By Pride I Fell

Chapter 1: When the story really starts

This story really starts in the year 2013, around January of that year. I was taking my daily walk with Kathy through the woods when suddenly I heard a scream. Kathy started to run in a direction and I instantly jumped into the air and took flight to follow her I scanned the forest with the eyes of a tiger and noticed a human in distress near the edge of the forest. Kathy was already chasing one of our family members away from the crime scene when I showed up. The victim was a woman in her 40s as far as I could tell and was bleeding from her arm which was turned at an unnatural angle. Kathy whimpered and looked up at me. I sighed as I made a decision that would shape my future even more than my choice of friends; I picked the woman up and took her back to the house. I didn’t want to encounter a former loved one in the trail of blood this lady was trailing, so I took to the sky again. Kathy followed me on the ground and when we reached the house, she had already started to howl to get the servants moving. I talked to the air as I explained what had happened and what I needed, which was a doctor. Over my years, I had learned medicinal tricks, but not to fully heal someone back to health after being mulled by a creature beyond their comprehension. The doctor came from the magical universe and cleaned up the lady in a matter of minutes. He looked at me and told me that I was very lucky that I had asked for him because the venom in the wounds had no cure in the mortal world. I thanked him and he left via portal. I told the servants that the woman needed a glass of water near her and that there should be warm soup beside her bed constantly. With those instructions, I left the woods to find out who she was and if anybody would come looking for her.

I felt a feeling of dread as I started to leave the woods; after all, I hadn’t left the woods for over twenty years. What had changed? Why would someone be back in the woods after the lumberjack incident happened 30 years ago? These were just some of the questions that flashed through my mind as I left the border between my world and the humans. I had my cloak on and I just walked casually to the nearest human town. It had changed a lot, the cars were nicer, and the people were all staring at small devices in their hands, not even noticing me as I walked by. I ducked into a small café on the main street and ordered a pastry and a hot chocolate as it was January, but it wasn’t that cold. I sat down at a table when a teenager came up to me and gave me my order. “Is there anything else that I can get for you?” she asked

“Nothing, thanks,” I replied. The girl nodded and left me alone. A minute later she rushed outside of the shop with a hand to her ear jabbering very fast in Spanish. That was as suspicious as anything, so I got up and started to follow her. She ran down to the poorer district of town and was still talking away to the device in her hand. It looked like she was talking on the phone….oh portable cell phones became popular, and smaller. The last one I saw was about the size of a briefcase and horribly expensive, but hey, cars were also more expensive in my time (comparing to other things) than now and they are much better than what they used to be. The girl went into a house that looked like a long, big log, and slammed the door shut behind her. I crept into the backyard and listened to an interesting conversation take place. The girl stopped speaking Spanish and switched to English.

“Jacob, what exactly did papa say when he called you?” She asked

“That mom wasn’t at work yet. Isn’t that what he told you?” the boy answered.

“Yes, but I wanted to know if he gave you any other information,” She retorted.

“Why would he, he’s your father not mine!” the boy yelled.

“Don’t start that again Jacob, it’s old. Mama and papa love each other and now papa is worried about mama because she hasn’t come home since she went on her walk today. Why can’t you be worried about her like a normal person?”

“Maybe I’m not a normal person! GOOD BYE!” the boy, a teenager as well, stalked out of the front door and I heard the door slam again. The girl started to cry in the house and the guilt came back. I could fix this with a sentence, but doubt also crept into my mind. I wouldn’t believe me if I were in her shoes so why should she. I finally decided that I would just bring the mother there after she was finished recuperating. Then a passing hope flashed through my mind, what if she could help me break the spell? I dismissed it with a wave of a mental hand; after all there was not a trace of magic in the entire house, how can she help? I left the house and started home, with the thought of being human again on my mind.