Safe and Sound

~Fender~

“Thanks God he didn’t buy you out. I know that he hates you since you became a werewolf, but I think he respects me. And I’m relieved that it seemed Ino didn’t think of anything else,” Frank told me about the horror thing he experienced before. Maybe if I was with him, I would have my whole body shaken like a vibrator.

We were in ‘The Tavern’, sitting together and drinking a glass of hot chocolate. Actually, Frank would prefer plasma juice rather than chocolate, but The Tavern didn’t sell plasma juice and it was forbidden to bring any food and beverages from outside. It was at dusk, we sat near the window glasses and Frank wasn’t disturbed by the sun light. I sipped my drink and exhaled.

“I wonder where Angelica is now,” I wondered.

Frank exhaled too, “My theory says that she’s with the alpha. If she’s free, she will return to her home, but she doesn’t. I believe that that alpha will release her again when the next full moon,” he explained.

I thought his theory was right. Frank was always right. He was so smart and his analytical thinking was always near perfect. Perhaps that’s why he was always more popular than me.

I saw him sipped his chocolate a little, pretended that he liked it. He thought something and for several seconds, we were quiet although our surrounding was not the same. Somehow, I could manage the noise around me then.

“Do you think I should believe in Norah? Thinking that she won’t tell Ino about me?” I asked, changed the topic.

His mimic changed as he changed what’s on his mind. He wrinkled his forehead a bit, “I think you should believe her. Hunter is a trustworthy fellow. You’re going to be safe and sound if you befriend with them. And from what I learned by the way she looks at you, I think she likes you, Fender. The conclusion is…she won’t betray you. If she wants to destroy you, she won’t postpone it. She will kill you from the first time she knows the truth. But she didn’t, right? Actually, she protected you and you should be grateful for that,” he said. Perhaps because he was very smart, he always explained it more when you asked him something. Frank was a very quiet person, but sometimes he could be very talkative.

I was relieved when Frank thought like that. I thought I was lucky that I have a pretty face so that Norah would like me and never hurt me. Am I too cocky and confident, I thought. But never mind as long as it didn’t hurt me.

“The thing that concerns me is what she said about your careless behavior. She knew because you were careless, Fender, and you must remember that. You’re lucky Ino was with me,” he blamed me.

“I told you I will change. I will be more careful. I don’t want Ino to know about me either. He will say that he’s definitely going to kill me just like he said to you that he wants to kill Angelica,” I said. “By the way, how about our next action to find Angelica?” I changed the topic again. I didn’t want to hear his preach again.

He sighed. It seemed that he forgot about it for a moment and suddenly remembered it again. He shook his head, “Do you have news from Carter Dale?’ he asked me back.

I raised my shoulder and showed a wondering face, “Why he should report anything to me? He will tell you first if he knows something,” I guessed.

“No, Fender. You’re his fellow werewolf. He’s going to trust you more. It’s our nature to trust our own kind more than the others,” he explained.

“Nope! He didn’t tell a thing,” I answered.

A bell dang when someone I knew opened the door. I just yelled out, calling his name and waving my hand high, “Hey, Hope!” I called. Frank turned his face to the direction where Hope, the odd fairy in my version, came from.

Hope smile widely, unlike Frank who seemed so difficult to give a wide smile to others. He walked toward us and bended like a fair knight, “Good greetings, my old friends,” just like usual, his words were very flowery, “How now?”

“Very well, Hope, and you may be well. What’s the occasion?” Frank asked with a polite way too.

“I’m just walking around, hoping to find something that brightens my heart. And ye?” he asked him back.

Frank suddenly stood up, “Please sit down first, my friend,” he offered.

Hope nodded with smile, “My pleasure,” he replied and sat, then Frank sat too after that. “Pardon, I do beseech you to tell me how that werewolf thing goes,” he asked, “In my wish that ‘tis shalt be better.”

“Have no worry, Hope. Fender is better off now,” Frank explained and I nodded.

Hope sighed with relieve, “The pleasure is mine to hear that.”

