Hallooo! chapter 3 starting in Aries POV. now we begin to see the more crazy and unstable side of Karen and why I rated this T for violence against little girls.

Trang Kwon: Thanks! I really like writing the backstories of characters who's background is not entirely covered so that's why I decided to write this story. :3

NoNickNeeded: Yes, I think that's probably the case with Loke's name being created after Karen but I wanted to make him Loke here because it showed his rebellious streak as Karen specifically told him not to go by Loke. to which, as you can see, he paid no heed.
I actually hadn't planned to go as far as Cancer's transition, only to Karen's death and then an epilogue but now that you mention it...hmm. maybe I shall reconsider.

that also brings to mind that I may have lied - we might maybe see a little AriesxLoke later on. this sort of relationship is certainly tempting...but no promises. yet.

anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 3

Aries

"Oh!"

I feel a tight clench in my stomach. As if from far away, a voice calls me. "Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!"

It's her voice and I feel my heart begin to pound even as it is dissolved into light and I'm transported into the human world. I remember what she said to me when we first met two weeks ago:

"Aries. What a…" she pauses to cock her head, pretending to search for the right word, "cute little girl."

She inspects me, rubbing the wool of my crotched sweater between her long fingers. I stand stock-still.

"You made this?"

"Y-yes ma'am." I manage to squeak.

"It makes you look like a half-starved cow." She sneers and walks into the kitchen, returning with a pair of scissors in her hand. Before I know what's happening she rips through the back of my sweater and tears it off of me, exposing the pink tank-top that I wear underneath. She continues to cut through the material.

I can't help it. I feel my eyes filling with tears as I stare at the ribbons she's made of my sweater. It took me several months to get the pattern right. All that work for nothing. But I try to swallow down my tears – it will repair itself once we get back into the Celestial world. That is, if she'll let me take the scraps with me.

"Stop your sniveling, little girl." The woman snarls. Except she doesn't say girl, she says a different word. Which makes me cry even harder. I try in vain to make the tears flow backwards, back where they came from but they just keep rolling down my cheeks.

The woman steps forward and slaps me hard across the left side of my face. "I told you to stop your sniveling!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am." I whisper, wiping my eyes with the heel of my hand. Though my face stings from the blow, I manage to hold in all but three of my tears through the next few minutes.

"Ugh. You are such a drama queen." She stomps her foot in disgust and lights a cigarette. I cough and wave away the smoke, which is not helping with my efforts to stop crying at all. "Honestly, I hate girls like you who cry just to get attention. But I'll have use for you, little miss Aries. Make no mistake, I'll have use for you…" she smiles, and it's not a kind smile, then closes my Gate and I only just manage to gather up the scraps of my sweater before I reappear in my house where I was when she summoned me. It's not till Loke comes to speak with me that I realize she never told me her name or made a contract with me.

Now, she's called me for a second time. This time because she has need of me for a job.

I materialize just in time to feel something whip-like lash my face in the same spot Karen slapped me and I cry out in pain.

"Get up!" Karen, who I realize is standing behind me, unharmed, shoves me in the ribs with her booted foot and I get to my feet, looking around myself. We're in a grassy meadow, facing a man who's right arm is normal to the elbow, then it turns into a snaky purple rope. My face burns just looking at the rope and I realize my eyes are smarting from the pain.

The man raises his arm to strike me again and that's when I realize – Karen is using me as a shield.

The second strike lashes me from the top of my ribs to my hip and Karen frowns.

"Where did you get that?" she's talking about my sweater.

"The material…reforms after it enters the Celestial – ah!" another sting, this time across my legs and my knees buckle underneath me.

"You stupid, lazy sheep!" Karen screams, kicking me again, "Get up and fight back!" one of her kicks catches me hard in the ribs and I cough, winded for a moment.

"Get up, I say! Get up!"

Wearily, I try to stand but the man with the whip has turned his back on us, disgusted. I notice his arm is looking normal.

"Why did you quit?" Karen asks him.

"I will not battle with one who abuses her magic in such a manner." He replies, then turns to look at me. "I'm sorry, little ram. Truly sorry."

"How dare you!" Karen shrieks, shaking her fist, but he's already gone. This leaves me as the only other thing to take out her anger on.

"You! You made him say that, didn't you!" she hisses. I shake my head. I don't have that kind of magic.

"You're despicable! You stupid useless little brat!" I feel the boot against my ribs again.

"Please, ma'am," I gasp, "I didn't–"

"Shut up! Shut up!" she kicks me harder.

Finally, after what seems like hours, she stops. We both are panting, me gasping for air and coughing on the ground, she out of breath. Mercifully, I feel myself being pulled back to the Celestial world. Though how or why I don't… who cares, anyway? It's all fading to black.

Loke

I put my hand on Karen's shoulder as we both watch Aries dissolve into golden light.

"That's enough, Karen." I say. The quietness of my voice displays nothing of the anger I feel raging inside me. How dare she? How dare she?

"What! Leo! How did you get here? I didn't close her gate and I didn't open yours!" she wheels around to face me, still breathing hard.

"I am the most powerful of the Zodiac spirits." My face is hard set as I look down at her. "I can open and close Gates on my own. More importantly, I can overrule your commands of the Gates."

"But that's unheard of!" she exclaims. I look into her eyes, pupils still dilated. She's almost there. Bordering on crazy but hasn't crossed the line yet. "The last time – I closed your Gate and you went back!"

"You caught me off guard that time." I realize I'm pushing up my glasses again without thinking about it. "I can assure you, it won't happen again."

"Why are you here, Leo?" she whispers, searching for the answer on my face. I set my jaw and make my features as icy as I can.

"You will not do that to her. Ever. Again. Do you understand me?" I ask in a low voice. It's all I can do to keep my voice from breaking as I think about Aries. Karen's eyes turn to slits.

"She's under my command, as are you, Leo. I'll do what I want with her, and you can't stop me."

"We'll see about that." I say stonily, and I close my Gate.