Hi guys... This is my attempt to write a supernatural story set in the early 19th century _AU / I say "attempt" because I don't know much about that time, but I decided to take the risk once again. That is why I am sorry if there are errors in this regard, I will not give many details in specific only what is necessary for the story to have that little essence that I hope to be able to give.
The place I chose for the story is Andalusia, but I will refer to this place as Al-Ándalus.
I really hope you enjoy this first chapter.
"The wolf's claim"
...
In a new era marked by man, the dominion of humans spread like a plague throughout the land, quickly ending with the multiplication of supernatural creatures.
Witches, werewolves, vampires, beasts and all those who were considered a danger to humanity were hunted and killed in the most ruthless way.
Only a few species managed to escape the brutal attacks.
Now, the old stories of the terrible events of the past that were told have become legends, night tales that served to warn skeptical travelers and sow terror in children when they went to sleep.
With the passing of the years, the creatures that managed to survive became small brotherhoods, hiding their power from the eyes of humans and renouncing their gifts, becoming nomads and thus forgetting their true origins and identities.
But giving up their essence in the eyes of the gods had serious repercussions for them.
Because those who renounced their own nature... condemned themselves and that was perhaps the worst of curses.
...
-ONE-
Centuries later.
November, 1819.
Old Province of Al-Ándalus. South of the Genal Valley.
Two figures hidden in the shadows were heading cautiously to the limits of the great wall, beyond the small bridge where a river divided the city in two.
Only a few knew of the secret passageway and one of them was the first figure to walk quickly trying to guide her hesitant companion in the dark.
After circumventing security, the two women walked with a fast step and very cautiously avoiding leaving any trace that would reveal such fearlessness of the risky escape that they decided to take.
The sound of the brittle wood of the steps of the old bridge caused by the treading of their shoes made them hesitate.
None of them had obtained permission to wander the lonely streets at these hours of night. They had just arrived and leaving the castle without authorization was punished with a high price, Blood.
The two women took a couple of seconds to look back and make sure no one was following them. The loneliness in the empty streets gave them the assurance that until now no one had noticed their absence and without waiting much more, the two continued with their disturbing crossing.
The hidden entrance through which they would cross, had been used by outsiders some years ago to smuggle into the citadel. Now only bugs and crawling animals had made it their home.
The youngest of them traced with her hands the hidden place among the cobwebs. She knew every brick, every crack, every block, every stone embedded in these thick walls very well.
In the past, she had dedicated most of her time memorizing the fortified wall surrounding the ancient castle that once belonged to her father, but that was now under the power of Lord Gregor, Count of Belalcázar, her only direct relative with life and her guardian. The only person with the power granted by the regulations of the monarchical laws to decide on all her assets and on the future of her life.
Her uncle, the person Bonnie Bennett feared the most and hated the most.
A meticulous smile.
Her memory did not disappoint her, proud to remember with such precision, Bonnie knew they would soon be at the exact departure location, where her beloved steed, Pandora, was waiting for them.
The draft of cold air betrayed the small hiding place that led to the outskirts of the city, right in the vicinity of the barrier formed by the great roots of the Álamo trees. Centennial trees that intimidatingly guarded the only entrance to those who dared to cross the sections into the fearsome dark woods.
A cursed place where legends warned of ferocious creatures that once came to populate the vast lands of Seville. Legends that over the years have lived to scare any skeptic who wanted to venture into the vast woods to prove his manhood and bravery in search of wild beasts to hunt.
Those stories were true warnings that described ancient events of what once existed in the past and what still existed in the present.
Not only did Bonnie know those stories, she had experienced firsthand the fearsome reputation of the imposing forest more than nine years ago.
It was exactly ten years ago that she ventured completely alone into the unknown without knowing what she would face.
Bonnie was just a child when she detected that she had made a terrible mistake in stepping into the enigmatic woods that day.
Her innocence and stubborn perseverance had led her directly to that dangerous place through a secret passageway.
The same one that she was now determined to go through a second time, but now knowing all the dangers.
Both women concealed their identities thanks to the wide hoods of their long black velvet capes.
Bonnie, under an innocent lie, convinced Yadhira, her old wet nurse and now her maiden, to accompany her on this risky mission.
Yadhira had accepted without really knowing the reasons that prompted Bonnie to commit this small infraction.
Details were not shared and Bonnie reserved the information with a vote of silence.
The seriousness of the mission warranted it.
But the old woman had not stopped muttering how bad this idea had been since Bonnie woke her up in the middle of the night.
Without having any suspicion of where they were going, Yadhira's tired feet could no longer keep up with the same rhythm as when she played run after her little girl.
