Lula, The Ice Luna

Chapter Two

Her mouth was wide open as her eyebrows raised after she heard what the gray wolf said. Nicholas walked to the edge of the cliff and stared at the bright city buildings. The cold wind blew over them and like the usual, Lula didn't feel cold despite wearing a sleeveless top.

"The Alpha King just received a message from the moon goddess. She told him to bring you to him."

"Moon goddess? Me? I don't understand." And the fact that the wolf is talking to her makes her confused more.

Nicholas glanced at the full moon that looked like it was close to them. "The moon goddess is the one who chooses our people and what our fate will be, whether it's death, love, and our positioning in the pack." Then he glanced at Lula who still wears a confusing expression, still couldn't wrap her head around everything. "Kai wouldn't tell me the reason to bring you there. And I think it will be something big."

This was a lot for her to take in. She has no idea who this Kai was and what does he want from her. And she couldn't believe that the wolf talking back to her like a person.

She was about to speak when they heard a screeching sound from their behind. They turned around and saw a male figure who was hovering over the ground. He was almost naked but the ripped cloths were covering mostly his genital parts, some were around his torso and limbs. He have no iris in his eyes, his teeth and mouth were black, he have a rotten skin of a corpse, and has an asymmetrical body shape and posture.

Lula's knees trembled as the color drained out from her face. Nicholas jumped in front of her then growled at the creature.

"Oh my god! What is that?" she exclaimed. The creature was moving towards them.

"It's a demon! You have to run!" The wolf was still in his defensive stance.

"Run? Run where? And what about you?"

"I'll distract it. Towards the woods. Go!"

The demon raised its hand and it pointed towards Lula. A black shadow-like orb appeared on its hand. Lula didn't hesitated to follow the wolf and did what she was told. She began running towards the woods as Nicholas charged the demon. The demon was about to catapult the black shadow orb towards Lula when the wolf bit its wrist that missed his shot.

Lula kept running through the woods without looking at her back. Each step of her running feet made crunching sounds from the dried fallen leaves on the ground. She followed the narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. There are tall trees everywhere she goes, the moonlight was the only light that gave her guidance and pathway.

She stopped halfway and realized that she has been running for quite longer. She looked around and all she sees were tall trees and bushes.

"Nicholas?" she asked, breathing cold air. A twig snapped that made her head turned around, hoping to see Nicholas around not that demon. Emerging from the darkness, a tall woman wearing a hooded velvet cloak stood between the trees. The corners of the woman's red lips turned up and it was the only body feature that Lula can see at this point.

"You've grown now, Lula," she said. "H-How did you know my name?"

Lula's eyes widened and her lips parted. "W-who are you?"

The woman's smile turned into a smirk. Lula heard Nicholas' voice calling her name that turned her head into the opposite direction. He was running towards her, still in his wolf form. But when she glanced back where the woman was standing, she was no longer standing there.

"Are you alright?" he asked Lula while he was catching his breath. Lula didn't answered him yet as she was confused with the woman's disappearance.

She glanced at Nicholas. "I'm fine," she said, then she noticed that the wolf's arm has a large wound on it.

"You have a wound there," she said as she pointed his arm.

"Oh this? This was nothing," he said then he took a step back. But Lula felt the need of helping him so she looked around and found the same purple flower that her mother picked the night when they were killed.

"I wouldn't pick that if I were you." Nicholas said that stopped her. "That's wolf's bane. It's poison."

"What?"

"I know you wanted to treat me but I'm fine. We should just keep moving."

The wolf continued walking but he couldn't endure the pain that he was feeling on his arm. Lula thought that the wolf was too stubborn to deny his pain. She ripped a part of her shirt and pulled our a small bottle of alcohol from her pocket. She went to Nicholas that stopped him from moving, kneeled in front of him then grabbed his arm. She poured the alcohol on it that made the wolf groaned in pain, then wrapped it with the ripped cloth.

Nicholas' gentle wolf eyes laid on her. "Thank you."

Lula glanced back at the wolf and caught herself staring into his black eyes. She suddenly remembered the dream that she once had, the same night when her parents got killed. She recalled the silver eyes of the wolf in that dream, and those eyes were different from Nicholas'.

Shaking her head, she noticed how dark it is already for them to keep up. "Are we really going to keep going? I mean it's dark."

Nicholas looked away from the girl. "I agree. Let's find a spot at least then camp."

They continued walking and found a small cave that fits the two of them. Nicholas transformed himself back to human form, with his clothes back on. He came back with cuts of wood wrapped with his arms and started the campfire.

"What happened to the demon?" Lula asked while they were both warming themselves from its heat. Even if Lula wouldn't feel the cold, she didn't want the man questioning her about it since she didn't know what to answer.

"It's gone. Don't worry about it." The man's face lit up from the campfire's light and Lula wouldn't get rid of herself from staring at his manly face and body structure.

"Were you born with white hair?" he asked, stopping her from staring at him.

"Um . . . yeah," she said as she laid her long white hair on her back. "It's weird, I know. I tried to color it but the hair color won't work either."

