Chapter 17 Breakthrough

UNEDITED-

Neutral POV:

Annabelle for once felt almost completely free, her heart beating a million miles per hour as the the wind tussled through her feathers, it seemed to wash the worry away.. for now.

She had ran to the top of a cliff, slowing standing up on her hind legs as she neared the edge, taking in every little detail, she looked up to the stars. Her warm breath turned to steam in the cold wind.

Whilst looking up to the moon she felt a warmth that somehow even the sun couldn't give.

This view was breathtaking. The camps were all hidden by the canopy of the trees so who knows how many are really out there. By now they have figured out various ways to mask their scent. To stay safe.

For Annabelle, this last month has been the worst, best, most confusing time of her life. She gazed up to the moon thinking of her father. Maybe he was really dead but now she would never know, her mind travelled back through her memories.. to the various beatings she endured at the hand of her mother. There was no one else to miss except Gerald and the head chef Christopher. She went from feeling peace to feeling anguish. The loss of her old life finally caught up to her, but mainly it was the loss of her father. If she were in her human form she would have cried, but she isn't.

Almost every instinct is new in this form, there are unknown signals being sent from the body to the brain then back to the body, being acted out instinctively. Before she knew it Annabelle was howling up at the moon in sorrow. Any wolf who heard it would have felt the aching sadness, the mourning of the wolf it belonged to.

This was enough for Annabelle. After what felt like screaming some of her pain away, she felt a slight shift in the atmosphere. Being caught up in her emotions she wasn't thinking about being in the middle of the woods, surrounded by danger.

Then she caught the scent of another wolf, they are close. It's a sweet smell, but musty. It's around here somewhere she thought. Still standing on the cliff squinting around. Then she saw it below her, walking slowly and silently out from the brush.

It's thick fur was a pristine white. It looks so out of place here against the dark background of the forest. It's hard to see clearly from this far away. The wolf glanced around, seemingly trying to look for something. Annabelle stood there just observing, then the white wolf lifted its head to meet her gaze.

Another whiff of the wolf reaching Annabelle's nose let her know this wolf is female.

Annabelles stomach dropped, twisting in knots, she became increasingly nervous but even more intrigued. The wolf's eyes had no pigment, as white as it's fur, slightly reflecting the different colours of the Moons aura, it was truly beautiful. They were locked on Annabelle's and neither of them seemed to want to make the first move.

A long 30/40 seconds passed before the white wolf turned on its heel and starting running away.

Annabelle didn't smell fear, so why was she running?.

Without hesitation Annabelle took two running strides and jumped forward straight off the cliff. It was only in mid air did she think about what a stupid, stupid idea this was.

If she had ran down the cliff, the wolf would be long gone, it's clearly using something to mask it's scent. In this form, instinct was almost completely in control. There was no time to rationalise. She felt the impact of the ground hit her feet, dropping to one knee, holding her body away from the ground with both hands. The ground around her slightly rippled from the impact. Annabelle just knew she felt the need to get closer, in her mind were no other thoughts.

Before she could process the fact she just jumped off a 100ft cliff. Annabelle stood up looking in the direction that the wolf had gone. There she was...not too far into the woods, watching Annabelle.

They were closer now, about 20ft away from each other, stuck in an unannounced staring match for the second time.

After 20 more seconds of this Annabelle had enough, she began approaching slowly in an attempt not to scare the wolf off. The wolf seemed pretty conflicted, looking back and forth between her exit and Annabelle. The gap became 10ft and the white wolf split. Annabelle went to chase her but something stopped her in her tracks.

A voice hummed in her head. "Please don't follow me!" A woman's soft voice begged.

'what the fuck?' Annabelle stopped shocked. 'She just spoke to me in my head? How is that even possible? I already have enough people in my head thank you very much!'.

Annabelle did as the voice asked... mostly because she had stopped for too long thinking about that voice in her head. It seemed now Annabelle was gaining control of her thoughts again.. and giving the white wolf a much needed head start.

'I'll find you another time snowflake' Annabelle sighed in her head at her own defeat, standing there watching the white dot disappear in the distance.

She had only came here to try an figure herself out. And now she has this mysterious wolf to figure out. What if it was a scout for the king?. Shit.

Annabelle thought about telling someone, but ended up rejecting that idea and opting for the...Add it to the pile of secrets in the corner plan that's working so well and hope for the best.

On getting nearer to camp Annabelle was stuck in quite a predicament. She didn't know how to...turn her wolf off?. She stood there trying to slow her uncontrollable panting. This is her first time changing back. She was begining to panic a little when she heard Leopold's voice. "Calm your mind Anna...breathe" It came as almost a whisper in the wind.

She did as she was told. Knowing that Leopold was with her when she needed him was like a safety net. It was all she needed to relax and finally shift back to her human form. Her feathers began to fall out, turning to dust as they hit the forest floor. Her body contorting and cracking back into its original state.

"Shit!" She cursed out loud at the realisation that she had shredded all her clothes during the transformation. She hadn't thought about taking them off and stashing them. Now she has to go through camp completely naked.

It's still dark hopefully no one is out. There is a guard on duty at the gate, of course there is. She cursed again at herself for forgetting before circling, looking for a different way inside.

She skulked around the wooden barrier before finding the best way in was climbing up a tree that had grown close the the fence. If she got high enough, she could simply drop down from the tree branch that's leaning over the fence and hopefully not run into anyone.

-----

For once, luck was on Annabelle's side. She managed to slip past a couple of people who had obviously been drinking around the campfire. Annabelle could smell the alcohol and smoke on their clothing. She hid behind a wooden barrel by one of the huts, waiting for them to pass.

As they did she slipped out and ran the short distance left to her hut.

Once inside she threw a baggy black t-shirt over her head an sat on her bed unravelling her thoughts. Who was that white wolf? Where did she come from?.

As Annabelle laid there she thought back to her past again.. to the days when everything was decided for her. "Father.." Annabelle sighed as she sat up to speak "I know you can't hear me I just.. I miss you.." She paused again wiping a tear away.. "I wish I could be strong.. and good.. like you were.. I wish you were here. I don't know why the chest never opened for you.. maybe it should have, maybe you could have made a difference here.. but as always.." she imitated her father.. 'we don't get a choice in what life throws our way.. we can only decide how we deal with it'.." she shook her head and chuckled, he is gone, one way or another she will never see him again. But his memory will be alive for as long as Annabelle is. His teachings, his wisdom.. even his sarcasm. This brought Annabelle some comfort.. though nothing could ever match the real thing.

NOTES-

Thank you for reading!

I appreciate your time.. feel free to leave a comment. I'm happy to be corrected if I misspell, or sometimes I read back through and there is a whole word that isn't supposed to be there, and it will be a random ass word aswell. Messes up the whole vibe I'm trying to set out haha.