Snow Drop

White paleness hangs her head so sadly

Weary from the passing year so badly

She sleeps in tears, the year searing

Into her soul

Can she ever let it go?

There is frost on her heart

There are questions of why

And lonely sighs

A stolen kiss goodbye

Her head hangs so sadly

Shaking in the winter wind,

A flower so delicate and gentle

Surviving harsh winter

Is a testament

To her inner strength and survival;

Her hidden fire within

To let go is the dream

To wave goodbye to cold winds

To be renewed in spring again.

To relish in the warmth again

To accept a touch and tender hug again.

Her inner fire can melt the frost

She must find her fire and warm her heart

She must learn to lift her head

And welcome the start

Of a newly born fresh new year,

Burgeoning with hope and exciting possibilities

The dream of the snowdrop is to love again.

Angele & the Hunter

*

Angele ran into the night exalting in her new found animal strength. She felt alive and free for the first time in her life. Her spirit soared as she bounded over fallen logs and rocks as she ran further into the woods. She heard a wolf’s howl in the distance, and without thinking she gave an answering cry.

A deep lingering worry stopped her. There was something she needed to remember. At the far reaches of her mind fleeting thoughts of the human women she loved dearly; her family and the kind worried face of the hunter who pursued her then tried to help her. She felt uneasy and undecided of what she should do. Her thoughts were all muzzy and she couldn’t focus. She had a gnawing hunger and an urge to run and howl. She felt her muscles quiver yearning to be stretched and strained beyond endurance.

Suddenly, a black, very large, very shaggy wolf bounded out of the copse of tall trees in front of her and gave a loud bark in her direction. She cowered a bit, and edged sideways. The wolf perked up his ears and circled her slowly but not menacingly and she stood up curious. He seemed friendly or more curious then dangerous. They sniffed noses, and the other panted at her. He tilted his head back and howled then ran a few steps looking back at her. He hesitated.

Does he want me to join him?

Angele laughed but what came out were strange high pitched barks. She bounded after the great black wolf all thoughts of her mother and sisters and the kind hunter swept away.

**

When the white wolf that was really a young woman who became a wolf bounded away, Daniel Greystone could not move for the span of 10 minutes. He was able to move when he realized night had fallen and he heard wolves howling in the distance.

“Werewolves,” he whispered.

Werewolves!

He never in his life expected such a thing, or believed in such creatures. His Great Aunt from Romany told of such stories but he thought her addled and ignorant. He realized also he was shaking. He had about 2 miles to walk to his cottage. He was torn about notifying the nearby villages and gathering a hunting party or going after the she-wolf alone. She had seemed so confused and frightened. She was lost, he was sure of it.

Perhaps she doesn’t know what she is.

Also, her beauty had struck him. In human form she had long blond hair to her waist. The color was so light as to be almost white and it glowed with a luminescence. Her youth and slenderness struck him. She looked to be only 16 or 17 years of age and she seemed defenseless out here…well, that was before she changed into the howling beast he originally was pursuing.

He felt she would not hurt him. There was a gentleness to her-even in wolf form. He decided to return to his cottage and ponder his decision. He knew he was only bidding his time though. He had decided what to do within his heart as soon as he had seen her. He knew he was going to go after her alone. He knew he was going to try to help her. He only wanted to give his mind the chance to talk him out of it. He paused on his hurried walk back to the cottage and looked back into the black forest trees silhouetted against the purple evening sky.

What an amazing world!

He pondered shaking his head.

Amazing!

Silent Weeping Stones

Sometimes desire is desperation,

And passion all a show.

Fears of being alone,

I am silent weeping stone.

A kiss may break me

Causing cracks in the armor.

You may find it warm and safe,

Or a cold, hard trap.

I am silent weeping stone,

And you are another.

We roll away from each other

And cast shadows on our love.

As stones we can not speak or be moved.

We barricade our world from pain, joy and hope.

We are left bitter and alone.

We are silent weeping stones.

In the Deep

Maggie dozed while waiting for Thomas to return with his mother. Thomas was her only hope. He had found her lost and stranded on the rocky beach. Maggie did not know how she got there, or what had happened to her legs. Thomas had said his mother could understand the writing Maggie had scratched out in the sand. She had tried writing to him, when she discovered she had no voice.

