Nicholas' Secret (2)

The royal librarian stared at the crown prince but then nodded without missing a beat. "I think that there are some old scrolls in the archives that are usually kept away from the royal library shelves which might help, Your Highness."

"Take me there," Nicholas frowned seriously. "I have some things that I'm asked to study in preparation for my coronation."

Were these things secrets that his father kept away from him?

"Follow me, Your Highness."

The royal library was a vast collection of books and titles far beyond any ordinary library outside of the palace and was closed to the general public. Some books were worth more than a single home of commoners because of how rare they were.

The one that Nicholas wanted to give to Sophie was something of a highly prized treasure. It was usually appreciated by those of younger years and those with a sense of adventure.

For now, the royal librarian and Nicholas reached the end of the library where there were some books that were collecting dust and even webs. It seemed like a place that was untouched by even those who cleaned regularly within the palace.

"This way, Your Highness." The librarian pulled out a specific book from the lowest shelf. A bookshelf suddenly moved towards the right and opened an opening deep into another room.

Nicholas shouldn't be surprised that there were hidden and secret rooms within the palace. Normally, royalty often wanted passageways away from the eyes of the public to roam about undetected or escape if the castle was sieged.

"How do you know about this?" Nicholas asked. He wasn't frightened or anything by the passage, but he was curious why an ordinary librarian knew this.

"I am the royal librarian, Your Highness." the librarian smiled meaningfully. "The answers that you seek possibly lie there, Your Highness."

"Thank you." Nicholas decided to trust them and stepped inside.

***

There were old records, scrolls, and other parchments that seemed to be around even before his own father became king. It was truly the real archive of the library, but Nicholas realized that things were kept here to even keep it a secret from the future generation.

Nicholas unfurled a long scroll and saw a proclamation that made his blood run cold.

"In the seventh year of the King's reign was this order for the entire kingdom. Those who are bitten by werewolves, or even wolves are immediately sentenced to death. If they do not die from the injuries, they will be stoned to death."

It was as if Nicholas realized something that was really problematic.

"These people are humans just like me. They didn't choose to be bitten but they are still killed," Nicholas muttered in frustration. He closed his eyes and sighed.

As Nicholas continued to read through the documents that caught his attention, the crown prince began to find records about people who were turned into werewolves.

Men and women who were given a bite from a werewolf were known to be stronger than the general populace.

"Regeneration... heightened senses beyond that of ordinary people… transformation," Nicholas muttered with a frown. Such individuals rose to great power and fame, beloved by the commoners for how they turned the war."

The prince already knew all about the beneficial strengths gained through his own experience.

It was one of the reasons why he often had to hide from his father to not arouse any suspicion about him changing into the thing that his father hated the most.

Nicholas's gaze scrolled down to the bottom of the text and the realization of why people like him were no longer around became obvious.

"Such occurrences of obtaining lycanthropy have led the commoners to revolt from their king because of their newfound powers. The previous kings and his loyal men sentenced all of them to death."

That made sense to Nicholas and he hated it. People in power hated it when others below them started to grow more powerful. So, the previous kings put an end to those afflicted by the lycan curse by killing them all.

So it wasn't strange that his father hated werewolves so much.

But would he really kill his son? Nicholas's mother did not want for them to actually test the king's resolve. So, she chose to hide Nicholas' condition from his own father. Nicholas wished that he had ways to actually rid himself of this condition.

"All of these are historical accounts and explanations of how a man changes once afflicted by this lycan condition. Is there no cure?" he asked the royal librarian curiously.

When Nicholas was about to give up and wondered if the royal librarian only wanted him to realize that there was no cure or that lycanthropy was something hated by the royal family, a small but thick notebook caught his attention.

On a whim, Nicholas flipped it open and realized that this was a book about herbs, poultices, and other healing salves as well as anti-poisons. There were instructions on how to remove the venom from snake fangs or use spider silk to recover one's strength.

"Hmm… maybe Sophie will find this useful?" Nicholas remembered a young Sophie using herbs to heal his injuries back then and he smiled at the memory.

However, a sudden thought jumped in Nicholas's mind and he quickly flipped through the pages. All of them were alphabetically arranged based on the type of disease and plant or herb name, so he searched through the contents.

Lycanthropy.

Werewolves are a dominant species in the world and are subdivided into hierarchical categories. Werewolves are capable of reproducing like most species, but they also have a way of increasing their numbers that do not involve procreation.

The Alpha of werewolves have the ability to transform another race into a werewolf and similar to a vampire, it is through biting and infecting another individual. However, most individuals might be opposed to this change and may seek out wolfsbane to treat their condition.

Nicholas heart pounded loudly.

"Ordinarily, wolfsbane acts as a deterrent and may kill a werewolf by hampering their regenerative abilities. However, during torture and interrogation of humans turned into werewolves, large consumption of the flower can also permanently revert the condition based on several batches."

This was it.

"Wolfsbane is normally grown in the borders of the kingdom to act as a field of protection against the werewolves. Notable locations are the cities, towns, and forests… One of the places where one could find wolfsbane is in the Blackwood forest in Hauntingen."

Wasn't that Sophie's hometown?

So, apparently, Hauntingen was filled with wolfsbane!

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From Missrealitybites:

If you guessed that Nicholas was bitten by a werewolf and is now part of them, YOU ARE RIGHT!