[The Wolf]

CHAPTER ONE

The Land of Ophel has been one of peace for as long as anyone can remember. Ruled by a group of angels, called the Curators; Ophel is a place where Men and magical creatures; Elves, Merpeople and Dragons; alike can live together in harmony. But, until lately, the many tribes of Dragons have been on edge. In the past decade, 8 of the remaining 10 Dragon tribes have been wiped off the map. The Tuli Dragons of the north have claimed that the Royeren tribe of the south had wiped them out, and the Royeren had claimed that it was the Tuli. It was uncertain who had wiped them out, but this bickering between the two remaining tribes will cause the end of the world.

Two figures, shrouded in black glide along the floor of the forest. They evade the moonlight shining dimly through the canopy. They have come too far for anyone to find them out now. But, they still had a way to go. They were headed towards the city of Vita, deep in the land of Men. Here, a meeting will be held. The recent war of words between the two Dragon tribes may soon turn into action, and if they do, the chaos will destroy all the civilisations on Ophel.

By now, the sun was about to rise in the city of Vita. There has been a lot of buzz by the commoners about the appearance of many delegates from the Elves and Merpeople. However, nobody is too sure about why they were here and what they wanted to achieve. But, one thing was sure; the King of the Men, Rector, invited them all. And it was Rector who started the secret meeting.

"Welcome, my friends." They were seated in the hall. It was like a scene from a church, where the delegates sat in rows. "I think that you all know why you are here today. The Dragons have gone out of control. They plan to have a war! And, it looks like we sensible ones are the only ones who can stop them." The crowd up roared with a 'Hear, hear!'

"What do you plan to do about them?" An Elvan delegate exclaimed.

"We plan to stop them on the battlefield. That's what we'll do." A further uproar.

"But, won't that mean that just cause more bloodshed?" A figure, cladded in a black rope responded in a feminine voice.

"But, it is the only way to do it. Anymore quest..."

"But, that will only wipe out the Dragons."

"It doesn't matter does it? Next q..."

"Why doesn't it matter?"

"Because the Dragons are vicious brutes that never benefited any of our societies, that why," Rector was beginning to lose is patience. "Can we move on from this ..."

"On what grounds can you say that they have never made a contribution?”

"May I ask who you are?" Rector could not tolerate anymore.

"Can you answer my question first?"

"Not until you have given me your name." Silence. She was still hesitant.

"I am Melyssa, Princess of the Dragons." The crowd all sighed in awe. The Princess of the Dragons is supposed to be the only living relative to a Barbarian tribe which dies many years ago, known to have captured and raised Dragons. They were even known to have the power to control Dragons. But, the Princess of the Dragons was supposed to have not been seen for many years.

"Well, your Highness. Welcome to you. Why don't you come up here and tell us why we shouldn't act so." We pointed to the altar. Melyssa stood up, and walked up to the altar; with her, another cladded figure.

"Killing the Dragons is not the way to go," she began. "If we get caught up in…”

"Can you please take off you hood, your Highness?"

"Pardon me?"

"Can you please take off you hood? You beauty is legend, I would like to see first hand for myself." She hesitated.

"The Princess only came here to protest against this travesty, not to show off." The black cladded figure spoke in a delicate male voice.

"I was not talking to you, and you should not talk to me like that, or I'll have you lock in the dungeons. Now, Princess, if you please." She hesitated, but in the end, decided to do it under pressure from Rector and the delegates.

Everyone in the room was shocked. Under the hood wasn't a beautiful warrior Princess. Instead, it was a Dragon. She was human shape, but the head was scaly. She had teeth and large flaring nostrils.

"You are not the Princess of Dragons!" An old man cried out. And, eventually, so did everybody else. The Princess began to panic.

"Impostor!" Rector yelled, pointing to the Princess. "Guards, seize the impostor!" Guards burst in through the door.

"Wait!" The other cladded figure jumped in front of the Princess. Everyone stopped and stood in silence. "She is the Princess of the Dragons." Again, the crowd was in awe.

“But, the Princess was supposed to beautiful, not some hideous creature.” Rector said in disgust.

“It doesn’t matter, she IS the Princess.”

“How can we trust you?” A delegate from the Merpeople shouted from the crowd.

“You just have to,” the crowd started to murmur.

“Silence, please,” he turned towards the man in the cape. “Look, young man, we have had enough of this trickery. Please take, what ever it is, and leave us.”

“You still don’t believe me, do you?” Silence. The young man took off his cloak, revealing a young man with messy, short black hair, and clothes to match. He reached for his shirt and pulled it off. Again, the crowd was shocked.

On the back, the man had two stiches both inclining towards each other only slightly. Surely, anyone would have known that what used to be there were wings. “You do not need to know my real name. But, here, on Ophel, I am known as Pravus, The Fallen Angel. And, she IS the Princess, Melyssa.”

