The Fused & The Muse   Ch.8

Klausenburg, Romania

Early 1478

  "Wendy, what do you think about my hair?" Genevieve, the eldest of the three princesses of House Harth, stood in front of her sister, who was sitting on a chair in front of a mirror. She smiled to her, waiting for a reply. Wendy brushed her curly hair and stared at her sister. "I think you look lovely." Genevieve took a deep breath before looking in the mirror. She stared at the brown locks that draped down to the sides of her neck. Her hands began to shake. Wendy noticed and sighed. "You'll do fine." Genevieve smiled warmly to her sister.

  *Knock. Knock. Knock* Their mother opened the door and the two girls walked forward. "You look lovely! Both of you!" She stood straight and held Genevieve's hand. "How are you feeling?" Genevieve furrowed her brows. "A bit nervous..." "I'm sure—" Their mother cut her sentence and searched around the room. "Girls, where's Elizabeth?" Wendy and Genevieve looked at each other.

"Girls? Where is—" A maid knocked on the door and entered the room. "Your highness, the guests have arrived." Their mother shut her eyes. "We'll have to find her after we welcome our guests." The two girls followed after their mother, whispering to each other. "Where'd Elizabeth go?" Wendy shrugged and looked around every hallway they passed by.

  Once they entered the ballroom, their ears were welcomed by the soft, upbeat tunes of the instruments playing. There were royalties from kingdoms near and far. The three women made their way to the King. The trumpets sounded and in came Radu with his family. They walked down the long, red carpet rolled out across the room, to meet up with the royals of House Harth. The music continued, but at lower keys. The families bowed to each other. "Welcome!" King Dominic opened his arms. "Thank you for inviting us over, my dear friend." The two men chuckled. "Come now, no formalities. We're to be family soon."

  "Ah, yes." "This is my wife, Isabelle, and my three daughters, my eldest Genevieve, my youngest Wendy, and—" King Dominic's hand slowly lowered, staring curiously at his daughters. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me. It seems my middle daughter is currently preoccupied at the moment." Radu and Maria smiled. "Well, umm...this is my wife, Maria, and my son, Kai." Kai rested his hands behind his back and greeted the two princesses. Wendy's face flushed red and she nudged Genevieve, who was avoiding eye contact.

  "Make yourselves comfortable, please." King Dominic and Isabelle led Radu and Maria away, leaving the youngsters to themselves. Kai cleared his throat and held a hand out to Genevieve. She and Wendy stared at his hand. "May I?" Wendy nudged her sister and Genevieve took his hand. "Excuse us." Wendy smiled awkwardly and waved to them. "Great...I'm alone now. Where is Elizabeth anyway?"

  As the ball began, Elizabeth ran around the forest nearby. Branches clicked and leaves crunched as she ran. *Whoosh* A gust of cool air whipped on her body. *Click* She gasped. *Click* She stopped running and took out an arrow. Her finger supported the arrow as she placed it on her bow. Her breathing steadied and she lifted her bow up. The pupils of her eyes shook as she waited. The bush rattled and she extended the arrow, preparing to shoot. *Croak. Croak* A frog jumped out of the bush. Elizabeth gasped and almost released the arrow. She watched as the frog leaped away, disappearing into the pond.

   Back in the castle, Wendy sat at a table by herself, watching Genevieve and Kai dance in the middle of the ballroom. "When will I get a prince?" She rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Kai led the dance and Genevieve followed his footsteps. He swayed her here and there—her gown flowing perfectly with the calm, balanced sound of the piano and violin. "So, tell me a little about yourself, Princess Genevieve." Kai smiled to her. "Well, I'm the eldest of the three...and I like to read books." He chuckled, happy that he was able to get her to talk to him. "I actually like bo–" His head pounded, making him stop. "Ah!" Kai held his head. "Are you alright," Genevieve asked worriedly. "Y-yeah. I just...I think I just need some air. Excuse me." Wendy stood up when she saw Kai leave Genevieve.

  Kai walked out of the room and into the balcony. He held onto the rails of the balcony and took deep breaths. His breathing became more steady as the air made its way through his nose and out his mouth. *Clink* "Huh?" He tilted his head and stared at the hook linked to the rail. "What the–?" Elizabeth climbed up to the balcony, not taking notice of Kai. "Excuse me but who–?" They stared at each other. Elizabeth started to run, but Kai caught her before she was able to make her way in the ballroom. "Hey! Let me go!" She kicked around and tried to break loose, but he kept a tight grip on her. "Who are you?! Are you a trespasser?" "What? No! Unhand me you fool!" "Me? A fool?!" "I'm a princess!" Kai scanned her up and down. Her hair was a mess and her gown was filled with dirt. "You? Really?" He loosened his grip, allowing her to break free. She kicked his foot and ran inside. "Hey! Come back here!"

  Elizabeth ran inside, looking behind her to check if he followed. She yelped when she bumped into someone. "I'm sorry—" She stared up at the man towering over her. "You again?! But how–?" Kai raised a brow and smirked. "B-but you were just–" She shook her head and slapped his hands away from her shoulders. "Elizabeth?" Genevieve and Wendy walked over to them. "Oh great! My dear sisters! Please kindly tell this man to leave me alone." They stared at her in disbelief. She raised her brows at them. "What? Are you both seriously just gonna stand there?" "Elizabeth, that's Prince Kai." Elizabeth looked at them questioningly.

