• Chapter 13

    Three years had passed since Aranna had last seen Kais and Riss, and she was missing them immensely, she could barely remember their faces, and still felt guilty for leaving them in the Arena. She knew it would be one of her biggest what ifs. A small voice behind her made Aranna break off from her line of thought and looked round to see who was behind her.
    “Y-your M-m-majesty?”
    It was a messenger Aranna had never seen before, and he was obviously very nervous.
    She grinned a toothy grin at him, and stood up, realising too late that her full three meters of rippling muscle could scare almost anyone who hadn’t been up this close to her before. The messenger almost bolted there and then, but just as he had reached the door Aranna put up a weak barrier over the door, which the messenger touched and was repelled lightly, with a small squeak.
    “What is your name, little one?” she asked the messenger, gradually bending down to his height.
    “Vald” Vald replied a little more confidently.
    “Well, Vald would you like a sweet?” as she said this she picked up a bowl of small, round, red venison flavour sweets behind her and gave it to him, then stood up again.
    “Now, what is it you have to say, Vald?”
    “Yumph gph to co-” Aranna stopped him mid-sentence, as trying to make what someone is saying while they are trying to eat several things at once something isn’t the easiest of tasks.
    “Finish the sweet first” Aranna said between laughs. Once Vald had finished the sweet he recited his message.
    “You have to go to the council chamber! A lookout patrol spotted two unidentified creatures!” Vald said, then hastily adding
    “Your Majesty.”
    “Alright then, thank you, you can go home to your parents now Vald, you’ve done your work very well.” Aranna tossed him another sweet as if to make her point, but her throw went wildly off course as she saw Vald’s face turn sad, as if he was about to cry and his ears droop.
    “Vald, what’s wrong?”
    “I-I don’t have any parents… their scout patrol was killed by the Empire.” As he said Empire, his voice broke and he balled his paws. Aranna felt sorry for him and, though she knew she shouldn’t, hugged him. She hesitated a moment, then replied gently
    “Well…I tell you what why don’t I convince the council to build another room just along the hall to mine?” Vald looked up at her as if she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
    “You wait in here while I go and twist the council’s arms.” At this, she winked at him and left the room.

    *

    As Aranna entered the council chamber she straightened her back and walked with the flowing grace of a true werewolf ruler. As she passed them, the members of the council kneeled, and bowed their heads.
    When she got to her carved seat, at the Head of the vast room, the council, as one stood up and returned to their seats.
    “Majesty, as you know” an elder werewolf began in a nasal voice “there was a sighting of two creatures, a dragon-like creature and one that, apparently, changed shape.” Aranna felt that this was too important to let another patrol go and see who they were. Her next announcement may be hurried, but she could not let this pass.
    “I will go” When a council member stood up, she did not give him a chance to speak and waved at him to sit down. “Do not object. You know as well as I do that I can protect myself” when yet another wolf stood up, she just carried on. “I will go down to my personal Armoury and get ready after this meeting. Another topic I would like to bring up is the small matter of an orphan, Vald. I would like to take him in and teach him magic. The council gasped, this was unheard of!
    “Please can one of you send a messenger to the Builders Guild telling them to dispatch a team to make another few rooms down the hall from my quarters?” without waiting for an answer she carried on “Good, thank you.”
    Using magic Aranna drew up a plan in the centre of the room on the giant, round table the council used for planning. “This is what it should look like, copy it down and give it to your messenger. Now, does anyone have any objections? No? Very well. This meeting is adjourned.”
    Aranna loped out of the Council chamber and bounded down through the twists and tunnels of the were-creatures mountain home. As she finally came upon the vast crater that was the training grounds, she spotted Thalia, her armoury keeper walking from the storerooms in the direction of the armoury, no doubt to check on the weapons supply.
    Aranna sped over to her armoury, and pulled her key out of her pocket. As she went in the dazzle of enchanted weapons and armour blinded her sensitive eyes for a moment, and she let her eyes adjust, then went over to her light armour cupboard she bulled out her Dragonhide vest and leggings, buckled them on and picked up her sword, Rítang, meaning fire in the ancient language and said the activation words:
    Lúschia kotr Rítang, proceeding to touch the ruby in the hilt. The obsidian blade glowed for a couple of seconds, then the curved lines in the blade glowed red and sputtered forth a small inferno and the ruby smoldered with inner flames. She then went out locked the door, and stalked determinedly to the front gate in order to meet these strange intruders in werewolf territory.