The Cursed Wolf and the Forest Princess

s and th

glittered on leaves, tiny silver jewels trembling at the slightest breath of wind. Somewhere far beyon

eyes before the ligh

stle she called home. A cold breeze slipped through the shattered windows and brushed her cheek. She pulled her thi

le

in laughter and human presence. No. This was the silence of emptiness. Of long corridors with no

watching the faint puff o

mornin

mornin

r like someone who knew every crack, every place where the floor dipped, or stones had loosened. She had grown up here - gro

oked the cracked tiles; vines draped over archways like sleeping serpents. The morni

h her face - cool, sharp with the scen

of hunger,

ts rhythms. If she misread the silence of birds or misjudged the strength of a river, s

orest. It was the only com

rips of hide. The weapon felt like an extension of her arm. With it, she had fought wolves, hunted boar, and brought down de

ed into t

r like it always did -

logs, where berries ripened fastest, and where deer tracks cut through the underbrush. Today, she ne

In many ways, she did. Her footsteps were soundless, her breath

- head turn

ng is o

ood. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the ground until she found it - a drop of dri

e quickened, bu

ins

th slow. A predator had been wounded - or a prey an

dan

ger. Her grip tighte

r to a hollow between the exposed roots of a towerin

a dying shadow, lay the lar

hes. Its chest rose shallowly, each breath strained. One eye ope

breath trapped b

s ragged fur, jaws capable of crushing bone. A wolf like this could k

he di

east, not entirely - held her

eli

nized like her own ref

y lowered

oice rough from disuse, words sma

ce. Not submission

stepped

efu

ow

orest. Yet she knelt beside the great creature, and for the first

wasn't only a

ut choosing not to le

f's fur, close enough to feel the faint

vy and thick, his claws dulled and cracked from struggle. Blood had dried stiff along his flank,

d alread

murmured under her breath.

ears twit

t pale against the soil. She knew what it looked like when life had gone out of a creature. But this wo

that fe

hel she had stitched together herself, worn and patched. Inside, wrapped in leaves and clo

slightly as she

," she muttered. "Y

ously, but his eye was still

r feel str

e water near his

dn't

carefully let a few drops fall onto hi

oat worked i

d the tight kn

orless smile tugging at her lips. "Come

, just enough to wet his tongue. It

n't push him. Instead, she set the water aside and re

e said quietly. "I'

d back in the

The growl didn't feel like a promise of vio

language better th

aid. "I'd be sc

s whispering, distant birds calling cautiously. Somewhere, water moved against s

topping this moment fr

tunic, then leaned in and gently

se than sh

r wound clawed its way down his shoulder. She could see where something-teeth, maybe-had sunk

ugh to sa

in traps, birds with broken wings, once even a wil

to a steady focus she had learned out of ne

. "We need to stop the bleeding, clean

racked her, heav

m, reaching into her satchel for a strip of torn linen. "Other

of the blood. The wolf flinched, a sharp, pained breath rattli

ing over his side, the other c

Easy. You move like that

body trembled with effort-not an attempt t

's heart

ree hand, voice low and so

toward her. Silv

ured. "You can endure thi

crumbling ledge. Blood on her knees, breath shallow, tears burning her eyes. No one came. No one knew. She had gritt

ad su

he. If he

body quivered, but he stayed still, watching her with an intensit

e reach the castle," she said. "Th

g pressure to slow the blood that still seeped. It s

s already l

by nightfall-if not from blood loss, then from another predator, or f

oving

o weigh at least three times as much as she did,

You couldn't be a small wolf

e slow and brutal on both of them. She needed a sled. Something flat, s

le: fallen doors, broken shutters, bits of fu

to leave yo

arning sound. This time,

st for a little while. If I don't, you're g

thing to a creature that could

mething in her chest tightened. I

between them, he

r legs felt unsteady, but she seized her sp

if that were a choice. "And

ed her as she slipped

as a blur of speed and branc

and ducking under low-hanging limbs. Her breath came hard, chest tight, but she didn't s

n by age, ivy crawling up weathered stone, jagged silhouettes of colla

e, it was

tyard, eyes already scanning for what she needed. Her mind sort

remnants of a heavy wooden door that had once led to the

," she b

de and heaved. The

in her arms burned, tendons straining as she dragged the door free from t

flat, she paused

es," she

d over and dropped to her knees, rummaging through the pile of discarded items she'

ther straps and a l

, but goo

g. She lashed the rope and leather to the front of the makeshift sled, forming

to doing ever

to doing somethin

hair to her forehead, and her arms trem

uietly to the empty a

s surpri

d never said that to anyone before. There had never b

il

ss over her shoulders

s twice as hard going back, the sled catching on roots and snagging on stones, but she dug her heels into the earth and refused to stop.

