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.