Chapter 2 - The Punishment

It was a gloomy afternoon in the enchanted forest, a velvety fog is covering the rustling trees surrounding the cold azure river. The crisp pearl driblets of moist from the enormous veined leaves gradually fall to the damp ground and blood-curdling scarlet red crawling creatures are enjoying the humidity.

The mermaids are slowly lifting their curvaceous bodies from the river displaying their metallic rainbow scales that brightly captures by the golden sunbeam. Cold creeps from their porcelain skin as they are gossipping about one of their sisters who will be punished by Lord Martin, the arrogant werewolf leader of the Tikaluna tribe.

A mermaid with luscious blonde hair and green eyes muttered anxiously, "She told me that their love affair started when the gorgeous gray werewolf saw her swimming on the north side of this river. She defended that their love develops when he promised our sister of mortality from Lord Martin through Nano, his loyal assistant."

Another mermaid with cherry red curly hair with gray eyes mumbled with distress, " Yes, I heard that our sister lured the beast when she transformed into a human. They had their secret engagement. But her pregnancy is against our law, their child will be cursed."

A stiff-legged green-eyed gray werewolf suddenly showed up and interrupted their conversation with a rough vicious voice, "Your sister should be punished! If she did not seduce our brother it would not have gotten this far."

"Haha! Well bro, maybe you haven't experienced the heat from another's body, or how to feel the love and affection from someone." A blue-scaled robust merman teases the gray werewolf.

"Have you?" His furrowed forehead expressed, " You can just love someone of your kind but not with another element, it is against our law." The werewolf reasoned with a strong conviction.

A silly youngster mermaid  swiftly glides at their middle, she proudly exhibits her orange fins and yellow scales, "Bulingaw should be blamed."

Their eyes broaden while cocked a brow in surprise, the youngster mermaid continued, "He told Lord Martin about their love affair because he has a secret admiration for my aunt and he wants the werewolf out of her life. His comrade butterfly was seen peeking from the two in the secret side of the north river, she informed Bulingaw about it and his envy eyes pricked her yellowish powdery wings."

They stared at her without blinking, their open-mouthed frozen jaw is stuck in the cold breeze of the forest, they know that Bulingaw is an ally to Lord Martin and his words are more powerful than any ordinary member of the Tikaluna tribe.

"BONG! BONG! BONG!" Nano banged the flat, circular metal disc and hit it with a wooden mallet. "BONG! BONG! BONG!" A full blast ear-piercing strike from the gong can be heard all over the forest.

All the members of the Tikaluna tribe are nervously rushing into the forest as they know that when Nano hits the golden gong this signals that a member of their tribe will be violently punished. 

Two hundred years ago,  Lord Martin punished a fairy, she was beheaded in front of her family and friends because she fell in love with a half-bodied beast, a member of their rival clan, the Kaplawa Beast Clan.

Pack of white and gray werewolves combative gait scurried in the damp ground of the forest overleaping with the fog and dropping leaves of the trees. Bulingaw's members, the one-eyed monsters mutate into crickets, butterflies, and dragonflies, others prefer to remain as green vigorous giant monsters expelling their yellow slimy saliva. Enchanted goddesses and fairies in miniature size strode forwards. Their ebony skin and eyes of amber are bursting with their golden and reddish glittery wings.

  

"HEAR YE! HEAR YE! LORD MARTIN IS COMING! ". Nano blew the huge wooden trumpet to call the Tikaluna tribe's attention. He stood in front of the river wearing the massive black leather wings with red streaks on them overlapping his whole body, this is his special clothing whenever Lord Martin is holding the tribe together.

Lord Martin entered the enchanted forest and a sudden strong roar of the wind thunders from disgruntled sky surrounds the wilderness. His towering 8-foot height with silvery white-furred torso prominently displaying his gigantic arms and rigorous legs. His indigo gun-metal eyes cringed snout and ivory sharp fangs appeared beautifully aligned with his jaws. This goes lavishly with his enormous smooth paws, perky ears, and ionic bushy sleek tail.

"OWOOOOOO!!! Lord Martin gives his welcoming address to the pack and the rest of the tribe.

"OWOOOOO!!!" ARF! ARF! ARF!" The white and gray werewolves responded with respect, bowed their furred heads, and moves backward paving the way to Lord Martin's presence.

All eyes and ears are sharply focused into Lord Martin's presence. 

He punched the soggy ground with his formidable and heavy right paw, he gruffs,  " After hundreds of years of living peacefully in this forest, law abiders help our tribe to achieve the most sacred way in maintaining the dignity and solidarity of our generations. It has come to my knowledge that a member of our tribe, particularly a mermaid is having an affair with a werewolf, which you know is against our law. You can marry someone of your kind but not with a different element as it will ruin the glorious and divine breed of our tribe."

"Shwwshwshwshs....", creatures speak in words that others couldn't decipher. They speak in quiet tones and Lord Martin can sense their eagerness to know who the lawless mermaid is. Their heads are turning side to side, and their keen eyes are flashing with regret and fear.

Lord Martin exclaimed, " Bring the mermaid and the werewolf in front of these creatures and they will be punished!"

