Chapter 5 – Heartbreak

• The atmosphere was tense in the middle of the woods, not too far from an Arthenish village. Decker, along with a group of warriors, had been alarmed by a berserker in that village. They later learned that the berserker fled into this forest. They had no plans to leave without ending their lives. The commander and his squad of warriors stood in a circle, spaced out and backing each other. They had caught the scent of the monster. It was close by.
• "All of you, morph now. It will show itself any second from now," Commander Rafe ordered. At once, the warriors dropped their weapons and began to take off their clothes. In just a few seconds, all the warriors had on only shorts that hid their privates. In unison, they all crouched and began to morph as their commander had ordered. The masculine screams of agony followed. Those who were used to the pain of the morphing process only gnashed their teeth. Their knees reversed direction, and the cracking of bones inside them could be heard. Their faces were deformed as their muzzles protruded. In general, they grew way bigger and taller than they were. Their fangs stuck out, and so did their now sharpened fingernails. Their skin quickly became covered in fur. The initial screams of agony had transformed into growls, and what was once a circle of humans was now a circle of werewolves. Their canines were bare, and saliva dripped down from their mouths. They were ready to pounce on the enemy. Commander Rafe had morphed as well. Talking in this form was impossible, so they communicated telepathically.
• Berserkers were way stronger beings than werewolves. In a one-on-one battle, a berserker could turn a werewolf into shreds. Well, berserkers were not social. They could not make logical plans and follow them. All they did was attack any being in their path, even their kind, with reckless abandon. Werewolves had the advantage in this regard. Bringing down a heinous monster that was so tall it towered above trees was not going to be a problem for this pack of bloodthirsty werewolves. As if tired of hiding, the monster they had laid in wait for emerged from the back of a large tree. All the wolves turned towards that direction and went down on all paws, ready to pounce. Their growling intensified. Slowly and cautiously, they began to spread and position themselves in such a way that the berserker was now in the middle of their circle. This was always the first step of the attack. The monster they were about to bring down stood on two legs. It was like an overgrown bear with overgrown teeth and overgrown claws. It had red eyes and brown fur. It didn't look pleased at all. It had been cornered by a group of its prey after all. It raised its head to the sky and bellowed with rage. Its roar shook the earth and the trees; numerous leaves fell off. It even sent fear down the spines of the werewolves, as all their hair stood. Well, they had a strong resolve. They were not going to leave without the head of this berserker.
• Berserkers barely ever thought, but this one was smart enough to know it was the end of the road for it. With wolves on all sides, there was no escape. Well, the beast was not going to go down without a fight. It locked eyes with the werewolf directly before it. That was its target. It was poised to kill at least one of its attackers. In a split second, it charged toward the reddish-brown wolf, giving it no time to attack or run. The other wolves jumped in. Before they could reach it, the berserker already had its teeth buried deep in the shoulder of that werewolf. The werewolf, who had put up a brave front with the rest of the park, now whined in pain. It was at the mercy of the berserker. The other members of the pack sank their teeth into the flesh of the berserker and violently pulled. The berserker didn't fight back. The wolf had in its jaws as its prize. That wolf was Decker Hemming.
• Several moments later,
• Lying tiredly on one of the beds in the infirmary was Decker Hemming. His chest was bare and an enormous injury on his shoulder had been dressed. The dress was already blood-stained and was going to be changed soon. Decker had had quite the day. Despite having the injury and missing the chance to dine with the dead by the skin of his teeth, he thought it was a good day. He had never seen a berserker up close. While the berserker was busy trying to devour him, the rest of his body was exposed, so the pack had no problem killing the creature. Decker lost a lot of blood, so he involuntarily morphed back into human form, and when he woke up here. The warriors sure were amazing. After witnessing the way they placed their lives on the line each day, he respected them even more. If it were not that he was going to wed princess Ashina and become King, he would've become a warrior. The thought of Ashina made his heart leap with joy. Looking up at the ceiling, he smiled as he thought of the love of his life. He couldn't wait to see her. He knew she was going to nag him about how he almost killed himself, but he still wanted to see her. Since the day was wild, he could say he had had his fill of hanging out with the warriors, so he could now vow to the princess to never try to waste his life ever again. He nodded to himself. He was going to do just that.
• While Derek was busy with his daydreams about the princess, he heard the door into the infirmary creak open. He looked to see who it was. He gasped in surprise as his eye fell on her. Think of the devil—no, the angel. It was Ashina! He grinned from ear to ear. He tried to rise, but then he winced in pain and fell back on his bed. For a moment there, he forgot about his injury.
