Chapter 1 Ylvana: I go for a walk

This is probably not the smartest decision I've ever made, but I couldn't help it! That dream put me on edge.

Chapter 1 Ylvana: sweet dreams--yeah, right!

"You can't tell your friends about your power's, Ylvana," my mother says in my dream. "It could put you in danger. Promise me, you will not shift."

"I promise," 9 year old me says sadly.

Then, my dream changes.

I'm standing in the woods in wolf form. The forest does not offer me the usual comfort--for some reason, it felt menacing. Suddenly, it appears in front of me. Hopping between the branches, flapping it's shiny wings. I tell my feet to move, but they don't respond. My eyes lock on the raven. It leaps off the branch and swoops down like a black phantom. The bird holds out its claws, ready to take my eyes out-

"Ylvana!" My mother shakes me awake. "I think you were having a nightmare."

I groan and sit up. She is right; I did have a nightmare. This is bad; and not just because my peaceful sleep was disrupted. My dreams are never normal; they always have to be some painful flashback to the past, or dark omen of the future.

I realize I'm sitting on my window sill with my head resting against the glass--odd place to fall asleep. Bright sunlight burns my eyes. On my lap is the white wolf sketch I had been working on all night long. My back feels like a stiff log: bricks did not make good mattresses.

"You hadn't come down for breakfast so I brought you some toast," mother says, handing them me.

I smile and thank her.

As I nibble on the toast, the memory of the dreams stays fresh in my mind. They started off okay: a day I spent with my friends on the dock of my cabin, and another time I was with my cousin making a dress together. They weren't bad, but they were painful memories to look back on. They made me realize how messed up my life had become.

But the last dream I had wasn't a memory; it was an omen. The worst kind of omen in our kingdom; a Crow. I don't spend too much time worrying about it though; I am more focused on the fact that it was noon and I have missed breakfast.

Mother sits on my windowsill by my legs.

"Can I look at that?" She nods to the sketch on my lap.

I hand it to her. She takes it carefully. Her emerald eyes pour over the image. The sunlight illuminates her strawberry blond hair; which flows like golden water down her back.

"That's a nice one," she says, handing it back to me, "but you ought to stop staying up so late. If you keep missing breakfast, you'll turn to skin and bones," she says, poking my ribs gently. "I mean honestly Ylvana, it's noon!"

I sigh. Drawing is a way I combat my restlessness. But lately, it hasn't been enough.

I look out across the pointed heads of the pines against a pastel blue sky.

"Hey, do you think we could walk to town today?" I ask my mother.

She tenses; the first sign that something's up.

"Ylva," she says softly, "I think we should wait."

I feel my heart drop into my stomach.

"Why not? We haven't been out in weeks," my voice is tinged with desperation. I need to breath the fresh air, and walk in the sunlight. The stuffy halls of the castle are starting to make me nauseous.

Mother looks sadly down at her hands in her lap.

"King Albin thinks now is not a good time for you to visit the village. He told me us to wait till things settled down. Then we may go."

My heartbeat picks up a little. "What's happening in the village?"

Mother looks away from me. "Nothing you need to worry about," she says, quietly.

"If something's wrong, I think I do need to worry. Alex and Chris are down there!"

"Haven't they been writing?"

"Yes, but I can tell their hiding something from me, too," I say bitterly.

"Ylva, there are things going on that you just don't understand--"

"I understand everything fine!" I snap. I immediately regret my decision.

Mother looks a little hurt. I silently curse myself; my mom is the kindest person in the world. She does not deserve to be yelled at.

"Arg, I'm sorry mom." I run a hand through my hair. "I just got agitated again."

"I understand," she says, quietly. "You're father use to get that way, sometimes."

I case a sideways glance at her. She rarely ever talks about my father--it is too painful for her.

"Did he have anyway to help it?" I ask.

Mother looks out the window. "It helped him to get out of the castle, go hunting and be out in the woods for a while."

Great. The one thing I can't do.

Mom gets up and wraps her arms around my shoulders.

"He loved it when I would sing to him," she says softly.

In a sweet voice, she starts to sing:

La dagen få, Sin hvile nå

I smile and sing along;

Og natten vil våke for den

Nocturne

She would sing that song to me every night before I went to bed. It's nice to hear, but it's brings up memories as painful as my dreams.

"You're strong," she whispers in my ear, "I know this is hard, but we can get through it."

But why did I have to go through it? I didn't ask to be protected. King Albin was my uncle, but it's not like we were close family. Out of nowhere, he has ordered me and my mother to come and live in the castle. I have a feeling it wasn't just because he got a suddenly urge of family bonding. 

There are so many things I want to say: King Albin is an idiot, we don't need protection, are there any more breakfast leftovers by chance?

But I remain quiet. I know this move is just as hard for my mom. We both miss the serene woods and our cabin by the lake. But she has no more power than I do; arguing with her won't help anything.

She walks back over to the door.

"You're not a prisoner in here, you know. You have the whole castle to wander around in. You should come down more often; Miria misses you. You realize she has no one else to talk to."

"Maybe later," I say, quietly.

She looks at me, with her bright emerald eyes. "I promise, Ylva. Things will get better. We'll be back in the cabin soon." She glides out of my room, and shuts the door behind her.

Her voice is so comforting, I want to believe her. But I know better than to get my hopes up.

I jump up and pace the round room, trying to work the restlessness out of me. The wolf inside me is tense and irritated from lack of exercise.

