Chapter 1- The Girl
Disclaimer: I don't own Okage: Shadow King or any of its characters.
"I am a doting mother, a beautiful wife, and a successful cook! Who doesn't want a piece of me?" The red-headed woman smiled to herself. It was just another normal day in her perfectly normal life. She was cooking a normal dinner, for a normal family, who all led normal lives. Sounds kinda dull, huh?
"Oh! Something smells good!"
A young, blonde-haired girl walked into the kitchen. She was the youngest daughter in the normal family. "So what is it mom?" she asked.
"You'll just have to wait to find out Annie." The mother smiled back.
"Oh come on mom! That's so lame!" Annie snapped back.
Suddenly there was a small creak by the door. The mother and Annie turned around to see none other than the other child in the family.
"Ari! What are you doing waking up so late? You've already slept through breakfast and lunch! Nobody wants to marry a lazy spouse! And how many times have I told you to speak up? You almost gave me a heart attack!" The mother scolded.
"Hey big sis! Do you know what mom's cooking?" Annie asked.
Ari thought about it for a minute. "Soup?" she guessed.
"The answer is:" Mom began. "You'll have to find out tonight!"
"Aw Mom, that was really lame!" Annie sighed.
"I forgot!" Mom gasped. "Can one of you two do me a favor?"
Ari was just about to say that she was busy when Annie butted in.
"Actually mom I have some work to do. I can't let my education go to waste, now can I? I'm sure Ari can do it." She smiled and ran out the door.
"When did she ever care about her education?" Ari thought but didn't say anything.
"Ari, you're such a good girl. Now listen close, I need you to run to the bakery and pick up a loaf of bread for dinner tonight. The cost should be put on my tab. And here's some sukel if you need to get anything while your out. Hurry back." Mom gave Ari one thousand sukel then went back to her cooking. Ari sighed; she so didn't want to do this.
As Ari walked out the front door she saw Annie reading a book. She walked over to her and crossed her arms.
"Where's your work?" she sneered.
Annie shrieked and dropped the book. "Ari! I didn't expect to see you here!"
Ari bent over and picked up the book. She read the title out loud: "Controlling Guys Made Easy. Where did you get this trash?"
"Mom gave it to me for my birthday. The book says I should brush up on my feminine arts while I'm still young." Annie explained.
Ari felt crushed. The only thing she ever got for her birthday from mom was a big breakfast and a hundred sukel.
"I'm going out on a date tonight with Morris. I'll be back a little later than usual so don't worry about me." Annie snatched the book back from Ari. "See ya tonight."
Annie went out the front gate and disappeared behind the corner. Ari groaned. Her little sister was learning how to wrap men around her little finger…great.
Ari slowly went down to the gate. As she began to open the lock she felt a strange breeze go by. A strange chill ran through her body, almost as if to warn her of something. But it went away as soon as it came. Ari shook it off and went out the gate to the village of Tenel.
Ari was by no means a beautiful girl. Cute, yes. Beautiful, no. She had long orange-red hair. On top of it was a large purple head band which restrained her hair from flying in her face. She wore a blue and white striped t-shirt and a black, short-sleeved jacket over that. She had only a hint of a bosom, which was why so many people mistook her for a boy. On her hands were black fingerless gloves and on her legs were khaki pants with a multi-colored design. Around her hips, or lack there of, was a belt that held a sack where she kept her money and whatever else she needed. Add on a pair of black sneakers and you had Ari's favorite outfit.
Ari was unpopular, ignored, and ostracized by most of the boys in the town. She had no luck with winning men's hearts. She had no charms or assets. Ari was as thin as a stick and about as curvy as one too. Even if there was no way that any of the boys in town would like her she still had one chance.
As Ari walked into Tenel she saw a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. There by the gate was none other than Ari's childhood friend Jude. Ari felt her face begin to blush. This was the only guy in Tenel that liked her and she had to make the most of it.
"Hi Jude." Ari smiled. Jude didn't answer.
"Jude?" Ari poked him in the arm.
"Um…er…oh! Hey Ari!" Jude snapped back into reality.
"Hi Jude!" Ari didn't get Jude sometimes.
"Did you hear there's going to be a circus performance tonight?" He asked. Ari shook her head. "Well, there is. Do you want me to ask you out?"
