This fanfiction is based mostly off the POTO movie (2004). I readily admit to possessing a very weak spot for Gerard Butler. I have slipped an abundance of movie references in these words; have fun looking for them! I certainly have fun writing them;)
A scream filled the air. It was full of pain and anguish, as if a soul was tearing itself away from a living body. A young gypsy girl, dark hair and bright clothing soaked with sweat, lay on a carelessly made bed. The cold night air crept in, despite the warmth of the fire that crackled nearby.
"Deep breaths," coaxed the matronly woman who held her hand. "Come now, ghel, you can do it."
"I can't!" She gasped. "Make it stop, it hurts!" She groaned and writhed in the sheets, before her body seized up and another shrill scream ripped its way out of her throat.
"You're almost there!" The older woman encouraged her. The girl squeezed her hand again, before raising herself up on her arm to speak hoarsely.
"Where.. where is he?" She sobbed. "He said he'd.. that he would be here-" She broke off at another wave of pain. The other woman waited until it had abated before answering her.
"I'm afraid he won't be coming, child. No one has seen him for hours. But you don't need him, you're doing so well all by yourself!"
The girl's eyes burned with a feverish light. "This babe is his as much as mine! He said he would come!" Her head fell back against the pillow. "He's left me." She whispered. "He promised, and now he's gone. I'm all alone." Her body tensed up again, filled with a pain worse than any before.
"Here it comes, ghel! Push! PUSH!"
With a final wail, the young girl put all of her remaining strength into the final attempt. The sweat mixed with tears and poured down her face as she silently begged someone to end her pain. Soon enough, though, the cries of the girl faded and were replaced by the lusty howls of a newborn.
"It's a boy." The motherly woman smiled at the infant, but the smile soon turned into a horrified gape. "Good God!"
"Give him to me!" The girl cried, stretching out her arms to take him. The woman handed the boy to her quickly, as if he was diseased. The girl held him, and stared at his face. "A monster. I gave life to a devil in human flesh." She shoved him back towards the woman, fear and loathing apparent on her face. "Take him. Take it! I don't want it! Oh, don't let me see it anymore!" She curled up on the bed and sobbed. "He left me alone with this thing. Why would he do this?"
The woman took the child back, and held him silently for a moment. "Ghel, you must still name him. Only you can do it." The girl turned to glare at the tiny infant, who continued to cry shrilly. Her face twisted into an ugly sneer, a madness lit in her eyes.
"It did this. That demon did this to me!" She shrieked. "I name you Amria! You are a curse on all! You will bring nothing but misfortune on those around you! You are the very form of hatred and fear, and I will never love you, you hideous beast!" The cursed words leaving her white lips, the girl fell back to the bed and did not stir again.
The woman felt the girl's neck for a sign of life, but none came. She looked down at the baby, now quiet in her arms. His eyes stared up at her with a profound sadness for someone so young. "Perhaps you really are cursed, Amria. Born into an empty world fatherless, motherless, and bound to strike fear in the hearts of others with just a glance." She shook her head sadly. "Your life will not be an easy one. You must learn to be lonely, or you will become lost in darkness." After she had said this, she found a strip of rough cloth and wrapped it about his face.
"A mask will hide you from the harsh world, child of the wilderness, but not its harsh words. Perhaps a time will come when you will have no need of this mask, when someone will love you for the heart behind it… such a person would truly be an angel."
