The Seventh Curse Bearer

FIVE: The Bribe

I had lived in Cain's mansion for more than two weeks and I was starting to get the vibes that I was unwelcome. The days were pleasant as everyone in the family treated me well. The nights made me ecstatic because I got to spend time with Cain, his brother and sisters, Mariah , even Malacca as it was custom for youngsters to have late evening parties at his Mansion. The morning's were nice as I sat with them at the breakfast table, Practically i was starting to feel like family to them as they addressed me like I'm one of their daughters except for one particular person who seemed to loathe me to the core of her beating heart. The one who made me feel very unwelcome.

One morning as she passed me by, I greeted her. "Morning Mrs Alnilam.!" I smiled at her a bit trying to hide my intimidation and discomfort but she did not reply, she passed me by leaving me unmoved, and simply not shocked as if I had all along expected her all this time to be like this with me. She then stopped midway in the corridor and turned back at me. "It's a good morning isn't it miss Nancy?" She paused and let out a devious smile that sent my stomach twisting in knots. "I can see that you've completely recovered while staying here, your leg..." She stared down at my feet.

"Yes actually my doctor said I have recovered but he insisted i still need more time for my fractures to heal properly, other than that I have been treated well as a guest here!"

"Good,"she nodded. "I'm happy we were perfect hosts for your stay here. I still need to talk to you though ...but where are you off to this morning?" She asked, uninterested.

"Well, I'm off to find a job, you see, I don't mean to be rude or offensive but i was thinking maybe since I've recovered maybe its time for me to think about moving out and go my own way, I mean you have all been so kind to me by giving me a roof over my head and food at the table and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you by over staying."

"Nonsense! She seemed hurt, her ego had been injured, maybe I was wrong about her after all. Maybe she wanted me there but i was an independent woman and I had to retain my independence. "A day ago, didn't you say you consider us family? Did you not just tell me your doctor said you still need more time to complete your recovery and now you're speaking of a job? And do you even have any family in the city were you'll go to ?" She asked.

"Sorry ma'am but..." before I could finish, she interrupted me.

"You'll stay, and nobody ever goes against my decisions, family or guest. How do you expect us to just let a young vulnerable woman go roam the streets alone? Meet me in my office this evening, I have an important things to talk to you about! "

I ruminated on the account and wondered what it was she really wanted of me. The lady was tall and wore her in curls. Large dark and short curls that complemented her elongated face. Her high check bones and lightly slanted eyes were the prominent features on her face. Her skin tone was a tan bronze. She liked to wear expensive leather and fur coats. I decided to not go look for a job but continue on my day.

I wanted a glass of water so I walked in into the kitchen to find Cain with his hands around Mariah's throat while Malacca stood there with a pleasured smile on her face. He stopped choking her as soon as my gasps rang through out the room.

"I walked over to Cain pushing him away and he fell on the stove slightly burning his hands. "Ouch! Nancy , Whats up with you?"

"What are you doing Cain, are you really trying to kill her? What wrong has she done?" I demanded. I was fuming, fuming so much I thought I was going to burst into flames.

"Listen Nancy, please don't interfere in matters that don't concern You!" He seemed angry, angrier than I had seen him before. I shouted at him but he dragged me out side leaving that awful Malacca with Mariah probably intimidating the woman to death.

"You don't know what's going on, Mariah said things I didn't like to my fiance and she had to be punished for it. Okay? She's my wife and I can talk to her how I want to, come!" He dragged me into the kitchen were Malacca stood poking and making fun of her while she gazed down in shame, in pain, in embarrassment and about to burst into tears. I saw the pain in her eyes when she looked at Cain and me as we approached them. "Tell Nancy Mariah, that i love you and that I wasn't hurting you and we were just talking." He gazed at her and she nodded at me and suddenly with a whim of courage , it came out. "He was'nt huting me miss Nancy! You maybe excused!."

How was she being so rude to me when I was being so caring towards her,? She then ran out and Malacca went after her.

"Cain you were literally choking her! There is no excuse for you treat a woman like that!"

"Stay out of this and I don't wanna talk about it.' I followed him outside the kitchen as we argued. "Remember you're just a guest here."

