His Promised Mate

" That is why you don't what?"

" Come out after 11pm" The children replied with their fear induced voices. Looking at their little faces, some filled with dread and other filled with excitement, I shook my head and chuckled remembering when I was in that position listening to the same folktale over ten years ago.

" Zaraiah!!!" I heard someone shout from the backyard as I was kneeling on a stool looking at the story telling going on outside.

" Yes?" I replied holding the wall so I could come down without hurting myself.

My name is Zaraiah. Just Zaraiah, no surname. In my village, we had a tradition that a person came to the world on their own without any attachment to anyone. That was why in the village, we all had our families, but we only answered our first names. For me, In a formal setting, I was called Zaraiah,child of Ronan and Athelia. Being the only girl and the only daughter of the Village Chief, I was being scrutinized by every single person.

Opening the back door leading to the backyard, I saw my mother boiling some leaves and adding some tree barks into the mixture.

" Yes mother, you called for me" I said walking towards the gazebo where we usually cooked under to avoid the rain.

" It's almost time for dinner and I can't find your Father. I believe that he's in the meeting house with other men. Can you help me inform him that it's time for dinner?" She instructed chanting something to herself pouring the liquid into a small bowl then handing it to me.

Staring at the bowl in her hand, I took a step back because I knew why she was giving it to me.

" I'm not drinking this mother, it's disgusting and I don't see the point of drinking it" I pouted shaking my head sideways.

" You know you have to drink this Zara. It's the night of the blood moon and you know what happens to you at midnight" She said standing up and closing the pot.

" I know but I still have those nightmares" I countered as she touched my cheek with a look of pity.

Everyone in the village knew what happened to me every first day of the month during the blood moon. According to them, I was cursed because my parents prayed to the wrong god while trying to conceive me. Actually, it wasn't only during the blood moon that I had those nightmares. I had them everyday, but during the blood moon, the nightmares became unbearable.

" Just this once, I promise that next month, you won't have to drink the concoction anymore " She said with a small smile putting her forehead on mine as I closed my eyes and nodded. I knew that she just said so for me to take it, but deep down, I knew that she hoped for the day I stopped taking it also.

Looking up at me, she handed the bowl to me and held my left hand tightly in support. Groaning while staring at the greenish liquid, I rose it to my lips and chugged it down with one gulp. After my face made a thousand reactions of disgust, I gave my mother back the bowl and cleaned my mouth with my palm.

" How do you feel?" My mother asked releasing her hand from mine and dropping the bowl on the stool.

" I feel normal" I shrugged as I chuckled in disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was actually indulging in all this.

" You can go and get your father now. It's almost 10pm" She said as I nodded and walked away without uttering a word.

Before I left the house, I went into my room and got my lantern. It was compulsory for everyone in the village to have a personal lantern because they all believed that something roamed around at night and us using the lantern or any form of light, scared it away. After taking my already lit lantern , I left the house and started my stroll to the meeting house which was in the middle of all the houses.

On getting to the house, I peeped into it and saw all the men talking and arguing amongst themselves with my father sitting in front of the audience shaking his head. Knocking on the door, the whole room finally went silent.

" Who is there?" I heard someone ask from inside.

" Zaraiah the daughter of Ronan" I announced waiting for an invite inside. Women weren't allowed into the house but apparently, since I was the daughter of the Chief, I was an extension of my father.

After few seconds, the door opened as I locked eyes with my father who smiled down at me.

" Time for dinner" I whispered as he closed the door after himself.

" We're not done with the meeting yet but I'll come home soon." He whispered back patting my hair gently.

" Okay, Just be safe okay? I'll go home now and let mother know that you'll be on your way soon" I said as he nodded and kissed me on my temple.

" Have you taken your drink?" He asked as I was about to walk away.

" Yes Father, it was as bitter as ever" I replied walking backwards as he shook his head then went back inside. As soon as he shut the door, I sighed as the smile faded from my face.

I was exhausted and I was in pain. Something that my parents never knew was that every night of the blood moon, I had serious headaches all through the day especially when midnight was coming closer. It was as though something was trying to talk to me because I kept on hearing whispers in my head. It was happening again but this time, It wasn't the whispers that meant nothing, I could hear someone calling my name.

Shaking my head, I used one hand to massage my temple while shining the lantern on the floor to avoid stepping on something.

' Zaraiah' I heard the voice whisper again but this time not in my head.

Closing my eyes, I shook it off and kept on walking.

'Why was this stroll taking longer than expected. I was meant to be home by now!' I thought to myself praying that my latern would stay on till I got to the house.

Another thing I didn't tell my parents was that the wick of my lantern burnt out really fast . I didn't see the point of telling them, but now, I regretted it so much because before I could open the lantern to blow on it for it to stay on, It went off leaving me in darkness with no familiar route back home.

' Just breathe, everything is going to be fine' I said feeling faint all of a sudden.

" This can't be happening, not now." I whispered to myself holding a tree for support.

" Somebody help!! Is anyone there?" I shouted as loud as I could hoping that someone could hear me and come to my aid.

Sitting down on the ground and leaning on the tree, I sighed.

' Someone please help me' I said as the air carried my voice to absolutely no one.

