Riyan awoken, startled and bewildered. His last conscious memories consisted of the white wolf, a blinding light, and the smell of soggy leaves. He was no longer on the floor of the Forsaken Woods, but lying on fresh, soft sheets.

Riyan sat up and looked around, it must of been midday, the sun’s rays were peeking through the curtains of a window nearby. There were books upon books spewed everywhere, many were dusty while others were in a different language that were barely even legible. The ceiling resembled some sort of celestial globe, he noticed Mars immediately as he possessed the heart of Mars and channeled his magic via the planet.

On another desk, there was quite an arrangement of magic globes as well was brightly-colored rocks of all sorts and sizes. Where was he?

Just as he wondered, a girl with radiant white and orange hair enters the room. Her piercing blue eyes immediately met his. Riyan recognized her immediately. Alyssa.

It had been a while since he had last seen her, but she was as breathtaking as ever.

She approaches him and hands him a flask filled with blood, then immediately slaps him.

Riyan wondered why Alyssa was so upset with him. It was true that he left Arcadia unattended, but that matter didn’t involve her.

“I’m sorry,” Riyan says, sternly.

“You think a ‘sorry’ will suffice for what you did to me?” Alyssa responds, angrily.

“That’s the thing, I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be sorry about?” he asks her, clearly confused.

Alyssa goes quiet. Her young days of longing to be by his side had turned out to be unrequited. She quickly hides the markings on her upper-arm, but Riyan saw what it was. She had gotten his named tattooed on her.

Riyan casually coughs and changes the subject, “How did you know I was going to need blood when I awoken?”

“The dead. They whisper about everything.” And it was true, Alyssa had been born with a veil, she could hear them clearly.

Riyan stares at her more.

“I have always been able to hear them, I just never told you about it. I mean… I probably would have if you stuck around.” Alyssa spoke again in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Is that why you always wore headphones and listened to that racket so loudly?”

“It’s not ‘racket’ if it drowns out the things you don’t want to hear. Anyway,” she continues on, “what were you doing, face-down in the woods? Doesn’t sunlight hurt you nowadays?”

“I– um, got into a fight. With a werewolf, unexpectedly. Then, I was hit by the princess and her horn, I never knew she would be capable of that!”

“YOU ran into Princess Vienna?? And again, what about the sunlight??” Alyssa asks very loudly.

“It wasn’t intentional, I was resolving an issue with someone… else. I normally have a spell conjured to protect me from the sun, but seeing as I was unconscious… Thanks for saving me…” Riyan goes quiet.

“This issue doesn’t sound resolved. What did you do.” Alyssa demanded, clearly ignoring his ‘thanks’.

“I will handle it. I just… have to find out where she went.”

“Where who went? I’m sorry, care to elaborate??”

“Alyssa, I have some things to deal with and it’s pretty urgent that I do so.”

“What did you do.” She repeated.

“I… may have turned a girl… an elf… into a vampire.”

“W-w-what…?? Why would you even do that…”

“I did not hesitate to change her. Her scent drove me crazy… I never thought of anything else but to make her mine… eternally. Most of the time, I have my vampirism in control… but not last night.” Riyan answers.

“S-so…” Alyssa begins to speak, “do you have feelings her now?…”

Riyan goes quiet, he wasn’t sure what his feelings were for Zephii exactly, but it was a yearning desire. He switched his thoughts to Alyssa, as an apprentice, he remembered their young days at Wayland. They had spent so much time together after all those magic courses, they were practically inseparable. How was he so oblivious to her feelings towards him?

He looks at Alyssa, her face was hard to read. She notices his stare and promptly turns her back to him as he comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her shoulders.

“I will resolve this and once it’s settled and if you’re still waiting for me, I will return to you,” Riyan whispers.

“You are the piece of me, I wish I didn’t need…” Alyssa thinks to herself, quietly.

It had been three days since Zephii lost consciousness, but it did not worry Riyan as he went through the same ordeal when he transitioned. He had left Zephii alone in the cottage because he knew and trusted this fact.

Zephii is stirred awake by an excruciating hunger, something she never experienced before, it tore her from the inside-out. As she began to panic, Riyan enters the cottage dragging in a dirty man with darting eyes. It was the middle of the night, all she could hear was his raspy breathing and fast heartbeat.

He throws the man at Zephii’s feet and says, “Eat.”

Riyan sees that she is bewildered as well as reluctant and speaks again, “Don’t worry, love, he’s a criminal. He deserves death more than anyone here.”

Riyan takes out a small, needle-like knife and jabs the man’s neck, blood starts oozing out as he cries out in pain.

The smell is intoxicating, Zephii reacts and goes directly for his jugular vein and begins to drink. She drinks until the man is lifeless, his cries were no longer heard. As she finishes, she had just killed a person without a second thought. She frightened herself, yet she did not feel guilty. Her transition was complete.

Riyan places his hand on her chin and lift up her head, he stares into her eyes.

“Peculiar… your eyes aren’t red like mine, but you’re exactly like me now.”

“…What do you mean ‘like you’?” Zephii mutters.

Riyan moves closer to her and begins to lick the remnant blood on her lips. She grabs his hand and pulls away.

“What’s wrong? I gave you the gift of immortality! You should be thanking me… not pushing me away. I made you so we could be together eternally.”

“Why do you think this was what I wanted? I had a life… I had love… I had a family! I don’t want to drink blood…”

Zephii rushes outside and past the magical barrier without a thought. A blur of white hair knocks her down and pins her.

A giant, white wolf stood on top of her as his red eyes pierced into hers. A werewolf. 

