The Last Witch Princess

Chapter 5

    “Ren, why did you stop walking, are you alright?” The calm voice said from the front of the cavern. It was familiar, the voice of the boy earlier. He called the other one Ren, he must be the Jem they mentioned. It was strange that he called his father by his first name, but savages were inhumane, as I was told. 

    “Princess Aislyn, it cannot be, please say it isn’t so,” Ana whispered quietly beside me, fear in her voice. Immediately I turned to look at her, brushing my hand against her sweaty forehead from the crackling fire beside her. She felt warm, but it could have been from the fire. I didn’t see any visible wounds besides the one I healed before we had been knocked out. I loosened her arms and went to walk behind her, to look at her head and see if she had a wound but she gripped my arms again, hiding behind me like a child. 

    “Really Ana, you might be a servant but you’re older than me, it must embarrass you to hide behind a child,” I said to her sharply. She took a deep breath and Betty whistled at me from under her breath. 

    “Yes, that's a great way to make friends, princess.” She said with a chuckle. I looked down at her, then up as she stood, towering over me. Why was she so tall? She was pretty, I suppose, in a rough type of way. Besides the wear on her body and the muscles, she had unconditioned and dry blond hair and her icy blue eyes were pretty. 

    “I honestly can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” I said sternly. She stared at me with wide eyes, before laughing out loud, making me cringe. How improper. If Bellie were here, she’d be slamming a fan in her hand and teaching her how to laugh light and bubbly, and how she should always cover her mouth when she laughs. It was seen as flirting to show a man her teeth, even if she wasn’t a princess it was still common courtesy. 

    The footsteps at the front of the cavern started up again and I turned to look at the figures as they slowly emerged into the light. Ana was quivering behind me again as I studied them with wide eyes. The taller man was shaped like a mountain, his skin was darkened like he lived twenty-four seven in the sun and held a forever tan. He had thick black hair pulled back into a braid tied tightly behind his back and resting against his shoulder blades. It made me cringe to know my hair was now that short as well. He had brown eyes like Ana, and he was staring at me with confusion and animosity. Like a wild animal not sure if he should run or bite me. I blinked, focusing on him better. He wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Ana, or trying to since she was hiding behind my shorter body. 

    The shorter one made a noise and patted the bigger one on the back again, making me look over at him. I had to do another double-take, he was so strange compared to the others. He had thick curly gray hair, hanging low and falling into his eyes and around his ears. His amber eyes flashed at me, and it distracted me momentarily from the intricate black swirls coating his arms. Where Dog’s and Betty’s were angrier and defined, his ink swirls were more soft and fluid, like the vines that roped around trees. I looked at the older man, assuming he was Ren and saw he had angry black lines over his body as well. Looking back and forth between the older man and the younger one, I didn’t see a similarity in them either. I shrugged, thinking maybe Jem looked like his mother, who must be deceased if Ren was having a relationship with Betty at some point. 

    Ignoring Ana's shivering body behind my back, I squared my shoulders, glaring at the men. “You’re going to tell me right now why I am here and what's going on,” I demanded of them. 

    Betty chuckled, and to my dismay Dog leaned over, whispering loudly in her ear where we all could hear, “And to think she still acts so sassy when she doesn’t have her long hair to back her as a proper princess anymore,” He said, his tone so serious that Betty ended up joining him in the laughter at my expense. 

    I could feel my cheeks redden at their words and I blinked back a tear, refusing to crumble to their mockery. Instantly their laughter was cut off and I looked up, staring straight into angry brown eyes. Ren had lifted his hand, a single gesture but effective. His giant mountain-like body was a presence to be reckoned with, and Dog practically ran out the room. If he was in his wolf form I’d imagine he’d have his tail between his legs, but then again I wasn’t even sure if he was a wolf. It was strange how they all lived together despite being different species. 

    Ren glared at Betty but she crossed her arms and stared back at him, refusing to budge. “You’re not going to like what you hear if you stay, Betty, that I can assure you.” He growled at her. Her mouth quivered but she kept her stance, glaring back at him. 

    “I’m a big girl, Ren, I can take whatever happens.” She snarled at me. I looked at Ren with a confused look, did she not know why I was taken? Or maybe there’s something else going on that I don’t understand?

    Finally, Ren nodded, and it was like half the tension in the cave faded away as he walked to the logs around the fire. We followed him, Betty sitting next to him and Jem sitting on a log by himself. Ana and I sat on the log across from Ren, but Ana was still trying to hide behind me. What was wrong with her? “What is your name?” Ren asked, throwing me off guard. I looked at him with a strange look, confused. Why would he not know my name? I grew up with strangers knowing my name, everywhere I went. Strangers also came to the kingdom to talk to me, women wanted me to hold their babies and kiss them, thinking I was good luck since I was the last witch. Did they not know my name because they were Assassins who lived deep in the forest?

