The Writer & The Witch
Chapter 10
The Three Sister's Curse
Summary: A/U AH - Three Witch sisters move from Salem, MA to Houston TX where they rent to own the ancestral home of one Edward Cullen. For some reason Edward has a dream about a dark haired beauty that he has yet to meet. Does Bella already have Edward under her spell? What mayhem will the Witch Sisters bring into the lives of Edward, his family and his friends?
Disclaimer: Ms. Meyer started it all. I've borrowed her characters, but this storyline is mine.
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Chapter 10
The Three Sister's Curse
Once upon a time there was a family of witches named Swan, who lived in a small cabin by a lake surrounded with trees in the distant North.
One day a man who belonged to another coven of witches came upon the cabin. The family had hidden their home so well that it was only by accident it had been found. From the feel of the area the stranger knew that more than one witch lived in the cabin. This is the place I have been searching for, the stranger thought. Here I will find a mate. I can feel there are women here and only one man.
All of the inhabitants were out gathering plants and tree barks from which they'd make their concoctions they used to heal the sick. It so happened that today the father returned before any of his three daughters did. It shocked him to see the stranger sitting on a log while looking around.
"Who are you?" Charles Swan asked very suspiciously.
"My name is Paul Lahote and I too am a witch," he replied.
"Please state your business with us."
"I am in search of a woman to be my mate and I was pulled here," Paul stated. Actually what he said was only partly true. He was in search of a mate, but he'd not felt a pull anywhere. He was just wandering around trusting to chance.
Charles Swan was gifted with the ability to read the truth spoken by people and knew instantly that this stranger, Paul, was only telling a partial truth.
"What did you hope to find here Paul?" Charles asked. He wanted to hear more of what this man had to say so he could discover what his real intent with his family was.
Laughing, Paul answered. "A mate. I can feel that you have four women residing here and I want one of them. Simple as that."
Charles bristled. "What makes you think I'll spare one of my women?"
Charles' three daughters entered the clearing where their cabin was located. The moment they stepped into that space they could feel a disturbance in the atmosphere and froze. Paul's back was to them. They could tell by the way their father was standing that there was danger and were just turning when Paul called out.
"Welcome home ladies! Please don't be afraid of me. I mean you no harm."
Their father had other thoughts and he shook his head so the girls took one step back into the trees.
Paul then yelled out turning to face the women. "Stay where you are!"
At that exact moment Renee Swan returned home entering from the opposite direction the daughters had come from and rushed to the side of her husband and mate then looked questioningly at Charles. The feeling of panic passed from Charles to Renee. She didn't hesitate and reached out and touched the stranger.
Surprised Paul asked, "What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?"
Then, Paul felt the power of Renee's gift and was locked in place only able to move his eyes and his mouth to talk.
As soon as the sisters saw their mother touch the stranger they came running to their parents to lend what help they could. Renee held up her hand telling the girls to stay out of the man's line of sight.
"To begin with," Renee said, "I don't know you and my husband was feeling panicked while you were yelling at our daughters. That alone made me suspicious of your intentions. What do you want? How did you find us?"
"I was just wandering through the woods and stumbled upon your clearing and the cabin. I could feel that women lived here, but I could not tell how many. I am in search of a mate. Simple as that. Now, can you unfreeze me, please?"
"I am willing to give you water and something to eat, but that is all I'm willing to part with," Renee told him. "Our daughters are not old enough to be mated."
Charles and Renee together were formidable. Paul knew that as long as the two of them stood joined in thought, or maybe it was emotion, he had no chance of taking one of the daughters with him. He'd take the oldest one even though he hadn't seen any of them yet. "Look I'm sorry I yelled at the girls. I was just so happy that I have finally found females that were unmated, I was over excited. Please forgive me."
Renee touched Paul again on his arm and he felt the ability to move come back slowly. "Thank you. My name is Paul and you are?" He was looking at Renee.
"I am Renee Swan." She motioned for her daughters to come forward then. She introduced them oldest first.
Paul was unable to speak at first when he saw how beautiful the girls were. He knew they were all of marriageable age and wondered why Renee had lied to him.
Rosalie, the eldest was sixteen, followed by Alice almost fourteen, and finally Isabella who was just turning twelve. The two eldest were blonde almost white headed, while the youngest had rich dark brown hair with red highlights. He was pulled toward her and he would have her even if she was not of an age for marriage.
Renee and Charles both knew instantly that it was their Isabella Paul would try to steal. Without any consciousness thought Renee lashed forward with the large white handled knife she used to gather herbs and barks with and pierced one of Pauls lungs. She would have gotten him directly in the heart if he hadn't suspected another attack was coming, only he thought it was coming from Charles.
Paul collapsed onto the ground in agony with blood bubbling up his throat and he felt himself starting to drown in his own blood. It was then he uttered the curse against the Swan family. Charles and Renee would die in agony just as he was. The girls would live, never aging, until they met their own mates. At that time, they would begin to age so that they would be able to know the joy of having love and being loved and then die a natural death. It was not their fault that their parents were going to deny them the gift of love.
The Swan family continued as if nothing had happened after Renee and Charles dragged Paul's body deep into the woods so the animals would take care of the body. There was nothing they could do about the curse that'd been laid upon them. They just knew it would happen. All they could do was try their best to prepare their daughters for when it did. Renee hoped that Isabella would be at least in her twenties so she'd be better able to face her long life. She prayed that all her daughters would be older.
On the evening of Isabella's twenty first birthday, the curse descended upon them in the form of a freak storm with very high winds and drenching rain that broke over the forest.
The rain water soaked the mortar that held the logs to their home together, it became like mush causing the logs to loosen. Since everyone was asleep they had no real warning of what was about to happen. Charles and Renee slept in the loft while the girls slept downstairs. When the wind began, it's howling woke Bella up first. Alice and Rosalie soon followed. They heard the logs starting to shift. Rosalie pushed her younger sisters out into the blinding wind and rain.
Isabella was screaming for their parents to wake up but it was already too late as the logs were starting to crash down onto them crushing them beneath their weight. They did not suffer that night as Paul's curse had intended. They had however had nine years of suffering, worrying about when it would happen and if their daughters would be prepared to continue on without their parents.
The sisters huddled out of the storm as best they could to await its ending so they could look for their parents. As soon as the sun was up, the sisters crept into the wreckage that had been their home and found both of their parents impaled on logs that had once sheltered them from the elements. They looked for anything that they could take with them to build a new home. They couldn't stay here...too many happy memories that were now colored with the death of their parents.
So began the sisters wandering of the world. Seeking whoever it might be that would be their mate, their love, and end the curse of endless life with no richness of love.
They worked their way down south traveling by raft until they came across a tribe of Indians who took them in and revered them as healers and workers of magic. When the chief who'd welcomed them into the tribe died, his son became chief and drove the sisters away because he feared them more than he honored them.
It was then that they came upon the new village of Salem and pleaded that they were orphans whose parents had died when their home was attacked by Indians. They were accepted, but watched constantly by the minister who suspected witchery. Of course, the good minister suspected witchery behind every tree and bush. This time, however, he was correct in his suspicions.
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A/N: My undying thanks to my Beta JoanOfArt; buggins74, AnakinsRealMom, and Gabby1017 who pre-read for me. Wouldn't be able to do this without you! I have a great team helping me bring this weirdness.