Prompt: Wizard Eric turns 18 and his coming of age triggers the werewolf gene he inherited from his deceased father.
Now he is running rampant in the forests out in Amity, terrorizing people, slaughtering animals, and seemingly stuck in his wolf form despite the full moon has passed.
Nobody knows what to do until Johanna remembers the shapeshifter that lives within Abnegation.
She seeks out Natalie and Andrew Prior who lead her to 1359-year-old Beatrice who currently poses as their daughter.
Shapeshifters don't age if they keep shifting so she needs some trusted people that help her hide in plain sight.
Eryk POV (Year 3389)
I chase the fox deep into the forest, knowing, in the end, I will win. How I know that let me tell you, I am a werewolf, plain and simple and I get what I want.
I focus all my strength on the act of chasing the prey and within moments, I am munching on a fox! I said I'd get what I want.
"Eryk!" a woman shrieks and I turn to look at her. Johanna Reyes doesn't look too thrilled at the sight of my silver coat covered in fox blood and the best part is, she gives me a disgusted look for still chewing on foxtail. I spit it out and walk towards her with my tail between my legs.
"What part of 'don't act like a damn wolf' do you not understand?"
'The part where you keep forgetting I am stuck in this god-forsaken body for who knows how long since my eighteenth' is what I say but all that comes out of my mouth is a long series of grunts. This is the worst part, no one understands the shit I am spouting for them! What a waste of words!
"That's it! It's been six months! Six fucking months of you running rampant and killing every warm-blooded creature in the forest and terrorizing my people, I will not tolerate this!" Johanna grits out. Holy shit! I never knew Johanna Reyes could get mad. Fuck! She's glaring daggers at me with her good eye and damn if I don't cower a little.
'What are you gonna do about it?' and she rolls her eyes. Not my fault you don't understand me, forest lady!
"You," she points at me and I snort but quickly bite my tongue at her murderous expression. I managed to piss off the calmest, most peaceful human in history, lovely!
"Follow me, Eryk, and stay inside my fuckin room. I am going to do extensive research during which I will not be leading my tribe. If I hear one word about your disobedience, I swear I will curse you to become a stinky goat for life!" that sobers me up. No matter how much I dislike being stuck in a werewolf form and not being able to do shit about it, I will feel so much worse if she actually followed through with her threat.
I am most aware of how magic works. Maybe she is a witch, for real. Needless to say, I don't want to give her a reason to transform me into something ugly and stinky, thank you very much.
It's two days later that I see a beaming Johanna walking towards me.
"Eryk!" she exclaims happily. Is she high on peace serum?
"I finally know who can help you," at this, my ears perk up, literally and I give her my full attention. She must've realized I am listening as she starts speaking again.
"There's a shapeshifter that is currently living in the Abnegation sector. She's wise beyond her years which is saying something as she is 1359 years old currently. I will have to contact her and I know that she can help, she is Abnegation after all!" Johanna claps her hands.
Why haven't I ever heard about this 'shapeshifter'? I was a wizard for four years and there is no way such information did not reach me. Maybe there was a reason, or it could be the fact I was clueless as a baby about the existence of such a mystical entity living among us.
Nonetheless, she may be able to help. Wait, it's a she?
I am too lost in thought to remember making the trek to the Amity jeep where Johanna climbs in and starts driving towards Abnegation with me following close behind. 'This will be one long walk.' I snort to myself. She didn't even offer me a ride!
It takes us half a day to reach the Abnegation sector since the Amity woods are at the farthest edge of Chicago and Abnegation is at the opposite side.
A man with dark hair (and white smattering near his temples) and stunning blue eyes meet us there. I feel like I should know him but I can't remember who he is. I stay a little behind to give them privacy, or some semblance of it because who am I kidding, I can hear them even after sitting five feet away.
"Marcus, a pleasure as always," Johanna smiles widely and I want to facepalm. Did we come here so the oldies can flirt?
I sit back and try to relax, having to sprint all the way, even as a wolf, was tiring and I need my strength.
