The Tale of Shadowus and Sorrow

Pizza and Wolfsbane

A week later, Sorrow walks out of her cave to find a path of rose petals leading into the forest. A note was written in the rose petals.

“Follow the rose petals for a special surprise. -S”it read. Sorrow quickly got ready before the petals blew away and followed the path. It wound through the woods and into the clearing. In the clearing, she found a large blanket and a picnic basket lying in the middle of the clearing. When she stepped towards the blanket, a familiar voice called out,

“So, sweetie, you got my note.” Sorrow looked around, searching for the sound of the voice. A pair of arms grabbed her from behind and lifted her up and towards the picnic blanket. “Got ya,” Shadowus whispered, kissing her cheek. Sorrow squealed as she was carried over to the picnic blanket.

“This was what the rose petal pathway was for?” Sorrow giggled. Shadowus nodded. “A little much for a picnic, don't you think?”

“Nothing is too much for someone as special as you, baby,” Shadowus whispered, kissing Sorrow again. Sorrow giggled and blushed. “Sit down, Sorrow,” Shadowus pointed to the blanket, and Sorrow obediently sat down. Shadowus sat down next to her and pulled the basket close to him. Sorrow sniffed the basket and gasped.

“No way.” Sorrow gaped in awe as Shadowus pulled out a large pizza box. Opening it, she saw that half was meat lovers and the other half was cheese. “Pizza?” Sorrow stared at Shadowus.

“Yep,” Shadowus beamed. “I know how much you love meat, and how much I love pizza. So, I got a half meat lovers half cheese pizza for us to share.” Sorrow hugged and kissed Shadowus on the cheek.

“You know me so well," she sighed, then took a slice of pizza and took a huge bite, the cheese gooey enough to leave strands of it hanging off the slice. Shadowus followed suit, and they sat and enjoyed the delicious pizza, laughing, talking, chasing each other around the clearing, until the pizza was gone.

“Sorrow,” Shadowus whispered in her ear. “There is one more surprise I have in store. Close your eyes.” Sorrow obeyed, and Shadowus put a blindfold on her. “Just in case you try to peek.” And he led her back into the woods, pushing away tree branches for her and making sure she kept her footing. Finally, after a while walking through the woods, Shadowus removed the blindfold. Sorrow gasped.

In front of her was a beautiful sunset scene. The sun was almost gone, but not quite. The water was water sprites laughing and talking. When they saw Sorrow, they all fluttered away. Sorrow and Shadowus laughed. They sat down on the ground and watched the sunset and then watch the full moon rise. Sorrow started to squirm.

“What is it, Sorrow?” Shadowus asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sorrow shook his hand off and continued to stare at the moon. “Sorrow? Sorrow, snap out of it!” He shook her, but she continued to stare at the rising moon, following it with her eyes.

'Sh-Shadow...us,” she muttered, and fainted. Shadowus caught her and carried her back to the camp, walking into the herbalist's cave. He was standing there, head in his hands, muttering to himself. When he saw Shadowus with the unconscious girl, he stood up, hands shaking.

“Can you tell me what is wrong with her?” he asked.

“C-c-c-certainly,” the herbalist pulled out a sprig of wolfsbane and held it close to Sorrow, who turned pale. Looking up, Shadowus saw that the herbalist was turning green. Shadowus quickly grabbed the wolfsbane from his frail hand and held it far away from the two of them. The herbalist regained his composure, his hands stopped shaking and he straightened up. “Wolfsbane is the one plant who's power depends on the moon. When the moon is new, like it was that one day with the girl, its power is very weak. But, as the moon gets fuller, the power grows. Now, werewolves are allergic to wolfsbane. Makes us weak and lose our color, and in some cases, our minds. Some stutter, as I do, others get stomach aches or headaches, and some just pass out, like the princess here.” The herbalist tried to grab the wolfsbane, but Shadowus, who was a good two feet taller than him, held it out of his reach.

“How is this possible?” he asked the small man. “We weren't near any wolfsbane.”

“There is a hill where you can see a beautiful sunset that has plenty of wolfsbane,” the herbalist said, trying to reach for the purple plant. “That's where the wolfsbane magic is strongest. You don't have to be there twenty minutes for it to have an effect on a werewolf.” He finally grabbed Shadowus's wrist and pulled it down, grabbing the plant and placing it in a jar. When he closed the lid, he relaxed. “You didn't go to that hill did you?”

Shadowus smacked his head. “We did,” he said after a minute. “I remember those flowers all around us. I didn't know what they were.” He continuously smacked his head.

“It is okay Shadowus,” a voice said weakly. “You didn't know. I should've told you.” Sorrow sat up, her arms shaking. Shadowus forced her back down.

“Save your energy, my love,” he whispered. He then turned to the herbalist. “Can you help her?”

“Yes,” he said. “I will get the necessary ingredient.” He walked into the back and came out with dried wolfsbane. “Ironically, dry wolfsbane helps with fresh wolfsbane.” He crushed it up and placed it in a small bottle, tying string around the neck of the bottle and corking it. “Wear this, and the affect of the wolfsbane will not affect you.”

“Wait,” Sorrow said. “ If curing this is so simple, then why don't you give it to everyone?”

“Well,” the herbalist responded. “It only works if you make it on the full moon when the moon is in the sky. Plus, I don't have that many bottles.” he laughed a weak laugh and handed her the necklace. Shadowus tied it around her neck. She sat up, her arms able to hold her weight better. . She swung her legs over the counter she was laying on and stood up, a little shaky at first, but then she regained her strength enough to stand up, but she needed help walking. Shadowus put he arm around his shoulder and helped her back to her cave, where she promptly fell asleep on the pile of furs in the middle of the floor. Shadowus pulled a large bear-skin blanket over her, and she curled up in it. Shadowus kissed her on the lips, whispering,

“Good night, little one. I love you.” And her walked out of the cave, spread his wings, and flew home.