The I N D E P E N D E N T Princess

Soft white fur curled is tangled ends, blue light of her odd markings shining though her damp pelt. Her nose sniffed the air, and as if tasting its scent it wrinkled up with disgust.
It was such an odd place to be, beside a river in the mortal world. Such things one of her kind would never dream of, let alone be walking alongside.

White as the clouds she comes from, Bandia was different from many others her kind. Runes running the length of her spine, they seemed to glow a pale blue, scattered around her eyes and muzzle. They all had meanings, but only known to her and her kind. Secrets were a well kept thing in the Carinnia kind.
Pale bodice seemed to blend into the curves of the grass, her brown eyes peering out with curiosity. But if one looked closely, they would be able to make out the gentle outline of harsh scars, long faded into her body. Not enough to be called a careless fighter, but enough to show that she was a true warrior and knew how to hold her ground.

Smaller then she appeared, her head popped out from the long grasses, giving hint to her true, smaller frame. Elegant strides led her closer to the river's edge, a challenging look to her eye, but a growl forced her to pause.

"Hey there sweetheart!" a voice crowed, a large brute entering the scene with a 'know-it-all' swagger "you needing a home cutie pie?"

"No," she growled, hackles rising at the sight of the massive black brute, but wasn't surprised when another joined his side and then another. And soon, almost 25 fully grown brutes were staring at her with awe. Obviously deciding that they were already in love with her godly looks and thought they were in for a chance.
A band of bachelors. Great. she muttered with a thought, smirking lightly and knowing she would stand her ground and fight. She had been watching the mortals for years, and knew that they would not harm beauty. Lust for, yes. Attack? No.

"You sure cutie? I think I would love to have a mate like you...just us running around the lands?" He continued, pacing closer to her with an edge in his eye "don't you think?"

His nose was right in her face now, breathing deeply to inhale her scent.

"No!" she growled again, but this time launched her small body at him. Her teeth were aimed for his neck, going for the kill. But the brute saw it coming, flinching away from her attack and turning into the ferocious beast most wolves are associated with. They paced each other, the smaller fae slinking along the ground with a deadly grace, her teeth bared as if daring him to approach. But approach he did, launching into an attack with the other brutes backing him up. It was an uneven match, one small fae against twenty odd fully grown males. Not one she would be winning.

Hours seemed to past, the brutes seeming to fall down one by one. But everyone that went down, several others filled his space. Blood now littered her once clean pelt, jagged cuts bleeding the reddish droplets. She span on her heels, knowing she was losing the battle and had a better chance at trying to flee. Kicking up her paws, she dashed off into the underbrush, struggling to lose them on her trail. But weak as she was, she still had speed and managed to lose them.

Now weak from lose of blood, she staggered into the trees, falling into a heap, panting heavily.

Her white and red body heaving her last breaths....until a scent reached her nose.

He sneezed as he moved through the woods, knowing that like all wolves who were at Alaknanda River, that there was a reason for him going there. Though he knew not what the reason was, he knew that there was one for him coming there today. He would find out what that reason was soon enough, he was sure of that right now. Aatu was missing again, and when he did return, Rudi would have some things to say to him! Some of them would not be nice, though he knew his place in the pack. He hoped Aatu would get the message that his mother would not always wait around for him to return when he bloody felt like it. They were meant to be a family, and he knew that family did not just run away like this.

The huge bearlike paws hit the ground swiftly as the brown wolf with the white chest moved along the familiar terrain. He knew the terrain, he had travelled it with his sister when she sought a mate, then he had returned home, not interested in any of the she-wolves that were here. Having hear dthe sound of wolves fighting though he turned to travel in that direction, wondering who was causing a scene here at Alaknanda. When he saw the white, surprisingly beautful wolf, he sat for a moment, watching her. She was more beautiful than any he had ever seen and that was saying something, for he had seen a great many she-wolves in his short life.

Slowly he approached her, more than ready to step out of reach if needed. He was not interested in a fight, he only wished to see if she was alright. “Hello. Are you alright?” he asked gently, knowing that she would likely not want to face any of the brutes around here, he could tell that she was one of the ones who had been fighting. How she had survived though was anyone's guess at the moment.

Her breath quickened, her heart racing as the scent drifted closer. The gruff musical lyrics of his maw met her ears, his paws sounding heavy to her sensitive ears.
.
Her mind turned the word over, her parents goodbye words repeating in her head.


Her eyes snapped up, brown glassy depths staring at the brute before her, searching his handsome furred features before taking in his bear-like size.
"Mate!" she growled out loud, leaping to her feet shakily and stared at him with wide eyes "no...no....not mate...you cannot be!"

She staggered backwards, fighting with her inner self to claim her mate. She needed to claim him to take her crown, but that meant she couldn't be free. She couldn't mate with a mortal!
"No!" she cried, finally giving into her wants as the blue runes on her body flared and glowed in the evening sun.

Power seeped from her body, propping her body proud and tall. All sign of injury disappearing with the bond growing between them. He had saved her, without him....without him unlocking her magic ability, she would of died.

Now fully healed, she rested on her haunches heavily and panted.

"pardon?" Had she said her mate? That was something that he had not been expecting to hear her say. "How can you know that?" He sat on his haunches, green eyes watching her with interest. "And who are you?"

Legs splayed wide, her tail dropping between her legs as she panted from the sudden burst of power and the pain from before now long gone.
"You are my true mate," she whispered, as if trying to convince it to herself as her head bowed "and the to-be king of my species."
Her eyes widened at the fact of an outsider being her mate, such a thing had never happened.
"You are to be king!" she repeated, cursing under her breaths. What would her parents think now? But they had, after all, sent her to this stupid mortal lands.
"And you shall gain powers..." she frowned, tilting her head to the side in deep thought. Would he end up being immortal like her? Or would she end up being mortal, dying quickly like his own kind. The thought had a growl rumbling in her chest, but she shoved it aside.

"I am Bandia, your soul mate," she introduced herself "princess and heir to the Carinnia kind, the daughter of the 13th king and queen."
"You are Rudi," she told him, lifting her nose slightly and studied him "son of Anata and...Aatu is your adopted father and you to seem never to get along. But he loves you like a son, and always will."
She hummed quietly to herself, you are half decent at fighting, but you know no boundaries when it comes to someone you see as a threat. You hate being told what to do...and will always run on your mothers land. Or at least you will, until you live with me."

She shrugged her slim shoulders, seeming to know it all. She hated what fate had called, but as her mother had always said. Everything happens for a reason.
"Did I miss anything?"

To say the least he was shocked. Shocked that he was meant to be the mate of this beautiful wolf in front of him. “Are you sure its me?” he asked, knowing it was likely to be a stupid question. Could this really be the truth about him? Though he wanted to be sure she was positive he was the one for her. There was something unsettling about this.

How could she know all of this? “How do you know its me?”

"You saved me," she said simply with a toss of her white head, green orbs narrowing slightly "and unless my true mate who touched me is hiding in the trees over there, you are my mate. Surely you mortals have mates?"

She seemed somewhat amused by his ignorance to the worldly topics.

"Yes I am sure, you are my mate and will stick by my side though everything," she said with a firm nod and then frowned "but I must educate you with my worldly topics, you cannot be King and not understand our world. Though we have a few years, a year in the immortal world is thousands of years here."

"Where do you hale from?" she asked instead "where shall we reside until we return to the world above?"

She was content now, obviously figuring out that finding your true mate wasn't as bad as she had first thought.
"So? Where to?"