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Once upon a time, there was a large kingdom.
While the people of the kingdom had once lived in peace, wealth and prosperity, a dark shadow now spread across the land.
The King and Queen had lost three of their seven children, and they had never fully recovered.
Their first born daughter died of plague shortly after turning five years old, and their youngest son was killed in an animal attack. But it was the death of their middle child that devastated the family the most.
Thus it was in a time of grief and heartache that their second eldest son came of age, providing a glimpse of hope for the fallen kingdom.
As was the tradition back in those days, each young man or woman had to complete a single Challenge which would prove their courage and wisdom.
If the prince were to succeed, hope would be restored. If he were to fail, the cloud of darkness might stain the kingdom forever.
People from far and wide travelled to the capital to witness the announcement.
"Are you ready?" the King asked in a solemn voice, as he and his son stood in front of the gathered crowd.
The prince nodded, his head held high.
"My son," the King spoke,"for your Challenge, you shall destroy the Monster that Howls and Weeps."
"I accept the Challenge," the prince replied determinedly, and each man cried out in awe and each woman cried in grief, for they all had heard the stories of the Monster that Howls and Weeps.
Still, the words had been spoken, and on the early morning of the next day, the prince set out from the castle on his trusted mare. Only his younger sister came to say goodbye.
In the afternoon of the fourth day, he arrived in the terrorized town in the west part of the kingdom, where the tales of the Monster had originated.
The atmosphere in the town was solemn. The men held their heads low and their backs bend, children were sitting quietly in front of the small houses, and the women spoke in hushed tones over the washing well.
After the prince stabled his horse in the small inn, leaving the innkeeper a hearty fee, he approached a man who was selling meat on the market.
"Where can I find the Monster that Howls and Weeps?" the prince asked.
"The Monster that Howls and Weeps ate my sheep. There was nothing left but blood and bones. They say it roams the pastures on the mountains to the south."
The prince nodded his thanks, and continued on.
He approached a child who was drawing figures in the sand.
"Where can I find the Monster that Howls and Weeps?"
"The Monster that Howls and Weeps destroyed the farmland. There was nothing left but sand and stone. They say it roams near the farms to the west."
Next, the prince approached an elderly woman who was hanging out clothes to dry.
"Where can I find the Monster that Howls and Weeps?"
"The Monster that Howls and Weeps came after the children. They hid in a barn, and heard scraping and scratching throughout the night. They say it roams near the villages to the north."
The prince continued questioning the town's people, but each of them gave a different answer.
Discouraged, the prince pumped up some water from the well to quell his thirst.
"I could take you to the Monster that Howls and Weeps. "
The prince looked up in surprise.
Near the well sat a young man. He had long blond hair tied in a braid, and wore a knife at his belt and a bow on his back.
The prince approached the young hunter.
"How do I know you do not lie?"
The young hunter took something out of his pocket, and held it out in front of the prince. It was dark fur, much thicker than normal hair, animal or human.
"It is my Challenge to destroy the Monster that Howls and Weeps," the prince said. "Will you take me?"
The young hunter nodded, and together, they left the town and climbed up a mountain trail, until they finally arrived at a cave. Inside was an iron cage with a large door.
"For protection," the young hunter explained.
"Will the Monster that Howls and Weeps come here tonight?"
"We will have to wait and see."
Having no choice but to trust him, the prince agreed.
That night, the young hunter and the prince sat together in the cage, which was locked with a key around the young hunter's neck.
The prince was determined to stay awake, but his eyelids grew heavy, and when he opened them again, the young hunter was gone, and in the darkness of the cave, the Monster howled and wept.
The prince sat frozen as he listened to the roars and whimpers, until finally they faded and all was quiet once more.
When the prince woke early in the morning, the young hunter sat near to the fire, and the cage door was open.
"Where were you last night?" the prince demanded.
"I had to relieve myself and went outside," the young hunter answered. "I had to hide from the Monster that Howls and Weeps."
"I didn't know what to expect," the prince admitted. "Next time, I will be prepared. Will the Monster that Howls and Weeps come here again tonight?"
"We will have to wait and see," the young hunter answered.
The prince had no choice but to trust him, so he agreed.
To spend the time, the young hunter showed the prince the woods outside of the cave. He had grown up there, and only went to the town to trade the hides of the animals he hunted.
The prince liked the young hunter's company. The ache in his heart dulled slightly, and his lips curled up in a smile at the young hunter's jokes.
That night, they ate together from the berries and fruits they had gathered, and waited until it was dark.
The prince was even more resolved to stay awake, but like before, his eyelids grew heavy, and when he opened them again, the young hunter was gone, and in the darkness of the cave, the Monster howled and wept.
