Guinevere Emberblight returned to Artie's room in a slightly distressed state. She just called her own brother "ugly" and abandoned him in the studio. She felt a slight pinch of guilt. It was an unusual feeling because Gwen has never felt guilty before. She was always so perfect. For a second, she thought about returning to the art studio, but then she backed out. Before she got too close to Artie, she needed some time to herself so she could figure out what exactly was happening to her right now. If she never met the wolf in the forest in the first place, she would not be in this situation. However, was it a good thing she met the wolf, or was it a bad omen? Gwen could not figure this out for the life of her. That's why she needed some time alone to think. When she picked up her sword and reproduction of Illusion, she left the orphanage.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEju6N7WDp
The young girl spent a good ten minutes roaming around Jualaline's main courtyard. She paced back and forth in front of the reproduction of Bernini's David. Now she knew why Artie liked it so much. It was because he was an artist. Unfortunately, Gwen did not love art as much as he, so she wasn't gushing all over the fountain. She merely plopped down on its outer ring and rubbed her hands together. It was chilly tonight, and guess who forgot to pack a cloak before she left her farm that morning? That's right - Gwen. While she sat there shivering in the cold, David seemed to stare. The determined expression on his face - it looked like he was trying to tell her something, but she wouldn't listen.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwE4XoIhVX
Gwen was so lost in thought and trying to survive the cold that she didn't notice a plaque under the statue. Written in Hungarian, it directly referenced the legend Arabella told her and Artie in the forest.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaKws3ZxV8
The symbolism was almost too strong, and to be under Bernini's David, well, that had to mean something,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aZJlyVF6Q
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkh2l79vUv
Once upon a time, when the Earth was young and cold,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7Vc2ntqGr
a lonely soul explored the realm of Irodia,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCCnQjMj0k
He ran and ran and ran until he could run no more,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNw6devs4b
This prince whom calls himself a ruler of the past.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuNS6cFg62
A prince whom calls himself a ruler of the future."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbg5EEn5au
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f6UJcFRFY
"Once upon a time, when Irodia was young and warm,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYKGLgrAb5
This lonely soul fought a war so great and four more.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx8OC3ojPZ
Surrounded by darkness between king and kingdom,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxYdCpzWQV
He will become a demon and watch it fall.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5tOjyBR0E
Forever cursed, he shall find himself lost in his own failure.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvtBvkBQqI
With no hope of escaping so he can clutch for freedom.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TV0DweHGg
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAVynGI4KG
The land of this lonely soul.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡng7Kj7kNhT
Trapped between confidence and war.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2H4o0KI592
To those who have a connection so bright and so pure.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUGbGu8Pda
And those who come from a past they can be sure.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiuL9CxXJw
A past from the Arabian War.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEeYAiBZgq
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8q4N4p8LJ
If the legend wasn't enough, written under it were these words,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsndVeF7Yf
Bernini, David
"Those who come from an Arabian past shall slaughter the Hungarian Goliath."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTY7mlSics
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUp8Lz0fTg
The "Hungarian Goliath?" What on Earth did that mean? There was only one way how someone could understand these words. They had to have a connection with the Mirror of Illusion. Those who didn't could not translate the message. This David was waiting. He was waiting for the children of destiny. To those not chosen by the gods, the plaque's message was nothing but splotches of dots, but to the children of destiny - that was a different story.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d7sNL6zQD
Even though Gwen didn't exactly see the plaque, she still thought about the legend through her Legends of Irodia book. She just picked up on something that startled her, and she started to sweat just at the thought of it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnBHzTIXFv
It was when the book said,
The one whom strives shall release them of their curse, and the one whom dies shall forever live in agony and disarray.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvKqRvX9yA
A witch will capture them, but only confidence will survive.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTohaHGyAO
Only then will the kingdom truly become nigh.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzftEz50gcO
26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptBuAyHtXK
Holy Hungarian. That book just straight up said that either Gwen or Artie would die on the journey to find Illusion. Terrific. That was the best message to get across to a seventeen-year-old girl. Death. Pain. Agony. The panic. It started to wash over her again. Petrified, Gwen grasped each side of her head and lowered it,
The one whom strives shall release them of their curse, and the one whom dies shall forever live in agony and disarray.
