Cry Of The Carniave
Two weeks later...
Laura rode through the woods on her brown dappled roan, Freckles. The winter sun shone down on the silent white forest as Freckles cantered down the track in a flurry of hooves. The snow-covered landscape surrounded the rider as though she was in the Artic tundra. It really felt as though she was the only person in the world. It was ironic to imagine that this forest was the place where she was alone and vulnerable against the blizzard.
Suddenly Freckles stared to canter. "Woah Freckles! Take it nice and easy will you?" The roan snorted in reply, gaining momentum as she trotted. Freckles didn't care about walking; she wanted to go as fast as greased lightning. No animals were to be seen, except a few squirrels scurrying amongst the tree trunks. Laura felt the saddle shift underneath her as Freckles finally stopped. And then, she saw him...
He was leaning against a leaf-bare dedicious tree near the forest, his blonde hair hanging around his handsome shaded face. He was wearing a pretty hooded green cloak, the elaborate red decorations sprawling over it.
He was no older than me, yet he caught my eye. He's handsome, I thought dreamily, thinking of all the things we could do together. We could go on a date together. I leapt from the saddle and made my way over to him- only to trip over his leg.
Stupid Laura, I scolded myself, feeling embarrassed by my act. My hands flew up in a manner of shock as I fell over. But fortunately, he caught me in time, grabbing my shoulders. "Oh! I am so sorry, are you alright?" I apologized to the gorgeous boy, concern on my face. He spoke casually, as though this incidence was of no importance. "Yeah, I'm ok." He smiled just once, his mysterious grin lighting up his face like a light bulb. For once I felt comfortable around this boy. Oh, my god. I think I like this guy. I thought. "Call me Jay, you'll meet me around here sometime." continued Jay, he started to walk back towards the forest, the morning sun shining down. I couldn't bear him to leave. I wanted to get to know him first. "WAIT!" I called suddenly.
I turned around, turning around to face the beautiful girl. What could that annoying girl possibly want from me now? I thought. I felt hostile towards her, giving her a remote glare that could have shot darts at her. "What?" I said roughly, hoping the pesky girl would go away. She didn't (drat!). Instead she blushed, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable about being the centre of her attention. I'm not that used to being talked to. I suddenly felt hot underneath the collar and I actually wanted to tell her to get lost. But strangely, I liked her, despite my hostile feelings towards her. I gave in to my emotions. The girl talked friendlily to me, she didn't sound at all afraid of me. But I let her talk about how she got here and I replied her questions with simple answers. Finally she concluded her talk with: "I just met you Jay, and liked you. So I was wondering whether you would like to go to the village fair with me in two weeks time?" By now I realized that I liked her chatty personality. So I said yes, which is unusual for me, since I normally would have said no. So she gave me her address, which she wrote on the sole of my boot, said goodbye to me and rode off with her roan. I couldn't wait to see her again.
On the day of the fair...
"Coming!" I yelled, while brushing my hair vigorously with the comb. I answered the door with the brush all tangled up in my hair, my frock all ruffled and worse of all, two mismatched pairs of stockings. I opened the door in a temper. This was not the ideal date I thought it would be. But if Jay was embarrassed, he didn't show it.
He arrived with a bouquet of wild flowers for me. They were cliché, their striking colours filling up the room. Their petals were like colourful windmills. I was touched by his generosity. Jay was still dressed in his green travelling cloak, but at least he managed to look more handsome and clean. "Hi Jay," I said smoothly.
"Hi there, I managed to look as best as I could for the occasion. But I didn't have time to buy some flowers for you, so I picked them from the forest." He ended on a nervous note, as if not knowing what to say next. He looked upset, so I said hurriedly: "Don't worry Jay, I like those flowers you picked. Really,"
I felt so nervous, standing there with Laura staring at me. I could tell she was trying to make me feel better, but it only made the tension worse. I really wanted to impress her. But with my ordinary green cloak, which was a little dusty from rough travelling, and Laura wearing a splendid grand dress, I could only feel anxiety settling in like a dastardly demon. What if she didn't like the flowers I gave her? What if she thought my cloak was not proper? Turned out she didn't mind my cloak and she liked the flowers, so I relaxed a little.
At the Glade Village Fair...
"Buns; come and get your buns! Fresh from the oven! Get 'em while they're hot!"
"Eels, lovely eels! Delicious when made as kebabs! Bring one home today!" The atmosphere of the fair was hectic and hot, as huge crowds of people from all over town watched the village festivities. Carriages trundled into the village square, the horses panting as they trotted along. Jugglers in fancy costumes juggled to the audience's delight. Shopkeepers yelled, selling all sorts of things from food stalls. Jay and I wandered from stall to stall, trying to find a game we could play. Was I imaging it or was Jay finally loosening up?
Jay turned to me, pointing to a ring toss stall. People were queuing up for the Hoop The Loop game. "Do you want to try the ring toss stall?" he asked me. I noticed people missing the targets and instead hitting the obstacles. The stall keeper looked shifty.
"Sure Jay, but it looks so difficult! Look how many people are losing!"
"Don't worry, I did this millions of times when I was a kid." Jay gestured to the stall keeper, who looked fed up with the crowds.
The stall keeper had slick black hair, dishonest eyes and a mean sneer that looked like a crook's. He was polishing one of the red rings with a dirty cloth. He spat into the rag, a disgusted look on his sallow face. His greasy moustache twitched as he leered at Jay, his figure slouching on the counter.
