Epilogue

The days pass, then turn into weeks, and the wolves don’t return. The nights are quiet, and slowly, Miriam settles. She doesn’t understand why the spells caused the wolves to attack, nor how the town can be calm with no protection, but they are not the only ones. The mayor tells the other towns what happened, and as each of their Protectors breaks the spells, the wolves' traces disappear.

The townspeople don’t question it; they still believe their Protector will be there for them, and Miriam spends her days helping the villagers, as she’s always done. Greta continues to visit the tower, hoping for an answer, but after searching through the books for several weeks, she concludes there is none. Maybe the legend is true after all, and The Great Hunt did destroy the wolves, but no records of it exist. Miriam wonders if they are the first ones to understand that the spells caused it, or if someone in the past found out. Several weeks after breaking the spells, Greta asks her,

“Would you like to come to the library with me? The city has collected books from around the country.”

“You think they might hold the answer?”

“It’s worth a try.”

Miriam nods. She doesn’t mind following Greta if she believes it can hold the truth. She has become a friend Miriam’s never had, and they're staying together in Miriam’s house, spending their evenings together.

They leave the week after, taking the train to the city. Greta shows her around, knowing every corner of the bustling spot and the old library. It’s full of books, kept clean from rats, and they spend a week searching through the records. Many talk about the time of the Great Hunt, but just as Miriam suspected, no one talks about the spells. Until one afternoon, as Greta takes a book from the shelf, opens the page and exclaims,

“It’s the last part!”

Miriam rushes over to her and reads over her shoulder.

“The spells dissolved with the death of the Protector, and to our surprise, the wolf attacks ceased. No one could explain it, but for many decades, we went without spells. The town prospered, and over time, other towns followed suit. It wasn’t until someone found a book, talking about generations past, that we understood the true meaning of what had happened.”

“Turn the page”, Miriam urges her as she comes to the end.

Greta does as she’s told, and Miriam continues reading.

“Protectors no longer cast their spells for love of their people, but for fear of what would happen if they didn’t. Their intentions crumbled, and with it, the strength of the spells. They were corrupted, easily twisted by beings who knew how to pervert the minds of the people. That is what happened, and how the wolves could attack our towns.”

Greta turns the page, skims through it, and then closes the book.

“Just like this time”, she says.

“So it wasn’t the Great Hunt that killed them?”, Miriam asks.

“I guess the old King was good at spinning a tale, Greta chuckles. If he saved the country with his hunt, they wouldn’t oppose him. I think these records were forgotten over time.”

They decide to tell the mayor about it and spread the word to the other Protectors. Maybe one day, they would once again cast the spells with a different intention, but until then, they were safe.