Tess woke up to a bright light and a quiet beeping noise in her ear. “Tom?” she asked, as she sat up, her muscles aching at her every movement, looking around the room. She was in a single person bed, surrounded by pale checkered curtains. She looked around when she didn’t hear Tom answer her. Where was she?
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” a woman said, as she opened the curtain to Tess’ bed. “We were worried when we found you and your wolf friend in the flower fields passed out. We thought the poppies had gotten to you.”
“Poppies?” Tess watched the woman walk around the bed, looking at a clipboard. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Why were poppies bad again? Sleep, her mind answered her. That’s right, poppies made you sleep if you weren’t careful around them. “Where’s Tom?” she asked, trying to figure out why he wasn’t near her.
“Your friend is across the hallway. The gardeners brought you in when they found the two of you. They thought you were dead, since you weren’t moving. What were you doing in the gardens when they’re closed for maintenance?” The woman asked, walking over to Tess’ bedside checking a fluid bag that was near her.
Tess looked at her arm to see an IV inserted. “What are you giving me?”
“Just fluids, dear,” the woman answered, an enormous smile plastered on her face. Tess shivered, feeling discontented. Why did this person make her feel scared for herself?
“Tess?” Tom’s voice rang out in the hallway, along with the sound of items clattering to the ground.
The nurse turned towards the door and sighed. Tom rushed into the room, doctors and nurses following close behind.
“Sir, we need to ask you to calm down,” a nurse tried to get Tom’s attention as he rushed to Tess’ side.
“Are you okay?” Tom asked, putting a gentle hand on Tess’ cheek. The medical staff continued attempting to pull him back into his room.
“I’m fine,” Tess gave him a smile. “Guess we were both more exhausted than we had thought. Let the doctors finish and we can explore the town soon.”
Tom’s gaze lingered on Tess before nodding his head and turning to go back to his room. The nurses and doctors watched him wearily, unsure of who was going to finish his checkup.
“Quite the looker,” Tess’ nurse watched as Tom left the room. “Keep him close, or someone might snatch him away.”
Tess looked at the nurse, confused. The nurse didn’t seem to notice, and left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Tess wasn’t sure how long she was by herself. She hadn’t heard from Tom in a bit and was getting worried. If nothing was wrong, it was unclear to her why the doctors were holding them. Did the nymphs hurt them more than she realized? She thought back to the event and shook her head. The nymphs had barely touched them, so that couldn’t be the reason.
“Destru! Get back here!” a shout went up. Tess sat up in her bed, intrigued by the hallway, where there was now a disturbance.
“You’ll have to catch me!” a male voice called, coming closer to her room.
“Destru, you can’t take those bottles! You don’t know what they do!” a female voice shouted again. The sound of pounding feet came closer as the yelling continued.
Tess heard stomping as whoever was getting yelled at came closer. A few seconds later, a tall man in a flowy blue coat rushed into her room and hid behind the door. He held a finger to his mouth as he winked at her with the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. “Destru!” a nurse ran by in search of the man that had taken residence in Tess’ room.
Destru gave a friendly smile to Tess, who returned it uncertainly. “Didn’t mean to disturb, pet,” Destru gave a dramatic bow to Tess.
He pulled a large tricorn hat off his head, revealing a set of straw-colored wolf's ears. Blonde hair spilled down over his shoulders as his head nearly touched the ground. He straightened once again and gave a crooked smile, flashing a few golden teeth. “Happy healing lass!” Destru bounded out of the room and back down the hallway.
Tess blinked a couple of times, trying to process what had happened. The nurse ran back down the hallway, noticing Destru was now heading for the exit. She shouted after the man, trying to get security to stop him before he left the building.
Tess looked up as Tom entered her room, flexing his arms as he attempted to loosen his muscles. “You ready to go?” he asked, as a nurse came in and disconnected the IV from her arm.
“Who was that strange man?” Tess asked, wondering if she had been the only one to see him.
“Destru,” the nurse rolled her eyes. “A local nuisance, he thinks he can get away with whatever he wants in town, because he calls himself a pirate. He likes to come in and take medical supplies for his adventures, but I swear he never knows what he’s grabbing.”
