Shayla the wolf princess
by: xenokitten
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Word Count: 3853
Shayla - The Wolf Princess
Chapter one - "Into the woods"
Lady Aryia was a noble woman and one of four wives to Lord Fillos. She was a beautiful woman with long golden hair and a kind soft face. Her eyes were soft brown and seemed to glow whenever she smiled. They had just given birth to a tiny baby about three months prior. This baby was named Shayla Leine. She was the only daughter born from Ariya of about six children between the four wives and was also the youngest.
On this particular day, the entire noble family of the House of Leine were heading to a grand masque ball by royal invite from one of the neighboring kingdoms. Their carriage was quite ellegant. It was white in color, with blue and silver trim on the doors and roof. The inside sported plush blue carpet and comfortable leather seats. It was kept clean and polished by the many servants afforded by their noble status. The horses at the head of the carriage were kept in the utmost of health. Each one was black as midnight without a single marking. Their black eyes glistened as the reigns were fitted to each horse.
The masquerade was fabulous, just what one might expect of royalty. The dancing and celebration lasted long into the night. This sort of event was typical occurence for the House of Leine and they were well known throughout much of the eastern kingdoms.
There was of course chambers for the noble family to rest for the night. Afterall, it was dark and the woods were well known to have been traveled by bandits. Aryia prepared the room for her husband and then went to help the other wives and their children. Of all the wives, Aryia was perhaps the most beloved by Fillos. She had been the seccond wife and had given him his first son, Chrilos whom was now 6 years old and the second eldest of the children. His half sister, Serime, daughter to Fillos' first wife, was 13 and the eldest of her siblings.
With the children put to bed, the wives went to their chambers. The air was hot with summer heat and Ariya just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Disatisfied, she rolled out of bed and stepped out onto the balcony. She took a deep breath and glanced down below to the courtyards which were dimly lit by garden lanterns. She smiled gently as she admired the flowers. She sat back on a lounge and began to doze lightly.
Her slumber was interrupted by screams and the thick smell of smoke filling the castle walls.
"Mon-m-onsters! The castle is under attack!" Voices shouted in panic as footsteps charged down the hall. The sound of metal echoed as warriors grabbed their blades. Ariya's first reaction was to check on her husband. But just as she'd feared he'd already fled, charging to the frontlines of battle. Such was to be expected of a former captain of the knights.
"Grab the children and get out of here. These demons are not like the armies from the west or even the minions from the far south. Make haste, the battlefield is no place for a woman!" Fillos shouted as he drew his sword into the first wave of incoming beasts. Ariya hesitated, not wanting to leave her husband's side. "Think of the children." she told herself calmly. She had a responsibility as a mother above all other duties in her life. She bid a tearful goodbye to her husband and ran to the nursery. She awoke all the children of Fillos. ranging in ages thirteen to two and a half. She then ran back to her own room and snatched Shayla from the crib near her bed. The children were scared and some of the younger ones began crying and begging to be held. "You're a big girl now." Ariya assured the young two year old. "Your mommy is already waiting outside. I can't carry you, you're going to have to walk ok? Here, hold my hand." She offered one hand to the tiny pigtailed tot as she scooped Shayla closer to her chest. "Stay close children. Everything is going to be alright."
But it wasn't...Part of the horde of demons broke off and gave chase in every direction after those who were trying to escape the castle. 2 of the six children were slain before even leaving the castle. A 3rd was lost crossing the river. Ariya kept on going. As long as there was anyone left alive she had to think about them and not mourn the loss of the children right now. Shayla, Serime, and Chrilos were still alive. Her two babies were still alive. They were a part of her and she would be damned if she would let anything happen to them. Serime probably survived from being old enough to stay calm and keep up. Ariya couldnt help but wonder if the other wives were ok, or her poor husband.
She ran blindly into the night. Several hours passed and she realized she had become lost in the forest. By now the children were exhausted and she knew they could not go any further tonight. They seemed to have lost the demons for now so Ariya prepared a camp site. Serime seemed distant and cold, no doubt thinking about her mother. Young Chrillos huddled against his mother's robes and the tiny baby cried herself to sleep.