“My only problem is I have to keep this thing from Ino while that guy is in the same school with me,” I sighed and complained about myself. “I’m still hoping that you can give me a way to cure this thing. Perhaps, I have already adapted now. But deep in my heart, my friend, I want my old life back. I don’t have to hear every single noise around me, even a sound of water drops in my bathroom disturb my sleep.”

“Please accept my apology, Fender. Methinks I hath no idea anymore. I still remember what that sorcerer said, no cure to help thee,” Hope replied.

I just wished that he said otherwise, but wish was only a wish. There was nothing we could do. I was a werewolf, and I am until now. We saw each other for several seconds, perhaps thinking about something. Me? I was thinking about if I could ask Norah to be my girlfriend. But I thought it wasn’t a good idea. Everything needs time.

“So...” Hope hummed a bit after starting the conversation, “How’s the alpha?” he asked.

“No clue,” Frank answered, “We’ve been searching for the alpha since the beginning. Furthermore, the alpha kidnaps Mayor’s only daughter. She has also turned into a werewolf and ready to be released on the full moon. Therefore, we have to rescue the girl or perhaps there will be another victim again.”

Hope winced, thinking hard, “God, that was frightening. Thou must hast a very hard time like swimming in the river of dread. I wish I could do thee a favor. Please, tell me, my friends. What could I do for ye?”

“For now, I think we don’t want to do anything about that stuff. I’m just fed up with this,” I complained.

But Hope smiled again. He took my right hand and held my palm with his two bare hands. I was a bit confused about what he was doing, but something magical suddenly happened. I felt something in my hand, although there was nothing in there before. Hope drew his hands back, and I saw a small medallion on my palm.

Wow, I just know that fairy also can do a magician trick, I was astonished.

“’Tis my medallion, a piece of my soul. Thou just hast to whisper on it, and I shalt come at my service,” he explained.

I was still confused and I looked at Frank.

“In short, you can call him every time, Fender. Every noble fairy has been blessed by the power to guard someone dear to them. It’s more effective than a cell phone anyway,” he said, perhaps joking on his last words.

I looked at Hope again, feeling touchy, “Wow, I’m flattered. Thanks anyway, Hope.”

“My pleasure,” he replied.

My cell phone suddenly rang. I quickly took it from my bag. When I saw the screen, I furrowed. I didn’t recognize the numbers. But I just took the call.

“Hello,” I greeted.

“Hi, Fender. This is Norah,” she said. Actually, I was a bit shocked that she knew my phone number and suddenly called me without any notice. Moreover, after all that happened to us.

I couldn’t speak my word freely, “I-I...hello, Norah.”

“Please, I need you to come to me. I will text you the address. Please come quickly as soon as possible. I need your help,” she said.

“Wha-what can I do for you, Norah?” I asked.

“Just come, Fender. I will wait you here,” then she cut off the call.

I just looked at Frank and raised my shoulder. But he suddenly spoke, “We’ll go. I’m curious.”

God, this is bad, I thought.

***

You know what address Norah texted me at that time? The Dale’s Mansion! I knew that it would be related to werewolf-hunting-or-something-like-that thing. Frank insisted to go there, meeting with Norah. He always said that he was curious even though I begged him not to come. Doesn’t he realize that his curiousness sometimes leads him to danger, I thought. He also scared me by saying Norah would hate me the most if I didn’t go there, so I decided to go. There was always no option for me.

After passing the old and broken gate, the three of us continued walking deeper to the mansion itself. My eyes were wandering around, hoping that I wouldn’t meet anything scary. How can they just act like they are walking in the school’s corridor and there’s nothing happened, I figured.

I walked behind Frank, holding his lower shirt tightly. I didn’t care if he said that it wasn’t comfortable to him. The scariest thing in my mind was…what Norah was going to do with me.

“What thou art thinking of this, Frank? Deep in my heart, I’m restless,” Hope said. I hoped he could convince Frank to go back.

Frank nodded, “We won’t know until we go there. I figure if we can take advantage from that hunter’s action.”

“Doesn’t anybody here understand my feelings?” I complained, still following behind Frank’s back.

They didn’t speak anymore until we finally reached the mansion and saw Norah with a big muscled guy who brought a dual sword on his back. I didn’t think that she would bring her fellow hunter. The guy was like a young adult with a manly face. He didn’t smile, looking at us just like looking at his prey.

