Bygone memories

Bygone memories

Characters: Nikolai, Lovilla, Yuri, Asher and seven unnamed guards

POV: Nikolai

I lied awake staring up at the roof of my cave, I turned the necklace that Lovilla had given me in the moonlight focusing on all of its details. I had been trying to get to sleep for hours but I just couldn't, all my worries forced me awake and I couldn't relax. The cave was filled with abnormal still silence filled the air, usually I'd be able to hear my brother breathing in his sleep, or my sister coming home after a night of selling her body but there was no noise, of either lost contact with my family or they were dead or they had just left. My mind wasn't allowing me to trail off and whenever it did I'd always end up thinking about Lovilla.
She divorced me just after over a year of marriage and we were perfect together however he father, Yuri the king, didn't ever like me and he often sent his guards to threaten and beat me so I would stay away from Lovilla. But no matter how much I tried I could never stay away from her, she was my everything and she made me feel special. We hardly ever argued infact I only remember one time when we did and that just an arguement over who was the prettiest, I said she was prettier and she said I was. We were a perfect couple. Why end it?

I saw the familiar silhouettes of the guards outside my cave, were they sent by Yuri? He sent them to beat me? But why..Lovilla divorced me he has no reason to interfere with my life anymore, the leader of the guards step foward towards me his expressionless face hidden in shadows, I didn't bother to move, his arms bent at the elbows and his hand's tightened into fists. So they were here for the usual.
I felt some kind of fury burning in me that told me I cannot just lie down and take it anymore, I took my feral form and got up and glared directly at the guards, they were unmoving and unfeeling.  
"You have no right to be here"
I snarled, none of them said anything
"Why are you even here? Hasn't Yuri fucked up my life enough already?!"
I exclaimed, suddenly the burning feeling inside me was extinguished.

All guards but the leader took their feral form, shadows cast over half of their bodies and moonlight making their angry eyes glimmer and their bared fangs shine. Is it really necessary to be this melodramatic?
The guard to my left took afew steps foward and lunged at me and I was knocked onto the floor, as I attempted to get to my feet I felt two pairs of paws slamming into my head and hind keeping me down, I struggled and twisted under the pressure to get up but the weight bearing down on me was too much and in lied down panting and breathless for afew seconds before I felt something tearing into me, I was unable to move my head so my eyes looked quickly to my flank and as I saw the guard with a blood covered muzzle pain surge through me as blood started pulsing out of my body, the blood started to soak the cold ground and my fur, the guard continued to maul me and soon the small area I could barely make out was covered in gore, my crimson blood looked black in the moonlight.

The guard that had been attacking me walked over to my head and I felt pressure increase from the paws keeping me down on my head, the guard lowered his gore covered head to my level and glared at me and licked the side of my head, I felt his salvia and my blood make my fur wet, the guard smirked at me. I felt the paws trapping me dig their claws in deep and then let go as blood trickled slowly down me and then they let go and walked over to the leader of the guards, still in his human form.

I barely managed to lift up my head slightly and then the leader took out a  dagger and I switched to my human form and tried to move my hand to take the dagger from him, I only managed to lift my hand up afew inches before it shook and fell.
The guard threw the dagger straight at my chest and as it hit its target my vision faded to black as my head hit the floor that was drenched in my blood.

I opened my eyes and my blurry sight slowly focused, I didn't recognise where I was. I took afew deep breaths and pushed up with my front paws. I looked down at my chest, the knife was gone and so were the guards, my whole body felt so weak and battered. I took human form and stripped off my shirt and looked down at my chest, it was bruised and bandaged up and old blood stained the bandages, atleast I wasn't bleeding anymore. But who would do this for me? Whoever they were they weren't here now. I looked up to the ocean surface, I had no sense of direction so I couldn't even look back at my home for the last time but even if I could nobody was waiting for me, Lovilla divorced me and my family had disappeared from my life I had no purpose back there and I had no reason to be back there.  

I looked ahead of me, everything was barren, a total wasteland. Just afew rocks and nothing else, some part of me wanted to go foward and I started to walk foward, my whole body ached from ealier after just afew minutes I couldn't take the ache anymore and fell in the sand and closed my eyes simply hoping this was all just a dream.

When I woke up it felt like no time had passed, it was still the same time of the day I got drowilsly to my feet and my vision focused just about to start walking agian when I heard a husky voice start behind me, it had an accent that made it almost impossible to understand
"Hey look who's awake"
The voice said, I turned around quickly and saw the owner of the voice. A male Volkuly like myself with a large, strong build that fit perfectly with his voice. He had hazel eyes and a scar running just below his eye, he was a good few years older than me. I didn't reply to him.
"Hey I'm Asher, I don't bite mate, what's your name?"
Asher said happily
"Nikolai"
I replied coldly
"Not too chatty are we"
Asher said smiling, I sighed and lied down in the sand prephaps if I fell asleep he'd stop talking, I didn't feel like talking.

