The Symbol Of Our Love

The attic grew beautiful everyday and warmer every night, to be honest whose home wouldn't? and the attic was mine. The attic was my home, my lair and my homeland. I practically grew up in the attic and my tiny universe revolved around it. My first memories were made in the attic, with walls with which I'd gotten familiar, the stale breeze I've grown to like and the bland, stuffy surroundings. The old items and unused stuff were my family,my audience.

Why did I grow up in the attic?

Well it was where they hid me, yes, they hid me away. No other eyes must see me,no other soul must know of my existence and why again?

Some said I was too beautiful, that's a funny thing to say but not every female werewolf had silver hair, or eyes that looked like the moon. I was rare, so I was told but there was much more to my story eventhough I wished there wasn't.

"Venus!" Lunar Bayle's shrill voice as hard knocking sounds came on my door, the door of the attic and the blood drained from my face instantly and my heart began to beat in fear. I was in trouble this morning and only heavens knew what laid in store for me.

"Where are you bastard of a slave" she bellowed

"I'm coming Lunar" I answered and hurriedly fixed my hair in the mirror. After that, I scurried to the window and opened it so that the sun would shine on my flowers, then I walked to the door but the moment I opened it a slap landed across my face, making my left ear squirm as I staggered backwards

"What did I tell you about closing your door" the Lunar shrieked

"You told me not to lock my door anymore" I answered "but..."

"But what!?"

Lunar Bayle instructed me never to lock my door just so she would be able to go in and out of my room as she liked and I obeyed until Tedros, her son and my cousin started sneaking into my room at night to convince me to have sex with him. The lust Tedros had for me was just too great and he almost had his way with me the last time he snuck into my room. After that night, I realized how strengthless I was against him,thus I decided to start locking my door at night.

And of course, I told the Alpha and The Lunar the truth when Tedros accused me of stabbing him with a knife but his parents took his side and I was punished severely and starved for four days.

"Why did you disobey my orders" tears began to run down my face. I could see the hatred she had for me in her eyes, undiluted hatred and for what reason? All because I chose to be born. I opened my mouth to talk but was welcomed with another slap, the shock from the pain caught me unaware, making me fall to the floor and the moment this happened, the Lunar started kicking me everywhere,my stomach,my sides,buttocks, my back,my chest

"Don't you ever again close the door of your miserable abode"

"Yes Lunar"

"You're nothing but a slave birthed by a street slut"

"Yes Lunar"

"You're nothing but bad luck on two feet,a shame, disgrace and a scandal"

"Yes Lunar"

"You don't deserve to live!"

By this time, pain had engulfed my whole system such that when I opened my mouth to talk, the words won't form and I choked on my tears making me cough

"Can't you talk" she asked, kicking me even harder "you bundle of retribution and disgrace" then she stopped and bent down and grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me to my feet with it. The pain I felt was so excruciating that I almost fell backwards again when she let go of my hair

"Now you'll head over to the kitchen and scrub the floors, afterwards you'll clean out all of the children's rooms, then my room and then the council room. When you're done you'll go outside and sweep the compound and you'll trim the flowers. You'll go to the gallery and clean all paintings and sculptures. When you're through you'll go to the back castle and wash all the windows. You must finish these chores before the nobles start arriving for the pack council meeting. No body must see you Venus, if you're not careful enough I'll kill you "

With that, she stormed out the door and I closed it behind me and sank to my knees. I hated my life,I hated that the moon goddess wouldn't let me die in my sleep peacefully as I asked. Each day of my life was filled with pain and I didn't remember when I was happy. It was like I lived in hell,a breeding ground for hatred.

My father and Alpha Lucius were brothers but my father was the older, making him the leader of the Wolfdusk Pack. He was a clever and an industrious man who loved the peaceful stillness of nature. I was told my father was a quiet man who would spend hours reading, painting or writing. He was hardworking as well as clever Wolfdusk was one of the biggest and strongest in all of the werewolf land because of him.

According to history, my grandfather loved my father more than Alpha Lucius and this preference made the relationship between my father and his brother strained.

