Obsessions and Fantasmagoria

Introduction


Your name is Erzebeth (the Hungarian name for Elizabeth) and your clan lives very far away from the part of the world that we see in Naruto. Its not the same language, not the same culture. Your clan is a very powerful one and you are considered a genius but you had to pay the price (I'll tell you about that later). The jutsus you master will be detailed during the course of the story but basically lets say your clan is specialized in genjutsus (illusion techniques) dealing with bewitchment, charms, beauty, manipulation. With such a bloodline I suppose you have guessed that you are very beautiful: black butt-length hair, chocolate eyes that are very deep (people tend to focus on them when they see you but you don't know why: after all, brown is quite a common color). You are 23, you have reached the level of jounin (like Kakashi) though levels in your country are not determined the same.

When you were brought up, you were taught the arts of singing, dancing and acting. Until you were 16, you were an awful little girl always laughing at peoples weaknesses, torturing your brothers and sisters, breaking hearts everyday. Those days you found life was so fun because for every evil thing you did, you were blessed. Indeed, the more you lied, the more you tore hearts into pieces, the more power you got. Why would you stop? But one day, you met that guy, Ishtvar, the only one you ever loved and your life became a nightmare.

He was from the same country as you, your parents and his family got on very well together and they didn't see why you two wouldn't marry. Indeed Ishtvar understood you as well as you did and you didn't have to talk in order to communicate: a blink was enough. As every boy you have chosen, he was gorgeous. But something in him made you feel closer than from the other boys you had. You felt safe with him; you felt you could live life as if it were nothing more than a dream. Somehow, this boy just knew how to keep you forever. The cruelest thing in him was that he trusted you entirely. He let you free to do everything you wanted to and it enslaved you all the more to him. How could you ever lie to him, deceive him? It was impossible.

You two married very early, only five months after you met and you were still 16. Your life was still, you were satisfied for a time with cooking, housecleaning and gardening for your husband. He was always very sweet and caring: he told you everyday how much he appreciated what you did for him, how much he loved you and would never cease to. You had to give up your status as a ninja for you had no longer time to deal with such a responsibility. It was the first thing that you missed: the thrill of the hunt, the satisfaction after a successful mission, the threat of death. It filled you with sadness every time you thought that you wouldn't grow stronger anymore. Such a waste of power, such a waste of yourself. But the nindo wasn't the only thing you missed after your marriage. When you and your husband were invited to receptions by friends, there had been one or two men who were so awesome that you felt tears coming in your eyes just at the sight of them. How could you let beauty invade your eyes and then let it go away? What if it were the last time you had the chance to lay your eyes on beauty? What would you do then? Your mother had always told you that your clan was cursed. The more powerful you grow, the more you become a slave to beauty. That was your fate. Those men, they would not always stay quiet and distant, they would often come to you and look deep inside your eyes as if they were trying to tease your soul: Look at what youre missing. 'Suffer little Erzebeth, suffer!'

One day, a friend of yours that was giving a reception asked you to sing that night. You really didn't want to because you thought your husband would not want to see you do such a thing and compromise yourself in public. But on the contrary, he encouraged you to do it for he knew your voice was beautiful enough to satisfy everyone's taste. You had made up your mind to sing a dead can dance song (Yulunga- an Egyptian inspired song). The dress you wore that night suited your beauty to perfection: it was made of golden scales and you wore eye-liner in the Egyptian style. During your performance, you felt something growing inside of you; it was your power as if brought to life and your chakra, begging you to use it. You sang perfectly and you left everyone stupefied. All came to congratulate you but something was wrong: the men really had a strange behavior. Some of them wanted to come and talk to you but just changed their mind at the last second and ran away from you. Others kissed your hand endlessly or whispered words in your ears or wanted to dance with you (in your country, it was bad form to do these things to a married woman). Your husband took you back home immediately but he remained silent. Only the next morning did he manage to speak to you: "I... I don't think you should do that again, Erzebeth."

"Don't worry, Ishtvar, I've already made up my mind. I don't want you to suffer anymore"

After that night you would never be the same, you had felt this lust for power as you sang, so intense, so pitiless. You couldn't live that way. Ishtvar was dragging the power out of you and his love made you numb and robbed your will. All of a sudden, you began to grow angry at him: why did he make you live such a hell? Why couldn't you just live your life as before? Why did he kill everything that was important in your eyes with his love? He robbed your will, your body, your beauty and above all: your time. How long before you grow old and ugly? How long before he wants you to carry his heir? You realized that his love was so loathsome: he loved you for your inner being; he loved you in spite of your physical appearance. His whole love was telling you: I'd love you even if you weren't so beautiful, I'll love you till the end of times when you'll be old and weak.

You couldn't stand the idea that he did not care for your physical appearance. It might seem superficial, but you considered that your true being includes your beauty, your body, your voice and your power. Soon enough, you knew he would no longer feel any desire for you and that would be the end of you. Your desire burns like fire every single minute but it felt like it was another curse in your bloodline for you were the only one to be able to desire so intensely and for such a long time. You were so angry at yourself too for having been so stupid and dropped your guard with him. You have trusted him and you paid: you lost your power, you gave yourself away. That shall never be again. Ishtvar would be your first and last mistake. How could you bring an end to this love? Inside of you, you already knew the answer.


Author's Note: () will be for your storymakers interventions!