The Princess and the Werecat

The final rays of the sun vanished behind black clouds as Cole crested the hill.  He planted his bo staff firmly in the ground and regarded the valley below as behind him, Princess Valora climbed the last few steps, panting heavily.  She leaned against a tree and struggled to catch her breath as Cole squinted into the gloom.

“There!” he exclaimed, pointing at a small, inconspicuous clearing.  “I see it!  If we hurry, we can beat the storm.  Come on!”

He turned to head back down the hill, but Valora sighed.

“Could you just give me a moment’s rest?  We’ve been going nonstop since dawn!”

“You can rest at the shelter,” he replied, but the princess was not used to others telling her what to do.

“No, we are stopping now,” she argued.  “My feet are burning, my legs are aching, I can’t catch my breath–”

Cole gritted his teeth.  “You are going to be even more miserable if we get caught in the rain.  We have to move.  Now.”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.  “You work for me, remember?”

“There isn’t a prize high enough to compensate for dealing with you,” he muttered, but he waited obediently, eyes fixated on the sky.  He was confident that they had outrun the soldiers pursuing them, and the storm would help wash away any traces he may have missed covering up, but it wouldn’t do them any good if they got killed by lightning.

A flash in the clouds and a low rumble finally spurred Valora into action.  “Lead the way, Master Cole,” she said.  Cole rolled his eyes, but started down the hill, retracing their steps until they reached the main road.  Valora tried walking down the worn dirt path, but Cole gestured at the woods.  “The shelter is this way.”

Valora stared, wide-eyed, at the thick overgrowth.  “Absolutely not.  I am not going through that.”

“Your Majesty, we have to get off the road.  That storm is going to turn this into a muddy river.”

“How do you know?” she retorted.  “Maybe it’s just going to be a light sprinkle.”

Cole rubbed his temples.  “Listen, respectfully… I know more than you about this stuff.  My job is to protect you and get you home, and I can’t do that if you aren’t going to listen to me.”

“I…”  She took a deep breath.  “I can’t get through that.  My dress…”

Cole pulled a long knife from a sheath on his belt.  “I can widen the path.”

“But… what is even in there?”

Cole’s expression softened.  “Your Majesty, there is nothing to be afraid of.  I will protect you.”

She bit her lip, but another rumble of thunder, louder and closer this time, made her nod her head.  Cole began hacking at the branches, creating a crude path into the woods.  Gingerly, she began picking her way through the broken brush, trying to keep up with the young knight.

The wind suddenly picked up, whipping the trees into a frenzy.  Valora ducked and whimpered, shielding herself from the onslaught, as Cole cursed under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Valora cried, but then the smell hit her, a rich earthiness mixed with a crisp coolness, and the sky opened up.  Before she could even put her cloak up, she was drenched to the bone, the weight of the water dragging her skirts down into the mud forming beneath her feet.

“Come on!” Cole shouted over the roar of a million raindrops battering the forest.  He grabbed Valora’s hand and pulled her forward.  “We can still make it to the shelter!”

Blinded by the rain, she stumbled alongside him, wincing as the knife whistled dangerously close to her as he tried to clear the path forward.  Then the air crackled, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up, and with a brilliant white flash, the tree next to them exploded.  Cole forced her to the ground and shielded her from the flying splinters of wood as she shrieked in terror.  Never had she been exposed to such elements.  Her strolls through the woods had always been idyllic and filled with meadows and butterflies and mildly dusty paths, not mud and underbrush and lightning.  The aftershock of the thunder rattled her very teeth, and she felt Cole dragging her upright again.

“That was close!  We have to get out of the storm!”  For the first time, Valora saw fear in his eyes.

“How far is the shelter?”

“Too far.  Follow me!”  He pointed deep into the underbrush, but Valora couldn’t see what he was pointing at.  She followed obediently and was surprised when he pulled aside a mat of vines to reveal a dark cave.  They scrambled inside, the darkness and silence in stark contrast to the outside.

“Hiding in forest caves is a terrible idea,” Cole said.  “But I think as long as we stay at the entrance, we will be fine.”  But even as he spoke, something stirred in the blackness, and Valora gasped.

“What was that?” she whispered, trembling.

Cole fumbled in his pouch for a striker and a rag.  Wrapping the rag around the end of his walking stick, he ignited it and held the torch aloft.  It revealed a deep tunnel, too long to see the end of, but Valora heard the sound of something large stirring.  Then there was a growl and the thick stench of wet animal mixed with rotting meat hit her.

“Val, run!” Cole cried, but just as they turned to exit the cave, a bolt of lightning struck the ground just outside the entrance.  The ground turned black and split, clods of grass spraying the cave walls, and Valora clearly saw their enemy.  A great werecat, nearly the size of the tunnel, was slowly advancing on them, bloody fangs bared.  Its fur was white with sky blue stripes, its eyes a piercing greenish gold.

