"How dare they! Who do they think they are?!"

He asks for the 100th time. I sat on the leather chair in father's office filing my nails. I've gone through this so many times before, father getting home from his meetings with the royals from Elm and his constant ranting about his hate for the werewolves and me pretending to care. I want nothing more than to go back to my room and sleep but walking away when father's mad is a call for trouble.

"They are no more than animals!" he continues. He hates werewolves and I hate them too because they killed my mother. Well, at least according to father. I don't remember much of anything from my childhood. My earliest memories are from my eleventh birthday and I don't mind. Father also told me that the werewolves were the cause of my amnesia. I mean, I can't remember my mother but I know for a fact that she loved me and I loved her so it's only right that I hate the entire species. But I'd rather stay clear of them and the drama of crossing paths.

"The nerve of those fools!" I sigh and ask without looking up from my nails. "What did those fools do now father?" I have to humor him if I want to leave.

"They said they want peace, those animals want peace!" I pause and finally look up. What is so wrong with wanting peace? I look at him and ask "Peace?! And why do they want peace all of a sudden?" I feign anger, he hates it when I'm confused about something but he loves it when he thinks I'm on his side. He said acting like you know something makes you more like royalty so I take his advice. I cross my legs and lean forward, giving him my attention.

"They say they want a peace treaty, that they hate the friction between our races. Those animals don't deserve anything more than to grovel at my feet, yet they want equal rights when they step foot in my kingdom. They should keep their feet to themselves!"

Oh, I didn't introduce myself. I am Iridessa Estheim Sepia, I have long brown hair and bright green eyes, I am 19years old and I am the Princess of the human kingdom of Sepia. Yes, I'm a princess and my father is the King. The human kingdom and the werewolf kingdom-Elm-have been at war for generations now and are still at war. Because of that, hatred has been breed among citizens of both sides against each other. The persecution is so extreme that there have been cases of murders from both kingdoms. I hate werewolves but I still want peace, at least for the sake of my people. Peace is the least my father can do for this Kingdom now but he won't agree to it even when Elm reached out first. It makes me feel frustrated and helpless since I am still a princess.

"But father, they reached out first. They know we will not yield and therefore they are at our mercy. Why don't you sign the treaty but add a few more advantageous clauses, show them the price to pay for our peace" I pity the royals of Elm but this is the least I can do. Father's quiet, maybe he's considering it! I look down at my fingers and feign nonchalance even though every fiber of my being is curled tight in tension. I hold my breath, waiting for his answer.

"Iridessa..." I flinch. It didn't work; father only calls my whole name when he's mad. I hear footsteps so I glue my eyes to the gems in my dress. "Look at me" I don't want to. I continue looking down, counting the numerous gems in my dress and biting my lower lip. 20...21...22—

"I said look at me!" he grabs my face and yanks it towards him. I am forced to stare into ice-cold blue eyes that I know too well. My mouth goes dry and my thoughts get jumbled in my head. I am looking for a way out of this safe and sound and pain-free. I know it's too good to be true but I look anyway. A foolish idea pops up in my head and I dread trying it, but as the saying goes 'you'll never know unless you try'. I swallow and soften my eyes as best as I can

"Daddy" I breathe as much fear as I have into that word and hope it gets through to him. But his eyes harden and I instantly regret choosing that foolish idea. I clench my jaw as the slap lands on my face. The force propels me backwards and I slam against the door. The force knocks air from my lungs and I gasp for more. I pull myself up from the ground just for father to grab my hair and yank it, ornaments and all. He yanks my hair backwards, lifting my face to him.

"Listen Iridessa, the peace treaty will be signed over my dead body! I will not have my daughter and future heir to the throne give herself the mentality that peace of any kind can be had with those beasts. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes father" A metallic taste spreads in my mouth but I swallow for dear freedom. He lets go and adjusts his robes like he was the one flung across the room.

"That's my Iris" he replies. He calls me Iris, my mother's name. I look exactly like her and he says he sees her in me. Well at least in times that I remain docile I do remind him of her, but times like just now I remind him of Iridessa, his actual daughter and it enrages him.

"You may leave" he turns his back on me and faces his window. I spring up from the ground, straighten my dress, smoothen my hair and slap the other side of my check to make it red like its twin. This isn't anything new but I rather keep my dignity as I walk to my wing of the palace, not that anyone will care anyway.