[The Wolf]

Chapter Two

The meeting was the day before. And it was something that Pravus and Melyssa would like to forget as the leave Vita. It was morning, and the birds in the treetops were just beginning to chirp as they wandered across the vast open plain. A soft breeze was blowing from the northeast. Melyssa was trying her best to keep her hood cast over her head.

“Why do you need to keep it on? No one will see it.”

“It’s my business to do whatever I want, and what I want is no exposure.” She snapped at Pravus.

“Have it you’re way.” Awkward silence. Melyssa had never, ever since they had met, raised her voice at Pravus. “I’m just here to protect you.”

“Yes, you are, and I would appreciate it if you would stick to your job,” a short pause. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted.”

“No, no problem at all. I’m just here to protect you.” He replied, in a slightly sulking voice.

“I mean, its just the meeting didn’t go my way and everything else.”

“No, I understand,” this time, his voice sounded a lot more firm. “So, where do we go now?”

It was now nightfall now. They had wondered into one of the nearby forests for the night. They had made a fire, and killed two small birds for their dinner. They were sitting by the fire, not next to each other, but close enough.

“So, what are deciding to about the alliance against the Dragons?”

“I don’t know,” she was twiddling a twig between her fingers. Conversation was awkward. Melyssa feels afraid of Pravus at times. He has this cold face, which only shows angers and resentment. She gets chills when she tries to approach him at times. The truth is, Melyssa wants to know Pravus more, but, to her, he is a kite without strings caught in an updraught. She was never going to be able to catch him, and he was never going to come down.

She always wanted to tell him that, but she was afraid of how he was going to react. Pravus was unpredictable. And that’s what made him such a wonderful guard; people weren’t able to tell what he was going to do or what he was even thinking. He had a strong poker face, almost expressionless. But, you could tell from his eyes. They were deep, filled with pain, hurt, and other emotions that can’t be described. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, she would look directly into his eyes. Masses of black with a shade of purple caught her attention, and she’d stop. She couldn’t go on. It was too hard for her. She felt depressed, as if it was his depression she was leeching off. But, it was nothing she ever felt before. It was too heavy. It felt like all the sadness and angst in the world, placed upon his shoulders. She couldn’t tell him what she felt then, because all she felt was pain.

“I think that we should get going.”

“Why?”

“Just trust me.” She got up. He was already up and he was starting to leave the camp area. But, she was too tentative. She stopped to take a look around. And that’s when they came. They were too fast for the fire to hold their image. Before she knew it, Melyssa was taken.


* * *



She was dragged through the treetops so fast, everything around her seemed like a blur. She felt the claws of her captors dig into her skin. She let out a small squeal, but the gag around her mouth muffled it. What were they going to do with her? What happened to Pravus? What about the mission she was on? What is going to happen now?

Suddenly, they had slowed down and came to a walk. She could see ahead, rows of trees lined with torches. Ahead, two more figures.

“Good evening, Denu.” The captor spoke to the two.

“Good evening, Lieutenant,” one said as he approached the Lieutenant to greet him. The two of them stepped aside and allowed the Lieutenant through. They walked for minutes, until they had arrived in a small community of large trees, whose torches shone so bright. Melyssa didn’t see so much of the trees, as she was taken into a giant hall, built into the largest tree. And then, she was tossed onto ground.

“What have you got for me tonight, Lieutenant Frine?” A high-strung voice asked him as Melyssa slammed onto the ground.

“A woman, Sire.” He bent down and lifted Melyssa’s hood off. And, there the crowd stood in awe, as they had done in the hall. For, what they saw, was a dragon, with the body of a woman.

“What is the meaning of this?” An elf in purple robes stood up from the throne.

“I-I don’t understand?” The lieutenant was as shocked as everybody in the room. At last, Melyssa managed to spit out the gag.

“Please, your Highness. I beg of you, let me go.”

“What are you, you – you fiend?”

“I am Melyssa, the Princess of the Dragon. I am on an important mission that I need to return to.”

“Impossible. You are not the Dragon Princess.”

“I am she. I am put under a curse. But that is not of importance. I really need to get back to my mission.”

“If you are who you say you are, prove it. Prove to the Court of King Hude that you are the Princess.” And so, one after one, the ministers and officials of King Hude’s court asked her questions about the life of the Princess. And, to their surprise, she answers them all correctly.

“That doesn’t prove anything.” A young elf stepped out of nowhere. “Of course, we know that the Princess of the Dragons belongs to a Barbarian Tribe. So, she must have kept a chamber of gold somewhere, where the dwarfs have dug for the barbarians.” The crowd up roared with agreement. And, men came up to seize her.

“No, wait. There is no chamber of gold.”

“What do you mean?” The king asked her.

“The dwarfs never dug gold for the Barbarian tribe. It’s a myth.”

“How can we trust you on that, the only thing we can do is torture you until the truth comes out.” A large elf came up and grabbed the back of Melyssa’s shirt.

“No, no, wait. Don’t hold there.” But it was too late. The back of the shirt came off.