Gwen feared for her life. She didn't really think about Artie. She just thought about herself. After all, that was what she did best. The young girl put her elbows on her knees and propped up her chin. She made a promise to herself. She would do whatever she could in her willpower to prevent her own demise. Her own demise. Not Artie's. That was not a good example for the gods. If Gwen had any chance with being successful during her journey, she had to get rid of her selfishness.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbgFWHmRLu
Artie was hungry. Around this time, students would either be in the dining hall or retreating to their quarters for the night. The wolf boy thought that doing a little bit of painting would help him take his mind off Gwen, but then the scent of chicken found its way through a few of his windows, and his sniffer picked it up. Right as it did, his jaw dropped to the floor, taking the paintbrush with it. His tummy rumbled.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQfXnqOG2h
Arabella, who was touching up one of the paintings on the wall, froze when she felt what Gwen was thinking as she continued to sit in front of Bernini's David. Her own demise. Not once did she fear for Artie.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pBGtTjbkv
Arabella flinched and disappointingly shook her head, admitting, "She really is a tyrant. Then this leaves me with just one choice." With a little bit of magic, she ordered the painting palette and paintbrush to float away from her hands. Her eyes rolled down to Artie who seemed to fall under a trance at the smell of chicken. The witch brought her hands to her chest and said in a choked voice, "Oh, Artie. I'm so sorry. But I have to do this." She made a deal with Ferdinand, the two teens' father before he died, and she intended to follow through with it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpk6xmPIJv
Arabella removed her hands from her chest and blew on her palms. At her command, dust-like magic escaped them and headed down towards the wolf boy. Still in a trance-like state, he did not notice it. He plopped down on his backside and howled beautifully into the cave. It sounded like he was singing, and he gently moved his head back and forth to the beat. As he did this, the magic Arabella created circled the chain on his ankle. The chain sucked it in, and for a second the wolf's body flickered. It looked like shattering glass, as if something was breaking inside him, but he continued to sing. He felt no pain. He just felt peace and hunger.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf39INzA9KK
Above him, Arabella rubbed her eyes. She needed a minute to comprehend what she just did. What she did, she hoped she didn't have to, but Gwen was proving to be a much more difficult task than she intended.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD72gIY1bY5
After Arabella recovered from her act, she cracked a mystical smile and chuckled. The imp-like witch floated down to Artie, who watched her come down, and spun like a ballerina.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfyKC1AHbJ
She asked the wolf boy, "The hunger is so great that you can hardly contain yourself. I feel you, little wolf." She acted out a front-flip and landed on his head again, "Let's go. I smell the chicken too." Excited by her words, Artie's tail swung back and forth like crazy. He chased it when he saw it. He spun so fast that Arabella became dizzy. She was going to miss this Artie, but she did what she had to do.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CEa5Ft2CY
By the time the wolf stopped chasing his tail, she hugged his head so tightly, it hurt him. Artie told her to loosen her grip by growling a little bit. When she did, he immediately grew excited again. Luckily, he knew a shortcut out of the studio so he didn't have to return to his room. Perhaps being a wolf wasn't all bad.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCRasTpFDD
He trotted over to one of the studio's walls and started to dig in the dirt. Dig. Dig. Dig. Dirt spewed up from where he worked. Who knew that Arthur himself was The Digging-Est Dog? He opened up a hole under the wall that he could squeeze through. On the other side waited the outside world as well as the chicken he so craved. He squeezed under the wall, not noticing that Arabella looked very guilty on his head.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycWq6nNDWA
She rested her head on Artie's fur and in a whisper, repeated, "Oh, Artie. I'm so sorry. However, this is the best thing for both you and Gwen. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoIi0WFGow
Gwen was also hungry. Surely, Jualaline's staff wouldn't mind her grabbing a bite to eat from the dining hall. After all, she was a guest, and you always treat guests with hospitality - especially in Hungary. Hospitality was just as important as horseback riding to the Hungarian people. Little did Gwen know that her wolf sibling was also on his way to the dining hall, but she got there first. Her face brightened at the sight of a huge, lit fireplace that casted shadows of warmth on her freezing body. Teenagers of all ages grabbed some food at a buffet, even the wonderful Percival, and they sat at tables near the fire to eat. Gwen tried to blend in, but it was kind of difficult when you wore very different clothes from those around you.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqkfSSJd2Q
The students didn't really mind her coming in and helping herself to the buffet. Actually, it was more the staff member who was supposed to watch the children fell asleep on the job, after having one too many brandies, and he snored up a storm. High school. Right? Gwen put some food on her china plate and headed over to one of the tables in front of the fire.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkA1ZbNEUne
Behind her, sitting at another table, was Percival with his goons as well as two swooning girls who sat on either side of him. Dex and Rex were playing a game of cards, but Percy thought it was the funniest thing ever to stick two green beans up each of his nostrils.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kiZDrzOqw
