Natasha Luepke - The Adventures of Luna

“You walked into my house last night; I couldn’t help but notice: A light that was long gone still burnin’ strong. You were sittin’, your fingers like fuses; your eyes were cinnamon.” –Beth Orton, “Stolen Car”

“Holle!” I said after taking several minutes to stand.

“Shh!” she snapped, placing a hand on my shoulder, guiding me back down to the splintery wooden bench. “It’s bad enough I’m a foreigner here…Don’t jeopardize my position by saying my name.”

I coughed. “Then why are you here?”

“As part of my position as Town Hedgewitch, a position I created, I visit the prisoners here daily. To treat wounds, you know.”

“Ah, wounds?” I asked fearfully.

Holle leaned back against the wall. “This is the worst prison in all the Eastern Empires. Trust me, anything your parents told you they’ve suffered — mere child’s play compared to this place.”

I, too, leaned against the wall. “Cripes. Well, I mean, Mom was kidnapped by trolls and…”

Holle shook her head. “Amateurs.”

“Cripes.”

“Anyway,” Holle pressed on, “why are you here?”

“Oh,” I replied airily, “there have been wolf attacks in the area and they accused me, arrested me, and threw me in prison. I wasn’t even allowed a single phone call.”

“Why are you even here?”

“Um, I’ve been accused of wolf attacks…”

Holle rolled her eyes. “No, here, in the Eastern Empires.”

“Ah.” I attempted to spread my legs but was stopped after about five inches. “I was traveling with my parents; they went South, I went East…It’s been, what, a year? Thought I’d visit you and Sanum.”

“You mean Sanum.”

“That’s not fair.”

She crossed her arms and leaned away from me.

“I brought you both some books…but the guards confiscated all of my things.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Books? How could you afford…?” She shook her head.

I shook my wrists. “Cripes, Holle, what now?”

“You can shape-shift, right?” I nodded. “So, plea-bargain. Say you’ll catch the wolf if they’ll let you go.”

“Whoa. That’s what happened to Dad. Granted, he couldn’t shape-shift, and--”

Holle took my hands in hers. “Wolf was sent after a…whatever, little realizing what he would meet along the way. You are being sent into the woods to get a wolf, not into another dimension.”

I shrugged.

Holle stood. “Listen, Wolfsdaughter, they won’t do anything to you tonight. I’ll bring Sanum by and maybe he can persuade you, huh?” She gathered up her things and left.

Now, my parents have been up against a lot of baddies. Ah, enemies. Anyway, I think the trolls are the worst…I couldn’t begin to fathom a place worse than trolls…Whenever classes got too hard in college, I dreamed of moving to the Nine Kingdoms and being a roving hitchhiker-reporter, writing about the best place to eat, or the cheapest place to get old Janx Spirit. This little adventure in an Eastern Empire's gulag was making me reconsider those aspirations.

True to word, Holle came back later that evening. I’d thought I was finally over Sanum, but seeing him again….My heart went all fluttery, my guts went all twisty…It was not a fun physiological experience.

After a nice, grown-up conversation (“Sanum! So great to see you!” “Um, Wolfsdaughter, you’re in chains; please just back down.” “Ever think about proving Cordelia wrong?” “Who? What?”), we decided my best course of action was to plea bargain if only, as Sanum pointed out, so that I could escape.

The guards had their doubts, of course (“So, she can shape-shift, sure.” “Well, cripes, you picked me up because I have a tail! Obviously I’m not like most other people.” “Hey, look, you see that metal rod over there? Any idea how long it’s been roasting in the fire?” “Yeah; it’s a bit melted, there.” “Sweetie, wanna’ know how we cool ‘em off?” “Ah, Holle, why don’t you resume negotiations?”)

Anyway, the guards undid my restraints long enough to prove that while I wasn’t 100% wolf, I looked like it. They agreed to give me three days: if no wolf was found, I would be guilty.

“All right,” I said, sitting on my gray haunches. “One wolfie coming up.” I could not figure out why I was sounding so insane. Dad is not someone you would consider playing with a full deck as it is, but once he was delirious with…I think chicken pox (which doesn’t exist in the Nine Kingdoms)…anyway, he still didn’t sound half so psycho as I was beginning to.

“Uh, not so fast,” the guard said when I stood. “We have to be assured you’ll return.”

“Scout’s honor.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I couldn’t be truer to my word if I was Pinocchio!”

“Sir,” Holle interjected, “I have an idea.” She produced from beneath her tunic a length of black ribbon. She tied it snugly around my neck. (“Don’t worry,” she whispered in my ear. “I’ll remove this tonight.”) When she was done, I changed back into human, to see if the ribbon would remain. It did; a snug choker, fashionable if constraining. I coughed.