After a while of chatting and flirting, Johanna walks towards me with still flushed cheeks and I roll my eyes. Fucking lovey-dovey shit! I just have to get back in my wizard form so I can eliminate the threats to my existence, Johanna Reyes and the she-shapeshifter. It makes me evil but I don't give a flying fuck, I don't want my powers to be overruled by anyone!
She motions me to follow her and I walk behind her like a fucking loyal puppy.
Johanna knocks on door number twenty-four and a young girl opens it. She's blond with pretty blue eyes and the figure of a twelve-year-old. Maybe she is twelve.
Her eyes flash towards me and she gives me a huge smile. Do I look like your fuckin lost puppy, kid?
"Miss Reyes," she nods, "Coulter Eryk, come on in." How the fuck does she know my name?
I want to ask but I am pretty sure she won't understand so I bite my tongue and follow Johanna inside.
To say the house is big is an understatement. The house is humongous! We are led to the biggest room I have ever seen which seems to look like a library with tons of organized books. My mouth waters at all the knowledge stuffed here.
"Sit, sit," she points Johanna to a couch and me to a rug. I frown and sit on it but the old piece of shit is so very comfortable I want to stay on it forever. I must've made some sort of content sound because she laughs lightly and scratches behind my ears.
Shit! Feels so goooood. But I remember I am not her pet hound and glare at her and she pulls her hand away and sits on a chair in front of us.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Betrys, the immortal shapeshifter. I have been on this earth for 1359 years now. How may I be of service?" She even sounds like a character from a black and white movie! I snort and she looks at me sharply.
"Betrys, this is, as you already know, Eryk Coulter. He was a wizard for four years until his eighteenth birthday which was on a full moon. He transformed into a werewolf but hasn't been able to change back for the last six months. Since Eryk can't communicate with us or do anything by himself to change again, we need your help," Johanna states, and Betrys nods.
"I see. I will have to do some digging first. You both are welcome to eat and retire for the night. I will meet you in the morning and we'll see where to go from there," she says and nods towards the door.
Bitch did not dismiss me! I will turn her into a small-sized monkey whose hands are stuck to its ass!
I recite the spell under my breath but nothing happens and the two women look at me dumbly. Fuck!
I hang my head in defeat. I have to accept I need this runt's help so I better do as she says. For now.
I follow Johanna to another room but not before I drag my plush rug with me. Behind me, I hear a giggle but I don't give a fuck. I position it beside Johanna's bed and curl on it, falling asleep within minutes.
I wake up to my belly getting rubbed and I let out a happy bark. The rubbing stops and I whine pathetically but open my eyes and it's like getting a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. I get up quickly and glare at Betrys who smiles at me and motions to the door. I follow her without noise.
As soon as the door to the magnificent library closes, she turns to look at me with a coy smile.
"I found something!" she exclaims and I roll my eyes, she narrows hers at me.
"You have something to say, wolfie?" she asks, immediately shifting into a sandy-colored wolf and staring at me. Fuck! I believe her, she's a shapeshifter.
'No', I grunt, shaking my head and she turns, and struts away, while I peek at her backside. She transforms into her human form once again and beckons to me.
"So, I spent the night researching but I didn't find anything entirely like your case. However, there have been some rare cases in mythical creatures' history that I heard of and according to them, we have to go to 'the center of the earth'. There's a magical pond there and if you manage to reach it and take a swim, you can return to your human form. I don't know how effective that would be with your reputation as an evil wizard, Eryk, but I guess it's worth a try." she shrugs.
Then she transforms into the gorgeous sandy wolf again and sits beside me, nudging me with her nose.
'Did anyone ever turn back?' I ask but I am unsure of how much she understood.
"All I got was 'how' and 'turn back', so I am going to assume you asked how many were successful," she looks at me and I am surprised she can still speak like a human in wolf form.
"Yeah, I was born human so I can speak like a human no matter what form I take. But when I transform, I can understand the creatures of the breed I changed into,"
I tilt my head towards the book and she seems to get the hint.
