The Silver Collar - Part 2

CHAPTER 4

As the night progressed, I dozed in the comfortable carriage. No bed I remembered had been so luxurious. I think we may have stopped once, but I didn’t fully awaken. When I did wake, it was dawn, as I was accustomed, and I lay upon the breast of Rafe. He cradled me tenderly as the carriage swayed over the road. I stayed as still as I could, not wanting this tender contact to be broken. Why did this splendid man want a Werewolf girl? I pondered this matter through the morning.
“Mmmm,” he murmured upon waking much later. “See. I knew I could endure it longer.”
“Rafe, why do you want a Werewolf girl?” I asked. I had tried to work out the answer myself, but couldn’t imagine anything beyond conjecture. So I just asked.
“You don’t know?” he asked, his eyes searching my face, or maybe trying to tell me somehow.
I shook my head. Nothing I could imagine made any sense.
He raised the window shutter on a bright morning, though late for me. “Well, you’ll see very soon, maybe in an hour.” That didn’t give me any clues! “In the meantime, would you like breakfast?”
I sat up and nodded my head with enthusiasm. I was rewarded with a hearty laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me. I’m a servant and I wake up at dawn. I am unused to the hours of the nobility.”
He laughed harder and rapped on the carriage roof. “You were awake and laying in my arms?” I nodded and blushed. “What were you thinking about all morning?” he prodded. The carriage came to a halt and Stephan appeared at the door with a basket.
“So?” asked Rafe as Stephan unpacked the basket. I kept quiet and looked at Rafe and then at Stephan.
“Intriguing,” Rafe said, glaring at Stephan. Efficient, Stephan arranged our breakfast and then disappeared. The carriage resumed its course again.
“Won’t you please tell me what you thought, dear Lyneth?” he asked with command in his voice. “I’m quite overcome with curiosity.”
“Forgive me, Rafe, but I am not accustomed to speaking in front of strangers. Stephan is a very good man, I’m sure, but I did not want to tell you in front of him that I was wondering why you wanted a Werewolf girl.”
He smiled warm as the sun. “So you weren’t thinking of Stephan all morning?” The hint that he might be jealous of my casual thoughts of Stephan produced flutters in my stomach. No. That was too much to expect. I could hope for pity, but not for feelings strong enough to bring about jealousy. I shook my head. My mouth was occupied in fitting as much of the delicious food as I could into my mouth. I was careful to be polite. I had endured too many slaps from Mistress to eat in any rude manner. But I was expert at eating fast and a lot. I never knew when I would be allowed more.
“Well, that is quite impressive,” Rafe exclaimed when he noticed my rapid consumption. I smiled and continued.
“You know you don’t have to rush, Lyneth. If we finish this, and you are still hungry, I will buy you more. You will never be hungry again if I can help it.” I smiled, nodded and kept eating. I had been hungry since dawn and he was eating with hearty appetite himself. I was going to get as much as I needed now before he finished the last morsel and I had to wait. I think I was still unsure of his resolve to keep his Werewolf girl and not turn her out of the carriage.
Then he stopped eating. I eyed him with uncertainty.
“All the rest is yours if you want it. I won’t let you be hungry, Lyneth,” he said.
“Thank you, Rafe. I’m finished too.”
“Are you sure?” he prompted. I nodded. He packed up the scant leftovers and set the basket aside. Then he peered out of the window again.
“This is it. We’re here! Lyneth, we’re home!” He turned to me, his face full of joy. Looking into his clear blue eyes, I was forced to share his joy. He ran his hand through his chestnut hair and his eyes grew soft. “Oh, Lyneth, at last I can free you!” I was pulled into his loving gaze. He leaned closer and closer to me, until my eyes closed, and I felt his lips touch mine. Nothing would ever separate me from this man now. He had stolen my heart.
But then, he called to his coachmen. “Stephan, George. Please help me! I must free Lyneth from this terrible collar.”
I struggled, but his loving embrace became a prison. “Please, don’t Rafe. I’m a monster without this collar. Don’t let it out, Rafe!” I begged.
“You’re wrong, Lyneth. I won’t let you be stifled. I will help you to be everything wonderful that you are. I promise I won’t ever leave you alone.”
And then Stephan unclasped the Silver Collar from my neck. Its painful protection was gone and my body rushed to return to my cursed form. Rafe released me as my body transformed until I stood there on four legs in the sumptuous carriage. I cowered. Now would come the revulsion and the hatred. The kiss and the love I felt from him would evaporate and I would be untouchable and alone.
But then something wonderful happened! First, upon the faces of Rafe’s men, I found joy and delight. They sighed as if they were seeing a rare flower bloom instead of witnessing a young woman transform into a monster. I looked to Rafe in trembling confusion, and he smiled with immeasurable love. Then his smile widened. It became terrible. His teeth lengthened and his face stretched. After several moments, an enormous chestnut-colored wolf stood with me in the carriage. I whined like a frightened dog. Rafe barked at the men who parted from their position blocking the door. So I bolted.
Rafe pursued me across a field and into a dark forest. I ran in fear, but he herded me in the direction he wanted me to go. Forest and running soothed me, and soon I loped rather than tore through the underbrush. He came closer in gradual increments and I let him. When my wolf-legs became exhausted, which took a long time, I stopped with relief.
Rafe was there, and his eyes were his own eyes though his body was different. The same love and joy shone from them. At last my transformed brain was able to grasp all of his incomprehensible behavior and cryptic words. He was like me. He searched for me because we were the same and he would never leave me because we belonged together.
