“By night, the wolves would come descended from the Mountains of Anai and ravage those who dared walk among the roads of the town at such hours”.

It was one of the few stories I could remember so well. I always heard it so clearly in my mother’s voice as I lost myself in earlier times. Such a tale should have horrified me as a child, but darkness was the one thing I had found solace in from a young age. I was possibly the only person of Kains who had ever felt this way. For all those whom I had ever known, the night was something to be feared.

As I recounted the story once again, the water lapped silently against my floating body. I lay as still as the water’s gentle waves would allow me to. The more I came out to the caves, the easier it became.

The air was frosty, though the water heated my body from below giving the sensation of lying on the hottest beach my mind would allow me to conjure. Images of golden stretches of beach replace the ravaging wolves roaming through my mind. I imagined the sun beaming down upon me, radiant and glorious. I think of how the sand might feel beneath my feet as I rise and dance lithely towards the water’s edge.

I had never been to the beach, though. All I had were the fading memories of my mother’s stories and a few watercolour paintings. I often doubted the reality behind many of the tales, but remembering them made me think of the person my mom was before she fell ill.

A low growl came from land, jolting me from me trailing thoughts and back into the water. My limbs flailed wildly as I attempted to regain my composure, before finding a rhythm. I choked on the water that had managed to find my mouth. The bitter salty taste assaulted my tongue. I should have been used to it by now. Treading the water with as little noise now as I could manage, I turned to try and identify where to noise has come from.

Silence.

There was nothing to be heard above the slight slosh of water as it broke against my body except for the sound of my own breathing.

“You’re losing it, Isabella,” I muttered to myself, feeling a little foolish. It was just my mind mixing stories and reality again.

My body was only a few inches away from the entrance to one of the six hidden caves I had stumbled upon. I reached my hand forward to grab onto it, ready to wander deeper inside. It was the only one I had not explored this past fortnight.

Another growl, louder this time, froze my hand in mid-air. Now I was sure it wasn't just my imagination. It was so close. I dared a glance to my right. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes adjusted to the darkness and found the shapes of at least three wild animals.

Wolves.

I had never seen them before, only heard their distant howls from the safety of the island. The only image I had ever had of them before were from my mother’s drawings and descriptions from my childhood’s stories. They were magnificent creatures, even in the dim light of the full moon casting its glow into entrance of the cave.

Despite being in awe of the creatures’ beauty, I was not stupid. I knew of the malicious crimes that such an animal could commit. They were bloodthirsty and merciless. No being had yet escaped from their grasp, not even the smallest of children were spared. The stories which I had heard yielded great warnings, to which I was now going to pay heed to.

I floated softly to my back again, allowing my feet to find the rough stone of the land which grew from the water.

Using all my strength, I pushed my body through the water and away from my predators. The growls grew louder the farther into the open I drifted. They turned to howls as I turned and began to swim, my arms moving in long, swift strokes. I risked a single look back towards the darkness. The wolves had not moved from their spot.

It was just my luck that they feared the water. For all the terror they could elicit, it was only natural that they would possess a weakness. They would never dare step through the shallowest of rain puddles, let alone cross the channel that I had swam across to get here in the first place. I was safe, for now.

There was a more worrying thought forming in the back of my mind, though. From what I could remember from my father’s maps of the Other World, there were at least two rivers that blocked the path from the Mountains of Anai to where the caves stood. I had been smart enough to do some research before risking the shadows of this unknown land. Despite my rebellious ways, my mother had taught me to respect the earth and all that rose from it.

It had taken me a couple of days, but finally I had found a box of old maps my father had stored away. Judging by their discolouration, they had to be as old as I was, maybe older. They were noticeably different to the one pinned to my bedroom wall. Land existed on my father’s maps between cities and towns, even various islands that I had never seen before.

If I had not seen the caves for myself, I would have just assumed the land had been destroyed during the War all those years ago. I had made my discovery two weeks ago. Since then, I had only come up with more questions than answers. I had eventually decided that I was just reading too much into just a few pieces of old paper. Until tonight.