Maggie thought of the young man; of his crystal blue eyes and blond hair tousled by the wind. If she hadn’t been in such a dire predicament…and she drifted off dreaming of his eyes and caresses. Warm caresses turned cold and she woke to find water almost to her chest. She was slipping into a shallow pool. In only a few minutes, the pool became much deeper with the incoming tide. She struggled to crawl out with her arms. Her tail slapped the water frantically. She gasped in a breath of air when she slipped and plunged fully into the ocean.



She gave a silent scream as salt water rushed into her lungs. The effect was immediate. Her throat closed off and she felt tingling warmth along her neck just below her ears. Water rushed in then out the sides of her neck. She could breathe! She felt a gentle motion below her ears and the pleasant sensation of water rushing in and out. She calmed down. Even though she could not remember who she was or how she came to be here, all fear of the water faded away.

She swam easily, rejoicing in the feel of water flowing over her body. Her muscles, her tail, every part of her body knew what to do. She did somersaults in the waves. Water flowed through her hair, causing her scalp to tingle. The water was cold, but delicious. She felt electrified. She swam far out into the depths, away from the rocky beach and poked her head above water looking back to where she had come.

She felt uneasy. While the ocean called to her, and she wanted to explore its depths, something held her back. She yearned to feed on the creatures of the deep and she reveled in her newfound beauty. Her flowing hair, and the water rushing through and caressing each strand, was thrilling. She only wanted to swim and savor the feeling. Still, she felt a tugging at her heart, and turned back.

She saw lanterns along the beach as Thomas and his mother searched for her. She longed to go to them. She was sure they were trying to help. She swam in close and caught the boy’s eyes. Maggie saw that his eyes were filled with concern and he waved his arms at her. His mother had also seen her, but she cried out, and dropped her lantern. The woman fell to her knees. Thomas didn’t notice, and he dashed forward into the surf calling out to Maggie.



Maggie turned and looked out at the endless ocean. In the moonlight it was beautiful with shining wavelets, like diamonds. She turned back to Thomas. His shouts, calling for her, created confusion in her heart. She looked back and forth, torn between sea and shore. At last she turned away. The ocean was calling to her, and its voice sang to her heart.

At the Fire: Tenbul & Lara

At the fire with Tenbul, Lara realized she was hungry again-but not for blood, for the stew the little man was preparing over the fire. The savory aromas of mutton and the herbs that Tenbul sprinkled into the concoction caused her stomach to rumble. She felt almost human. Tenbul, sensing something was different, glanced at her. And then his eyes widened and he dropped the spoon he was using into the small kettle and rushed to where she was at.

“You have color in your cheeks!” He exclaimed. He touched her cheek, and she closed his eyes. He smelled of herbs and the dust from the desert.

“Your cheek is warm!” He exclaimed again. “Maybe the curse wore off…” Here, he trailed off. He furrowed his brow, and shook his head answering his question.

“No, Raven is very strong. This is a trick somehow. “

“But I am hungry, I feel sore and tired. I feel like me again!” Lara laughed then. Maybe there was hope after all.

“May I have some of that stew?”

Tenbul backed away from her then, and sat back down to attend to the stew. He eyed her warily and a little sadly.

“I don’t think it is as simple as that. Maybe you won’t be a vampire at all times of the day or night. Maybe the queen allowed for a brief respite, or maybe there is a hole in the spell somehow.”

Lara wanted to argue, but she was too weary from the excitement of the day and she fell asleep before she could try any of his delicious smelling stew.

When Lara awoke, she found she was chained again-with thicker chains that she could not break. She wasn’t frightened this time, and assumed she had turned vampire again. She smelled blood and looked to see if Tenbul had left her a snack. What she saw caused her cold, still heart to freeze even more. She saw Tenbul sprawled nearby with a wound on his neck. He wasn’t moving.

“Oh no.” She whispered. “Oh no oh no oh no.” She tried to reach him but couldn’t.

How did he chain me then?

Lara put her face in her hands and wailed. She could not reach him to help. He must have crawled away after she attacked him-to get away from her. Lara felt that with extreme effort and concentration she could break even these chains on her-but she only slumped to the cavern floor. She stared at the hurt and maybe dead man. A part of her wanted to finish him off and see if any more delicious blood could be found in him. She could taste his blood in her mouth. Part of her felt disgusted and repelled at the thought.