"I don't want to dishearten you since we don't know if this would work or not but, sadly, none of them ever came back, in one piece that is." she shakes her head and I feel an unpleasant shiver down my spine.
"There were four of them, they successfully transformed into humans, one of them didn't come back, one turned up dead without his head, the third was mauled beyond recognition but found near his home so we assume it's him and the fourth was a literal walking dead, his gizzards were missing," and I feel myself whine pathetically. Shit! This is bad. Not only are we uncertain this will work but the odds were never in their favours. Will they be in mine?
"I can guide you where you can dig in with your claws and can go underneath but after that, I can only wish you luck and hope you make it out, Eryk," she says, her tone sad.
She nuzzles my neck and puts her head against it. Why is she being so touchy-feely? And why did she sound...sad?
She transforms back and starts scribbling something. Then she moves her head up so fast I am surprised she hasn't broken her neck.
"I wish I were a wizard, Eryk, I could've been so much more helpful. But I have a charm. My birth mother, who was a witch, gave it to me. It will guide you but I am afraid that's all it can do. But, I will help out as much as I can." I nod and oddly enough, I sit by her feet, trying to soak up the last ounce of familiarity.
She is a magical creature and by default, I am attracted to her. That doesn't stop me from wanting to absorb her magic, study it and use it for my selfish reasons.
"I will lead you to the softened grounds, that's what we call the place where they all start, and I can guide you one last time tomorrow. Until then, you rest and think, maybe you can come up with another way, wizard boy," she says with a soft smile and my heart skips a beat.
What the fuck was that! A hand starts stroking my head and I nuzzle into it, falling asleep again.
She's the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, is the first thought that comes to me as I see the blond beauty sitting beside a pond. Her hair is long and wavy and touches her hips, her eyes, a beautiful shade of cerulean blue that seems to pull me towards them. But there's a certain sadness in them that makes me sad in turn.
She gives me a sad smile and her pink pouty lips move and I struggle to hear what she has to say.
The sound comes from all around us.
"You can't break the curse, Eryk, no matter how hard I try, you will never be mine,"
And I look back at her and see myself holding her, her heart ripped out and beating in my bloody hand, her eyes glassy as she takes her last breaths.
"You will never be mine," and I scream and howl because I just saw myself kill the only woman I have ever loved and I couldn't do shit about it. I curse myself for taking her away from me. I cry and howl in agony until darkness consumes me.
I wake up with a start and feel someone stroking behind my ears. I try to take deep breaths but the dream, the nightmare won't leave me alone and my cold grey eyes are imprinted in my mind. Why, why did I kill my beloved?
"Did you sleep alright?" I look up and Betrys looks at me, concerned.
I grunt and she sighs and gets up. She comes back and brings me a big bowl full of cooked meats and I can smell beef and something else I don't recognize.
"It will give you strength which will possibly last for a few days. But after that, you'll have to sustain yourself or they'll kill you too." I nod and eat the surprisingly delicious food and she watches me as she eats a sandwich.
We bid goodbye, or she does anyway, to everyone and Johanna wishes me luck. She shifts into her wolf form and we both run off, her in the lead.
We run for hours and she leads me through the forest of Amity and out of the woods. She grunts at me condescendingly every time I try to find a snack. We stop for a drink and rest beside a lake and she curls on the ground. I decide to relax for a while too, who knows how far our destination is.
It takes us a day, including our rest, to reach the softened grounds. It's dug through and looks like a coal mine. Betrys leads me inside and we slow our pace down a bit.
I look around and find nothing of importance and Beatrys decides to transform back.
She takes off a necklace I didn't notice she was wearing. It looks like a small glass bottle with a grey pearl that is surrounded by translucent yellow liquid.
She puts it around my neck and looks me in the eye.