The prince grabbed his sword, but the door of the cage was locked, and he did not have the key. Still, the prince could hear the Monster coming closer, and in the light of the moon and the dying fire, he was able to distinguish grey fur, two yellow eyes and a jaw full of teeth.
He lifted his sword, and the Monster howled before fleeing into the darkness outside. Despite its appearance, it seemed more scared of the prince than the prince was of it.
Unable to give chase, the prince sat down again.
The next morning, the door was open when he woke, and the young hunter was sitting near the fire.
"Where were you last night?" the prince demanded.
"I was thirsty so went outside to the stream for water. I had to hide from the Monster that Howls and Weeps."
"I could not give chase," the prince admitted. "Next time, leave the door open. Will the Monster that Howls and Weeps come again tonight?"
"We will have to wait and see."
The prince trusted him, so he agreed.
The young hunter showed him his skill with the bow, and the prince found himself talking about the kingdom and his family.
His older brother, the heir to the throne, had felt the loss of their oldest sister the keenest. He always looked at the prince and his younger siblings in disdain. The prince's father was quick to anger, and taught them swordsmanship with a heavy hand. And his mother had locked herself away in her tower, and never showed her face.
In turn, the young hunter spoke to him. While he went regularly to the town, the town's people considered him an outsider, and regarded him with mistrust. He always had to rely on himself to survive.
As they spend the day together, enjoying each other's company, they both realized that it was the first time either of them had a true friend.
When night came, the prince and the young hunter sat near the fire, their shoulders touching.
The prince kept watch with his sword in hand, but his eyelids grew heavy. When he opened his eyes again, his friend was gone, and in the darkness of the cave, the Monster howled and wept.
Yet, the door of the cage was open this time, and the prince launched himself outside, sword ready.
The Monster noticed him and charged, but instead of attacking, it ducked past him and fled outside the cave.
The prince rushed after it, careful to keep track of it in the darkness, following the sounds of the Monster crashing through the woods.
When he neared a clearing, a scream filled the air.
Shocked, the prince tumbled unto the open space. Three men had cornered the Monster against a large stone mountain edge, jabbing spears at it with force. Another man was lying on the ground, clutching a bloodied arm.
As the prince watched, the Monster, which resembled an enormous wolf, lunged at one of the men. The two others retaliated immediately, piercing its skin and driving it back against the wall.
The Monster whimpered and snarled, but didn't dare attack again.
It looked more like a scared animal than the monster the villagers had spoken of.
"Stop!" the prince yelled, half out of instinct. Distracted, the men glanced at him, and the monster immediately took the opportunity to escape.
"Look what you did!" one of the men growled.
"I will find it," the prince said, putting as much authority behind his words as he could. "Tend to your man."
The men glared at him, but obeyed, noticing the sword on his hip. The prince set of again, this time following a trail of blood.
He found the Monster that Howls and Weeps just as the first rays of the morning sun rose above the horizon. It had curled up beneath a tree, and before the prince could approach it, its body began to change.
Slowly, the paws became hands, the snout a human face. The tail and fur disappeared, and beneath the tree was the young hunter.
The prince knelt beside him as he blinked up at him with pain filled eyes. Blood oozed from the wounds in his side.
"Will you destroy me?" the young hunter whispered.
"You will have to wait and see."
The prince took up his friend in his arms and carried him back to the cave, where he placed him next to the fire and tended to his wounds.
The young hunter told him in hesitating whispers about his father, who had him cursed when he found out that he wasn't really his son, and who had left him in the cave, expecting him to die.
Ironically, the curse had been his salvation, because while he had been small and weak, the Monster had not. Hunting had kept him fed. But the transformation was painful, and he could not help but howl and weep.
As he grew older, the rumours of the Monster spread, and as the rule of the kingdom diminished, thieves and bandits took advantage of his reputation.
"They all blame it on me."
The prince listened to his friend with pain in his heart.
"I will protect you," he promised in a severe tone.
But he could not abandon his Challenge, for that would mean the fall of the Kingdom. So instead of killing the Monster that Howls and Weeps, he would find the thieves and bandits, and destroy their lairs, which would bring back peace to the town and the surrounding villages.
And so the prince and the young hunter stayed together for a while longer, while the prince found the thieves and chased them away.
Each night, the young hunter would change into the Monster that Howls and Weeps, but the prince would be there to comfort him, and together they would roam the dark forest, the prince and his Monster side by side.
The young hunter taught the prince how to hunt, and the prince taught the young hunter to wield a sword, and neither of them had ever felt so happy.
They both looked forward to and dreaded the day that the last thieves were chased away.
"Come with me, to my home," the prince told the young hunter on the day before he would take on the final lair. "I would love you to meet my sister."
The young hunter shrugged.
"We will have to wait and see."
The prince chased away the last thieves, and his Challenge was finally completed.
