Chapter 3

            I peer out of the old sheets that I have hung in my room as curtains.  Pulling the latch to my window I shove it open and let the night air come into my room.  I had hoped that it would be refreshing but I was wrong.  The breeze that hits my face is as warm as the day was.  Propping myself up into the window ledge I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the night.  From way up here I can hear everything, and it soothes my wolf, Adeline.  Far off in the distance I can hear the rushing water of the spring that feeds into the river and just like always the cool water calls out to me. 

            My eyes wander to the ground and none of the guards are patrolling on this side of the castle.  Swinging my legs outside of the window I let them dangle for a moment while I listen for the sounds of the guards.  Satisfied that I won’t get caught, I slink myself out of the window and hold on to the edge until I feel my toes grip the lattice that is underneath.  Carefully and quietly I climb out of my window and onto the lattice.  Soon my feet hit the soft grass and I take off running in the opposite direction of the castle towards the spring. 

            Not until I am under the cover of the tree canopy do I slow my run to a quick walk, letting my ears guide me to the spring.  My footsteps are silent on the forest floor as I dodge every twig and fallen branch.  Only the subtle crunching of leaves under my feet fills the night air. 

            The spring is just on the other side of the kingdom’s border.  It isn’t forbidden to visit but it is strongly frowned upon.  As I reach the small clearing I stay under the cover of the canopy until my eyes scan the area for anyone or anything that may be considered a threat.  A strange scent hangs in the air.  It is the smell of citrus and pine but there is a sickly smell that is mixed along with it.  Almost as if there is flesh rotting somewhere along the spring.  Ultimately the realization hits me.  Rogues. 

            I am too scared to move as I continue to sniff the air.  Frozen in panic with the memory of being attacked, I scan the area for a place to hide.  But for some reason the smell of citrus and pine makes Adeline feel safe and calm within the confines of my mind.  Against my better judgment, I move to the edge of the tree line and hide behind one of the larger trees.  Peeking out from behind it I see a man swimming in the spring.  Curiosity gets the better of me and I continue to watch the man swim.  I have only seen rogues in wolf form before.  The ones that tormented me right before my death.  We were always told that rogues were unkempt, ruthless killers.  But this man looks anything but those things.  His blonde wavy hair is down to his shoulders.  His muscular shoulders emerge from the water and I gasp at his nakedness.

            He turns his head in my direction and I squeeze myself behind the tree trying to hide.  “I know you are out there,” his gruff voice sends a shiver down my spine.

            I don’t dare move from my spot.  Instead I steady my breathing a try to decide if my wolf is faster than a rogue.  But at this point Adeline isn’t being of any help at all.  She is urging me forward.  Urging me to meet the naked man in the spring.    

            “You don’t have to run,” he says like he is reading my mind.  “I don’t mean you any harm.”  I still don’t move an inch from my hiding spot.  “Come out,” he says playfully.  “Come on.  Or I will come drag you out.”

            I hear the water rustling and splashing around him as he swims through the spring.  Before my mind can think about the consequences I jump out from behind the tree.  “Please,” I plead.  “I don’t want to die.”

            The rogue looks at me with a questioning look on his face.  “Why would you die?”  Slowly he emerges from the water, and I advert my eyes to avoid his nakedness.  “You didn’t answer me,” he says, and I can hear his footsteps pad against the soft grass, moving closer to me.  “Why would you die?” 

            “B-b-because you are a r-ro-rogue,” I stammer out.  As I stare at the grass below my feet I can see his come into view and I quickly back away a few steps. 

            “Awe, Cupcake,” he says with a hint of humor in his voice.  “I could never hurt a pretty thing like you.”    

            Confusion rattles in my brain.  This man would definitely hurt me given the chance.  “You w-w-won’t hurt me?” I ask quietly.

            “Of course not, Cupcake,” he says cheerfully.  He arches his neck and looks upwards to the sky.  “It will be a full moon in just two days.”

            I nod at his words and look to the sky with him.  “The Labyrinth,” is all I say in return. 

            “You know,” the rogue says with a little of a smirk on his face.  “If you came with me… you could avoid the labyrinth all together.”  At his words Adeline is panting heavily in my mind and pacing back forth.  “What do you say, Cupcake.” 

            Shaking my head at Adeline and her actions I turn my attention back to the man in front of me and try to push Adeline’s dirty thoughts from my mind.  “My name isn’t Cupcake,” I say a little angrily.  “It is Natalia.”

            “Well, Natalia,” the man says.  “I am Victor.  Would you like to swim with me?”  He reaches out a hand beckoning me forward.  Victor, his name echoes loudly in my brain.  The reason I am dead, or I was dead.

            “I need to get back before someone realizes that I am missing,” I whisper taking a few more backwards steps towards the tree line. 

            “Okay, Natalia,” my name rolls off his lips sensually.  “Should I see that you return safely?”

            I shake my head furiously back and forth before I step backwards into the shadows of the trees.  I can hear Victor laughing to himself as he jumps back into the spring.  Walking backwards, I wait until I can no longer see Victor; I turn to run.  I run through the forest with my feet catching on every twig and fallen branch.  I know that I will never get away if he follows me in my human form, it would be faster if I shifted into my wolf.  I call Adeline forward.  My bones snap and break as they form a new shape.  My maid’s dress rips against my skin as white fur sprouts all over my body.  Adeline leaps forward with her tongue hanging out of her mouth like a lovesick puppy and bounds through the woods towards the castle.