Lycanthropy: Charlotte's Story Chpt 4

I go back every day to see the girl and soon I am staying the night. She is her mother’s daughter. I spend all of my time there, not really because I enjoy it, but because it is something to do. I am planning the day when I will leave this house and not come back. I am tiring of her. She knows it, too.
“Have you seen someone else? Are you spying on some other girl now?”
I do not smile at her.
“Micky!” Her voice is irritating. I feel a growl rise in my throat; my heart is beating fast. She does not notice. She is facing away from me. Her own heart is beating fast, but not like mine. Mine is sky rocketing- the beats so close together I could not count them if I tried. The wolf inside me is raging and I know what it wants.
I turn toward her, taking in all of her- and then I stride forward, grabbing her shoulder roughly and spinning her toward me. She is stunned, and then she smiles. As I kiss her red mouth my fingers fall below her face. My fingers tighten and I snap her neck in one swift movement, so easily, so naturally. She does not make a sound; her body is suspended in midair and then it crumples to the floor. I stare at it for a few seconds, reminiscing the feel of breaking bone, the sudden limpness. I smile down at her, feeling no sadness, no regret- but thinking how stupid she had been, how naïve. She fell for the Wolf.

Harriet’s friends arrived, altogether at the front door at exactly seven o’clock that night. They did not ring the doorbell, but helped themselves inside using a key. I sat at the kitchen table, slightly dismayed to see them pile in from outside, gazing around and murmuring to each other.
There were four of them; two older men in their sixties, a young man in his twenties and a young girl, also around twenty. The elder men were dressed in suits, despite the heat, and looked stiff and nervous. They looked like they were about to attend a seminar.
The girl was plain looking with brown hair and eyes, and she had a sour look about her that I didn’t think I liked. She was gazing down the hall, her pale mouth a thin tight line.
The man in his twenties was tall with blue eyes and a strong jaw line. He had a thin scar that ran from behind his ear up into his hairline, which was a sandy blonde colour. He looked out of place with this group.
He was the first to see me. He too was gazing down the hall, but after seeing nothing, turned his body to the left toward the kitchen and found himself looking directly at me. Of course, I had already been watching him so when he turned we couldn’t help but meet eyes. I didn’t look away and neither did he. I started to feel a bit weak at the knees. My nose was itchy. I blinked and he looked away.
No sooner had they arrived when Harriet came flying down the hall and hugged them all energetically, pulling them in toward the kitchen.
Suddenly they were all there, standing at the other end of the table, looking between me and Harriet. I struggled to smile but managed a weak one.
Harriet paused dramatically with the air of someone who has very important news. “As you are all aware, this is my grand-daughter, Charlotte.”
I nodded at them all and gave them another small smile. The two men in suits beamed at me enthusiastically; the girl was scrutinizing my features and the young guy was staring at the diary pressed beneath my fingers. I closed the book, watching him. He looked away.
Harriet smiled at me encouragingly then turned to the older guys. “This is Mr. Taylor- he’s a professor at Edam University in Perth. He’s been in Rosehill for a few months now, on a study.”
Taylor looked to be the older, and possibly kinder, of the two. He had dimples around his mouth and lively blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled. He was mostly bald, the crown of his head shining through a few stray white hairs. He winked at me.
“And this is Jerry- his family’s been in this town for generations, he lives up the road.”
Jerry did not smile, but seemed to be studying my own expression, which was probably one of mild awkwardness considering how I was feeling. There was a certain curiousness in his eyes as he gazed at me, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Harriet hurried past the men to the girl and turned back toward me.
“Penny is one of Mr. Taylor’s pupils. She’s come with him to assist him in his study.”
I nodded and the girl gave me a tight smile. Harriet glanced at the youngest man in the room, then back at me. She looked slightly anxious as she introduced the person she’d saved until last.
“Charlotte, this- is Niko.”
I did not smile at Niko. He was regarding me with something I could not identify, an intense look in his blue eyes. His mouth gave a twitch. Again, his eyes shifted from my face down to the table where the diary lay trapped beneath my fingers. His mouth tightened and he leaned forward, slid a chair from the table and sat down opposite me. Harriet muttered something that sounded like “lovely” and ushered the others to sit down. Tea appeared within minutes and they were raising cups to their lips nervously, waiting for a conversation to begin.
Taylor looked over at me eagerly. He nodded towards the book.
“Been doing a bit of reading, then? How are you finding it?” He asked.
I was taken by surprise and nodded slowly after a minute.
“It’s good.” I said uncertainly, glancing at Harriet.
“How do you like him so far?” He asked, regarding me carefully. The others turned to listen.