"Yes? What do you want?" he leered at Jay.
Jay seemed unfazed as he handed the dishonest keeper six shillings. The keeper's beady eyes nearly popped out of his head at the amount of money Jay handed.
"Six rings please." Jay was given six rings, much to the grumbling of the keeper. Jay tossed the rings at the targets, one at a time. Ping! There goes one. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Astonishingly, Jay's accuracy was a perfect score! The keeper could only watch Jay with awe. Jay managed to throw the last one over the target. Ping! People applauded, amazed at his skill. I was impressed too, I cheered for him all the way.
"Wow, oh wow." The keeper gasped, shaking his head. "In all those 19 years I've never seen a better shot than this gentleman here. I positioned the targets so it would be impossible to win, yet this gentleman managed to toss them all! This gentleman must be a master at this."
"Actually, I'm only a beginner." Jay added sheepishly. I felt so proud of Jay at that moment. Jay requested a prize and the keeper handed him a bead necklace. "Laura, I don't think I deserve this prize. If it weren't for your encouragement, I would have lost. But you gave me courage. Therefore, this is for you." Jay said softly. Words flew away from me as I felt pure happiness.
After a whole day of doing stuff at the fair, I changed my mind about Laura. She might have been pesky and annoying in the beginning, but she was the opposite. Then I made the biggest mistake of my entire life. I attended the Dusk Dance. "Let's attend the Dusk Dance Jay." Began Laura, walking hand in hand with me. The Dusk Dance! The world seemed to stand still. I felt fear at what she suggested.
"I can't attend it! I have to go somewhere!" I yelled at poor Laura. She looked puzzled then she began to drag me towards the dance floor. I had to make up an excuse- and fast. People were dancing and enjoying themselves, the folk music shrill.
"Why not Jay?" Laura asked me, concerned. I started to panic, sweat dripping from my face. How could I tell her the truth? She'll never believe me.
Suddenly I had one of those ideas. I stalled, biding my time. Would it work?
"Err... I can't dance really well. I'm terrible at dancing!" I stalled. Laura laughed, her laughter sounded like the tinkle of silver sleigh bells. It was like music to my ears. She pulled me towards the dance even more. The dancers were performing a Morris Dance.
"Don't worry. I'll teach you how to dance. Observe."
Laura stepped gracefully to the rhythm of the music, facing me. She then gave me some ribbons and bells and told me to strap them to my legs. This I did, feeling very foolish indeed. Then she gathered several of her friends, put them in groups of threes, handed us sticks and the folk music began. Step, leap and clash.
As we danced, Laura's friends already seemed to know how to do it, kicking their legs up high in the air and banging their sticks together faster than I could count. Laura instructed me how to do it, lifting up her petticoats every time she leapt. I enjoyed dancing very much, to my surprise. It was easy, once you knew how to do it. Laura gave me a satisfied glance.
The Morris dance ended at sudden climax, everyone stopped dancing for a moment catching his or her breath and laughing. Then they got together as they danced to a slow ballroom ballad. I stared at Laura, who was shyly blushing underneath her makeup.
I took her hand in mine, and as I did, a delightful shiver ran up my back. Her hair was a river of chocolate running down her dress. She smiled, a small but grateful smile. Her lips were rosy peaches. She was so beautiful, I realized. I wanted to reach out and touch her with my hand. Her eyes were shining stars in the night's sky. I felt totally embarrassed again.
"Save the last dance?" I asked Laura, staring into her eyes. It was as if I was spellbound
"Sure Jay," she replied softly.
It was magical, absolutely magical. The everyday world melted away, leaving only Laura and me. I stared into Laura's amber eyes and she did likewise. She gripped me with her attraction. She went closer to me, almost touching me then she reached out and touched my hair, brushing it softly. I wanted her to stop doing it, but the words were caught up in my throat. I could hear her breathing on my shoulder; I liked the sound of the breathing. It sounded like the sigh of the wind. A tingling sensation rushed through me as we danced, matching each rhythm with sound.
"Jay, maybe just to finish off our little date, maybe we could..." Unexpectedly, Laura kissed me on the lips. We were oblivious to everything, even when the nightmare began.
Suddenly I felt the familiar sensation of extreme dizziness, the world seemed to tilt and spin around in circles. I sank to the ground, fearing what was happening to me. Then I realized with a sinking heart that I left it too late. The sun was showing its last rays as it sank below the horizon, darkness rapidly overtaking the light.
"What's wrong Jay?" Laura asked me, a very concerned look on her face.
The transformation was just beginning. I felt something flapping behind me. I touched them. Wings! Feathery wings growing on my shoulder blades! I must have looked like an angel by now! And people could see it in plain view!
People exclaimed in shock as they stopped dancing. I grabbed Laura's hands, only to my horror, to discover that there was white fur growing on my hands! My hands! Every single muscle in my body hurt as I transformed, it was so intense I nearly screamed out in pain! I started shrinking rapidly as my nose and mouth stretched out to form a kind of muzzle. My arms resembled stumps of wood as claws replaced my nails.
Laura looked terrified of what I became, backing away from me as far as she could. I cried out to her, trying to make her understand I didn't want her to leave. She was the only person who ever loved me... "Laura!" I tried to scream out to her. Instead what came out was a low menacing growl...
Oooh