CHAPTER 4
“I’M SORRY, LENORE. I know this isn’t easy for you,” Brynn softly said.
She had spoken up after some time had passed, having given Lenore her space to recuperate.
“Change is never easy.” She walked alongside her, but kept a respectable distance between them.
Edmund was ahead, guiding the group with the kirin’s reins in hand.
“... Yes,” Lenore murmured, “Especially when the change was never wanted.” Her head was turned away, opting to stare out at the scenery of mossy boulders and trees.
They were on a quieter path than the main roads leading out of Arkhaven, granting them a sense of privacy as they ventured farther from the town.
The inner corners of Brynn’s brows drew upwards. Her lips pulled into a small, sympathetic frown. “Yeah,” she said. “I understand.”
“Brynn.” Edmund’s call of her name sounded like a sharp command. He didn’t turn around. “We’re far enough. Take those chains off her.”
“Oh, yes, of course!” A bright smile replaced Brynn’s frown before she sniffed the air. “I can still smell a few knights. Do you think they’ll follow us longer if we take them off now?”
“She’s clearly a Nyven. Those things will only slow her down.”
“A Nyven?” Lenore repeated. She remembered one knight mentioning a hierarchy system. “Is that a rank in the pack? What is that?”
Brynn’s lips scrunched to the side, trying to think of a way to word it. “It is, it is. It’s nothing bad but—”
“It means you’re weak.” Edmund interjected flatly.
“O-oh.” Lenore could only assume it was a low rank, if not the lowest. “Um... does that change if it’s only just physical weakness?”
She shifted nervously when Edmund’s sharp gaze looked back at her. His impassive expression remained as he stated bluntly, “No. The way you are, even down to your scent—you’re a Nyven.”
“I see…” It at least explained the way she had felt when she saw them for the first time. Their dominating presence had overwhelmed her, the difference between them ingrained into her instincts. “Then where does that put me?”
“The bottom.”
“Is... Is that bad?”
“If we put any basic expectations of a standard werewolf on you, you’d be dead. So take that as you will,” Edmund said.
Lenore winced.
“It’s really not as bad as you think!” Brynn quickly added. “You’re still as much a part of the pack as anyone else! Werewolves look after their own, always!”
A nervous swallow followed from Lenore before she tried to nod in understanding. Her eyes briefly flitted to Edmund’s back when he looked away, wondering what his rank was.
“Her chains, Brynn,” Edmund said.
The ground crunched beneath the heel of Lenore’s boot as she took a half-step back. “But what if I go crazy again?” Fear tinged her voice. Her trembling hands bunched the fabric of her dress tightly.
She never wanted to turn again.
“Then I’ll knock some sense right back into you,” Brynn said with a cheeky grin, placing her hands on her hips. “You’re with fellow werewolves now! We know how to handle it. Now, can you give me your hands?”
Though Lenore’s hands still shook, causing her chains to jostle back and forth, she still stuck her arms out obediently toward her. She watched the dark green-haired woman dig around in her small satchel attached to her belt until she procured a bronze key.
Holding the shackles steady, Brynn swiftly pushed the key into the lock.
With one smooth turn, a quiet click followed, and one shackle fell loose.
Eventually, the entire chain dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
Instant relief fell over Lenore from the freedom of its weight.
A soft sigh escaped her as she brought her arms close, rubbing away at each of her sore wrists.
“Thank you, Brynn. It does feel so much better now.” She paused. “And… thank you, Edmund.”
He didn’t respond to her gratitude, only choosing to continue moving forward with the kirin in tow. “We’ll get her on the kirin once we’re farther out.”
“You’re welcome!” Brynn said. “It must’ve been awful hauling those heavy chains this whole time. Did the knights always make you wear those in public?”
Lenore nodded and answered, “Since the moment I woke up, they were on me.”
“What?” Brynn’s face turned aghast. “They’ve chained you the entire time since you turned?” She kicked the chains to the side of the road, huffing as she shook her head. “Don’t tell me they kept you locked up in some prison, too.”
“Not exactly…” Lenore’s voice wavered, a faint crease forming under her eyes as she glanced sideways.
“Did anyone visit you?”
“Outside of the hospital staff, no. It was definitely not allowed either.” Her eyes glanced downward at her right arm. “But I don’t blame them. I had a few episodes after that…” She lowered her head and added in a murmur, “And I had one yesterday as well.”
Brynn’s indignation softened into sympathy. “Mm... I see.”
“I... did get visited by a different knight a few days after my… after what happened to me. That was when I was starting to regain some lucidity.”
Lenore’s brows furrowed slightly in thought, quietly dwelling on the resurfacing memory.
A small sealed glass vessel clacked against hard wood. Within the round body, a black object shifted. Its many points reminded Lenore of a star—one completely devoid of light. Around its points, smoke wisped upwards, fading into nothingness as it trailed to the top of the glass.
“Do you recognize this, Ms. Yunae?”
Lenore frowned. “No... I don’t know what that is.”
“Hm.” Gloved fingers drummed lightly on top of the desk. “The mages found this on the werewolf after they managed to shift his body back to human. Have you ever interacted with this werewolf prior to him changing you? From what we gathered, it seems like he was here for at least a full day or two.”
“I never met him before he approached me.”
“I see. We ran a background check on you, and so we know you’re an esthetician that runs your own private studio. You use natural ingredients to better your clients’ skin, correct?”
“... Yes, that’s true—”
“The hunt for beauty can tempt a person to seek out... material that lies beyond our general knowledge. Our team is still in the dark of what exactly this is—other than it garnering the interest of a few ravens here and there. If there’s anything you know, consider this an opportunity to share without repercussions. ”
Lenore’s eyes widened. “No, I really don’t know what this is! I don’t use anything strange in my work, nor would I ever!” The chains on her hands rattled loudly as they jerked upward to her chest. A sharp gasp escaped her when the surrounding guards readied their swords and magic against her.
She shrank back into her seat, shame-faced.
The knight stared back at her, his expression veiled in calmness. “Well,” he finally said after a minute’s pause, “I didn’t think you’d know either.” The glass vessel disappeared from view as the knight tucked it away within his coat.
He stood up after. “That’ll be all then.”
Lenore looked up. Her hands squeezed into fists before she spoke, “W-wait!”
The knight glanced at her, silently prompting her to speak.
“What... what's happening next? When am I going to be released or—or for everything to go back to normal?”
A muscle ticked in the knight’s jaw as he carefully mulled over his answer. “We’re still processing this in accordance with our regulations.”
“What?” she croaked hoarsely. “What does that mean?”
“Focus on recovery in the meantime, Ms. Yunae. Blessings.”
He left then, leaving her behind in the windowless room full of pointed swords and cold stares.