"This will guide you, as it did me for many centuries. The colour of the liquid indicates how safe you are. The neutral yellow means you are safe, orange means you are approaching dangerous territory, red means some creature nearby is gonna try to harm you and if it turns bright golden, it means you're in deep shit. Don't ignore its warnings. Remember Eryk, you must not lose your cool, no matter what, and keep in mind what your goal is. If you stray, you may become lost or you'll lead yourself to your own grave." she instructs.
For the first time, I really wished I was able to speak to her so I could thank her. She smiles sadly at me.
"It will not be easy. All I know is that the cave that will lead you to the pond will be like a maze for the mind. It will try to lead you astray but you must remember what you want. It will tempt you and confuse you but trust your gut and you'll be fine," she says, stroking my fur, and all of a sudden, she lets out a sob and buries her face in my neck.
I hear words like, 'I don't know how he does it' and 'I don't want to' but none of it makes sense.
She finally moves her head and looks me in the eyes and her glassy eyes seem so familiar.
I lick her cheek and nuzzle her neck, trying to put my gratitude in my actions and she plants a kiss between my eyes.
"Go now, my darling, I will see you on the other side,"
Her words confuse me but I walk inside the cave and don't look back.
It seems the cave is sloping downwards. Each step pulls me further and further under the earth and the temperature, which I expected to become hotter, is becoming cooler and by the time I am standing on level ground, even my wolf coat can't stop me from shuddering.
The air is still. There is no noise and no trace of anyone being here. I look down and the charm is blissfully yellow and decide to stop for a while.
I look around and everything is dark but not dark enough that I can't see. Everything is carved out perfectly. There is no hint of footsteps or rubble or really anything except walls and the ground. I look up and nearly jump.
I am met with my own grey eyes staring intently at me. It takes me a moment to realize it's a big diamond of sorts and is showing my reflection. I snort at my irrational fear. Why am I scared again?
I sit for a long moment of time and think about nothing and everything. I think of my life before my eighteenth birthday. How I used to make my own spells and how I usually used my magical talent for selfish reasons like acquiring more wealth and killing off people who offended me without wanting to.
I think of all the shit that happened since I turned into a werewolf and I think of her. Betrys. If she is indeed, 1359 years old, I am well aware she doesn't look like the twelve-year-old blond she poses as. What does she look like in her real form? Is she beautiful or looks like an old lady? If she's immortal, when did she stop aging?
And then I remember the tenderness in her eyes when she would look at me, the small smiles, the belly rubs, and nuzzles. I remember seeing her teary-eyed when I was about to go in. But for the life of me, I can't figure her out.
I start walking again and lose track of time until the charm glows red and I look around, trying to gauge where the trouble may be coming from and in what form.
Suddenly, I hear hissing. Eric! Eric! Eriiiiicc!
It's coming from everywhere and then I see eyes, they're glowing in the dark and there are too many. They're everywhere and I know why those people turned up as they did.
And then I can see them. They're hideous creatures, half men and half lizards. With human bodies and lizard heads and tails and I can't get away fast enough. I try to jump and run and I try to fight but I am one werewolf and as much as I tear into them and kill them, more and more appear out of nowhere, chanting my name and pulling my limbs until everything goes silent and then darkness surrounds me.
I wake up with throbbing in my limbs and head but it's not too bad, so I move on. The charm is yellow again and I roll my eyes. If only I were in my human form, I'd have torn them all apart, limb by limb with my spells.
I walk and a long while later my body begins to ache and I curl onto the ground and rest, hoping no weird creatures try to kill me so I can continue my journey.
But, when is luck on my side? The charm glows bright golden and before I know it, the ground has opened up and lava is pouring out, rushing towards me. The path I came from is immediately covered in lava and I have no choice but to run further at top speed.
The lava seems to be gaining in on me and I can feel my body giving out, too pained and tired to do shit.
I gather all the strength I have and take a leap, landing on a huge boulder perched near the ceiling. I take a deep breath and sit. The lava rages for a couple of long moments and then with a blink, it's gone. Vanished and everything looks as if it was never here.
And then there's silence and I rest my head on the rock and relax my body.