I gazed around at their faces, Niko again was looking away.
“You’ve read it?” I asked, tapping the book. I was slightly surprised because I hadn’t thought it would interest anybody like Taylor. Also, it was a book I had found in my grand-mother’s house, not in a book store. I had thought it would be the only copy.
“Oh of course, many times!” he gave a little laugh and looked around at the others who smiled tightly in response. “You could say it’s the reason for our little meetings, that book.” He added with a wink.
I raised my eyebrows and glanced at my grand-mother. She poured herself another cup of tea. I turned back when I realized Taylor had asked me something else.
“Sorry?”
“No matter! I said, how do you like him?”
I raised my eyebrows again, thinking about his question. I didn’t really know how I felt about Malachai. Certainly I was curious about him; his personality had changed, emphasizing a dangerous streak but I was still intrigued by him. I answered as honestly as I could.
“I find him interesting.”
Niko glared at my grand-mother. “You should never have let her read that stupid thing.”
It was the first time he had spoken, his voice was light and dreamy.
Jerry placed a hand on Niko’s arm as my grand-mother flared up.
“She had to read it! We couldn’t teach her everything ourselves!”
Niko looked outraged. “She’s reading stories about a mass-murderer and you heard her- she finds him interesting!”
“Niko! Calm down, would you.” Jerry stared at the young man until he removed his glare from Harriet.
I was confused. “Have you all read the diary?”
The table quieted. Harriet nodded, watching me carefully.
“Yes, Charlotte. We’ve all read the diary. See, I don’t know whether you’ve figured it out yet, whether you’ve read far enough to know, but this house, the house we’re in right now, was the house that Malachai grew up in.”
I stared at them in shock. Even though I’d always believed the story, always wanted it to be true, I had never imagined that it would be. I didn’t realize how much I had wanted it to be real. And to be living in the same house.. I’d never pieced it together, but it made sense. I let the knowledge roll over me.
“I’ve been living in his room.” I said blankly, thinking out loud.
Harriet nodded.
I looked up at her, questioning. “All the things, the clothes, the furniture…”
She nodded again. “All his.”
“Wow.”
“Charlotte, there’s something else we need to tell you.” That was Taylor now, looking at Harriet.
“What? Tell me what?” I asked, looking around the table.
“Why you’re here. In Rosehill.”
I gave a small laugh. “I know why I’m here.”
Jerry raised his eyebrows and I felt my cheeks grow hot. “If you must know, I had a bit of a thing for my English teacher and my Mum found out. She sent me here as a punishment.”
Harriet shook her head. “It was the key, but not the actual reason you were sent here.”
“What do you mean?” I was beginning to feel a little lost, like the last few weeks had been smoke-screened and I didn’t really know what had happened.
She took a deep breath. “You’re here because almost one hundred and fifty years ago, a rumour started. After the rumour began, it split into two versions, as rumours do. The first rumour was encouragement for one race, the second was about sending a savior for another race. The first rumour became truth about sixteen years after it was started. The second is yet to happen.”
“I don’t get it.” I said, being completely honest. I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. There was no mention of rumours in the book.
Harriet looked a bit lost; Jerry leaned forward.
“How much do you believe about the book?” he asked.
I felt like this was a bit of a trick question. I had just been told that I was living in the main character’s house, that it was all real. But somehow, I felt a bit silly saying I believed it all, considering how far fetched it was, but really I did.
“She believes everything.” It was the first time Penny had said something, her voice was soft and deliberate. We stared at each other for a couple of seconds then she looked away, slightly red. I too could feel the heat spreading along my cheekbones, I felt pretty stupid now.
“Well, if that is the case, then you believe there are two races among the planet. One that is spread all over, and the other mostly centering around Rosehill. The humans and the wolves.”
I didn’t say anything, not wanting to put myself further in it.
Taylor spoke now, “In the early eighteen hundreds, there were very few wolves. There are certainly very little written records about them at that time. We know that they lived in towns all within small distances of Rosehill. In the year 1861, the first rumour, the original rumour, started.”
“That was the year Malachai was born.” I said, remembering.
Taylor smiled. “Yes, it was.”
He took a breath to speak then paused, and I wasn’t sure if it was for dramatic effect, but I was listening to him closely.
“We do not know how it was started, but the rumour said: ‘Equip with strength and cunning his like know not, he will be feared. Born to rule, he will restore the balance once more. He will strengthen the blood and the breed, forge alliances and watch as his kingdom grows. The Cold One will be by his side, forever nurturing. Though enemies will chase the throne, the strength of he and his will dominate.’ Obviously there is more to this than we know, after all it was a rumour, but you get the idea.
