Episode5
1598 Words
Many eyes remained open that night.
Only a few could close their eyes to sleep.
Thoughts of "What did I get myself into ?" filled my minds with most of them.
THE NEXT MORNING
All the students gathered outside the mansion's courtyard to begin preparations for that day's forest exploration.
Each group was directed to different parts of the forest.
South, North, West, East.
They wore clothes that covered most of their bodies together with knee boots.
They also took along cameras, notebooks and pens to jot as they saw things on the way.
"Make sure you get back before 4am so you don't get caught in the dark" The teacher that followed them advised.
The students then moved out in groups.
Chloe's group consisted of her, her two friends, Ryan and 2 other classmates.
They were to go South.
"I'm Jace". A nerdy-looking boy introduced himself.
"I'd like to skip this introduction" a girl dressed like a goth stated. Her eyes were stuck on Chloe, who didn't even notice.
Ryan noticed this and frowned.
They agreed to make Ryan the group leader and moved into the forest together.
They stopped in front of a tree where they saw furs and marks of claws.
"Wow, what do we have here ?"
"Let's see if we'll find more around. Then we'll know where to go from there," Ryan suggested.
Gradually, as the students moved around in search of clues, they all wandered off separately and Chloe found herself alone.
"Anybody here ?" She asked with her heart racing. She was having tachycardia at the moment.
She looked around her and noticed paw prints.
She followed the track and didn't notice how far she was going from her group members.
After walking for about 2 hours and the track ended under a tree, she got frustrated and tired.
"s**t! How do I get back now?"
She tried looking for other tracks or ways to get back to the mansion or her team, but it was all in vain.
Exhausted, as a result of hunger and fatigue, she finally decided to rest under the tree and somehow slept off.
She was woken up by noises from branches snapping and labored breathing.
Opening her eyes slowly...they met a pair of questioning blue eyes.
The eyes were not the problem. The creature they belonged to be.
The eyes were fixed on the broad head of a gray creature that looked like a wolf but... it was just too big to be a wolf.
Damn! It was bigger than normal wolves. She thought she saw the wolf smile but was sure that it was her mind playing tricks. How could an animal possibly smile?
She realized she was not as frightened as she was supposed to be normally. She felt calm all of a sudden like it was a normal encounter.
It was as if the wolf was a close friend of hers.
She reached out to smoothen some of the awry furs on the wolf's body and continued this for about a minute. She was completely mesmerized.
While she was doing that, a red streak of light came out through the wolf's open mouth and got tied around her wrist to form a permanent bracelet.
The wolf used its paw to caress the bracelet on her wrist.
Chloe was jolted out of her thoughts by thuds of boots coming their way. Ryan came into view and glanced at the wolf. His eyes widened slightly but returned to normal in a second.
"Let's go" he said to Chloe as the big wolf turned to go its way, and he helped Chloe to her feet.
*****
In a very big, beautiful white mansion surrounded by other similar mansions and decorated with petals, the big gray wolf returned.
They entered a room and after a few minutes a very beautiful woman dressed in classy clothes came out.
She bore some sort of resemblance to Chloe with her blonde hair, sharp jaws and rose-shaped lips.
She sat at a dining table full of various kinds of foods. She looked at all the ladies and scooped a little bit of rice, added stew and a chicken lamp.
The maid standing near the table poured out the fruit juice for her.
"I've told you not to bother with these things, Aniya", the woman said as she looked at the maid who just smiled.
The woman sighed helplessly.
She ate her food and stood up.
"Send the remaining food and more to the orphanage. I already told you girls not to cook this much again". She complained. "It just might end up becoming waste."
A guard entered the dining area and informed the woman that her presence was needed at the palace.
THE PALACE
The woman entered the king's receiving room, meant for visitors, and bowed before a man with a crown on his head sitting on a raised chair.
"Your Majesty," she said with her head still bowed.
"Raise your head up, Loveth. Come and have your seat. We need to talk"
Yes. She is Chloe's mother. She didn't die as Chloe was made to believe, she almost did.
Loveth raised up her head and sat in front of the king.
"I heard you met your daughter in the forest today. How was she? Does she have her wolf already?" The King asked.
Loveth curtsied as she replied "I indeed met her, Your Majesty. She does not have her wolf yet," she said.
"In a week's time, she'll be 18 and hopefully, she will have her wolf then," she added.
"Very well", The King said "Without her wolf, she'd be in grave danger here."
Just then, a young, good-looking man entered the king's receiving room and nodded in Loveth's direction.
"My Prince" Loveth acknowledged with a slight bow.
The Prince paused in his track and moved closer to Loveth, bent to her level and inhaled deeply.
"My mate's scent is intoxicating. You have some of it on you. Excuse my behavior". He apologized to a startled Loveth.
She smiled in understanding.
"Brian". The King drew the Prince's attention to himself. "We were just discussing your mate."
"Until after a week when she has her wolf, she needs to be guarded", The King added.
"I have someone on it already". The Prince notified them.
The king was surprised.
"Who? And since when?" He asked.
"My most trusted friend, Ryan, has been guarding her for about two years now", The Prince replied. "He'll be here to report any moment from now."
Just then, Ryan entered the room and curtsied.
"Your Majesty, My Prince, My Lady"
****
IN THE STUDENT'S MANSION
Chloe woke up suddenly from sleep and gasped loudly as she sat upright.
Was that a dream?
How come it feels so real?
She can vividly remember the feeling of the wolf's fur on her skin. So smooth and comfortable.
"Screw this" she bit her lips in frustration.
Her friends came in and sat around her, looking at her worriedly.
"How are you feeling now?" Olivia asked.
"Why?" Chloe was surprised. "I'm perfectly okay."
"Oh dear, you're not," Olivia said with pity.
"You returned to the mansion with a serious headache that had you crying ", Lisa explained. "All the students had to do things you ordered them to, or you would increase the tears."
"Me?" Chloe was more than surprised.
She went downstairs to where the students all gathered, and it seemed to be true.
They all looked at her with a mixture of anger, worry and pity etched on their faces. Only Ryan had a blank face.
"I just heard what happened from my friends. Trust me guys, I don't remember any of it ". She apologized.
The students were shocked. They've never heard Chloe apologize.
She does not strike anyone as someone capable of that.
But really...she has not mixed with people until recently, so how could she possibly annoy anybody?
As she continued her apology, she noticed she could perceive different kinds of scents at once and all strongly. She could perceive the smell of the flowers outside, the smell of her friend's perfume, the smell of fresh bread and cakes, the smell of vanilla and...what's this smell?
"Clothes are burning" She announced.
"f**k!" Lisa ran into their room on the top floor to set off the fire.
The students all hurriedly followed her.
During her brief period of malady, Chloe had requested for candles to be lighted to change the lighting in the room.
Apparently, a piece of paper got blown towards one of the candles and caught fire in the process of burning the curtains.
Due to the students' timely intervention, the fire was put out.
One question was on the minds of Chloe and everyone else.
How did she smell the burning clothes from a distance that much?
Chloe was still perceiving all the scents around and it made her nauseous.
She went outside the mansion and vomited.
She could feel eyes watching her from somewhere unknown, but she didn't care at the moment.
Ryan came up behind her and offered a glass of water.
She collected it gratefully, rinsed her mouth and drank the remaining water left.
Ryan looked at her for a long time. "Tomorrow will be about something else". He said and led her back into the mansion.
She was confused. What is tomorrow?
Does he know what was happening to her?
"I'll be ready and waiting for it then", she decided to reply.
Her reply made a certain man smile from the shadows where he stood watching them walk inside.
- Writer