"I'll give you one more week," the prince said with a heavy heart when he returned to the cave. "Then I have to go."
The young hunter accepted his terms, and they ate together near the fire, their shoulders touching.
On the fourth day, the prince made his way to the town to sell some of the hides and to check on his horse, which had been kept by the innkeeper. The young hunter stayed in the cave, asking for some time alone.
When the prince arrived in the town, he noticed a strange excitement. He made his way to the central square, and to his surprise, saw two of his father's knights standing on a makeshift scaffold.
"Do not worry," one of the knights said. "We will find and destroy the Monster that Howls and Weeps. We will avenge our prince."
Alarmed, the prince approached a man selling wool. "What is happening?" he asked.
"The Monster that Howls and Weeps has killed the prince. The knights have come to capture it."
This, of course, was not true, and with fear in his heart, the prince rushed back to the cave.
When he finally arrived, he found their bedrolls upturned, the ashes of the fire scattered. The young hunter was gone, and parts of the cave floor were stained with blood. Outside the cave, horse tracks led into the forest. The trail would cross the main road which led to the capital, home of the King and Queen.
While the prince's first instinct was to chase after the knights who had surely captured his friend, he forced himself to think. He would never be able to catch up to them on foot.
So the prince quickly gathered what was left of their food, and returned to the town where he collected his horse.
Four days and four nights he travelled, pushing the mare to her limits. Each night he could hear howls in the distance, getting closer and closer, but no matter how hard the mare tried, the prince could not catch up.
On the morning of the fifth day, the familiar silhouette of the capital appeared in front of him. The prince was finally home.
He made his way to the central square, but he was not the only one.
Many people had travelled from far and wide to see the special event.
In the middle of the main square, two platforms had been build. On the first the King and Queen were seated with their three remaining children. The Queen was weeping openly, and the princess was pale.
On the second platform stood a large pile of wood. And tied to a pole on top of that wood, was the young hunter.
Desperately, the prince pushed the crowd aside, yelling for the procedure to stop. But his time away had changed him, and he was not recognized.
The King addressed the people in a loud voice.
"This abomination has been found guilty of killing our beloved son. It must be punished for that vile deed."
The young hunter was not allowed to respond. An executioner took up a torch at the moment the prince reached the front of the crowd. The guards tried to stop him, but the prince easily dodged their grasp.
He rushed over the open square and pulled himself up on the platform. Just before the fire reached the wood, the prince snatched the torch out of the executioner's hand.
"Stop!" he ordered again.
A hush fell over the gathered crowd. The King's face was furious.
"What is the meaning of this?" he snarled.
The prince raised his chin.
"Do you not recognize me, Father?" he spoke.
The King paled, but rather than happy at his son's return, he seemed angry.
Not so his daughter: the princess let out a squeak, and threw herself into her brother's arms. The prince hugged her tightly, having missed her more than he realized.
Releasing her, the prince turned to untie his friend, but his father's harsh voice stopped him.
"I am glad to see you alive," the King said. "Yet you should not have interrupted the execution of the Monster that Howls and Weeps."
The King stepped forward, his face contorted. "He is a beast. A monster. His current form may fool you, but beneath his skin hides a horrible creature."
The prince stared in shock at his father's venomous words. But instead of backing down, like he might have before in an effort to please his father, the prince squared his shoulders.
"The Monster that Howls and Weeps is my Challenge," he said. "This means that by right, he is mine."
The king snarled and his hand moved to his sword. The prince froze. His father's face looked like that of a madman.
"My son is right, Husband. He laid claim to the Monster that Howls and Weeps."
To the prince's shock, his mother rose from her seat. Her tears were gone, and she radiated a strength which he had never seen.
The prince spoke to address the people.
"I shall now destroy the Monster that Howls and Weeps. For that Monster is only a myth. It consisted of thieves and bandits taking advantage of a young man and a kingdom in disarray."
He untied the ropes binding his friend and caught him in his arms, suppressing his anger at seeing him beaten and bruised. The young hunter was muttering something, but his voice was too weak to form words.
"No!" the King shouted. "He must die. Even if I have to do it myself!"
The princess screamed a warning, and the prince barely moved him and the young hunter out of the way of his father's sword in time. They tumbled from the platform, crashing to the ground in a tangled heap.
Dazed, the prince pushed himself upright. His father jumped down as well, sword swinging recklessly.
"Father, please," the prince begged.
"Stand aside, boy," the king snarled. "Or I will go through you."
Seeing no other option, the prince drew his own sword and held it ready.
The King charged forward, and their weapons clashed. The prince was a skilled swordsman, but his father was a trained and experienced warrior. The prince failed to block a strike, and the sharp tip of the blade grazed across his skin.
The prince's heart leapt in his throat as he realized the truth. His father would kill him.