thing. Fatigue turned

sled, and the knowledge tha

burned, and her shoulders felt like they were on fire. Sweat tr

and stumbled the last fe

was sti

what if he had stopped breathing

nd hovering just abov

d her palm, fai

relief, her vision blu

e whispered. "You

hrough, now dark and sticky. Carefully, she peele

steadier than she felt.

The effort made her muscles scream; the door was heavie

ould get it, she took a breat

she said softly. "It's

ze. There was pain there. Weariness.

at yo

the words, though his

ould, fingers sinking into his thick fur. He was burni

herself-or maybe him.

he

ke it was tearing. Her legs quivered, boots sliding on damp earth. Slowl

led sound, teeth flashing

but forced herself to keep going. "I kno

onto the makeshift sled. His sides rose and fell rapidly, brea

her knees, panting,

between breaths

rprise, a breath huffed from his nose in w

ine b

ome," she re

self back to her feet. This was only half the work. Getting

The leather bit into her shoulders

rd and pulled, the sl

t, she thought she wouldn't

ding, dragging sc

d her teeth and

d beneath the soil, and dips in the ground threatened to tip the sled. She had to weave carefully, a

and fall of his chest. Every so often, he let out a low s

ed. "I'm not... en

st all

only the

the

the

alms hard enough to tear skin. Her feet slipped more than once,

id no

same for her. No memory of being carried, p

the person sh

f with hu

to view again, Jackline felt more like a ghost than a

wolf still there, still breathing,

ad do

l the way-

he whispered to

and into the courtyard. The sound echoed faintly off

o provide shelter. The ceiling was low but sturdy, the walls thick. She had cleare

would be

om and let the harness slip from her shoulde

hed, voice cracked. "My.

ked through her, but when she placed a hand near his mu

lf a single, shak

went back

ough a jagged gap in the high wall. As flames caught and warmth crept into the

ear. Now, they trembled from exhaustion

, low whimpers vibrating through his chest despite his size and strength.

d softly. "You should be grateful I didn't

ars f

a joke,"

strong and bitter, filling the air with a sharp scent that made her nose wrinkle. She mixed the h

ed each time he shudde

oulder, her fingers brushed the heat of his skin beneath

. For

nst the cold wall. The firelight painted everything in tones of oran

, a massive dark form on the wooden

ed her of what she had just done. Her body protested, but

ht a monster

t to survive from

hat?" she asked

twitched agai

and faint, as she answered h

," she said. "And I kno

und them. The fire crackled softly. Outside, the forest s

g as she could remember, the

. Her eyes grew heavy, and exhaustion pulled at her like an old friend. But be

ntly, not sure if she was s

t

w, the girl of the ruined castle and the gre

s the world

this moment on, neither of the

to the sound

nother person. The warmth of the fire, the soft rise and fall of breath, the feeling th

d, and reality sett

t edging its way through the broken gap high

the

still

ous day's effort. Her entire body felt like it had been beaten with branches. H

till alive. That was all

lf's side, almost afraid

she'd tied around his flank and shoulder were stained dark where blood had see

was

ling off his

his neck. Her fingers barely brushed his fur be

s bur

eated stone in midsummer, like a

ed under her brea

t in dreams or nightmares. His ears twitched occasionally, but h

n. His body was

n, he wo

t lo

ving quickly through the small pouches inside. Dried leaves, crumbled roots,

like this? She d

he

w tigh

he deep pools where the forest thickened and the air turned strange and heavy. Her mind flicked to its shape

ck when she had watched from the trees-had called it frost root.