Lara wailed again.

You will pay for this, you bitch. I will kill you.

The Meeting of the Queens

“How did you get in here?!”
Raven fumed and stood up from her throne, tossing back her black robes that glittered coldly of jewels.
“Never mind that.” Isabelle Loveling said. “Where are my daughters?”
Queen Raven gave a smug smile and sat back down, leaning back with a contented sigh.
Queen Loveling waited, but only silence from the Dark Queen. Then she noticed something glittering on the stone floor-something familiar. In one graceful motion, Isabelle scooped it up. It was one of her daughter’s rings, her daughter Magritte. She moved quickly to the seated queen and held the ring up.
“This is Magritte’s ring. Where is my daughter?”

Isabelle was calm, but her eyes were an ocean storm and darkening as the seconds passed.
Raven sat up, and looked a bit nervous. She glanced at her chamber door. How did she get in here? And where are my guards?
As if reading her mind, Loveling stated:
“They are indisposed at the moment. It is just you and I.”
Raven stood up and shouted:
“I can kill you in an instant! You and your sniveling daughters!”
Loveling moved closer still and looked her straight in the eyes.
“You can try,” she whispered. “But you will fail.”

“You won’t leave this castle alive!” Raven screamed.
“GUARDS!”
But Loveling had already fled to the beautiful stained glass window that depicted Raven as a young girl sniffing flowers. A window that always filled Isabelle Loveling with sadness-as it showed Raven was once innocent and pure of heart.
Raven waved both hands in the air and screamed again.
“GUARDS!!!”
The castle shimmered. Loveling’s sleeping spell was lifted. She knew she must leave quickly if she was going to leave at all. She tapped the glass with Magritte’s ring, and the window shattered. In the next instant, Loveling transformed into a great white egret and flew out the window.

“Noooo!”
Raven shouted behind her, and pointed at the departing Queen. Little Flames darted from her finger and towards the bird, but an unseen force at the window bounced the sparks back at Raven. She had to duck her head to keep from being incinerated.
“Archers!” she shouted, but knew it was futile.
The bird was already out of range, and disappearing quickly in the darkening twilight.
“My Queen!”
A guard finally entered her chamber door and hesitated at her fury. Raven stormed about her room.
“She can not find them in time. She won’t!” She mumbled to herself.
“My Queen?”
The guard seemed ready to flee at her anger. She noticed him then, and the one cowering behind.
“You are all fools!” She screamed.
She pointed, and incinerated both to ash. She did not feel any better.

Angele

Angele was running and she didn’t know why. She felt soft dewy grass against her belly and for a moment she was confused.
Why am I on the ground and where am I?
She next heard a shot at such close proximity she yelped and veered to the right. A bullet had struck a tree to her left, mere inches from her head, and bark flew and struck her nose. She was being pursued by someone who wanted her dead!
I must find a place to hide-to think.
Her thoughts were a whirlwind. She remembered lovely ladies and one dark and cruel.
Her family…someone wanting to harm her family?

And now she was running lost and in danger. Angele saw a clump of bushes near a stream and darted inside a crawlspace. The sky was dark as twilight set in, and night was falling fast. The small crawl space she had found was pitch dark already and she crawled in as far as she could, then edged herself around to face the path she had come on-hoping to see her pursuer. Angele heard the crunch of heavy boots trotting quickly through the forest. She shivered with fright and the sharp branches scratched her skin. She tried to keep still, but was too frightened.

Oh where am I?!
She looked down at herself then.
And why am I naked?!
She remembered.
That witch!
She hissed in a breath.
Queen Raven!
She tried to find a more comfortable position, as the crawlspace seemed to suddenly shrink. The hunter was upon her then, and she saw his boots. He paused at the clump of bushes she was hiding within, and Angele held her breath.

“What the…?!” A man’s gruff voice exclaimed.
And Angele found herself yanked out of the bushes by the hair. She screamed and tried to cover herself as best she could.
“Woman? What in the heavens are you doing here? And in such a state!? There is a wolf about!”
And he looked wildly around as if a wolf was about to attack. He had seen a white wolf appear from nowhere, and was frightened it would harm his livestock. He had barely given chase when he found the girl.

