Andrae - Chapter 3

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."
Val's snarky comment was the only warning I had that we had been discovered.

I was silent for a moment, debating my options. Meg had no such compunction. She broke apart from me and quickly covered the short distance between us and Val and Eagle and getting right up in Val's face.
"Leave now, you big bully, or you're gonna be sorry!"
Val just laughed.
"The wolf's the one who's gonna be sorry. And by the way, thanks for leading us here."

"That's right, wolf," he sneered. "Oh. You thought she cared about you? Are you really that stupid? She's been leading you on all this time, right Meg? Okay Eagle, NOW. Do it now."
And then things happened so fast that I could never really recall exactly how it all went down.

Before I could react, Eagle pulled out an unfamiliar potion and tossed it at Meg, hard.

Meg tried to jump back out of the way, but the bottle shattered at her feet, releasing a swarm of angry bees that immediately began to attack her.

Val reached for his wand, but hesitated for a few seconds when he heard Meaghan's screams.

"Eagle, you idiot! You were supposed to throw it at the wolf!"

I tried to run to her, but Val blocked my way, wand now drawn menacingly.

Meaghan was running blindly, trying to escape the bees. Suddenly she remembered the well in the back corner of the room, and dove in, leaving the bees buzzing angrily over the top of the water.

Sometime during all this, my anger got the best of me, and I transformed - which in hindsight, I should have done a lot sooner. I glanced back at the well, expecting to see Meaghan emerge again any second. I wanted to give Val what he had coming to him, but I had to make sure Meg was safe first. When several more seconds went by, and still there was no Meg, I began to panic.

"I'll deal with you later, witch!" I growled, "and you're wrong about Meaghan."
And I left him standing there while I raced to the well. Meaghan was still nowhere in sight, and I was beside myself with worry.

The water was cold, and the well was deep. It seemed to go on forever. I felt blindly along the bottom for what seemed an eternity, when at last my hand brushed up against Meaghan's still form. Quickly I wrapped my arms around her and kicked like mad toward the light overhead.

I boosted her up onto the edge of the well, where much to my everlasting relief, she began to stir, coughing and retching. I was so intent on her, I didn't notice at first that we were not in the room beneath the library.

We found ourselves in a cave of sorts. I could sense that we were deep underground, and it was so cold that Meg began to shiver violently. A glow which seemed to emanate from the walls themselves lit the place in a eerie glow.

I held her close, and rubbed her arms to warm her, but she still trembled and shook.
"I-I-I'm s-so c-cold, Andrae."

Frantically I surveyed the room for something, anything, that might serve to warm her, or at least dry her off, but there were only rocks, and more wells. At last I spotted a well that looked different than the others. And there appeared to be steam rising from the surface.
"Come with me, let's check this out."

It was steam. I carefully lowered us both into the hot spring, and held her for a long time, as she gradually stopped shivering. She was so quiet, and her breathing so regular, I thought she had fallen asleep. I could sense that it was getting very late, and I was sure Val and Eagle had told the whole island their perverted version of what had happened. Much as I wanted to stay, I knew it was time to go.

Before I could say anything, she stirred beside me, and looked up at me with a smile.
"Make love to me before we go?"
I shook my head slightly.
"Not like this.." I glanced pointedly down at myself, still in wolf form.
"Yes. Like this. Don't you know by now, that I love you for what's in here."
She lightly tapped my chest..."and I don't care which form you are in."

I was hesitant at first, but she pulled me close and kissed my thoroughly.

I took my time, and tried to make it last as long as I possibly could, and she was happy.

At long last, we climbed out of the hot spring. Much as I hated to, it was time to brave the well again and find our way back. I was pretty confident I could find the way without much trouble.

"Before we go. I want you to know. I never led them to our secret place. I would never do that. I thought I checked to make sure no one was following. I'm so sorry. I love you."
"I know. Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault. I love you too."

"I guess it's time to face the music then."
I was puzzled. "Music?"
She giggled. "It's just an expression. I read it in a book."
"Okay then. Music it is."

We stood poised at the edge of the well, staring down into the pitch black water. I took her hand firmly in mine, and turned to gaze into her beautiful eyes one more time.
"Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand. I remember the way back. Trust me, okay?"
She nodded solemnly, and we jumped off into the abyss together. It was time for Meg to face the music, and me to face Ma.