Riyan rushes to where Zephii is with Kimochi trotting behind him, he casts a spell against the wolf, but it did not work, it was then Riyan also realized that it was a werewolf. He lunges onto the wolf and knocks it off of Zephii. Kimochi hurries to Zephii’s side. She was luckily not bitten.

While Riyan and Chrom fought back and forth, a griffin lands down near Zephii with a beautiful rider on its back, her horn glowing as her pearlescent hair flowed magically behind her. She reaches out her hand to Zephii and pulls her onto the griffin’s back and they soar into the night.

While in Arcadia, King Varo announces the marriage arrangements to his daughter, Princess Vienna, interrupting her as she brushes her long, pearlescent and multi-colored hair. She turns to face him and reveals a magnificent horn on her forehead.

“But daddy…” Vienna pouts, she knew bargaining with her father would not work.

It was known that Vienna had already chosen her beloved Chrom when he took the cursed werewolf bite in order to protect her. Chrom would now disappear once a month while he transforms into a wolf and was as savage as most beasts are. He did not want to harm the citizens of Arcadia, especially not Vienna, so he would travel to the Forlorn Woods before the full moon rose with his valiant steed, a griffin named Hyperion, to keep him in check.

The king poked his daughter’s cheek and calmly says, “I understand your feelings for Chrom, but marrying the elven prince will greatly strengthen our nation. Will you at least entertain us by meeting with him? You are to travel to Knighton in three days to meet the Crown Prince Brink.”

Vienna pouts again, it was the first night Chrom would not be there for the night for her to cry to, his strong shoulders were usually there when she needed him. Tears streamed down her face as she left her father in her room as she rushes out.

It must not have been long since Chrom snuck off, he had mentioned that he would go and transform in the woods, a ways from Arcadia. Vienna sees a piebald stallion tied to a post nearby, the guard it belonged to must be in the pub nearby. She quietly approaches the stallion as it begins to startle, she quickly calms it down. She had a natural connection to horses because of her unicorn curse, all thanks to her matriarchal ancestry, a distant relative who stole a unicorn’s horn. The stallion neighs quietly and allows her to mount him, she rides  towards the Forlorn Woods, where she assumes Chrom has run off to.

It was dusk when Vienna arrived to the edge of the woods. She had visited it when she was a little girl and then again on the day Chrom was bitten. It was a lot eerier now that the sun was setting, the trees and howling wind were not as friendly. Something nearby snaps a tree branch and startles the stallion, he rears up out of fear and Vienna falls out of his saddle. The stallion darts off back towards Arcadia as a beast lets out a shrilling howl. The full moon had risen and Vienna was alone, she was frightened.

A massive white wolf appears out of the shadows, its teeth bearing as saliva drips from its mouth. Wolves normally had golden to brown eyes, but this one had the color that reminded her of garnet or even blood. The wolf let out a low growl as it approaches Vienna.

“Chrom, where are you??” Vienna manages to cry out.

At that moment, Hyperion lands down from the sky with a heavy ‘thud’. He roars and rears on his hind legs while his front talons swipe at the wolf menacingly. The wolf backs down and its snarl slowly fades as its eyes dilate.

Though she was still frightened, Vienna put out her hand towards the wolf and it responded by pressing his huge head against her hand. It was Chrom.

Vienna lets out a sigh of relief as she hugs him, her tears were flowing freely now. Chrom knelts down to allow Vienna to climb onto his back, he could not return to Arcadia in his current state, but he could not leave his beloved alone in the forest. He heads towards a cave, not too far from where he found her, they would need to stay there for the night. Hyperion followed them from above. Vienna felt safe now that she found Chrom. He was now not just her protector, but her wolf as well. 

As he laid down to rest, Vienna came to nuzzle next to him, his white fur was soft and he was so warm, she fell asleep quickly.

Chrom stirs awake softly and leaves the cave as Hyperion watches him go. The loyal steed knew to stay with the princess and to keep her safe.

He doesn’t notice, but Vienna watches him go.

Brink grudgingly makes it back to Knighton as the sun is setting. Kerberos lets out a low growl as the castle gates open for them to enter. Brink dismounts and heads into the castle where his mother, Queen Sura, and father, King Tiberius, were waiting for him.

Both of their faces were stern as their son approach them.

“Where have you been all day.” His father spoke quietly, it wasn’t even a question, but a statement.

“Father, I’ve been out looking for Zephii, she’s been missing since early this morning. I have not been able to find any trace of her…”

“Enough. I do not want to hear you speak of that girl’s name any longer. You are the crown prince of Knighton. Your mother and I have chosen a suitable wife for you, one that will greatly strengthen Knighton as well as gain us a powerful ally.”

“…A wife? I want to marry ZEPHII. Have I not expressed that enough??”

“Well, it seems lucky opportunity is in our favor as your… Zephii, is it, is now missing. What if she had run away? Tired of living her common life?”

Brink hated his father at this moment, his words that judged Zephii struck him like knives. Before he could voice his retaliation, his father spoke again.

“I am grounding you to your chambers. You will meet with your potential future wife in three days. She will arrive here as a guest and will be treated with the utmost manners. Her name is Vienna Risa Leitner.”

Brink mumbles something inaudible under his breath.

“I will warn you though, my son, she is from Arcadia, the human capital, but she is not just a normal human. Her maternal lineage has passed down the curse of the unicorn horn, I would advise you not to stare nor question the horn. It’s for your own good, son.” The King gives his son a tiny smirk and pats him on the shoulder as he exits the Crown Hall.

Brink slowly walks towards his private chambers, his spirit was defeated. Where was Zephii? Was she okay? Could he never be with her? Could he even possibly marry someone that he did not love? So many thoughts came to his mind, sleep seemed hours away.