“Most likely someone we’ll be staying far away from,” Tom answered. “Is there a hotel we can stay at here in town?”
“Yes, go down the street a few blocks and there will be one near the wharf,” the nurse replied, before showing them their way out of the hospital.
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Tess and Tom left their things in a room at the Inn that they were directed to and were now walking through the town. They were enjoying their time window shopping. They looked at the different things for sale that they could only wish to buy one day. “Are you gonna try to set up shop here for a bit?” Tom asked, nudging Tess gently as they passed another shop filled with herbs.
Tess thought for a moment. “I’ll have to look at my supplies and see what I can brew. What do you think would sell the best here?”
“Probably a warming potion,” Tom shivered, as a breeze blew off the water into town.
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“Good idea,” Tess laughed. “Shall I make more fire cider?”
Tom’s eyes widened as he nearly shouted his response, “No!”
Tess laughed, “Don’t worry, I learned my lesson the last time I made it. Besides, I still have some here.” She pulled a vial out of her pack and swished the liquid around. Tom looked on as the liquid made tiny flames shoot up inside the bottle.
“Never again,” Tom muttered, as they made their way to the piers to see the docked ships. “Think we should try crossing the sea some day?” Tom asked, looking up at all the deckhands doing their necessary chores for the evening.
Tess looked up at the boat nervously, “I don’t know.” She had never been on a boat, but something about them made her nervous. “The Lucinda May,” Tess read as they passed a large wooden ship. It was so large, she felt like a tiny pixie next to it. She stared in awe as the crew climbed up the masts and tightened the ropes on the sails, checking the ropes. There were lights on in the main cabin towards the back of the ship. The crew were singing along to a shanty they had made up.
Tom looked over towards the ramp as someone shouted at them. “Come on Tess, let’s head back to the Inn,” Tom pushed her back towards the cobblestone streets.
“Good to see you, Little Lass!” the voice shouted towards them. Tess looked behind Tom to see the familiar blue coat of the man she had seen earlier.
“Tom, I think it’s Destru,” Tess pulled on his arm, trying to get him to slow down.
“All the more reason to keep going,” Tom continued moving towards the street, a determined look on his face. “I thought you wanted to make some recovery potions.” Tom attempted at a subject change as Destrus’ voice continued to get closer.
“You’re right,” Tess agreed. She went over the ingredients she still needed to buy to brew her concoction in her head. Tom had said the brief stay at the clinic had helped, but he wasn’t completely recovered yet.
“Wow, you two walk fast!” A hand clasped both Tom and Tess on the shoulder, whirling them around to see Destru’s smiling face.
Tom went on edge, a soft growl in his throat, as he stood defensively in front of Tess. “Hello, Destru!” Tess greeted Destru as she came to Tom’s side. She grabbed his arm to calm him down. “How can we help you?”
“I was wondering if a lovely lass like yourself would care to join me for dinner?” Destru knelt down in front of Tess, removing his hat and kissed her hand. He kept a watchful eye on Tom, as his growling got louder.
“We’ve eaten already,” Tom retorted, pushing a blushing Tess behind him as she became lost for words.
“Oh calm down, Brother,” Destru slung an arm around Tom’s shoulders. “I won’t hurt your mate.”
Tess looked towards Tom confused at Destru’s words. Tom rolled his eyes, gesturing to go along with Destru’s thoughts. He removed Destru’s arm from his shoulders, considering Destru’s words. “Why would you want dinner with us?”
“It’s no fun to eat alone,” Destru pouted.
“You have a crew to eat with,” Tom pointed out.
“Bah! The same people I see every day,” Destru waved Tom’s words away. “It’s fun to meet new people and hear new things.”
Tom contemplated for a few minutes as Tess waited patiently by his side. There wasn’t much she could do once he was protective of her. “We have some shopping to do, but once we’re done, we could join you,” Tom finally agreed.
“Splendid!” Destru all but leapt for joy. “I will meet you on the deck in half an hour.”
