The Tale Of Three Princes

I took my time exploring the enchanted woods. There seemed to be no end and I had long forgotten where I'd begun. I stuck fast to one direction, hoping it would lead to something interesting. It led to almost being stepped on. I had been hovering low, looking for something to eat. A rustle brought me back around. I swayed to the side, just in time to see a furry foot come down. I look up at what appeared to be a wolf. He walked in circles, a dirty red cape and hood tied loosely at his neck. His tail was nothing more than a bleeding stump. I flew higher, trying to get his attention. I could see that he was not well. His eyes rolled around madly as he mumbled, "She invites me over for lunch and has the nerve to invite that drunken woodsman too? I can’t believe he took my tail. I liked that tail! Well, I showed her didn’t I?" "Excuse me wolf!" I called out boldly. The wolf stopped his maniacal pacing and looked around, cape waving ridiculously in the air. "I'm not a wolf. I'm a prince!" “From where I'm at, you look much too hairy to be anything human. Unless you're a pirate. Are you a pirate, wolf?" “Prince Wolf,” he replied snottily. “Not pirate.” I decided right then that he was off his rocker. The wolf swung his head around, searching for the source of my voice. I wasn't sure I wanted to be spotted anymore. Nostrils flaring, he crept closer to me. "Over here," I sighed. "Oh!” He exclaimed when I was spotted. “You’re a bug." "I prefer 'fairy', thank you. I couldn’t help but notice someone made off with your tail. Is there danger up ahead?" “Nothing I can’t handle.” I took notice of the rust-like stains that streaked his fur. It was the color of day-old blood. Chips of it flaked from his chest, much too far up to have been from his tail. I flew backward slowly. "Where are you going?" He called out. "I can see you have a lot going on and I have places to be. It was a pleasure meeting you!" "Aren’t you going to ask about that other fairy?" I paused in retreat. "What did you say?" The wolf grinned, a mouth full of fangs that sent goosebumps up my arms. "I'll tell you where they took her if you sit with me awhile." I hated bribes. Pot was always making unfair trades. "Just sit?" He knew he had me hooked. "Sit and listen to my story." I studied his face. Was I scared simply because he was an animal worth fearing, or was I scared because HE was worth fearing? I sat down on a branch too high for him to reach. "I'll stay. But make it quick." His voice was clear and seductive, an impressive feat for having a mouth full of jagged teeth. "Before I was a beast, I was a man. My name was William Oliver Lorenzo Fidelix. My brothers called me, 'Wolf.' We were three princes bound for wealth and fame. I was the eldest, the future king. Things should have gone as planned. But they didn't. A witch ruined all of that.” “That seems to be their nature,” I interjected, thinking of my recent run in. “We found her while out hunting one morning, it was the first day of Spring. She was lovely, a raven haired maiden with eyes like painted glass. Maxwell, my youngest brother, fell in love with her at first sight. Vartan and I tried to warn him. But it was no use. He'd gone deaf, poisoned by her beauty. The girl ran and Max gave chase. They were gone before we could even think of following. Vartan and I searched for days before we found our brother and his lover. The two lay beside a stream, bodies entwined like cords of Ivy. The maiden saw us first. I’ll never forget her perfect mouth as it snarled up at me, no longer so ‘perfect.’ We shouted for Max. But he just stared. He didn’t even recognize us.” “So I called out to him, 'Maxwell Fidelix, third born in the kingdom of Mir!' It must have broken the spell because he replied back, 'Wolf?' His voice was filled with fear. The maiden hissed, her disguise quickly unraveling to reveal the hag that she really was. Then she reached out a hand, begging for Max to take it. Horrified, he backed across the stream and into our awaiting arms. The witch screamed and then pointed at us with her bony finger. 'You will pay. You will all pay!' Maxwell lurched forward and started gagging. 'You vain boy. You aught to have been born a FROG!' My youngest brother's flesh began to erupt in hideous boils and bumps. He crouched on the ground, croaking in pain as his body shrunk and twisted into some new form.” “Vartan ran for the witch, cursing her in the most foul words I’ve ever heard. 'What a nasty young man. You're not human, you're a BEAST!' Vartan stopped and started clawing at his chest. His shrieks of pain were like a dagger in my heart. The crack of bone echoed through the forest as his body contorted and grew. I reached for my sword as the witch turned toward me. 'Future King. King of scum maybe. Wolf, is it?' I ran for her, beginning on two legs and ending in four. I remember snapping at her, my jaw a spring loaded trap. But no matter how many times I bit at her, I could never quite reach the target. I don't know where she went or how she left. But she disappeared as quickly as she arrived.” “I went back for my brothers, still unaware of the damage that had been done to my own body. You think that's strange don't you? How does one not know that he's been turned into a wolf? It happened so fast. I think I was in shock. You can prepare yourself to lose a limb. You can imagine what it's like to not be whole. But you can never prepare yourself to suddenly not be human. I didn't find Maxwell or Vartan on the other side of the stream. What I found was a frog and a monster that sounded like them. None of us could come to grips with what we'd been forced to give up. In the madness of the next few days I lost them both in the labyrinth of the woods.” “It's been ten years. Through overheard gossip I've learned what happened to both of my brothers. Maxwell, whose name means 'from the great well' found refuge in that very place. It was from that well that he pulled a golden ball which some careless princess had lost. They made a bargain and in the end her kiss released him from his spell. Vartan, whose name means 'giver of roses' took residence in one of our forgotten mansions. It's no coincidence that the one he chose happened to be surrounded with his namesake flower. As the story goes, a peddler stopped by one evening and stole a flower for his daughter. Her name was Beauty. She came to live with my beast of a brother as punishment for her father's misdeeds. It was her love that eventually released my brother from his bindings.” “Three years ago my father died and Vartan took his place as king. They think I'm dead, a pelt on some hunter's wall. I dream of going home sometimes. But I know it would be a suicide mission. I look like any common wolf. I'd be shot before I could get close enough to yell my name. I love my brothers, and yet I hate them all the same. They were freed from their prison. I haven’t been, and may never be. My name, William, means 'valiant protector.' Where's the clue in that? Where is my salvation? So I've resigned myself to my fate. I will forever be a wolf. Unless, of course, I can find a princess who will have me. No matter the skin, I still have a human heart beneath this coat of fur. I never intended to eat human flesh. It was that hooded brat that drove me to it. She lied to me. She gave me no choice but to eat her!"