“Soon after the rumour began, it split into two versions. The first you now know. The second however is a little more closely related. The second spoke of a Chosen one, the one to end the reign of the Wolf King and restore the earth to a safer balance, in favour of the humans. The rumour said, ‘She who fell from grace. She who chooses the One with the power as her mate will be the key to savior. With the Powerful one by her side, within her, will lie the answer. There will lie the being that will choose to end the Wolf King’s reign.’”
I stared at him. “What does that mean?”
It was Niko who spoke, in a low hollow whisper. “It means a baby. When She and the Powerful one are side by side, together, She will fall pregnant with a baby that will be The Chosen One.”
There was silence around the table as Niko’s words hung in the air.
Harriet was quiet for a moment, but then she looked directly at me.
“The second rumour was a clue. To help us find the woman who would give birth to The Chosen One. The baby that would grow up and choose to end the Wolf King’s reign.”
I was quiet, taking it all in with wonder. How such a complex idea could circulate through time.
Harriet leant forward. “Charlotte, we believe that woman is you.”
Bombshell. Explosion. What?
I laughed. Then I stopped. They were serious. Goosebumps ran down from my shoulders to the tips of my fingers. My eyes were wide. They really were serious.
“You can’t be serious.” I said softly, staring at Harriet, the woman I had come to like, to trust over the last few weeks. The trust was slowly slipping, I can tell you.
Taylor looked apprehensive as he said, “You have to know, we’ve been waiting for you for so long. I know this must be a shock, but we’re sure. We’re positive. It’s you.”
Silence.
“There is absolutely no way that you are right.” I said, now staring accusingly at my grand-mother. My heart was racing. I could feel it there, up in my throat, beating its way higher and higher.
She smiled sadly at me. “Please. You must believe us.”
“What? Believe what- that Malachai really exists, that all his old things are upstairs in my room, that a rumour started one hundred and fifty years ago so that some child would be born to rid the world of a werewolf?”
“If they want to. It is a choice, after all.” Niko said softly, muttering to himself.
Jerry and Harriet glared at him.
I looked back to Taylor, the professor, the man of fact.
“How can this possibly be true? That rumour was started years ago, you can’t possibly know..” I was aware I’d used the word ‘possibly’ twice, and didn’t care how ridiculously imbalanced I seemed. Somehow it didn’t seem important.
“The first rumour came true. Malachai was born to the throne,” he paused, watching me. He could see it in my face that I believed what he was saying. He went on. “You were born to produce The Chosen One. You are the Promised.”
I shook my head slowly, thinking he wasn’t as mentally sound as I had first thought. He wasn’t the one to rely one. I turned to Jerry helplessly.
He gave me an apologetic grimace. “I know this can’t be what you have planned for your life, but you must see it as a greater purpose. A means to an end.”
My voice came out in a squeak. “You want me to have a baby at seventeen?”
“Your mother did it.” Harriet pointed out.
My eyes were fiery. “With no help from you, I might add.”
She pursed her lips in reply and looked away. The group sat heavily, no doubt feeling slightly intruding on such a personal family conversation. I felt a little intruding myself.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at them all.
“Tell me why you think I’m ‘the promised’.”
The group turned to Niko who sighed.
“I guess that would start with me.” He said slowly.
I was staring at him hopefully, waiting to pick holes in his story.
He began quietly, gazing down at his hands. “I don’t have a family. I don’t know who my parents are, if I have sisters or brothers. I do not know if what I can do is natural, or just another defense they decided to supply for our side.
“When I was young, in the orphanage, I began to have visions. Or, not visions, dreams mostly. They were hard to remember, but as I got older, it got easier. The dreams always centered around the same thing- your family. They started when Harriet was pregnant with your Mother and they kept going all the way until your Mother gave birth to you. I saw it all.”
He looked up at me and held my gaze for a minute. I felt a bit empty- he’d seen everything? I felt a silent apology drift between us as he paused.
“The visions stopped when you were born. I didn’t understand what it meant. When I was old enough to leave the orphanage for good, I set out to find your mother, but she was long gone. I found Harriet instead. I read the diary. I understood.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You dreamt about me? My mother?”
He nodded.
I waited for him to say something else but Niko was quiet again, still staring at his hands. I started to feel a little better.
“So that’s it? You think I have this big destiny because you used to dream about my Mother?”
He looked up, helplessness in his face. “You don’t understand. It was real. It was like I was watching, the whole time. Being given information. I had been given the power-” His voice cracked on the word ‘power’ and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
“I was given this power- to help. To tell them who the woman was. Your Mother. I didn’t know it was you that was the important one, but it makes sense now. I had to find her to find you.”
