Coin Flip

The following morning,

the preparations for the long journey to Beast City territory were set.

She was unsure if the prince is still waiting for her at the hut. Even

though he hid something so important for this long, she still wishes to

see him. Her feelings for him have yet to subside. She was unable to

believe if their first encounter was truly accidental or not, given the

impossible circumstances.

The wolf felt an overwhelming sense of grief whenever he crossed her mind.

Now leaving without hearing why he comes and waits for her, she needed

to know why. Why doesn't he simply send his men to retrieve her and be

done with it? Why does he need to occupy her head with all the memories

of the things they did together?

She needed to at least know and bid the prince farewell for good. The

frustration of having fallen for him kept her in the village for this

long; she should have left the first day she found out. Punching the

wall beside her, alerted a few eyes towards her. She kept her head low

and was panting, with her arm still raised in a strike position. She was

only further frustrated, but she's not sure if she's frustrated with

him or herself for being this vulnerable to someone.

Her family gave their lives to make sure she lives and for what, so she can

die as an adult for something stupid as being curious about this human

reason for waiting. Clawing her nails at the back of her neck, she

focused her attention on the pain, causing her to control her breathing.

She needed to talk to him, even if it was from a distance. After bundling her supplies back

onto her shoulders, the wolf left the village, heading towards the hut.

Assuming that the prince would be waiting for her to return.

She felt her walking pattern was off, and her knees were weak on the walk.

Am I nervous? She questioned herself, this was a first for her. To be

nervous of some weak human that sounds like a feline in heat. "Ha!" She

said to herself. "That's not possible, not one bit. Me a bit nervous."

It was ridiculous to think a beast would cower to a weak human.

She put all her thoughts and attention into what she had and would say to

him. She assured herself that she would not be swayed by anything he

might say to convince her to stay. She also knew she'll have to return

the pendant that holds a crystal that he gave her after she kept eyeing

it around his neck. He gave it to her as a thank you for treating his

wounds.

When she finally reached the top of the hills, she saw the hut surrounded by a

shallow fog, with light coming from the inside. He was still waiting, he

still hasn't given up on her. The anger she had earlier and the

nervousness all subsided in an instance. Just that possibility of him

still being in the hut that they gave character to make her happy.

With a grin on her face, she rushed closer to the hut, unwittingly hauling

her body as she threw open the door because she had removed her cloak

and scarf. The blood sank and a very noticeable chill crept in, as the

fur from her spine and tail puffed open. It was the king's guards and

not the prince that she met inside the hut. The words she intended to

say to the prince faded. For her problems just kept growing.

Spotting two men carrying lanterns that emit smoke to disguise the trails of

fleeting, injured or just to block any beast nose. Her entire life, she

has done well to stay hidden and near the beast boundary, away from any

regal snobs. She just showed these humans her fur. Now she knew, for

sure, that the human king has been interested in her for sending a few

of his soldiers into the beast boundary. Not caring if he starts a war,

all because he wanted to capture one dead breed wolf.

The prince must have ratted her out and was using himself as bait to lure

her back to the hut. The possibility of it being true broke her heart

even more than it already was. With tears seeping from her eyes, she

backed away from the human soldiers. Her palm clenched the door handle.

Taking a big whiff in the air to find her nose, to no avail, the prince wasn't

there. She hoped to locate the prince resting in the room behind the

men or if he was at least nearby to explain what was going on, but he

was nowhere to be seen. She looked at the lanterns, they were heavily

emitting smoke, because of it, she couldn't tell if he was around.

The realization has finally hit. The prince never truly cared for her, he

only used her for his amusement, and she was a fool to allow it to

happen. In an attempt to flee from the soldiers, she jumped out the door

and barricaded the doorway with a damp log that was meant to be put out

for firewood, once it dried.

Backing up slowly, she tailed her way back to Twain's village, abandoning all

hope that the prince ever loved her, including a majority of her

luggage, which she dropped when getting to the door.

She endured the Famine season and the Monsoon seasons each year alone. She

hid from all kinds of dangerous beings, she definitely didn't need

anyone, not even a prince to save her. "The only mistake that was made

was falling in love with him." She should have just left him to die, she

cried out. Or, better yet, eat him while he was down and weak.

The pain in her chest aches from the thought of her murdering the prince,

but it hurt more when he ratted her out to his father. She came to a

halt when she realized it was safe to rest and recover. She tossed her

bag and satchel near a smooth rock and slid on it. Perking her ears, she

adjusted her breathing, looking back at the trail she went to she

noticed the vast distance she built with the soldiers of the human

kingdom.

She peered up between the forest's trees, noticing the morning light finally

filtering through the foliage. She took another whiff of the environment

to check whether she was alone, but the smoke from the lanterns and the

thick mist of the forest fog wasn't doing her any favors.

Her sense of smell had become obstructed. Those lanterns can blind a

beast's nose for a few hours or up to a few days. The wolf attempted to

think of the best way to get away from those wretched humans, but all

she could think was the soldiers hiding and waiting for her in any

situation she thought of.

"Cross the border and be trapped there until I grow old, or dye my fur to

blend in with the locals and be free to go where I want in the land I'm

familiar with, in the Twain villages." Unsure, she hesitated to decide.

Pulling a silver token from within her pocket, she scratched a shallow indent

with her claw. Instantly, as the wind howled and the early bird flew in

the sky, she flipped the coin, praying for the best outcome for her pup

and herself. She was now betting her life on merely a flip of a coin.

With each spin the token took in the air, the coin was able to collect a few

particles of light through the thin fog. Casting some sort of moving

image in front of her eyes, as if telling her where she would be

heading. It felt as if this being almost had the same presence as the

other a year ago before she fell and met the prince, it had slowed

time, she thought.

It was dazzling, yet something seemed to be encouraging her to emigrate on

the path it picked for her, not to look back. Memorized, by the strange

aura, she finally realized that the decision had to be taken fast;

there wasn't time to toy with a coin for much longer.

Placing the token in her arm after snatching it from the air. She made up her

mind, she wasn't going to listen to the thing telling her to go to the

village. The last time she did turn into her running from the king's

soldiers.

The shallow mark was assigned with her going back to the village and waiting it

out, while the other half urged her to live a safe life growing old with

her pup. Even if that meant that they'll be trapped to never leave the

walls.

Lifting her paw, she saw no indent; she was already aware of the course she needed

to take. With all that had transpired thus far, she felt happy she had

made a decent decision.

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