“Holle?” Sanum said. “Are you serious? Is that really necessary?”

“Well,” she said, pushing aside a few errant strands, “I was traveling in the North Lands…they have this large wolf, Fenris, bound with this special ribbon, called Gleipnir. This is but a piece. Anyway, you can attach a tag to it and the only one who can remove it is me.”

The guard crossed his arms. “Well, how do I know you won’t take it off before a wolf is brought in?”

“Well…”

“Three days?” I interjected. “Right.” I embraced Holle (“We live at the edge of town.”) and then Sanum (“Holle will take care of everything. Be careful.”)

I changed back into a wolf; the transformation was easier each time I did it.

“Bye then.”

The guard slapped his forehead. “Nope — no, wait — we’re gonna’ require collateral.”

I turned around. “How do you mean?”

The guard shrugged. “Well, ya’ know, what’s to prevent the girl here from releasin’ ya’ early? So…ah, I think we’ll hold onto the boy.” He snapped his fingers and two other guards appeared.

“No. Nonononono! I-uh-I’ll stay here! I’ll take responsibility!” I rushed forward as arms grabbed Sanum.

What happened next is a blur. On television, in movies, fight scenes are choreographed like a dance; each blow lands where it’s meant. All I remember is biting the head guard on the leg, Holle screaming, “Where are you taking him?” and Sanum answering, “I’ll be okay.”

Near the end of the dusty scuffle, I was struck with the sword earlier seen in the fire; it left a bright red crescent shape burned into the gray fur above my tail. The last words I heard before being pushed out the door was Holle calling, “You better return, bitch!” I suppose that could have been an insult, but I was a female dog at the time.

I paused at the edge of town, a little beyond town. I had three midnights to bring in a wolf. I slipped into my human form, hoping to dull the pain of my burn.

As a human, I was fine — well, the hem of my coat, poet’s shirt, and the waist of my pants were singed quite badly, but the skin was only a little warm to the touch, like sunburn. I decided to go into town and find an apothecary…and some new clothes; I tucked my tail into my breeches and hoped someone would still be open.

Dusk had settled on the village square, though a few participants in the day’s market remained on hand. I approached an old woman who was seated on a carpet, a million little bottles, jars, and bits of cloth before her.

“Mother,” I said, kneeling, “can you help me?”

“Goodness, child,” she responded, “what happened?”

“I was…attacked, in the woods. I was lucky to escape with my life—and a bit of money.” I reached into my boot and pulled out a few gold coins.

The old woman nodded. “You should be careful; there are wolves. Now, dear, what do you need?”

When I left her, I had a salve for the burn and a new suit of clothes: a long, wide purple skirt embroidered in gold and silver, with a matching top. The top was same in color and style, with three-quarter sleeves and metal snaps up the front; very different from anything I had ever worn before. I knew it was socially unacceptable of me to do so, but I used the long purple scarf to hide my tail. I told the old woman they were too beautiful for the woods. “Oh,” she’d scoffed, “these are old and out of date.” Time was tight, so I left it at that.

I followed the path out of town. I ducked into the stables behind the inn to change and apply salve. Once completed, I realized how boring my life had become and that time was being wasted. I changed back into wolf form, buried my clothes and headed for the woods.

I had only ventured a few feet from the stable when I picked up another wolf’s scent. I wasn’t as good a tracker as Dad, so I’d occasionally lose the scent and eventually found myself walking in circles.

I found a river, which my parents had taught me to follow when in doubt. My burn was acting up and I decided to seek relief in my human form. I undid the scarf from my waist, covered my head, and sat down on a smooth rock. I heard rustling in the bushes.

“Archana?” I looked around, but saw no one. The voice was low, male. “Archana—I knew you would return to me!”

A wolf appeared, illuminated by the moonlight. He was pure white; he’d fit in better in the Arctic, except I’m not sure if the Arctic exists in the Nine Kingdoms…and Eastern Empires.

I stood, pretending to be startled.

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to sound frightened. This was hard because while one doesn’t encounter talking wolves everyday, I actually am a talking wolf.

“Your Indra.” He came closer; I tried to figure out if “Indra” was a name or a term of endearment or what.

I sighed. I should have known that the wolf I’d been sent to find would be enchanted in some way.

I moved the scarf to my shoulders.

“I’m sorry — I’m not Archana.”

The wolf stopped. “But — you — who are you?”

“Oh,” I said, trying to think quickly, “a wolf, too. As such, I have no name. I was cursed by a gypsy to turn into a human every full moon.” I silently thanked whoever was in charge that the moon was indeed full. Truly, I was surprised my human form hadn’t sprouted fangs.