He made a face like a beaver and held his hands in front of him, saying, "Ooh! Look at me! I'm Arthur! 'I like to be called Artie.' Do you really think I care?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEFz6KdI2g
"Oh, Percival, you're so funny!" spoke the girl sitting next to his right arm. She chuckled flirtingly and brought her hand to her lips.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCq3A4Bmuh
The other girl grabbed Percival's shoulder and pulled it close to her, "Percy, tell me." Here, she placed her palm on his chest, "Tell me the story about how you slain the dragon again."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kwEwW8vbl
"I was on top of Kékes, the highest mountain in Hungary." Percival explained in a proud voice, "The dragon was sleeping in his lair when I found him. So, I drew my sword!" At this point in his tall tale, he jumped up on the table and slammed his left foot down on top of it. He drew his sword and pointed it up at the ceiling, "I threatened him with it and announced with my black locks flowing in the wind, 'Beware, beast! For you stand before Percival, the greatest swordsman in all of Hungary! Not even the Ottoman Empire will defeat me!'"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdR18DH3yO5
"Ah!" the two girls yelled with stupid grins on their faces, "What happened next?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi30ZxG2DXC
Right here, Percival used his free hand to pick up his glass of wine. "I sent him to Ördög!" he shouted, and he slammed the glass back down on the table, "Left nothing but a mass of bones and flesh! I nearly lost my life. The dragon swallowed me whole, but I cut open his neck and escaped."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotWAKx1jn8
"So cool!" shouted the girls, "We love you, Percival!" They blew him kisses, and each girl reached for one of Percy's arms.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoyVLwvevG
When Percy finished his tale, Arabella and Arthur finally reached the dining room, not long after Gwen. They slid under one of the buffet's tables that housed the chicken dishes Artie smelled in his studio. Arabella poked her head out from the tablecloth to check if the coast was clear. It was.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUjMo3Lsdl
Slipping her head back under the table, she glanced at Artie and said, "Coast is clear, Artie. If you're going to get something to eat, get it now." Right. Artie had to be stealthy, clever, and confident.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFugC5Wqaaq
Taking a deep breath, he carefully slid out from the table on his belly and pushed up on his backside. His emerald green eyes landed on a chicken dish, which rested near the edge of it, and his tail batted the stone floor. He drooled and licked his lips. Mmm, chicken. It wasn't long until Arabella lifted the tablecloth. She nudged Artie's chain to tell him to speed it up. At her touch, the wolf jumped back on his hind legs and put his front paws on the table. Unfortunately, when he did this, he accidentally pushed the chicken dish away from him. Artie stretched his neck, and his fangs chomped down on a side piece of a chicken leg.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu09eSDTdr1
He pulled it towards him, but before he could succeed with his task, he suddenly heard a scream, and a girl's voice caused the whole dining hall to shake,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgB123YnSN
"AHH! BEAST!!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSCeTgeKBC
The voice startled Artie so much that he accidentally ripped off the whole tablecloth! Crash! Smash! Dishes shattered, and food went flying.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQ9otsTbif
The sound caused the drunk staff member to snap awake, and he yelled, "What in tarnation?!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrD62b2aQ2V
"BEAST!" shouted the same girl who started all the chaos. It turns out she was one of the girls swooning over Percival.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15Zze59Fha
She pointed at Artie, who shook food off his fur and crouched in fear. "Beast?!" Percival asked, "Where?!" He drew his sword again, "I shall slaughter him like I did the dragon!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXHudqjCm7
"Kill it!" screamed the girl, "Kill it, Percival!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMc1HPUcNQs
Where Gwen sat, she looked up from her meal when she heard all the ruckus. She leaned back in her seat to get a better look at the scene. At the sight of the petrified wolf, she gasped. By now, though, she had leaned so far back that she fell off the bench. Plop! The girl landed on her buttocks and puffed out her cheeks to hide the pain.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5gxO32Hcm
Arabella emerged from the pile of broken dishes.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChs96KaaEZ
She tossed a fish off her head and jumped onto Artie's noggin, yelling, "Time to go!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYkwk6SUBE
Artie took off at a full sprint, with Percy chasing him. "Beast! Beast!" students shouted, and they threw food at him. Artie only managed to get two tables away when his chain caught another table's leg, and he fell onto his front. In the meantime, Gwen drew both her sword and shield-like mirror, and she ran across tabletops to get to him.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd98FAGAmvT
The drunk faculty member stumbled into the crowd of students, saying, "Now, now, students. Now's not the time to kill each other." Hiccupping, he fell onto his side.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn57aVthAG3
Gwen reached the struggling wolf before Percival did. She cut the table's leg with the side of her sword, freeing him, and urged him in the direction of the dining hall's exit.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5ERXxxLNl
Right when she turned around, she smacked blades with Percival. "You?!" he shouted when he recognized her, "How dare you free my prize! I will take that beast's head back to my father and prove to him that I'm a man!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOFWGDe4tR