Norah approached us with her faint smile. In her hands, she held her crossbow while she brought a true bow and a bunch of arrows on her back. “I know you will bring a company, but I didn’t know that there will be two. Well met, my friends.”

Hope bowed down and smiled, “’Tis a pleasure for me to meet a beautiful lady as thee. May God bless you with all greetings in the world, Milady.”

Norah widened her smile. She also bowed down like a princess, “The pleasure is mine, Milord. I don’t expect to meet one of the royals of The Rovals.”

“Please don’t mind me, Milady. I’m just a commoner,” Hope said.

“Don’t be, Milord! I can recognize you from your mother tongue. Despite your life as a commoner here, you’re still a royal,” she insisted, “So, my friends, thanks for meeting me here. First of all, please meet my brother Evan.”

The three of us and Evan didn’t speak anything. We just looked at each other for several seconds without any expression.

“I’m sure you all have already known why I ask you all here. It’s that alpha,” Norah explained.

I nodded, “I’ve figured.”

“So, what’s your plan, Norah?” Frank asked.

“He has the plan,” Norah answered.

Suddenly we all heard a movement from the second story of Dale’s Mansion. We saw a guy jumped off from the broken window. He walked approaching us with his calm but eerie expression. We actually know that someone was inside the house. I even recognized his smell.

Carter! That makes my feeling’s going worse than ever, I thought. We didn’t comment anything when he showed up.

Norah started the conversation again after several seconds we were caught by the silence, “We want to lure out the alpha,” she explained. Her expression was going tenser.

“Just like I’ve said to all of you, only Fender can call the alpha. Somehow, he’s already one of its packs,” Carter explained.

Just like I thought before, this thing is bad omen for me, I figured. I gulped, just hoping it couldn’t be any worse.

“How does he do that?” Frank asked.

“He has to turn, not completely but only half-shifted is enough,” Carter explained, “That way, he can call his maker.”

Frank’s eyes grew larger than before. He looked so upset, “Impossible! I won’t allow him to change. He can’t control his feral changing yet. That’s not worth the risk.”

“There’s no other option, Frank. We don’t know until when the alpha will show up. I’ve already talked to the founder families. It’s an alpha we’re facing, Frank. It’s not worth the risk if there’s another victim because we don’t act,” Norah replied, “That’s why I brought Carter Dale here, to make sure everything is okay.”

“Moreover,” Carter added, “We need to save Angelica immediately. Finding the alpha is our first step.”

Norah looked at me, the one who was silent and shaking. He walked toward me and saw me with her bright eyes, “We are depending on you, Fender.”

“I-I...I-I don’t...know, Norah. I just...think...what if the alpha doesn’t hear my call, or worse it even doesn’t care about me,” I speculated.

“It’s 50:50 chance, Fender. It’s up to you whether you do it or not,” Carter said, but his words like a force to me, like there was no other option.

I gulped again. I began to think fast. “So, if I want to do that, how can I turn?” I tried to speculate again.

Evan started to move toward me and seemed like a bad guy. “Let me do that.” When he stood right in front of me and I just looked at him with stupid face wondering what he would do to me, suddenly he punched me with his very big fists right in my face.

I moved backward unstably, feeling dizzy in my head. With a very upset face, I yelled to him, “What are you...” but he cut my words with his big jab right in my face again.

I saw he was grinning at me, and I was at the top of my madness. I felt my teeth began to grow larger until my mouth was full with my fangs. Fur was growing fast on my face and suddenly I felt so ugly at that time.

I thought he successfully made me turned.

His grin was wider and I was madder. I began to lose control but I could still remember what he said then, “I did it, right?”

I growled, then howling. Everybody seemed to move backwards but Evan. He eagerly wanted to fight me. I was out of control so my cowardice was gone somewhere and I wasn’t afraid even a little to fight him.

“So, what now? How can he manage to call his master while he loses control? He can’t do it on purpose!” Frank was worried and upset.

“You’re wrong, Frank,” Carter replied, “It’s our nature to not fighting alone. I’m sure he will call his fellow werewolf, his pack, it’s his only maker,” he said.

“We have to stop him, Carter, he will completely turn,” Frank was getting worrier.

