Chapter 23 Ylvana: Out of the frying pan, into the net.

A Chapter by A.L.Exley

I force myself not to look back. Jay is where he belongs, and it's time I am too. But do I really want to go back to the castle?

I know the moment I get back there, I will be locked up and maybe never allowed to go outside again. I will be surrounded by a bunch of angry adults who will never trust me again. I deserve that. I made a stupid mistake by running away, and I have to take responsibility for that.

But what about the village? Nothing has changed. The war is still raging. I still doubt I am the hero of Skoll; I am no more powerful than any other shifter. Dispite this, I feel compelled to do something. The Crows are ruining the lives of both innocent villagers and animals. It is wrong, and needs to be stopped. King Albin obviously isn't going to be helpful, so someone else has to. But can that someone really be me--a teenage girl with no fighting experience, who barely knows how to handle her own powers?

I think about Bodolf's pack of twenty strong, fierce wolves. Now that Jay is with them, he should be safe. But I can't shake my fear. No one is truly safe from the Crows. Something could happen to him, and I'd never know about it. I may never see him again.

Get it through your head, I tell myself. The only thing you can do is get back safety.

Apparently I can't even do that, because a moment later, I find myself hanging above the forest floor in a metal net.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, I hadn't noticed it hidden among the brush of the pathway. Pine had stopped short of me, and looked around suspiciously, but I hadn't payed attention to him.

"Ylvana, stop!" he shouted. But he was too late, I had already stepped, and triggered the net.

My legs become tangled in the iron chain-links.My heart beats rapidly in my chest as I try to move. The iron cuts into my fur all around. Being ripped off my feet had made me disoriented. The swinging of the net makes my stomach roll. It reminds me of that horrible night the Fenrir Warriors put my on a pegasus, and I had lost all control.

I force myself to stop. I am never going to get out of here if I don't think clearly. I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. Slowly, my heartbeat steadies, and my thoughts are sorted out.

The rope is being suspended from somewhere above me. I stretch my neck up to see what the rope is attacked to. The four corners of the net all come together above me, each with a metal ring. Through the metal rings is a thick rope that wraps around the tree branches high above me.

"Ylvana!" Luna hoots. "Are you okay?"

"Not if I can't get out of here real quick," I mumble.

The Crows must have set this trap for me. Once they know it is set, they won't waste any time getting here. I have to get out before they come. I doubt I'll have the luck to escape them a second time.

There is no way I will be able to chew through the metal links of the net. In human form, I'd be able to reach my hand through the squares. But I don't have anything on me I can use to cut the rope. My only hope is Luna and Pine.

"Pine, see this rope up here?" I point up with my nose. "I need you to follow it. It's suspended from the trees, but these kind of traps always have a weight connected to the ground. If you can gnaw through that rope, I might be able to get out."

Pine nods and starts looking around the forest nearby. Luna helps him by following the rope through the trees all the way down to the counter-weight a couple yards away. I can't see them, but I hear Pine begin to gnaw.

Farther out, I hear the brush crackle. It is the sound of not one, but many footsteps stomping over the forest floor towards me. The time was up.

"You guys have to go!" I whisper to Pine and Luna.

"No way," Pine shakes his head.

"We have to get you out" Luna adds.

"There's no time. If they see you two, it'll give me away. You two are my only chance to get out of here, you can't get caught," I say. The footsteps become louder.

Luna nods reluctantly. "We'll follow you. We won't be far behind."

"Get help," I call to them as they disappear in to the woods. "Get Jay."

Raven's are the first to appear. They perch in the tree's around me, and taunt me with their cawing. Then, one by one, the men in black armor surround me.

I narrow my eyes to try and hide their blue color. A horrible growl erupts in my throat.

One of the Warrior's whistles. His black Crow's helmet glistens in the sunlight. "She's a vicious little thing, ain't she?"

"Are you certain it's her?" says another man.

A third one answers; "Of course it's her! That silver fur--" he grabs my muzzle between the chain links, and forces me to look at him--"those ice-blue eyes."

His finger's dig into my skin painfully. I strain my jaws against his hand to try to bite him, but his grip is too solid.

"I say her fur is more white," the first man says.

"You drunken idiot! It's obviously silver!" another man argues hotly.

I pick up the faint smell of alcohol. I struggle a little more against the man's grip. These people are crazy enough when they are sober, I don't want to be around them when their brain is impaired. Fenrir is a terrifying ruler, but he keeps his warriors in order. When these angry, war-driven men are left to their own devices, things like the accident at the village school grounds happen.

The Crow releases my snout. I lunge at his hand with my teeth, but he quickly withdraw's his hand.

"The question is; if she is the Wolf Princess, where is the Prince?" he wonders aloud.

"The foolish boy probably couldn't handle the girl," someone snickers.