I hurry to the East wing of the palace, fighting tears that are hanging precariously on my lashes. I burst into my chamber and walk through my drawing room to my bedroom. Once inside I jump on my bed and cry my eyes out. Again, this isn't something new but it hurts. It hurts that somewhere deep inside I still believe he loves me, yet incidents like these try to diminish that hope. But when he gives me gifts, or remembers my favorite color and even my birthday the hope increases. The cycle continues, never ending.

I hear my door open and soft footsteps. I know who it is without looking.

"Your highness" Carina. She is my head lady-in-waiting and my best friend. She is the only one on my side in this place as every other person here works for my father and take his orders over mine. She is my only constant ray of light in this place. "Your highness, look at me" she holds my face gently in her hands.

"C-Carina he..."

"Shhh, you don't have to say anything. Just know that I am here for you your highness. Let the tears flow" she pats my head and somehow more tears flow. I cling unto her and cry for however long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Carina, I want to go to Selm" I say after hours of crying. She pulls me back and looks into my eyes with worry

"Your highness, it's dangerous—"

"—I know how dangerous it can be but that is the reason I love it. Because of its danger, it is always isolated so the danger doesn't even exist"

"You know I didn't mean the forest. I was talking about his majesty. What if he finds out? You will be in trouble your highness"

"Then come with me!" She looks at me with surprise. I understand why, I never take her out with me on my outings because I believed it was dangerous. But now I know it isn't and I hate leaving her alone here. If one of my ladies-in-waiting find out and tell father, she will be punished as my closest confidant. So now I want her to come with me, that way I can protect her by saying I urged her to follow me as my lady-in-waiting.

"Your highness I—"

"—you are coming with me. Won't you feel better if you come with me? Please?" I take her hands and squeeze. She falters before pouting

"You know I never win against you your highness" I chuckle and jump out of bed. I go to my dressing room and pull out brown pants and a white shirt. There is no way I am going out in a gem-studded dress. As I change, Carina brings me boots and a cloak. She wears her waiting uniform but changes into boots too. With that, we go to my bathing chamber and push aside a large painting to reveal a passageway. I step inside and Carina closes the painting behind me then we descend until we come to a wooden door. I turn the knob and it swings outward into the night air. Taking a step outside I take a deep breath and feel instant calm. We walk towards the trees and after a few meters we find a hidden stable. No one takes care of the forest behind my palace so I decided to keep a few horses for my personal use there. We both take a horse and ride towards Selm.

Selm, the patch of thick forest that serves as a border between Sepia and Elm. It is a free-zone and not currently owned by either nations but the wild animals serve to keep people away. But overtime the animals began to dwindle, making Selm my hideout. I come out here whenever I want to breathe and instantly fell relaxed.

After 30minutes of horseback, we finally arrived. I hop down from my horse and lead the way into the forest. "Your highness, there are nothing but trees in here. I highly doubt there is an open space for 'breathing'" she says. "You're wrong, there is an open space. A field beside a clear lake and boulders big enough to lie down on. It is breath taking" I reply as I quicken my pace. She hurries and catches up.

"Your highness, I highly doubt th—"

Her words die out as we approach the clearing. Like I said, it is breath taking. The clear lake gives a view of beautifully colored fishes and pebbles so smooth and white like porcelain. The water ripples softly as the lake leads to miniature waterfall and it reflects the moon in its whole form. The grass sways slowly and lightly, the flower petals look ethereal as they bathe in the moonlight. The fireflies scatter and converge, giving a sense of dancing stars. A huge boulder juts out of the ground towards the sky, my resting place.

"Your highness, I want to live here" I laugh as I lead Carina towards the boulder but I stop in my tracks at the sight of a body. Why is there someone here? No one normally comes out here. The body sits up and faces me. Blue eyes meet my own and the resemblance in color to my father's fills me with hate, disgust and fear. I look to his face and find that he has cream blonde hair. He looks as confused as I feel. I approach him

"Hi, what are y—"

Wait, that scent. This feeling...no it can't be! But it's undeniably true, he's a

"Werewolf"

~~~~~~~~~

There goes the first chapter. I hope you liked it. I will release more chapters if Iget enough views and votes, if not I'll drop this story since it means that it isn't good enough.

Hope you guys vote and like. Thanks!