But the forest had dangers of it's own... Sometime before day break, bandits invaded the camp site. A man with a strange scar on his chin held a knife to Ariya's throat as he grabbed her hair. Ariya, startled out of her sleep, gave a loud scream as the man roughly handled her. He asked her to take off all of her jewelry and clothing. He then snatched the crying Shayla from her mother's arms and one of his comrades, a man with green eyes, threatened to toss Shayla into the river if Ariya didn't do as she was told. Serime awoke to find the men robbing Ariya. She immediately stood and grabbed a large rock and lobbed it at the man's head. "You wench! You'll pay for that..." The man said as he gritted his teeth. He tied and bound Ariya who lied naked and beaten on the cold forest floor. "Please... spare the children" She begged. The green eyed man took his foot and stomped Ariya's head repeatedly until she slipped into unconciousness. She had failed her babies.
With Ariya tied up, Chrillos took off running to find help. He was small and slipped by unnoticed since the bandits had now turned their attention to Serime who was still putting up a fight. Both men overtook her. They laughed to eachother. "We're going to have some fun with this one we are." The scar chined man said. "So young. such milky white skin. A real pretty one she is eh, Gaust?" The green eyed man said as he began to derobe Serime. Serime screamed and cried but the men took turns rapeing her mercilessly. They then tied her as they had tied Ariya and loaded them both into their caravan.
Gaust looked at the tiny bundle of baby Shayla laying on the ground. "Say, what are we going to do with the brat?" His partner scratched his chin for a moment and then said, "Leave her to the wolves." Both men laughed as they mounted their carriage and drove off.
Chapter 2 - Mercy of Nature
Shayla was cold and was in serious need of changing and food. She was becoming weaker and sicker every moment. Her cries echoed through the vast forest until finally she couldn't cry any longer. Hearing the cries, a silver wolf came down to the river to see what was going on. It sat hunched down in the bushes, it's blue eyes piercing through the darkness. "Human" it thought by the smell. Now, no one knows why, but the wolf did not eat Shayla. Instead, it continued to watch the baby... The baby stopped moving. The wolf wandered out of the bushes and cautiously aproached her giving her a few quick sniffs. This wolf was odd, or perhaps there was something about shayla, even way back then. The wolf layed down near the baby, wrapping its thick furry neck over her. If not for the wolf's warmth, she surely would have perrished that night.
Morning came and Shayla once again began crying. It was obvious that she was hungry. She was too little to eat anything that the wolf might be able to catch. It just so happened this particular wolf was female. And appearently a smart wolf too. She picked Shayla up gently with her mouth holding her mostly by her clothes and ran with her to a small cove near the edge of the forest. Upon entering the cove, the wolf was greeted by the rest of her pack. There were some less accepting wolves who snarled and showed their teeth at the smell of a human. But it was Shayla's luck as fate may have it that this particular wolf who rescued her was the Alpha. The large female gave a menacing growl and the other wolves gave way to let her into the cave.
The wolf had 3 cubs of her own and layed Shayla down gently next to them. They pawed playfully at the baby, scareing her and causing her to cry even louder. Then the mother wolf layed down and her young cubs began to suckle her. Shayla opened her eyes and stared in wonder. She then crawled over and began immitating the wolves. It had worked as the wolf had hoped.
And so Shayla lived and thrived and grew up alongside the wolves. She soon grew old enough to eat meat, berries, fish, etc that the forest provided in abundance. And good thing too because the mother wolf was drying up as her own cubs grew older.
Chapter three - Leaving the forest
Shayla, daughter of the forest, princess of the wolves. She was a strange mix of human and beast. She had no memories of humans. She could not even recall their smell or the sight of them. Growing up with the wolf pack meant that she had no ability to speak or understand spoken and written words. She had no concepts of the evils of humanity such as lust, greed, sin, jealousy, revenge, temptation, etc. She also had no concepts of the wonders of humanity, no laughter, no love, no friendship. Her only companions were the animals of the forest.
Although she could not speak to them persay, she could understand their moods remarkably well. She had lived the past fourteen years with them - not just the wolves, but all creatures and plants that inhabbited the forest. She knew how to catch fish with crude spears made of stick, she knew which herbs were powerful healing tools and which were deadly poisons. She knew what the animals loved, and what they feared too. Her relationship with them was much like the relationship that anyone would have with their family and loved ones. She was protective of them and they of her.
