Fairyfly - 7. The Wolf’s Garden

“Esthor, my boy…” Khalgos exclaimed, his voice cracking as tears welled in his eyes upon seeing the blinded face of his young student.

Hearing about it from Pepin was nothing compared to actually seeing it with his own eyes. Staring in disbelief, the old man could feel his heart aching for Esthor. The poor boy did not deserve to be punished in such a cruel way, thought Khalgos as he swallowed, trying to speak and hold back the tears.

“You’re – you’re alive,” he managed to stutter.

“Master, I’m so relieved to hear from you!”

Even though he couldn’t see Khalgos, just hearing his voice was enough to make Esthor feel better and safer.

“Me too, boy, me too… Look what they did to you,” the old sorcerer lamented, in pain for his former protégé. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m… good, I guess, all things considering,” Esthor replied as Rulf came to stand next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. The Lykos could see that his friend needed support.

“We’ll fix this, boy, we’ll find something! There has to be a way!”

“I hope so, master,” Esthor said, dropping his head.

“I’ve never… never actually dealt with something like this, but there must be something. I’ll check all of my books.”

“Thank you, master.”

“But tell me, where are you now and who is that?” Khalgos asked, filled with relief to see that Esthor was well – as well as he could be under the circumstances.

“I’m at a friend’s house. This is Rulf, he found and saved me,” he turned toward the Lykos and grabbed him by the arm, a smile of appreciation spreading on his face.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for Esthor.”

“No problem, Sir. It was nothing,” Rulf responded, blushing at being put on the spot like that.

“He’s being modest, I’d be dead if it weren’t for him,” Esthor quickly added, managing another smile. Rulf looked down, feeling his cheeks burning.

“I know what happened, boy, Pepin told me everything. I went looking for you…”

“Pepin?” Esthor interrupted him, surprised the healer would get himself involved since he didn’t bother to lift a finger to help him when he was all chained up and getting his eyes gouged out. “I guess he has a conscience after all,” Esthor thought.

“Yes, he came right over and told me what happened. We even went to the...”

“I’m sorry I got you so worried,” Esthor cut him off, trying to prevent him from saying too much in front of Rulf. Fortunately, the master got the hint right away.

“I’m just glad to see you’re safe. Where did your friend find you?”

“Ohh… It’s a long story and I’ll tell you all about it in person. Rulf has helped me a lot, though.”

“Good, good,” Khalgos nodded, satisfied that his favorite student was in good hands. He believed Esthor to be a good judge of character, so if he thought Rulf was reliable, that was good enough for him.

“But I want to come as soon as possible, we have a lot to discuss,” Esthor said. “Can we visit master Khalgos tonight?” he asked, turning to Rulf.

“Are you sure you’re well enough to travel? You’re still weak from everything that has happened,” Rulf asked in concern, glancing at Khalgos to see his reaction.

“Your friend is right. As long as you’re safe there, you should wait until you have your full strength back,” the old man confirmed. “Tell me, do you have your scepter with you?”

“No, it… got destroyed,” Esthor sighed, remembering Zane grabbing it and screaming in agony as the staff burned his hand. And I hope it hurt, he thought, clenching his jaw.

“I see… Then you’ll need to make a new one.”

“I know. I’ll get on that soon,” Esthor replied, realizing he had an important task ahead of him.

Sorcerers were always encouraged to create their own scepters, so that they were attuned to their magic powers. This meant he would have to go and find all the necessary parts, merge them together and imbue them with his powers. How he would do that while being blind, he didn’t know, but it’s not like he had much of a choice. Without his scepter, he would not be able to use his full powers.

After some more friendly reminders and instructions by Khalgos, the student and his master said their goodbyes and Rulf promised to bring Esthor as soon as the young sorcerer felt strong enough to make the trip through the woods.

The two of them then returned to the kitchen for a rather late evening meal and before they knew it, the sun had set, leaving them sitting in a semi-dark room, illuminated only by the moon and a few candles.

“So, are you ready to try this out?” Rulf asked, looking intently at his new friend.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Okay then, come with me.”

Rulf stood up and took Esthor by the hand, leading him out the door to his backyard. Basking in moonlight, the lush garden was wild, but beautiful. Only one corner next to the house wall had neatly arranged flowers, while the rest of the place had bushes and other greenery growing freely. The garden was surrounded by thick, tall trees that blocked it from outside view.

Although he couldn’t see anything, Esthor immensely enjoyed the smells and sounds all around him, fresh air entering his nostrils and filling his lungs.