Ari felt butterflies zip around in her stomach. She wanted to scream: YES YES YES! But all that came out was: "Sure."
"Sorry Ari." Jude laughed. "But I already asked out someone else. Maybe you should try to wake up earlier. I promise you a date next time something like this rolls around. And um…I have to talk to you about something but not right now. Tomorrow though. Okay?"
Before Ari could agree he walked off. Ari felt like a 400 pound weight was just thrown on her. Tears welled up in her eyes. How could he do something like this?
Defeated, she trudged off to the bakery. Inside the baker was busy watching her oven. "Excuse me." Ari whispered. She didn't move.
"Excuse me." Ari raised her voice a little. Still no answer.
"EXCUSE ME!" Ari yelled with all her might. The baker spun around.
"Oh Ari! How many times do I have to tell you to speak up? I supposed you're here for that loaf. Well here it is. Tell your mom I said hi." The baker dropped a warm loaf of bread into Ari's hands then went back to watching the oven. Ari walked out the door.
When Ari got back home she saw Annie at the door. "You're late." She was stating the obvious.
"Sorry." Ari mumbled.
"That's alright. The circus doesn't start for another hour anyway. Oh yeah, and Dad found this funky looking bottle today. Why don't you take a look at it?" Annie opened the door for her sister.
Inside the kitchen everyone was sitting down. Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma were all waiting for them. In the center of the table was a funny looking, pink bottle. Ari sat the loaf of bread down and took his seat. Annie did the same. Mom brought out hot soup from the kitchen. "Eat up!" she smiled.
Ari's mind was too preoccupied with the bottle though. She stared at it with all curiosity. Unlike the other trinkets her father brought home, this one looked interesting…if not suspicious.
After everyone was done Dad walked over to Ari. "I want to talk to you for a minute in the basement." He whispered. Ari gave him a confused glance but he didn't notice.
Ari walked down to the dark, dirty basement. She cautiously opened the door. Her father waited patiently inside.
"Ari! Come in. I want to talk to you about this bottle." Dad began holding the pink bottle.
"But Dad the circus is going to start." Ari retorted.
"It'll only take a minute. First off, after much research I have determined that this is none other than Pollock's bottle. Pollock, you see, was a man of myth that existed long ago."
"But Dad…"
"Now legend tells us that if you heat up garlic to about 300 degrees, or was it 500, no it was 300…"
Ari sighed. All she could do was hope that this would end soon.
Two hours later:
"And as you can see this bottle…"
"Dad! I want to go to the circus!" Ari lashed out.
"Oh! I'm sorry. Go on and go. I'll tell you the rest later." Dad nodded.
Ari burst out f the basement and in world record time ran out the front door, past Tenel, and arrived at the circus grounds…only to find the place completely empty.
"Sorry kid, shows over." A voice slurred. Ari turned around to see a pudgy man by the entrance of the circus. By his outfit she could tell he was the ringmaster. Ari groaned and started to walk away.
"Kid! Wait! Come back over here!" the ringmaster yelled. Ari turned back around and walked over to him. She could smell alcohol on his breath.
"Kid I wanted to tell you that you've got a thin shadow. Be very careful, something might just happen to ya." The ringmaster nodded his head and walked off. Ari stood there completely confused. What in God's name was this guy talking about.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Ari jumped. She knew that scream better than anyone. Annie!
Ari dashed from the circus grounds and back to the house. There laid Annie, motionless on the ground. Hovering over top of her was a ghost! Ari stood still, paralyzed by fear. Was Annie…
Suddenly the gate to the house burst open. Out walked Dad with a stick. The ghost ran off. Ari ran over to her sister, she was breathing. That was good. But…
"Ari, go get the doctor." Dad ordered. Ari followed the order and ran into town.
Ari waited helplessly outside of Annie's room. The door opened and the doctor walked out. Ari went in.
Her mother was sobbing into her husband's arms. Grandma was holding tight on to Grandpa. What was going on?
"Mom." Ari whispered.
"Oh Ari it's terrible! It's worse than we could imagine!" Ari felt her stomach begin to tighten.
"Is Annie going to be okay?" Ari asked.
"No. She's not." Mom cried.
"Mom, what's wrong with her?" Ari felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"Ari, Annie's got the Pig Latin Curse!"