Royalty and Rebellion

[TheCommander]

It was a cool, crisp night that had a slight breeze that lifted the fallen leaves of the trees that shrouded the kitchen palace exit and sent them spiraling off into the darkness. Aria let out a breath into the cold night that puffed out ahead of her.


"Are you ready Princess?" The soldier in front of her asked with a formal bow as he held his hand out to her. She hesitated a moment before lightly placing her small milk white skinned hand into his so he could guide her down the stairs and to the carriage that lay before them. She glanced back for a moment, letting the image of the castle she had known all her life and a small smirk rose across her lips but was smothered before anyone noticed it. Not that they would with all their heads bowed respectfully down from her eyes. The carriage door shut gently behind her as she sat on the lavishly decorated bench with pillows piling up around her.


She let out a huff and grabbed at the pins in her hair and pulled them roughly from her head, letting her unique hair fall to her shoulders. She was known as the Blood Princess, a beauty that knew no bounds with hair the colour of freshly blood stained snow or some crap like that. She didn't give a toss about beauty or status and it was like being caught in a trap as she was the princess, that was all that mattered in the world of royalty! The carriage pulled forward and she slouched against the pillows, oh if her parents could see her now they would have a heart-attack knowing she wasn't maintaining her royal appearance even beyond closed doors.


They would be meeting the squadron of soldiers at the back palace gates at the strike of midnight and off she would go to be married to some old ass royal bastard -ahem- emperor. Heavens help her soul.

 

[Tigress]

Fiery red gaze watched the long drive that the royal carriage would be arriving by soon enough, wondering what was taking them so long. They needed to leave here soon, before the moon reached its peak in the sky. The coal black horse beneath him snorted, stamping his hooves down on the ground impatiently. Felix cooed softly to it, petting the soft, thick mane with his metallic hand as he looked around again, sighing heavily and beginning to lightly tap the hook against his thigh. The large, dark and mysterious male was good at holding back the Wolf's urges, but it always became so much harder for him at the full moon, something that was a few mere nights away. He wanted this job over and down with.


There was a shrill whinny as his horse became restless, being answered by the horses drawing the royal carriage. He couldn't wait to be free of this job, to just be able to go home and relax without worrying about being hunted. But as the Captain, it was his duty to guard the princess, and he would do just that. He gave a polite nod towards the driver, turning his steed with a clatter of hooves so that he was walking next to the single carriage door, blocking the only way in and out.

 

[TheCommander]

Aria lifted her head as the sound of extra hooves joined the already steady clatter of the carriage, they were off. She listened for a while longer before falling into a subtle sleep. Dreams trapped her mind, dreams of running and wind whipping through her hair, no, fur? Howling up at the moon and closing her jaws around her prey. She woke when the carriage bumped against a large rock, she snarled, angry to be woken from her dream but caught herself and her face settled back into its standard composed look. She had been having these dreams more and more frequently since the night of her 17th birthday, the day she was married off to the neighboring countries emperor and with them came odd moments of time when she snarled or growled like a beast.


She opened the sliding window just a crack and asked with the airy waft voice of a princesses when they would be stopping for rest. Gods she hated that voice she had to put on, always having to seem like a damsel in distress when she did anything, hardly flattering.

 

[Tigress]

Felix had been silent throughout the ride, keeping up the cold facade of the captain he was supposed to. He wasn't supposed to show much emotion, instead needing to instill fear into the hearts of anyone who would even dare to consider harming the princess. Luckily, he was able to do that just with the fact that he had survived so many things that he shouldn't have, the scars and inhuman limbs proving that point. He looked down with a calm, blank expression on his face as the princess spoke before looking up again, holding onto the reins with his hook as he reached up to brush hair from his eyes. "A few more paces, milady. Once we reach the clearing, we'll be able to set up your camp" he explained in a simple, gentle voice.

