Entry Two

  The Princess and The Kalpea

  The young Kalpea transformed right before my eyes. I stared unable to move. My senses had to have been tricking me. How could she be a Shifter? How is it possible? What are the chances? I stared at her in wonderment. It turned to horror as the reality of her body hit me. Blood spilled from her breaking skin like a gorey waterfall. I creased her screaming with a simple touch. My hands remained planted on her cheeks as her skin loosened. Relax. I focused my energy into her. Her eyes glazed. They became dull and near lifeless. Safely, her body broke. Maybe it will be painless. Please let it be so. For a Kalpea, she seems nice, albeit arrogant. Black fur sprouted all over her matching spider legs as they crawled their way from a crevice. Blood stained my palms and pooled at my feet. Her nose broke, extending into a large viscous snout. Chunks of flesh slipped off and hit the ground with little grace, splashing against the small river of red. I slipped back, landing on my wrists.

  Her finished form was larger than expected. Her legs were tall and slick. The slim wolf was nearly all black with highlights of red woven through her feathery fur. Giant white speckled paws smashed on the ground. Despite her rather tall stature, the other wolf towered over her, like a father peering over her daughter. He steadied her against his much thicker frame. Muscles rippled across his arms. He sent a dark gaze my way. I ignored the intense glare and reached forward. My fingers ran along her head, smoothing out her soft fur. I took a tuft between my fingers. It reminded me of a soft blanket I used to wrap myself in. I grinned as I moved to her ear. It remained outward and pointed in such a dopey look it took away her ferocity.

  “Hello, Ears.” The Shifter looked into my eyes. Panic crossed her, as the soul inside attempted to escape. She tripped backward over her own paws and landed on her rear with a yelp. She whined. The Shifter tried to stand again but her legs shook too much like a newborn deer. She stumbled over once more. Defeated, the Kalpea remained planted in the snow, most likely enjoying the cold. I stood up from my position and glanced down, though not by much.

  “Stay away, witch!” The big wolf turned his head at me. “Who are you? What is your business here?”

  “My business? That is none of yours.” I pulled my hood up, masking my features with a long shadow. “Though, I suggest you watch out. You may end up talking to the wrong witch. Not all of us take so kindly to your kind.” His kind was always destined to die regardless of my opinion… I simply delayed the inevitable.

  “A simple woods witch would not know that kind of magic. You are certainly no Druid either.”

  “So, you are aware of Bloodstone’s existence. It is not new and is the only magic school on the fucking continent, beast. Not that it is useful anymore.” I crossed my arms. A small storm brewed inside. “It is gone, now, anyway. Burned to ash.” I glanced at the girl. “I saved her from pain. Now, dog , be grateful.”

  An hour passed, rather slowly I must admit. I tried to wrap my arms around myself in an attempt to conserve what little warmth my body held. The shivers came either way. I pulled my hands forward and flexed them, hoping to bring back some blood flow. I shook away the cold and stiffness. My worn skin had become so chapped that dry blood poked out. The previous run-in had left me empty. I could scarcely conjure up anything. If I were more of a monster, I would use the girl. I took the last of my energy and sent a spark onto a pile of even drier sticks. It took, thank the Planes. The flames slowly warmed my numb skin. As I heated up ever so slightly, prickles ran across my arms. It was almost painful.

  Norkden differed so much from Sorrow. The northern Kingdom snowed nearly all year around whereas my home was filled with constant heat. Even though it did not help my current situation, the sun shined down on us for most hours of the day. In an attempt to warm my bones, I would bathe in it for hours. I thought it was cold in those moments but nothing prepared me for the harshness of the bitter freeze here. I would rather be dead than sport any Norkden fashion though, let alone anything a Kalpea would wear.