I marveled and I tried to show him that I understood and was grateful. I wagged my tail, pale hair swishing. I tilted my head and approached him. He wagged his tail too and stretched to sniff me. I licked his muzzle and rubbed my face on his. We were reconciled.
We spent days as wolves running through what I know now to be his kingdom. We caught game, drank from cool streams, and slept in leafy bowers. And we mated. As a girl, I would have been much more thoughtful and afraid of such loose behavior. Father Miller had extolled the evils of loose women. But as a wolf, it was natural. There was only him and me, no matter what, and would always be. It was meant to be. Had he felt this way about me all along?
It was many days later that I awoke a girl again, naked in a bower, my body entwined with Rafe the wolf. His keen senses woke him within moments, and he looked at me with gladness and unsurpassed love. Then he transformed. Seeing him do so was magnificent. I had lost my hatred of my other nature seeing the beauty of his.
“Hi,” he murmured, his strong limbs enfolding me now, as naked as I was.
“Hi,” I replied. I blushed. My human sensibilities returned with my human form, I guess. “Don’t be embarrassed. We are mated now. We will have a wedding too, though it is just a formality. This union that we have forged these last few days, that is the heart bond.”
I felt our skin pressed together and noticed that my skin had been renewed. My work calluses and scars had vanished. My transformation had erased all the physical evidence of my humble past.
I smiled and shivered as a chill wind encroached on our sheltered nook. Still, I felt calm.
Rafe saw my gooseflesh and sat up. He whistled to the trees. A whistle came in reply. Rafe whistled again and emerged from the bower partway. He wouldn’t leave me. Heavy boots tromped toward us and I tried to cover myself. But it was unnecessary.
“Your Majesty, we are overjoyed! We have been preparing for your return after your heart bond. The kingdom is in jubilant celebration,” a deep voice exclaimed.
“Thank you,” Rafe replied with enthusiastic sincerity. He ducked back into the bower and handed me a white velvet mantle trimmed in white fur. I wrapped it around myself against the chill. Never had I felt such softness! It distracted me from worry when Rafe, wrapped in his own cloak now, helped me out of the bower and into a circle of woodsmen.
“Welcome, Queen Lyneth!” One woodsman said, who must have been the leader. He had been the one to answer Rafe’s call. “We cannot express our jubilation have our queen returned to our kingdom at long last! We have waited many generations for your arrival.”
“Queen?” I squeaked. It was just one of my questions, but the most important. I felt more nervous and less sure of maintaining my form.
“My darling,” Rafe chuckled. “I am their king. You are my bride, so you are the queen.” His robe had a slit in the side. His hand poked out of the slit, beckoning mine. I fumbled and found the slit in mine and grasped his hand. It was warm and right, and I calmed again. I could be queen if I was his queen.
“Don’t worry. It’s a small kingdom,” Rafe reassured me with a devastating quirky grin as a woodsman knelt before me and fitted slippers on my bare feet.
“Come, my bride, my queen. Let us meet our people.”
Rafe led me through the forest, the woodsman tromping enthusiastic and loud behind us. It was mere minutes before we emerged upon the grounds of a great stone castle.
“Hah!” I exclaimed. I felt my form growing unstable again. Rafe laughed, anchoring me back to my form. Once I could find my voice again, I asked in a trembling voice, “Rafe, yesterday I was a servant at an inn, and today I’m a queen. What happened?”
Rafe laughed, and the men laughed, though not at me. They were so overjoyed that laughter just erupted. I laughed too.
“Beautiful Lyneth, the kingdom of Abidan surrounds our country of Unar. Our countries have always lived in a sort of symbiosis, trading and joining one another in defending ourselves. Generations ago, our lands were besieged by war. In this war, the kingdom of Erland argued with Abidan, but not with us. They made a show of attacking the plains of Abidan, but sent a great force in secret to overwhelm Unar. They had discovered the truth that the warriors of Unar have always been a mighty force, and joined with Abidan were unbeatable. With all the forces of Unar joined with Abidan on the plains, our homeland was defenseless and fell to the Erlanders. Our royal children were spirited away, some by their parents and some by the villains of Erland. Abidan and Unar discovered the deception and retook Unar, but many of the royal children were lost. Generations have searched for the missing families. Yours was one, taken by the Erlanders and sold as slaves, as you were and probably your parents and theirs.”
“You know the secret of the warriors of Unar, right?” he prompted.
“We are terrible beasts. Grrr!” I joked. Rafe laughed, making my heart sing. I laughed, and so did the woodsman.
"Well another secret is that without the call of their king and queen united, the Unarians cannot become their wolf selves. For generations they have been trapped in human form without the call of their rulers. The loss of the families, the deaths, and the kidnappings left us with no suitable queen to lead the people, until you."
I was astounded. My form wavered again, and a tear slid down my cheek. It was then that we emerged from a garden, through a hedge, and into a crowd of Unarians. They exclaimed at our appearance and then they cheered! I exploded into wolf form, still wrapped in the cloak.
The crowd gave a collective gasp and then erupted into applause. Unarians shouted for joy, embraced one another, and wept. There was dancing and raucous singing. My heart raced and there was no way I could take my human form again.
Then Rafe transformed too. And he howled. The crowd became silent in an instant and all their eyes were glued upon us. Rafe’s voice warbled strong and pure above them. My heart swelled in my furry chest. Rafe let out another howl, and I joined him.
Then they began to transform. Men and women, adults, and children roared together with triumph. Hair sprouted and bodies morphed. One by one they joined our howl. The courtyard rang with it and Unar was reborn.
 