 

[TheCommander]

Gentle and calm, the voice that had replied to her question was not that of a tough and bland soldier like she was used to. She cocked her head to the side, listening to the sounds around her, another unusual habit she had gained recently and waited for the carriage to slow. When it eventually did she felt a rush of relief, she was itching to get out of this dress and change into something a little more comfortable, the carriage stopped and the door opened, she was dressed just as she always was, hairpins perfectly in place like she hadn't moved the whole journey. She raised her fan across her face to properly conceal it, heavens forbid the soldiers knew what she looked like, the world would just simply explode. Sarcasm at its maximum. She stepped down gracefully from the carriage as if she were floating on air and moved out into the clearing.


"I would like to walk under the stars if you don't mind" she said casting her eyes away from the soldiers, the one thing she could not conceal was the fire that seemed to burn in the hot red of her eyes and thus she avoided eye contact. Without waiting for a reply she began her walk into the forest, she felt a calling when the moon rose and always liked to spend time below its heavy gaze whenever she could.

 

[Tigress]

Barking out the order to stop for camp, the captain dismounted his horse and opened the carriage door for the princess, quickly stepping back to let her pass. While others might have been curious to know what the princess looked like behind that fan, he remained seemingly emotionless, not really caring at all whether he got to see or not. What he was more concerned about was what was wrong with her. He sensed something was up with the way she had been acting in the carriage, and with how eager she had been to get out of the confined space and go for a walk. He raised his metal hand, about to stop her from walking before deciding better and turning to one of his men. "Walk with her majesty. Make sure no harm comes to her. Oh... And I will follow if I sense something is wrong" he growled slightly. The shorter blonde male saluted, accepting his duties before quickly trotting out after her.

 

[TheCommander]

The moon was at its peak as Aria wondered through the woods as far from the clearing as possible, she could hear the ungraceful footfalls of a soldier nearing her. She didn't know why exactly she wanted him to leave but she felt a snarl pull at her lips, " I need some time alone" she spoke a little more urgently than normal. When the soldier did not leave she cursed under her breath, he was only doing his job but she wanted him to leave right this moment. With a flash of blinding pain she doubled over with a gasp, her spine was on fire and her vision swam.


The soldier rushed over to help but as he neared he saw the princess's dress split down the back and white fur protruded. His eye widened and he stumbled back but whatever that thing was it lunged for him and he screamed.


Aria's vision was tainted red and she lunged at the soldier with a speed and strength unknown to her. She drew her lips back along fangs and snapped her jaws around his neck, ripping the scream from him in a savage pull. She growled as the warm blood dripped from her tongue and then launched herself into a run, heading further into the forest only instinct to lead her.

 

[Tigress]

Felix's bright, fiery amber eyes raised slightly at the sound of a scream that was quickly choked off. He grabbed the hilt of his sword out of instinct, a human trait he had picked up while forcing himself to behave more and more like a human than he wanted to. "You men stay here. Guard the camp. I'll go see what has happened" he barked out the command, racing out between the tall trees before stopping only at the sight of that torn, snow white dress the princess had been wearing. The male frowned, crouching down and running his fingers over the silky material before looking up and sniffing the air. Something was wrong, something strange was going on. So he forced himself to shift, enchanted armor seeming to vanish into thin air so that he didn't destroy it, and he began tearing through the trees, a slight limp seeming to show because of his paw that had been replaced with a hook. Red fur bristling and metallic limbs creaking slightly, he snapped his jaws shut.


The creature forced himself to slow down when he caught sight of a white creature, his scarred eyes widening slightly as he shifted back to human form before he was noticed. "A pureblood..." he breathed to himself, walking into her vision before bowing his head politely, no fear in his eyes. "Milday, can you hear me?"

 

[TheCommander]

The sound of someone chasing her made her stop and turn, lifting her head as she saw a human exit the woods, she didn't recognize him. She growled, ears turning flat back against her scull and her stance lowered into that of defense. She bared her teeth but the human seemed unafraid of her, something was off. She paused for a moment, sniffing the air and caught the scent of another like her, that meant danger with no pack to back her up. Her eyes glowed bright red as she launched herself at him, pinning him to the ground and teared at his leg with her teeth. Her jaws clamped down on metal and she roared in frustration at her failed attempts to harm the other.

