A/N: Chapter 32 of REKT. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or teams of RWBY, they belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. What I do own are the characters and teams of my OCs: REKT, GTSY, KACE and DAZE.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.


Chapter 32: The Past (II)

The next few days...

My parents didn't bring up the incident ever again but they did take extra precaution and watched me very carefully. During the day if I'm ever playing outside either my father would watch me or my mother would, keeping a very close eye on what I'm doing. At night my father would make sure the gate was properly shut and even made a nightly round just to make sure it stayed shut. My mother slept by my side at nights, quelling the nightmares that dare to rise.

So far the intruder didn't come back but even more suspicious was that my aunt didn't come to visit. I would wait by the door in hopes of seeing her but after awhile I became a bit discouraged. I asked my mother if she knew but she only shook her head and say she's probably busy. So I learned not to expect the unexpected and played with my parents instead. Overtime I soon began to forget what had happened so my parents eased back a bit on the parental control.

"The Marking of Age ceremony is where young girls and boys much like yourself begin to get their marks...so to speak." My father was saying as I sat in his lap with a book propped up. Whenever he had spare time in the mornings he would let me choose a book and we would read it together. "Your mother and I had to go through it ourselves."

"Did it hurt?" I asked him, knowing only a little bit of what the ceremony was actually about. "Mommy said that you cried."

"Hoohahahaha!" My father laughed loudly, his voice resonating within his chest. It sounded like a deep chime. "It stung a bit but it was over before you know it."

"Does the location of the mark matter?" I flipped the pages when I asked him. "Your mark could appear anywhere on your body right?"

"Yup that's right. One kid that I knew had his mark appear on his butt."

"Really?!"

"Yes really! He was so excited when his mark showed up that he practically mooned us during the process. Oh man, I couldn't get the mental image out of my head for weeks!"

"Dear, didn't you have a meeting to attend to?" My mother asked when she appeared at the doorway, smiling when she heard us laughing. A tub of fresh laundry was in her arms."Something about strengthening our defenses or perhaps doing an overseas trade?"

"Oh is it time already? I was having so much fun!" He carefully removed me from his lap and stood up, stretching till he heard a satisfying pop in his neck. "Be good little one, Daddy's going to work now."

"When will you be back?" I held the book close to my chest. "Is this going to be one of your long meetings?"

"Haha, who knows but it's definitely an urgent one. I'll see you tonight for sure." He replied. Walking out he stopped to gave his wife a kiss before disappearing out of sight. I watched him leave before turning my attention to my mother.

"How come he has all of those boring meetings to go to?"

"Your father is a very busy man." She replied calmly, folding what looked like bed sheets into a neat square. "He is after all the village elite. Holding such a position means there are responsibilities and other obligations that need to be discussed thoroughly so everyone can be happy."

"It must be awfully hard being in charge." I walked over before resting my head on her lap, breathing in her scent which brought me comfort. "I could never see myself as the elite of anything."

"Someday you will." She mused, taking a moment to run her fingers through my hair before continuing with the laundry. "You never know. Life is a very interesting thing, filled with unknowns and adventures."

"That sounds like a lot of effort." I whined, turning my head to look up at her. "I wanna lay here and relax with both you and Daddy."

"You are so lazy!" She bent over to kiss me, her hair cascading down to form a curtain around my face. I always loved my mother's eyes, they were a semi-dark hue of pink but not like crimson dark. It reminded me of strawberry ice cream. "We should go out more often so you aren't bored."

"Perhaps when it's not very hot outside." I said and she nodded in agreement. Neither one of us were fans of the sweltering heat. "Or maybe we can go down to the sea?"

"Mmmmm~ Now that sounds like an idea." Rhea smiled as she folded the last of the clothes. "We'll have to buy swimsuits if that's the case."

"But we'll have to wait next year, it's not the season yet." I nodded my head in agreement. "Maaaan, waiting feels like forever."

"Then would you like to help me prepare for dinner tonight?" She asked, stroking my hair with her elegant fingers. "I'll prepare something special but we have to get everything ready and I could use an extra pair of hands."

"Yes!" I followed her into the kitchen, pulling up a stool for me to step on. I was too short to see over the counter. Since I wasn't old enough to chop the materials I often handed my mother the ingredients, watching as she skillfully handled the knife and gutted what appeared to be a large fish.

"Oh rats...Honey could you go and get me some peppers from the garden?" My mother asked just as I was putting the bowl of peas under the water for washing. "They should be ripe by now. You can choose whichever color you want."

"Okay!" Turning off the water I grabbed a medium sized bowl from the cabinet and ran out to our garden. The lush greens looked really appetizing when I approached, indicating just how well my mother was tending to it. The peppers had indeed sprouted and so I chose a couple of the really ripe ones and placed them in the bowl, leaving the unripened ones alone.

Mommy did a really good job with the plants. I thought happily, carrying the bowl with both hands and made my way back to the kitchen. She really has magic powers when it comes to gardening.

CRAAAASH!

"Ngggh!"

