The surreal stars shimmered with heightened intensity. I had witnessed the blossoming love between Amanda and Walter. It seemed to have reached a crescendo tonight, and their story was etched in every constellation around me.

“My love! Your rose-tinted lips seem sweetest tonight.” Walter cradled Amanda’s petite body with his sculpted arms.

Their eloquent eyes were transfixed, and she bloomed like a wildflower, allowing him to explore every inch of her alabaster skin. The willows whispered, fireflies gyrated in gay abandon, and the placid lake gleamed with ripples. The tranquil woods resonated with unheard melodies as they both rocked in unison. I preferred to stay curtained by the clouds until their breaths steadied.

“My sweeting! You seem troubled. What’s wrong?” Walter nudged Amanda to open up as he tucked in a few locks of stray curls behind her ears.

“Walter! This will be our last meeting.” Amanda’s eyes welled with tears.

“Why?” Walter’s heart staggered.

 “The cook who accompanied me for our rendezvous until yesterday has blurted out our secret to my father. She is now imprisoned. My father must be plotting. With great difficulty, I came to meet you tonight, dodging the vigilant eyes of the palace guards.”

“Oh dear! This is grave. I can’t imagine being without you. I love you. Let me profess our love to your father. What can he possibly do?”

“I love you too, Walter! But my father is ruthless. If anything unforeseen happens to you, I can never forgive myself. Please leave this place.” 

“I can’t. Come with me.”

“NO! My father will somehow find me, hunt you down and ensure that you are made powerless by the palace mage.”

I could not bear to see the two sweethearts suffer. I felt hopeless until my color slowly changed into a reddish hue.

Amanda’s face beamed after noticing my changing color.

“Walter! There is a way out.”

“What is it, Amanda?” Walter was puzzled.

“Look at the blood moon. Aren’t your powers potent enough to transform me into one of your kind during the eclipse?”

“No, no! The change could be irreversible, Amanda.”

“This is our best chance. We both can flee the kingdom’s frontier.”

“But…” As Walter hesitated, the sound of galloping horses was heard from a distance.

“They are after us. Do it…now!” Amanda urged.  

The bones in Walter’s body elongated, his skin stretched, eyes turned golden, ears became pointed, fur spread across his body, razor-sharp fangs jutted out, claws protruded, and within minutes, Walter had completely transformed into a werewolf. Pointing his snout at me, he howled before biting Amanda. Soon she fell unconscious. With bated breath, I witnessed the onset of her transformation.

By the time the palace guards approached the woods with their horses there was no trace of Amanda or Walter. They could only hear the distant howls of two wolves.

The universe conspires in strange ways to unite lovers. Love sometimes demands sacrifice, and tonight I bore witness to a timeless love story.

***
Word Count : 499

Prompt by ArtoonsInn : Write a story where the main character is not a person but a setting—any place/ element that takes the centre stage.

Picture Credit : AI generated by Bing