A NEW HOPE

Someone knocked on the carriage. To his surprise, he heard the voice of his captain of the guards, "All clear now, Mr Lion. Lord Wolfgang sent us help."

Since this was the Captain of his guards - the experienced and hardworking soldier all though the past half year of traveling the continent, Dan would not usually be suspicious, but why did the captain sound unusually tense? Did his King decide to expedite his death? Did he misjudge the situation? Perhaps his King had never meant for him to step foot into the Green Packlands. Maybe the Kind had realized the moment Dan stepped into the dark forests, he would have lost his quarry?

"Mr Lion?" The captain knocked again, he sounded concerned now, "Are you alright? Mr Lion? May I open the door? Please don't shoot."

Dan quickly snapped out of it, "Yes, please do, Captain."

He had a gun and sword on him, but he was a diplomat, not a soldier. It would be best to step out and access the situation.

To his surprise (yet again), the situation was exactly as the Captain had reported. Lord Wolfgang had just reached Gate City yesterday. When he saw Dan on the news distributing care packages to the Minor Packs in the Grey Lands, he sent a squadron of his own men out to escort Dan and his entourage into Gate City.

The captain was nervous because of the squadron of lycan private soldiers surrounding them. Dan was sure that his guards were some of the best in the King's service, but they were definitely overwhelmed by the sheer presence of warrior wolves.

Pack warriors were truly a terrifying existence. It was a good thing too and the first time Dan had not lost a single man after an ambush.

"Thank you." Dan made a polite bow, "For coming to our rescue in such a timely manner."

"Don't mention it." The Lycan Captain answered without dismounting from his horse.

Lord Wolfgang's private army was truly a marvel - navy blue ceremonial jackets and large white horses, but what made them truly stand out was their cold and haughty bearing - every single one of the warriors wore their pride like their mantle. They certainly would not put their Lord to shame.

Dan should like to have the opportunity to exchange pointers with Lord Wolfgang, and then he remembered, he was not going to return to the Three Kingdoms, he would have no practical application for whatever insight he would glean from such a conversation.

They set back for Gate City with the additional escorts. It seemed that Wolfgang's men were no strangers to the local wolves, they had been waved through the check points without any inspection or question. Dan Lion couldn't help but notice that the Navy Blue ceremonial jackets of Lord Wolfgang's soldiers were the same blue as the Blue Demon Warrior jackets. Was that merely coincidental? Now that he was aware of Lord Wolfgang's special relationship with the Blue Alpha Sam, he was unable to shake off the little irregularities he observed.

As his carriage approached Gate City, Dan felt his stomach flutter. How strange! Shouldn't he be feeling more relaxed now that they were about to enter the safety of the city? With Wolfgang's men accompanying his, he highly doubt anyone would attack him now. Not even his King would make an attempt on his life in under such circumstance.

How strange it was to feel this sense of security! How surprising to experience this feeling in a foreign land, in the care of a man he only just met once.

"I told you not to add your own useless scenes!" I scolded.

"What's wrong?" Bell feigned innocence.

"Why is this starting to sound like a love story?" I narrowed my eyes at Bell.

"Isn't it supposed to be?" Bell asked.

"But you're making it sound like Dan was falling in love with Wolfgang!" I accused.

Bell smirked, "If that is so… better warn our Henri."

"Tell the story properly!" I ordered.

So, back to the story where Dan was contemplating the butterflies in his stomach:

When was the last time he felt nervous like this? As the carriages and horses came into the glass and metal world of Gate City, the traffic slowed and pedestrians stopped along the pavements to take photos and watch the processional march. It was a surprisingly smooth transition and although this wasn't Dan's first visit to Gate City, he couldn't help but feel impressed at its modern understated lines, clean streets, and the everyday people - its late in winter now, and the everyday people wandered up and down the shops, all of them were dressed properly for the cold, many of them carried shopping bags… it was a world where commoners lived like nobles. It was a world that Dan could only watch go by from his carriage.

One day… would the people of the Three Kingdoms also live in such…security. It was that word again.

Some children waved as they passed and to Dan's surprise, Wolfgang's men lifted their hands to return it. It was a very brief lift of the hand, and their face, from where Dan could see as they turned to glance at the children were as cold and impassive as before, but the small gesture surprised him nevertheless. His men on the other hand, completely ignored the civilians. This was how they were trained.

The children waved more wildly and shouted, "Our Loyalty to the Alpha Henri!"

Why in the world? Could they not see that these were not Alpha Henri's Blue Demon Warriors? Except for the color of the jackets, the unform was completely different. The children kept shouting, and Dan realized why - four Blue Demon Warriors on motorbikes had joined their procession since the last check point. Dan had understood that it was to guide their horses and carriages safely through the city traffic, but at the children's shout, one of the Blue Demons shouted back, "Yo!"

And then threw a handful of candy towards the children. The children squealed and jumped down from their perch on a street bench to pick up their reward.

This happened again around the next intersection. When it did, none of the passing adults would seem even a bit surprised at the candy being thrown from the street. Some would turn to watch and smile though. What a peculiar custom. He did not seen it during his previous visits.

What a surprising world! Dan leaned back to take a deep breath. It seemed that nothing would be as expected.He would be arriving at the Langston hotel soon. Lord Wolfgang would meet him there. Dan waited and tried to still the butterflies. He had to keep his head in the game. Lord Wolfgang had been treating him with utmost courtesy. He understood lycans were very considerate hosts, but he also understood that everything would come with a cost.

And with lycans, many of their customary interactions between host and guest were unspoken. Pups learned the social cues from a very young age, and everything from the inflection of their growl to the flashing of teeth, be in in jest or anger, would easily be overlooked by a human. Feelings escalated quickly too. They were very instinctive people which would have been an advantage to humans during negotiation except that the human would have to think very quickly and betray nothing.

This was next to impossible. Even stiffening so as not to betray a feeling was a betrayal of an attempt to hide the feeling. Lies would lead the negotiations to a complete dead end. Loyalty was gold. The Alpha was absolute. It was altogether a very different world view, but Dan had gained experiences beyond his age. He was confident that this trip would definitely create useful connections for the Three Kingdoms… oh wait, that life would soon be over for him.

Dan watched as his carriage pulled up to the Langston and suddenly had a lightbulb moment - what if he escaped to Gate City? He was moderately sure his special connections at Silver Mountain might be able to buy him viable IDs and VISAS. He could buy a new identity and "resurrect" from his fake death to a new life in this place.

He could work among the humans here, and walk along the streets. It would be heaven.

Hm, he probably should consider his options in procuring those identity papers more carefully. Would it be better to obtain residency papers through a sponsor?

Although he had no concrete steps to achieving this, legitimate papers would definitely be worth the trouble. But how was a dead man to receive new papers?

He should revise the latest Green Packlands immigration laws and regulations. He was sure there were asylum rules - the entire Princess Town was famed for that. Moon Bell had one of the most progressive anti-slavery laws FOR WOLVES, but Dan would look for the exception to the rule. He was very resourceful like that.

As this new hope dawned upon him, it was as if his weariness had melted away somewhat. This was it. This was his chance, his one shining chance to step out of his carriage and wander the streets on his own two feet. To be free to live a quiet and ordinary life.

Dan had never wanted anything more in his life.

His carriage door opened and he was immediately greeted by a uniformed doorman, "Welcome to the Langston, sir."