3Author's Note/Disclaimer: The story here is completely written by my muses, the mythos is entirely mine. Please take note of a bloody scene in this chapter.
Chapter Three
Fingers brushing over the pages she quickly found the story she was looking for, the one that held the most memories and made her feel the safest in the forest. At least until the Great Wolf showed himself to her on the trail.
The Great Wolf of Sweet Water Woods
Long ago, before Men came to settle in the great clearing deep within the forest, lived the Wolves of Silvus Lupus. The mighty Forest Wolf created the Wolves from his own soul, and the power of the forest that he protected, from deep within a cave sprang his children. He taught this young new Wolf pack to hunt and survive how to hide from the stinging arrows of the Elves. The Forest Wolf and his young lived in peace with the Elves; many summers come and gone until the destruction of Man came rushing forward. The Forest Wolf wept as his young fell to this new threat; their furs taken and their flesh eaten by Man when there was no cause for such hunting. The Forest Wolf's tears cut through the earth creating the rushing river that cuts deep through the trees. He began to watch the humans; learning the way they treated one another, how the y spoke. Upon learning all he could from the shadows of man, he stole away to the cave from whence his young were born. Howling, he called out to them, no matter where they were in the trees and brush they rushed to be at the side of their beloved Father.
In the quiet and still of the cave he taught them to be like man, pain filled his eyes as he watched many of his children fail to be like man. Although, pride quickly followed when from the back of the pack arose a small group of Men. His joy was met with howls, they had learned to become man and thus they could learn to be like man.
Many more years passed and the Forest Wolf grew saddened for his children who had not found the way to become man soon lost all ties to him. They became purely wolves, animals with only a shape to tie them to their Father. The pack of Wolves that gained power were forced into hiding, never truly learning how to be flawlessly like man. Then came the Great War; man verses Elf for the right to hunt in the forest, the right to live when it belonged to all living things.
Many souls were lost to the abyss of death, much more of them Elf than man; until in a mix of fury and pride the Wolves came to battle. Within days the war was ended, but at a high cost. All but one lone Wolf pup was lost to the war; he was far too young to engage in battle. To repay his pack for their heroism they raised him from afar; providing all that he would need to survive the years. No words were ever spoken to him, to touch offered in the dead of night when he dreamt of his family, nothing more than what he couldn't find for himself was given.
Upon his sixteenth summer, the Elves gave him a cloak that hid him from all eyes, no matter where he stood or lay he could not be seen. His movements like shadows that passed through the trees, his strong body only seen when he chose to lower the hood. But he did not favor using the cloak for that meant becoming like man, a task he rarely used, despised.
The Last Wolf has fur like fire, glinting and moving in the pale light of the moon, greys and perfect blacks mixing to make him into a shadow. Golden eyes glowing with fire and power that only the child of the Forest Wolf could create.
Still, more years passed and the Forest Wolf faded from the woods, his name lingering like a memory long since forgotten. His only offspring living in hiding in the cave where his blood line started and ended. The Forest Wolf is no more, although his grandchild, the Great Wolf lives on protecting the wolves of Sweet Water woods from the stinging arrows of man and their greed for more than their fair share.
A pained whimper caught her attention just as she closed the book, glancing out the window she saw a large shadow pass beyond her fence. Easing from her chair she crossed the floor to look out the window, she couldn't see any animals lurking near her yard. Turning she leaned against her table, looking at the coins left to her by Edwin. Whipping around she caught the glimpse of a golden flash, another whimper barely reaching her ears. Nodding to herself, she grabbed her knife and walked out the back door, she scanned the forest before climbing over her back fence. Taking a deep breath she walked into the morning shadows of the woods, the glint of red blood immediately captured her attention. There was a wounded animal making the noise; Sarah fully doubted that the beast would allow here to heal it, so she would do what she could to ease the poor creatures suffering with her knife.
