Haelyn's POV

I had to dig a little bit. Remove some brambles and bushes here and there. There was supposed to be something like a hatch that led underground.

But not for long anyway.

And yes, I was the little girl who went through hatches. I played just like the other boys. After all, I was the only child in the palace.

That very night, I proceeded to make my own hideout. The palace grounds was a very big place, with meadows surrounding the main building.

But I soon realized that those low grounds had sprouted tall weeds. I wondered why. Maybe everything fell into disrepair just after I ran away.

I made my hideout behind some trees, but well close to the walls and the place where I came in through. In case if I was ever found out and needed to flee.

I made a line between the tall weeds, so that I could watch the castle. It was just as I remembered it. A little bit drab looking but still the same hell hole.

I sat down and brought out an old pendant my mom once gave to me. It was on my neck the day I ran from Silver Pack.

As I palmed it, memories filled my head and took me back.

***

We were in my room, on the bed, and my head was in her laps as she read my favorite story to me.

Jack and the Beanstalk.

I never seemed to get enough of that very story. It was because of the adventure. The part where Jack had to confront the giants. It always intrigued me to the fullest.

When she was done, I sighed in satisfaction. "Well, the story should continue," I said.

"Why do you say so, moonbeam?"

"Because it is interesting," I told her.

"That I agree. But maybe you can continue the story on your own and write a book like this one."

I grinned. "Really?"

"Of course, moonbeam. You are meant for more than this. You are meant for something greater, I know."

There was this feeling of warmth that came with being close to mom, which had nothing to do with the fireplace.

She sang me lullabies and taught me how to sing them.

'So rest now, little one, and dream of might,

For tomorrow, there will be a new light,

There is a journey with stories untold,

For when you awake, the adventure will unfold...

***

But the pain I felt inside of me was more than the message and the warmth. Those were far from my reach.

I clutched the pendant so hard that it cut into my flesh and blood came out dripping.

I laid back against the ground and closed my eyes, trying to find sleep. It didn't take long for the nightmare to begin.

I could sense them around me. About four of them. The stench of them was in the air that I couldn't even miss it. I wondered how I could smell that well in a dream. It was new to me.

I got to my feet at once and went straight for my sword. By the time I picked it up, the first one sprang at me. Darn wolf.

I fell backwards and tried to draw my blade. But my attacker saw that coming and held my hand down. We fell to the ground struggling. The others came closer and I knew that if I didn't do something to get on my feet, that was the end.

Well, good thing the one on top of me was a man so I knee balled him, felt his grip on me relax, and finally got my blade out of its sheath.

I flung the sheath at the nearest attacker and moved my hand in a circular motion. I felt contact as two of them grunted. I smelled blood again. Real blood.

And that was when I knew it wasn't another nightmare. It was real and I was under attack.

"Who are you people?" I demanded.

Three of them were limping, and it was the one who wasn't that answered. "What does it matter?"

"Who sent you?" I asked.

"No one. Just knew you'd be good prey the moment we saw you."

"So you are rogues," I said out loud. Wherever rogues went, they never left survivors. "How did you get into the palace grounds?"

"Why? We have been here all this while," he said and chuckled.

So this was a plot from inside the castle. The Alpha Trials was definitely going to be bloody than I thought.

Without warning, they rushed me at the same time. I was ready this time.

My sword found the first one, but I didn't see the blade one of them had, and it opened the very place I once had an injury.

The pain shot into my head, and it almost made me mad. I swung my sword without mercy and chopped them to pieces. By the time I was done, my whole self was covered in blood.

Felt like a manifestation of my own dream. The blood trying to drown me.

I knelt down and proceeded to sew my own wound. Bit down on my blanket until I was done. My tears mixed with the blood that wasn't mine.

Afterwards, I pulled the bodies aside and took off their clothes. It was time for me to be Bernard.

I burnt my old clothes and watched the fires eat at them. There was no way that I could stay in the shadows anymore or hide behind the trees.

I had to accept being a man. Being Bernard. I had to forget that I was ever a little girl.

I sat by the fire and thought of a plan. I decided that I would have to steal out just before dawn and find out where the contenders were assembling. That was my destination and that was where my journey would begin.

Or my adventure, as mom would call it.

I was writing my own story.

Haelyn was dead and gone.

Only Bernard remained