"A man?!" Gwen shouted as the two started another sword fight, "You are nowhere near a man!" She swiped her leg under Percy's feet and knocked him to the ground.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLDZ9T7kg0
In the crowd of rampaging students, a few looked at one another and asked, "Who's the new girl?" Percy, who cut his lip when he fell, stabbed at Gwen, but she dodged. She put her shield-like mirror on her back - she didn't need it - and punched him across the face. As Percy twitched on the ground and bloodied up all the fallen food, she chased after Artie and Arabella, leaving a crowd of very terrified but interested teenagers behind, as well as a drunk faculty member.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ958pIdozk3
Gwen slipped her sword back in its case and sprinted in front of Artie.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOKVIr8XHp
"We need to get as far away from the dining hall as we can!" she shouted as she took him in the direction of the David statue.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85Ho0zOz0g
From the wolf's head, Arabella peered back to the dining hall and scoffed. "Well!" she spoke in a sarcastic voice, "That went well." However, she flew forward and crashed into Artie's ears when suddenly, he froze right on his tracks. The wolf howled. It sounded like he was in sudden pain. The familiar flickering that looked like glass shattering, when Arabella ordered her magic to engulf him in the studio, returned. "Uh oh," spoke the witch. Instantly, she hopped off Artie's back and vanished in a bright blast of light. Right as she did, he fell onto his side.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFm5k8wNnN
Guinevere stopped running and turned back to see how he was holding up, and at the sight of the wolf boy suddenly on the ground, she yelled,26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dMM0oK2bB
"Artie! What are you doing?! This is not the time to be lying down!" Artie, though, did not move from where he lied. Instead, he peered desperately into Guinevere's face. "Artie?" she asked in a calmer voice. She rested her hand on her sword hilt and came within reach of him. The girl fell to her knees next to the wolf and asked, "Are you all right?" He made not a sound. He just stared at her, as if looking into oblivion. "I'm sure you're starving." Gwen explained, "Fine. Fine. I understand. Just bear with me, kid." The young girl removed her hand from her sword hilt and picked up the wolf.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vdHCFAocE
She carried him like a baby back to the older orphanage. Gwen almost fell under the dog's weight, but she managed to take him back to his room and plop him down on his bed. Cracking a small smile, she held her index finger up to her lips and told him, "Shh. Now don't think of me as rude, but I managed to pick up a little food during all that chaos in the dining hall." And she did. Gwen picked up a chicken leg, cabbage roll, and prune roll when she was running to free him from the table's leg and stuck them in her satchel. Quite sneaky. Gwen definitely had terrific stealth.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2L2VK2tZu3
She sat at the end of Artie's bed and pushed the food in his direction. He sniffed it, and while he did, the girl next slid a bowl of water to him. He sniffed that too. Gwen snacked on one of the apples they picked in the garden earlier that evening and watched intrigued as the wolf boy slurped down the water and gnawed at the chicken leg. She chuckled when he left nothing but the bone left. Wow. Who knew that when she tried separating herself from Arthur, she ended up right back at him? Something definitely kept pulling them back together.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVs0i6dCu7
"Do you feel better?" Gwen asked after the wolf finished his meal. He nodded, and she added with, "Good. Now then, boy, we need to find a way to keep you out of trouble." As she said this, she picked up the bowl of water and set it down on the floor. The girl stretched her arms over her head and plopped down on Artie's pillow next to him. As thanks for all the trouble she went through to get the food, he cuddled up next to her and let her wrap her arm around his body. Gwen moved onto her side and stared into his mesmerizing, emerald green eyes. She scratched the wolf behind his ear, and the two touched noses. "You know, you're not bad, Artie." Gwen admitted, "You just need a little more confidence and slightly better fighting skills. I'd be glad to train you." Train him? Artie's ears stood straight up when she said this. Did Gwen seriously just offer to train him? Really? It was a dream come true! Perhaps there was hope that he would become a musketeer - a dream he's had his entire life, just like Gwen. As his excitement bubbled inside of him like molten lava, the wolf's tail batted his sheets. Then, from out of nowhere, he licked Gwen's cheek. She gasped and reached for it. A smile stretched across her face. She felt like a woman in love and jokingly told the canine, "Come here, you!" With that, she wrapped her other arm around Artie and pulled him close to her. Artie barked as the two started to play. They rolled around on the bed and took turns lying on top of one another's back. Arthur's felt just like a pillow. Gwen did not want to remove her head from it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wckbvEbU9
In the corner of the room's ceiling, hidden in the shadows and watching them was Arabella. She crossed her right leg over her left and propped up her head.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKB0S65HYNe
She focused her attention on primarily Gwen and told herself, "That's more like it, Gwen, but it's still not enough." Her eyes next rolled down to the laughing Artie, "Once upon a time, there was a lonely soul who roamed the realm of Irodia. The soul destined to slain the Hungarian Goliath. Gwen, you need to look deep in your heart. 'Then and only then will the kingdom truly become nigh.'"
and then Add to home screen.