Author’s Note:

Sorry that I took so long just to write this story! I’ve been having writers’ block for short stories again, so I’m really REALLY sorry! And I apologize again because this story isn’t as funny as “Dealing With Writers’ Block”, but in the first place I never intended to make that story funny! Anyway, hope you guys like this one! :D Oh, one more thing, this story is set in the medieval times, okay? Have fun reading! :D

This story is dedicated to my pets – two dogs and two cats – and whoever who love animals out there! And this includes you, Storm Kitty! Whee! :D

The summary for “Eyes of the Wolf”:

The boy was a slave, tortured close to death by a man with wealth that could rival a king’s. When he managed to escape, injured and weak, a wolf stood above him with its great eyes glowing. Could he not escape from death once more? --COMPLETE--

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Eyes of the Wolf

Written by Blue Dragon-sy

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The view of the forest trees passed by quickly, the twigs and dried leaves crunching loudly with each step of my bare feet. My lungs burned for air, my legs ached with exhaustion and my bare chest was filled with scratches from the sharp, thin branches that I hit, but I couldn’t stop. No, not when my life depended on it.

“Where are you, you SCUM?!!” a voice yelled into the dark forest air, the voice that I have feared the most.

All my life I had been afraid, afraid of it and whom it belonged to – the cruel man with wealth that could rival a king’s – for he held the power to end my life with a single command. Even a glance at him sent a series of chills up my spine.

“After I so kindly take you in, is this what you do to ME?!! HUH?!!!”

I’d never go back, for he had treated me with nothing but punishments. I must run, run for my freedom.

“You’ll PAY!! GO GET HIM!!!”

I glanced over my shoulder and felt my heart skipped a beat – the master had sent three large hunting dogs after me. To other people they might seem like ordinary hunting dogs, but in my eyes, they were the minions of Hell, the dark hounds with great strength. I could see the excitement reflecting in their devilish eyes as they pursued me, every sound that they made shaking me. I ran faster, my heart banging against my chest – I was certainly terrified now.

Suddenly I felt myself falling forward – I had fallen off a high cliff! As I rolled all the way down, I thrust both my arms up instinctively to protect my head, but this provided little protection, for rocks and branches cut me all over. I landed among the toadstools at the bottom, exhaustion and searing pain pulling me to the ground. I could not get up at all – I was not strong like the other boys my age of eight, for malnutrition and heavy work had turned my appearance into a mere skeleton.

Now everything around me was silent, save my loud gasp-like breathing. My whole body was aching and trembling, my vision obscured and hazy from the dizziness that formed in my head. I was even more afraid now – am I to be claimed by Death?

The black hounds arrived at my side – one sniffing my untidy black hair, another growling as it stayed away, and the last attempted to yank my right leg off. This increased the pain even more, but I was too exhausted to even lift a finger. I lay there, still as a puppet, awaiting the eternal darkness to take me away from this cruel world.

Darkness did come to me eventually, but still I remained awake. I knew I was, for I heard a snarl and then a frightened yelp. More snarls and yelps, and then silence came. I felt suspicious of this strange happening, and forced myself to move. I only managed to raise my head a little and looked up, but that was sufficient enough, for what I saw was the pair of deep navy blue eyes that seemed to glow with its own light – the eyes of a wolf.

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Memories of what happened after that I could only recall in bits and pieces, but I did remember the bumpy feeling that I felt during the time, as if I was riding a horse. This ‘horse’, however, was smaller that those that I had seen and was incredibly furry, and its movements made no sound.

At one point, I heard the splash of water – someone must be running in the shallow river, and the only river that I know of was miles away from where I had been kept prisoner for days. I felt several drops on my face, but that wasn’t enough to rouse me back to the world of reality. I was so tired… I wanted my mind to just switch off, so then I didn’t have to worry about anything. Just sleeping…

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Darkness continued to surround me even after I woke up. I started to panic once more – am I blinded now? I had survived the escape from my former master, but without my eyesight, I doubted that I could protect myself from anything. I won’t even be able to tell where everything is, so how am I to work even if I was no longer being chased? Oh God, why must you be so cruel to me?

I wanted to run to a source of light, to prove to myself that my eyes were still working, but I was so weak from the pain, exhaustion, cold and hunger, I could not even get up. Even so, I was determined – I pulled myself forward, feeling extreme pain in my arms and body, but I didn’t care.

I continued like this for a long while, and all I felt were hard rocks. Despair and fear overwhelmed me as hot tears rolled down my cheeks, finally lying still to await my death – I had given up hope. I didn’t stop crying, even though I knew I would be laughed at if anyone found out that I did. But I was, after all, only a boy of eight who had known nothing but fear.

Suddenly, I saw something in front of me. Although everything was dark around me, this ‘thing’ was pure white and easier to spot. I could have jumped in joy if I weren’t too tired, but fear gripped me once more. It wasn’t a white ‘thing’ that stood in front of me – it was a wolf! Not only that, it was the largest wolf I had ever seen, and it would be taller than me if it stood on its hind legs.