I assume it's been an hour or more when I hear it. Low rumbling sound that seems to be approaching and I realize the charm never stopped glowing golden!
I jump and make a run for an opening that I hadn't seen before and look back once. It was a big mistake and I can see thick fog, right at my tail and it seems to be chasing me deeper inside the cave. Is this why they never make it back alive?
It touches my tail and I yelp, the burning spreading from my tail to my backbone and I push myself further and further until I reach a small opening.
There are trees there and light and I didn't know how tired my eyes had become due to the dark but now I feel it. The light is a welcome relief.
I look back and see nothing, no path from where I came and no mist. I slow my pace and walk. I hunt and feast on a turkey and I find a small stream of water and I drink to my heart's content.
I turn in for the night, which due to the slowly darkening sky seems to be right now, and try to sleep.
A million thoughts rush through my brain and I imagine if I had been a shapeshifter if I could become cold water and cool off the lava. Could I have become something to cancel the effects of the mist? Can Beatrice do anything of that sort?
I close my eyes and see a familiar yet unknown scene. I am crying over a small body that turns into ash and floats away with the wind.
I fall asleep to thoughts of a life with a blue-eyed woman, a life which I know will never be mine.
I have been walking for what seems like hours now. After I left the forest (not before eating and drinking more), I haven't encountered any sort of danger yet. The atmosphere is very cold now but I think the only reason I haven't frozen to death is that I keep moving or maybe it's because I am a werewolf?
No matter, I feel like I have been sent on a fool's errand. There's nothing here and I start to feel ridiculous. Did Betrys tell me all this to make me look like an idiot? Come to think of it, she did know my name and what I used to do.
I look down and notice the charm glowing orange and I slow my pace, trying hard not to warrant something or someone's wrath.
All of a sudden, the ground moves and moves and starts shaking violently, like an earthquake. I lose footing fairly fast and wonder if this will be the end.
I am thrown around roughly and then when I am shaken and thrown once again, my body doesn't touch anything. I am weightless and I am falling and the thing I hate the most is the unknown, where I seem to be heading at a breakneck speed.
I shut my eyes tightly and wish I had my magic, wish I could save myself from something that actually poses danger to my well-being. But I am not and I can't.
I fall down and hit my head hard and the last thought I have in mind is 'Betrys' then I blackout.
' I know you want me
So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied
You claim it's not in the cards
And fate is pullin' you miles away
And out of reach from me
But you're here in my heart
So who can stop me if I decide
That you're my destiny?'
The sound of a familiar male voice singing brings me back towards consciousness and before I open my eyes, I feel bright light against my eyelids. It takes all my energy but I finally peel my eyes open and my mouth drops at the sight.
There may be a million bright squares, flashing with images and producing sound. I focus on one, where the singing voice is coming from, and what I see shocks me.
'No one can rewrite the stars
How can you say you'll be mine?
Everything keeps us apart
And I'm not the one you were meant to find
It's not up to you
It's not up to me
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
Say that the world can be ours
Tonight'
The female voice is familiar, too familiar and who am I kidding, the guy is me, fucking ME in my human form. I seem to be wearing a very expensive-looking suit and the girl I am dancing with is wearing a skimpy black dress.
I walk while I keep looking at the wall of pictures and familiarity gives way to memory.
I remember the girl, Beatris, who looks like a blond fucking goddess with her long wavy hair beautiful blue eyes.
I remember being a part of what I am witnessing, remember being a wealthy and successful businessman. I remember asking Beatris for help and remember that she was a prostitute. We fell in love against all odds and I was so close to getting her and myself away from this lifestyle. I wanted to leave the corporate world behind and whisk the blond away so we could have our happily ever after.
But fate didn't want that and on the day we were moving far far away, I had to go for a business meeting, my last one. When I came back, I saw my Beatris on my bed, getting raped by the old man who had always been my business competitor.
He snapped the crying girl's neck in throes of passion and I was fucking stuck, unable to do anything but watch my sweet Beatris take her last breaths on my bed.