A growl stopped her in her tracks, hidden in the shadows of a pine was a wolf, as she knelt slowly down she realized that it was the Great Wolf; or at least the wolf that she had seen upon the trail. With the story fresh in her mind, she had no doubts as to the identity of the wolf; it had to be the Great Wolf. The Wolf's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the metal knife in her hand, growling again his ears folded back in clear warning. He rose up only to lean, and then collapse upon his stomach with a whine; the obvious arrow in his shoulder making movement nigh impossible (which made Sarah wonder how he had managed to get to this spot).
Sarah set her knife down, swallowing her fear as she eased towards him with empty hands; the snarl on the Wolf's muzzle made her blood run cold.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she whispered softly, gently, using the same tone she used when treating young children or scared women. "You are alright…let me see."
Sarah spoke quietly, soothing the Wolf as best she could until he allowed her close enough to get a good look at the wound. His great head whipped around as she tried parting the fur around the arrow making her draw back in fear. When he didn't offer any further resistance she sent her fingers carefully moving against his flesh. She felt the Great Wolf tense under her touch but he didn't stir from his prone position on the forest floor.
"Will you let me help you?" she asked although she knew that the Wolf wouldn't be able to understand what she was saying. Much to her amazement, he dipped his head towards the ground his ears flicking slightly in understanding. "I will be back in a moment."
Standing up she raced back to her home, gathered what herbs she might require and cloth that could easily be ripped off and made her way back to the Wolf with her load. Sarah felt a wave of unknown emotion wash over her as the Wolf's ears perked up when she came into view. It was strange to think that the Wolf she was certain held her death would allow her to get close to touch while wounded. Spreading out the herbs on the cloth she sat next to the Great Wolf, her mind fully set on healing him; nothing else in the forest existed in that moment. Not even the Wolfs gaze that watched her as she mixed the crushed plants.
"This will hurt," she said, having carefully picked up her knife she took a deep breath and made a quick cut along the arrows entrance. The sharp growl that reached her ears almost made her flee from her task; forcing herself to remain still, she waited for the Wolf to relax again. It would do neither of them any good if he was tense and ready to kill her.
"I am sorry; there will more pain before I rid you of this wound. Can you keep still for me?" she watched as the Wolf dipped his head again before grabbing a stick between his razor sharp teeth and biting down. Blinking, Sarah had to wonder how intelligent this Wolf actually was. Shaking her head, she turned back to the arrow. Using her finger and thumb she dug into the wound, the crunch of breaking bark made her work faster, gripping the arrow as deep as she could she yanked it free with a spurt of blood. Tossing the arrow in front of the Wolf so that he could see the worst was over she began packing the wound with herbs.
Picking up the cloth, she gently got her arms under his chest and tried to lift him; he didn't move. However, taking her cue he slowly rose to his feet, keeping his weight off his wounded leg. Sarah nodded as she began to tightly wrap the wound, a harsh growl sent shivers down her spine as she tied off the bandage. Rocking back onto her heels she kept her gaze down.
"There we are," her breath froze in her chest as the Wolf turned to face her head on, his front leg lifted slightly as he took a step forward and set his head on her shoulder. The weight of his head quickly disappeared as he took off in the forest with surprising agility despite his wound. Relief swept over her as she sat all the way back, she couldn't comprehend what had just transpired…the Great Wolf had been wounded…and allowed her to heal him. It didn't make sense for it to have happened; how could the Great Wolf have been wounded? Her healing him was an experience that she never would have expected to gain in her lifetime, or ever. How many people claimed that he was just a myth, believed that he was simply a tale told to explain away the fact that the wolf packs in the forest never seemed to be killed off. Her mind raced as she picked herself up and looked around, his blood was real enough, so was the feel of his fur under her fingers. So soft and fine, unlike the wolf furs the traders brought in.
Walking back to her cottage she thought of the story and of the Wolf she had under her fingers not moments earlier. While she disliked the idea of going back into the village, a trip was desired now that she had more puzzles than she could possibly work through on her own. She needed her father, and now she was hoping that she would discover him sober. Standing before the pump in the kitchen, she rinsed the Wolfs blood from her hands. She turned and looked at her small home, her collection of books was the most that she held dear, the wooden trunk in her bedroom held nothing more than a moth eaten blanket that she hadn't touched since her mother passed.