  Shadow, he revealed his name with hesitation, watched me. Flames bounced off his familiar eyes. He waited for me to turn into a monster and conjure up something that would end his existence on this Plane. I gave him no such satisfaction. Not yet at least. Meanwhile, Ears seemed to keep going in and out of a daze. Any minute she will return. I hoped she would survive. It would have been rather dull ending her existence. I sat up straighter to watch. Her eyes fluttered innocently like a butterfly. I leaned forward. The fire cracked… Much like her. She jerked. Her hair retracted into her body. Several painful snaps took control. Her skin tightened. Lines of blood were drawn down her body as if she were a gorey masterpiece. Soon, scars would replace them, marking her as a beast. What a magnificent beast. Smoke floated up around her. Sweat dripped off her as a fever violently fought in her body. The snow melted and turned into a puddle of slush around her. The girl curled up into a tight ball in nothing but her matching set of underwear.

  “Ugh, fuck,” She groaned, rubbing her face. “I got some questions.” I could not place her accent. It was northern in a gentle way. She lisped some of her words together with a soft loudness.

  “You just Shifted.”

  “Shit!” She sat up, a couple of bones cracking followed. “Though that was a dream.”

  “So… You know this even though you are Fringe. I figured most just left this world behind. I do not blame them.” I checked my nails. I frowned at the chipped paint.

  “I know, right? I’m a woman of many mysteries, eh?” She gave a goofy smile. “I got the whole Fringe towns have little or no magic thing. Shifters don’t turn. Elves don’t have pointed ears and Stalked kinda just got an iron deficiency with a blood kink. We’re just normal… Plain.”

  “Then you do not need me to answer any of your questions.”

  “Wait!” She looked around the road. “I have two! Where’s my watch? Where’s my glasses?”

  “Oh-”

  Fringers used watches to visit relatives. Her’s split apart once she Shifted. The Kalpea did not appreciate the truth. In fact, it sent her into a panic. She hugged her head trying to calm her ragged breaths. Her pale skin turned a slick, heated red. As for the glasses, I did not know but she did not seem that blind.

  “I need it to go home! I wanna go home!”

  “We all do.”

  “I-I guess you’re right.” Oh, I suppose it would not hurt to be nicer.

  “I understand you miss it. We will… Figure something out.” She wiped her face and nodded.

  “Where’s your home?”

  “It does not matter.” I frowned at her. What is her game? They were all the same. Elves and women were nothing but things and I could have all the things in the world. She will never stand by you if you treat her like such. “I apologize for my manners. I understand you want to go home, as do I. We can help each other.” I smiled wickedly. “We just need to let my magic rest. It was rather taxing to soothe you.” I extended my hand to her. “Give me time to conjure a Portal and I will send you home.” I bit my lower lip as we made eye contact. Her knees pressed into the ground. “All I ask is for your patience.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do not thank me. I do not deserve it.” I emphasized my hand again. “We saved each other’s lives. We might as well keep returning the favor.”

  “Carter! Do not listen to her! Grab her hand and we are stuck traveling with her trickery!”

  The Kalpea’s eyes scanned me. The pink in her cheeks captured my interest. Take it. We locked grips and I pulled her up to meet me. My eyes narrowed instantly. There were not many Elves down south. The Upea kept things civil and would occasionally show up for dinner with a royal here and there. The Tumma confined themselves to their damp caves filled with worms and crooked things. The Kapina, save for a few descendants, had not been seen in the Empire since the Betrayal and the Kalpea refined themselves to the protection of the northern King. Now, I had never met a real, raised Fringe. I had met messengers but never someone who lived the life. My interest peaked again. Then bundle it with the fact she was a Shifter. I felt the need to study every mark on her scarred, tattooed body and feel her skin beneath my fingers. Maybe even subject myself to feeling her on top of me. For research purposes, of course.

  The ink across her skin practically forced my attention. New World books were easy to come by with my status. A raven with a certain melancholy quote permanently printed itself on the outside of one of her biceps. I preferred to read science and mathematics… Some romance. It was all better than some macabre poetry with too many references to a bird and death. The logic that science presented all helped with magic, In reality, magic is not some whimsical creation but something this world had yet to discover. I imagined it was a science much akin to nuclear weapons. It did not exist on Earth but for some reason penetrated here with force. It was the same force that made humans live longer, gave them strength, and powers different for each race. I continued to stare at the younger girl. An arrow ran down her forearm. On the other arm, a ghost looked back at me. Many more tattoos of rather simplistic cartoonish creations looked back at me.

