The Cursed King

Five

"Me. Wolf, where are you?" I searched for him in the dim lights. Those flowers were in here too, just very less in number as compared to the outside.

Something tapped on my shoulder, making me jump out of my skin.

"It's me," his voice resonated inside the house. I have never met anyone with a voice as powerful as him. His words sound more like a command. It makes me weak in the knees.

He makes me feel insignificant.

"Oh, thank god," I sighed in relief, "do you know that you just gave me a heart attack? I could have died right here!"

"I'm sorry," Mr. Wolf looked apologetic yet clueless at the same time.

He is cute!

Wait, did I just fit him in the category of cute? This seven feet something tall combination of wolf and human?

He should be called monstrous cute instead!

"I'll forgive you just this once then," I said. Me. Wolf (as I have decided to call him now) nodded his head seriously.

Is he for real? I was just being cheeky.

"Let's search there," he pointed to the dark hallway of the house that leads to God knows where. I obediently followed behind him.

From what I have observed about him, Mr. Wolf is like an innocent child. It might sound ridiculous considering how ancient he is but it's true. He appears intimidating and scary at first, but he has an undeniably soft side for weaker people than him. For example, me.

He could have killed me right at the moment I stumbled into this place but he chose to let me live. It was clear in his eyes that he doesn't harm those who doesn't pose him any threat.

As expected, Mr. Wolf is more animal than human. He is as innocent as them and just as cute. He is not a monster like humans. (Just where did she get that theory of hers from?)

I looked at Mr. Wolf's wide back with respect. Though I ended up noticing something else.

His back is totally my type, I thought to myself. Look at those bulging muscles. He can crush mountains with those arms. (Dear female lead, you're straying from the path here.)

Then my eyes traveled to the back of his head, instantly sobering me up. Look at those cute German shepherd ears. How could I sexualize Mr. Wolf?

Aelia, you're a disgrace. Mr. Wolf has spared my life, I should be thankful to him rather than ogling those muscles.

But who can blame me?! He has that buff body any woman would be tempted to touch. It's not entirely my fault. I have hormones and they react to him.

I'm losing my mind, damn it.

And so for the sake of my sanity, I decided to have a light conversation with him.

"So, what is this place?" I asked him, my eyes going back and forth between his arms and ears.

One part of me was telling me it's okay to just look but the other part of me reminded me again and again that he is not human.

"This is the capital of the Kingdom. Mene pack. These flowers are named after this city. They are mene flowers," his mood seemed to have dimmed as he talked about the city. His back was hunched and he looked lost in thoughts- painful thoughts.

I sighed softly. I shouldn't have asked.

"No, it's okay. You can ask me anything," he said. I bit my lips. Guilt grabbed at my heart. It feels like I've swallowed a bowl of sand and somehow I'm unable to gulp it down my throat and it was impossible to spit it out.

"Do you want to hear about the earth? Humans?" I swiftly changed the topic. I will be mindful of the question I ask him from now on. I don't know what he has been through.

There has to be a reason for him to live alone for thousands of years. Whatever it is, it can't be anything good. For him, it might be too painful.

"Humans?" He asked.

"Yeah, humans. Aren't you curious about how we are or what earth looks like?" I asked him.

"Here," he said, looking over his shoulder.

"Here what?" I asked.

"I found some cleaning supplies," he said, picking up a majestic-looking broom. "We might find some clothes in Nicos and Garren's chambers."

Carrying a few more items in his hands, he led me to a big bedroom. Big doesn't do justice to the room. It was magnificent. It gives off a royal room aesthetic feel. I can only imagine how beautiful it used to be when it was clean and kept.

The carvings on the ceilings and walls added charm to the room.

Even the furniture had some type of carvings on them. And they were big like every other thing in the room. The bed itself was thrice as big as the King size bed. The sofa was as big as a bed. It is understandable considering the height of Mr. Wolf. Other people who used to live here must be as big as him too.

"Here," he gave me some dusty clothes to hold onto. My eyes bulged at the size of the clothes.

"I doubt that will fit me," I held the cloth against me to see how big it was. It was safe to say, I will drown in the fabric if I wear this.

"Shall I find a child's cloth for you?" Mr. Wolf scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Adallina's clothes will fit you well."

Mr. Wolf went back to the massive closet and searched for the clothing. With him, he brought four dresses. He held one of the dresses against me to see if it would fit.

"They will fit you," he handed me the clothes he brought and placed the previous clothes he gave me back in their place. On his way back to me, he brought a few more dresses.

"Wait! Why are these clothes in perfect condition? They have been preserved for thousands of years, right? How come they look brand new?" I asked him.

"The clothes used to be traded from the moon realm. They were created with a magical thread of fairies. They can never get chafed," he replied.

"Ah, the magical thread," I muttered, "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm suspecting you. It is all new to me. Again, I'm sorry for being an asshole."

Mr. Wolf just nodded and asked me to follow him back. This time he piggybacked me to that massive hall.

When we reached the balcony, Mr. Wolf offered to clean with him. I didn't refuse his help because there was too much to clean.

"Tell me about it," as we cleaned the area, Mr. Wolf asked.

"About?"

"Humans," he said.

"Ah, humans. Well, we are the bad guys. My world is like an animal kingdom. Stronger ones prey on the weakest. They exploit them in the worst way," I said.

"They are terrible people then. Weak should be protected by the strongest," Mr. Wolf commented.

His words made me smile.

In the human eye, he is a threat to all human species and he will be considered a freak.

"Yes, they are bad. But in that rotten pile of apples, there are some good people too. People who help others in need, people who sacrifice themselves for others," I commented.

"There is bound to be good when there is evil. That is the course of nature," he commented.

"You're right. Bad people need to be kept in check, right?" I joked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Do you want to hear about some fun stories from my work?" I asked. Mr. Wolf nodded his head.

I happily chatted away with him, telling him some embarrassing stories from my teenage years, some weird cases I stumbled upon during my work, and everything I could think of on the top of my head.

Mr. Wolf listened attentively to my talk, popping comments here and there. With how Mr. Wolf worked fast, we were done with the cleaning real quick.

Mr. Wolf then pulled out everything he was carrying in his arms. There were some wooden panels engraved with floral veins. They looked like a puzzle.

He assembled the panels and created a bed with them.

"No way!" I screamed, "is it for me?"

Mr. Wolf nodded.

"Oh, my God! Thank you so much, Mr. Wolf," I hugged him to show my appreciation for his mindful gesture and then went to the assembled bed to check if it was sturdy.

The bed was as strong as metal (not really but it was sturdier than the sturdiest woods found on earth.)

Mr. Wolf handed me a piece of cloth that can be used as a bed sheet. When I unrolled the fabric, I found the fabric was too long.

It was long enough to fold into ten layers. No need for a mattress!

But it was a pity that I had to use the softest silk as a mattress for me. This silk will be sold at the price of gold if I sell it on the earth. This is the best quality of silk I've stumbled upon.

"Why? Do you not like the fabric?" Mr. Wolf asked.

"No. No. No. I like it too much," I commented. So much that I want to take it with me when I leave this place (bruh, share it with me when you take it back to earth.)

"I'll use this fabric precisely," though I want to store it away because of how precious it feels.

That night, I slept on the softest cloud. The sleep knocked me out as soon as my body lay on the silk.

I was awakened in the middle of the night by a loud, painful howl.

~•~