    “My name is Princess Aislyn, youngest daughter of the Shifter kingdom, and future Luna to the Werewolf Kingdom,” I said, holding my head up high. I hoped Ana heard me, I tried my best to remember her Luna term. Since it was going to be my kingdom I was trying my best to know its customs. 

    Ren scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I wasn’t talking to you, princess. We all know your name, you’re the last witch. No, the woman hiding behind you. What’s her name?” He asked, his voice catching a little at the end as his features softened slightly. 

    I looked at him, confused. “Her name is Ana, she’s my handmaiden. Or, Omega, I guess. She’s my personal Omega.” I said, hoping to have said it right. Ren glared at me, then tried his best to look at her as she hid behind my arm. 

    “Ana, you feel it too, don’t you? That’s why you’re acting shy?” He asked cautiously. She made a slight squeak behind me, but otherwise, she didn’t say anything. “You’re my true mate, Ana.” He said, the left side of his face lifting into a smirk. I gasped, finally realizing what was going on. Ana had said she’s never found her true mate before, and how if he was a rogue she’d be devastated. I felt awful for her and I wrapped my arm around her back, glaring at him.

    “Ana doesn’t want this attention right now, Ren. I want my questions answered.” I said to him. I could feel the purple glow trailing around my body as I tried my best to calm Ana with it. She looked at me with a thankful gaze. 

    Ren stood up, growling in annoyance as he paced back and forth. I noticed Betty slid out of the cavern quietly and wondered briefly what she thought of this. Ren belonged to Ana now, and there was no room for her or her silly crush on him, especially since he didn’t seem to like her much anymore anyway. “You’re our captive, you should be glad we untied you. How dare you ask questions?” Came a calm voice from the side of me. 

    I turned to look at Jem, the hardened look in his unamused eyes as he glared at me. How dare he? I was a princess, even captive I should be treated with respect. “I didn’t ask to be captured, I demand you return me to my wagons and aid us on our way to the kingdom since you killed my men,” I said to him, glaring at him. He glared back, obviously not liking the challenge. 

    Finally, he smirked at me, a cold calculating smirk that made me want to walk over to him and smack him across the face. “Well, the dragon king wouldn’t be too happy about that, I’m sure.” He said, frowning. 

    I tried to study him, noticing his discomfort. He didn’t like speaking of the dragon king, for whatever reason. Fear was racing through me, my heart beating so fast I could hear the pounding in my ears. “Princess Aislyn, we are Assassins hired to kidnap you from your wagons and bring you before the Dragon King. He’s paid us handsomely for you to present yourself before him alive and healthy. He has plans for you to marry his son, Jackson. The only son and the heir to the throne.” Ren said, making me shift my eyes from Jem and stare at Ren. 

    I gasped, holding my hand over my chest in surprise. Flashes of memories from over the years popped into my head, secret conversations I’ve overheard from my father, and a retainer from the Dragon King. Secret conversations where they wanted me to wed their son, but my father refused and told them I was already betrothed. But to go so far as to kidnap me, force me to them against my will, why did they want me so much? Before I could ask, it seemed Ren was willing to answer my unspoken question. “Princess Aislyn, just as much as the werewolf king is convinced you will shift into the most powerful white wolf when you turn eighteen, the dragon king is convinced you will shift into a dragon. These men think if you are near their kind you will shift to their kind, that the reason most shifters have a random shift is because they are surrounded by their own kind, which is a bunch of different shifting breeds.” Ren tried to explain.

    I placed my hands on my head, confused as I listened to his words. It didn’t make sense, did it? Shifters had random animal shifts because they were surrounded by other shifters, who were in fact different animals all packed into one place. But if I were to be surrounded by wolves, or dragons, I'd shift from being close to the overabundance of it all? It wasn’t possible, was it? “Also, Princess Aislyn, something you’d like to know. The dragon king wants his son to bear children with you. He believes you’ll birth the most powerful dragons around, with the ability of witchcraft.” Jem said, a slight disgust in his voice. 

    I looked back at him, tears in my eyes. “So pretty much they want me to be a breeding mule,” I said sharply to him. Words from Bellie floated into my mind, her words that said us princesses are made for nothing but to produce heirs, stand by our husbands' side, and look beautiful. 

    Jem sighed, pulling a knife out of his pocket and turning it around and around loosely in his hands. “Ultimately, yes.” He said softly, an edge to his voice. I stood up, refusing to hear anything else, and ran from the cave, noticing the silence behind me as not a single soul even cared to call after me.