"Guest on not, you can't tell me to not speak up, she.... you're abusing a woman, that's illegal, swear you won't touch her again!" I was so engrossed in reprimanding him that I did not see or feel what I was becoming. For the first time in this life time, my felidae instinct was kicking in. After my rebirth, it seemed to have been forgotten and left behind in a forgotten past, a previous life. Although I had had times were my family was intimidated by my strangeness on full moons due to the fact that I was the offspring of a witch from my previous life, my felidaeness was hidden and had never happened to me I front of them. My palms were now sweating, my veins were hot and blood was rushing through them so much I thought I was going to burst. My muscles were expanding and and contracting at the same time. Suddenly I felt them. Sharp pains that shot through my body reviving memories buried in a past life. Dead memories of the only other fateful night i had become what i truly am in my state of rage. I fell on the ground in a state of fits that he ran towards me trying to help. I stood up. I did not even hear my self growling. I was so loud.

I came to my senses when I saw the fear in Cain's eyes. "Nancy, ahhh calm down, are you ok ?" He was pacing backwards in a stage of panic.

I immediately knew what was happening to me so I ran to my room and locked the door behind me. I gazed at my self in the mirror. My eyes had turned green. My veins were protruding my arms and face, visible through the skin. My teeth were even starting to change, that's why my jaws were deathly aching. My bones were half morphed within me by the time I got to the room. Thank God nobody saw me. I cried in pain struggling to control it while Cain and his sister knocked on my door. "Are you ok Nancy? " They shouted. I could sense apprehension in Cain's voice.

I let our a sigh and I just lay there weaked from the agony as it happened. I got up, i had morphed. I paced towards the full body length mirror and shuddered back in horror and fear. There I stood large and vicious and deadly. A predator. A true felidae. My large dark and intricate spots complemented my yellow skin. My eyes were now a deep and glossy yellow. I was afraid of my self. A leopard? What was this? I guess that's what being a felidae truly was. My father from my previous life had taught me, one had to learn to control it. That one could morph into any felidae/feline animal with an exception of a wolf whenever he/she needed if he or she learned to control it. I did not know they had a spare key to my room. I felt the door being unbolted and i quickly sprinted for the balcony in my room and i jumped out three two stories landing in a tree while they searched for me up stairs. Apparently they were so worried about me they thought I was going to die. I jumped from the tree and gushed into their orchard to hide. The dogs barked and cowered in horror and i paced away from the to draw less attention. When I was found, i was naked lying on the ground in their gardens I was back in my room lying in bed with a doctor examining me. Apparently they thought I had tried to end my life. They were informed that I was fine, with no fractures and nothing to worry about, and also my jump had healed my fractures. 'Of course' I thought to my self me morphing back to human healed my bones completely so this whole animalia thing was not so bad.

Cain stood holding my torn top which a confused look on his face. Later, he bought me tea and snacks as we spoke and he seemed to have forgotten about the whole Mariah incident. He was deeply worried about me. I was weak, my muscles were aching. My head felt heavy but i was still concerned about that morning's incident.

I noticed Cain's sister had been spying on us the whole time. Her name was Nadia. Nadia was a slim and short woman who liked Mariah. Apart from everyone else who tortured the poor woman, Nadia was the only one who showed her kindness. They were friends. I had found out why Mariah was treated so badly and thats why there was bad blood between her family and his. Mariah cooked for the family at times. She cleaned and did all the other chores.

"Long ago before Cain was married to his first deceased wife" she had started.

"Long ago? Like your brother is only twenty four years old." I replied Mariah.

"Well I mean about four years ago when he was twenty, he was set to Marry Malacca but my sister in law, her name was Amira, she black mailed him to marry her at gun point. In front of Malacca." She told me. I was shocked that their ties went back that long.