"You look like shite Nikolai if you don't mind me..asking what happened to you?"  
Asher asked, lying down in the sand next to me
"Life happened to me"
I replied bluntly
"It's a bitch ain't it"
Asher said and he laughed, it was a extremely  infectious laugh
"Yeah"
I said and smiled a little, my life was abit of a bad joke really, we sat in quiet for afew moments, it was me who broke it
"So why are you out here?"
I asked him
"Just wanted to travel about abit"
Asher replied
"Aren't you a little old for that?"
I asked, he looked ahead of him sadly
"I didn't mean to sound rude"
I added
"Yeah..I know you didn't.."
Asher replied, his voice had an upset tone and it was making me feel incredibly guilty. I sat quietly waiting for him continue talking
"I have a disease..an illness"
Asher said and looked at me for half a second, he must have seen the concern on my face
"It's not contagious..but when you do get it it's fatal"
Asher and he looked down at the ground
"Oh..I'm sorry"
I replied, I didn't know what else to say    
"It's alright"
He replied reassuringly, silence fell
on us agian and I found myself breaking it agian.

"Have your got anyone to go back to?"
I asked this guy was, apart from Lovilla, the only person I found genially interesting
"My family, how comes your out here by yourself anyways?"
Asher asked, he seemed pretty interested to know
"Well it's by choice that I'm out here"
I replied, Asher nodded understandably and he waited patiently for me to continue I had a feeling that I shouldn't tell him, so far I had no reason to doubt him
"Back home I had a girl called Lovilla and well.." I laughed remembering all the good times we had together "well she was just perfect..her dad thought, Yuri, hated me. with a passion. and when me and Lovilla got married just afew years after we got married she divorced me..I think Yuri made her do it..just days after the divorce Yuri sent his guards to attack me, banish me and they left me out here"
I said, Asher stared at me almost in disbelief
"Oh wow..sorry mate"
Asher said compassionately
"It's alright"
I replied reassuringly, the painful silence fell agian.

It lasted.  

My harrowing memories came back to me and wouldn't go away.
"What way you headed?"
I asked, I couldn't take the silence anymore
"Anywhere really"
Asher said with a smile, seeing him smile made me feel better almost instantly
"Same here I mean its not like I have anywhere to go back to"
I said happily

"So do you think your girl is trying to find you?"
He asked
"I don't know..she knows her dad..he once told me that if Lovilla had any pups and I was the father that he'd have me killed..and the pups"
I replied
"Woah..he sounds like a bit of a bastard"
Asher said shocked
"That's a bit of an understateme-"
I said and I stopped as soon as I heard a howl, a howl I could never forget. It was Lovilla. And she was calling for me.
"Come on.."
I said solemnly and paused for a second before continuing
"Let's go Asher"
I added and started to walk in the opposite direction then suddenly i felt very nauseous, a massive amount of pain started in my head it felt like it was going to rip me apart, it felt like everything was spinning around me, I fell onto the ground and I closed my eyes shut tight
"Nikolai! Can you hear me?! Nikolai?!"
I heard Asher say, his voice echoed and contorted in the nightmarish darkness.

I woke up later, the pain had nearly gone but the nauseous feeling was still there, my head ached so much, I looked about me it was dark now, a silhouette was lying infront of me  
"Hey..you've been passed out for two days"
Asher said wearily
"Wow.."
I replied, it didn't know what else to say, Asher looked at me anxiously
"What happened whilst I was out?"
I asked uneasily
"I think the guards are searching for you..I saw some of them in the distance so I took us away from them"
Asher replied
'Why would they be looking for me? Would they want to check that I'm dead..was Lovilla howling ealier linked to the guards that Asher just said? Whatever the answers were I needed to get away from here'
I thought to myself
"Listen..Asher, I really appericate all this but your not safe whilst your near me I think its best if I leave"
I said, Asher didn't seem surprised by my comment
"..Aye....ok..do you want to wait till you feel better Niko?"
Asher said
"No I'm fine, again thanks you've done more than enough for me"
I said smiling alittle at Asher
"Alright..well good luck and stay safe mate"
Asher replied
"You too"
I replied and started to walk off away from Asher, even though I'd only known him for mere days he was a better friend that most of the people I'd met over the years.

Pain started up and faded agian as I continued walking, I looked ahead of me. It was very dark, the darkness stretched over the featureless horizon, there was nothing here for me, after walking in the black for afew hours light began filter down overhead, dispersing the darkness.