Chapter 2 2

" Zaraiah, why aren't you with your mates outside?" My mother asked as eleven year old me hid in the bedroom to avoid the story telling night.

" I don't want to listen to the story mama, it's scary" I replied dragging the rag doll my mother made for me to my chest.

" You know it's a law that every child is expected to listen darling, You're also the daughter of a chief, you need to set an example for the other children don't you?" She asked rubbing my cheeks gently as the other hand held the candle tightly.

" You're right, I'm my father's daughter" I replied sniffing. I was scared but I knew I had my little responsibilities even as a child so I smiled gently at her and came down of the bed as she guided me with her hand.

" Don't forget to come back inside as soon as the story is done okay? I'll leave the door open. In case you're looking for me, you know what to do right?" She asked giving me a little lit lantern opening the door for me.

" Yes mama, if I'm looking for you, I'll go to the backyard" I replied looking up at her as she pecked my forehead.

" Be safe okay?" She said closing the door after her to do what she usually did when she was alone.

Pray to the gods.

***

" And the god Ophion, the god of creation and life cursed the young man who had supposedly fallen in love with the goddess Lysandra. It was a taboo for a human and a goddess to fall in love. The worse part of it all was that the god Ophion and the goddess, were married. When Ophion realized that Lysandra snuck out every night to see the human, he was filled with rage and cursed the human with the form of a wolf"

" Why a wolf?" A boy sitting beside me asked. No one had to courage to ask that question but I was very sure that everyone wanted to know the reason why the god Ophion turned the human into a wolf and not another animal.

" According to the Legend, the goddess Lysandra loved every single animal except one. The wolf. You know, my grandmother told me that the goddess wasn't always a goddess" Our village priestess said holding her walking stick tightly as someone changed the lantern that was beside her stool.

Realizing that everyone was engrossed in the story, she continued.

" My grandmother said that the goddess Lysandra was a human that was sick and had been taken to the shrine of the god Ophion. When Ophion looked up on the face of the young woman, he fell in love with her instantly and made a deal with the god of the afterlife,Zephyr."

" What deal?" A girl asked as we nodded in unison. This was the first time I was engrossed in the legend of the beast. We were always told about the part where the beast roamed during the night and why we were always encouraged to go home early but I had never heard this part of the story.

" Ophion made a deal to have the soul of Lysandra instead. Zephyr being a very old friend of Ophion agreed to this deal but under on condition."

" What condition?" I asked before my brain could register it.

" Seems like little Zaraiah is here today. Welcome!" She said with a gentle smile as her eyes focused on the scar beside my throat.

" Zephyr said that he would give the soul of Lysandra to him if in exchange, he promised that no one would know that she was immortal. Excitedly, Ophion agreed to the deal because he knew that no one would come between the two of them. After the deal was struck, Lysandra became better and went back home with her parents. After that day, Lysandra kept on seeing Ophion in her dreams. Confused, she went back to the shrine where the mouthpiece of the gods,Nekro resided. When she was done telling him about her dreams, he told her that she was chosen by Ophion to be his bride and she was also not allowed to marry any human. At first, she didn't care. She knew she wasn't interested in that type of life. Everything went to ruins when she met the human Kaelor. Falling Inlove with him was never the plan but it happened and she told him that the god Ophion turned her into an immortal being because she was his bride. Enraged by the fact that she had broken the deal made by Zephyr and himself, Ophion turned her lover into the beast of the night, the wolf, and took back her immortality. Knowing that Kaelor in his wolf form didn't not recognize his lover, Ophion turned Lysandra back into the frail human and left both of them alone without any aid. Seeing his lover as nothing but a meal, he killed her. When Lysandra's parents saw the body of their daughter in her room, they kept on shouting till the villagers crowded the house and saw the wolf looking at them in confusion and fear."

" So what happened to the wolf?" Another child asked impatiently.

" The mob beat the wolf till the wolf couldn't even move and left a scar across his left eye. Everyone thought that he would die but the part of the curse was that he'd be immortal and alone and when Ophion was ready to forgive him, he'd personally send him a bride. Ever since that time, during the blood moon, the villagers would hear a loud howl full of pain, and since no one wanted their child to marry a beast,they made a rule that everyone is to retire to their various houses and lock their doors before midnight for fear that Kaelor would be impatient and find a bride for himself instead" She concluded as goosebumps began cover my skin.

" How did they know he was human at the end of the day?" A young girl asked as we all turned to her.

" Simple! The mouthpiece of the gods told them everything" She said shrugging.

For an eleven year old, I was in complete awe of the fact that the villagers never checked up on Kaelor even for one day. 'If this was a true story,I wish he had someone by his side' I thought to myself as I laid down in bed later that night.

It seems like I brought everything to reality because here I was, with a man hovering over me that had the exact description of the man they called Kaelor.

" I'm glad your awake my Zara"