Leading Esthor to a large linden tree, Rulf stopped as they got under the vast canopy.

“Alright, this is a nice spot. Let’s sit down,” he said, helping him sit on the grass before doing the same. “Don’t worry, we’re in my backyard.”

“Seems nice out here,” Esthor mused as he turned his head around, as though he could see.

“Yeah, it is. I often like to come and spend time here.”

Esthor just breathed deeply in an out, thinking how he wouldn’t mind doing the same – coming here and spending time with Rulf.

“So, you want to try this?” Rulf asked.

Esthor was startled, confused for a moment as to what Rulf was asking him about, before realizing he was talking about shifting.

“Uh, yes, let’s try it,” he replied, returning to reality. “Umm… okay, so how do I do this?” he chuckled, feeling strangely out of his depth.

That rarely happened to him as he was always the model student, quickly and intuitively performing any task master Khalgos would give him. This, however, was something completely new and unknown to him and he was not sure how to proceed.

“Just relax and don't stress about it,” Rulf said gently, his voice very soothing to Esthor’s ears. “Just focus on wanting to shift into your animal form. Think about it as something you do naturally every day, like getting up from a chair. Just a small task you can easily do – no big deal.”

Esthor was sitting quietly on the grass in front of Rulf, breathing and trying to make it happen, but nothing occurred.

“You’re a master of sorcery, and this is another thing you’re good at. You’re a natural,” Rulf added, hoping to inspire the young blond.

Hearing those words struck a chord in Esthor’s mind. He is the best sorcerer, he could easily do this!

Feeling a sudden heat wave spreading through his body, he knew it was about to happen. Without even having time to feel excited or scared, he suddenly vanished from sight and in his place a miniature insect appeared, buzzing in front of Rulf, who gasped and then let out a laugh.

“Hah! There you go, I told you you could do it!”

It took Esthor a few moments to get a grasp on the situation, but once he did, it all felt natural. He started flying around, fluttering his wings and making loops in the air, enjoying the freedom and being able to see once again.

Flying in front of his new friend, Esthor suddenly stopped, realizing this was the first time he actually saw Rulf. His savior looked younger than he imagined him, handsome and cute with his messy auburn hair and a warm smile. However, his eyes told a different story – one of sorrow, the reason for which Esthor didn’t know.

At that moment, the young Lykos realized the same thing – this was the first time Esthor laid his eyes on him, which made him feel self-conscious. Lifting up a hand, Rulf opened his palm and the tiny fairyfly landed at the tip of his index finger. Bringing it closer to his face, he observed the minute insect and his adorable feathery wings.

“Wow… How are you even real?” he whispered, his eyes wide with wonder.

A moment later, Esthor took flight again and continued flying around Rulf.

“So, do you want to see me in my wolf form?” the Lykos asked.

The fairyfly flew closer to his face and rapidly buzzed around in circles, hoping to convey the affirmative response.

“Ok, don’t be scared, please,” Rulf smiled before shifting with a loud growl.

Unlike his human form, Rulf’s Lykos form looked just as Esthor had imagined it would – a tall, strong, greyish-brown humanoid wolf with deep, dark eyes. Despite being merely a small insect, Esthor was not afraid of the fierce Lykos; he could sense that Rulf would not harm him.

After observing each other for a while, Rulf suddenly got down on all fours and looked up at the fairyfly.

“Try and catch me!” he said, sprinting off to the other end of the garden, with the tiny insect in hot pursuit.

As the Lykos ran around, the fairyfly easily kept up with him, always flying by his side. For the first time since Bella died, Rulf was actually having fun and not thinking sad, depressive thoughts. After several more circles around his backyard, he stopped below the linden tree where they had been sitting and leaned against the tree, panting.

“Next time, we can go to the forest… Then, we can really run around,” he said, shifting back into a human.

Esthor was still in his fairyfly form, perched on one of Rulf’s palms. Even though he knew he had to do it at some point, he didn’t want to shift back and lose the lovely sight in front of him… The sight of Rulf sitting there and smiling at him.

Eventually, common sense prevailed and with one final flourish in the fresh night air, he shifted back, sitting down next to his friend.

“Easy there,” Rulf said, helping him sit down slowly. “How are you feeling?”

“Great, it felt great,” Esthor was honest. This was one of the most thrilling and mind-bending experiences of his life and he was sure that Rulf being there with him played a big part. “Thank you for helping me do this.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Rulf smiled.