CHAPTER 5

Another thing to list in my roster of the most glorious things, below Rafe’s laugh, Rafe’s kisses, and freeing my people, is a hot bath. This new and heavenly experience could not last long enough. I hadn’t felt as if I had led a terrible, deprived life until I compared washing up at the cold pump to a hot bath.
I was not alone during this bath either. It seems the entire female population of Unar was lined up outside my royal bedchamber waiting to have a turn buffing up the new queen. One woman washed my hair. The next rinsed it. The woman after that scrubbed my back. Every step of my beautification was done by a different woman, and I couldn’t feel embarrassed. These were my people. I loved them and they loved me, just because of who we were. Some women came in weeping. Some laughed and some sang. Many brought gifts and all had volumes to say to me. I did not get tired of it. I would rather share the joy of one of my countrywomen than mop a floor or muck a stable, and that is all I did all day up until now. This was heaven. Well, almost.
Rafe was nowhere to be found. I felt a little sad. After days of romping through the forest together, he had disappeared just hours after I had regained my human form. My human form had lots of skin that had touched lots of his skin, and wanted to do that again. But he was doing King things, I supposed, and I got to have a bath.
After what everyone insisted was way too long, they hauled my wrinkled fingers and toes out of the bath along with the rest of me. A succession of women applied a plethora of potions and oils to me, and then a copious amount of underthings, just like Nicole. How would my skin touch Rafe’s now? Then they put on petticoats, skirts, blouses, kirtles, mantles and jewelry on me. Each one was just as overjoyed to help as the last, so I couldn’t complain. Truly, if I wasn’t to be dressed in all this finery, I couldn’t have given them all a turn.
Then they let in the children. So many beautiful little ones came giggling and bouncing into my chambers that some of the women had to step out to make room. And then they sang for me! The emotions loosened my form and I transformed inside all that finery.
A gasp erupted from the group, but not one of horror. They gasped as if seeing a miracle. Women wept and clapped. The children squealed and danced. Chaos erupted and the children began hugging me. When the push to be near me became uncomfortable, I slipped through them, brushing them with my fur and licking a few outstretched hands. I wanted Rafe to come and I wanted us to howl again, but he didn’t come and I wouldn’t do it without him. I regained my human form after a while. Everyone cooed their approval and then they dressed me all over again.
I knew that Rafe controlled his emotions and that controlled his transformation. But it wasn’t so easy for me yet. Everything was so overwhelming and wonderful. Also, the people seemed to love it, so I didn’t worry.
The crowd of ladies surrounding me traversed my castle with purpose, accustomed to that which I had only seen a small portion. Propelling me along with them, they all knew just where to go and we arrived at a set of enormous doors. That was our goal because it was filled with more people.
This was where Rafe was. I could smell him. It was a wonderful smell! Now that I had become friends with my inner beast, I knew how he had found me after that first sight at the marketplace. It’s how I knew he was here.
The great doors swung wide to reveal the great hall of the castle. It was filled with people, all their eyes turned to me and my entourage. A collective sigh could be heard from them as we entered the room. Their emotions of joy and relief flooded over me and I felt my form begin to waver, until I saw Rafe.
Rafe stood at the head of the room with a small group of men. He was dressed in royal robes and he looked strong and noble. He was waiting for me. His eyes shone with love and victory, never leaving mine. I smiled and quickened my steps toward him. He was the stronghold in this sea of tumultuous emotions. With Rafe I could be a wolf or be a woman, and either form was right when I was like him.