"NOOO PLEASE LORD....", Enya the goddess of the forest is teary-eyed and her soft voice yelled in despair as she bent her knees in front of the tribe, "Please let us hear first their story before you punished them, I don't want them to suffer like my sister did because she fell in love with a member of Kaplawa Beast Clan two hundred years ago.

Two black-furred giant monsters with green streaks on their arms came upfront with the mermaid transformed into a human and with a werewolf, both are handcuffed helplessly.

"Mermaid, what do you have to say?" Lord Martin asked calmly.

Her eyebrows were pulled together dreadfully, with heavy breath, doe-eyes, restless hand her body moves weakly and bends forward as she screamed,  "I am pregnant my Lord! Please spare my child." 

"Huhuhuhu!!!" Her shameful tears rip every ear of the forest, causing the owls to hoot with grief.

Tale-teller fairies babbled lamentably. Echoes of gossip from these creatures are all over the forest. Autumnal-colored trees swayed vaguely and fall from stiff branches. 

"SILENCE!" Nano spouted and banged the gong even louder, "BONG! BONG!"

Lord Martin forwards his chin with skeptical eyes, "How did your love affair start?" 

The gray-furred yellow-eyed werewolf raises his head, gazes anxiously at Lord Martin, and trembles, "A...aa... I saw her swimming beautifully on the north side of the river, at first sight, I never thought that she is a mermaid as she displayed her long skinny pale legs in front of my yellow eyes."

"How did you discover about her real being?", Lord Martin grilled him with his vicious eyes.

The mermaid screeched while she tries to get off her hands from the metal handcuff,  "After days of secretly meeting with him on the north side, my Lord,  we cannot contain our happiness and love for each other, we shared each other's body heat. We decided to engage ourselves in an everlasting relationship and I showed my true being to him. He accepted me and promised me that he will beg you of our mortality."

"Yes, Lord Martin," the werewolf's downcast eyes gaze in a croaky voice, "We apologize for our mistakes. We know our impulsive actions are against our law but when we knew that we are having a child, our principles have changed. I decided to tell her that I will beg you to abolish our immortality and be mortal for our child. We know you have to power to do it and whatever it takes for us, we will do anything for the sake of our child."

Jealous Bulingaw wants to break them apart. With his heavy and ponderous feet he approaches Lord Martin and whispers, "Our law is unbreakable my Lord, if we let this pass, it would be unfair for the others."

"Is this because you have a secret admiration for the mermaid and you want to break them apart?" Lord Martin intriguingly uttered.

"Oh... Oh no, my Lord!" Bulingaw shakes his head, "That is not true my Lord, I am just one of your loyal servants who abides and respects the law of our tribe." Bulingaw bows his monstrous head and flickered his eye with guilt.

Martin strides his grandly robust paws forward in the middle of the tribe and announced, "If you can still remember, two hundred years ago,  I beheaded a fairy who fell in love with a black werewolf of our rival clan." 

Creatures nod their heads, lowered their eyelids, and curled their lips in sorrow.

"But, this time, it is both from our tribe who contradict our law and even dared to conceive a creature without reckoning the consequence. You thought that asking me to give you your mortality will be your greatest escape to raise an innocent child in your delusional world. No other element should be blamed for your recklessness, not even my allies or other concerned creature. You should have told me first about your condition, but your foolishness is evident for not only disrespecting the law but letting your emotions kill your principles. You should face the consequence." 

"My Lord, what can we do for you to spare our child's life?" The gray-furred werewolf appeals with his cheeks pressing to the ground and his desperate eyes sob pathetically.

"NOTHING!" Martin growled decisively. "Rules must not be broken. Our law is sacred. A traitor of the law should be punished. Let this be known to all of you, the beautiful breed of the tribe should flourish and be a representation of how we mold and protect our generation. A mermaid is destined to be a merman. A werewolf should recognize his pack. A mixture of breeds will befoul a tribe's honor. An innocent creature will be implicated by your boneheadedness."

"Nano!" Lord Martin showed his shiny ivory fangs turned his head and Nano instantly scoots to Martin's side. "Throw them into the pit of fire!"

"Nooo, Lord! Spare us please!"

"Please... Forgive us...please..."

"We realize our mistakes, Lord, please have mercy!"

"Huhuhuhu!!!" Save our child pleeeeeease..."

Endless heart-piercing whines can be heard all over the forest while the dark gray skies found its perfect time to pour their bitter tragic tears. Thunder pounds and lightning roughly strikes when the giant monsters remove the shackles from the two condemned creatures and pushed them into the flaming hole.

Misery, contrition, and bitter tears are all that are left in the forest when the tribe members vacated the lonely woodland.

Lord Martin left the wilderness with regret. His indigo gun-metal eyes turned into tears of remorse, his ivory fangs receded with dismay, and his powerful head bowed with sadness.

His mind mumbles while peering blankly at the huge smoke clashing with the heavy downpours, "I hate myself when I give heartless punishments. It is not my duty to be evil in their eyes, but to lift their spirits and give them the freedom to love and be loved. May the spirit of your child be born again into a mortal being and will have the freedom to live the love she deserves."

"Owoooooo!!!!" Lord Martin howled with painful tears poured down to his weakened paws.