The Cursed Luna

Chapter Four

The Curse of a she wolf

'Once upon a full moon in the distant past, there came from the heavens four blinding balls of light.  They hurtled through the sky like shooting stars before they hit the earth with such a force that the ground did quake from the impact.  From the rubble stepped four gods, three brothers and a sister, all ethereally beautiful and possessing of great powers never before known in this world.

The brothers were strong, courageous and fiery, the sister Gracious, Proud and Magical.  The eldest brother Amadeus was a fearsome warrior, crushing his opponents to dust. The second brother Claudius, the bringer of prophesy was able to foretell the future from his mere touch.  The third brother Borneus was the God of healing, able to remove the ailments of others with his hands, and finally their sister Delphine, the youngest sibling, the Goddess of love and commitment, a great sorceress but like all things in life, her magic came with a price.  The siblings were bound to each other with invisible ties, sharing a love for one another unseen before.

 First they incited fear and anger through their presence, the earth dwellers scared by these magical beings that had invaded their land, but the Gods demanded acceptance and respect, ruling over the mortals firmly but fairly, healing the sick, defending the weak and creating mating ties between them that allowed them to develop as a species into mortals that could shift into the form of a wolf.

The four gods relied on each other, their souls entwined and demanded that a palace be built for them, grand and beautiful to reflect their personas.  The palace was built of white marble and adorned with gold and rubies.  Four solid gold thrones were forged, encrusted with precious stones that reflected the suns rays. Each God had a corner of the palace for their own, decorated to their tastes.

Amadeus commanded that his wing be decorated with the skins of the worlds most terrifying beasts as proof of his status as the most feared warrior.  Claudius requested items that would aid his work as a seer, crystal balls, Tarot cards and a staff from the sacred tree beyond the horizon that had been whittled down to fit his hand.  Borneus required a laboratory filled with herbs, apparatus and parts of animals that were considered sacred.

Delphine took her time to decide on her quarters, visiting each of her brothers to see how they had immortalized themselves through their living areas.  Returning to her own section she spoke quietly to the workers, requesting pastel colours that reflected her peaceful nature, delicate wall hangings of romance to encapsulate her status and something that matched each of her brothers tastes so that she could remain close to them even whilst alone.

For many years the the world was led peacefully by the four, the palace was staffed by willing villagers eager to earn the favour of the all powerful Gods.  One day a young girl entered the dining hall where the siblings sat awaiting their luncheon, she placed a plate of food in front of each God before reaching the head of the table where Amadeus sat.  Keeping her eyes down, she muttered 'My Lord' as she placed the bowl of soup in front of him.

Amadeus suddenly found his senses on fire, the scent coming from this human was intoxicating, it filled his heart and soul in a way he had never experienced before.  Grabbing the young girl's arm he forced her to remain next to him as he studied her features.

Barely into her twenties, the young girl had blond hair that fell to her waist in waves, framing her heart shaped face.  Her slender waist was covered in a simple white linen dress.  The young girl remained still her eyes downcast, her nervousness eminating from her body.

'Look at me mortal' whispered Amadeus softly.  The young girl slowly lifted her gaze to meet the God's eyes, the piercing blue of her irises reflecting the light making them seem like pools of water.  'What is your name' he asked

'Eris' she replied before slowly removing her arm from Amadeus' grasp and returning to the kitchen.

Amadeus had been captivated by the young girl's beauty and chased her mercilessly until she was his.  Their love blossomed until they could not bare to be apart.  The warrior God regaled his siblings with how this mortal made him feel, urging them to find their own mate to complete them.

The brothers were intrigued by these feelings that their eldest brother was describing, and began searching for someone who gave them the feelings he described, both eventually finding them amongst the mortals that served them.  Delphine was unhappy with how her brothers were behaving, refusing to look for a mate of her own.  For eternity she had been their female counterpart and now they were shunning her for others.  The unhappiness turned to anger which in turn became jealousy and hatred toward the girl who had taken her brothers, which simmered away beneath the surface.

One day Amadeus called forward his siblings to announce that his beloved was with child and to ask them to bestow upon it a gift worthy of the child of a God.