Tess watched as Destru giddily walked back to his ship. “Why did you agree?” she asked Tom once she noticed his eyes were on her.
“He called you my mate. He won’t hurt you when I’m around, but I think he knows something we don’t.” Tom turned to walk back to the shops, as Tess looked between the two wolves, confused.
“Tom, wait!” she called as she ran after him.
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It didn’t take long for Tess to find the ingredients, including the ones she would’ve gotten at the flower fields. “You’re going to be busy for a couple of days,” Tom laughed as Tess carried her large bag of herbs.
“They had such good quality herbs,” Tess beamed, nearly skipping in front of Tom as they made their way to Destru’s ship.
Tom shook his head in amusement, his heart bouncing along with Tess as she continued along the dock. She stopped suddenly once she made it to the plank leading to the ship’s deck.
“What’s the matter?” Tom asked, looking from Tess to the ship. She had been so excited earlier, he wasn’t sure how, but Destru had made an impression on her. Tom looked up towards the ship, remembering her uncertainty earlier that day. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Tom took her hand and gave a gentle squeeze.
“I don’t want to disappoint him.” Tess looked up at Tom, putting on a brave face.
“I don’t think he ever gets disappointed,” Tom muttered. Destru appeared over the railing and waved towards them. It was hard to tell with his long coat on, but it looked like his tail was going a million miles an hour.
“Come on, Tom,” Tess pulled at his arm as she forced herself onto the boat.
“Hello once again, young lass,” Destru bowed, while twirling his hat. “Brother,” Destru gave a solemn nod, as he noticed Tom’s annoyed look. “Follow me to dinner.” Destru turned abruptly, then went into the captain’s quarters.
Tess glanced towards Tom, who motioned her forward. They followed Destru into the captain’s quarters to see a feast of food set up on the table provided. “Oh Tom,” Tess whispered, eyes wide. She had never seen so much food at once in her life.
“Make yourselves at home.” Destru motioned to a couple of chairs set up by the table, as he sat down in a plush chair. He immediately started grabbing at the food and piled it on his plate.
Tess and Tom exchanged looks before sitting at the table and helping themselves to the food. “Where did you get all this food?” Tess asked as she tried to take it all in.
“When we’re docked, I like to eat well,” Destru shrugged, a chicken leg hanging out of his mouth. “It’s rough on the seas.”
“So what’re you doing in this area?” Tom asked. He had barely eaten anything that was being offered.
“I’m on a mission to find the ‘Last Prophecy’,” Destru leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.
“I’ve never heard of a Last Prophecy,” Tess looked at Destru, intrigued. “What’s it about?”
“It’s a myth,” Tom muttered, as his ears went flat against his head.
Tess glanced towards Tom confused, “You’ve heard about it?”
“Heard about it?” Destru stood up abruptly, slapping the table in excitement. “He’s the keeper of it!”
“I’m missing something,” Tess looked between Destru and Tom at a loss. “Destru, what are you talking about? You’re saying werewolves are keepers of this prophecy? Aren’t you a wolf?”
“Aye, Lass, I’m a wolf, but only the Wilkolaks were keepers of the prophecy. They’re the strongest of the wolf breeds.” Destru sat back in his chair, grabbing a tankard of ale, and took a swig. “Did you know Wilkolaks are one of the few breeds that can force a transformation without a full moon?” Destru kept his eyes on Tom, who refused to meet his gaze.
“But I thought,” Tess trailed off as she looked towards Tom. She had never had a lot of experience with other werewolves. Tom’s family had liked to keep to themselves when they were growing up.
“It’s time to go, Tess,” Tom stood up abruptly, then walked out onto the deck of the ship, still refusing to meet Destru’s gaze.
Tess looked between Destru and Tom’s retreating form at a loss. “I-I’m sorry, Destru. We should get going. I have some herbal essences to brew.” Tess excused herself as she went for the door.
“Keep your eyes open, Little Lass,” Destru called after her, standing near his chair. “The winds of fate have been blowing hard lately, and I fear they have targeted the two of you.”
Tess glanced behind herself, to see Destru’s concerned face, then ran off the ship to chase after Tom.