The Curse of Fate

“They’re saying I’m a witch?” I asked, finally piecing all of Xavian's words together.

A reluctant nod dipped his head, tousling his chestnut waves as he sighed.

I walked closer to him, making the wooden floorboards creak as I did so, “But I’m not," I say practically, "in fact—”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re not, Ahveya," he grasped my hands in his to stop their wringing, "they believe you are and so they’ll do anything to get rid of you.”

I searched his face, staring into the onyx pools of his eyes, “I don’t understand why they’d even think—”

He looked away, pained, “It’s because of your association with me.”

I flinch, startled and confused, “What?”

His jaw clenched, gritting out, “There are… superstitions connected to our kind.”

My hand flew to his arm, “But they don’t know that you’re actually cursed!”

A grim chuckle slipped past his lips as he re-met my gaze, “Of course not, but owls are related to the mythologies surrounding these parts, and they're known to be bad o—”

Screeeeeeee.

I gasped, the abrupt noise jerking me straight up from my bed.

I look around the dimly lit room before placing a hand on my thundering heart in realization. It was just a dream.

The embers in the fireplace burned orange as I pulled the blankets up higher around my shoulders to ward off the chill. The dream still lingered in my mind as I slowly remembered, I'd woken up because I heard—

Tck, tck, tck.

Well, not that precise sound, I thought, realizing something was pecking on my window.

I peered in the direction the noise was coming from and squinted. A shadow moved across the glass and I held back a scream.

Then I realized, those were talons scratching against the windowpane!

I jumped up, hurriedly pulling the covers off me to stumble over to the window and pull up the glass.

"Xavian!" I half-whisper shouted as his heart-shaped face appeared before me, "What are you doing!?"

Screeee. His answering cry made my heart twist, and I quickly stepped out of the way as he flew in.

And right there in the middle of the room, in the dead of night, the owl turned into a human.

"What on earth is going on?" I demanded, stepping closer to him, "You never visit me at—" But I stop as I notice the urgent dismay on his face.

“Ahveya," the way he said my name made me shiver, "they think…” He bit his lip uncertainly, turning away from me.

"Who thinks what?" I ask, walking around to face him. I reach up to cup his cheek in my palm, turning his head to meet my gaze when he avoided my eyes, “Xavian, what’s wrong?”

His eyes glinted with emotions I dare not name as his hand covered mine, “You already know about the curse on my clan and how we’ve been searching centuries on how to go about breaking it.”

I bob my head, “Yes. What about it?”

“They, my own clan,” he scoffed bitterly, “believe that when you die, the curse will be broken. And so now, they're wanting to speed up that process."

My eyes widen at his words, “What?”

He must've seen the fear there, for his hand immediately tightened on mine and his dark eyes burned with intensity as he continued, “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. They just think that since it was your clan…”

Ah, yes… of course, it's because of our recent discovery. How strange it was the decisions made by your ancestors hundreds of years ago could still bear major consequences in your life today.

Tightness clutched my chest as I whispered, finishing his sentence, “My clan was the one that turned them into strix.”

"Yes," he confirmed, before pulling away to pace the room, "I don't even know how they found out, I haven't told anyone, anything yet."

My gaze followed him as I remained silent, caught up in my own thoughts. Maybe it's for the best. After all, how do we right the wrongs of two clans' dispute? We don't even know what happened...

Brow furrowed, I felt my heart squeeze. I just want him to be free.

"My freedom means nothing if it's at the sacrifice of your life," he stated, having now stopped his pacing to stare at me.

Whoops, I must've spoken that last bit aloud, "Xavian, I do want you to be free... Free of all of this."

"Not at the expense of your life," the raw emotion in his voice wrapped around my soul.

My breath caught, as I was now the one to look away, "Perhaps, this was how things were meant to be—"

"How can you say that," he questioned harshly, his hands landing on my shoulders to turn me towards him.

I gazed into his eyes, his beautiful, sorrowful eyes, and said nothing.

Desperation leaked into his voice as I remained quiet, and he reached up to hold my face in his gentle hands, "I would remain an owl forever if it meant you got to live."

The world blurred, swirling for a long moment before a tear trailed down part of my cheek.

"I want to live," I confided in him my arms finding their way around his waist. "I want to be with you; but I also want you to be free."

"Silly girl," he said with a watery laugh, "don't you know? You are my freedom."

A sob slipped past my lips as I leaned into him, his arms moving to enfold me into an embrace.

"After these many years of wandering and waiting and wasting away... I finally found you, and I refuse to let you go," he leaned his head on top of mine as he held me close for several minutes, our hearts speaking without words. Then he murmured into my hair, "No matter what happens, we'll fight, and live, together."

And even though I knew my death would be an easy out, that it would free him, and his clan... that standing against them would only result in a war, I said the words I wanted to say, "Together... and always."