Yarri had already spent more than a week on the road, trying to get to the capital of Caradia in time. Walking through the countryside with just Luna beside her made her happy. She was a little nervous when she realized that soon she will have to travel and eat and sleep and possibly fight with a bunch of complete strangers. But, as her father always said, ‘Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it.’

As she neared the capital, there were more and more people on the roads and most of them looked at Luna with fear. When she finally reached the city, she couldn’t help but stare with her mouth open. Never in her wildest dreams she could imagine such beautiful and huge structures being built. She realized that she was standing in a marketplace which was larger than her entire village. Most of the people have been dressed in beautiful and colorful clothes made of soft and no doubt expensive fabrics. 

Yarri tried not to get into anyone’s way, but it was almost impossible. Luna wasn’t enjoying the crowd either. She growled quietly, overwhelmed by the noise and all the different scents. Unfortunately, one of the well-dressed ladies picked that very moment to look at them. When she heard Luna growl and saw her teeth, she just gasped for air. “A beast!” she mumbled and fainted. 

Yarri stood there stunned by surprise, not having any idea what to do. [i]‘This was a bad idea,’[/i] she thought as she tried to get out of the marketplace. When she finally reached a quieter alley, she opened her backpack and took a long piece of leather out of it. Luna growled louder. [b]“I am sorry girl, I know you don’t like it, but these people are going to kick us out of the city, if they see you as a threat.” [/b]With those words, she tied the leather around Luna’s neck, creating sort of a leash. It was mainly for comfort of those around her; Yarri knew very well that if the wolf had decided to attack someone, there was a very little she could do to stop her.

Closer to the palace she got, the more buildings seemed crammed to each other, making Yarri feel extremely uncomfortable. She still had to stare at everything. Large glass windows, beautiful mirrors, tons of golden and silver jewelry, decorated by what appeared to be diamonds of all colors and shapes imaginable. Fabrics so soft it felt like a wind on her skin. In her old clothes, scratched and somewhat dirty from the road, she felt strongly that she didn't belong here. She pulled Luna closer and hurried towards the castle gates.

Yarri noticed a bunch of people already standing around. Some of them were dressed like she was – clothes for the road, not for showing off their wealth. Yarri froze when she noticed there were two people in a shining armor and one person in a beautiful white dress. [i]‘What the hell was I thinking coming here? That is the KING AND QUEEN!’[/i] she thought, terrified. She knew the king planned this expedition, but she didn’t really think that he would come here to talk to the people himself. Not even speaking about the queen. 

Yarri also noticed some strange, non-human looking figure amongst the others, but she couldn’t care less about it. There could be a dragon standing there and she would still be more terrified from talking to the king. [i]‘Once you've got a task to do…’[/i] she mumbled and headed towards the group, trying to look as brave as she could. Once she got to the group, she bowed deeply before the king. [b]“Sit,”[/b] she hissed at Luna so that no one else could hear it. 

[b]“My lord, your… majesty,”[/b] she started, realizing that she had no idea how to properly address a king. [b]“I… My name is Yarri Anderly, I am a hunter and it would be an honor for me if I could join your group.”[/b]