"Mommy!" Hearing the crash from the kitchen followed by the pained grunt I dropped everything and ran to her side, watching as she clutched her right shoulder painfully. Whatever she had been doing had all spilled on the floor in a complete mess. "What's wrong Mommy?! Are you hurt?!"

"Haaa...haaa...I'm fine..." She wheezed, her brows furrowed with confusion. "I just...I just had a severe headache and slipped..." When she tried to get back up she just collapsed on the ground as if she no longer had any strength left within her. "Unfortunate that your father is out...ugh..."

"Rhea!"

"Auntie!" I rushed to greet her when she appeared, her chest heaving and from the looks of it she had been running. I noticed a nasty bruise on her cheek but she quickly rushed to my mother's side without any minute to lose so I didn't get to look very long.

"Rhea! Are you okay?!"

"Raisa?" My mother lifted her head at her sister's voice. "W-What are you...?"

"No time! We need to go!" Hoisting her sister to her feet, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other hung limply over her shoulders, Raisa made her way to the door. "Let's go Reina!"

"B-B-But the food..."

"Can't have you at home by yourself!" Raisa barked back, making sure I was obeying her orders. "Come on now!"

"Where are we going?" I asked, trotting beside her. "Is Mommy gonna be okay?"

"Only one way to find out, we'll go to the stargazer for advise." Raisa replied, tightening her hold on her sister. "No ordinary doctor can see this kind sort of thing!"


Stargazer's home...

The stargazer lived at the edge of the village, in a location where the sky was visible during the night. She was also considered to be a village elder who foresaw events. It was actually the first time I've ever been to her place and I looked at all the weird objects hanging on the walls. Raisa had her eyes fixed on the curtains that lead to the back room.

"Hey Auntie...where have you been?" I asked her, puffing my cheeks out when she turned her head to look at me. "You haven't been around lately and now you show up out of the blue."

"Sorry for such a short notice, I've been busy after all." She apologized, running her hand through my hair. "I was on my way to visit when I sensed something wasn't right."

"That's why you were all sweaty and gross." I replied before something else popped into my head. "By the way, what's with that bruise on you—"

"Her mark's acting up...it's the most unusual." At that moment the village stargazer walked out of the back room to greet us after diagnosing her patient. She's exactly as you would imagine, hunched back with a walking stick to guide her. Wispy white hair tide up in a bun on top of her head but she still has all her teeth surprisingly. "Has she shown this kind of behavior before?"

"Not that I know of." Raisa replied, standing up to greet the elder. "I knew that you would be the only one to understand what had happened."

"Mmmmm and you're correct there." The stargazer held back the curtain, ushering us in. Laying on her stomach on the cot with her clothes off was my mother and she smiled weakly when she saw us. "The doctor would've been useless if you brought her to him."

"Thank you stargazer, you've been a huge help..." My mother said breathlessly. She turned to see me, my huge watery eyes looking back and her. "Sorry for worrying you, I'm all right now..."

"What's puzzling is that I don't remember the wife of our elite having this kind of mark." The stargazer tapped my mother's shoulder right where her mark was with a finger. "It's different from when I looked at it after the Marking of Age ceremony."

"...is it possible for a mark to change?" Raisa asked as she stared at it, curiosity laced within her voice. "I thought it was impossible. Once our marks are presented during the ceremony it is permanent for life."

"Under certain conditions a mark can be changed but it hasn't been done in a very long time...not since my great grandmother's era." Shuffling to the bookshelf the stargazer pulled out a hefty looking book. Placing it on the table she flipped through until she found what she was searching for. "Aha, here we go. Marks that change are known as 'blessed' marks and they are rare to come by."

"Blessed mark?" Now my aunt gave the elder her full attention, intrigued by the topic. "How can a mark be blessed? My sister was in no condition to walk!"

"That's just a side-effect but she'll get better after resting. Obviously her body had been taken surprised by the change." The stargazer stared at both my mother and my aunt. "You two know the legend behind the Raylan clan don't you?"

"You're talking about...the Curse aren't you?" Rhea's eyes narrowed slightly. She heard about the story a bit when she was younger.

"That old tale used to scare little children?" Raisa looked at her sister for a minute. "Our parents never really went into detail..."

"I assure you that the Curse is indeed real and the change of the mark is proof of that." The stargazer mused and closed the book. She helped my mother get dressed and back on her feet. "There are no known cure for it but for now please monitor it and come back if it irritates you."

"One question, can the Curse go from one person to another?" Raisa asked. The stargazer smiled as she went about her business.

"It chooses who the host would be. Only one person with the blessed mark is able to obtain it. However if the host were to die then it moves on to another. Be warned: Those who have the same mark cannot exist together, one will have to be killed. No exceptions."


Back at home...

"Rhea, you know you can't deny what the stargazer said. I couldn't believe it either when she told us..." My aunt spoke in a hush whisper. We made it back home and my mother was laid to bed, ordered to not do anything else for the rest of the night. The door was ajar so the two of them could keep an eye on me as I played in the garden. "Are we really going to keep this from our parents?"