I look at the wall again and see myself, looking at the now-empty bed where she was killed and drinking, and drinking and drinking. And then, I see myself drink one last time and fall asleep, never to wake up again.
I howl in agony, for Beatris and for myself. I wish I had killed that bastard but I didn't. I just killed myself.
I turn away and look at the other wall where I see myself, once again. This time, I am a knight of lower ranking.
I see myself admire the princess and fantasize about her beauty. I watch as princess Bella Beatrix smiles at me. I see us meet in secret and fall in love and I see us run away only to be found and stoned.
My love dies in my arms and in her last moments tells me 'I love you Aeric, never forget' and I remember crying over her body until I myself was killed by a particularly heavy stone against my temple.
By now the tears won't stop. I see a lot. And in each lost memory, I see the same blond girl die and then myself dying soon after. Were we destined to not have a life together?
I keep moving and getting lost in memories that were forgotten for so long.
I see myself sitting beside a hospital bed, holding the dead body of my step-sister, the only girl I ever loved. I remember not noticing how sick she looked, ultimately losing her to breast cancer. She died early on, so she never lost her beauty and in the end, I died too, mourning her and poisoning myself.
I see myself with a pistol trained over her, the look in her eyes is so painful, so heartbroken. She fell in love and never questioned me all the while I was sent to kill her. She was my latest assignment. But, I fell in love with her and knew I was in too deep and couldn't protect her. But, her eyes made me waver and instead of pulling the trigger, I threw the gun down and pulled her in my arms.
Kissing her and telling her how much I loved her, telling her everything about being an assassin. Ultimately, I lost her to another assassin who shot her point-blank and fled, his words haunted me, 'you think you're so smart. Well, lover boy, we don't take too well to deserters.' I couldn't live with myself and pulled out a knife, stabbing myself in my broken heart and following her into nothingness.
More and more memories appear on the walls and manifest themselves in my mind. Each of them, a painful reminder of how I seemingly lost the same girl over and over again.
But then the path I was walking on comes to an end at one large screen and I gasp.
There's nowhere to go and wherever I turn, the same memory is being shown. I give up and watch.
I watch a memory that happened 1340 years ago.
I watch our society that was made up of five factions. I saw myself participating in the divergent hunt. How I was groomed as a perfect lackey for Jeanine Matthews.
I see the blond girl, Beatrice, Tris as she falls into the net. I witness myself falling in love with the Abnegation transfer. I remember the shy kisses and wandering hands, how we confessed our love for one another. I see us elope in Max's office. We made love for the first time and went for it many times that night.
I remember Jeanine's plan progressing and how I found out about my wife's divergence. I told her I won't turn her in and she begged me to try and stop the impending war. I replied harshly 'I won't give up everything I worked for you wife. We are star-crossed lovers, a love like ours isn't destined to last.' I see the pain and heartbreak in her eyes and I also realize that she wanted to tell me something but never did as I told her that 'I will finalize divorce after the dust settles, you and I are no longer together.'
The war was every bit bloody as the Abnegation were killed and Jeanine killed anyone who tried to rebel. I see her rushing towards me, saving my life as some idiot shoots. I look her over as I see multiple shots over her body. I remember seeing life leave her eyes as she said her final words to me. 'We're the star- crossed -cough- lovers. A love like ours was never destined to last.' and she's gone.
I cried, I cried for being a stupid idiot for letting her go. I resent myself for not listening to her. And when I hug her body, I notice her slightly swollen belly. And I cry harder, loud ugly sobs as I realize what she wanted to tell me the day I broke her heart.
I beg her to stay with me, plead with our unborn child to not let go. But she turns to ash and floats away, leaving me with a small, underdeveloped fetus. Our baby. And then the baby follows its mother, turning into ash and leaving me truly and utterly alone.
I wished I were a wizard but never knew I had the wizard genes. Never knew how true the words I utter could be.
'we were star-crossed lovers. A love like ours was never destined to last. You'll never be mine and I will lose you a hundred times over just to feel this pain again so I would know, know that I would never deserve you, my love.'
