Banned from Exile

Chapter 11

Victoria and the king are both staring wide-eyed at me, as if I'm made of gold. Victoria puts the stone back in the pouch and then she puts the pouch back in her pocket.

"You see, Your Highness? I told you. She is a hybrid."

"I am not blind. Victoria, have you in all your years of experience, ever seen a white wolf?" the king asks, still hardly believing his eyes.

"No. As far as I was concerned, they weren't real. There were stories, yes, but never have I heard of anyone witnessing one."

"I am well aware of the stories! What I would like to know is... HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? Not only is she a white wolf but she is also a hybrid!?"

"I don't know," Victoria says then leaves.

"Change back," the king orders.

"Change BACK!" he repeats but in a more elevated tone of voice.

I can't change back. But he does not know that.

The king walks over to a shelf in the room. On the shelf I see is a small chest. He opens the chest and puts it on the ground in front of me. I see a bright blue stone that seems to be emitting some kind of light.

I am back to normal in a few minutes.

"I understand why you refused to answer me, Rebecca. But now you have to tell me who your father is."

"I will do no such thing."

"You will, if you don't wish to stay in your wolf form forever," he threatens, "because I now know at least one of your weaknesses. You cannot change back into human form without the help of a certain stone."

"I do not care. I never knew my father and I most certainly won't bail on the chance to get to know him now," I refuse.

"Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca. Do you know where Daniel is?" the king asks.

What! Oh I do so hope they have not done anything to him...

"Don't you dare lay a single hand on him?! Do you hear me?!" I shout and try to locate Daniel through his mind.

"Oh don't worry. We won't hurt him, but the thugs in the dungeon cell we threw him in, will."

He is threatening me. I know he is. There is no doubt.

"How can you do this? What has he ever done to you?" I ask worried and frustrated and alarmed.

"What have I done? Oh no, it's you who put him in there not I," King Ramos explains, "But you can also be the one who'll set him free. This is your only chance."

I don't want to tell him. But if I do tell him, Daniel can be free and I won't be stuck in wolf form. Not that I believe I can't change back on my own...

"I believe his name is Vladmir Ze Vin," I say despairingly.

"I knew that threatening the prince would make you change your mind. And to thank you for your cooperation, I will give you a map to his cell down below in the dungeon," the king says and leaves the room. A minute later he comes back with a piece of paper in his hands. He hands it over to me.

I take it and exit the room. I don't need the map; really, I can find Daniel on my own. I concentrate on his mind. I grasp for the edges of his thoughts. Finally, I reach his mind.

I follow his thoughts to the dungeon. There are flights of stairs leading up, down, left and right and I really need to concentrate in order not to get lost or take a wrong turn. I take the first right I see. Then I take another right and then a left. Along the way I pass a few cells.