The little girl who had become a beautiful woman and who now walked ahead of her, leading the long dirt footpath which Yadhira had never traveled before.
Bonnie, on the other hand, had stopped listening to the tragic pessimism of the old woman after they left her room inside the castle late at night.
"Maniña..." That was the affectionate nickname Yadirah used to refer to Bonnie.
"Why do we have to do this? What reason is there for all this?"
The old woman complained again for the umpteenth time as she raised the skirt of her dress to see where she was walking and thus avoid a terrible fall that for her age would be a very serious problem.
Bonnie didn't respond and she focused on the road.
Visibility was very poor, the moonlight reflected off the small stream of water that gushed from the brittle ground barely gave the necessary clarity amid all this darkness.
"I don't understand, why did you insist on tracking the flowers that are in the city limits in the middle of the night? You know that the flowers of Tabebuia don't open if not just before dawn, if you really want to see them, we must wait - "
Yadhira commented to make her see reason without yet discovering the true intentions of this unexpected search. The old wet nurse wasn't sure why all the mystery, but she was beginning to regret having agreed to accompany Bonnie.
"Yadhi... Please... Can you stop talking? You distract me!"
Still staring ahead, Bonnie only made a short comment. She needed to keep her mind in order and her old wet nurse was making it difficult for her with so much talk.
Yadhira just snorted feeling very nervous. The reason that Bonnie had given her was no longer entirely credible and that no longer gave her much confidence.
A chill strained the hairs on the back of her neck.
"Maniña, Why do you really want to get out of city at this hour? If someone sees us I will get in trouble, and not only that, if we manage to get out maybe it will not be flowers that we will find... we could both be in danger. Can u at least let a sentry come with us?"
Yadhira paused to breathe and continued talking.
"What is it that your stubborn head wants to do now? You are no longer a child and I am not that young. I am too old for you to drag me into your strange whims!"
Bonnie stopped and analyzed her situation.
With a swift movement she pushed back her hood and her face was fully exposed.
She did not have time to explain it, but if she did not speak it now maybe Yadhira would continue to delay her crusade more.
Totally thoughtful, Bonnie had not mentioned anything to anyone about this, even she did not say anything when she was interrogated ten years ago for fear of reprisals that her uncle would have with her.
But now she had to speak up and only with that confidence did she turn to the one person who really cared about her.
Yadhira, a woman who shared the same skin color as her, who had earned a place in her heart, who took care of her for all these years and that despite everything, she still continued taking care of her.
It was Yadhira who was always by her side and raised her as her own daughter when her parents died.
She was perhaps the only person in this world that Bonnie could truly trust. The only person she could tell everything to this time without fear of betrayal.
When the old woman realized that things weren't just a whim of her little girl. She really freaked out.
Bonnie's seriousness and concern made Yadhira fear the unknown.
Bonnie hesitated for a few seconds before lovingly clasping her hands with her maid's wrinkled, old hands.
"Yadhi... I don't want you to get mad, but you must trust me. Tonight I need to find something... or rather someone inside the dark woods - "
Yadhira's eyes widened in disappointment.
Bonnie had brought her here under deception and not only that, hearing about searching beyond the woods enraged and scared her at the same time.
She, mimicking the same movement, let her hood slide down.
The old woman shook her head from side to side taking a few steps back and away from Bonnie.
"Have you lost your mind? We can't venture there to search..." Her eyes widened in fear "I don't even know what you're looking for! But it's dangerous! You know the terrible stories surrounding that woods. Wild and dangerous creatures inhabit that place!"
"Yadhira, listen to me - "
"No! have you forgotten what happened ten years ago? That day I felt like I was going to die when I couldn't find you!" Yadhira grabbed her shoulders harshly. "No one can go beyond the barrier. Crossing the Álamo barrier is prohibited and you know it, Bonnie!"
Yes, Bonnie knew, but there was no other solution, if she didn't do it, her fate would be worse than the one she forged herself exactly ten years ago.
Bonnie pulled Yadirah by the hand to pull her closer to her in hopes of convincing the old woman.
"Please... listen to me... I did something terrible, something I never planned to do, but it happened and it is against the laws and our beliefs, no one will forgive me and even less now that my marriage with Lord Shane is close. I need to fix it before it's too late! I just need you to accompany me to the barrier and wait there for me... I'll take care of the rest. Please? I need to find him..."
Bonnie finished speaking with a pleading look, hoping that Yadhira would understand and agree to accompany her to the end.
Because there was no other option for her.