"My mind is still hazy...but I'm unsure what mom and dad would say if I told them..." Rhea replied as she pulled the covers up to her chin. "I'll tell Rikter when he gets back but for now, only the two of us know about this situation. Reina's too young to understand what happened back there."

"Sis, this isn't the time to be having doubts." Raisa argued, narrowing her eyes. "The quicker you acknowledge it the better we'll be in planning how to move forward from here."

"This Curse isn't something we can breeze through without thinking about the consequence." Rhea retorted, glaring at her sister. "There's still so much we don't understand! If we rush things it could cause some unforeseen consequences!"

"Understand what?" Both of them turned to see me standing with a ball in my hand.

"N-Nothing dear, your aunt and I were just talking about possible vacation places we could go in the near future." My mother spoke, shooting her sister a knowing look to keep her lips shut.

"Vacation places?" I asked, putting the ball aside and went to her side.

"Mmmhmm. We thought it would be great for you to explore the outside world."

"But I thought you said we could go to the sea..."

"We can go further than the sea." Rhea smile, stopping a pout from forming on my face. "We can even cross it."

"What lies beyond the sea?" I asked her. "Is there really something out there?"

"Well I guess I'll take my leave and let you two chat." Raisa announced and stood up. There was a slight pause as both siblings gazed at each other in silence. Finally turning on her heels my aunt proceeded to walk off. "Goodnight...for now."

"...Mommy...?" I noticed the looks between them but held my tongue. It was as if they were ready to go at each other at the drop of a dime. It was frightening I've never seen her so worked up about her sister.

"Come here, sweetie." She pulled me close, noticing how scared I must have looked and attempted to relax. "Mommy's just tired."

"Dear, I'm home! What's for dinner?" Rikter stepped in with a cherry smile which quickly disappeared. "What happened?!"

"Mommy wasn't feeling well so we had to go to the stargazer place. Auntie Raisa was with us as well!" I told him. He looked at my mother before noticing the mess in the kitchen that had yet to be cleaned up. Meeting my mother's gaze once more he bowed his head in understanding and stood up.

"I'll make dinner tonight then. Why don't you come help me and let your mother rest?" I was scooped up and carried back into the kitchen. Throughout the process my mother slowly sat up, watched us cook for a minute before turning to look at the door with an unreadable gaze.


In my parent's room...

"...so that's what happened..." Rikter muttered as he lay beside his wife, stroking his beard in thought. Dinner was quiet as well as awkward between us, like there was a heavy fog blanketing over our heads. "Who would've guessed..."

"You've heard of the Curse before right?" Rhea asked him and he nodded.

"It's a well-known scary tale told for the kids. I thought it was just an urban legend but if what the stargazer says is correct...then something definitely is about to happen..." He fell silent for a minute before speaking again, "Reina's mark should show itself soon...she's about to reach that age right?"

"Mmmhmm...although my concern is Raisa...She asked if it was transmittable just before we left. Could you imagine what would've happened if she were to have full control of the power?" Rhea shivered like she caught a cold. "I just have a terrible feeling about all this, my stomach's churning."

"You don't think your sister's acting weird...it has been a long time since she visited. For her to show up out of the blue...at the exact time and moment..."

"Now that you mentioned it..." Her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to connect the dots. "I sense something different about her this time...I can't think about what it is...but there is something..."

"It's getting late so don't think about it too much." He drew her close, comforting her in his arms. He didn't want to stress his wife out anymore than she already is. "Get some rest and lets deal with it when the time comes." He kissed her affectionately, feeling her relax and kiss him back. "There we go, just like that."

"You make everything go away." Rhea smiled and snuggled closer to him. "I'm glad to have you in my life."

"I curse you for being in my life." Raisa growled, pacing around her own room nibbling on her lips. After returning she couldn't help but feel uncontrollable rage. She was very close to destroying everything in sight but held herself back. "Rhea...everything is going well for you in the end. 'Blessed' mark, the Curse...don't screw with me!"

No calm down, this isn't like you. She flung herself on her bed and breathed deeply. Everything must be timed properly and I got to learn something important. By the way I wonder if that bird managed to deliver my message...? At first I thought that dream I had was made up, that there actually was a being living beyond the wall calling out to me...Tch, I must be going crazy.

Tap~ Tap~

"Hmmm?" Rolling over when she heard the tapping she noticed a shadowy figure lingering by the window before a note slipped onto the floor. She picked it up and unfurled it with hasty fingers. Despite the blood which she assumed to be from the poor message bird, she could make out the words written in black.

You aren't crazy, I actually exist.

"Holy crap...I'm not losing my mind." She sighed almost out of relief. "Good thing I got that verified before making a trip to the doctor."

I'll lend you what you need outside the wall. They'll be ready the night before just for your bloody massacre. Just remember your promise and bring me that child alive. Any heir to the power...belongs to me.

"Heh...hand Reina over..." Raisa snorted before stashing the message to the side, making a mental note of replying. "That's not the deal...that child must die and I want to do it with my own hands. Once that's complete...I'll set my sights on my sister's blessed mark and keep it for myself." Laying down she prepared to get some rest before another thought crossed her mind. "...I need to find another bird to compensate the one that was killed..."