   "Oh, Elizabeth! There you are!" King Dominic raised his arms. Isabella, Radu, and Maria walked behind him. "Oh dear! What are you wearing? Quickly now! Get dressed and introduce yourself properly." "Yes father." Elizabeth disappeared up the stairs and dressed into a clean gown. Wendy followed her and helped her put her gown on.

"Where've you been? You knew we'd have guests around today!" "I'm not going to change my schedule just because there's people over." "Well, I had to cover for you! I said nothing to mother about your whereabouts—wherever those are...Why can't I know anyway?" Elizabeth turned to face her sister. "And I'm very thankful for that, but I don't think that you nor Gen, will understand...not yet." Wendy rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm just grateful you're here because I felt even lonelier than usual when I had to watch Genevieve and Prince Kai dance together." "Is father really serious about their marriage?" "Well, you know how father is...he just wants to marry us off so we can learn to support ourselves...I mean, he wants to see us off happy with our life." Wendy brushed Elizabeth's hair then took her hand and walked her back to the ballroom. A maid suddenly approached them.

   "Your highnesses, the King and Queen are waiting for you both in the banquet hall." The two girls walked in the banquet hall and approached the main table. Elizabeth stared at Kai, who was already staring at her. She sat beside Wendy and Kai was sitting across Genevieve. "Our first family meal aye?" King Dominic applauded gleefully. The food arrived, one after another. "I would like to make a toast," he announced, as he lifted his glass to the air. Everyone followed after him. "I would like to thank you all for coming! It is important to surround ourselves with family and friends, no matter the occasion. Today, is just the beginning of a new family tie, so we will celebrate! To the kingdom! And to family!" He raised his glass higher. "To the kingdom! And to family," they all repeated.

  "So, Prince Kai, how are you liking our home so far?" Kai smiled to King Dominic. "Please your highness, Kai will do." He glanced over at Elizabeth. "Your home is lovely." King Dominic nodded. "Thank you, Kai." Genevieve noticed Kai and looked down on her plate. The whole room was filled with laughter, chatter, and music. Genevieve finally stared at Kai and admired his features. His hair was dark and silky, his brows were perfectly shaped, his skin was tinted, as if it were kissed by the sun–smooth and rich–his jaws sharply carved, and his lips, a rose-pink. Genevieve gulped her drink. Elizabeth peeked out the window to check the moon. "Wendy! I'll be right back," she whispered. She stood from her seat, catching their attention. "I would like to excuse myself." "Are you alright," Radu asked. "I think I just need some rest is all." Genevieve and Wendy shook their head. "Is she alright?" Maria looked over to Isabelle. "She's fine, I'm sure."

  Elizabeth walked out of the room and climbed down her rope, trying to sneak back out. She held onto her gown and ran as fast as she could to get back to the forest. She took her bow and arrow with her, running to the same spot once more. The trees rustled as the wind blew on them. She prepared her arrow and raised it up as she walked carefully, deeper into the cold, dark, forest. Elizabeth looked up at the moon as the gray clouds passed by it, revealing its shape. *I was right. It's a full moon today.* She hid behind a tree and took a peek from behind it. The growling sounds were back. A pack of...wolves? She watched them as they gathered around to howl at the moon. No...it can't be. *Was I really right?* She watched as some men gathered with the wolves. *The wolves were...speaking to the men?* Elizabeth moved closer so she'd hear them better. *Click* She froze in her spot and looked down at the branch she stepped on. The wolves and the men looked in her direction and took a wiff of the air.

   She held a hand over her lips to prevent them from hearing her breathe. "Gotcha!" She gasped when a man held her shoulders. Her bow and arrow fell to the ground when the man dragged her out from hiding. The men growled–their eyes glowed to a deep yellow and their teeth became sharper. *What are they?* Her heart began to beat faster when one of the men suddenly turned to a wolf. *But how-?* "Looks like we got ourselves dinner." "No! I demand you to unhand me! I'm the princess!" "A princess aye? Even better!" The men all transformed into a wolf and howled.  Elizabeth elbowed the man who was holding her and ran away. She ran faster than she'd ever ran before, but her heavy gown made it much harder to quicken her pace. She ran and ran without looking back, but the werewolves continued running after her. *Please. Please. I don't want to die tonight.* She continued to run until the castle was finally visible from the distance.

  "Ah!" Her gown was caught on a branch of one of the dead trees. The werewolves surrounded her and laughed. "Please. You're all making a big mistake here." "We can't just let you go because you already know about us." "No! No! I won't tell anyone! I haven't told anyone!" One of them walked closer to her and sniffed around. "Your scent is really tempting. I say we eat you." "I say you don't lay a finger on her." The werewolves all turned their heads to the direction where the voice came from. "Kai?" He smiled to her. "No! Kai! You have to get the knights! Tell my father!" He walked closer with his hands behind his back. "No! What are you doing?! Are you mad!?...Do you have a sword? Yeah! Use your sword on them!" The werewolves all growled at him and charged forward. "No!"

   The werewolves attacked after him one by one. They whined and backed away after being thrown back. "What–?" Kai's eyes were turning a mix of yellow and light gray. His teeth grew and they became sharper too. He roared at them and they ran away. His roar was husky and beastly. Elizabeth stood up and walked backwards when Kai walked closer. "Y-you? What are you? You're not like them..." His eyes and teeth slowly came back to normal. He said nothing and disappeared into the forest.

"Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity"

-Unk

Photo Credit as watermarked