Although Bonnie was not allowed to opine on her life and her future. She never agreed with her uncle's arbitrary decisions, much less agreed with a marriage proposal. But Bonnie couldn't refuse, she was obliged to marry any Lord. She was raised under the rigorous standards of the nobility and a marriage was what her uncle had planned for her.
Lord Atticus asked for her hand in marriage a few weeks ago. That's why she was here. Her uncle had already decided.
Very soon she would become Lord Atticus Shane' new wife.
But that would only come true if she could fix the things that got out of control when she was just a child and her destiny changed dramatically.
A fate that she accidentally caused herself. But if anyone ever found out what she did... surely she would be sentenced to certain death.
If Bonnie didn't mend what she had done, then instead of celebrating a marriage, they would celebrate her death at a funeral pile.
Yadhira was silent, her anguish was perhaps equal to or worse than Bonnie's and even she did not understand what her little girl had just said, her mind did not reach those levels of assumption. Yadhira never imagined how delicate the situation was, but the concern in Bonnie's voice and the fear in her every word gave her a warning of how inconceivable her actions could had been in the past.
Yadhira touched her little girl's forehead in a motherly gesture.
"Who is he you are looking for, Maniña? What do you need to fix?"
Bonnie bit her lip without responding, and a sense of anguish enveloped her gaze.
Yadhira cupped her face in her hands, wanting to erase the fear and torment that gripped her little Bonnie.
Seeing her so distraught made the old woman feel a pang of bad omen in her heart.
Ignoring all the facts, the old woman needed to know what exactly was going on. The silence Bonnie was giving her became overwhelming and unbearable.
Yadhira demanded an answer from her without being able to hide the great concern that suffocated her chest.
"By all the gods girl! what have you done?"
The heart of Bonnie raced.
"Something unshakable and. ... I'm afraid that my life will end because of an imprudence of my chilhood."
Bonnie whispered avoiding the urge to cry.
Because in these ten years she had been feeling his call and she did not know how to stop it.
Until now she didn't even know what she had to do. All she knew was that she had to find him and maybe when she did, then she would find a way to patch up the mistakes of her past.
Bonnie had a strong certainty that tonight she and he would meet for the second time.
Something inside her knew it...
Especially right now, Bonnie was feeling that gentle tug. It was like an invisible rope that had been tied to her for these past ten years and was pulling her closer and closer to... him.
A shaky little sigh left her lips.
Suddenly, as if he felt her too. A loud howl echoed in the distance.
Bonnie opened her eyes in full understanding.
She looked over her shoulders, a strange chill ran through her body as her gaze was lost in the place where there was only immense darkness.
Something inside the woods was calling her... It was him... She was sure... it was he who was calling her. All this time that strange attraction that she had been feeling towards that place... it was for him... all this time it had been him.
The old woman froze and followed Bonnie's gaze in hideous fear.
Yadhira could not perceive the small change that arose after.
For a brief moment the green in the eyes of Bonnie turned completely black as the howls grew louder.
It was a call and Yadhira did not know it.
The old woman swallowed hard as her heart beat desperately inside her chest when she heard the howls begin to cease.
Both women were completely silent staring at nothing until the last howl was heard.
Yadhira closed her eyes tightly, it was the first time that the beasts within the forest had been heard so close.
More calmly, the old woman focused on a single thought.
She wished only two things, that Bonnie hadn't been so careless, and that what tormented her so much hadn't happened the same day she was found unconscious near the Álamo barrier ten years ago. Because if it were, she would never forgive herself.
"Maniña..."
Yadhira's voice slowly broke the trance.
"look at me..."
Bonnie blinked...
"look at me..."
Bonnie blinked a few times before looking at the old woman just as the color in her eyes returned to normal.
Yadhira looked at her with seriousness as she whispered the question.
"Please answer me... Did you use magic?"
Bonnie didn't reply and she lowered her head.
Yadhira took her face in her hands and raised it to look into her eyes and she again asked more gently.
"Bonnie... Did you use your magic?"
Bonnie's glassy eyes were revealed in the dark.
The woman who had cared for her since she was a baby knew that gaze very well.
The old woman opened her eyes with concern as she realized the terrible truth.
Bonnie had used her magic...
"Oh Maniña... Why did you do it?"
Bonnie opened her mouth, but she couldn't come up with an explanation, tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Yadhira took her in her arms and did not release her. Despite the fear that invaded her heart. She could never judge Bonnie.
The old woman just thought anguished.
There was only one explanation for why Bonnie had been so careless.
That the reasons that led her to violate the laws must had been greater than the danger that that would entail because for hundreds of years,
The magic was forbidden...
I hope you liked it! And thank you for reading!
?