When the baby was born, Claudius stepped forward and gazed upon the child, a beautiful blond haired  child with a milky complexion.  He placed his hand upon the child and said 'My brother, I can see the child's future, she will be eternally beautiful, her spirit kind and loving.  Her wolf will be as white as snow placing her above all others of her kind.'

Borneus stepped forward and placing his hand on the child stated 'I bestow upon the child the ability to heal herself at an accelerated rate, her body will be tougher than that of her human parentage making her stronger, faster and with acute hearing to warn her of danger coming her way.'

Delphine then walked to the bassinet, staring down at the child, her eyes clouding slightly.  'What can you do for my child sibling?' asked Amadeus.  Slowly Delphine placed her hand on the child, bringing forth her magical powers.  'I bestow upon this child the gift of true love' she said 'She and all others of her kind will have an other half, the second part to their soul that they will know as soon as their eyes meet after they first obtain their ability to call forth their wolf' she said.

Amadeus smiled at his sister 'Thank you my sister, that is truly a blessing'  as Delphine stepped back from the bassinet she whispered to herself 'and the price for her gift will be that her mother will die upon her 5th birthday so that she may never see the gifts given to her offspring'  before turning on her heel and walking away.

The child grew just as beautiful and kind as the Gods had decreed, Amadeus and Eris reveled in their daughter and soon they celebrated her fifth year upon the earth.  Suddenly Eris grew weak, her body slowing, her breath labored.  Still she ran after her daughter but she tired easily, Amadeus called his siblings to his wing begging them to help him.

Claudius stood next to the bed, placing his hand onto Eris' stomach. His eyes darkened with sorrow 'I see an empty chair at the table, a blond child without a mother, I am sorry brother' she said sadly.

Turning to Boreus, Amadeus begged him 'Heal my mate brother, please'  Boreus placed his hand onto Eris' stomach and closed his eyes, willing the illness to leave her body before his face fell dejected.  'I cannot brother' he said sadly 'Your mate is not sick, there is nothing to heal'

Amadeus grabbed his sister's hand 'can you help her sister? use your magic', Delphine removed her hand from his 

'I cannot change what is meant to be brother, this is the cost of true love for your child, the loss of your own true love' she said simply before walking from the room as Amadeus howled in pain behind her.

Eris grew weaker and weaker until her body gave in to the curse upon her, she was buried in the grounds of the palace in a garden filled with roses.  Amadeus mourned his wife, unable to deal with the death of his love, he held on to his grief until his beloved daughter turned 18 and found her own soul mate before using a silver tipped spear and plunging it through his heart ending his life, returning him to his love in the afterlife.

Upon hearing of her brother's demise, Delphine's jealousy converted to grief, unable to live with her guilt she sought out the other two brothers to confess what she had done to Eris.  The brothers anger rolled off them in waves, they banished their sister from the palace to live alone within the wilderness.  Running from their anger she fled into the surrounding forests, hiding herself away from any other life.

Ten years passed when a loud knocking eminanted from the front door of Delphine hovel, opening the door she was faced with her brother Boreus, 'Our Niece is sick' he said, anger and fear evident in his eyes 'I cannot heal her, you need to come back and save her' he said as he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the waiting carriage.

Arriving back at the palace, she was escorted to the wing that had belonged to her brother Amadeus, laying on the queen sized bed was a young blond haired woman, deathly pale, her breathing shallow.

Walking over to the bed, Delphine gazed at her brother 'What is wrong with her?' she whispered, her eyes wide.

'We don't know, she's not ill' replied Boreus 'But she has a female child who turned five last week' 

The colour drained from Delphine's face 'no no no' she whispered 'it was only supposed to take her mother'

'Well it hasn't' growled Boreus 'now fix it!' he demanded

'Her eyes filling with tears, Delphine shook her head 'I can't' she whispered 'all I an do is modify it slightly'

Taking a deep breath she placed her hand onto her nieces body 'The curse that lays upon this child will only come forth when a daughter is born, the price to be paid is that I, her aunt will be unable to leave this life, forced to watch the pain of my actions until a child comes forth who learns the secret to breaking the hex laid upon this family'

She then turned on her heel and fled into the night, never to be seen again.

Future wolves were born to the descendants of Eris, but only the female descendants bore the white wolf and incurred the wrath of the jealous hex that their ancestor had unwittingly lay upon them, their lifeline awaiting the day that one would be born who could rid the curse from them.