m was wher

a

rousl

even in this state. She didn't have to do this. She had already nearly broken herself

way now, no one

no one to

beast. A str

d

one in this quiet stone room, made something in her chest twist p

like to be left to fend for her

d surv

want him

rd again, resting her fingers lightly against his muzzle

f than to him. "I am not dragging a stupid giant wolf a

hed, just faintly

ak breath that almo

he said.

not one she walked often. The forest around that place whispered louder than usual.

back had n

ack now would

voice quiet but fierce

and slung her satchel over her shoulder again. She hesitat

bandages stark against his fur. The faint rise and fall of his ches

s throat

and headed out i

felt diff

ummer dawns, the wet chill of rainy days, the brittle s

s if the trees were

er, the shadows darker, the light slicing thro

ear moving with her like an extra limb. She wasn't h

the place the streams gathered into deeper pools and the m

silence trail

stant crack of branches from wandering deer

in pri

erself. "Everyone's either hidi

which category

er the air became. Sunlight thinned, struggling to slip through the dense canopy above. The fo

outes to water, to game trails, to hiding places-but i

fish she'd seen in a stream. The air there had felt wrong then, too, but the water had been cl

was ne

g of water, deeper and fuller than the usual streams. A quiet

a woven ceiling, letting only a few thin shafts of light through. At the center lay a pool o

t fresh-cold, but old-cold,

he edge of the cleari

oice barely louder tha

st didn'

arel

ething

between her shoulders, as if eyes pressed into her skin. She scanne

ing

herself. "You're tired.

ed to the edge

er

es long and narrow, with fine pale lines running along their lengths. No fl

st

through her l

oping gently down. She crouched, testing it before putting her full weight forward. One slip,

ant carelessly. That was how you lost it for future use. She dug gently around its

er satchel, something rippled

s head sn

t rings spreading outward from the center, as if something had disturbed

ightened o

ne after another,

too dark and too still for that. Something pale and shifting, shapes that weren't quite there when she tr

eath s

, the surface

t. The silence around her remained thick and heavy, but nothing lunged

beat began to eas

hispered under her breat

d the rest of the frost root she needed. Every time the surfa

ral plants, she stood and

r until the trees thickened again and

n trip fe

now, every step sent aches through her muscles. But the weigh

a branch snapp

spear raised, eyes sc

ared back at her

had somehow dragged himself out here. The eyes w

pped forward, and she

lert. Its thin legs quivered slight

ered her spe

angle, the exact strength needed. Meat would

, burning with fever on her

she said

s, then bounded away, va

er grip on her spe

d. Afternoon shadows stretched long across the courtyard

usual corner. Didn't

straigh

coals, but from the heat radiating off the wolf's body. The air

beside him and pressed her h

ing. Still

art was st

whispered. "

cus. She laid the frost-root plants out on the floor, separating leaves fro

, grimacing at the sharp, cold bitt

" she mutter

pale pulp, then mixed it with a small amount of water to thin it. The smell

ith her fingers and gently

moment, a flicker of instinctive fear jolted through he

didn'

s the paste aga

" she urg

oment, nothi

at worked in

at a time. Some dribbled out the side of his mouth, staining hi

e told him. "Not after frost root.

ar tw

and waited,

t a few more small pieces of wood. The light from the high gap shifted as th

ully awake for long after everything she'd done. Each time she cau

s side, fingers tangled in his fur, as if

thing ha

, but... sl

gave a cautious

The heat was still high, but less like a furnace and

loosening muscles she hadn't

urmured. "You figh

n't answer-n

s eyes

clouded with pain and exhaustion. Then,

artbeats, Jackli

earful, wild, curious, dead. Eyes that r

re not l

g keen and aware, as if a mind behind them was taking in everything-her face, her expres

in pri

looking at me like

blinked

t for a moment, to he

ck to h

ne swa

," she said, so

eath. More like a low, rough exhale that carried a weight

r own hope, echoing in th

ething settled

der silk, tugged taut

ship. Not

gnit

ng away only to throw another piece

pped around her like a blanket-heavy, insistent. Her body, final

hand somehow finding its way

she felt his chest rise beneath her

ano

ano

ugh her mind before sleep claimed

t let

ws lengthened. Somewhere in the distance, someth

g and beside a small, stubborn fire, a girl who had never kn

r and wiser than eit

ng had

ld rem