1/02/2018

Short Story: Gold and Silver Wolf

Sometimes, you have to work hard to come up with stories. Other times, you wake up in the middle of the night from a ridiculously detailed dream, write it down, and find (surprisingly) it still makes sense in the morning. This is a story I wrote down on one such night, a long time ago:

Gold Wolf was a princess who lived in a castle in the corner of a large woods. This forest covered the entire land and was home to many people and creatures, including Silver Wolf, a "child of the forest," a little boy who loved to explore. Gold Wolf was lonely and felt unappreciated by her father, who was busy running the kingdom and had many older children. One day she snuck out to play and met Silver Wolf, and the two became good friends.

But her father was oblivious to the forest and decided to erect a wall around the land he claimed as his own. This barrier cut off the corner of the forest where they lived from the rest, which became known as the Woods Beyond. Silver Wolf was trapped within the walls with Gold Wolf. There was plenty of space to live and explore, but still the wall bothered Silver Wolf.

"This is all one forest," he told Gold Wolf. "Why should he divide it?" Silver Wolf wanted to travel to the Woods Beyond. Gold Wolf wanted to go with him, so she could explore and play in all the forest too.

So the next night, Silver Wolf tried to sneak Gold Wolf out of the castle and beyond the wall. But they were caught, and the King was furious at his daughter for sneaking out, so he threw Silver Wolf into the dungeon and locked Gold Wolf in her room. But Gold Wolf was a kind soul, and persistent, and she begged and pleaded with her father to send Silver Wolf into exile instead of locking him up. Finally, she promised her father she would never run away if only he would send Silver Wolf away. He agreed to this and Silver Wolf was left outside the wall, bereft of his playmate but able to travel all of the Woods Beyond.

Still, at night, every night, the whole kingdom can hear a wolf howling, but there is no answer.

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