One day while out gathering fruits in the forest, a caravan passed by a long forgotten trail. The trail was badly grown over with brush and debris. It had not been traveled for many years. Shayla caught sight of this strange "creature" as it barreled down the road. It's drivers were two older men. Now almost in their 50s.... A man with a star shaped scar on his chin... and a man with piercing green eyes. It was the first time Shayla had ever seen humans... She was intrigued. She knew they looked and smelled like herself. She felt compelled to follow them at a safe distant. Her animal like instincts helping her hide well in the shadows of the tall grass and trees.
There was odd sounds coming from the inside of the covered wagon. Painful and fearful moans and cries. Shayla had never heard such horrible sounds. She was on gaurd but driven by her curiosity to continue. Suddenly the caravan came to a stop and the two men got off and went to the back to check on their cargo. "This looks like a good enough camp doesn't it, Gaust?" The man asked his friend. Shayla was puzzled by the strange sounds of human speech. She crept closer to get a better look at the two men. "We should find something for dinner" The green eyed man said as he grabbed a riffle from the wagon. Meanwhile, The scar chinned man screamed angrilly at whatever creatures were in the wagon. Their crying persisted as he climbed up in the back and beat one of them into submission. The rest became quiet from fear.
There was a deer nearby in the forest. The green eyed man raised his rifle and took aim. Immediately, Shayla knew something was not right. She ran out of the brush charging the man and grabing the strange metal weapon from his hand. She looked at him sternly. "Ah what the hell?! A naked woman?! What in god's name are you doing?! Are you CRAZY? I almost shot you!" There was no reply. Shayla took the riffle and threw it to the ground. She continued to stand between the man and the deer. "Hey! didn't you hear me. Oh now look, you let my dinner get away. What's wrong with you?"
The scar chinned man came over when he heard all the commotion. "What's going on here?.. What's this? A naked woman here in a place like this?"
"Yeah she doesn't seem to understand... or she's unable to speak... maybe she's ill?"
"No matter, load her with the others. What a good haul today. Who would have thought such a pretty little girl would fall into our laps?"
The two men aproached Shayla. She was nervous and jumpy like a wild horse. But she stood her ground to protect the deer. She refused to take even a single step back. She looked the men dead in the eyes as she hunkered down trying to make herself look more threatening.
One of the men grabbed her by the shoulders. She hissed and kicked. The other man came and grabbed her legs. He made a nod to his partner who slid his hand to her breast. He slid his hand slowly up her thigh. Shayla had never been touched in this way. It broke her gaurd and she felt her urges interfering with her better judgement. Slowly she began to relax and give into the men. "That's a good girl" The green eyed man said with a smile. "We wont hurt you, just come with us." They led her to the wagon where they chained her and tossed her in the back with the others. She fought against the restraints. No wild animal likes to be confined.
"It's useless." One of the girls said. "They plan to sell us on auction when they arrive back in the city..." Shayla of course could not understand the words and continued to struggle. Eventually she fell asleep from exhaustion. When she woke up she found the men unloading the wagon and marching the women tied and bound onto a stone block in the center of the town. There was a large crowd growing. Men and women alike. whistling and cheering and tossing red paper numbers about in the air.
When Shayla got off she caught the attention of an older man by the name of Fitzgald Inana. Lord Inana was a wealthy man who held high power within the church. He had enough money and power for anything he wanted. And he wanted Shayla. No one even dared bid against him when he threw out the outlandish offer of 10 thousand gold coins for the slave. He was informed that she was unable to speak but in his opinion this was all the better. He grabbed her face turning it towards him as he looked at her lustfully. "She is so wild and untamed. Never have I met a girl as beautiful as her. No doubt she will take some "breaking in" but Im sure she'll come to "serve me well"" He laughed as he thought of his plans for Shayla.
Chapter four - Life at the Church
Shayla was fourteen when she first arived at the Inana ressidence. She lived with Fitzgald and his half sister, Ereshkigal. Eresh was a kind, young girl. About 25 years of age. She had been the daughter of their father's seccond marriage after Fitzgald's mother had passed away. Fitzgald was much older nearly 40 now. Fitzgald although a man of the cloth was in no way a holy or devout individual. He had numerous encounters with the young temple maidens, often drugging them before taking advantage of them. Shayla was like a blank slate. He could teach her all kinds of things and none of which involved reading or writing or education. The dumber she was the better for him to have his way with her. He was also a severe alcoholic and had a gambling addiction. Corruption like this was not the norm of the church but because of his power most turned a blind eye to his dirty deeds.