“Run!  Run!” Cole was shouting, but she was frozen to the ground, her legs refusing to work, mouth slack with terror.  She had never seen werecats in person before, and in all of her wildest dreamings, she had never imagined she would encounter one.  Enemy soldiers who wanted her kingdom, yes.  Bandits who wanted her jewels, yes.  Monsters who wanted to eat her, no.

Cole swung the makeshift torch back and forth, shouting and roaring at the creature, who put its ears back and hissed.  He lunged forward, causing the animal to step backwards.  “I’ll keep it busy, you go!” he hollered over his shoulder, but the slight distraction was enough for the werecat to make a move.  It swatted at Cole with a paw as big as his head and yanked the torch from his palms.  It rolled away but did not extinguish, illuminating the cave with exaggerated shadows.

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, but still, she could only watch as Cole wrenched his sword from its scabbard.  Clearly, this wasn’t the monster’s first encounter with a knight, because at the sight of the gleaming blade, it squatted down, tail twitching in the air, ready to pounce.

Cole made the first move, slashing forward like he had with the torch, back and forth, trying to catch the werecat off guard.  It easily dodged, but when it swatted, Cole also managed to duck and avoid the sharp claws.  Valora cowered against the cave wall, unable to look away.  How was Cole moving so effortlessly, seeming to predict the creature’s movements?  Why was he so quick to draw his weapon and defend her, a coward?  Why hadn’t he tried to take off out of the cave like she should have done?  Was he not afraid?

The werecat roared as Cole stabbed it in the paw, the sound shaking the cave and causing little pebbles to shake loose.  Valora screamed and covered her head, but the sound attracted the creature’s attention.  It snarled at her and snapped at Cole and the sword, which was firmly lodged.  With a yelp, Cole side-stepped the great beast’s mouth.  Unperturbed, it took a step towards the princess, dragging Cole, who refused to let go.  Cole heaved with all of his might and yanked the blade free, causing the werecat to round back on him.  This time, however, he was too slow.  The side of the beast’s head collided with Cole with so much force that he was flung across the cave and slammed into the wall.  He slumped to the floor, blood trickling from his forehead.

“Cole!” Valora cried, but the knight did not answer her.  “Cole!”  She realized that her face was wet with tears she hadn't known she was crying.

He lay unnaturally still.  The werecat sniffed him, and, satisfied, turned back to Valora.  Her voice caught in her throat when she went to scream, and instead she just made a little choking sound.  The great cat advanced slowly, so close that she could see the tips of its ears twitching, blood matting the fur on its paw.  The smell of its fur, a damp, rotting musk, invaded her nostrils, made her choke again.  It was growling, prepared to pounce and dispatch this intruder, this threat to its home…

She couldn’t go out like that.  Not when Cole had laid his life down for her.  He had rescued her from the enemy and brought her this far through the backcountry, and how had she repaid him?  By snarking at him and being afraid of every little bug and leaf that was out of place?

She dove forward, slipping underneath the werecat before it could react and grabbing the fallen sword from beside Cole’s body.  With a triumphant “ha!” she sprang to her feet and tried to brandish the sword, but she was entirely unprepared for its weight, and the weapon fell back to the ground.

The cat, however, did not pounce.  In fact, it was now looking at her, its eyes wide, its entire body rigid in… fright?  Was there something even more monstrous in the cave?  Valora dared to take her eyes off of the creature to look around, and she gasped at what she saw.

Just to her right, hidden by the curve of the cave, was a nest, with three tiny, fluffy werekittens curled up in it.  The commotion had awoken them, and six little eyes were blinking blearily at her, curious but cautious about this new thing in their home.

Astonished, she looked back at the mama werecat.  “I’m not gonna hurt your babies,” she said softly.  “We just wanted out of the storm.”  What was she doing, talking to the beast?  How would it understand her?  Slowly, with deliberate movements, she laid the sword flat on the ground and let go of it.  Then she stepped to the side, away from the nest.  The werecat slowly walked towards the kittens, and step by step, the two moved in a wide arc away from each other.

“I’m going to check on Cole,” she said, pointing at her fallen knight.  The werecat narrowed its eyes and appeared to nod its head before sitting down next to her babies, keeping a close eye on the princess as she pressed two fingers against Cole’s neck.  There was a soft but steady flutter, and she released the breath that she didn’t realize she was holding.

Still moving slowly so as not to startle the werecat, she reached into Cole’s pouch and removed a roll of bandages to patch up the gash on his forehead.  The werecat tilted her head and observed her, then made a strange little noise somewhere between a chirp and a purr.

“Do… do you want me to bandage your leg?” she asked, carefully tearing off the extra.  The werecat mewed softly.  Trembling from head to toe, Valora walked over to the great animal and carefully wrapped its bleeding paw.  She regarded the princess with her glowing golden eyes, and then dipped her head in another nod.

Outside, the thunder rumbled again, and the kittens cried out in fright.  The werecat snuggled closer to them, and Valora walked back to Cole, to watch over him until he awoke.  And as she looked out of the cave entrance at the storm, a sense of pride came over her, and she smiled softly. How many princesses could say that they had tamed a werecat?