Fate's Pawn: Twin Moons

Chapter Three: Plans for the Race

I had to physically push Orchid to make her work again. “Hey, he’s gone.”

“He’s gone?” she sighed so loud it caused me to wince. “I was really going to talk to him this time.”

I patted her back. “I know, still, that was something right?”

She nodded. “Has he ever addressed Ivy like that before?”

I shook my head. “Not from what I can remember. Come on, if that’s the case then I have an idea.”

Orchid frowned. “I don’t like when that happens.”

I glared at her again. “Come on, you only fractured your ankle last time, and I said I was sorry.”

“Uh-huh.” She did not look convinced to my words at all. Oh well, I’d make her see reason later.

“Just follow me, and be quiet.” I grabbed her hand and drug her after me. I slipped around the patrols of the clan as smooth as silk and we were soon at the entrance of the sacred forest.”

“Hazel,” Orchid’s hiss was full of panic. “There is no way we can go in there, it’s totally forbidden! You’re going to get us cursed or worse, expelled!”

I blinked at her for a moment and then smirked. “Oh, wow, I’ll be expelled right before I get sold off to sabotage another clan. Oh, will I ever recover from such a tragedy?”

She didn’t appreciate my deadpan delivery. She smacked me, hard. “Hazel, be serious!” She pointed into the forest. “This isn’t about the laws of our clan, and okay maybe expulsion isn’t the worst thing for you, but what about me? You really want me expelled?”

I bit my lip. No, I didn’t want her expelled necessarily, but I really didn’t want her to stay in this clan either. Her fate would be the same as all the other pretty little wolves I’ve watched as I’ve grown up. “Just, come with me a little way in. I want to show you my plan. I’ll go further, you won’t have to follow after that.”

Ivy had recovered from her earlier shock finally. ‘We will, not, be going in there! What are you thinking, Hazel? That’s insanity! It’s one of our most sacred rules, it’s called a sacred forest for a reason!’

I smirked. ‘It’s too bad that you’re not in charge of this current body, huh?’ I demanded.

Orchid was shaking, physically shaking as we toed the line. “I can’t,” she whimpered.

“Okay, just watch me, okay?” I smiled at her and hopped over the line. “See? Perfectly fine.” I hopped back over and hopped again going back and forth and curled my hands up beneath my chin. “See? A little bunny can do it, you can too.”

She shook her head at me and stared hard at the ground. Though there was no physical line, it would be practically impossible to get her to cross this thing early. Oh well, I’d just improvise. “Okay, follow me on that side, I’ll show you where you’re going to go.”

“What are you even planning, Hazel?” She was demanding now and refusing to budge from her spot. Her eyes swirled with doubt and mistrust. “Lapis ordered Ivy, and now you’re going all insane.”

“I’m not insane.” I wagged my finger in front of her. “I’m making sure my best friend in the whole wide world doesn’t suffer because of this pack of bitches. You, my sweet Orchid, are going to win the race because you’re going to be smarter than the rest.”

She raised an eyebrow but shifted her stance so her hands weren’t around her middle anymore. “Smarter than the rest?”

“Yep, while they’re racing on the ground,  you’re going to go up through the trees.”

Her jaw dropped. “Hazel, you’re flat out nuts.”

“You are the best climber, I’m just going to set up a system of vines for you from tree to tree, it’ll be like your own rope bridge. Just follow it and while they’re focused on making me suffer, you get ahead and win.”

She stepped towards me to glance up at one of the tall majestic great oak’s that filled the forest. Trees that had been here longer than our pack had. “Hazel, I really can’t go with you, but be careful? Please? I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

Ivy was torn between wanting to scold me for cheating and wanting to continue to scold me for being on sacred ground when we heard voices nearby. I grabbed Orchid and scrambled up the tree dragging her with me. She tensed as she went over the boundary but I didn’t care and used my strength to force her over. “Shh,” I whispered at her as we got on one of the thick branches a decent way above. If whoever it was decided to look up for some reason, we would be caught.

“So, Moss, what’s this grand scheme of yours that you had us risking the wrath of the rest of the clan?” The tall dark-haired one was Pine. She was tapping her long fingers against her upper arm as she glared at the ring leader.

Moss smirked. “The ancestors are going to forgive us this little trespass for sure, I promise you. We’re going to make sure that Hazel ends up dead last. Obsidian and Granite both want to have a little going away party for her before she goes off to wreck another pack.” She grinned. “And they’re not the only ones. Word is they want to tear her up real good and make her regret even being born.” The last words were practically a squeal.

Pine didn’t look impressed. “Okay, she why aren’t they out doing the whatever you are going to convince us to do instead? The prophecy is clear, she’ll be destroyed no matter what happens. You’re threatening my spirit here for what, entertainment?”

Moss pouted at her. “Oh come on, Pine, don’t be like that. I just know you want her to suffer too right. You wanted to be a teacher since forever and they just gave her the job because they didn’t trust her doing anything else. I’ll step down from the position, and you can take it over. I don’t care for the brats anyway.”

Pine nodded. “Fine, I want to make sure Marl is taught properly, if you agree, under these trees, that you’re just going to give it up after the race, then I’m in.”

Moss squealed. “That’s great! And the rest of you? Rose, Peanut, Dandelion?”

I prayed Orchid wouldn’t move because the pack of venomous bitches was right underneath our tree now. The smallest movement could reveal us, and we were very much outnumbered. I wasn’t shocked to hear of the males' plans, it pretty much confirmed what Lapis had tried to warn me about.

The other young women nodded as well causing Moss’s grin to grow. “Well, I’ll get to digging, Pine, I want you to lie some snare traps around. We’ll make sure to run Hazel right into every single one. “

I watched as their group chattered for a moment later and broke up each assigned to their own tasks. I waited an extra-long moment before I knew they were out of hearing before I whispered to Orchid again. “We may be staying in this tree a bit longer than I originally intended, heh, sorry about that.”

‘Maybe?’ Ivy was scandalized. ‘The pack has spoken, Hazel. You might as well just reveal yourself and take your punishment now. Perhaps they will go easy on us if we turn ourselves in.’

Orchid didn’t look any more pleased about the turn of events. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, this is going just like the last time, Hazel. I’m going to end up falling out of a tree again, aren’t I?”

I shook my head. “No, no, no, just relax. Let’s just plan your route out while we wait for them. I’m sure they can’t take too long. They’re pretty soft, I can’t imagine them pushing through it just to make me suffer.”

Orchid gave me a long look. Oh yeah, right, this was those guys. “I’m going to take a nap, you keep lookout.”

“If you nap you’re going to alert them all when you start snoring.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Not a good idea.”

She glared at me so hard I thought I was going to be pushed off the branch from the force of it. “I do Not snore, Hazel.”

I just smirked in reply. I’d let her believe that for now. At least my words had done one thing, it had chased the idea of a nap from her pretty little head, good. I didn’t want to have to put a hand over her mouth to muffle the destructive noises that emitted from the gaping hole. “In either case, Orchid, you’re right. We should make ourselves comfortable. And hey, at least we know where the traps are, and even better, they’re too stupid to use the trees themselves.”

Orchid nodded but kept her eyes trained on their shadows as the women worked, plotting and planning my degradation and humiliation. The joke was on them though, I was not planning to go down that easy.