A wolf?
She looked around quickly as well. She was deeply frightened of wolves, any dog really, as she had been attacked by a dear pet once when she had tried to play with its pups. Angele had a tiny scar on her lip to remind her of that frightening day.
“I..I..” She shook her head,and her blond hair covered her face. She was too distraught and frightened to speak.
The man had already covered her with his wooly coat, and was leading her out of the forest. He had noticed her hair right away, as it was so pale as to be almost white. He almost mistook her for the wolf if not for the long strands peeping out from the bushes.
“You must be lost, and you look starved.”
She walked slowly with him, and then stopped. She turned to him, to ask where she was, but then she was on the floor again. She shook the coat off her body and let the forest wind blow through her fur.
This is glorious!
She tilted back her head and let out a long howl then bounded into the woods looking for dinner. The man wouldn’t hurt her. He smelled delicious, but he smelled like a friend.
When she had transformed, the hunter could only stand-staring down at her, his mouth agape. Before he knew it, she was gone.
Angele ran swiftly and surely feeling her strong body move at its whim.
I am a wolf!
She laughed silently and let her tongue loll out. Freedom was beautiful, and she had never felt so free, or so very alive.

Magritte

Maggie heard the sounds of the ocean. She kept her eyes closed, but she heard the rush and flow of waves and felt sandy rocks beneath her. I must be dreaming, she thought. I must have fainted from fright on the Queen’s chamber floor. She slowly opened her eyes and saw she was in fact on rocks in a little inlet of water near a great ocean. Half of her was submerged in the small pool. She couldn’t swim, but the water was very shallow and didn’t cause her much concern. Her circumstances were cause of concern though. She struggled to stand and with shock realized her legs were gone. Wha?! She looked down to where her legs had been and saw a huge fish tail instead. She might have admired this tail at another time or on a fish as it was quite lovely. The same shade of fiery red as her hair, but seemed to shimmer in a thousand different colors in the sunlight with a long flowing soft fin at the end.

When she struggled to stand she bent the tail the wrong way, and a shooting pain went up her spine. Maggie cried silently and flopped back down. I am a mermaid! What a cruel, cruel joke of that witch Queen! Magritte Loveling could not swim. She was in fact terrified of any large bodies of water ever since she had seen a dear friend of hers drown as a child. For a bit it was a struggle for her mother to even give her a bath! Maggie was not scared of the water as she once was, but she never learned to swim-and avoided oceans, lakes and rivers as much as possible. She examined herself as best she could for any other alterations.

Her face felt the same from what she could tell by touch and what she saw in the water reflections. Her hair was no longer bound, and hung flowing and free and waved in the sea breeze. She was naked she realized with embarrassment-or mostly. She had some sort of shell top that barely covered her breasts. The top was made from large clam shells in a pinkish and gold hue. Maggie slammed her fist against the rocks and tried to wail, but no sounds issued from her throat. What am I going to do? This is ridiculous! She was scared and shocked but also angry. Of her three sisters she was the one known for her temper, and goofy sense of humor. Oh, how she wished she could find something to laugh at now!

She looked around and saw the sun was setting and would be dark soon. She wanted to find shelter and get away from the ocean as she noticed the tide was coming in. She did not want to drown and die without ever seeing her sisters and mother or knowing what became of them. A nearby mountain was several yards away and might provide some shelter. She was going to attempt a wriggling crawl towards it when she heard singing nearby. The breezes carried snatches of song to her, and she scanned the shoreline hoping to see someone. There! In the distance she saw a slender figure walking towards her. She could barely make out a boy or young man really carrying a long pole and skipping along the shoreline. He did not see her, and for a moment she thought he wouldn’t as she was half hidden in the little pool of water behind some rocks. She waved her arms wildly and tried to shout, but seemed to have lost her voice. I am only frightened, she thought. Calm down! She opened her mouth to yell at him again, but nothing would come out. He was passing her! She struggled to crawl out of the pool and into a better position for him to see her, and she watched him intently willing him to turn his head. If he would only turn his head! The young man tripped then and in catching himself, he turned his head and finally saw her. He gave a little half wave to her and ran over to assist her. She sank back down with relief. But when he realized she wasn’t human his steps slowed and he kept a fair distance to her, staring at her-his mouth hanging wide. “Oh, it’s not all that bad”, she wanted to say, but no words would come out. She shook her head wildly, angrily instead and he backed away even further. Calm down Mags! Calm down, she coached herself. You are scaring the boy. He may be your only help!