I was staring at him. Unfortunately I was finding no holes.
“That’s ridiculous.” I said faintly.
He looked up. “Is it?”
“Absolutely.”
The others had been watching the conversation intently, and now Taylor spoke up.
“When Harriet came to me, I didn’t believe it either. After all, it was just a rumour, passed on through time until they found their way to us- a chosen one! How preposterous. Of course, I had heard the first rumour about the Wolf-King, though I did not know his name.
“When she first came to me, Niko was just a boy, young like yourself. He told me about the chosen one, sent to save the earth. He told me he had found her. He mentioned the ‘the other race’ somewhere, I forget what he said now,” he frowned, remembering, then went on.
“I did not believe him of course, I thought he was crazy. But I found it strange that he too should know of the other race- a race of so few and so secret. I asked him how he had come to hear about the wolves.”
He paused, smiling slightly to remember. Niko was staring out the window, listening, no doubt remembering too.
“And?”
Taylor glanced at me. “Well, I found it strange because they were so rarely documented! There were no studies on them, no text books explaining their existence at all. The little I knew I had picked up from books- only snippets. Clues. References to that other race. How had he found out about them? I had been reading and studying literature for years and he only a boy!
“When I asked him how he knew about them, he did not know who I meant. Then he said something that made me stop, that made me regard him with such intense interest and curiosity that I could not tear my eyes away from him.”
“What did he say?” I asked, my own eyes wide.
Taylor looked over at Niko, who smiled at him. “When I asked him where he had heard about the wolves he said- ‘Wolves? What do you mean? Do you mean the Wolf King?’ and I remember staring at him, and pieces of information were racing through my brain. Wolf King, Wolf King. I had heard it before. In the first, original rumour. I had read it in an old text about Rosehill and the population growth in the area. It had been a small section in the book- for how much is there to say about Rosehill?”
Harriet gave a small insulted cough. Taylor was too absorbed to notice.
“I listened then, to what he had to say. He told me of the Chosen one- it’s all he could talk about. But there was more to his story- he told me everything. And that is how I heard the second rumour. Together with the first, it made perfect sense. The first talked about the destruction of man-kind and the second spoke of a being sent to save them. I believed him. There was just no other way that he could know about it.”
I could hear the crickets outside enjoying the heat. I wasn’t enjoying it too much myself.
“It’s really hot in here.” I whispered, pulling at my t-shirt uncomfortably.
Jerry nodded to me. “I know it’s a lot to take in, your life changing and all but we really need you on board. We need to get started.”
I searched his face then glanced back at Taylor. “Get started? Started on what?”
Harriet sighed. “Now that we’ve found you, now that you’re here… it doesn’t make sense to waste time. He has been out there, getting stronger, more experienced, and we have not yet begun. We are only getting older,” she said, gazing around the table at Taylor and Jerry. “We need to start right away. We need to teach him how to fight, how to win.”
“Teach who?” I asked, frowning.
Harriet looked up, surprised. “The baby.”
I blinked. I glanced wildly at Taylor then back at Harriet. “But you said something- about the woman- the girl, me, I- I have to find the powerful one? The powerful one that will be the father. You haven’t found him yet…”
Taylor smiled sadly and Harriet looked dismayed.
“But, don’t you see?” She asked, looked to Taylor for help.
I looked at each and every one of them, searching their faces. Their expressions were awkward, embarrassed. My gaze paused on Niko and when he met my eyes, the weak feeling came back.
As he stared at me, I almost felt like we were talking, communicating without words. He was looking at me with such pity, such sadness. And then I realized. They had found The powerful one. Long ago. He was sitting across from me, gazing at me, willing me to understand. It had been his power that discovered me so early in his life.
I pushed my chair back from the table. “No,” I whispered. Then louder. “No.”
I grabbed the diary and ran to my room, anything to get away. I slammed the door and stood staring at it, breathing heavily.
I heard someone’s chair scrape back then heard Niko’s voice. “Don’t, Harriet. Just let her go. I felt the same way when you told me. I’ve just had more time to get used to it, that’s all.”

It was almost one in the morning when I had stormed from the table. I was lying on the bed, listening to their murmurs, crying silently into my pillow. They were crazy! They really were crazy. Did they really expect me to listen to them, to agree? I’m the Chosen One? Niko and I are meant to be together, have a baby? Oh, no worries! Niko, shall we go up to my room and try right now? Think you could knock us up some tea after, Harriet? They were crazy.