Sensing his doubts, the man pressed on, and the prince's guard slipped again. He cried out as the sword bit deep into his chest.
Shocked, the prince backed away, dizzy from the pain, but the other man was faster. He stepped in, and aimed at his head. As the prince moved to block it, the man swept his legs out from under him instead. He crashed to the floor, knocking his head against the stones, and for a moment, stars danced across his vision.
The King kicked his sword away.
"You know better than to defy me, son," the King bellowed. The sword tip came down, but before it could hit its mark, another sword knocked it away.
In between the prince and the King stood the young hunter, the prince's sword in his hands. Despite the bruises and wounds, he stood tall, the expression on his face furious.
"I have wondered," the young hunter spoke in a whisper,"who it could be that hated me so much that they left me for dead."
He smiled a smile full of sharp teeth.
"I guess I now know." A pause. "Father."
Everyone in the courtyard was quiet, waiting for the answer of the King.
The King stared at the young hunter.
And then laughed.
It was not a joyous laugh, but mocking and hysterical.
"Father?" the King asked. "Father? I am not your Father, boy!"
His frame shook with mirth, but no one else laughed along.
The princess had knelt down next to the prince, pressing a piece of her torn dress against the bleeding wound, and together they stared in horror at the man their Father had become.
"You," the King said, pointing at the young hunter with his sword, "are a bastard. Begotten when my wife laid with a beast."
Gasps ran through the crowd at the revelation.
"I did not curse you. You were a monster from the moment you were born. When I left you for dead in that cave, I did my family a favour. The only mistake I made was that I didn't immediately put you out of your misery!"
He jumped forward, sword ready. The young hunter backed away, blocking the blows like the prince had taught him. But he too, was unable to defend himself against the onslaught of the King's weapon.
Yet the young hunter had another trick at his disposal. He growled, and his teeth sharpened and his eyes glowed yellow. His face grew into a snout, and fur sprouted from his skin.
And the Monster howled, but did not weep. The King backed away in fear, his sword trembling, and the Monster tensed, ready to pounce on the man that had hurt him and his friend.
But before he could, a scream filled the air.
"Stop!"
It was the Queen.
"Stop, please," she begged, approaching the Monster and the King. The Monster growled but waited.
"If you kill him," the Queen said, "you will be a fugitive forever."
The Monster's tail swept back and forth.
"I beg you, do not do this."
The Monster whimpered, but his yellow eyes flashed. Another growl rumbled in his throat, and he bared his teeth, turning back towards the King. His anger was not so easily subdued.
But then a hand trailed through his fur, and rested on his shoulders. The prince collapsed against him, wound still bleeding, and buried his face in his neck.
"Don't kill him," the prince whispered, so only he could hear. "Do not leave me."
The Monster wined in frustration.
"Please," the prince said again. "My Brother."
The Monster's anger deflated, the epithet echoing through his mind.
Brother.
The King laughed again.
"Pathetic. You are not a Monster. Brought down by pleads of women and cowards."
He strode forward, and the prince and Monster tensed.
"You shall be..."
"Father." It was the crown prince who interrupted him. His tone was calm, and his hands were clasped behind his back.
"I think it is time you retire. This kingdom has suffered long enough."
He gestured towards the guards. "Take my Father to his room, please."
"No!" the King protested, shocked at his son's audacity. "I am your King. How dare you-"
But the guards had seen him spiralling, and offered the choice, they would rather stand with the sane crown prince than an insane King. The King was led away, protesting heavily.
"Let's get this dreadful business over with then," the crown prince said. "You better clean yourselves up, Brothers."
He stalked away and started to address the crowd.
But the young prince and the young hunter did not stay to listen. The princess led them to the prince's chambers, where the servants had put refreshments and clean water, and there, the young hunter turned back, taking on his human form
Gently, he and his new found sister tended to the prince's wound.
"From now on, I will protect you," the young hunter said, and the prince smiled widely.
From that moment on, the crown prince ruled the kingdom. They discovered that the King had perpetuated the rumours of the Monster that Howls and Weeps after he had learned of his survival, and had let the kingdom deteriorate in the hope that someone would kill the Monster.
When it did not happen, he first sent his son, and then the knights, to finish the task.
The Queen told her own story, about the man she fell in love with after their oldest daughter had died. How the King had discovered it, and had taken her son away, and that she had believed that he had died.
The young hunter would never truly forgive her for not coming to his aid. But he loved his new found siblings, especially the prince and the princess.
With the crown prince in charge, the prince and the young hunter were free to travel the lands. Every night, the villagers hoped to catch a glimpse of the Prince and the Wolf, the heroes who protected their kingdom.
Ever so slowly, the dark cloud lifted. The kingdom would recover, and return to prosperity again.
And the Prince and the Young Hunter? They lived happily ever after.