Feeling my body weaken, I closed my eyes and began to breathe in a calculated manner.

' Don't be afraid Zara. I'm here to take you home' I heard someone whisper in my ear as I accepted the darkness with just one thing on my mind.

That wasn't the voice of my father or anyone I had heard before.

" 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"

'My Zara'

This person or being just called me by my name. Looking closely at the silhouette figure standing in front of me, I saw a scar on his left eye that seemed as though it divided it into two.

" Kae-" I started trying to control my breathing so I could speak without showing fear but that was basically impossible. If I was lying down in the house of the person I believed this was, that means I was far away from home and no one would ever find me.

" Seems like the village never stopped telling my tale" He said with a surprising hint of tease.

" Are you finding all this funny?" I asked frowning as he dragged a stool and dropped it beside the bed I was lying down on.

" What exactly do you think I'm finding funny hmm?" He countered tilting his head to the side as his black eyes fixated on me.

" You know what they say about you and you still find it amusing? You kidnapped me from my own home! You drugged me! And now you're talking to me like we are old friends?" I exclaimed in utter disbelief. I couldn't believe that he had the right to create a conversation after kidnapping me. I was furious.

" Nope, you got it all wrong. I didn't kidnap you. I also didn't drug you. I've never even seen you face to face in my 200 years of living. However, some years ago, I began to see your face in my dreams. The young daughter of the Chief who was fated to be mine." He started as I stared at him in irritation.

" Are you going crazy because you've been alone for that long?" I asked genuinely, eyeing him from head to toe. He was definitely delusion because there's no way on earth that I, the daughter of Ronan was his so called ' bride'.

" You're not scared of me, are you?" He asked ignoring the question I had thrown at him earlier. Sitting up from the bed, I leaned gently on the wall behind me.

" Do I need to be scared?" I asked genuinely as our eyes locked and he gulped.

" No, You don't have to scared of me, I'll never hurt you" He confessed with a voice that seemed very genuine. Still staring at him, I saw that his black iris had a tint of gold round it.

He was beautiful as he was deadly.

" I want to go home please" I whispered still looking at him. Watching his jaw clench, he closed his eyes, took a breather and opened it again.

" Is that what you want?" He asked standing up from the stool and walking towards a side of the room that had pots filled with plants.

" Yes, that's what I want" I assured him as I supported myself with one hand and stood up.

When he didn't say a word, I continued.

" I have a family back home, my parents are probably really worried and looking for me. Please I beg you" I pleaded as he cut some leaves and wrapped it in a bigger leaf, probably a plantain leaf.

" If that's what you want, then you're free to go" He said walking towards me and standing directly in front of me or should I say hovering, because he was over a feet taller than me.

" But first, take these leaves. They are not poisonous but they are very bitter. They'd help you have a sound sleep without any nightmares or any headaches" He continued stretching his hand as I collected the leaf.

" How did you know about the nightmares and the headaches?" I asked confused. Everyone knew about the nightmares because of how I screamed at night, but nobody including my parents knew about the headache.

" I have no idea" He shrugged looking at anything except me. He was hiding something and he knew that I had that figured out.

Looking at back at him, I realized that the golden ring was back on his iris.

" I just want to let you know that I didn't kidnap you neither did I drug you. You found your way to me. I know it's hard to believe but I was willing to live my life without seeing you in person." He confessed as he rubbed his left eye gently.

" I don't believe you,yes, but I know that you're not the beast that they claim that you are back at home. You didn't hurt me" I replied giving him a small smile.

" I'd never hurt you, but know that I'll hurt anyone that harms you in any way" He said as he walked towards the door opening it for me to walk past.

Not knowing what to say to that confession, I nodded and exited the house as he stood still in the middle of the room.

Looking back at him, I saw that his hands were clenched and his eyes black with no hint of gold.

As the door closed after him, I began to run. I didn't know why I was running but my legs just kept on moving.

Was I really scared to the extent that I hid it perfectly till I left the house?

I didn't think so.

I was just in shock. Anyone would be in shock after what happened. After running for a while, I looked back to see if I could see the house or at least the lights in them but it was to no avail.

Turning towards the direction I was running towards, I realized that I was in front of the tree that stood tall at the entrance of our village. Seeing some figures standing in front of the meeting hall, I increased my pace.

" Zaraiah?" I heard some call out as the others turned towards my direction.

As soon as the were certain that I was the one, they began to run towards me and I walking swiftly till we met in the middle.

" Your parents are so worried about you! Where have you been?" A young man few years older than me asked as they lead me towards my house.

" My lantern went off so I had to wait for help but since no one came, I began to walk towards the village my myself" I lied smoothly hoping that no one caught on.

" We're just glad you're okay. We thought something terrible had happened to you"

" Or maybe the beast of the night stole you away" Another said as they knocked on my house door.

As soon as he said ' beast of the night', I remember Kaelor and how nice he was to me and how he allowed me come back home. Even when I was with him, I wasn't in bondage or anything of that sort.

So no, he wasn't a beast.

Sighing to myself, I held the leaf firmly as the door opened revealing the face of my father and then my mother.

" I'm home" I whispered as they both sniffed and engulfed me in a big hug.

I was home, but why did it feel like something was missing?