I cursed myself and never knew the weight of my actions. I helped rebuild Chicago and the factions and died at the place I held her in my arms for the last time.
And then everything goes dark and I stumble, tears streaking down my eyes as I remember the horrors of losing her so many times that I lost count. I cry and howl and hurl insults at myself for cursing me like I did. For making me suffer over and over again.
I finally see some light and walk towards it and…
The pond is full of water with some water lilies floating around. The sparkling water beckons to me and I allow myself to walk towards it and look in the water.
I see a reflection of myself, my human wizard self. I jump in.
For a few blissful moments, there's no sound and I sink deeper and deeper in the magical body of water.
And then the torture begins as I hear her laughter, her terrible jokes. I open my eyes and am once again assaulted by those memories but this time, they chase after me in the form of a glowing ball. I swim away but am too slow and am hit.
I hear the sound of cracking bones and feel pain, unbearable agony and I scream out. The sound starts as a pained howl of a wolf and ultimately quietens down into a human's whimpering.
I feel myself being pulled out and gasp and sputter.
A soft hand caresses my face tenderly, stroking my hair away from my face and I finally open my eyes.
I jump up and slip back again because holy shit! It's her. It's my Tris. and she's sitting in front of me with a sad smile.
How many times in all my lifetimes have I wished for this. For one more kiss, one more word, one more glance. One more…
"Tris," I sputter as I pull her in my arms, not caring that I soak her clothes with my own drenched ones.
"Tris," I cry out as she pulls away from me and this time, the tears don't stop.
I cry for all the pain and heartbreak I went through when I cursed myself. I cry for the twenty-two-year-old who lost his wife and child due to his foolishness. I cry for the assassin who fell in love, for the step-brother who was too blind to notice, for the knight who couldn't have his princess. I cry because we're the star-crossed lovers and a love like ours could never last.
She lets me squeeze the life out of her and rubs my back soothingly.
"Shh, Eric, shh," she speaks softly, her voice soothing me a little but not nearly enough.
"It's okay, Eric. I am here, we're both alright."
"How?" I manage to ask, my throat raw from all the crying and she smiles softly.
"My mother was a witch and for some reason, I was born a shape-shifter," she tells me as she continues to rub my back.
"I found out from wizards that I would live, as long as I continue to transform into different people, different things after my previous version supposedly died. I met you when I was nineteen and you were twenty-two. I was Abnegation but defected to Dauntless while you were a leader, planted by Jeanine Matthews. For some reason, you opened up to me and we got closer until we eloped after my initiation. Our first night together was amazing and soon after I got sick. It took me a month to realize I was pregnant and another to finally tell you. But we were at the brink of a war and you were easily ticked off. I tried to tell you but you would be so busy and I was a coward so I waited and finally decided to tell you. It was two days before the war and I was four and half months pregnant."
My eyes widen and she looks down. It takes me a minute to realize that this isn't easy for her too. So I take her hands in mine and give them a gentle squeeze. She gives me a small smile and takes a deep breath.
"The day I tried to tell you, you were particularly angry and I was hormonal so I begged you to rethink and you got mad, told me about the divorce, and left for Erudite. I couldn't do shit, too depressed to get off the bed until the war began and I found myself in the middle of the bloodbath.
I saw Four take aim at you and I tried to save you, foolishly thinking I could save you, myself, and the baby at the same time. I was wrong and was shot multiple times by an unsuspecting Tobias. I was mortally wounded and the baby was dead before I could do anything. No one except me knew my secret as my mother was killed in the war and I decided to let you have it, foolishly thinking I could come back and everything would be alright. That we will be okay."
She sobs and this time, I wrap my arms around her and stroke her long hair.
And I remember my nightmare.
She's the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, is the first thought that comes to me as I see the blond beauty sitting beside a pond. Her hair is long and wavy and touches her hips, her eyes, a beautiful shade of cerulean blue that seems to pull me towards them. But there's a certain sadness in them that makes me sad in turn.