The wolf looked menacing to me, even more terrifying than the three black hounds that pursued me, but it didn’t attack me… instead, it lowered its head slowly and licked my forehead, like a cat cleaning its kitten. I felt a pain on the exact spot it licked me, but it wasn’t too noticeable, for I was slowly drifting back into unconsciousness once more…

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During this time, I had a strange dream. No, I wouldn’t call it a dream; I’d call it… a flashback…

It was perhaps more than a year back, probably a year and a half. I was walking through the same forest that I had run through during my escape, scouting the area as I was ordered to. It was still dark as it was at least two hours before dawn, and I was walking without a torch or even a shirt on. I am, after all, just a slave, and no one would sacrifice a few coins for a lowly creature like me. I shivered as I strode past the trees, rubbing my forearms with my hands in a feeble attempt to warm myself.

I stopped as I heard a high-pitched howl echoing in the air. I looked around to remember where it came from, and then it came again. This time I caught the direction it came from and sped to follow it, my mind imagining the most possible situation that could happen.

I came across a dark cave, a gloomy place that seemed to be the dark gates that beckon innocent people into the dark underworld. I felt uncertain, but the howl came from within the cave. I was afraid, afraid of whatever that was waiting for me in the darkness, but I never knew what made me to go in there.

There was nothing out of ordinary as far as I could see in the light of a match in my hand, until I got to the very end. I caught movement in the corner of my eye and I jumped back in fright, letting out a cry. To my surprise, a small whine answered me.

It was a white wolf puppy, so small that it was only slightly longer than my forearm. It was whining, crying in despair at a still form. A cold shiver ran through me as I realized that it was a dead wolf, probably its mother.

It was a long time before I could get the tiny puppy to come to me, but when I did, I patted it on the head as I held it in my arms. It whined as it looked up at me, its deep navy eyes that seemed as if they were glowing meeting with my own.

“…I’m going to call you… Silver.”

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I woke up again, this time with a bright light greeting me. I winced against it and raised a hand to my eyes in hopes of lessening the glaring pain. When it did, I opened my eyes slowly, noticing that I was still in the cave. Now, however, there was a light coming in and I could see the forest, seeming like a picture framed with the mouth of the cave. Perhaps the last time I woke up it was in the dead of night.

I moved a little to stretch my aching limbs, and I touched something soft at my side – it was the silver wolf. It must had been lying down with me while I slept because I remember hugging something as soft as a doll in the middle of the cold night. It had been keeping me warm by just being there.

The silver creature whined, looking at me once more with its glowing navy blue eyes. I remembered the dream and at once embraced the wolf.

“Silver,” I muttered and it replied me with a whine. A year and a half ago I was hugging something as small as a doll would be, and now I was hugging something bigger than myself. This creature, the one I haven’t seen since two months after our first meeting. He really had grown.

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Days after that, I remained with Silver in the cave. At first, I was worried about eating raw meat, but the smart white creature found a box of matches for me. Since then, I always had a fire burning in the cave – it didn’t hit me that the smoke would reveal my position.

I rarely left the cave, for my right leg was badly bitten by one of the hunting dogs. I only moved – with Silver’s help – to the river to drink for it hurt me too much to move, but Silver seemed to understand my pain. He didn’t make any sudden moves at all – he just moved quietly around me.

However, I didn’t live this way for long.

About a week after that, I woke up feeling extremely tired. Even though Silver’s warm body was next to me as usual, I felt extremely cold, and sweat was dripping down my face. It was really hard for me to breathe. When the wolf brought some meat for me, I couldn’t even sit up to cook it. That didn’t matter – I didn’t have the appetite anyway.

Nightfall was hardest on me – for it was freezing cold outside, and I shivered despite the warmth that the fire and Silver was providing. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness, and there were times that I could not tell whether I was awake or not.

On the second day of my illness, Silver whined at me. Even though all I could do was to look at him with tired brown eyes, he still continued to whine at me and nudged my arms as if he wanted me to get up. I tried, but I was simply too tired.

With difficulty, Silver had managed to get me on his back in the end, and he trotted out of the cave. Silent as a ninja, he raced through the forest once more, like the day when he protected me while I was escaping. I couldn’t see where he was heading though – my eyesight was too hazy. I fought to stay awake, but I just couldn’t and soon, I was overwhelmed by darkness again.

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When I woke up, I wasn’t on Silver’s back anymore, but in a strange unknown place. I was on a brown mat in a small room, its walls made of the similar brown cloth as the one I was lying on and the blanket on me. If I didn’t know better, the place I was in was a teepee.

At that exact moment, a thought struck me – I had heard that there was a tribe of ferocious Indians in the forest, so it could mean that…

In fear, I quickly jumped up and ran to what I thought was the entrance, ignoring my aching limbs and the dizziness that had formed in my mind – I was overwhelmed by fear.