He held out his hand to me and I took it. I ascended the dais and stood with him before the men. We gazed into each other’s eyes as the Chief Steward read us the Wedding Rites of Unar.
At the Steward’s prompting, Rafe said to me, “I, Rafe Kinsey, take you Lyneth to be my wife, my queen and my one true love. I will cherish our bond and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will run with you and hunt with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep, and join my voice with yours.”
The Steward then prompted me and I said to Rafe, “I, Lyneth, take you Rafe Kinsey, to be my husband, king and my one true love. I will cherish our bond and love you today, tomorrow, and forever I will trust you and honor you. I will run with you and hunt with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep, and join my voice with yours.”
Then we said in unison to each other, “Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me.”
Rafe kissed me. Though it was before a crowd, gentle and respectful, it was still a powerful kiss that I felt to my toes. I wanted to linger in that moment.
A crown, glittering with diamonds, passed from the Steward’s hands to Rafe. He placed the crown upon my head and turned me to face all of his people.
“Here, at last, is your queen!” he declared. The room erupted in cheers and applause. Rafe waited for the people to express their joy, and when the room quieted, he smiled. Then he melted into his wolf form, shook off his finery, and howled. Jubilant, I followed his example and joined my voice to his. In moments, the Great Hall rang with the jubilant howls of our enormous pack. Fine clothes littered the floor and wolves frolicked among the luxurious furniture. Unar was restored.
 

CHAPTER 6

After long and hearty celebration, both in wolf form and human form, I was alone with Rafe at last.
“My darling Lyneth,” he whispered, his lips brushing my neck, “how do you like your kingdom?”
At last all of our skin was touching again, and I was hazy to everything but that. I answered him once his words absorbed through the thick layer of joy, “I love everything as long as you are here.”
He rustled the luxurious sheets that were the only thing between our warm pocket and the chilly night air. “That’s not a good enough answer. You must have your own mind, or I will be terribly bored.”
I sighed, running my hand over his wide, bare shoulders. “They adore me, so how could I find fault with them?” I amended.
He laughed, making my heart flutter. It still happened every time.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I was wondering. What happened to the silver collar? I should return it to Father Miller.”
He laughed again. How I loved his laughter! His mouth was very wide and his teeth sharp with a savage grin when he said, "That old man can come and get the thing himself… if he is able. I doubt an old crotchety priest could be nimble enough to climb to it.”
“Climb to it?” I pondered, confused.
With a twinkle in his eye he explained, “Stephan and George were esentful of the object that tormented you for so long, and exultant that their queen had arrived. While we frolicked in the forest in our wolf forms, they somehow managed to loop it around the spire right up there.” He pointed to the ceiling above us, which was cone shaped because it was right below one of the lovely spires of the palace.
“No they didn’t!” I cried in skepticism.
“Yes they did! You can see for yourself,” he chuckled. “But not now!” he exclaimed when I moved to leave the bed and go see the marvel. He wrapped his strong arms around me, and the lure of his skin evaporated any idea of leaving.
Early the next morning, I woke at dawn. It would be a long time before that habit left me. Rather than bother with maids and dresses, I shifted into my wolf form. It was easy to do with so many strong emotions to draw upon.
Outside in the chill air, I found the spire where my love slept to see if what he claimed was true. There, encircling the copper spire on the roof above our bed glinted the silver collar.
I ran back to Rafe and our warm bed, exultant in my freedom, home at last.
The Silver collar still encircles that spire, though it is now old and tarnished and shines no more.

The End.