A Decision

The delicious smells coming from the kitchen made my mouth water. I only ate breakfast and that was hours ago. Ren said he'd leave me to wash up for dinner and he was in a hurry. He also let me know that I could take as long as I liked. Was he trying to avoid me? I thought as I combed out my hair, completely distracted. I washed my face and hands, then took off my pajamas and searched for an appropriate outfit. Something nice and casual, but not screaming 'Hi, I'm trying to be cute!' I pulled out my black shirt that was decorated with flowers and had long comfortable sleeves along with black jeans. I moved to the mirror on the wall and twirled in satisfaction. As I silently walked down the stairs with my hair slung over my shoulder I heard whispers and familiar voices. I recognized the calmest one; Mr. Kadam's. But there was one that was upset… very upset. I slyly slid beside the doorway and listened in.

"Mr. Kadam, we need to save Kelsey before Lokesh does the unthinkable. I don't care if she's Durga's Golden anything! Lokesh has Kelsey and she's in danger what don't you understand about that?" Ren… Why was he speaking to Mr. Kadam in such a disrespectful way? I shifted uneasily and listened in. "Ren, I know you're stressed; but Kelsey can handle herself. As long as we're praying every night for her safety Durga will protect her. We just have to be patient; she is a smart girl and can handle Lokesh." Mr. Kadam replied with a soothing calmness that seemed to make Ren calm down.

Ren sighed, "At least tell me when we can tell Dakota who she is." There was pleading evident in his voice. Tell me who I am? I blinked and began to put the pieces together in my head. "I promise to tell Miss Dakota that she is to help us on the quest. In the meantime you and Kishan may relax for a bit, possibly warm up for the journey ahead." Mr. Kadam shuffled out one of the doors, and then I heard Ren turn to my direction. I swiftly turned and walked into the kitchen.

The information I had gathered began to rush through my head. Help them with what quest? Somehow this was all related to the information from the book I had taken from the library. The brothers… That had to be Ren and Kishan. I was supposed to help them on the quest… But did that mean that I was Durga's Golden Flower? No. That was just Indian myth, wasn't it? It wasn't possible… Or was it? I shook the thoughts out of my head and grabbed a plate from the cabinet.

A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped in surprise. Behind me was a beautiful smile and golden eyes staring back at me. "I apologize; did I startle you, Indi?" He said 'Indi' almost teasingly. "Uh, no it's fine." I said and flashed him a grin. I grabbed the spoon and dumped the fettuccine alfredo on my plate. I loved pasta and especially bread. I reached for the bread and grabbed two pieces.

"Geez, Dakota, you sure can eat." Ren commented from behind me. How the crap were they sneaking up on me? I giggled "Well I'm not really worried about my shape." I shrugged and began walking into the dining room. "I can see why." Kishan muttered as we reached the table. Right before we sat down, Mr. Kadam emerged from nowhere with Nilima. Where did she go? I thought and watched as a rush of relief glittered in Ren's eyes.

"Miss Dakota," Mr. Kadam said with a smile "I would like you to join us in the peacock room so we may talk about why you're here." I did a mental 'gulp' like in those old cartoons and stood while grabbing my plate. We headed into the peacock room and it was in fact a peacock room. It was quiet beautiful. Mr. Kadam gestured to a seat across from a large couch where Ren, Kishan, and Nilima sat. Mr. Kadam sat in the plush chair beside me.

"You see, Miss Dakota, the brothers aren't exactly what you'd call… Normal men. They have a special ability… A curse you can call it." Mr. Kadam began and I guess once he said 'the brothers' my heart jumped out of my chest. "Kishan, would you care to demonstrate?" Kishan nodded obediently and stood from the couch.

Seconds before I was nervous, hours before I was clueless, now I was terrified. Kishan was turning into something. Black hair sprouted from his skin, his bones literally changed their shape, and animal like features began appearing. I couldn't hold it in anymore; I began to spit out unintelligent words. "HnngggHermmmughum!" I screamed and gripped the sides of my chair. Kishan swiftly trotted out, his black pelt slinking into the other room.

"Dakota, we didn't mean to scare you." Ren said, reaching out to stop the chair that was rocking back and forth now. It was a recliner… Now I know. I sucked in a loud breath "So, how long have they been able to… do that?"

"For 300 years. They were cursed by an evil sorcerer named Lokesh who happened to have a daughter that Kishan fell in love with. He killed his own daughter and has been trying to gather to amulet pieces which can be dangerous to everyone. We have been going on quests and breaking the curse with a girl named Kelsey," As Ren began to explain I slowly calmed down. "Where's Kelsey?" I asked my suspicion rose. Was she dead?

Ren hesitated before he said the thing that probably scared me the most "Lokesh wishes for Kelsey to be his wife and has taken her captive." I gulped. "No, you're lying… Am I on Punked or something? It just isn't possible… You can just… It's not…" I tried to make sense of everything I was hearing; It couldn't be possible to be able to morph into tigers. Let alone go on these quest to break this 300 year old curse… It went against science and logic the two things I relied on to tell whether it was the truth or not.

"Please, Miss Dakota, we need your help here. Without you we won't be able to complete the quest. We need you here." Mr. Kadam pleaded with me, the desperation clear in his eyes.

What was I going to do? I couldn't do this, no way. I was a simple normal girl, I'm not Durga's Golden flower or some type of 'chosen one' All of this had to be a misunderstanding… I could just say no… But would that be fair?

Author note:

So so so sorry about posting this so late! I promise I'll try to be more active it's just that school work is getting in the way. :c

Anyways I am so happy that you guys like my stories, especially my consistent readers. 3

It means so much to me!

I left a little cliffhanger letting you decide whether Dakota will help them or let them find someone else.