“I sure did! And hey, I finally got to see what you look like.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“And I have to say, you’re not exactly what I imagined.”

“Oh?” Rulf asked, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad. It’s just that… your eyes seemed so sad,” Esthor explained in a soft voice.

Rulf looked down, feeling more conflicted and confused than ever. Esthor was right, he has been sad lately because of Arabella’s death, but now he was mostly angry at himself. This was the first day since she was taken from him that he did not think of her at all. This night was the most fun he’s had in a while and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for enjoying himself and liking Esthor’s company so much.

“Hey, you ok?” Esthor interrupted him from his reverie.

“Yeah. I, uh… I recently lost someone close to me,” he murmured.

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” Esthor said, managing to find Rulf’s shoulder and gently squeeze it.

The sorcerer said not a word more and Rulf appreciated it. The sound of crickets and wind rustling the leaves was all that could be heard as they sat beneath the linden tree in the cool night air. The silence between them was not uncomfortable but full of understanding, knowing that in some moments merely the presence of someone was enough, and no words were needed.

“Shall we go inside, it’s late and it’s getting chilly out here,” the Lykos finally said.

“Yeah, let’s go. I was getting a bit sleepy,” Esthor agreed and let Rulf take his hand and help him up.

The two young men thus returned to the house, each lost in their own thoughts and impressions of the moments they had just shared.

~~

Waking up in her king-sized canopy bed with white curtains on all sides, Queen Loreena blinked a few times before closing her eyes again. She never minded getting up early in the morning, but in the last few weeks, she was not in the mood. All she wanted was to stay closed in her room and sleep until the pain goes away.

Fortunately, she was too good of a mother to simply let herself be consumed by her sorrow. She knew she had two other daughters who needed her and she would not let nannies bear all the burden of caring for them. She would have to be strong for all of them.

A few minutes later, she finally opened her eyes again, propping herself on her elbows and looking to her right, noticing her husband was also awake, looking at the ceiling, as if deep in thought.

“Good morning, darling,” she greeted him, but no reply came. He lay there unmoving, save for the occasional twitch of his eyelids.

“Hey, you’re lost again,” the queen said softly, touching his hand with hers.

“I’m sorry, dear,” he turned to her. “Have I said good morning?”

“You have now,” she chuckled.

“I was distracted...”

“I can see that. What were you thinking about?” she asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.

“The Lykos.”

“Oh… of course.”

That’s all he thought about lately. Finding and punishing whoever attacked Arabella.

“We have to find him,” he replied sternly, indicating that he would allow no discussions or disagreements on the matter. “Or do you not agree?”

“No, of course I do,” she was quick to reply, just to placate him.

The truth was, she was tired of the endless hunt and hunger for revenge. Punishing and imprisoning Esthor meant nothing to her; it didn’t fill the hole in her heart left by her daughter’s death and she realized that nothing would. Not even capturing and sentencing the Lykos who caused her to fall ill in the first place.

Of course, she dared not admit it to her husband. He was hell-bent on getting his vengeance and would only accuse her of not caring for their daughter. Thus, she found it better to let him do what he wanted, while she would focus on the two daughters they still had.

While she got dressed and went to check on Amelia and Ariana, the king had other plans. After the family breakfast, which was spent mostly in silence, King Norius went to his throne room and ordered one of the guards to summon Zane. He had a task for him and it was high time to put it into action.

Minutes later, the king’s trusted guard commander stood before him. His hand was no longer in bandages, but scars and burn marks were still very much visible on it.

“Your Majesty, you wanted to see me.”

“Yes. I have a special assignment for you, one you must not fail,” the king stated firmly.

Zane replied with a slight nod, signaling to the king to continue.

“I need you to take… as many guards as you need and go to the Lykos settlement. Search every house, move every rock, I don’t care, just bring me the beast who attacked my daughter.”

Once again, Zane nodded, clenching his jaws.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect… There are hundreds of them.”

“So? You have all the castle guards at your disposal. Besides, we know whoever bit her has the Fever, so he shouldn’t be hard to identify. Do I have to teach you?” the king grunted impatiently.

“No, Your Majesty, of course not. I’ll do as you ask.”

“Go tonight. No reason to delay.”

“Understood,” Zane nodded once again, still standing firmly in place, waiting to see if the king was done.

“That is all for now.”

“Your Majesty.” With a final bow, the guard commander turned on his heel and left the chamber.

As always, thank you so much for reading! And thanks to @AusGlitterati for beta reading!
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