~Azazel~
Not too long ago, I stumbled upon Everest after I was doing some of the Queen's bidding. When I saw him, I knew that he was the boy the Queen was talking about and that he would be the perfect target. All I had to do was get close enough to him to be able to consume him. When that didn't quite work as planned, I jumped inside his body, and he was dumb enough not to realize what was going on. I am so close to being able to escape because of his new arrangement with this powerful girl. I can finally get out of this moron's head. I don't care what the Queen wants; I'm so done with this kid. When I jumped into Everest, I had forgotten that I wouldn't be able to jump out until I found a powerful enough being to kill or take over, but if I kill her, I will be able to walk on my own two feet without the need of a vessel. Then I could wreak havoc as myself and not with the face of someone else. After I become my true self, I will be able to take down that nasty Queen. But while I am still in his head, I can do plenty of damage, and he will be blamed for it. I stalk the halls in his body looking for Estella. She is the key to getting me out. I found her in the library with her friends, so I asked her to come with me. I basically dragged her outside, and she ripped her arm out of my grasp.
"What the hell, Everest, what do you want?"
I smiled and grabbed her waist. "Just you."
She struggled against me and started running into the forest. I rolled my eyes and followed after slowly, knowing she would come back eventually, or she would end up falling and getting hurt, or worse, she would die, and I could just use her powers anyway.
~Estella Cole~
I'm running as fast as I can away from Everest. Something is very wrong with him. As I run, I trip over a bunch of tree roots, and I fall face down. I get up slowly and see a beautiful black horse standing right in front of me. I yelled in shock, and the horse started to back away. I calmed down and looked at the horse curiously from afar, deciding that it probably won't hurt me. I walked cautiously toward the giant horse and gently laid my hand on its mane. I smiled as the horse paid little attention to my presence.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself, pretty girl?" I stroked her fur and asked, "Could you maybe help me out and carry me back to my school? I think I've run enough."
The horse snorted, and I took that as permission to get on her back, so I jumped on and rode her back safely. I jumped down and inspected the horse. Her mane was all tangled, and so was the rest of her fur, all matted and dirty.
"You're gonna need a bath, pretty girl," I sighed. I led her to the hose at the back of the school by the stables. I kept her there so I could talk to the headmistress without anyone seeing the horse. I half ran up three flights of stairs and burst into the headmistress's office. I smiled sweetly, pretending I didn't just slam the door open. I slowly walked over to the chair in front of her desk to sort through my thoughts and catch my breath.
"So… I was wondering since I was walking in the woods and I found a horse… Can I keep it? I can take care of it, and we have empty stalls. I'll feed her, bathe her, and clean up after her." I thought it best not to tell her about the Everest thing. Mrs. Jade took her time thinking it over, but finally she answered.
"I'm ok with that once we check it for diseases. How about you go and bring the horse to the infirmary? By the way, I have found a place for Asher to stay."
"Alright," I nodded, "I will do that, and where is he staying?"
"He will stay with Felix Baldwin," Ms. Jade sighed, "And just so you know, I don't like that Everest has to stay in your dorm, but it is the Queen's orders. He must be a good kid for her to suggest it."
I sighed but thought for a minute. 'Isn't Felix on family leave?'
"Isn't Felix gone?" I say as I look over at her. She shook her head.
"No, he came back today, and he already knows, but I haven't seen Asher, so could you tell him when you see him, please?" I nodded and headed back to my horse to take her to the infirmary. I led her through the doors and saw Asher lying in one of the hospital beds. 'What the hell is he doing here? Since he's a wolf, I would assume that he could heal fast.'
I brought the horse up to the front of the room and went straight to Asher. I sat on the edge of the bed, and his eyes opened.
"What are you doing here, Estella?" he asked. I looked toward the horse.
"I found a horse in the woods, and I took her here to get checked for diseases and stuff. The headmistress said I can keep her as long as she's healthy. What are you doing here?"
