Bleak thoughts

"This isn't necessary..." The prince was rudely awoken by someone changing his rope bindings for chains.

"You had almost sawed through the ropes overnight even while my guards were watching you. Quite clever." Livie was in an elegant long blue dress, looking exceptionally well rested.

The woman stood in stark contrast with the wolf that was roughly putting the scientist's hands in chains. Renat tried to resist, even pulling himself free and attempting to run. Unfortunately, there were too many of the wolves, and he was apprehended before he could make it more than a few steps.

"Tsk! I had thought a night out in the open would have brought some sense to you. I can see I was quite mistaken." Livie shook her head in disapproval.

"You are keeping me captive! What sense would you like me to have gotten?" Renat could feel anger welling up inside him. He inhaled deeply to put out the fire burning in his belly.

"Do you not feel the power coursing through you? It was a chilly night last night. Did you feel the cold?" Livie glanced at her assistant, who had appeared from somewhere with a writing utensil and parchment .

Renat thought for a moment. He had been so intent on breaking through the massive ropes, that the had not noticed the temperature.

They were very far north and also very high up. It had to be very cold even now and yet he felt warm beneath his fur. He shook his head in answer to her question.

"And do you feel exhausted from having your arms pulled tight against a tree? I don't imagine you got a lot of sleep."

The scientist found he was only a little tired when he should be exhausted. It was curious now that he thought about it. He had only needed to take brief rests between his escape attempts. Even now, with his heightened senses and enhanced strength, he felt like he could take on the world. A wealth of power was at his fingertips.

With an army of such beings….

Livie could see that she had made her point. "I have allowed you to become something greater than yourself, don't you see? If you can convince your wife of the advantage of such power, I'm sure we can usher in a whole new era…"

Renat cut her off. "Greater than myself?! You have turned me into an abomination! I'm no longer human. How can you possibly say that this…this defilement of nature is a gift?"

After letting him say his peace, Livie pursed her lips. "It is a gift. You will see it soon enough. Until then, I think it is time to move you to a more secure location." With Renat's shackles in place, Livie motioned for the wolves on either side to follow her.

They pulled at the lanky brown wolf's chains and dragged Renat toward the center of the temporary settlement. There were even more wolves, a few lizards--possibly the ones that had been swept away with him in the flood--some humans and ...

"Oh!" Renat saw some creatures which brought fear into his heart.

Although he was much stronger now than he had ever been as a human, he did not think that he would ever have a chance against the behemoths before him. They were at least one and a half times as tall as he was and looked both angry and hungry. One of them was ripping apart the carcass of some long dead animal in a frenzied feast. He watched in horror as one of the others looked at him with big, empty eyes.

"What are they?!?" he gasped.

"Failures. They can still understand what is required, but I do not think their mind made it completely through the process. It is best not to engage them," Livie said gravely. Her pleasant expression was only gone for a moment before being replaced by an even more dazzling smile. "Isn't it nice that you waited to transform. By the time your wife makes the change, we will have made even more improvements, I am sure!"

The scientist gulped. 'They want to harm Mairwen!' "The princess will never agree to such a thing..." he said knowing full well it would make no difference.

"Give it time, Prince Renat. You'll be singing a different tune." Livie brushed her silky hair behind her shoulders. Renat noticed it was down today. Was she trying to impress him?

In the center of the tents, a tree like the one Renat had been chained to overnight was growing in spite of the strange beings that surrounded it. The only difference was that this trunk did not have a giant chunk taken out of it by an incensed wolf.

The wolfish guards attached the prince's heavy chains to the tree and then retreated to see if they would hold. The prince tugged at them to prove he would stay put, but not as hard as he possibly could. That would be an experiment for when no one was looking.

Satisfied, Livie placed the timid Ami to watch him and dismissed everyone else. "Tell the girl if you need anything," she told the prince. "I do not want my guest to be lacking."

The lovely woman walked away to attract the young wolf's attention to her more attractive features, but he blatantly ignored her. That is, until a disturbance came running towards her in the form of a breathless Hadley.

"Collyn is here," she announced to the noblewoman.

"Who?" Livie thought for a moment until she saw the wolf with two different colored eyes approach and tilt his head out of respect. "Ah, yes. One of my brother's friends. I remember. How are you liking your new powers?"

"Very well, my lady, better than I could have dreamed," Collyn's speech was crisp yet flowery.

Renat felt the voice was familiar, and coupled with the mismatched eyes, the scientist recognized the wolf. If he remembered correctly, Collyn was a son of a nobleman who had been booted from the military for ungentlemanly conduct.

Having nowhere else to go and no real money to his name, Collyn had joined the University as a researcher over a year prior. However, he had not made the move to Valiant, and Renat had nearly forgotten all about him.

'Taran must have recruited him from the University…' It was a chilling thought to think that the charming man who Renat had considered a friend had actually been gathering an army to kill his wife's family—his family.

Coming back quickly from his thoughts, the brown wolf listened as Collyn relayed the events at the palace. The ferocity of the murder of Velia brought a smile to Livie's face.

"Good. That little wench went too far when she tried to make a claim on my father. He will be very glad she is no longer a problem." The well-born lady was far too happy about her supposed half-sister's demise, but her attention was quickly shifted as the large grey wolf continued his report.

"The Empress and Prince Colvyr are in Oblivion. Velia told me herself before she died. She thought it would save her." Collyn knew his audience well; he received a delighted cackle from the gorgeous noblewoman.

"Ah I can just picture her despair. So delightful!" The excitement in her voice was so similar to when she had watched Renat's painful transformation that it sent a chill down his spine.

'She is insane!'

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Livie eyed Renat warily.

For a moment he was worried that she had read his thoughts. "Excuse me?"

"Did the Empress come with you to Valiant?" Livie asked directly.

"No!" The prince flatly denied the claim.

"You mean to tell me that you are here without any other members of the royal family? I don't believe it!" The woman in the blue dress shook her head. "Please, Your Highness. I am no fool."

"Then why did you ask?" Renat's eyes narrowed, the woman was toying with him and he could feel it. The anger began to boil in his belly.

"I was merely curious how willing you were to lie, that's all." Livie turned her back of the prisoner and reached up to stroke Collyn's cheek. "Have you told my brother?"

"I sent him a message before leaving Valiant," the grey wolf confirmed.

"Then we should be getting word from him any time now, if he isn't being too lazy reading his messages." Livie clicked her tongue in exasperation. "Was he a sloth at the University or did he actually apply himself…no, don't answer that, I'll be upset either way…"

"My Lady!" Someone brought the woman a large contraption that resembled an elven message ball.

Renat knew immediately that it was Yumeto's handiwork.

Livie looked at the message. "Taran says to attack and extinguish the Empress and little royal. Looks like we have ourselves a battle!"

The bloodthirsty creatures all began to become restless, ready for action.

Livie played to the growing crowd. "Begin preparations! We will attack as soon as the waters recede. The Duchess, the Empress and all in the manor will die by our hands!"

"No!" Renat pulled against the chains. Unfortunately they held firm.

Unbothered by Renat's plea, Livie turned her back on the brown wolf and stroked Collyn's furry cheek. "For now, come with me to my tent and tell me more of Velia's demise. I want to hear every delicious detail."

With that, the group around Renat dispersed, leaving him only with the timid Ami and his thoughts to keep him company. They were bleak thoughts indeed.