 

[Tigress]

Giving a gasp as he was knocked to the ground, Felix just sat up slightly and pouted as he watched his metal leg getting destroyed. He reached out with both hands, roughly grabbing the other's muzzle and jerking her head up to look at him before offering her a smile. "You've destroyed my leg. Well done. But, Milady, I mean you no harm. I am a friend" he murmured, stroking that soft white fur underneath her muzzle, a weak spot for most werewolves that needed calming from their feral state. " You didn't know about this, did you... You're purely acting on instinct. I can help you learn all you need to know, even if I am not a pureblood" his voice was soft, showing no need to harm or attack her.

 

[TheCommander]

When something started to gently stroke under her muzzle she felt her mind calm and the red glow of her eyes faded to the normal, wine red that they usually were. She looked at the human as he spoke, the gentle lull of his voice suddenly making her very sleepy. She half closed her eyes and rolled onto her side but her giant head rested heavily on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. She felt safe. A low growl escaped her, she blinked in surprise before she realized it was not a growl but more of a purr. She gave a sleepy grin, flashing her large white teeth. Nestling her giant body close to the humans and letting herself flip into dreams.


After every muscle in her body relaxed her body shifted back to human form, her giant furred body fading away into her small and very naked one. She was no longer the picture of perfection, her two toned hair lay in tangles around her face and her back showed the scars crisscrossing across them but on her face there was the perfect look of a content, sleeping girl.

 

[Tigress]

"There we go... Just relax...." he cooed softly when he felt the heavy weight of her head against his chest and he chuckled, still petting the sleepy creature. It was good, knowing how to calm the violent beast that was a werewolf. He watched her as she fell asleep, a rather fond smile growing on his lips as the scar over his eye crinkled slightly, the blind, milky and unseeing thing seeming to show a slight happiness. He turned his amber gaze up towards the bright moon and sighed slightly before raising an eyebrow at the weight on his chest suddenly becoming a lot lighter. He glanced down, and his cheeks quickly flared into a bright blush.


Tugging his hook off of his stump of a wrist so that he would not harm her, Felix gingerly shifted her down so she was using his thigh as a pillow instead. This allowed him to tug off his leather chest plate and shoulder guards, then tugging off his long shirt to reveal a horribly scarred torso and arms, his metal hand creaking softly with each movement. He awkwardly moved to cover the royal woman with his shirt, keeping his bright gaze averted and only looking at her again once she was fully covered, giving a heavy sigh of relief. She was most likely not going to be very happy with the knowledge that he had seen her in her most vulnerable state, but there was nothing he could do about it. Replacing his chest plate and shoulder guards, he left only his scarred arms bared, his hook tied to his belt behind his sword. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to wake so they could return to the camp.

 

[TheCommander]

Aria dreamed of running like a wolf through the forest and ripping the throat of one of her new soldiers and attacking a man that ended up calming her crazed mind. She yawned when the sun of dawn pierced through the trees and hit her eyes. She was pleasantly warm and cuddled further against her heat source. After a moment her mind cleared from her daze and she went frozen. She was lying in the woods, in someone elses clothes, and on someone elses body.


Her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, oh dear. She turned slowly to face the person behind her, the man from her dreams. She shoved herself away from him as fast as she could, she was naked under a long shirt that obviously didn't belong to her. She looked wildly up at the guy, sure he was probably the hottest thing she had ever seen, scars included that ran down his arms and peaked out from behind his torso but that sure as hell doesn't excuse the situation. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, trying to grasp at her princess appearance she had to uphold before opening her mouth. "WHAT THE HELL?", sure that passed as princess, right?

