-Once Upon A Time-

--Chapter One--

The moon shone down across the land, bathing everything in its silvery light. It was nights like this that he enjoyed most.

He looked down from his perch in a high tree branch, and reveled in the nocturnal beauty, the only beauty he could truly appreciate any more.

He looked down at his hands—if they could be called hands anymore—and growled at the sight of his long claws. To think, just two years ago he had been considered the most handsome man in his hometown, and because of his family name he was perhaps the most eligible bachelor for miles around. And now? Now he had been reduced to wandering the countryside, a monster forced to hide his hideous face from the world. And all because of a woman…

---

From the moment he had seen her, he had become captivated by her beauty. No one knew where she had come from, or who she was, but he knew she was beautiful, and that was all he cared about.

He followed her from the local inn to a secluded area, near the forests surrounding the town.

Finally, he managed to catch up to her, and approached her in a suave manner.

"Good evening," He said, giving a small bow. "I am Victor Beaumont, and I couldn't help but notice your beauty. Pray, what is your name, fair maiden?"

The mysterious woman just laughed. "My, you are bold, aren't you?" She said. "And just what makes you think I would be interested in telling you my name?"

"Why shouldn't you be?" He asked in reply. "Surely you know of my family's wealth. And I am considered to be quite handsome. It seems only fitting to me that I should be acquainted with a woman as beautiful as yourself."

The woman laughed again. "You make a good speech… but you're such a young fool." She approached Victor slowly. "I could just as easily be an old hag in disguise. Would you be so inclined to know me then?"

"Perhaps not." Victor smiled as the woman approached him. "But I doubt you could be a hag. Only a witch could disguise herself so well."

At that, the woman just grinned, as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She moved ever closer, until she was finally close enough to whisper in his ear. "Once again, you make an assumption. How are you so sure I'm not a witch?"

Victor was about to reply, when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and staggered back to find he'd been stabbed. The woman stepped back as well, holding up a strange looking dagger. He placed a hand over the wound, which was seemingly over his heart, but was surprised when he didn't feel any blood coming out.

Suddenly, his entire body became wracked with pain, as though some kind of venom were coursing through his veins. He fell to his knees, and howled in pain, and looked down at his hands to see them undergoing a terrible transformation.

"If there's one thing I hate more than anything else…" The woman said with a sneer, as she watched Victor suffer. "…is vanity." Victor growled in anger, and glared at the woman, but she just laughed down at him.

Finally, he succumbed to the pain, and collapsed. The last thing he saw before blacking out… was her cruel, but beautiful face.

---

A growl escaped Victor's lips at the bitter memory. He would never forget awaking the next morning and returning to his own home, only to be feared by his own mother, and shot at by his own father. He had been made a monster by that witch—he knew now that was what she was—and he had been that way ever since. An inhuman beast.

He sighed sadly to himself, and sat back in the tree, as a calm breeze blew past, ruffling his fur a bit. He resembled a humanoid wolf, with dark fur, and yellow eyes, and a long bushy tail which hung down from the branch he was seated on.

I've been searching for that witch for nearly two years now. He thought to himself. Perhaps I'm never going to find her… maybe I might as well resign myself to a life as a beast.

Just then, another breeze passed by, and on it came a scent… the scent of blood. Victor sat up with a start, and scanned the area. The scent was feint, probably from a minor wound, but he knew that it was human blood. And that meant there must be trouble. Quickly, and with incredible agility, Victor jumped from the tree, and ran to find the source of the scent.

---

Nearby, on an old dirt road, two bandits had captured a young girl, and the ugliest bandit, a man with a matted beard and an eye patch, grabbed her wrist and forced her against a tree.

The girl winced from the pain her arm was in, both from the force of the bandit's grip and from the wound his knife had inflicted, but she didn't make a sound.

"Oy, why don't she scream?" The second bandit, a fat man with several missing teeth and no hair, asked his companion.

"How should I know?" The first bandit barked back. "But it don't matter none, do it?" The ugly man held his knife to the poor girl's throat and laughed. "If you're smart, you'll keep quiet, you hear me?"

