Ch. 5- Curiosity's Curse
Yes! Finally! It's about time I introduced an antagonist into the story!
Though, this chapter is ONLY the backstory of the villain. No Isabella or anything. Sorry about that.
Answers to reviews:
PianoMan5: Thank you! And don't worry...there's A LOT coming up for Phineas in the future.
14AmyChan: Bingo!
bookwrm23: Thanks so much! And yes, yes he is.
gravity5: Umm, not exactly. I pictured him more as Robin Hood. But you got the huntsman part right!
agent josie: Thank you!
FanFicCriTicTheThird: Close...Buford's Robin Hood.
LadyPhoenix07: Yes! Buford is the one and only Robin Hood!
...
Diclaimer: I don't own anything. Enjoy!
The streets bustled with the loud sounds of hurrying carriages and the ongoing conversations of the local townsfolk.
The laughter of men emanating from the town bar echoed in tune with the gossiping girls who stood giggling by the lamp posts.
The pleas from scattered beggars in front of the local shops could barely be heard over all the buzz and commotion.
Through the busy roads and the overcrowded streets, no one paid any attention to a short, dark, cloaked figure as it made its way into an old antique store.
The shop owner stared in wonder as the figure slowly approached the counter and took out a very old looking box from underneath its robe.
"This box," it said in a raspy, old voice, "Belonged to my great, great, great, great grandmother. It has been in my family ever since."
The red-headed woman on the other side of the large wooden desk picked the box up and closely inspected it.
"Are you sure you'd like to give it away?" she inquired.
The lady sighed, "I'm an old woman, with no children and no relatives to inherit this box. I'd rather someone else take it then have it thrown away once I am no longer here."
"How much would you like for it?"
"Oh no. I couldn't possibly ask for any money in return," the figure shook her head, "Consider it a wedding gift from me to you. I take it you did recently get married. Am I right?"
"Yes," the owner suspiciously replied, "How did you-?"
"I may be old, but that doesn't mean I don't know things."
The woman turned around as she carefully placed the box on a shelf.
"But be warned," the hooded figure stated, "Do not attempt to open the box; for it will result in dire consequences." And with that, she was gone.
The shop owner, to her surprise, turned back around to find that the woman had mysteriously vanished. Deciding that old woman must've quietly left, she shrugged it off.
But as the silence in the room grew, so did her curiosity. What could possibly be in that box? What could possibly be so bad, that she was forbidden from looking inside it?
Time seemed to drag on. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Eventually, the woman simply couldn't take it anymore.
She looked around to make sure no one was watching, and removed the box from the shelf as she placed on the counter. The navy eyed ginger rubbed her chin as she slowly turned the box 360 degrees.
She only now noticed the tiny lock which stood in the middle of the front of the box.
Pondering, she attempted to pry the top open with her bare fingers, to no avail.
She stepped back a little, and continued to think. Being so preoccupied in figuring out a way to open the box, she did not notice another customer walk in.
Gasping in surprise, she pushed the container to the side and smiled apologetically at the person in front of her...
It would just have to wait until she got home.
The red-head rummaged through her husband's toolbox as she bit her lip anxiously.
Once she finally had found what she was looking for, the woman dashed back over to the old box on the table behind her.
Slowly lifting the pointy screwdriver up to the rusty lock and beginning to fiddle with tool, the woman finally was able to unlock the lid.
A victorious smile spread across her face as she raised her free hand and gently placed it on the box's top.
This was it. The moment she was waiting for.
Her eyes shone with curiosity as she very carefully opened the box.
Instantaneously, the small room was engulfed in a blinding light and the woman felt a searing pain shoot throughout her body.
Covering her eyes, she stumbled back and shrieked in pain. As the light in the room gradually faded, the woman continued to scream as her knees collapsed onto the ground.
Her husband, who happened to be reading upstairs, heard his wife's cry and immediately rushed to her side.
"Honey?!" he ran up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Honey, what is it?! What's wrong!?"
The woman moaned as her hair began to change. Strands of sun-kissed orange hair began to glow and shifted into scaly dark green creatures that seemed to move and hiss.
Her husband backed up in fear. "D-Dear?"
She let out a hiss before swiftly raising her head and looking straight into her husband's eyes.
His muffled yell echoed off the walls as the room was once again filled with a light, though this time it was more of a forest green.
The woman shook her head whilst she let out another moan.
She looked up in shock and found her husband utterly frozen and painted a dull gray.
Realizing what she had done, tears formed in her eyes while she raced over to him. "Lawrence? LAWRENCE! No! NO! Lawrence!" She wailed.
But sadly, he did not move.
He wouldn't, ever again.
"You!" a tall hooded figure hissed as she stormed into what looked like a worn down ancient Greek temple, "You did this to me!"
The woman tossed her hood back to reveal a bunch of slithering snakes on top of her head.
"No," a sea blue-eyed girl with long, brown hair in a dark corner replied, "You brought this on yourself."
"You knew what was going to happen, didn't you? When you gave me that cursed box..." the woman angrily said, "You always knew!"
"Yes. I did." she calmly answered. "I always do."
"And yet you still gave it to me!" the snake-haired woman yelled.
"I cannot change what is to be. I am only time's humble servant."
"Then you must change me back and reverse this terrible curse you bestowed upon me!"
"I'm afraid I cannot. I did warn you. You knew what was going to happen. Yet you didn't listen. Now you pay the price."
"Fine! At least bring him back!" The woman waved her hands into the air.
"That is not possible. For the curse is irreversible. He is gone, forever."
A tear streamed down the woman's cheek.
"Then if I can't have my 'happily ever after'..." she growled as she turned around and stomped away, "No one can."
Ok, I made this character REALLY easy to guess. So I'm hoping that not too many people are confused.
This chapter was centered mostly around Greek myths, if you haven't noticed.
So anyways...who's the red-headed woman?! You guys tell me.
Oh...and the girl the woman was talking to in the end will definitely reappear later on. But, don't try and guess who she is. That's for another chapter.
Hope you guys liked! :-)