasn't sure anymore. Three nights ago, I was their princess, we had a home. We were celebrating the New Yam festival when the enemies came upon us. They came to us with sophisticated weapons and a powder we didn’t know existed. The were-dust powder when puffed on the face of a shifter, rendered them immediately weak and paralyzed for hours. Thus the enemies were able to overpower us and seize all that we hold dear. “They need you,” my mother whispered. She was right, they needed me. My people they need me, but I also needed her. “Please, don’t leave me, mother. I also need you too,” I cried. That night of the attack, I was supposed to shift into my wolf as with every werewolf on their eighteenth birthday, and if I was lucky, find my mate. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life but instead, our village was raided. The enemies took everything I held dear. Tears raced down my face, and I closed my eyes. A grunt from my mother had me reopening my eyes. I was surprised to see her moving even under the chains. She butt-shoved towards me. My mother was a tall woman. She'd undergone a warrior’s training at a young age even though she was a princess. She met my father, the son of a blacksmith, on the night of the New Yam festival nineteen years ago. Having emerged the winner of the female wrestling competition, she’d wrestled with my father who also was the winner of the male category. In what was supposed to be a fighting competition, those two had fallen in love. Rumor had it, that it was on that night they discovered they were fated mates and got married the next month under the full moon. Over the years, their love has been one thing I admired so much; how they respected each other, cared for, and remained faithful to one another until my father’s untimely demise three nights ago by the enemies. Tears seeped from my eyes. I sighed as our skin came in contact and rested my head on her shoulder. She began to sing our favorite song.. “When your heart is heavy and your spirit is down, remember the laughter and the fields we roamed. In the darkest hours, when all seem lost, remember the stars we named.” ‘For our home is not lost, our heroes are not gone. In our hearts, their names engraved. We hold onto the hopes, the dreams of a reunion. Remember the laughter and the fields we roamed..’ I couldn’t help it, I closed my eyes to sleep. “Land ho!!” the lookout man hollered. My eyes fluttered open. With weary eyes, I scanned about the ship and then I heard the captain. “Prepare for anchor!!” Breath lodged in my throat. We’d gotten to our destination! “Mother!” I turned to nudge her only to notice the color had drained from her face, and her body was terribly cold. “Mother? MOTHER!!” I screamed and it drew the attention of the enemies. They darted towards me and examined the situation. My mother had passed on while I was asleep. “No, mother. Wake up!” I wanted to pull her to my chest and hug her, but they took her away from me. While uttering profanity, they tossed her body into the water. “No -Mother!” I cried. A woman, the oldest of our people, raised a song of tribute to my mother, and to all our fallen heroes. My whole body convulsed with pain, my heart torn into pieces. I chewed down on my bottom lip to stiffen the pain, until the metallic tang of blood coated my tongue... to no avail. The rest of our people joined in the chant, and all I could do was to sob more. My gaze fell on something that belonged to my mother. My mother's necklace. The chain bit around my neck as I reached for it, and held it against my heart. “Put out the fender and prepare all the lines,” the Captain commanded. I glanced across the sea, at the city on the horizon. The clang of bells drifted faintly above the waves, smokes curling from countless chimneys. The sky was a blanket of stars when we finally docked. I was absentminded as they dragged us down the ship, while still under the heavy chains. I kept looking back at the sea which now was my mother’s resting place. Her body was probably rocking the bottom. Hopefully, someday in the future, I could come back and bid her a proper farewell. “Move them!” I heard the Captain command, and once again we were moving on a single file.