“Tomorrow you will be a wolf again, like me?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, I know what it’s like to be out of your element. You’ll need somewhere to spend the day; they don’t take kindly to wolves here.”

“So I heard in the village — and wolf attacks on livestock, they say.” He nodded. “And a child.”

He stared at me. His eyes were a warm red-brown, like cinnamon, like the wines in Wendell’s cellar.

“I would never attack a child. I hate attacking livestock as it is and do so as little as possible. There must be another wolf around.”

Great, I thought, another wolf to catch.

“Indra — your name?” He nodded. “Where should I spend the day?”

“You can stay with me.” He beckoned with his head, and I quickly followed. I stuffed my tail into my skirt as quickly as I could.

“How long have you been a were-human?” he asked.

“Oh…six moon cycles. Are you a were-wolf, then?”

“It’s more complicated than that. Why were you cursed by gypsies?”

Why would I be cursed by gypsies? I thought back to Mom’s first experience with gypsies.

“I set some birds free.”

“Shouldn’t you have been turned into a bird?”

“Oh, and a child.”

“You set a child free?”

“No, no, attacked. See, I was minding my own business — the birds — and he threw stones at me. It was really a nip, nothing serious, but…” I shrugged.

By this time, we had reached Indra’s lair: a rock shelf that jutted out from a cliff face, a carpet of leaves, grass, and moss carefully arranged beneath.

“Here,” he said, “it’s comfortable enough. It keeps out the rain.” He paused at the entrance, allowing me to go in first. I settled back against the stone wall, knees drawn up to my chest. He settled down beside me, head resting on paws, a familiar posture, to be sure.

“So, who is Archana?”

He sighed. “Archana…She was so beautiful.” He looked at me. “It was an arranged marriage, you know; she didn’t want me. I was but a poor innkeeper, she was the youngest child of a large family; she didn’t want to think I was the best she could do. I just kept thinking that if I was kind and patient and loving, she’d come around…”

“Did you love her?” I asked softly.

He chuckled. “I think I tricked myself into believing I did. She was so pretty, definitely the best I could do. You have the same nose as her and the same strong chin. Her beauty wasn’t lost on other men. It was one of her lovers that did this.”

“Did what?”

“Turned me into a wolf. He was a magician, a conjurer—I’m not even sure of his name — and he and Archana fled. I’ve been patrolling the woods beyond the inn, hoping she’ll return. If she wants…a divorce, I’ll grant that. But I want to be human again, and I don’t know how to turn back.”

“So you just woke up a wolf?”

“Basically.”

I nodded. “Well, there’s a price on your head in the village.”

“I know.”

“Why don’t you just explain what happened?”

He snorted. “People don’t like wolves. I just keep hoping…I just want to tell her I’m sorry for the way it ended. I suppose that’s silly…”

I shook my head. I leaned down close. “I fell in love with a human, you know.”

He raised his head.

“Oh, sure. And I thought there’d be a little hope for me — I’d never felt love as a pure wolf, not like you humans. And everyone knows the tales they tell in the Nine Kingdoms, of Wolf and Virginia, and Red Riding Hood, and…”

“And?”

“He loves another, a human girl. A complete human girl.” I sighed, for that was the truth.

“Well, you haven’t been human long, but answer me this: Do you believe there is only one you are destined to love?”

“I don’t know. But the path that leads the way to that one — for don’t forget, Indra, wolves mate for life — that path is one of thorns.”

Indra nodded. “The sun will be up soon; get some sleep.”

I made sure to be in wolf form before Indra awoke. My burn wasn’t as red as before, I was happy to notice, though I realized I would probably be marked for life.

He yawned wide. The dusk — my second midnight was fast approaching—made his mouth all shadows.

He smiled. “You are just as beautiful as a wolf. Uh…” He coughed.

“Thank you,” I said.

“And you can still speak?”

“Strange, I know.”

He stood. I did, too, shaking and stretching, trying to banish the stiffness from my limbs.

“What is that?” he asked.

“What?”

“That. That black ribbon around your neck.”

“Oh, ah--”

He was at my side before I could turn away. “’Property of Durga Prison,’” he read. I honestly did not remember a tag being attached to the ribbon.

“Was this…a trick?” he asked.

“Indra—let me explain--”

Before I could blink, he had pounced on me, his breathing heavy, his paws planted firmly on my chest, his snout inches from mine, his teeth bared.

“All this a trick, to lure me to that…place! Don’t think I don’t know what they do there! I trusted you!” He growled. “Get out.”

“But, Indra, they caught me thinking I was you. My friend is in there.”

He removed his paws from my chest. “Get out. And lead the townspeople back here to my final home—I’ll be gone.”

He growled again and I fled.