Saving a King

Anxiety at its Highest

I made my way back inside, telling them I’d make it as quick as possible. Carly got up and followed me inside, “I’ll help you,”. “Thanks, I could probably use it,” I laugh to her. Why do I feel at ease when she is around? Aren’t I meant to be scared, they are wolves after all. Big, scary wolves. She could easily rip me to shreds if she wanted to.

We quickly grabbed my duffel from the closet and I started just shoving stuff in it. “Hold up! We have to actually only grab things that will be usefully!” Carly exclaimed, while laughing at me. “Oh, yeah, duh,” I sheepishly admit to her, I’ve never been anywhere. Hence why I don’t know what to pack. So, Carly empties the bag, and starts over. She tells me to only pack practical things, as if I was going camping.

After about thirty minutes, and one heavy bag later, we’re finally done! That was exhausting. I had also packed the armlet, just in case. We make our way back outside, after triple checking the house was completely locked up tight. I didn’t want any surprises when I got back home. The men stand, and I grabbed the ragged book as we descended the stairs. “You might not get much reading in while we’re gone,” Jay pipes up, eyeing the book strangely. “Oh, I’ll still bring it, I don’t sleep much anyways,” I reassured him it wouldn’t be a waste.

Eddie ended up taking my bag, thank goodness, that thing was heavy! “What a gentleman!” Carly teased him. We all laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. I take notice of the setting sun. I think my uneasy mood was noted by all, even though I tried to hide it. Jay just looked up into the darkening sky, “nothing will hurt you while we’re here,” he ensured me. “Thanks,” I reply feeling a bit better.

As we continue our journey farther into the woods, Carly and I make small talk. Mostly, she talks and I listen. She tells me about her life, her family. She was raised in a small house close to the castle but, when the mad King went crazy, her family moved far away from the kingdom. I didn’t blame them, that had to be scary. I rather enjoyed her stories, though.

I guess my silence didn’t go unnoticed. Jay turned slightly, and asked me about my life. I shook my head, not really knowing where to start. “I don’t honestly know anything about my past,” I admitted sheepishly. “I only have memories of living here,” I told them. Everyone got quiet, way to go Kit, make everything awkward. “So, is it just a big blank space, then?” Carly gently asked me. “Yeah, it’s less of a blank space, and more of a dark hole that I don’t dare touch,”.

“Maybe, once Ari is back in his human form, we can help you find answers,” Eddie actually offered to help. That was surprising, I had the feeling he thought I was a burden, not a friend. That actually helped put my mind at ease. At least a little. We continued on, Carly still telling her stories. I like them.

“Jay, what about you? Did you also grow up close the castle?” I asked. He nodded, “yeah but, my story isn’t quite as…happy as Carly’s”. He went on to tell us his story, even if he seemed a bit hesitant. Jay actually grew up inside the castle. His family were knights for the kingdom! Crazy cool! Until the mad King went crazy. His father was killed in a battle, more of an uprising of the people against the King. The people didn’t win, of course, because this isn’t a fairy tail.

Jay’s mother was extremely strong and talented. Her one flaw? She worshipped the King, she couldn’t see past the bloodshed. Without her mate, Jay said the only thing that kept her going was her need to protect her ruler, no matter how misguided. As he got older, and stronger, Jay saw it all. He realized the danger and also said he felt a pull. When it first came to him, it was subtle. As it grew, he knew he had to leave the castle and find what was pulling him.

The last day Jay was in the castle, he had an adventure of his own. He had pulled his mom to the side and confronted her about the rumors. She would not give him any answers, though. Instead, she told him to just let it go, and focus on his training. He said he was going to listen to her, when a maid pulled him aside. She lead him into the pantry, and told him everything. As a maid, she had access to most of the castle and heard many conversations no one guarded around a maid.

She told Jay about what the King had done. The whole story. How he had killed his own wife and daughter. How he had tried to kill his own son. She told Jay that, unlike what everyone thought, the King’s son did not run away. Once his father wasn’t able to kill him, he realized just how powerful the child was and would become. So, the mad King locked his own son away. The child, Ari, was being held in a dark basement. The mad King was experimenting on him!

The maid told Jay, she had never seen the child with her own eyes. She only knew he was there because, one of the guards was her mate and he had told her everything. The guards were under strict orders, mind control really, to keep the child alive but, extremely weak. Jay felt so angry. He knew that the child was the true King. He could clearly feel the pull. It was trying to get him to the true King, to Ari.

Jay had reassured the maid he would not rat her out to anyone, or her mate. She was relieved, understandably so. So, later that night, Jay made his way to the cellars. He was very skilled as a knight, even if just in training. He quickly got rid of the guards, and entered the cellars. He said it was the worst feeling ever. He could smell and feel all the pain. He couldn’t believe that a father could do this to his own flesh and blood.

Quickly, Jay had run to the cell. He could see Ari laying in a crumpled heap on the cold concrete floor. The problem? Ari was in his wolf form. This was one major detail the maid hadn’t mentioned. Jay searched around for an unseen solution. Anything that might help him change Ari back but, there was nothing. So, at a loss, Jay opened the cell, praying the young wolf wouldn’t attack him. Surprisingly, Ari did not attack. He did however, seem to understand the urgency of escape. They both ran, as fast as they could and as far as they could. They didn’t stop for days, not until they were both completely drained of energy and the will to continue on.