The man pins me with iron eyes, and shakes the cage a little. "Don't play games with us, Princess! Where's the boy?"

I have no idea what he is talking about. Even if I did, I would not speak. My cover is already blown, but that doesn't mean I have to cooperate.

I remain silent. The man backs away, but his hard gaze is undefeated. "Stubborn thing, aren't you? We'll see what the king has to say. He's been anxious to see you after you escaped him."

I growl and struggle fiercely, but it does nothing. The men don't pay me any heed as they cut down the net, and start dragging it along the forest floor. To make my journey even worse, I am dragged over hard rocks and sharp sticks. I yelp with pain every time something stabs my back. Some of the Crow's smirk down at me as I squirm with pain. Hatred for them burns through me.

They bring me to a open meadow. There are easily twenty tents set up, and several fire pits. Racks of food, clothing, and weapons are everywhere. A camp this organized meant they have been here for a while, maybe weeks or even months. How could they spend all this time out here and not get caught by Wolves? As my group of kidnappers walks by, more Crows get out of their tents to watch me be dragged by and laugh.

I am thrown into a wooden crate; built more for the size of a human then a wolf. The men latch the metal gate behind me, and leave. My prison is roomy, but the wood of the kennel hasn't been sanded. Tiny, sharp pieces of wood stick out all over the place, causing painful splinters on my paw pads. I go to the very back of the cage and shift into human form. At least now I have a layer of clothing to protect me from the wood.

I lean my head against the wall of the cage and listen to the Crows around the camp. A lot of them slur their words. I can hear their uneven footsteps as they walk. A lot of them have been drinking.

"Where did you find her?" one man asks.

"Hiding among the wolves. There's a huge pack of them not too far from here," another one answers.

"That sound's like it could make for a fun hunt," another man says. I can smell sour alcohol even from my crate. I don't like how they are talking about the wolf pack while they are so drunk.

"You remember what the king said. No unnecessary hunting! We already have the girl," the second man says. I pray the others listen to him.

The drunk man laughs uproariously. "What's the point of coming out here if we can't have a little fun? Hey guys!" the man shouts. "Who wants to go wolf hunting?"

A couple other man shout back. There is the clink of metal weapons. I hear them--there must have been at least three--mount horses and gallop into the woods.

"Drunken fools," the first man says. He doesn't sound surprised by his comrades behavior--just a little irritated, like this was a common occurrence.

Tears cloud my eyes. I push desperately against the wood. Splinters stab my fingers, making even more tears form. I scoot up towards the metal door and kick against it as hard as I can. But it doesn't even bend--it was built to withstand enormous amounts of force.

I give up, and shift back into wolf form. Wolves don't cry like humans do. They still feel sadness, but they don't shed tears. In wolf form, it is easier for me to deal with my emotions. I need to make sure I don't show any signs of weakness when I meet Fenrir again.

Once Fenrir gets here, that'll be it; he won't let me escape again. I can only hope Luna and Pine are nearby with a plan of action ready. But even if I escape . . . what is going to happen to Bodolf's pack? I have no doubt Bodolf can outwit those drunken idiots, but the probability of escaping them completely unharmed is slim. I shutter inside my lonely kennel; I now feel more helpless then ever.

Tick-tack. The light sound dances on the top of my kennel; like nail's clicking on hardwood. I jump with my ears straight up and alert. A few seconds later, a little black nose peeps up on the other side of the wired gate.

"Ylvana?"

"Pine!" I smile.

"Hey, glad to see you aren't a throw-rug yet! We brought some back-up."

Jay appears next to Pine. I wag my tail; I've never been so happy to see that wolf.

"Really, Ana? I leave you for five seconds, and this happens?" Jay smiles. Even his annoying jokes don't bother me right now.

Jay glances again behind him, to make sure no one notices us. None of the warriors are even paying attention. Crows are known for being smart; smart enough to know they should guard my cage. They must be either preoccupied, or too drunk.

"I have a plan. But it's kind of crazy, and dangerous," he says.

"Is there a chance it will help me escape?"

"Sort of."

"Great, let's do it," I say, enthusiastically.

Jay nods, and studies the metal gate. "The latch here is fairly simple to undue. Have you tried to reach it?"

Idiot. I have been trying so hard to break through the wooden walls, I didn't think about the other options I had to attempt escape. I shift, and try to reach my hand through the metal squares, but my hand is too big to get through.

I swear. "I can't reach it!"

Pine starts biting at the latch. "I think I can . . . lift it . . . with my tongue" he says.

"Alright, you do that, and I'll get the pack ready," Jay says.

"Wait, the pack?" I ask. But Jay has already left.

Then, I hear the howls erupt from all around. Maybe I do have a chance to escape after all.

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