New Beginnings

The Attack

From Maggie's POV:

While Charlie brought us up to date on the situation in Moondor, we filled Charlie in on the particulars of the case. "So, I don't think we know exactly what we're up against at the moment, so we'll have to keep a close eye on everything. I think we should start with a walk in the woods, Your Majesty," I said, trying to keep in character.

Harold was another squire, along with Dean, who was attached to the queen. He said that a walk in the woods wouldn't be a good idea. "Doing so could potentially expose the queen unnecessarily to danger," he proclaimed.

"Look, Harold," I started. "The queen's new squire, Dean, is more than up to the challenge of defending the queen. And, as her lady-in-waiting, I am also most capable of protecting the queen in the event of danger," I explained.

Harold looked like he knew better than to argue with me as the lady-in-waiting, so we continued on our walk through the woods. A little farther up the trail, I noticed what looked like a dog's paw prints in the mud. "Dean, can you please come take a look at this?" I called.

When he reached my position, I pointed down at the footprints in the mud. "What do you make of that?" I asked.

He knelt down and studied it for a minute, and said, "Could be either a werewolf or a skinwalker. Both are canine in origin."

"Okay, we've already had the full moon this month, so I think that rules out werewolf," I reasoned. I walked back to Charlie, and said, "Your Majesty, may we have a word with you in private, please?" She nodded and we walked over to Dean.

"We think we're most likely up against a skinwalker. They're humans, capable of shapeshifting into a canine form. They're related to werewolves, like cousins, and they feed on their victim's heart. The reason we think it's that and not a werewolf, is because a skinwalker's transformation is not dependent on the lunar cycle. There's already been a full moon this month. They also have total control over changing forms and what they do in canine form," I explained. "Our only defense against it will be silver, so when we get back to camp, we'll need to get our hands on some silver weapons."

"Have you noticed any dogs wandering around your camp lately, Your Majesty?" Dean asked.

"Well, this is a public park, I mean, people bring their dogs here. Sometimes a dog will wander off and get over to our side," Charlie answered. "People are usually pretty good about keeping their dog out of what we're doing."

"I think we need to keep a close eye out for any wandering dogs that make it into camp that no one comes after," I said.

"Agreed. Could be that's our skinwalker," Dean said.

That night, as lady-in-waiting, my bedchamber was in an outer room of the queen's tent before you would get to the main living area. Dean had to spend the night in the Squire's Tent and without me, which did not sit well with him. I promised to make it up to him as soon as we wrapped up this case. Before he ducked into his tent, he looked around to see if anyone was looking. Then he pulled me into a long, passionate kiss that nearly curled my toes. "Sweet dreams, my love," he said as he touched my cheek and wished me good night.

I walked, or more like stumbled back to Charlie's tent, still feeling the effects of the good night kiss I'd just received. Once in the tent, I settled into my cot and pulled the blankets up around me. Eventually, my eyelids felt heavy and I was soon fast asleep.

For some reason, I felt something liquid dripping on my cheek. Not one drop, but several, like the beginning of a rain storm, then a low growl. I didn't know what it was, but something about it didn't feel right. I opened my eyes and a dog had made its way into the tent. I sat straight up in my cot and shrank away from it. Its eyes suddenly took on an orange glow and it started growling louder. It also began to look less like a dog and more like a human.