"It's beautiful," he said then he smiled, making Lula attracted to it.

"So who was this King that you mentioned earlier and what does he want with me?"

The man shook his head. "I have no clue. We'll know when we get there. For now, let's get some sleep. We'll have a long way to go."

Lula's eyebrows furrowed. "Long way? I thought we're almost there?"

Nicholas laid his back on the stone rock ground then stared at the stars while his hands were placed behind his head. "It was at the other side of this world."

Confused with his statement, Lula have no clue what this man meant. But she didn't ask a question anymore and just went to sleep.

The next morning, they continued walking through the forest. It took them an hour until they arrived at the flowing river. They rode a rowing boat and the river's current brought them to a quiet sea. Fog coated the ocean which gave Lula a hard time seeing anything around. But Nicholas kept rowing the paddles like he knows where they were going.

After a short while, the rowboat touched the ground. Lula saw a huge old castle hidden beneath the fog. Every stone of it was even and square and from a distance it is uniform grey. After Nicholas secured the rowboat, they climbed into the pathway towards the castle's rusty gates. It was slightly opened, like it was left like that for a long time. When they moved it, a loud creaking sounded throughout the quiet place.

They stepped inside and they were greeted by a number of large and tall bookshelves. Dust collected everywhere as far as they could see, spider webs wove loosely around books, dirtied shelves, and stands. The ground was littered with dirt, glass, books, and torn paper. All that was heard were the faint chirps of birds outside, the scurrying feet of invisible rodents, and the rustling of papers catching the draft. Nicholas glanced up at the vaulted ceiling.

"Gaston! It's Nicholas!" he shouted. Lula glanced up at the ceiling, expecting someone to appear. Their heads turned when they heard the heavy iron door slummed shut. A pale man wearing a purple and gold robe came out of it while a thick book laid on his arms. As he walked closer, Lula saw his unique facial features—he have no iris in his eyes, his hair was plain white, straight, thick and long, and he have long pointed ears.

The elf looked at both of them while closing his book. "What does the wolf want this time?" he asked in a soothing and relaxing voice. "And who is this beautiful human?"

Lula calling her "human" find it odd for her then soon realizes that she was talking to a human with different features.

"We need to teleport back to Waebos," Nicholas said.

"Did you get my payment?" the Elf asked.

Nicholas raised a pink tourmaline gemstone from his pocket then Gaston took it. The elf stared at it closely like checking diamond's authenticity. Then the gemstone hovered over his hand and it turned into a small glowing red orb that sucked into the elf's body. Gaston's eyes closed then took a deep breath like he was relieved after drinking a water from thirst.

"Gems like this gives me energy for me to live longer," he explained. "This is why every payment is valuable."

He went to the table and took a medium-sized book then stood in front of Nicholas and Lula. Unfamiliar words came out from his mouth while his right hand faced to his right side. A swirling circle appeared and a beige-colored building can be seen through it.

"Thank you, Gaston," Nicholas said then the elf nodded.

Both of them stepped into the portal and they found themselves standing in an open field where they can see the beige buildings in a mile away.

"That's the kingdom of Waebos," Nicholas said, answering Lula's questions in her head. "And yes. We were just teleported from your world to the Land of Drobar."

Nicholas walked away, leaving Lula in awe. She chased the man. "Wait. What do you mean from our world?"

The man stopped from walking and faced the young woman. "We are now in the world of Drobar. Different from your world."

She still couldn't wrap her head around with all of this, and she has been wondering if she was just having a long dream.

"Let's go," Nicholas said. Lula followed him, going towards the woods which was away from the Kingdom of Waebos.

The sweet surrendering scent of the morning dew filled the forest with a scent that did not belong on earth. Autumn leaves from the tall trees lay scattered on the forest floor. Each of them turning brittle brown. Every step they took, a sound like dried cereal being crunched underfoot, pushing their papery remains deep into the soft soil. As the morning developed the sound of young birds filled the air.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Lula asked when she noticed that they have been walking for a while.

Nicholas glanced at her as he stopped from walking. "Moonpeak Kingdom," he said then he pushed aside the vines hanging from the large stone rocks, giving them a pathway that showed a huge pile of stone rocks that has the size and shape of a round stadium.

They stepped inside the huge cave and different kinds of wolves emerged from different directions. Their thick coat of fur have various colors of it—brown, white, silver, gray, navy blue, bloody red, and black.

A few people were walking towards them. They were wearing leather vests with long sleeves underneath it, matching with pants that are simple and incredibly wide, reaching down to their soft leather shoes, which were made from a very uncommon leather.

Their eyes were fixed on Lula then a black wolf approached them. It have silver eyes, has three healed huge wounds on its torso's left side, and he was the largest among the rest of them.

Nicholas kneeled in front of the black wolf and lowered his head. The black wolf kept his head up, but his eyes were fixed at Lula. The young woman didn't know what to do, she was just standing still while the black wolf was walking around her.

It stopped and stood in front of them while Nicholas was still on his knees and Lula was staring at the black wolf in awe.

"Welcome home, bride," he said.