Evenfall

It had been two weeks since Maria last saw Jakob, after she’d left him beside the pond. She was working on a new dress, holed up in her caravan, when the knock came. Her heart soared with hope, believing it was Jakob come to tell her that he was hers. Completely.

As quick as she could, she threw open the door. Her smile fell, however, when she saw that it was not Jakob that stood on her step.

“Good morning, miss!” The little boy said, his face beaming. He couldn’t have been older than five winters, maybe less. Maria mustered up a small smile as she bent down so that she could face him at eye level.

“Hello, young man,” she said, meeting his sparkling blue eyes. “Who might you be?”

“My name is Nikolas, miss!” he replied. He seemed he could barely contain his excitement, hopping gently from foot to foot.

“Hello Nikolas,” she smiled. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“I was told to deliver this to you,” He said, holding out an envelope. She took it and stood up, glancing over the golden lettering that embossed the parchment. It read ‘invitation’.

“What’s this?” She asked, glancing up to meet his eyes again.

“It’s an invitation miss,” he said, beaming. “to my mummy’s wedding!”

Maria allowed a small frown to slip onto her face. Who would invite her to a wedding? She didn’t know anyone that was getting married. Unless –

“Who’s she marrying?” Maria asked, her heart falling faster and faster by the second.

“I think his name is J- Ja… something,” Nikolas said. His little nose scrunched up as he struggled with the name. He brightened again. “but he said I could start calling him daddy.”

Maria blinked once. Twice. And then she collapsed against the doorframe.

“Miss?” Nikolas asked. He seemed concerned. “Miss, are you okay?”

Maria managed a shaky smile, nodding as she carefully sunk to the floor.

“I’m fine, thank you.” She whispered. “Tell your daddy I accept his invitation.”

It took all the strength she could possibly muster to tell the little boy that, but she did. She did, because she knew that Jakob would be terrified at the prospect of her attendance to his wedding. She liked that. She wanted him to be afraid. It wasn’t as if his fear was unfounded, he knew more than well what she was capable of.

But he greatly underestimated her.

And she planned to teach him a lesson.

Three weeks passed, and the day of the wedding arrived. Maria was ready for it. She had sewed an entirely new dress for herself to wear for the wedding. Her mother had told her to never wear any traditional Anala clothing around the other townsfolk, but she knew that today she needed it. She felt much more confident wearing the provocative outfit that showed off far more than was socially acceptable.

The wedding was set to start at midday, so Maria had all the time in the world to get ready. For a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of immersing herself in old memories, memories of her and Jakob together. After the day she had helped him at the pond, they had become the best of friends.

He had been seven winters, then. She had been six. They had been inseparable. But his father had held a grudge against her, for some unknown reason. Maybe he just disliked the Anala in general. Nevertheless, he held that grudge in a vice grip up until the day he died. He had done everything in his power to try and keep his son away from Maria and her mother. That only strengthened their bond, which eventually grew into love.

At least, she thought it had.

Maria, in her naivety, had believed that her love was reciprocated. How foolish she had been.

She was happy, then. She so wished she remembered how that felt.

Unconsciously, her hand drifted down to her stomach. She hoped that this child would be able to remind her.

Maria lay in her cot up until the late hours of the morning. She only got up because she was hungry.

Her bones filled with lethargy, she lumbered over to the door and opened it, letting in the cool morning air. She had left a carcass outside the night before, to bleed and clean it in the morning. What she found was two wolves attacking it with ferocious hunger, tearing into the soft meat with all the viciousness of feral animals.

She yelled at them, but that did nothing to discourage them. She slumped down onto the step of her caravan and munched on an apple, watching them. Jakob hated wolves.

They gave her an idea.

Maria was almost ready to leave for the wedding. She had pulled on the provocative garment and was busy tracing patterns onto her exposed hands, chest and midriff. The material she had used was a dark maroon, almost exactly the color of the animal blood she was drawing with. These symbols would give her the power she needed to do what she had in mind for her lying lover.

The dress she wore barely covered the womanly parts she had up top, leaving almost her entire chest and stomach exposed. Her back wasn’t covered, either. Her arms were covered by long sleeves that flared at the wrists, and her dress was made of a light material that seemed to float around her feet whenever she moved. It was accentuated with shells, beads, jewels and small chains.

Once she finished with her sigils and symbols, she went over the spell one more time, just to be sure she wouldn’t accidentally turn it on herself.

Then she saddled up her horse and rode into town.

The wedding was being held at the town hall, on the steps of the building. It was a grand affair, with flowers of all variants draped in scores over everything, from the chairs to the arch that had been set up on the stairs.

