Shifting
1315 Words
Alianor
The light had not dawned in the kingdom of the Gargoyles for almost eighteen years. Just because the Princess was not there to light up the hearts of all the subjects.
I thought that this day would be the day that she would make everything better... Ulric and I would change everything by bringing back our Princess home.
“It's almost time, Ulric. Our baby is turning into an adult and she'll come back to us," I told my husband with tears of joy. I had missed her so much. The threats were over, or maybe just dissipated a little, and we were in peace at the moment. No more hunters in sight, and that was a good sign.
But we were still alert. There is that saying 'The calm before the storm' and I was so sure that after my daughter was back to us, they will come back to hunt her down too.
“Yes, my love, it is time. We'll go back to her and bring her home with us" he said, kissing me and wiping the tears from my face. We had to bring our baby back before she turned eighteen, or else they might discover her. We gathered our warriors and found the portal that will take us to her. This kingdom was waiting for their princess.
“Are you ready?" Ulric asked and I nodded.
“I am more than ready to meet our baby girl" I replied, taking his hands and going through the portal with our warriors following behind.
“We are coming, our beautiful Thea" I whispered as we traveled through it. It was time we brought our baby back home.
****
Stella
“This is it, sweetheart. It's almost midnight. Are you ready?" Dad asked me, cupping my cheeks with his hands and kissing me on my forehead. I nodded nervously, but I could not afford to show it. I had to be strong for them. I have heard how these transformations occurred and I was hoping to survive mine.
“I am ready, dad" I replied taking a deep breath and standing in the middle of our basement.
"Remember princess, it will be painful, so hold on and embrace it, don't fight it. It will all be over before you know it," he said once again before letting go of me.
I just stood there for the last ten minutes of my seventeen years. Mom and dad prepared me for this moment. I would discover my beast, but I was afraid of the pain I had to endure. This was going to be the longest wait of my life.
Midnight hit, and the sudden pain in my back was unbearable. I screamed and fell to the floor. I was holding myself with my knees and my hands. My back was ripping apart, as a pair of wings as big as a car appeared.
“Mom, Dad!" I yelled at them, but they just stood there in front of me, staring and waiting. I could see my mom crying on my dad's shoulder. After trying to console her, he kneeled before me, giving me an encouraging smile.
“You can do this sweetheart" He whispered "You can beat this. Be strong" He held my chin and lifted my face up to see him straight in the eyes.
“Please help" I whispered when another painful wave came over me. This time my whole mouth felt like it was being pricked by a bunch of needles and it was painful. I could feel fangs coming out. A big headache came over me as a pair of horns started to emerge. A spark of fire ignited in my hands, and for a moment the shock of it made me forget my pain. My other hand turned into ice, freezing whatever I would touch.
“Aaaahhhhh!!!" I let out a last scream before finally giving into the dark.
Isabel
It was t*****e to see my daughter suffer like that, but I knew we couldn't do anything. We couldn't touch her or help her. This had to happen naturally, and when everything was over, we could take her in our arms. But oh, how hard it was for me to see her like that.
After a lot of screaming and pleading for help, it was over. She fainted, and while she was out, Jack picked her up and put her on a bed we had in a corner of the basement. I was admiring her wings. Beautiful and powerful. The violet color gave it a majestic look.
They covered her whole body as protection if needed. She also had a long and mighty tail. Her hair has turned black with waves falling on her face. Her pointy ears gave her the appearance of a giant fairy. And those horns made her look mysterious and strong.
I checked her eyes, and they had turned into a beautiful lavender color, with some of her hazel color mixed on them. After witnessing what happened with her hands, I touched them and noticed one was cold and the other one was scorching hot.
“I have seen so many of these creatures, but nothing like this one. It must be the royalty blood in her, the wings alone give her away" Jack said while checking her vitals. He covered her with a blanket.
“She's beautiful, Jack. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen. We have to protect her from any harm. I am sure the King and Queen have enemies looking for her. That must be the reason they left her here" I said as I passed my hands through her wings "Who would have thought that we would care for a creature we were meant to hunt down all of our lives".
“She is" he said while getting warm water and a towel "We have to keep her safe and sound until they come back. No harm should come her way"
“Do you think they'll come back? It has been eighteen years and they haven't shown up" I told him, taking the towel from his hand and putting it on her face.
“They will. I am pretty sure by now they have felt her transformation" he replied putting the bowl of water on the table next to the bed "Until then we have to keep her like we have all these years".
At his words, we saw her move. She looked at us like analyzing our figures. We just stood there without saying a single word.
"Hi" we heard her say, breaking the silence "You must be my parents"
“Yes, we are. Who are you?" I asked her.
"My name is Alina, I am Thea's Gargoyle" she replied with a weak smile and tried to stand up, but failed. We held her down. She was really exhausted.
“Thea? Is that our daughter's real name?" I asked curiously.
“Yes, that is her given name by King Ulric and Queen Alianor. They will be coming for her soon. Be ready" she gave us a friendly warning and passed out again.
We sure will. Pretty soon she'll be in danger and until her parents showed up, she was in our care. I just hope no one who means harm shows up first. We covered her with a warm blanket and took turns to keep watching her.
"I am so sorry princess, I wish things were different. But you have to believe we love you a lot. No matter what happens, we are always here for both of you," I said referring to her and Alina. We had another being needing our help. Not just little Stella, or as her true name is, Thea.
Now we had our hands full. We needed to be even more alert and cautious of what's to come next. We were ready.
- Writer