All went well with the pack,it flourished,grew richer and stronger but there was a problem; my father had no wife and no children. Many women came for him but he turned them all down, soon it became known that my father was celibate since no one ever saw him with a woman.

One day, my father got bitten by a scorpion in the garden and he died a week after. Since my father had no heir, the leadership of the pack was handed over to Lucius, his brother who gladly accepted it since he'd always been jealous of my father. A lot of people were against Alpha Lucius becoming ruler especially since people knew of the reckless and profilgateful life he led. But because my father had no children, they couldn't impede Alpha Lucius from becoming leader.

Eleven months after my father's death, my mother wrapped two months old me in a thick shawl, placed me in a basket and dropped me at the entrance of the Wolfdusk castle. In the basket, she placed a note which read;

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

"It shattered me to hear of Darvyn, my one and

only true love's death. Indeed, my world has been

plunged into darkness ever since and I do not think I will be able to recover from the pain. I know

you don't know me but Darvyn was going to marry me the month he died and I was going to

announce the new of my pregnancy to him after the wedding. Darvyn loved me and was going to present me to the world despite my status and family background. He loved me regardless of who I am and who I will be in the future. He loved me with my shame,scars and flaws. He would have married me long ago but I was worried about what the world would say about me and the effect it would have on his status. And so here is the seed of our love, Venus is the name Darvyn chose for her to bear as a symbol of our love which is what her name implies. She is his daughter, his true offspring, his blood. I do not have money and other necessary resources to raise her alone.I am returning to my people in shame and I cannot take her along. So, please love her like you loved Darvyn, return the love and selflessness he showed you. I'm leaving now with a heavy heart and I don't think I can survive the pain of the loss of a lover and of a child. I am withering slowly away. So, please take care of Venus for me, please I beg of you. Goodbye and thank you very much. Here are the few I jewelries own,as well as the ones Darvyn gave to me including the Lunar signet ring. I would like her to have them and the journal her father kept with me. I pray she grows to be proud of me and of her father"

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

The discovery of my existence,as expected, shocked my uncle especially when the paternity tests came out positive. He decided to kill me and had paid the nurse to do so when My grandmother Serlia found out and threatened to expose her evil son to the world if anything bad happened to me.

Alpha Lucius became scared at this threat but he still couldn't let anything take the leadership of the pack away from him. If the world found out that Darvyn had a child, the pack would be taken from him since he had a lot enemies and people didn't like that he wasn't ruling as good as my father. So, he begged my grandmother to take me into hiding but Serlia refused, saying Alpha Lucius could keep enjoying his rule as the Alpha of the pack but would have to abdicate once I came of age.

My Uncle had no choice than to agree but he made my grandmother raise me in the deepest part of the castle so that no one would know of my existence until the time was right.

Grandmother Serlia loved me as she loved her late son,my father. She never failed to remind me of how special I am, she told me that the whole pack belonged to me and that I should never think of myself as unlucky. My grandmother also tried to find my mother but there were no traces of her, no one could discern whether my mother was alive or dead. One spy my grandmother sent the errand asserted that my mother might be a courtesan, another one said my mother came from a wretched family, another said my mother was a slave who usually snuck out of her master's house to have trysts with my father at night while some simply came back with no information on her at all.

My grandmother eventually had to give up trying to find my mother. Life went on and we continued to live in hidden part of the castle, Granny Serlia taught me a lot of things including how to read and write. When I turned ten, Granny began making plans for us to elope to another kingdom so that I would to grow up freely but she had a cardiac arrest one day and became very ill; She died four weeks after.

On the very day she died, Alpha Lucius took me from the hidden chamber and took me to the attic. "You're so lucky mother made me swear that I won't kill you before she died" he said as he pushed me into the dark and dusty room. "Otherwise I would have severed your head from your neck the moment she closed her eyes in death" then he slammed the door shut in my face and locked it.

I remained in the attic until after Granny Serlia's funeral. Two or three days after her funeral the door of the attic was suddenly thrown open and Uncle Lucius and his wife walked in.