Shayla learned to cook, clean, and perform in bed to act out Fitz's wildest fantasies. There was resistance at first, she'd struck him, bit him, clawed him, and even tried to run away. Over time she eventually grew to accept her place. By the age of seventeen Shayla's wild spirit had been broken into subordiance. Mostly everyone thought that the young girl was merely a temple maid or if they knew they were most likely bribed to keep quiet. Shayla of course could not speak or defend herself. It was the perfect plan.
Chapter five - becoming a knight
There was a flaw in the plan though, One day a temple gaurd learned Fitz' little secret. He threatened to tell the Cardinal if Fitz didnt let him have Shayla. Although Fitz was a perverted despicable old man, he had never physically hurt Shayla. But this was not true of the new young gaurd. Once he got Shayla alone and derobed he began to roughly handle her. He tied her with metal chains and struck her with the hilt of his sword. Shayla was scared. She struggled hard, making a large fuss with chains banging against the walls. One of the temple maidens came in to check what was going on. "Nothing" the gaurd snarled. "Get the hell out or you'll be next!" he threatened.
"This isn't right." The girl said. She removed her cleric's robes and took a fighting stance. The monks had all been trained to fight well bare fisted so she needed no weapons. As she entered the room she recongnized shayla. "It's me, Ereshkigal... Run when I tell you ok?" With a high kick she broke the chains binding Shayla. She then turned her attention to the gaurd. She did a running punch and sent him back a few yards. "Run!" She said.
It wasn't so much the word run, but the urgency of her voice that Shayla was able to understand. She ran down the temple hall and dind't look back. She burst into a chamber with large wooden doors where she met one of the Forever Knights paying his respects. The large doors made a rattling sound as they opened and slammed shut. Shayla didnt know what to do. She approached the man who had rose to his feet. She ran and grabbed his cape, tugging it hard. She was still unable to speak. But even without words, it was clear that something was amiss. It's the knight's creed to never turn their back on a woman in distress so the knight grabbed his sword resting against the altar and prepared for whatever else may be coming through the door.
Ereshkigal was able to detain the gaurd for awhile but eventually he broke free from the battle and stormed down the hall. He checked many chambers seeking his "Sister who was very ill" And claiming to be "very concerned about bringing her home." Of course once he entered the chamber with the wooden doors he caught sight of Shayla and the armored man. Shayla took a few steps back in fear. The gaurd tried his lines on the Knight but the knight could tell by the look in Shayla's eyes that this was a lie. He struck the man on the arm. The gaurd fell back, grabbing his arm and cursing loudly. The knight told him to leave immediately before he cut it off. The gaurd cursed and reluctantly turned away. The knight waited until the man had left before asking Shayla what had happened.
Shayla could not answer but she knew this man was different from the others she'd encountered over the past 5 years. She was now 19 and had a strong fear of men. All of her experiences with them had been bad, until now. The knight had a kind, soft look on his face, despite being aged and weathered from countless battles. Shayla tugged the man's cape as he turned to leave.
"What's this? Do you wish to come with me?" the knight was surprised but he knew she would probably be punnished or hurt for whatever had happened here tonight; he felt it was his duty to take her back to the others and see what they thought.
The knights welcomed him back and welcomed Shayla as well. Their first concern was finding out who she was and what had happened to her. To do so they would have to find some way to communicate with her. This meant working on shayla's education. She trained every day for 5 months before she finally spoke. The words out of her mouth were merely "Forest Home" It appeared she'd missed the forest all these years. Over time, Shayla began to learn other words and human like expressions. She began to train with a bow and arrow to defend herself.
Three years have passed. Shayla is now 21 years old and a member of Forever Knights. She can speak somewhat well but ocassionally makes animal like sounds to compensate for words she doesnt know. She still remains close to the forest and the animals. She was unable to find her way home but she has faith from what the other animals have shown her that her wolf pack is still alive.
The knights are still unable to understand exactly where Shayla came from but they suspect that she was abandoned as an unwanted child in the woods.
Chrillos has taken over the house of Leine, Serime and Ariya are still missing. Eresh has become disilusioned with the temple and left to find her own path. Their fates are all intertwined...
To be continued.
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