They’d been on their own too long, out in the middle of nowhere. Poisoned by the heat. Jerry and Taylor had gone senile, Harriet had driven herself insane with loneliness, Niko was a deranged attention seeker and Penny.. well I didn’t really know about her, she hadn’t said much. She was about the only one I still liked.
The noise had stopped. I heard the door click quietly, then heard a car outside. A few moments later Harriet cricked my door open and slipped inside.
“Charlotte, are you awake?” she whispered, holding her breath. I pretended I couldn’t hear her, and made my breathing sound as regular as I could.
I don’t think I fooled her because she came and sat at the end of the bed, facing the door.
“He’s a good person,” she said softly. “He cares about you, even now.”
I felt anger bubble inside me. “How is that even possible? He doesn’t know me.”
She didn’t seem surprised that I wasn’t asleep. “He wants to.”
I replied with a soft snort of disbelief. I wiped my eyes dry and sat up, facing her. My voice was steady and firm.
“I want no part in this. I don’t want to be with Niko and I refuse to have a baby.”
She didn’t respond so I went on.
“You can’t just tell me all this and expect me to go along with it! I want my own life, I want to choose who I end up with.”
“Is it really so bad this way?” she asked.
I couldn’t believe what she’d said. “It’s like a bloody arranged marriage!”
“You wouldn’t need to get married first.” She said.
Unbelievable. It wouldn’t have been acceptable with anyone else, but it was fine with Niko.
“I don’t want anything to do with him.” I said through gritted teeth.
She nodded slowly, then got up. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The next few days were awful. I was still fuming over the meeting and what was discussed. What infuriated me even more was that Harriet wasn’t at all apologetic. She just took it in her stride that I was angry, and went about her gardening as usual. I, however, had very little to pass the time which made me even angrier.
I was slightly resentful towards the diary after what had happened, and couldn’t bring myself to read any further. I was angry with Malachai for existing, for forcing this choice on me. I was frightened, too. Frightened that Harriet would make me be with Niko, that they would force me to have this stupid baby. What if they were wrong? What if I had the thing, and it turned out Niko wasn’t who they thought he was? The baby would just be a baby, and both our lives would be ruined.
Thoughts like this went back and forth in my head until I was weary of them. With nothing left to do, I ended up begrudgingly forgiving the diary and began to read.

My little mobile rang for the first time in weeks and I pounced on it from the bed, answering quickly just to stop the ringing. I didn’t want Harriet to know that I was on the phone. I wasn’t sure how much my Mother had told her, but I wasn’t keen on explaining anything.
“Hello?”
“Hi. It’s me.”
Lee. The sound of his voice sent a wave of relief over me. I couldn’t help being a bit pissed though.
“Hey! I’ve left you like ten messages.”
He paused. “Sorry, I’ve just had a lot going on.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“Okay. No, actually. Pretty shitty.”
“How come?”
Was he serious?
“Because I’m stuck in my room in a hole of a town with no one to talk to and I haven’t seen my boyfriend since I left.”
There was another silence and I could feel myself growing more and more desperate.
“I really need to see you.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, me too.”
“Can you come down and get me?”
“How will I see you?”
“I’ll sneak out.”
“How will you do that?”
“I have a window in my room- there’s no screen on it.”
“Okay, good.”
“You’ve called at a good time. I really need to get out of here.”
“I can take off early on Friday and drive down. I won’t get there ‘til late, though.”
“That’s okay. I miss you so much.”
“Me too.”
“Can’t wait. Love you.”
“I’ll see you Friday.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”

It seemed that fate had come to rescue me, not persecute me. Lee had finally found somewhere and we were leaving. It was perfect timing. I had to get away from all of this, from Harriet and Niko and the whole damn idea. I was going back to the city to be with the man that had Chosen me.
As it was only Tuesday, I still had a full three days until he was coming. I wasn’t quite sure how I would get away to see him. I figured he would call when he arrived, I’d sneak out the window, we’d meet down the road and then we’d just get in the car and drive. After sharing an extremely passionate kiss first, of course. I had obviously thought about it a lot, but ultimately, I wasn’t too fussed on the details of the escape, just as long as it happened.

In my long wait for Lee, I did very little except sleep and read the diary. Harriet became a lot more bearable now that I was looking forward to something, my anger slowly fizzling out.
I spent a bit more time talking to her, and it was nice to have some company other than the diary. I had to admit that I was completely hooked on it though- the way it was written, it was so honest and raw. I was beginning to fall into the characters, blending with them, identifying with them. I saw everything in a new light though. hooked on it though- the way it was written, it was so honest and raw. I was beginning to fall into the characters, blending with them, identifying with them. I saw everything in a new light though.