The Incarcerated Queen ✔️

Chapter 7

♚ Aphrodite ♚

There were times where things between my family and I had gotten so bad that I had planned on several escapes. The thought about running away from my family had started when I was young and usually, I didn't go that far.

The first attempt, I only managed to run out of my room before I was dragged back into it and locked up there. The second time, I only managed to run to the end of the hallway. So on and so forth, I only managed to complete my task little by little but in the end, I always failed and was brought back to the Castle. Now at the age of eighteen, I had never gone beyond the forest. Things were about to change.

I hadn't let my wolf take over me, not yet at least. I wanted to be able to utilise my entire strength as a human before turning into a wolf. For now, I was running blindly in a pitch dark forest, having absolutely no plan when a Rogue attacks me.

My feet were stomping through the various grounds on the forest. The wet grounds made my legs heavier and pulled me closer to the ground, whereas the dry ground cut through my legs causing a free flow of blood.

My dress was ripped from the bottom and from the sides, there were cuts from the thorns on my hands and face. My uncle would have berated me for being so careless and making myself vulnerable to the enemy. At this point, I didn't care anyways, my uncle is probably dead and I must move on with my life. Even with all the pain and all the exhaustion, I ran as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I would have no idea where I was going. As I mentioned before, I had never gone beyond this forest alone.

I stopped dead in my tracks and saw into the distance, a small and lively Pack. I could have taken refuge in this place but I refused to. I knew they were going to find me and I didn't want them to raid and destroy this Pack in order to do so. So I ran back into the forest and decided to set up my own refuge.

I reached a densely thick part of the forest and hope for it to be the perfect place to stay in for a while. I started to break off branches from trees and throw them in the centre. My uncle had trained me well enough to set up a small shack.

After I threw in all that I could find, I started binding them together by ripping out the length of the dress that I had. At the end, I made a small yet sturdy shack that camouflaged with the woods. I knew that this wasn't enough but it was all I had to protect me from the unknown dangers.

I didn't even remember when I fell asleep, but it was one of the most sensational feelings ever. I could feel my muscles slowly relax and my nerves slowly calm down. Although, I could still feel the painful bruises etched against my skin. The thought of me being this exhausted scared me, it made me feel like I had already lost the battle. It might as well be true because I was battling the unknown.

I heard the ever so gentle ruffling of the bushes and that was enough to spring me up back onto my feet, I looked around and wondered how long I had dosed off. The sky was becoming lighter and I knew that the sun would come up in just a few hours. But now, I fully returned my attention to the shadow lurking in the bushes.

The fear that slowly ran down my spine caused my wolf to break her dormant state and rise to the surface. It was an act of defense for me, but for her, it was time to attack the Rogue. My claws were already out and I could feel my canines slowly protrude out, hungry for my next victim.

The ruffling within the bushes got louder than ever, I was just one level away from completely transforming and attacking the Rogue until I heard it. It was ringing so peacefully in my ears, a song that had been played to put the children to sleep.

Whenever my uncle sang that song to me, it seemed that all the worries I had as a young child disappeared. I felt safe when listening to that song, and I feel safe now knowing that the person behind the bushes was harmless.

Slowly, I started retracting my claws and my canines shrunk back to normal. My wolf had settled down but was still uneasy about this situation, I told her not to worry much as it wasn't a threat.

Out of the bushes came a small, old lady. She seemed as gentle as the typical grandmother and the way she walked didn't seem like she was about to attack anyone. I stood quietly as I watched her pick the berries out of the shrubs and put it in her small basket. She seemed to be in her own world until she saw me, her face when from the one of peace to the one of shock.

"Oh dear!" She rushed towards me and checked out all the scars I had all over my body. "You look like you've been severely injured. We must go back to my house so that I can heal you."

I paused for a moment, wondering if I could trust her. She seemed harmless, even if she wasn't I could crush her within minutes. So I simply nodded and walked with her to where she lived.

Her small house was modestly built, although I wondered if it could withstand rain or a heavy storm. She opened the wooden door and I stepped inside; the warmth of the brewing coffee and herbs infiltrated my nose.

She made me sit down and relax while she prepared the solution to fix my wounds. I looked around and examined the displays in her room. They seemed that there were ancient artefacts and they resonated as strange to me.

I carefully examined one of the relics in her room, the words written over it were incoherent. I picked it up and examined the words and noticed it was written in a different language. I slowly came to realisation and noticed that it was a chant.

I slowly placed it down and walked over to a room that was covered with curtains. But before I could open it, the lady came back and she brought the herbs along with.

"I've prepared the solution and I hope it works." She said as she applied the gel-like substance on my open wounds. To say it burned like a bitch was an understatement. I was in agonising pain as the old woman kept applying the solution onto my sensitive skin.

"Sleep my child, it will all come to an end." The way her words were spoke did calm me down and send me into a state of drowsiness, but there was an underlying tone to it that even the most intelligent scholar couldn't notice. Unable to fight back, I dozed off to sleep.

I wasn't sure if I was safe, but I knew that if I crossed the border of the forest I would be a Rogue in a vicious world. And so, the furthest I've reached while trying to escape hell, is the end of the forest.

❌❌❌

This chapter was a bit short so I apologise. I actually wanted to make the next chapter super suspenseful. Tell me what you think about this book, let me know in the comments.

Don't forget to vote for this book, if you like it, and also check out my other book 'Resurgence' if it pleases you.

The characters are fictional and open to any interpretation, please don't assume it's just one race. It can be whatever race, religion you'd like.

Thank you for your support!
-Addiction_xx