I pick up the picture of the wolf, and look for a place on the walls to hang it, which is easier said then done, since my entire room is covered in drawings. Of course, the only spot is way up high, beyond my reach. I drag a chair over to stand on, which is just tall enough to allow me to pin the picture up.

I am climbing off the chair when I hear a tapping sound at the window.  A tawny barn owl stands outside.

"Luna!" I smile, opening the window.

As she flies in, the sunlight catches her feathers in a soft white and gold glow.

"Good morning. Or should I say good afternoon?" she says, landing on my nightstand.

Part of my powers includes the ability to talk to animals. When I was young, I was a little frightened of this power, but it soon came in handy. It's how I met Luna and Pine.

"How have you been?" I ask her.

She tilts her round head to the side. "Oh, can't complain. But that fox of yours has started to become a real pain in the tail-feathers."

"Oh, he's my fox now?" I smile.

"He keep's asking me to fly him up here to visit," Luna puffs up her feathers a little with agitation.

"What's the problem with that?"

She looks at me like I had grown a set of antlers. "There is no way I am flying him up all the way to this tower! He's fat, for a fox."

I laugh. "But you have been keeping an eye on him right? Everything going alright back home?" I ask, looking out the window.

"Oh . . . yes, everything's fine"

I catch her hesitation, and look at her suspiciously. "Liar."

Luna looks up at me with surprise.

I walk over to her. "Luna, you promised you'd tell me if anything happened!"

"I know, I just . . . don't want to freak you out," she says.

I laugh, "I doubt there's anything you could say that could make me freak out more that I already have." I smile reassuringly.

Luna looks down at her talons. "There have been problems concerning the Fenrir Warriors. They are getting bolder. Our warriors have been increasing security, but it isn't' doing much. They seem to be getting into the village every day, now."

My smile drops. I may have spoken too soon about not freaking out. I take a deep breath and step back, processing her words. This is not good, the village has never been this threatened in my lifetime.

That is the moment the wolf completely snaps inside me; when all logical thinking leaves.

"I think it's time to stop by," I say.

Reviews

[Wølfy]

I did not read all of it but I find it kind of interesting. Just a few small notes that I wish to point out.

One:
“Ylvana.” I start at the voice cutting through the quiet. It’s my mom, wondering why I missed breakfast, again.

Not sure how you "start" at a voice. I assume stared is the word you are looking for Typomaster.

Two:
It is my understanding that when you add a tag to the end of dialogue you add a comma, and anything after the first tag shifts down.

Your sentence:
“Ylvana.” I start at the voice cutting through the quiet. It’s my mom, wondering why I missed breakfast, again.

Corrected sentence:
“Ylvana,” I stared at the voice cutting through the quiet.
It’s my mom, wondering why I missed breakfast, again.

or

“Ylvana.”
I stared at the voice cutting through the quiet. It’s my mom, wondering why I missed breakfast, again.

Either way is correct.

Three:
From what my friend told me any time you use another language in your novel. If it is an English novel, all foreign languages should be italicized. So the Norwegian song should be.

I really think you have a good story here.
Always remember to give dialogue its own line even if you do not have a full paragraph. I just noticed your last sentence.

I’m freaking out. I take a deep breath and step back, processing her words. This is not good, the village has never been this threatened in my lifetime.
“I say it’s time to stop by,” I say.
Luna looks at me.
“You can’t go there alone, it’s too dangerous.”
I grab a brush from the table and run it through my hair as I pick out clothes from the wardrobe.
“The only thing I will not do is nothing. It’s been three weeks since I’ve visited. Three weeks too long.” I change into a loose cotton shirt, pants, and throw a silver cloak over my shoulders. I run out the door.

I’m freaking out. I take a deep breath and step back, processing her words. This is not good, the village has never been this threatened in my lifetime.
“I say it’s time to stop by.”
Luna looks at me.
“You can’t go there alone, it’s too dangerous.”
I grab a brush from the table and run it through my hair as I pick out clothes from the wardrobe.
“The only thing I will not do is nothing. It’s been three weeks since I’ve visited. Three weeks too long.” I change into a loose cotton shirt, pants, and throw a silver cloak over my shoulders. I run out the door.

Either way is fine. I personally try not to use the dialogue tags to much once I am completely sure that the reader knows the difference between what characters are speaking.

Overall:
I still think it is great. I will try to finish reading this chapter when I can. Right now I am just to busy with learning more on chemistry. Still got to work out part three of my book.

[A.L.Exley]

Thanks! That is extremely helpful. I'm always a little rusty about the English grammar

[Wølfy]

As am I. You are welcome.

[Melody]

Whoa, I loved it! It kept me entertained the whole time. Also, you described the places and the feelings of the character very well. If you keep using more descriptive language, then you will be a master of writing, just like Roald Dahl ;) I love his books so much. Anyways, great story! I'll try reading more since I'm back from my camp! Sorry, I couldn't reply sooner to the request!

[wolf5252]

i love your story so much. hopefully you can work with me some time.

[A.L.Exley]

Sure, I can help out whenever!

[A.L.Exley]

Thank you all so much for reviewing! I'm glad you are enjoying the story!

[GalaxyGhost]

This is interesting and it is so well done that I don't have a
anything else I can say.

[Pink Pastel]

I love how you started it off and I am a sucker for wolves great

[DRAGO]

very great job. I love how much detail is in this

[A.L.Exley]

Ratings and reviews are appreciated. I'm still editing this story. I'd like to know how to make it better.