She calmed down and waved a hand at him to beckon him closer. He stared and shook his own head. She pleaded with him with her hands and eyes. Dear lord, what do my eyes look like? She wondered, Fishy eyes? He stepped a little closer. She pointed to herself and shook her head. She waved her arms all around her, pointed to herself and shook her head again. Curious, the boy stepped closer, and Maggie realized he was about her age and quite handsome. He had blond unruly hair that danced in the wind and his skin was tan as a bronze shield. Whoa. She thought. If she couldn’t talk she’d be speechless anyway. He was looking into her face then, and seemed to like what he saw as he gave her a shy smile.
“Please don’t kill me” he said then, “I’ve heard stories of your kind. But you seem in a bit of a predicament. If you behave, I’ll help you back into the ocean.”
“No!” She tried to scream, and she shook her head at him.
He must have seen the genuine terror in her eyes though, as he immediately held his hands up, and said gently “Okay, Okay. What is it you need?”
Maggie thought a moment, then held up a finger. Ah ha! She then scratched into a patch of sand: Im Maggie Im human.
The boy knelt to see what she had written, then immediately stood up. “I’m a sorry…er..miss…I can’t read figures like that. But wait!” He jumped up and beamed a huge smile at her. “My mum can! Be right back!”
And before Maggie could raise a hand to protest, the boy ran off leaping over rocks and puddles of water. He runs like the wind, she thought. She put her head wearily upon her arms and flopped her tail in the small pool. She could hear the ocean itching closer and closer, the waves getting louder and louder. She closed her eyes and prayed the boy and his mother would return soon.

The Meeting of Tenbul: Excerpt from Twilight Existence

After a flash of light and rushing noise that sounded like an ocean inside her head, Lara found herself on hard rocky ground that she stumbled and fell on. Ouch! She landed hard upon the rocks and scraped her hands and knees trying to catch her fall. The first thing she noticed, besides her strange surroundings, was that she was in excruciating pain. She felt as if she was on fire. She screamed and jumped up wildly. She looked at herself expecting flames to be leaping up all over her. She did see wispy smoke streams rising but didn’t appear to be aflame. In the next moment, she realized that when the sun touched her flesh, her skin would instantly turn red then start to blister and smoke. She covered herself as best she could with her simple dress and thin cloak and looked around quickly for shelter. She had found herself in this strange new place for less then 10 seconds, but she determined this most certainly was Hell. Lara made the mistake of looking up into the sky for she instantly went blind. She stumbled to her knees in fear and shock and let out a thin tortured wail. I am going to die here, she thought, if I’m not dead already.

A shadow fell over her then-she knew as the pain lessened. She hoped it was a cloud or that night had fallen. Maybe I can survive this, she thought. She felt something heavy and soft thrown atop her, and startled she struggled to her feet-but only stumbled and fell again. My God, she cried. Please help me. No tears sprung from her eyes in her anguish and curious at this, she stopped struggling. It was then she realized that someone was speaking to her.

“Please stop moving little one.” A low calm voice said to her. “You are badly hurt. I’m trying to help you.” It was a man’s voice, but the gentleness of it calmed her and she rested against the stone ground under the soft musty blanket he had thrown on her. For a moment all was peaceful and dark and warm. She promptly passed out.

Lara awoke to find herself in a little cave. She felt heavy and with despair realized she was heavily chained. She felt some comfort though as she was bandaged with a cooling ointment covering the burned spots on her skin. Her mood improved considerably also, for she found she could see again. She felt strong and alert, and even though she was heavily chained, she stood up easily and found the chains to be as light as feathers. , Why, they aren't heavy at all! She thought, I wonder why I thought so? She could easily pull them from the cave walls she was chained to and walk around, but she didn’t want to upset her rescuer if his weak attempt at binding her was destroyed. She decided to sit back down and wait to see what would happen next.