  Even though she was Fringe, she looked just like a Northerner with her long, messy, black hair and pale skin. Freckles and moles dotted her body, especially along her face heavily affecting her cheeks. I tried to swallow. She was a Kalpea but something about it made my stomach twist. I did not like it. I did not like Northerners. I especially did not like the Kalpea. They are messy and crass. They would not know class or manners if it hit their large heads. My mouth grew dry. I growled internally. She is not even that pretty. It was an effortless beauty that crossed her. A couple of dark circles wrapped her mismatched eyes, the right eyebrow home to a silver loop. Those were her only redeeming features. Eyes were so precious, her’s were priceless. You could do so much with them. Her right sparkled like purple lightning. Her left was like a lazy pine forest filled to the brim with comforting fires and- She was nothing compared to me. Those stupid freckles. Somehow they managed to run along her sharp, relaxed chin perfectly. She grinned something crooked and soft like she was in a permanent daze. What are the chances… Zero. They are zero.

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  The girl twisted her back. Several cracks exploded from her body as she stretched out. I hated how she stood up straighter. Three inches- More like six or seven was practically nothing but she still did not deserve to have them. I crossed my arms tightly and smirked. My arms were bigger than hers. I had more tattoos and I had abs. Clearly, I was the winner. I could not help but look her up and down all the same. Another growl erupted in the back of my mind. A few scars from a previous transformation crossed her drippy wounds. A rather thick scar along her chest hid behind her bra. The thought of tracing all of them with my fingers once again popped up in my mind like some sick Devil was playing a joke on me. I ignored it. In fact, I actively fought the urge. This did not happen with the other Shifters.

  “So, what’s your name?” She asked with a shrug. As she calmed, I noticed how nasally her voice was.

  “Oh yes…” My mind went blank. I cannot tell her my name… I mean, I could. She is just a Fringer after all… A Fringer with knowledge of Midnight. What is my name? For a moment, I could not grasp my name let alone anything I care to share about myself. It was her eyes. They stared at me with a soft relaxed gaze. Even after death and the thought of being stuck here permanently rolled off her back so quickly. It almost seemed innocent. I wanted to ruin it. I guess she should figure out what she’d be screaming. “I am Morgan.” I stood a little taller, yet not tall enough to meet her shoulders. “I am- A traveling witch. I go from town to town… Umm, helping people.”

  She laughed.

  “You go around helping people?” She laughed, deep in her chest. It turned into a wheeze at it continued for an unjustified amount of time. “You’re a traveler?” She grabbed her stomach, eventually settling down enough to cock her brow. “Nice try, Princess.” Red took over my face.

  “Well… You do not- My father…” I stared at the ground and swallowed. “My father is the King of Sorrow.” I sunk my teeth into my lower lip. “How did you know? This does not matter and we do not need to continue this. Clear, Ears?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She crossed her arms to match mine. Her eyes shifted. “So, you cold, Princess?” I sneered at her.

  “Do not call me that, Wolf!”

  “Fine… Fine.” She raised her hands in defense. “Are you cold… Princess?” I needed to get rid of that stupid grin across her sweaty face. I threw my hands down in defiance as she handed me something from her pack. I stared down at the thick black shirt. Long sleeves and a hood fell in front of it. A small pocket had been put towards the bottom center. Jurassic Park? The strange words were spelled out in a dark red print with a strange monstrous skeleton behind it. “You can wear my extra hoodie. I’m still pretty hot from you know having my fucking body turned into mush and back. Guess that’ll do it, eh?” She dug through her maroon bag some more. A couple of trinkets hung from the strap by a black metal clip. “I gotta pair of sweatpants too.” I raised a brow at her.

  “What pants? Are they soaked in your fluids?”