She gives me a sad smile and her pink pouty lips move and I struggle to hear what she has to say.
The sound comes from all around us.
"You can't break the curse, Eryk, no matter how hard I try, you will never be mine,"
And I look back at her and see myself holding her, her heart ripped out and beating in my bloody hand, her eyes glassy as she takes her last breaths.
"You will never be mine," and I scream and howl because I just saw myself kill the only woman I have ever loved and I couldn't do shit about it. I curse myself for taking her away from me. I cry and howl in agony until darkness consumes me.
I don't realize I am crying until I open my eyes and meet Tris' red-rimmed ones. She has to say no more.
I cursed myself and that must be why she couldn't come back to me. She shapeshifted into ash and flew away with the wind. She was alive and I cursed myself to an eternity of torture. And she suffered too. Because every time I had a new life and fell in love, it was the same Tris I cursed myself for. She never died, but she always witnessed my death. She was the one who was tortured and it was all my fault.
A memory flashes in my mind.
I hear words like, 'I don't know how he does it' and 'I don't want to' but none of it makes sense.
She finally moves her head and looks me in the eyes and her glassy eyes seem so familiar.
I lick her cheek and nuzzle her neck, trying to put my gratitude in my actions and she plants a kiss between my eyes.
"Go now, my darling, I will see you on the other side,"
It hit me then, she knew it, and she knew she'd meet me here. Tris is an immortal creature so of course, she easily got in here. But now that we have each other once again, what now? How will I lose her this time? Maybe this is all a cruel dream?
"What now?" I choke out and even to my own ears I sound truly and utterly broken.
"But all those times, you were wrong, Eric," she says with a grin and I look at her, sad and confused.
"It's true, we are star-crossed lovers. But where you went wrong was the part 'a love like ours was never destined to last. You'll never be mine'. You see Eric, if you had believed in our love, we never would have suffered. You doubted that we would lose each other like in those novels you used to read. What you never knew, my love, was that our love was and is strong enough to overcome anything. And you yourself saw it. In every lifetime we met, we fell in love because how could we not?"
"But, the curse?" I ask and she smiles again.
"Do you love me, Eric?" she asks and I look at her like she lost her marbles.
"Of course I do baby, why would you even doubt that?" and now I am offended.
"Good, because I love you too, Eric and it is our love that has broken the curse."
"So why did I turn into a werewolf on my 'eighteenth' birthday?" I ask, making air quotes around the eighteenth.
"I was so fucking fed up, Eric so I decided to visit Johanna Reyes, who by the way, is a witch, and asked her to cast a spell on you so you would stay in your wolf form until you met me and remembered. She also cast a spell so that you could see all our memories here before coming to the pond to ensure our purpose was complete."
"So, me turning back was not due to the pond?" I ask, curiously and she laughs. I have my answer.
"And this isn't the center of the earth either. If it was, you'd be a stir-fried wolf right now," she adds with a cheeky grin and I roll my eyes.
I pick her up and twirl her around relishing in her laughter.
"You, my dear, are an evil genius," I tell her as I hold her body flush with mine.
She giggles again and finally, our lips meet and I know I have gotten my happily ever.
Eryk: Polish for Eric
Betrys: Welsh variation of Beatrice
In each lifetime, their names were some variation of Eric and Beatrice.
Tris' birth year: 2030
The rebuild of factions by Eric allowed Amity to become a 'tribe' and they are more in harmony with nature and magic now.
After Eric died (for the first time), his newly found magic went haywire and thus changed the world into different eras like medieval and so on. (not all of them are real).
Eric was the only practicing wizard outside of Amity.
The shit he saw on the wall and in the pond was all real memories of other versions of Eric.
Inspired by Divergent, frozen 2 (Ahtohallan), pretty woman, and idk what else lol.
Praise to mighty witch Johanna who turned out stronger than our Eric and made this whole shit for him. Otherwise he would've been dead, lol.
Lyrics are from the song "Rewrite the stars"