• "Oh my! You don't have to! " Ashina cried as she ran over to his bedside. She sat beside him and gently stroked his chin.
• "You do not have to stress yourself in your condition," she muttered to him with a smile. Decker looked into her hazel eyes. He had seen them many times, but they never failed to captivate him. to cast a spell on him. He chuckled.
• You don't need to be concerned about me; I'll be fine in no time. How have you been? It's been a while! " He said as he raised his right hand and stroked her long blond hair.
• "I've been well, Decker. Well now I'm with you, I'm very well," she replied, and they both giggled. Amidst their laughter, Decker perceived something was off. He couldn't lay a finger on it.
• "I'm happy to see you! It's surprising you still haven't had my head for being in this state," he said, forcing a giggle. Ashina giggled as well.
• "I can't stop you from doing what you want. I should let a man be a man." Ashina replied. She spoke like she was quoting someone. Slowly, the smile she wore vanished and the edges of her lips curved downwards. This confused Decker. Squinting, he looked deeper into her eyes, and then he saw it. He was blinded by the beauty of her hazel eyes. He didn't notice at first. Her eyes were puffy. Like she had been crying. Now that he thought of it, all of her giggles seemed forced. It dawned on him that something bothered her greatly. Ashina's crying was unheard of since their childhood. Worried now, he sat up, ignoring the pain it caused his left shoulder. Softly, he pulled her head closer.
• "Dear Ashina, what is the problem?" He asked in a concerned tone, almost whispering. Decker had figured that she was putting up an act. She knew that she couldn't keep up with the act. The tears she had bottled up began to flow down her cheeks. She whimpered and let Decker rest her head on the right part of his chest. This still caused pain to the injury on the left, but Decker endured it. It didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered now was Princess Ashina. As he stroked her hair, he felt her warm tears on his skin. He was mad. He was crazy. His blood boiled. He wanted to scream and ask who dared put his princess in this state. He was ready to make them meet the death that he had escaped a few hours ago. Well, he knew better than to act impulsively. He let her cry, and whenever she finished and could speak, he would inquire.
• After several moments of shedding tears, she lifted her head off Decker's chest. She took a long sniff and wiped her face with the back of her hands. It was time to break it to him.
• "Who dares trouble you, my princess?"Just a name and they will hear from me," Decker said calmly. Ashina looked him in the eyes. She saw the resolve. The determination he had to confront this person must have put her in this position. Decker was ready to go to any lengths for her. His calm approach to problems and how seriously her well-being affected him were just a glimpse of the millions of reasons why she loved this man. She still could not believe that she was going to have to leave him. Ashina wishes she could tell him it was a person. He was going to deal with them and then she was going to be happy again. Sadly, it was not a person. It was a thing that could not be seen. It was fate. Her warrior lover could not fight it. She turned her face away as she could not bear to see him break down as she said the words.
• "I'm leaving for Scyta soon. I have to marry Prince Juan so our kingdoms can unite." She stated bluntly, her head bowed. She heard him gasp lightly. She felt his palm slowly leave her hair. This caused more tears to flow. A moment of silence passed. Decker processed the words he had heard. He wondered just what she had meant. He considered it a possibility. Maune, was she joking? No. She wouldn't have gone as far as to cry to put out a bad joke.
• "Wha.. what do you mean?" Decker asked, his voice starting off sharp but then breaking down.
• "Don't you get it?! King Roy is willing to end the war if I marry his son! As the princess of this kingdom, I should strive to do what's best for us no matter how hard it might be! " Ashina turned to him and screamed. She was frustrated.
• "Is that what you want, though? To be married off to an enemy nation? All of this that we have shared since we were children is just going to be tossed away like that? " Decker asked. His eyes were moist. He was on the verge of tears now.
• "Oh, Decker!" Ashina called out. She ran her hands through his hair.
• "You think I want this? My mom and the council your dad is head of have decided!" She cried. Decker stared at her. He was at a loss for words. Her eyes were red and her face puffy. She looked terrible. This hurt him even more than the frightening news she had just shared. To him, Ashina didn't deserve to shed a tear of sorrow. He held back his tears as he knew he had to be strong for her now. He let her rest her head on his chest again and continued to stroke her. Lowering his head to her ear, he whispered to her.
• "Nothing is ever going to come between us." He said. Decker did not know how it was going to happen, but he felt certain he wasn't going to lose Ashina.