His Dark Majesty

In the woods

The trees looked almost black in the white dusting of snow. There was no sunlight as Helios probably didn't feel like showing up the sun today.

She was wandering the woods for over half an hour now, but there was no sign of Greenbriar roots.

Few tendrils have escaped her braid by now. It was hanging on both sides of her cheeks in curls, it's end teasing her collarbone every now and then. Her cheeks and nose were flushed red due to the cold. Her boots made soft,wet noises on the fallen snow.

The basket was tucked in her elbow as she looked for the desired roots.

The cold air has fairly calmed her but Clarisse's obnoxious voice still rings in the back of her head.

Only two weeks were left for solstice,

Only two weeks were left of her eighteen years of freedom,

Only two weeks were left of her life apparently,

Only two weeks of seeing after her siblings,

Only two weeks of working in the herb house,

Only two weeks of treats from Grace,

Only two weeks of mischievousness with Roselle.

Her heart grew heavy with each step she took.

She stopped seeing where she was going.

She failed to notice the utter silence that had grew around her in the woods.

Until it was too late.

There was a huge white wolf , about the height of a horse, standing in front of her.

Looking at his prey with red eyes.

It's mouth dripping spit in anticipation of the oncoming delicious meal.

Her eyes widened with fear. She took tentative steps backward, all the while watching the wolf. She didn't dare put her back to it.

She had thought she had two weeks of life left but now it looks about two seconds until she's ripped apart.

A shudder passed through her body.

She shuffled backwards to put enough distance between her and the predator.

Her booted leg slipped on something and she fall.

Down

Down

Down

It was taking much longer to meet the earth.

When her back finally collided with the hard earth, she winced and closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she realized she had fallen in a pit or something. It wasn't very deep. About as high as her chest maybe.

She looked at the forest floor above, the wolf was peering in the pit. His red eyes are like flames. She remembered the monster from her dreams. She shuddered.

It was going to be so easy for the wolf now. Too easy. All it had to do was jump in the pit. She sent a silent prayer to Gaia. Then to Artemis, maybe she would look after a maiden.

But Annaleigh was betrothed.

To a monster.

She didn't dare move. God knows if it would signal the wolf out if it's a staring game.

She lay there on her back, but moved her head to the side, breaking eye contact. Something shiny flashed beneath the dirt. Something black, Embedded in the stone of the wall of the pit.

She squinted her eyes to see it clearly, but froze the next moment. Her neck rotated back to the wolf with such a force, she was sure she would get a whiplash.

The wolf had moved a bit closer. It's front paws on the edges of the pit.

A loud shriek left her lips. The wolf said, "who's there?", her eyes widened.

No, it wasn't the wolf. It was a man's voice, coming from a little distance.

Someone was here.

She need not die today.

She can have her two weeks.

She scooped herself up in her elbows and,.

"HELP", she screamed with all her might.

The wolf snarled.

The leaves crunched nearby.

"HELP", she screamed again.

She didn't know if she's inviting the man to his death too. No person can take down a grown wolf surely.

She felt bad and foolish.

Someone said something in a foreign language.

The wolf stopped mid-stride. It's paws in the air.

It c****d it's head to the side.

The voice said something again in a foreign language.

The wolf snarled in the direction of the voice.

The voice rang again, saying something ferociously.

The wolf backed away.

One step,

Two step,

Three steps.

Then turned away and ran towards the thick trees.

Annaleigh quickly stood up. The black shiny thing long forgotten.

She dusted her dress. Her sleeves were torn at the elbows and a few droplets of blood were clinging to the skin for dear life.

" Are you alright in there, miss?", a deep, velvety voice said from above.

She froze in a mid-bent position to pick up her basket. She quickly picked it up and straightened. She looked up at the man.

And she froze again.

She.

Froze.

Again.

He was so beautiful. Like night time and stars. Like sin and gamble.

He had raven dark hairs and pale fair skin and a strong build and a tall form. His sturdy forehead was wrinkled in concern for her.

She liked those wrinkles.

It was all she could make out from down there.

She looked around for a way to pull herself up but found none.

Suddenly, his palm was in front of her, “Here, let me help you up", he offered in his velvety voice.

She just stared at his hand. It was so big and looked so smooth. She had never touched a man before. All the boys in the town always avoided her like the plague.

"Miss?” His voice reached her again and broke her out of her reverie. She glanced up at him again then back down to his outstretched palm.

She took it. A current ran through their joined palms, up,up,up her arm, trailing down,down,down her spine. She shivered.

He pulled her up with great ease as if she was no more than a feather. He grinned at her, taking her breath away.

Now that she was close to him, she noticed that he had the finest bone structure she had ever seen. The wrinkles were now absent on his sturdy forehead. His nose was straight and perfect. His eyes were violet coloured with silver flecks in the iris and a dark black ring around the lense.

His lips were just the perfect shade of pink. As he grinned, he also had the perfect set of teeths.

He asked her something.

She didn't hear.

She was too engrossed in his beauty.

He asked again.

She blinked.

"Sorry", she said with deep embarrassment. Her cheeks are flooding with colour.

He chuckled and asked again,

" Are you from the town on the edge of the woods?", his voice caressed her cheeks, the escaped tendrils of hair.

She nodded, then frowned when a thought occurred to her,

"You are not from Falhaven", she stated. She eyed his immaculate blue tunic embroidered with gold threads, his gray breeches, knee-high boots and the bellowing black cloak.

He was far more decently dressed then any of the townsfolk.

He looked like a gentleman.

"No I am afraid, I am not from this town, though I was visiting it", he cleared.

" I can accompany you back if you are on your way, that is", he offered.

His offer sounded oddly pleasant to her ears. She had no plans on continuing her search for the roots and becoming dinner for another wolf.

She nodded and told him it would be great.

They started walking.

"Are you from the King's palace?", she asked out of curiosity. She had heard people dressed very finely in the court.

He shook his head. His action made a few locks of his thick raven hairs tumble down his forehead.

"No I live on the edges of the next town", he said distractedly.

She nodded, kicking fallen leaves with her toes.

"Did you come here to meet someone today?", she curiously asked.

“Actually yes, I came to meet my fiancé", he told her.

Her heart frowned at that.

She frowned too when she saw the edges of the town nearing.

"Your fiancé? Who's she? I might know her if she is from the town", she quickly asked.

"She is the most beautiful girl in this town", he said with a secret smile.

Annaleigh frowned.

That wasn't an actual answer.

She opened her mouth to ask yet another nosy question.

But he beat her to it.

"What's your name?", he asked ,looking at her and stopping his strides.

She was highly disappointed to see the town was already here.

But she smiled at him anyway.

"I'm Annaleigh", she told him and he smiled.

" A beautiful name for a beautiful girl", her heart soared,

Up

Up

Up

At that simple compliment.

"I'm Demetirius", he said with a bow,

" I shall see you around, Annaleigh", he smiled at her then turned around and disappeared in the woods, his cloak billowing behind him, leaving her dumbfounded.