However, when I was about to exit, I bumped into someone and fell to the floor from the impact, landing hard on my back. I looked up and saw that the person was an Indian, a tall dark-skinned man dressed in brown cloth. He held a hand towards me and I edged away into a corner in fear, avoiding him. The man, with muscles like steel and red marks painted on his face, looked extremely fierce to me, and I was terrified.

Finally he seemed to give up and stood at the entrance of the teepee, looking as if he was waiting for someone while I whimpered softly in the corner. Then a sound made me look up – it was another Indian! The only difference was that this Indian was an old lady with long hair as white as snow, wearing a brown robe with similar design to the man’s clothes.

First they spoke with each other in a language that I couldn’t understand, and then the woman stepped forward, a hand held towards me. As with the man, I tried edging away from her, but my back was already against the teepee.

“Do not be afraid,” she spoke in a clear kind voice. “Come, you need to rest.”

What? This was very unlike the stories I’ve heard about them! Is this a trap?

“H-how’d you find m-me?” Although I didn’t intend to do it, my voice sounded a lot braver than I felt.

“We found you outside our village,” the woman answered. “A white wolf brought you here.”

White wolf?! That must be…

“Come, you must rest or your fever will get worse.” Before I could even say a word, she helped me up and tucked me into bed like a mother would with a son. I felt another wave of dizziness immediately, and I slowly slid into dreamless sleep…

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Days passed and I recovered from my illness and the wound in my right leg, thanks to the Indians who also invited me to stay with them. I wasn’t afraid of my former master anymore, for I knew that I would be safe in the village with the Indians. Actually, they weren’t as ferocious as in the stories I had heard, and they could be as gentle as a cat anytime. But even so, I missed Silver terribly. I knew that no one could replace him, and this depressed me.

One day, while I was walking along the forest path on the outskirts of the Indian village, I spotted something white flash by. Immediately I knew what it was.

“Silver!” I cried in joy as I ran forward, and the white wolf jumped up upon seeing me, making me fall backwards on a soft bed of dried leaves. I laughed joyfully as I embraced the creature, and we stayed that way for a long while.

But after that, something felt wrong. Silver got up and sat a few steps away with a forlorn look, the joy disappearing altogether.

This behavior puzzled me, and as I got up, my eyes were fixed to Silver’s glowing ones. It took me a while, but then I realized the reason why he was sad.

I could not continue to stay with him, for I was not used to harsh environment and I would become ill once more if I were to. Silver, on the other hand, could not stay with me in the Indian village for he was a free creature, a creature of the wild. He couldn’t be locked in a cage or confined in the village with me – he would be depressed.

Suddenly, tears blinded my eyes as I threw myself at him, sobbing like a three-year-old kid as Silver raised his head and let out a long, mournful howl.

“No, Silver! Please don’t go!” I yelled, and the howl continued.

After that, we stayed in silence for a long time – none of us had the heart to leave. It was until one of the Indians came to find me when Silver ran off into the bush, leaving me alone with the Indian. I stood up and let an echoing cry into the forest.

“SILVER!!!!”

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And I never saw him again, until one year later. I should be jumping onto him in joy of seeing him once more, but I didn’t. Instead, I was filled with sadness and remorse.

I was walking through the forest one day and stumbled upon the very cave that Silver had first brought me to. Near the mouth of the cave was a form, still and red with the same sticky substance as the one on the ground that made me shiver with fear. The creature was a pretty female brown wolf, probably Silver’s mate.

My attention switched to the red substance in an instance – was it blood? If it was, then…

My legs brought me inside the cave immediately, my eyes searching frantically for my furry friend. When I did find him, I strongly wished that I didn’t for he was lying on the floor of the cave, his fur no longer silver, but now red – bloody red. He must have tried to protect his family… just as his parents did.

I collapsed next to him, my eyesight blurred from the hot tears that wouldn’t stop flowing. Why? My friend… my first friend… taken away from me in such a cruel way!

“WHY?!!!” I screamed at the stone ceiling, and then I looked down and banged my fists repeatedly against the rocky surface of the floor. Blood came from them and mixed with the one on the floor, but I didn’t care – the pain inside me was a lot more terrible.

It took me a long time to calm down, and even then I was still fighting to hold back tears. It was only at that time when I heard a small whine. I looked up immediately, and I saw something white in front of me.

It was like the event of my first meeting with Silver was being replayed again. I saw a small wolf cub that looked exactly like Silver when he was small, and was whining at the side of its dead father. Just as I did at that time, I got it to come to me, and I was hugging it. I felt as if Silver was back in my arms.

When I looked down to take a good look at the cub, I was surprised to see a pair of glowing deep navy circles instead of black ones, just like his father – the eyes of the wolf.

Fin–

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