Cursed

Chapter 1

It had to be done. As soon as the door closed Sophie knew what she had done - there was no turning back.

Emerging from the cellar, Sophie Darden knew that she had to learn the truth about her past and her ancestry or she would risk losing those whom she loved, possibly forever. Sophie stared down at the writing scrawled on the note she held in her hand:

"Upon the Great-Granddaughter of Elizabeth Darden,

I bestow a curse as a consequence of her sin.

Fix what she has done and tell no-one whatsoever,

Or you will face losing the ones you love forever."

Knowing that it was not only her fate that depended on her decoding the message, Sophie attempted to interpret the mysterious passage and release herself from the curse.

The front door opened silently, leaving Sophie unaware that she was no longer alone in the house. With no success in figuring out what the message meant, she crumpled the cursed paper and threw it towards the waste paper basket standing by the doorway, just as her sister walked in. Noticing the crumpled note lying on the floor and the frustrated expression on her younger sister's face, Chloe picked it up and began to unravel it.

"Stop Chloe! Don't read it, you can't read it! Just get rid of it...please!" Sophie yelled, as she started towards her sister.

"In other words, you've got a secret on this paper that you don't want me to read. For my sister, you don't know me very well do you if you don't think I'll read this. If you don't want me to be nosey, then maybe you should try tidying up for once," Chloe replied, unfolding the note and beginning to read it aloud. Just as Sophie reached her and snatched the note from her grasp, Chloe collapsed in her sister's arms. Sophie knew what was happening and why but was also aware that there was nothing she could do against the curse until she was able to decrypt it, so she simply wept, her long, blonde hair falling over her tear stricken face.

Why was I cursed? What could my great-grandmother have done that deserved this? Who was she really? Why has nobody in my family ever warned me about her? A million questions flooded through her mind, none of which she was able to answer. Someone in her family had to know the information she needed, but she could not risk involving anyone else she cared for.

Sophie's cries became more distant as she cradled her sister in her arms and silence fell. She lay her sister's corpse down on the tiled floor, that now had a disturbingly cold and eerie feeling to it. However, the silence was soon broken by the sound of her phone ringing, echoing throughout the house. Sophie had to distance herself from everyone else she cared about - she could not let anyone else's life come to such a fatal end because of a family secret that she was still yet to discover. With panic spreading throughout her body, her spine tingling, Sophie dashed out of the house. No, it wasn't a house anymore, it was a prison reminding her of her sister's death. Realising the predicament that she was in, she began crying as she ran and ran, without a thought of stopping, her tears clouding her vision. Blinded by her fear, Sophie could never have seen what was to come next.

Suddenly, Sophie came to an abrupt halt as she realised she had ran into someone. As she raised her head to make eye contact with the mysterious stranger and apologise, her heart skipped a beat.