The body of a beast.
Aden flexed his muscles from his feet to his elbows. Suddenly, all the odd sensations fell into place. For the first time since he had woken up, the shrill sounds around him faded away. He felt as though he were observing the entire situation from far up in the hazy clouds around him. The weightiness of his body, the extra muscles in his eyelids, the claws. He flexed his hand again. Curved daggers slid out where his fingers should have been.
“Get. Out.” His calm voice was laced with fury.
His mother’s hand tensed on his cheek, but she did not pull away.
“Aden.” Ian’s own voice broke. “This is not over. We have already sent our swiftest courier to the Council. We will find a way...”
Aden reached up and pushed his mother’s hand away.
“I need to be alone right now. Please leave.” His voice was listless.
“He needs some time to think this through,” his mother said to Ian. She finally stepped back, and two sets of footsteps moved toward the door.
Aden inhaled into lungs that refused to expand. “Wait,” he called after them. “How long have I... Is it day or night?”
“The ball ended around midnight,” Ian responded. “That was about three hours ago.”
Aden nodded.
“Are you sure you want—” Ian asked.
“Go,” Aden cut him off.
The door closed behind them, and Aden listened to their footsteps fade down the hall. He truly could hear them from four rooms away.
He flexed his hands again, horrified at the smooth feeling of the long, hard claws gliding in and out of his... fingers? Paws? His stomach turned.
The door creaked open and he tensed, waiting for the returning footsteps of an overly concerned family member. He needed time to pity himself before someone else came in to do the pitying for him. He inhaled and his lungs accepted the air. He was ready to spew an angry retort to send whoever it was away. Instead of footsteps, however, he heard tiny, short panting noises and the soft pads of puppy feet.
For the first time since he had awoken, his heart felt a moment of anticipation. “Warrior,” he called, “good pup. Come and keep me company.”
The mattress rustled as the dog’s small body jumped up next to him, and Aden reached out to find his little friend.
“Grrrrrrrrwwww.” A small growl formed deep in the dog’s throat. Under any other circumstances, the pup’s attempt to be threatening would have made Aden laugh. In this moment, the aggressive action of his small companion completely broke his heart. Not even his own dog recognized him.
“Come on, boy, it’s just me. The same me.” Aden pleaded as though his life depended on it. Perhaps it did.
Warrior barked in response and jumped off the bed, growling all the while.
Completely overcome with the desire to hold the comforting bundle of fluff, Aden sat up. “Warrior, I am not going to hurt you, boy. Come up here. I’ll find you a treat!” He swung an awkward leg over the side of the bed and reached down toward the menacing pup. Unfortunately, that was entirely the wrong move to make.
Warrior yelped in surprise, probably at the large size of the monster in his master’s bed, and flew out of the room, puppy claws desperately scraping against the stone castle floor in an attempt to flee the danger as quickly as possible.
Aden groaned. The sound came out as a beastly growl, eerily similar to the one Warrior had made a few moments ago. Only Aden’s was far deeper and actually menacing. The foreign sound of his own despair frightened even him.
Apparently, the sound was louder than he realized. Armored footsteps sounded down the hall, and moments later two guards burst through the door into his room. Alarmed, Aden stood from the bed as he heard the clang of their swords against his doorway.
“Y... Your Highness?” They paused immediately inside the door to his room, obviously unsure of whether they should be attacking their former prince.
He was now considered a threat.
“Everything is fine, James and Mattew,” Aden said to the two guards standing nervously at his doorway. “I was merely clearing my throat. You can return to your post.” He realized too late that he was their post. They had likely been assigned to ensure he did not go on a killing spree throughout the castle.
Another sound of footsteps hurried down the hallway, and a third figure burst into his room. Why was everything still shrouded in darkness?
“Aden?” It was his other older brother, Onric. “You are awake? I thought I heard...” Onric awkwardly stopped.