The bandit looked the girl over, with an evil grin. She had a very pretty face, and a fair complexion. Her eyes were a deep blueish green, and her hair was almost the same shad, and went down to her shoulders. There was also a slight curl to her hair.

The bandit looked hungrily at her, and grinned, showing off his rotting, yellow teeth. "Well, she may not have much money on her," He said. "But I think we can find a use for her, ey? Haha!"

Just then, the bandits heard a low growl, and looked around in fright.

"Wha' the…" The fat one gasped. "Wha' was that? A wolf?"

"Don't be daft!" The bearded one snapped back. "Ain't no wolves around these parts!"

But then, they heard a rustling in the bushes, as though something big were approaching. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped again.

After a pause, the bearded man finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Well…" He said. "Whatever it was, it's gone now."

The other bandit sighed, too, but then a large wolf-like creature lunged from the bushes and tackled him, knocking him to the ground and then throwing him into a nearby tree as though he were a rag doll.

At the sight, the bearded bandit gasped and his one eye nearly bulged out of its socket. "A werewolf!" He let go of the girl and tried to run, but Victor jumped into the air and landed in front of the frightened bandit.

The bandit tried to strike the beast with his knife, but the werewolf simply swatted the weapon out of his hand, and clawed his chest.

The man fell back from the blow, and tried to run, but Victor picked him up and threw him, as he did the first bandit.

Now, with both bandits lying unconscious on the ground, Victor turned with a sneer to walk away, leaving the girl to stare after him.

Worthless scum. He thought to himself. To attack an innocent girl like that. I don't know why I didn't just tear them limb from limb.

Suddenly, Victor heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and turned to see the girl following behind, looking like a lost puppy.

"What do you want?" He growled. When the girl didn't answer, he just sighed in annoyance. "Look, stop following me. I'm a big scary werewolf, so just run on home, why don't you?" Victor turned to walk away again, but still heard the girl follow him. With a growl he turned to confront her. "Look, I saved you, but I don't need a tagalong, got it?!" The girl flinched when he yelled, but didn't answer. "Why don't you say anything, anyway? Can't you talk?"

The girl lowered her gaze and shook her head sadly. Victor backed off a bit and calmed down, feeling rather bad for yelling at her.

"Oh… I see." He finally said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. But look, I don't want you following me, okay?" The girl looked back up at him, a pleading look in her eyes. Victor began to wonder why such a delicate looking girl was out in the forests at night anyway. All he did know though was that if she got herself into another bad predicament she might not be so lucky again. Finally, he growled in defeat and turned away. "Fine, you can follow me, but only till you can get to a town or something. Let's go."

Vincent walked off, and the girl followed, smiling in appreciation.

What am I doing…? He asked himself, as he followed the long dirt road, the mysterious girl close behind.

---

Deep within an icy palace, high up in the mountains, an armored figure walked along a long, empty hallway, towards a large door with the image of a tree on it. He opened the door and walked into a large thrown room, overrun with ice and snow. The room was so cold that his breath billowed out like smoke when he breathed, and frost formed on his blue armor.

He came to the center of the room and faced a gigantic throne. He kneeled before the throne, and the woman that sat in it.

"What news do you have for me…?" The woman asked.

The armored man turned to look up at the woman. She was dressed in a flowing white and blue gown, and her raven hair fell to her back. Her lips were a deep red, but her skin was incredibly pale, like the snow that surrounded her, and her eyes were icy blue.

"We still have not found it My Queen." He finally answered. "We have searched all across the lands, but there is no trace of it."

"Then search harder!" The woman commanded, standing from her throne. "I will have that wand, do you understand?"

The armored man stood and held a hand to his heart, in salute. "It shall be done, I swear!" he vowed. "For the honor of the kingdom, and the mighty Queen Zephyr… the Snow Queen!"

The Queen smiled upon hearing this. "Very well. Then go, and begin your search anew." The man bowed and turned to leave, but stopped when the Queen spoke again. "And remember, my brave knight," She said. "Once we have the Wand of Merlin… the world shall be ours to command."