Carter shook his head, “His anger is not enough to make him completely turn. He needs full moon, so please stop worrying!” he looked a bit upset with Frank and all his worries.

While they were waiting and talking about me, I was still growling and looking at them. My eyes turned gold, watching all my friends like facing an enemy. I could still think that it was not the best thing to be a bad guy, but even though I tried to resist my feelings and came back to my sense, my anger was over me.

“He doth not call his master. Methinks he’s going to attack us hither,” Hope warned them.

He was right. My cowardice was gone somewhere and my wolf overtook my body. I couldn’t do anything to stop myself. I run toward Evan because he was near to me. But his reflect was as sharp as other hunter. As I moved toward him, he quickly drew his dual sword.

We were going to have a clash, but suddenly Frank interfered.

He moved fast and pushed Evan until both of them clashed each other several meters from the previous spot. Frank held Evan’s hands tightly, while he tried to escape from Frank. They saw each other with anger.

“Don’t hurt him!” Frank warned.

“I’m just protecting myself. He’s going to attack me, you moron!” Evan replied.

I didn’t care about why they were fighting, I mean...I did care, but my wolf didn’t. My wolf was going to attack them while they were fighting and very vulnerable. But Hope knew that I was going to move again.

He casted a magic, but not using an incantation like a witch did. Fairy has a different method when they use their magic. It’s like a nature doesn’t have a will to resist their order.

Hope raised his right hand as high as his chest, and suddenly a circle of fire was created. The fire surrounded me. When I tried to jump and escape, the fire was getting bigger, preventing me from getting out from the circle.

I was panic...God, I mean my wolf was panic. In desperate, finally I howled, crying for help. That was a very long howl.

Norah suddenly yelled, “Roval, stop the fire!” and when the fire finally gone, she shot me with her crossbow right on to my shoulder.

I screamed, feeling the pain of my shoulder. I fell down and didn't move for a while. I tried to open my eyes and it started to be blur at the first time. I had just realized that an arrow was sticking on my shoulder. Suddenly I yelled, “God, don’t you know that this is hurt?” I complained.

Norah smiled a bit, “He’s back to his sense. Wow, he’s fast to come back to his sense. Do you think his howl will make it?”

“Soft,” Hope said. His face seemed so serious. Frank and Evan stopped fighting. They all looked at me, and I looked back at them with my ugly face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling so innocent.

They didn’t speak a word. Sometimes they looked around, sometimes they looked at me, and sometimes they looked at each other. For a minute I think, we were caught in a silence.

A wind was suddenly felt so eerie and cold, blowing the dried leaves away. I stood, seeing their face one by one who stared back at me. I then quickly pulled the arrow and threw it down. The pain was still annoyed me so.

“We’re lucky. It’s nearby,” Carter whispered.

The air was getting eerier and tenser. Frank, Carter, Norah, and Evan got close together, leaving me a few meters away from them. And you know what? My cowardice was back even though my appearance was still scary. With my fast movement, I clustered among them.

“The alpha, right?” I guessed, still confuse because I just got back to my sense.

I could hear a growl from the woods, and I thought everybody could hear it too. We saw to the same direction, a pair of red eyes popped out from the dark. So, the method is successful after all, I figured. I didn’t think that that alpha would be bought by my call.

A big beast like a wolf finally came out from the woods, revealing itself. Those red eyes stared at us with so much anger. It showed its big teeth inside its mouth. Evan and Norah were ready with their weapon.

“Does anybody have silver here?” Frank asked.

“Nope. I can’t use another weapon. These swords are my best, but unfortunately they’re not silver,” Evan replied.

“Stop worrying, Frank. Five versus one, we’re going to win,” Norah said confidently.

“Don’t underestimate it! It’s an alpha,” Carter whispered, “And don’t count Fender in. He can’t fight his own maker,” he then looked at Fender, “You! Stay away! Your role is over now. You’re only going to be a burden to us.”

Even though his words were annoying me, thinking me like I was the weakest among us, but I was glad. I’d prefer to stay away than facing that frightening beast. So, without thinking any further, I moved backwards until I was a bit far away from them. This time, I’d like to be a spectator, I thought.