The night sky looked like an oil painting. Clouds were etched in deep spirals, as if the world were merely an illustration from a storybook. No one was in sight except for a few palace guards on patrol, their presence a cold reminder of the constant threat of assassins.
King Gorgeous VIII had ordered Ficky to slay a monster at the Sacred Altar by dawn, but Ficky had already vanished into the night. Aya furrowed her brow, her annoyance growing as she wondered where her bodyguard had disappeared to.
She paced back toward the courtyard.
"He went that way, didn't he?" she muttered, glancing to her right.
"Can't sleep, Miss Slave?" a voice suddenly called out from behind.
Aya bristled at the title. She spun around, her eyes flashing with irritation.
"Stop calling me that, even if I am one!" she snapped, fuming at the maid's mockery.
The maid simply shrugged, her eyes closed and a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips.
"Tell me something, royal maid," Aya said, changing the subject. "Do you know how to get back to where I came from? My world—well, my country—is called Nusantara."
"I'm afraid I've never heard of it," the maid replied flatly. "A world called 'Nusantara' is a first for me."
Aya's frown deepened. She let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. Perhaps Ficky was right; the King of Aurora wasn't someone to be trusted blindly.
"Thanks for nothing. I'm going for a walk," Aya grunted.
Recalling that Ficky had headed to the right, Aya decided to follow. She moved cautiously, constantly glancing over her shoulder, her nerves frayed. In her distracted state, she didn't realize she had wandered past the palace grounds and deep into a thick forest.
"Wait… wasn't I just at the edge of the palace? Where am I?" Panic surged as she realized she was lost. This forest felt eerily similar to the one they had first arrived in.
Rustle, rustle!
A sound erupted from the bushes. Aya recoiled instinctively.
"What was that?"
Her mind raced with worst-case scenarios. She shook her head, trying to steady herself as she avoided the patch of brush that had moved so unnaturally.
"Calm down, Aya. You're strong. It's just a small thing, like a—"
CRASH!
"KYAAAA!" Aya screamed, diving behind a nearby tree trunk.
Strange, guttural noises filled the air, making her heart thunder against her ribs. She couldn't stop shaking; the night air felt like ice needles against her skin. She curled into a ball, hugging her knees tight, whispering prayers for her life.
When silence finally returned, Aya gathered her courage to peek behind her.
Crrr-ack!
The sound of a brutal slash echoed through the trees.
The oil-paint sky had shifted; a half-moon now hung overhead. A pack of wolves circled a man, their low growls vibrating in the air. The wolves were hesitant, circling warily after several of their pack-mates had already been slaughtered in a gruesome display.
As Aya watched, the man in the center began to change. Furry ears sprouted from his head, a tail emerged, and sharp fangs pushed past his lips.
His sunglasses fell to the ground. Without a word or a plan, the man lunged, attacking with the primal ferocity of a wild animal.
He tore through the wolves like they were nothing. They were of the same kin, yet he slaughtered them without mercy—perhaps because he smelled different. Aya clapped a hand over her mouth, fighting back the urge to vomit at the sight of the carnage.
"They're all dead… every single one," she whispered, paralyzed by fear.
The beast shifted back into his human form. He picked up his glasses from the dirt, wiped them clean, and slid them back onto his face.
"Glasses? Wait… that hair color—!"
"GRRRRRRR!"
A low growl erupted right beside her. Aya froze. The sound was so close she could feel the vibration in the air. Her blood turned to ice.
The man sensed something, but with his human eyes, he couldn't see clearly in the dark.
Aya tried to inch to her left, but the wolf followed her movement. It bared its teeth, its maw opening wide, ready to lung.
"Please, please don't eat me. I want to live. Iwant to go home." Aya screamed internally, praying to any power that would listen.
"GROAARRR!"
Aya threw herself to the side just as the wolf lunged. Her hands shook violently as she covered her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the wolf's fangs buried deep into the tree trunk. She didn't wait; she scrambled to her feet and ran.
"Oh thank God! I'm alive! I'm alive! I can't stay here! No, no, no!"
She sobbed as she ran aimlessly, her terror mounting with every step. She never imagined her life would be a constant cycle of near-death experiences. Other wolves joined the chase, their paws thundering behind her.
"Where is my dream life? I'd take a mountain of school assignments over this any day!" she shrieked.
Her foot caught on a thick root. She didn't see the drop-off. Aya tumbled over the edge of a ravine.
"NO!!"
As she fell, time seemed to slow down. She was suspended in the air, the freezing wind whipping around her.
"HELP!!! FICKY!!!" she screamed in pure desperation.
The beastman ears twitched. He caught her cry through the wind. In a blur of speed, he turned and sprinted toward the source of the scream.