She looked up at the man, er..., wolf? wolfman? she didn't know. The one with the silvery fur, and now the silvery blonde guy standing in front of her.
Instinctively, she cradled her bloodied arm against her as she shrunk back. He had called her his Queen, whatever that meant, and was looking at like she was the strange one here.
The image of the wolf trying to kill her flashed back in her mind, and she took another step back, her breaths coming faster. She didn't want him to look at her at all.
The second wolf, the brown one, who had now changed to the brown haired guy had an annoyed look on his face.
Looking at her, he asked, "Who sent you?"
"..." She could only look helplessly.
He grew even more irritated, "You couldn't have entered these grounds yourself," He looked at her from head to toe, unimpressed, before he grunted again, "Who are you?"
Harper didn't know whether to be affronted or cautious.
"Excuse me?!" Her anger won out. She had had a rough day. "And who are you to ask me anything? AND that after your friend here tried to maul me to 𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘏!"
The man looked shocked. H ehad not expected her to respond. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
He shut it closed after the black-haired guy, the one who she was now beginning to think was a wolf himself let out a snigger.
"Ooh, the trespasser has fire." The black haired guy was the one this time. He sauntered a few steps closer, before she remembered herself, and her pain.
She stumbled back, a cry escaping her as she moved her arm.
This drew the attention of the brown-haired guy, who let out an annoyed sigh, before approaching her swiftly. She tried to evade his touch, but he pulled her hand away and looked at the wound.
He hissed at the punctures in her skin.
"You will need healing." He directed at the white-haired man, "You know we do not actually draw blood on the trial, Elyan."
"Sorry brother." He didn't look apologetic at all, as he too walked over to her.
The black haired guy raised from leaning against the tree, and uncrossed his arms as he too joined them all.
The three of them were too close. She tried pulling her arm back, but the man didn't let go.
"Ooh, you sure got her good, brother." The black-haired guy chuckled at the blonde man, Elyan.
"Shut it, Kael. She interrupted the hunt. We can just let it be..."
"You might be right." The black-haired man, "It may just heal on its own."
"No." It was the brown wolf. The other two looked at him when he spoke again, "We can't take the risk. If she is what we all think..."
They looked at her, as if she knew what they were talking about.
"Let's take her to the healers, Sorien."
Ignoring her further attempts to free her arm, the brown-haired guy, Sorien, pulled her along.
"Wha- Let me go!" Her words fell on deaf ears as they talked about all the nonsensical things.
She hit, and scratched. The final bite on Sorien's arm holding her made him look back, anger shining in his eyes.
He glowered at her. "Bite me again and see what happens."
She froze, scared.
//////////
The four of them had walked into a large area outside the forest, where there were many more people and tents spread across. There were guards and ordinary looking people, all busy and running on various errands as they walked in.
A hush had fallen, before a man quickly stepped forward and presented the three newcomers with a strange cloth each that they had tied around their hips and another lady had taken a hold of Harper and led her to a tent to the side.
She had left her with the nurse after one disgusted look, whispering something about 'desperate disgusting women.'
The nurse treating the wounds on Harper's arm applied an unknown ointment to the damaged skin, earning a hiss from her patient.
Harper tried not to stare too much at her. It was her! The same woman! Aside from the moon glow that she somehow didn't have, this was the woman the white wolf, Elyan was chasing, and the one who should have been hurt!
He had her in his jaws, for crying out loud!
"Go ahead." The woman said.
Harper looked at her, confused.
"You have a few questions. I'll see if I can answer."
Harper looked at her hesitantly. "I-you-I...It was you, in the forest, right?"
The nurse looked more amused than anything, "Yes..."
"Then how are you, you know, not...hurt?"
She looked around the woman's torso, checking for any sign that she might be hurt.
The nurse looked at her in disbelief. "Why, of course I wasn't hurt. It was only the trial. A pretend."
"...The trial...?"
She looked curiously at Harper.
"Hmmmmm"
"What?" Harper asked, as the woman wrapped bandages on her arm.
"Either you are pretending..." Chancing a glance, she focused back on her work, "Or you really don't know about the trial. The hunt"
Harper didn't say anything. The nurse continued.
"The trial is just a practice for the princes to make sure their moon relics, and their lunar powers were all in place, for their Hunt. It is a big event after all, only comes once in a generation." Her hand was completely covered now, from elbow to wrist. "One that you have interrupted."
The Hunt, princes? Harper was even more confused now.
"I...I don't understand...What is the Hunt?" Her throat was parched, what with all the running. She coughed quietly.
"Th-"
"Maerva! How is our thief?" Kael entered with a flourish, followed by Elyan and Sorien.
"Your Highness." The woman bowed and backed away.
Your 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?!
Kael looked triumphantly at the shocked expression on Harper's face as he turned towards her. Behind him, Sorien quietly dismissed the nurse with a nod.
Harper shook her head, focusing on the other part.
"A thief! I am not a thief." Her hoarse voice cracked, not lending enough credit to her words.
Sorien looked at Elyan, and motioned for him to the pitcher of water. Elyan nodded, and handed her a mug.
She nodded gratefully as she took a sip.
"That is one of the possible explanations, yes." Sorien nodded gravely.
"Tell him of your explanation, brother Sorien." Kael prodded excitedly. If he was not a prince, for that is what he was if the nurse Maerva's words were anything to go by, Harper was sure he would be rubbing his hands.
As it was, he settled for just clapping his hands once.
"Yes, yes, brother. Tell the woman" The white-blonde pronce, Elyan stared at her hatefully.
She diverted her eyes from his, pushing up her glasses as she looked at the ground.
"Hmm. She needs to rest. We will decide this later." Sorien said, as he directed his brothers out the tent. He stopped at the flaps, cast one last look at her as he too exited.
Harper let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. She looked at the bandages.
This had been going on too long to be a dream. Her hope of waking in her own home was dwindling.
//////////////////
The accomodation provided to her were very generous, as Harper got the impression that she was not all that welcome.
Still, they hadn't kicked her out in the middle of the night, near a forest to fend for herself. As she lay in the small mattress, looking out through the cut in the wall at the red moon outside, she wondered.
'Will I ever be able to go back?'
She suppressed the tears, and decided to sleep. She could think of it tomorrow.
Sighing, she turned her head.
𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!
Her eyes opened at the sound, though nothing was visible in the dark. She was about to call out when-
-mhmmmm!!!
A hand clasped on her mouth, muffling her. Another raised to a pair of lips on a face near hers.
"Shhhh."
She shrieked silently.