She had to give it to them, it was very impressive.

She didn’t come into the town often, just when she needed material or tools, and then sometimes when she had items to sell. Not many townsfolk knew her, and so many shied away from the scantily clad beauty on her steed.

She didn’t mind. She lived in the forest; company with the townsfolk was not high on her list of priorities. Stopping this wedding, however, was.

She arrived just as the guests were seating themselves. Many heads were turned when she walked down the aisle and sat in the chair normally reserved for the groom’s father. It wasn’t a bother, as nobody would sit there. But it was a statement. A statement that told the guests she did not respect the man’s grave; or his son’s marriage for that matter.

She sat patiently, and waited for the proceedings to begin. She didn’t have to wait long.

Jakob walked out of the hall and onto the stairs with a beaming grin as he surveyed the guests. His grin faltered, however, when he saw Maria, and the suggestive smile she wore. It was not a kind smile. Menacing would best describe it.

Soon the bride stood at the end of the aisle. Maria paid no attention to her. Her eyes were focused solely on Jakob’s face, and he knew it. She liked watching him fidget under her unwavering gaze. His expression was carefully controlled, she could see that. He was happy, but he was trying not to show it. Pity.

Once she got bored of staring at him, she turned to face the bride. She was a young thing, possibly even younger than Maria. She was wearing a long white dress that covered everything, even her neck. Her face was hidden by a thin veil. She was smiling. She was happy.

Maria knew how she felt. She’d felt it every time she’d seen Jakob, once upon a time. Now that happiness had turned to poison that writhed and bubbled in her belly. That poison would fuel her this day.

She turned back to watch Jakob. He caught her eye once before he turned to his bride, and she glimpsed one emotion within it.

Fear.

He knew she was going to punish him. How wrong he was.

She let the proceedings unfold, allowing them to get right up to the part where Jakob was supposed to say, ‘I do.’

He was sweating like a pig now, glancing at her every now and again. Anticipating. Worrying. On the verge of an almost feral panic. Much like the wolves she had seen that morning. She smiled.

“Do you, Jakob, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, to cherish and protect, in the name of Archen so do you swear?” The Elder said, standing between Jakob and his wife.

“I do.” Jakob said, glancing at Maria. She smirked at him and got to her feet, prowling towards the stairs, much like a predator. A lioness.

“Oh, you do, do you?” Maria said, her voice carrying crystal clear across the plaza. In that moment, everybody held their breath. What was this woman doing? She had no right!

Jakob stepped protectively in front of his bride. What was Maria’s plan? If he could figure it out, he could stop her before she even started.

“Maria, don’t,” he pleaded. It was a funny thing, watching a man try to mix sincerity with fear and bravery at the same time. His facial expressions were quite entertaining.

“Why not?” Maria pouted. “Hm, Jakob? Why shouldn’t I? After all, it’s exactly what she did to me.” Her expression turned manic.

And in that moment, Jakob knew what her play was.

“No!” he yelled, running at Maria as she lifted her hands to her sides and began to chant. The symbols she had drawn that morning began to glow a blood red. Jakob tried to get near her, but he found that she was pushing him away. A small wind whipped in a circle around her, stirring the dust as well. Jakob could barely see.

“Jakob!” His bride called him from the stairs.

When she tried to reach him, he yelled back, “No, Margaret! Get back!”

With tears in her eyes, she relented and stepped back up the stairs.

“Mama!” A small voice cut through to her. She whipped around to find Nikolas running towards her. “Mama, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, dearest,” Margaret said, pulling him to her side. “Don’t worry. Just go inside and wait there till I come get you.”

Nikolas nodded and was about to pull away, when the wind that whipped around Maria blew past Jakob and towards the mother and child in such a torrent that he stumbled backwards and fell against the chairs.

Suddenly Margaret and Nikolas were surrounded by the same wind Maria had been, and they were unable to leave its confines. Everyone quietened down as Maria’s voice broke through their terror. With a face of fury, she began to recite what she had prepared.

“A love, a life, an unbreakable bond

Forged in the embers of young souls.

A cloak of lies crafted and donned

Setting smother to the burning coals.

A punishment, an eternal damnation,

I cast now with power of his abdication.

For by day you shall roam as beast of peril,

And at night live life in fear of sunlit herald.

For you once stole from me what I had claimed,

Your loss will not be wept.

Let your name now be famed,

Constant suffering I abject.”

Her curse was directed at Margaret. But something went wrong. Margaret was not the one who would from then on live a life of fear and suffering.

Instead, a different scream of pain graced her ears.