  “No…” She stared at me and then pouted. “I think that… That is a little inappropriate but I’m gonna roll with it because you have no fucking clue what people on Earth wear.” She showed me a pair of thick black slacks that were definitely too long for me. “They’re warm and comfy and most of all clean! Come one, you must be freezing, Princess.”

  I looked down at myself. Aside from the fur-lined hood, I was still in my Southern attire. Delicate shorts and a braided string top did nothing to stop the snow from marking my skin.

  “Thank you.” I reluctantly took her clothes. They smelled like cedar and warmth. The scent heightened my senses. It sent a twinge to my heart. “Do all your clothes smell like mutt and filth?”

  “Depends.” She grinned wider. “If you don’t want black on black, I got my yellow hoodie right here too.” She picked up the yellow garment from her pack while grabbing the shirt she had so easily discarded the previous night. I was almost impressed she had the ability to even think to rip it off in the midst of her transformation. She unrolled the hoodie. A white N was plastered on the front with a torch going through it. “It’s one of my college sweatshirts. Go Cats! I’m so sorry… I honestly have no idea why I did that.”

  “You came here by mistake. Why do you have these clothes, then?” I slipped the garment over myself and ignored her strange chanting. The sleeves fell well past my hands, swamping me in cloth. It seemed extremely large, even a little big for her.

  “I was camping. It’s relaxing, especially when I need to get away from the others for a minute.” She scratched the back of her neck. The red disappeared from her face as the wind cooled her. “My aunt-mom was… It’s just nice to be by myself.” She laughed awkwardly. “I thought it was a dream at first, or something. I’m not totally convinced it’s not. I swore I would never come back here, and yet I am. Kinda fun though, kinda terrified and lowkey very upset at the prospect of turning into a beast.” She looked around rather grimly.

  “You voluntarily went camping? You are strange.”

  “It’s fun, Princess!” She put on a large smile. “I thought it’d cheer me up and such.” The girl pulled her fuzzy button-up over her shoulders. Snow stuck to the black and red pattern. “Being in nature’s normally a lot more peaceful there than here. Plus, late May’s pretty nice in the UP.” She slipped on a pair of dark gray shorts. She tied a white string that extended from them. Hidden in my bag, mine had the same string but her’s seemed to be made from a much roughed material. “Though, winters are a lot like this. The number of times I’ve been snowing with five feet outside is insane! That’s taller than you!”

  “ I am not that short !” I swung my claws at her. She stumbled back with a laugh.

  “Kidding, kidding.”

  “Anyway, I thought you were from Earth. What is UP- Up?” I questioned.

  “Oh shit! I meant the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.” She picked one of her nails as redness crept across her. “What about you? You know, more specifically that Sorrow, which is a whole ass Kingdom. Or, shit, can I not ask that again yet? You are wearing my clothes and normally that’s reserved for girlfriends. We’re practically life bonded at this point, ya know?” I thought again. I was from a lot of places. Sorrow was my place of birth and where my parents lived. However, I grew up in several different areas with several different guardians.

  “Renmit. It is the southernmost city in Sorrow and the richest. ” I slipped on her sweatpants. They bagged around my ankles. “It is rather hot. There are some days when the wind comes off the sea and brings a chill to the air.” I squinted my eyes. “Here is it so dark, though I guess it has its own sense of beauty.”

  “It sounds lovely.” She smiled something genuine. It showed off some of her crooked teeth. They carried their own charm in a way that turned my head. No… I guess they do not have teeth straighteners where she is from. “My name’s Catherine by the way. You know, formal introduction and all. Catherine O’Connell to be more specific but like literally everyone calls me Carter.” By then I had realized my manners were truly awful. I choked down some air.

  “Oh, yes… I guess I should know.” I clenched my fists and looked down at the ground. “I find your name strange… It is a boy's name.” I tightened my brow. “Hopefully, it will stick in my mind.”

  “You’re not very nice.”

  “Excuse me?!”

  “Just kidding… Kinda.” She waved it off with the same easy nature as before. “It’s okay, Princess. You seemed lost in thought plus we had like a real shitty night.” She slipped her pack over her shoulders. “Who would’ve thought I’d be having my own version of The Hobbit? Huh? No- No takers. Got it. Shut the fuck up? Done deal.”