Ahead of me, the main land of the island Solun was looming closer. Strange things had been happening lately, and I had a sickening feeling that the wolves’ appearance tonight was not just a coincidence. As I reached Solun, I dragged myself up onto the lonely wooden pier jutting out into the water with one question lingering strongly in my thoughts.

How had the wolves gotten so far from their territory?
 

After spending half an hour just lying on the pier, trying to dry off my clothes and make sense of tonight’s events, I figured it was time I got back home before sunrise. Even though it couldn't be any later than three in the morning, light wasn't far off.

Time passed so unusually in the Other World compared to a land my mother often spoke of, where time passed so slowly. She called it the Realm of Mortal Beings. I was only ten when she started to tell me tales of humans and their ways.

I wished I knew more about that realm, or at least the truth of its existence. Before my mom passed away, she made me swear to keep the stories our pretty little secret. In the year that had passed since her death, I had kept true to my promise. It had been hard not to confide in anyone at the start.

Within a couple of months, though, a new life had been made for me and finding freedom became my purpose. Despite how much trouble I had been causing, I was only becoming more determined to discover hidden truths. That is, if there were any to be found in the first place.

I sat up and leaned over the pier’s edge into the water. There was scarce any light shining from the moon tonight but I could still catch a glimpse of my reflection.

After she died, people kept saying how much I look like my mom when she was young. I couldn’t see much of her in my features, though. I knew they were just saying it to ease the pain of losing her.

My gold flecked eyes seemed dull compared to her shining violet ones. My hair was a thick tangle of deep brown curls, where hers had been a shimmering copper shade and never a hair out of place. She had been tall, with sharp facial features. I was exactly five feet tall, my face quite child-like in appearance so that I was always mistaken for much younger than I actually was.

It was easy to see why my father had fallen for my mother, but since her death he’d chosen to see me as little as possible. He said I bear too much resemblance to her. My mom and I could not have been more different.

Having lost one parent, I was strangely okay with my father’s distance. He had never been one to show affection, and had very rarely showed any signs of love towards my mom. He did love her. That much I’ve convinced myself of.

Maybe it was just too much to be around me.

“Isabella!” I was bound to be caught sooner or later, I thought as I turned around to face the visitor.

“Eric”, I addressed the man I instantly recognised as the head of Elijah’s guard. Being promised to the future heir of an entire kingdom had its disadvantages.

“You should not be here, not outside the city walls. Not again,” the young man said mildly.

“I needed to get away for a few hours. You understand what it’s like, do you not?” Eric looked away, staring far off into the water. He did understand. He was the youngest to lead the Guard in over a millennium, and not much older than me. He knew all too well how it felt to be thrust into a new life without choice.

“You’re lucky it was only me that caught you tonight. Elijah’s temper is beginning to grow fierce with all of your attempts to outsmart the Guard,” he said as he turned back to face me.

“I never asked to be chosen. Or protected for that matter,” I shot back, my voice harsher than I had meant my words to sound. Eric’s eyes clouded over with hurt, darkening to a deeper shade of green. “I’m sorry, Eric”.

“I know. I need to get you back home before the next change of guardsmen. We may be friends but I still have a duty to uphold”. He held out his arm. I sighed loudly but still linked my arm through his.

We had been friends since childhood, so Eric was used to my mischiefs. It had been how we met in the first place. I had gone climbing trees one day when I was five and gotten myself trapped. If it wasn’t for Eric sneaking off on his own adventures and getting lost himself I may never have been found clinging upside-down to a (thankfully) sturdy oak branch.

Ever since then he had been my luck and knight in shining armour. In spite of the burdens he now holds, I was secretly glad that he was part of the Guard. True friends in a kingdom of corruption were difficult to come by and even harder to keep. I knew I could trust him, just this one time.

“I saw wolves,” I said into the silence, careful to keep my voice low so as not to be overheard above the wind which was beginning to stir in the night. Elijah had ears everywhere.