 

[Tigress]

Felix opened his eyes when the royal woke and he looked at her before groaning as he struggled to climb to his feet thanks to his mauled metallic leg that was barely still in one piece, returning the hook onto his stump before folding his arms and looking at her with gentle eyes. "Good morning, Milady. I do apologize for the way you woke up." he said softly before yawning and stretching slightly, his back and shoulders popping slightly. "I am Felix, the Captain of your Royal Guard. Do you remember anything at all from last night, miss? Even if you think it was a dream, I can assure you that it wasn't" he said, gaze serious as he examined her face for her reactions. There was no doubt that he was going to be crapped on just for seeing her face, but that didn't matter to him at all. "Tell me what you remember. Or what you think you dreamed about. I need to see how intact your memory is after your first transition."

 

[TheCommander]

Aria looked at him wearily but he seemed to pose no threat, even with the hook. She huffed and sat down on the grass, feeling a little shaky but keeping her distance all the same. That dream? The one with the wolf?


"I...uuuuh..... remember running and blood, blood from a soldier" her fingers went to her lips and her eyes glazed over, " I killed him, didn't I? Well anyway too late to change that. I was running and then something was following me and I attacked but I can't remember anything but-" she stopped herself. She was sure as hell not going to admit just how at home she felt curled up against him, his fingers scratching her chin. Goddamn her face was getting red and she stood turning away from him, "I need to return and..." she calmed and pulled her shoulders back and brushed her hair from her face, pulling back the appearance of the perfect princess, "collect myself" she said and walked off toward where she thought the came would be.

 

[Tigress]

"Hm. Yes, you killed him. And I was the one you attacked as you can plainly see by the state of my leg" he said, directing downwards before giving a small chuckle at her actions. He shook his head, limping and dragging his broken metallic leg slightly behind him before placing his cold, but surprisingly light, metal hand onto her shoulder and turning her ever so slightly. "The camp is this way, Milady. Your sense of direction is still underdeveloped since you have only just gone through your transition." he began limping alongside her, reaching down to scoop up her tattered and torn dress before gently draping the fabric over her shoulders to give her a little more dignity.


"I need to give you some advice. Do not mention this to anyone at the camp. Humans kill your kind, I know very well. If anyone asks, you were attacked. And if you ever need to go for a walk, I will be your personal guard." he stated, but his voice was firm, scarred and bare arms folded over his chest.

 

[TheCommander]

Aria felt all to guilty about what she had done to his leg, she covered her worry with a cool look of indifference and took the lead, "And why would you be so willing to help my kind then, Captain? It seems you humans don't get along with my kind." She asked him as they made their way through the forest. So she was a werewolf, from the stories of her childhood. Wicked and deadly creatures that killed and hunter in the light of the moon, and now she the perfect princess about to be married was one. A wicked grin spread across her face, this was going to be so much fun. There was now a bounce in her stride, no longer was she helpless about her situation, now she could kill that royal bastard that waited for her on the other end of this journey.

 

[Tigress]

The Captain smirked slightly, tapping his arm with a hollow metal finger as he limped after her. "I have lived for a lot longer than you might think, Milady. I am most certainly not human. How else would I have known to subdue your feral side last night" he murmured, eyes gleaming despite the fact that he could only see out of one of them. He wouldn't mention now that he was a werewolf as well, that poor girl didn't need to know, she ws still only getting over the fact that she was a werewolf. He walked into the camp beside her, catching a fan that was given to him and handing it to her before leading her to the tent that had been set up specifically for the princess. Guards obviously questioned Felix a little about what had happened, and he simply explained that she had been attacked and the other guard was killed protecting her.

 

[TheCommander]

Once back in her carriage Arias sagged against the wall, so he wasn't human, what did that make him, werewolf too? She shook her head, this was no time to dwell on her insanely gorgeous Captain, he was just doing his job. She ripped the torn remains of her dress off but hesitated when it came to his shirt. She couldn't bring herself to take it off, it was comfy after all and she snuggled down into it, sniffing his scent. He smelled of the forest and rich spice mixed into one. She smiled and waited for their journey to start once more. She would eventually have to change into another dress but for this day of travel she was quite as home in her Captain's oversized shirt. Great, she was so not falling for the Captain of the guard of her royal husband-to-be. That just spelled disaster.

