DUSK'S POV
I and Seline were trying to get apples from the tree by throwing stones at them, and I pestered her, wondering why she allowed us to waste our strength instead of using her powers. But she only smiled and said she liked it better that way.
"You should have seen Ariadne's face when we came back last night," she said as she caught an apple in her hands and tossed it into the basket I was holding.
"I don't need to see it. I already know how it would have looked like. Was Dalia with her?" I asked, and she laughed.
"Well, of course, you'd know how she looked. And no, Dalia wasn't with her. By the way, what's that girl's deal? She follows Ariadne around like some shadow. Doesn't she care to have a life of her own?" Seline asked, and I looked at the apples.
I had seen Dalia that morning when preparing food for Lucius. And what Seline had just said, I had said it to her.
---
"Are you searching for this?" I asked, handing her a knife, as she held an apple in her hands, looking around.
She had looked at me, as if unsure why I was helping her out. Then she had taken it slowly.
"Thank you," she said, and started to peel her apples.
She kept stopping to look at me but I concentrated on what I was making for Lucius.
"Uh... Are you okay? I heard what happened." She said, and I looked at her.
Was she actually asking me if I was fine?
"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks," I said, and there was silence once more.
"Why do you follow Ariadne around? You could do better on your own," I said to her, but she didn't reply. She kept on peeling her apples.
Then finally she spoke, as she sliced her apples.
"You should give in to her. Ariadne's going to stop at nothing to be Luna," she said, and left.
I wasn't even fighting to be Luna. How was I supposed to give in to her?
---
"Hey, hey..." Seline said, smacking her fingers in my face.
"Uh?" I said, and she shook her head.
"What's on your mind?" She asked, and I smiled.
"The recent events. They've been a lot," I said, and she sat next to me.
"Hm, I'm thinking... How about a horseback ride? That could relieve all the stress. I know a clear path in the woods not far from here. You get to hear the birds singing, see the rabbits chasing each other... It's a beautiful sight," She said, and I nodded.
"I would love that!" I said, and she stood up, taking the basket from me.
"Then let's get going," She said, and we went to drop the apples.
---
On our peaceful ride in the forest, Ariadne suddenly rode past us and blocked our way. She stroked her horse's mane and smirked.
"One last chance. Surrender," She said, and Seline sighed in frustration.
"Ariadne..." She was saying, but Ariadne interrupted.
"A lady was abused when she was young, left alone so she always had to steal from neighboring packs. The pack that neglected her found out and banished her.
"Things were tough, and she had to work as a whore to put food on the table for her mother. That mother died, and the lady was taken into a Kingdom and titled omega. She worked her way from the bottom, till she finally earned some respect.
"If a lady suddenly comes from nowhere to claim her place, do you think she'd allow that? Do you think she'd watch as everything she strived for is taken away? No! She wouldn't, Dusk. Leave the Kingdom, while I'm pleading," She said to me, and Seline smirked.
"I'm guessing the lady was you. You're not the only one with a sad story, Ariadne, so you don't get to use it as an excuse to hate others or covet something that can never be yours," She said, and Seline drove forward with her horse.
"Move out of the way, I'm not patient enough," She said, and Ariadne's horse was forced to retreat.
Her story was a sad one, but I also had a sad one and deserved happiness.
We walked away from her, and about two minutes of walking away from her, someone collided heavily into me, and I fell off my horse with a scream.
I tried to make sense of what happened when I heard Seline scream.
I stood, and the first thing I saw was Ariadne running with a bow in her hands, looking scared. I turned and looked in the direction she was running to, and a little scream escaped me.
Lucius was on the floor with a silver arrowhead sticking out from his shoulder.
I ran to him, and got there the same time as Ariadne.
"Alpha Lucius! Do you hear me!" She said, cradling his head in her lap.
Seline came and pushed her away. She raised Lucius up and saw the arrow had broken into two when he fell. She couldn't take it out.
Blood poured out from the wound, and his skin burned.
"Why did you do this!?" I screamed at Ariadne.
"I warned you! I told you to leave!" I screamed back at her, and the three of us struggled to get Lucius on Seline's horse, and we rode out of the woods back to the Palace.
Once we were in front of the Palace, the guards spotted us and ran to us immediately.
Lucius was rushed to the Physicians' quarters and they were horrified when they saw him.
They placed him on the bed and told us to wait outside.
I paced around, not knowing what to do. Even Seline was out of sorts, and Ariadne was crying.
"A silver knife! Ariadne! Were you trying to kill him!?" Seline shrieked all of a sudden.
"Not him! Her!" Ariadne screamed, pointing to me.
Just then, one of the physician's students came out.
"Is he alright?!" The three of us crowded around him.
"I can't say much. My master ordered me not to disclose..."
"I'll kill you!" Ariadne threatened, holding up another silver arrow.
"You shot him right? Then you should know what's going to happen," He said, and Ariadne stumbled backwards with tears falling fast, and he stared at her.
"She shot him with silver, and as if that silver wasn't enough, she coated it with one of the rarest poisons we can find. He's dying. Slowly... He has just four days."