Natasha Luepke - Buttercup, Called Coin

You see, if I knew she had killed them, I could just rip her throat out, and be justified besides.
But they simply disappeared. Right, like my father, gone for over a month could be anything but dead.

She did kill two, though, whom she should have left alive. Good people. I've known them as long as my own parents. Knew.

Well, well, they will no longer pose a threat to her, she made sure of that.

Ah, but you see, she left us alive, and that was her big mistake. Because I will hunt her down. My only regret is that I cannot make her suffer a thousand deaths, the way I must, each new moment it hits me: My parents are gone.

Clover and Deor will comply with their mother's wishes, will settle down, will have families. Will be good.

But Wolf and I, we will stalk Morning-Glory, a game, she will be ours...

"Cora! Cora, huff puff, she's gone!"
I push myself up. When had I fallen asleep? In that one moment in early dawn, Morning-Glory left. The manor house is dark; her smell is fading. We have been camped here for...days, weeks, it all blends, but we have charted her comings and goings, and she is gone.
"She is heading south," I say. Wolf nods.
Perhaps she has finally seen us, alerted by her useless guards. Good. The chase is on.

I am a little worried, you see. I am afraid Wolf will not kill her. I do not advocate death, you see, cold-blooded murder, random violence. But this is justice; this is right. No guilt. I hope he knows that. I will make him see.

We are wolves; we stick to the forest. But we can follow her smell, fear and power and sweet perfume. We know her and will find her.

In good stories, you see, the ones told at a warm hearth on cold winter nights, the heroes have adventures, more than one mission, sub-plots, love interests, misunderstandings. But that is not real life. We are here for one purpose only: not to entertain, not to create a fantasy, but to destroy.

We sleep, eat, follow, sleep, eat, follow...

And what shall we do after? What then, what then? Oh, don't be silly, I want everything any other girl wants, you know: a good mate, a den, cubs, that sort of thing. Ah, but am I wolf or human? A problem, yes, yes. Neither and both, a double dilemma. And so, and so, what choice do I have, but the one I must love, who I'm sure I've loved since before I knew him: Wolf?

He will make a good father, I do not doubt that. He will be a good mate.

Where are we? I shake my head. How could I ask that? The Fourth Kingdom. From here were my parents chased so many years ago. Sheep and trolls and giants... It is a part of me, it is instinct, I was born in this place, how could I not know it?
We are closing in.

"What will we do when this is over?" I ask him as we lay on our stomachs. We are waiting for the long night to pass.
Wolf is quiet. "I don't know."
"Ever think about...raising a family? Marriage?"
He smiles. "Some day. When I find the right girl."
When he finds her. But I am here, no need to look... The moon is almost full. Good.
Ahhh...but what now?

We must act now, quick, you see. She is holed up in a house, has been for several days. The moon will be full tonight, perfect. And then we can go our separate ways, you see, no big deal, not at all.

"We'll go in and do it," I tell him, "then we'll run. Don't look back, okay? Just get away, don't worry about me, I won't worry about you, we'll go our separate ways from here, forever."
"Cora," Wolf replies. I look at him. "Huff puff, slow down."
"It's the moon. It will be full tonight."
"I know."

The moon makes us both mad, a little crazy, if you will.

And in we silently sneak, up walls, through doors. We are in.
We smell her out, knock the guards aside, though we do not kill them, and she is asleep. And I set upon her. We. I...

And after, covered in blood, but guilt-free, we run, and Wolf panics, just a little; "She killed your parents, it's okay," I tell him - although revenge is a human trait, only. If my wolf father knew what I had done...

We hear the call for the guard.
"Find a sheep, kill it, in case you are caught," I tell Wolf. "It will be a lesser crime."
Wolf nods.
"And: Don't look back! It's over."

And I run. Good, good, the past is just that, past, gone forever, just childhood memories. I don't really love him, anyway, and I was being silly, paranoid even, if I called to him, would he look back?

Run, run, and the guards call murder. Oh, kill a sheep, something, you are not a murderer, run, and I can hear the whizzing of arrows.
I cannot see him. Has he been caught?
And I - I am. An arrow. I gasp. Don't look back, look, I have done what was required. I can see the guard. Why run? Where to?
I will not call to him, if asked, I will never again mention Wolf's name, I did my duty, he his, and I hope he is not caught, that he finds his girl.
I don't know what to do about arrows, their treatment. I can see a guard coming.
I hope he finds his girl, has a family, all the things we should have had, him, his brother and sister, and me, I wanted all that, too, I'd always assumed, you see... I didn't have to say anything, because that's the way it was, was going to be, us, our families joined.

I am caught. They have caught a male, too, they tell me. He was sheep worrying, they say. But in the newly murdered's field. What do I know?
"I killed her," I say. Good boy, a lesser crime, you see? Jail, yes, but not like me.

I never again mention his name. Our duty is done.

End Notes: This story almost didn't exist. However, once I introduced Desdemona, Winter, and Cora, I couldn't let them go. The basic ending, Wolf killing Morning-Glory and ending up in jail in the Fourth Kingdom, appeared at the end of "Letter." Wolf intrigues me in that while he's very independent and knowledgeable, he usually has someone directing him-Christine, Virginia, etc. I don't think Wolf is a cold-blooded killer, either, so I leave that to Cora.
If you're interested, I've included the original ending to "Letter" here. Enjoy!