She could see she was in a small chamber of the cave that only occupied herself and three cold stone walls that looked out into a larger chamber. She could see a small fire burning cheerfully in the next chamber but nothing else. A small beetle was crawling on the uneven stone floor and without thinking, she grabbed it and popped it into her mouth. She crunched into it once, and realizing what she did, spit it out with a little cry of disgust. Why would I do that?! She realized she was extremely hungry and thirsty and hoped the man who rescued her would come back soon. Her ears pricked up as she heard a distant shuffle and listened intently for the source. It was the little man, and he was approximately a half mile from the cave, laboring as if he was carrying something. As soon as Lara determined this, her eyes widened-as she had never had such good hearing before and was amazed at this new ability. She listening carefully and aside from the crackling of the little fire, she heard a tiny trickling of water nearby and the scurrying of many beetles elsewhere in the cave. She stood up again, and again was undecided about breaking her chains. She was very hungry, and even though the man was nearby, she didn’t think she could wait. She growled with hunger, and instantly stopped herself and sat back down. 'What is wrong with me?!' She put her head in her hands, and tried to calm herself down. Deep breathes Lara. Deep breaths. She picked her head immediately when she realized she hadn’t been breathing. Listening carefully, she didn’t even hear her heart. She closed her mouth and nose, but found she didn’t need to breathe. I am dead! She thought and then: Calm down you silly fool, if you were dead you wouldn’t be so hungry. She had a lot of questions for the little man who rescued her, and with extreme effort and concentration, she kept herself calm for his return.

Concentrating so hard on not ripping off her chains and running in search of food and drink, she almost didn’t notice the man. She felt his presence and looked up to see a little man of about 5 ft tall and heavily cloaked in what looked like three or four different robes of different colors. He was bearded, and carrying a bucket. He was looking in at her from the outer chamber and she was surprised to see he seemed afraid of her. She opened her mouth to ask who he was and why he would chain her and the extreme loudness of her voice frightened her into silence. She meant to talk normally but it was as if a thousand banshees poured from her throat. The little man cringed and ducked his head as if she had thrown her shoe at him. He then approached her slowly, and in his low calming voice said. “I’m surprised you didn’t break those chains.” She decided to try whispering, and she said: “I think I can, but I thought that would be terribly rude.” Then, “THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME!” She couldn’t help blurting out. The man stumbled to his knees, holding his hands to his ears. The bucket he was holding fell and toppled over. What flowed out steadily was something so sweet smelling and warm, that before Lara could think, she pulled off one chain in her attempt to grab it, and drank from it liberally. Then when that was all gone she crawled upon the cave floor lapping at any that had spilled. “Oh this is so delicious” she whispered shivering from the pleasure of it. “What is this?!”

The little man stood up and backed away from her. “That is blood child! My word, don’t you realize you are a vampire?!”

Lara instantly stopped and was still. Blood? But, she became ill at the mere thought or sight of blood. And she was drinking… She felt cold suddenly and before she could think another thought, had passed out again.

When she woke again, she found herself no longer chained and now covered in the heavy musty blanket again near the cheerful fire. The little man was there as well crouching as if to run, and it looked like he had some sort of weapon in his hand. “Please” she whispered, waving a hand at him. “Don’t be afraid. I think…” She choked on her words, and cried without tears again “I think I am more frightened then you are. And right now, I desperately need a friend.” She shook in a shaky breath she didn’t need to take, and said quietly controlling her booming voice much better. “My name is Lara Loveling, and I think Queen Raven has damned me to hell.”

At the name Raven, the little man cocked his head and stroked his beard absentmindedly. “Raven?!” She’s still alive? But she must be over 300 years old!”

Lara shrugged and shook her head. She didn’t know how old the evil witch queen was, nor care. She only wanted to be with her sisters and mother again, and have this strange affliction removed. The little man looked at her then with some interest, and stood up and brushed the dust off his dirty robes. Then to Lara’s embarrassment, he bowed as deeply as his small frame would allow. “Pleased to meet you Princess Lara, I am The Tenbul, the seer and magician, and will be of service to you in any way I can.” Lara couldn’t help but smile at the strange little man, and felt hopeful he could help her find her way back to herself as well as her dear family.