She told me that after , Cain had no choice but to marry Amira and ditch his long time girlfriend and fiancee Malacca. At that time Malacca fell into a depression that was so bad that she was taken for therapy. She would sleep all day and wouldn't even eat. Two years passed and she was starting to get better. Whilst Cain was stuck in his loveless marriage yearning for his other true half, Malacca. It is said they started having an affair behind Amira's back and on the other hand, Cain was frustrated that she wasn't giving him an heir. Cain's mother approved of Amira because she was just as devious and evil as her. Cain's father on the other hand longed for the day this woman would change for the better, the day she would leave their lives and leave their home a better place because whilest she was there, the place was nightmarish. The whole family ended up frustrated with her and decided Cain was to be bound in marriage to a second wife. She was hurt and possessive and wouldn't allow it, and as selfish and cruel as she was, she manipulated Mariah, her only younger sister into agreeing to marry Cain for the sake of having children. After six months, it is said Cain was starting to fall in love with Mariah and this displeased Amira and even Malacca for their amorous relationship fell apart. Then one day she went out to meet a friend at the airport and she never made it back. An accident had occurred and it claimed her life on the spot. Then Mariah became hated for she was from a poor family, and Cain's mother did not love her because of that and the fact that she was good, she was a virtuous woman who did not dare sin. Whilst his father loved her like his own daughter for this unique quality of hers. Mariah became pregnant and she lost the baby. Cain blamed her for terminating it because she was resentful after her sister's death. That's when he too started to hate her. I cried as Nadia narrated this ordeal to me. It saddened me how she gave all of her to this family that did not care for her. That never even dared to give her a second glance in her time of need.

I decided to make it my mission to unite the two of them. To get Malacca out of the picture because Cain didn't deserve someone like her.

Later that evening, I went to see Mrs Alnilam in his office. "Sit!" She instructed me to do so. I gazed around. Her office was gigantic with a giant bookshelf on the left right next to the wall, an oak table in the middle the furniture was classy and old.

"Yes ma'am!" I did as I was asked.

"Okay so you know why I asked you to come here?" She gazed at me as she sat on the side of her table.

" No ma'am!" I replied.

" Well I see that you and Cain are closely acquainted and i just want to say that my poor son has too much on his plate right now to accommodate another romantic tragedy, so don't mislead him into an affair which he will regret on later. So I am going to give you a job here so you will not go out looking for one and when you are independent then you can think of leaving the mansion." She was bold , upfront and straight forward, she was heartless and kind at the same time. Her soft and cruel words cut deep into my heart like a million tinny blades even though I did not even like Cain in that way.

She stood up and with drew money from her drawer. " Here, three hundred thousand dollars for you to do what I'm going to ask of you to. I want you to seduce Cain so that he falls in love with you and divorces Mariah and I'm also paying you not to fall in love with him back, I know that he doesn't love that fiance of his but i don't care coz I want you to break his heart and leave the mention, then Malacca will come in yo console him and he will end up I love with her. I want Cain to marry the woman of My choice and it's Malacca. She has status. " She gazed at me with a serious look on her face, unblinking and expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry ma'am, i can't do that!" I replied her.

"Did I say you have a choice? I'm telling you not asking you. I've disclosed My plans to you and if you do not take my money, them I'm afraid I will have to eliminate you. If you take the three hundred thousand then you guarantee that my secret motives won't be leaked. " She was scary. I gazed at her intimidatedly as she threatened me. I nodded in agreement. Ofcourse I was going to pretend to carry out the job but i was going to fail at it on purpose because I decided I was going to use my secret to unite them, the witch in me was budding and waiting to blossom in this case to unite two lovers stuck on different paths. The time had come. I paced on the corridor to my room with the money in a large brown leather bag she had given me. I was ruminating on the events to come. How I was going to carry it all out. Firstly I would need to look into Cain and Mariah's past and work on their futures. If I was going to be a witch, i figured I would this curse for good. I would do witch craft to attain goodness. I would never be the spitting image of my mother in my past life. Memories of her were still vivid, how she would stand in front of the cauldron perform g the art of witchcraft in its core, brewing potions and mixing herbs while throwing an insult at me here and there. "Sometimes, you're a good for nothing Nancy! You don't think like your mother, you don't posses the courage to attain what you want, you're too kind and sensitive." She would say. SIhe would hum whilst she went on making potions. I remember her expressions, she looked like ashe was smilling yet she was always serious. She was slim and her dark locks flowdd down her back. I resented mothers probably why mine was taken away from me in my youth and in the next life too before I even knew her.

I took the money out of the bag, my hands shaking profusely and i hid it in a drawer we're no one would ever find it. I was going to buy necessities for my the job was going to carry out.