  The three of us walked down a path. Carter could not stand to be near the bodies anymore. Honestly, I was surprised by how well she was handling the situation. Denial had taken over her body completely. Her companion followed her closely though. His eyes fixed on her as if she would disappear any moment. I found myself watching her as well. She moved with ease across the snow. Her overshirt still was not buttoned. It left her soft stomach exposed. Freckles dotted across her chest and all the way down to the waistband of her boxers, alongside a trail of hair from her belly button down. Sweat caused her skin to glisten. She wiped a bead off her forehead while I struggled to swallow again.

  A snap forced me to freeze. I gripped the Kalpea’s arm. I only then noticed the arm of an archer. She sent a look my way. I shouted as something tossed over my head. I started to swing. Metal slashed my fist. I took a sharp deep gasp. Focus. I honed in on my heartbeat. I slowed it down. Energy flowed to my fingertips. They began to vibrate. An ache formed in my head. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist. The creature that tried to confine me dropped. I ripped the bag from my face. My second fist clenched. Carter’s kidnapper fell down to his knees.

  Shadow snapped at both of them. The wolf circled around the men. He growled at each twitch and whimper they dared to make. The hunters or soldiers, whatever the fuck they were, wore purple armor. The steel seemed out of place among the snow. Each chest plate held a glowing gem at the center. One masked his face and the other wore no helmet showing off his buzzed head. A diamond tattoo was printed across the top. Powerful hunters from the south. I narrowed my eyes. Carter’s rabbit heart pounded beside me. I pulled her behind myself. She sent me a confused glance which I ignored. I raised both of my hands again.

  “I do not like bounty hunters nor do I like bags thrown over my head.” I cracked my neck. “In case anyone cares, I am not who you are searching for. Regardless, you just signed your death sentence because you tried to take down an innocent woman.” Heat rose in my cheeks for a split second. You had to do it. You are a butcher.

  That second was all that was needed for the man. He clicked his tongue and I fell backward. I had no strength left to fight. My hands pinned themselves to the snow. Two heavy invisible weights pressed them further into the ground. I am strong! I forced myself up. I tried to force myself up more like it. It was no use. Complete control was taken from me. My heart picked up to the point it matched Carter’s. The archer was pinned face first into the snow by the other soldier. Shadow growled and attempted to break free of the mage's hold. He snapped wildly, unable to pick up his own body.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I shouted.

  The two remained silent. The masked one took his foot off Carter’s neck and threw a brown sack over her. He quickly fastened the ties and locked her hands in a pair of cuffs. A green jewel glowed beside the keyhole. Fucking hells… Despair save us. He approached with my own bag and set of restraints.

  “I am all out of magic. The cuffs are unnecessary.” I smiled as innocently as I could. The awkward look did not settle well with the men. The bald man shook his head and the masked one continued to approach. “Are you really scared of some random noble? I spend my days getting pampered and eating roast duck.”

  “I thought you just signed our death sentence?” The masked man laughed. Well, fuck.

  In a quick motion, the sack tightened around my neck as my wrists were held in place and neutered to the point of no use. I could not see what they did to Shadow but his growls remained a constant noise as we were shoved into the back of some carriage. Carter whispered something to herself. A prayer? What religion would a Fringe have?

  I rested my back against the wall. I focused on my energy. I needed to concentrate. Instead of it flowing to my palms and just wasting my time on the cuffs, I pulled all my fore at the base of my neck. The cold flesh turned warm. My cells slowly vibrated faster and faster. When it all became too uncomfortable, I cracked my neck. The only response was the small movement of string around the neck. I stomped my foot in protest. I screamed out loud.

  “Morgan?” Carter spoke. I stopped, something calm worked its way inside me. “I’m right here. It’ll be okay.”

  “I know.” I gritted my teeth, ignoring the feeling, and took a deep breath. Conserve it. “We will get out of here. We just have to wait.”