 

[Tigress]

Felix was quick to mount the black stallion he had been riding the day before, the large creature rearing up slightly, still nervous because it sensed he was a werewolf. But he had trained the creature well enough to only shy away if it was going to be attacked. And it was more nervous because of the scent of another werewolf. He gently petted the stallion's neck, barking out an order as he made his way to the place next to the carriage door. Soldiers began trudging along the long path. They had at least a week until they made it to the royal city, but his journey would take longer. And extra three days to escort the princess, alone, to the emperor's arranged meeting place, and then one more day after that to make it out to his home in the forest. No one knew where he lived, and no one dared enter the forest behind the city, because of rumors of werewolves and all other dangerous creatures.

 

[TheCommander]

The days went past rather quickly as she burrowed into her pile of pillows, by day she wrapped herself up in her Captains shirt and pretended it was simply just comfy while by night she held the air of the princess she was and dressed the part, avoiding all eye contact with a certain Captain. On the third night she was feeling entirely too restless, she had shifted and turned in her carriage all day till she couldn't stand it any longer. When night came she hurried out, " Captain? I would like to go for a walk. Now." she practically growled out but caught herself and kept up the airy voice. She had no time to sit around and wait for him and started off into the forest once more. Once a safe enough distance away she glanced around to check all was clear and stripped out of her dress, no need to ruin another. In an instant she was werewolf once more, no pain of time needed, like she was born for the change.

 

[Tigress]

The Captain remained right next to the carriage through the few days that had passed, and had been honestly surprised that the princess had no questions about being a werewolf. He had been full of questions when he had been turned, and with each new piece of information he had learned, he had been able to fight his way up to being one of the most powerful turned werewolves, and have his name known by every Hunter through the last century. So when he was instructed that the princess had wanted to go for a walk, he stopped sharpening his sword immediately and climbed to his feet with a nod. "Of course, Milady" he murmured, letting her walk ahead once they were in the forest so he could shift. The second the scent of wolf hit his nose, he made his way out into the clearing with a smile. "It feels good to shift, doesn't it? And this time you won't have to go back wearing my shirt" he said with a chuckle.

 

[TheCommander]

The smells and sounds that hit her nose were thousands of times more intense than when she was human, her ears pricked up and swiveled about as she listened to the sounds around her. When she heard something come out of the brush she turned with a snarl ripping at her snow white features only to drop into a look of total adoration when she saw who it was. Her Captain, hers. She lunged forward toward him only to come to a complete halt and sat in front of him, her tail wagging like crazy and a goofy happy look on her canine face. This was the moment when she realized there was absolutely no way to control her wolfs instincts. After a moment she nudged the man's hand, giving him her best puppy eyes. She was so dead.

 

[Tigress]

Felix paused when the white creature spun around with a snarl, allowing her to get used to his presence and scent. He had replaced the leg she had mauled with another enchanted metal limb, and when she lunged forward he closed his eyes, hoping that she wouldn't try to tear it off again. However, when his hand was nudged, he raised his eyebrow. She acted completely different towards him in her wolf form, she was little more than a really large puppy. So he gave a smile and a chuckle, reaching up with his only hand and gently scratching behind her ears and under her chin. Werewolves were very much like dogs in the way that they did love attention. "Glad to see your reflexes are getting better. And your instincts are very good for a recent transition. How's your sense of smell and hearing?" he asked her in a soft voice, wishing that he could feel the soft fur beneath his metal fingers.

 

[TheCommander]

The big white wolf shook her head as if to say it was all very overwhelming. She rolled onto her back asking for belly rubs. She half closed her eyes in bliss but then something grabbed her attention, a rabbit. She was after it in an instant, claws gripping into the soil under her paws and pushing her forward into the chase. She chased deep into the woods after the fluffy white tail of the rabbit, it was so close! Suddenly she felt her body being yanked from under her and a net came around her. She yelped but then snarled, trying to break free.


"Holy hell it's a werewolf boys! Our lucky day!" she heard someone shout and her vision went red at the site of four men all coming toward her brandishing weapons.