Thinking to herself, she made a list of all the things that she needed to do and came up short. There was nothing for her to do, her garden didn't need work, her herbs had already been taken care of and the cottage was clean of dirt and filth. Wait, she thought, striding into her bedroom she gathered up the soiled dresses and undergarments lain across her trunk. Before bundling them together, she grabbed a bar of hard soap. Gripping the bundle of dirty dresses in one hand and her walking stick in the other she walked towards the river.
Hours later, she had her dresses hanging over the fence and her wet hair hanging loose around her shoulders soaking the dress she wore. Sarah leaned against the fence, looking up into the crystal blue sky with emerald eyes glinting with the suns afternoon light. She knew that once night fell she would no doubt be too afraid to enjoy the twilight's cool air. Nothing eased her mind more than standing beneath the moons silver glow, however now that made her heart race more than it calmed it. The very thought of being in the forest after sunset made her weak in the knees. Walking back into her safe haven she made straight for her bed, pulling off her cotton dress she crawled naked into her bed, pulling the blankets up tight around her chin. She lay awake wondering what had become of the Great Wolf, his wound had been bad, a simple wound but it was a bad wound since it kept him from moving as he wanted.
Sleep claimed her as the moon began its journey over the horizon and through the inky blackness of the star-speckled sky. Sarah didn't dream that night, her mind a peaceful blank as she rested.
Yawning she awoke with the suns light in her eyes, blinking back tears she rolled away from the light and sat up, her feet swinging to touch the cold floor. Sarah stretched before fully standing, her neck tight as she walked from her room; she paused in the middle of her floor. Had she left the doors open through the night? She didn't remember closing them although it was a habit that she kept every night, her doors always closed at night. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she tried to remember the cause of her open doors, finding none she went about her morning routine. Tying back her mess of auburn hair, she turned back to her room, after pulling on the dress from the day before she walked into the warm air of morning to gather her clean clothing.
She walked back into her home, tossing her dresses onto the dresser in the corner of her room before stoking the fire to life and putting a kettle on for tea. Lounging in her arm chair, she let her mind go completely blank. There was nothing else for her to dwell on aside from visiting her father again; thinking of his drunken stare the last time she had visited made her stomach lurch. He had fallen so far since Elizabeth was found dead in the forest. Mentally cursing herself for bringing up the memory of seeing her father so heartbroken and the image of seeing her mother laid to rest in the cold ground.
Tears sprung from her eyes against her will, she rarely let herself cry and now was no different. Crying wasn't an answer to the hopeless feeling deep inside her chest; she needed to find work, something, anything to get her hands busy. Looking out through the front door, she focused her gaze on the trail that lead to the village she was no longer truly a part of now. Nothing but shadows looked back at her, silent and staring into her soul. Casting her eyes down in disgust at her tears, she locked onto a white bundle sitting in the middle of her lesser path.
It was clear that it hadn't been carelessly tossed, or lost from a travelers cart; it was set perfectly in the middle of her path, right where she would be sure to see it. She walked up to it, the texture of fur was easily defined the closer she got to it, as was the thin leather strap that held it neatly together. Carefully picking up the bundle of fur she held it in her hands, caressing the soft while fur with her hand. Timidly she unbound the knot, letting the leather fall to the ground. As she allowed the fur to slip between her fingers, her breath caught in her throat, a wolf pelt. Clutching the pelt against her chest her mind raced, there hadn't been sightings of white wolves in years, now only the grey and brown wolves lived in the forest. Where had this come from?
Who had left her such a rare and valuable gift?
Mind reeling she walked back inside to place her treasure within the trunk with her mother's quilt. Pulling a cloak around her shoulders, she grabbed her walking stick and pulled her leather boots onto her feet. With a strange sense of security she walked the forest trail.