Spellbound
By Maddiemaia
"You don't imagine they could be from Imil, do you?" Kyle pondered aloud within earshot of his wife Dora. Dora sighed, and wiped a spot off of a dish. Not again.
"I don't know, Kyle. These days, folks are coloring their hair all kinds of wild colors. They could be just people posing as healers." She replied, setting thr dish down gently. Kyle anxiously glanced out the window. The cerulean-haired travelers had chosen to camp by the stream, which wasn't more than fifty paces from the cottage in which Dora, Kyle, and their young son Isaac dwelled.
"But they've got infants, Dora. And the infants' hair is not nearly long enough to dye." Kyle edged towards the window, glanced out of it, then quickly jumped away from it. This motion had been repeated since the last full moon, which had been weeks ago. Every day, the same routine. Every day, the same questions. Every day, the same motion. This was, to Dora, quite irritating.
Dora felt something against her leg and jumped. She looked down at her feet to find Isaac rubbing his eyes blearily with one small hand, and tugging at the hem of her apron with the other. She smiled to herself.
"Somebody woke up from his nap!" Dora cooed. At the word 'nap,' Isaac cried out and jumped away, but Dora picked him up and whirled him around in her arms. Isaac laughed, his robin's egg blue eyes sparkling.
"Keep it down, Dora! The Imilians are walking by!" Kyle hissed. Dora rolled her eyes, and set Isaac down in his chair. Isaac kept on giggling. Dora glanced at the stove and picked up a pot.
"Kyle, if you want to eat then you will have to tear your eyes away from the window." Dora said over her shoulder as she poured soup into three bowls. Kyle reluctantly stumbled over to the table and sat down heavily into his wooden chair. Dora sighed, and passed him his soup.
"I just KNOW they're up to something." Kyle growled.
"Then do something about it!" Dora exclaimed. "Gods, Kyle. If I had a lucky medal for every time you've said that, why I could own Tolbi!"
Silence fell heavily over the trio, the candlelight burning and casting flickering shadows across the walls. Dora's eyes gleamed furiously. "I work all day around this house, taking care of OUR son, cleaning OUR house, listening to you babble all day and watching you sit around doing nothing. To hell with the Imilians! Go back to work! We need food! Isaac needs new clothes!"
Kyle slammed his fist down on the table so hard it shook violently. Isaac whimpered, catching the attention of both parents.
"I'll… go back to work tomorrow." Kyle said finally. Dora smiled.
"That's the man I fell in love with." Dora said happily. For the rest of supper, the couple chatted gaily, coversation devoid of any mention of the Imilians, unaware of a lonely, hollow and sunken-in face gazing in at them through the window, long stringy hiding a wicked, crooked, and horribly maniacal smirk.
"I'll get you Isaac, oh heir to Sol…
***Thirteen years later, the Imilians have long since left the town of Vale, their reason for coming still unknown. Our hero, Isaac, is seventeen and is loved by all. All, that is, except…***
"Isaac, must you wear that old rag?" Dora lamented, eyeing Isaac's favorite yellow scarf as he stumbled down the stairs, still seemingly asleep. He dropped into his own chair at the small kitchen table and mumbled a good morning. "Honestly, you men are always expecting to be served-Oh Isaac, did you even glance at your hair?!-Kyle! You're late!" Dora ran off at the mouth with her usual morning speech as Kyle walked down the stairs. "Hurry up and eat!" Dora screeched, slamming a wet looking salad in front of Kyle and a bowl of porridge in front of Isaac.
"Dora dear, what is this?" Kyle pointed dejectedly at his own breakfast.
"Salad. You have been getting older dear, and you need to watch your health." Dora explained. Kyle sighed, and wolfed down the greens obediently, despite the fact that they tasted like the hay right out of a horse's stall. He stood up, kissed Dora and mussed Isaac's hair, and headed off to work.
"Isaac dear, you'll need to fix the roof today. It's got a large hole right near your window." Dora chatised Isaac as she cleared off the table.
"That would explain the draft in my room last night." Isaac said as he stood up and began to scrub his bowl. Dora nodded.
"And you'll need to break up the sod in the back garden, your father's back is bothering him again so he can't do it. And, I want you to bring in the laundry from the clothesline." Dora told Isaac as she bustled around the kitchen. Isaac set down his wooden bowl and picked up a tin cup. "That cold front is coming in from the east, strangely enough. I heard that from the Great Healer yesterday when I was talked to Lady Jerra yesterday just outside the Sanctum." Isaac said, looking out the window at the clear blue sky.
"But our cold fronts always come from due north." Dora said, putting her broom away.
"…East… isn't that where the Imilians reside?" Isaac asked, picking up Kyle's salad plate. Dora shook her head. "Well, northeast more, but yes, mostly east. Imilians… you mean the healers?" Dora replied. Isaac nodded. "They came here, when you were but a child. Had Kyle in a right state…"
"He wouldn't go to work for two whole weeks. And you two argued at supper one night, and then that face…" Isaac whispered. Dora blinked.
"How do you remember all this? And what face?" Dora asked, putting aside her work. Isaac shook his head.
"…Nevermind." He dismissed the subject hastily.
A knock at the door broke the tension. Isaac quickly opened it. "Garet!" He exclaimed, greeting his best friend.
"You've just got to see it, Isaac."
"See what?"
"The travelers! They're wild!"
Jenna Jerra, a pretty young dancer, stepped out front behind Garet's enormous form. "Simply outrageous!" She agreed. Isaac turned around to face Dora.
"You may go, Isaac. But you must be back before midday."
At that, the trio sped off towards the town square.
***
"So, the elemental stars can lift curses?" Alex said to his girlfriend Mia conversationally. They were gathering herbs to create a potion to cure a spreading epidemic. Mia stiffened.
"For the last time, Alex, I don't know." She sighed, her arms full of an herb that, though very powerful, stank like rotting flesh. Wading her way through the tall grass, she marched towards town, eager to get inside by a warm hearth. Alex caught up to her and matched her pace more than easily.
"Just one more question." Alex panted. Mia felt her lungs gasping for air, and took a deep breath, meanwhile holding her nose to block the scent of the herb. They stopped and faced each other, their breath clouding in front of them. "Will you marry me? Please?" Alex whispered. Mia blinked, and turned to continue stumbling and marching through the tall but dead grass.
"Alex, I want to, but… don't you think it's not the best time? Why not wait until springtime?" Mia reasoned. Alex groaned.
"Mia, do you really love them more than me?"
"No! That's not it! I just want everyone to be happy, not just us."
"You care about people too much." Alex said.
"I should think you would, too."
"Alright, I do,"
"Then let's wait."
---
//So, the elemental stars can lift curses?// Alex's own voice ran through his head later that night as he stood in front of the mirror, and shed his clothing. The curse, now visible on his body, had spread. He was just lucky that he lived in a cold area. No one would know, because he wore so much clothing to keep warm.The curse was tearing his soul apart. He needed to find a cure.
"Sorry Mia." He said to her sleeping form as he perfected his plan.