He chuckled and then grimaced at the pain.
"There's something wrong with Everest. I know he's not the best person, but he doesn't usually act like this." He gestured to his body, which had bandages over his ribs and a cast on his left leg.
I frowned and whispered, "I thought you were a werewolf? They heal fast, so how did you turn into a wolf, but you don't heal fast? And Everest was… I think he was trying to kill me."
He looked at me, concerned, and he sat up straighter, instantly regretting it. "Are you ok?"
I honestly didn't know what to tell him because I wasn't even sure how I felt. I'm supposed to marry this guy, and he tried to kill me, but if there is something wrong with him, I don't want to put a bad label on him before the wedding.
I sighed as I replied, "I don't know, because if there's nothing wrong with him, then I have to marry a monster, and if in my head I label him as bad, I don't think I'll be able to at least like him enough to marry him."
He nodded sadly. "I get it."
I sat there quietly for a few minutes, then took a deep breath.
"So, what are you?" I asked. He looked at me seriously.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
I hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "Yes, you already know I have power, so I want to know what you are."
He looked at me a little unconvinced, but he answered anyway. "Ok, I'm an Amarok, it's a type of wolf unknown to most people, but a very powerful being. We just need a little bit more help in the healing department."
That's when I remembered why I'm here and what Mrs. Jade wanted me to tell Asher. "Hey, just so you know, Mrs. Jade said you are going to room with Felix Baldwin. His room is right across from mine, and Felix got back today, so he knows you'll be in there. I just realized, where do you keep your stuff? Because it's not in my room." He looked at me with a plain expression. I was suddenly nervous by his lack of emotion at that moment. Abruptly he said.
"I've got something to tell you about the Queen."
Just then, the nurse came out from the back and screamed in fright. "What is a horse doing in here?" I got up quickly.
"Mrs. Jade told me to bring her here to check for sickness, and then I am going to bathe her."
The nurse started inspecting the horse and said, "So, where did you find her?"
"Um, I found her in the woods during my evening walk." The nurse nodded.
"Okay, does she have a name?"
I thought for a moment and decided, "Moon, her name is Moon." I peeked over at Asher to see if he was listening. He was smiling, and that made me smile. 'Ok, well that name wasn't just for him, the horse is black, so it makes sense.'
A few minutes later, the nurse said that we were free to go and that Moon was just fine. I said goodbye to Asher and walked the beautiful mare back to the hose by the stables to rinse her off, but as the water hit her coat and mane, everything started to melt off. Her beautiful black fur fell to the ground in melted blobs. Her skin came off soon with it, until Moon became nothing but a fully functioning skeleton. I stared in horror as it happened, and by the time it was over, I forgot to turn the hose off. Once I got my brain working again, I turned off the hose and walked up to my breathing skeleton horse. All I could do was stare, but I tentatively put my hand out to touch the horse because I thought I was hallucinating, but it was very real, and I yelped as I jumped back. What was left of the horse snorted at my touch. 'What the hell? How can this be real?' I left the horse there and went to get the headmistress.
"So, you just put water on her? Nothing else?" She asked incredulously. I shook my head.
"Nothing else, just water. I don't know what happened, one second she had skin and fur and the next it was just falling off in gross globs." I shuddered, and Mrs. Jade sighed and nodded.
"She could be just a turning Bakotsu, 'Horse bone', they are very rare nowadays. You'll have to keep her out of sight from the rest of the students, and did you tell Asher yet?"
"Yeah, I will," I nodded, "And he was in the infirmary; he looked pretty banged up." Jade looked over at me, confused.
"What happened?"
I searched for something to say, not wanting to cause problems for certain people. "I don't know, he didn't tell me, and I didn't want to be rude. Is there anything else I need to know about this horse?"
She sighed, knowing she won't get anything else out of me. "The horse will eventually have flames surrounding her. Don't be alarmed, it is completely normal."