I felt Eric tense by my side but he kept his steady gaze forward in case of hidden Watchers.

“Where?” His voice was barely more than a whisper and I knew he sensed we had company not far us.

“They were in one of the caves. I was so close to becoming just another meal to them.” A cold shiver ran through my spine at the memory of their amber eyes boring into me. “I just don’t understand how they’ve made it so far down the main land”.

“Isabella, you are the only one to even see these caves. I have seen you swim past what looks to be a solid wall of mist to my eyes. To everyone’s eyes”. He was right. There are places I have been to, those which do not appear on the map of the entire Other World.

“Be grateful that others have not seen you. The Watchers also seem to be unaware of your little ventures to this point,” I could sense the slightest of hesitancy creeping into Eric’s voice. I knew what that meant.

“They suspect something, don’t they?”

We kept pace but he lowered his lips to my ear as he said “Yes. There are plans to have you removed to the mainland. I would urge to not to make a fuss. It is for your own safety”.

“Will you be coming?” As had always been, I needed him by my side.

“For a few days only. Then, I am needed here”. He did not bother to hide his disappointment. Eric had another reason for wanting to spend time on the mainland of Kains. Only I knew of Clodagh and the love Eric held for her.

“I need your help, Eric”.

“Anything you need. After all, I am bound as your protector”. He stepped in front of me and made a grand bow mocking his newfound title.

Nothing could ever stay so serious between the two of us. An image of the scrawny nine year old kid who had once rescued me from a tree flashed through my mind. It had taken almost two hours to get me down and involved a lot of cuts and bruised for both of us. Now the same guy had been sworn to guard my life.

“Strange things have been happening lately, since my mother’s death.” I practically mouthed the words for fear of who may be close by. Eric was back by my side in an instant. He read the meaning behind my words.

“I will keep close to my Guard. My men may be alert to something which I am not, for I am close to you. It would not surprise me if I am being kept from a plot”.

It was a frightening thought, but one which we both knew could be true.

Only minutes had passed since departing the pier, but we were about to slip through the walls of Solun.

I needed more time to disclose my fears to Eric, but he understood enough to know what to do next. He would be my contact at the heart of the kingdom, whilst I was whisked away to secrecy.

If I was to be relocated, it was not just because I was slipping past the Guard on occasion. Elijah has been putting up with me for over two years and I have never given him a reason to question my actions. Why now?

There had to be something more. I thought a close escape from ravenous wolves was the most I’d have to worry about tonight. Eric and I said no more on the matter and left our fears hanging silently in the air, unspoken.

As we drew closer to the walls, Eric stopped to drawn on his power. The ability to blend with the darkness was rare, especially for male fae. His strength meant that his could shield both himself and me from prying eyes. I knew we did not have much time before the sun would start to creep over the horizon and begin swallowing the darkness, claiming Eric’s powers until night came again.

I felt the familiar veil cover me and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Eric wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer as we made our way through the deserted city streets. It took little time to reach the castle and even less to my private quarters which Elijah had insisted upon giving me.

As Eric withdrew the darkness, the first light of the morning seeped through my curtains.

“Rest now, my princess. The next few days will be unusually peaceful, but do not let it fool you,” Eric said, still keeping his voice low.

“I am lucky to have you as a friend. I have never taken your presence for granted and do not plan on it. I trust you always. Please keep yourself safe, too.” My voice broke slightly at the end. I had lost so many people in my life, and he was much too precious to lose as well.

“As your protector, your life comes before my own. As your best friend, I promise to stay as safe as I can”. I smiled at him. He always knew just what to say.

“Can you meet me later?”

“Tell me the time and place as always, Izzy,” he smiled back. Behind the smiled we both knew there were more serious things to discuss but for now we both needed to get some sleep.

“I’ll send word before lunch,” I promised. And with that Eric bowed with grace and departed, leaving me exhausted and wondering on the night’s events as I fell into a dreamless lull.