Luna raced through the forest, her heart pounding like a drum inside her.
All the time, the same thought thrummed inside her.
Not again, not again, not again.
It seemed like every other day that she had this dream.
Behind her, as always, was a wolf. It was massive and fully black, its eyes the only gleaming announcement of its presence. Its fur melted and merged with the night like a shadow, or a specter, sent for one purpose and one purpose only.
Blood.
And yet, even though her heart thrummed with terror, this dream was also the only time she felt truly free.
Every other time she ran through the forest, her dress was snagged on the roots and small plants that grew on the path, dirtying it far before she ever got where she was going, which in turn led to her father scolding her.
Nervous but needing to know, Luna glanced down.
When she did, her startled laugh rang through the forest. She wasn't wearing a torn dress, as she had feared. Instead, she wore a pair of thick, traveling breeches, with a tunic above.
Her fencing outfit. But even fencing couldn't save her from her father's expectations, so when she was being trained in fencing, she took on another persona. There, she was the elusive king's son, who cared only for the defense of the kingdom. He spent all his days training, and never attended parties, especially not if his sister was there.
Luna stopped.
Here it was, the end of the dream.
Before her rose a massive wall of white stone. She had run into the base of a cliff.
Even though she remembered every single vine and tree on the way here, she always ended up on this path.
And there, prowling in front of the cliff, were a group of wolves, more than she could easily count in the moment.
Luna closed her eyes, expecting to feel the phantom pain of their teeth tearing into her flesh.
But that didn't happen, not this time.
Confused, Luna opened her eyes.
And she froze.
There stood the black wolf.
Now that she could see it properly, it really was massive. Its shoulders towered at about the level of her head, its own titanic muzzle tilting down to eye her.
Her breath caught.
In all her life, no jewel, no other woman, not her mother the queen, not even herself, the princess of Alaxia, shone as brightly as this wolf's eyes. They mesmerized her, and she didn't even resist as it paced forward and pinned her down with one great paw.
It leaned down, its hot breath washing over her, and she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes even as it opened its mouth.
Luna woke up with a shiver.
It wasn't exactly an unpleasant dream, not anymore, with that beautiful wolf standing right in front of her at the end. But still, something primal inside her stirred.
She was no longer sure whether it was fear that drove her heart to beat against her ribcage as though trying to escape, or something else.
"Mistress, it is time to prepare for the banquet."
The call came from the direction of the door.
That was one of the servants, Jake, unless she missed her guess. And that was doubtful at best. Jake had a very distinctive voice. It was deep and powerful and rumbled in his chest like a bear's call.
She had overheard some maids gossiping about it a few times. They would say that they didn't even care if he was small with a voice like that.
Luna stood mechanically and called back, "I will prepare myself."
She didn't feel like letting anyone else into the room right now. She wasn't sure what they would see, and as the only princess of Alaxia, she had to be perfect at all times, even in front of her own servants.
Her father might be angry with her, but he wouldn't rebuke her, because he understood her drive. Even though her mother had instated it when she was young, Luna understood the truth as well as her father did.
A princess is perfection. That was an undeniable truth. And if she wasn't that, then she was nothing.
And if she was nothing, she had no doubt what her fate would be.
There was a reason why she didn't have any sisters.