A Monster is Born

After dealing with those idiots, the rest of the night ran smoothly as we enjoyed our dinner as we usually did. With how well my life was now, full of merriment and cheer, it's almost hard to imagine how horrible of a life I had when I was younger. But here we are, with things being about as good as they can be.

We wrapped it up for the night, Lia and Tereza leaving before us, as I was left with Vance duty, as per usual. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder to help him keep his balance, making sure there was enough distance between us in case he had another 'accident'. Thankfully there was none of that tonight, as we rounded the corner that led to our party's house.

As we got near, I couldn't help but smile knowing I even had a place to call home. Especially one filled with friends who more than welcomed me, a far cry from how I'd been living most of my life.

Speaking of, I couldn't help but remember the old days, the ones where I felt all hope was lost, memories that will forever linger at the back of my mind, playing over and over again. But even those memories, just like the time spent with my friends, were precious to me, as they are the ones that made me who I am today...

***

I was born roughly sixteen years ago to a couple in the Southern Region. My father, Wilson Holloway, had met my mother, Clarissa Hawthorne, while on his many travels. 

He had come all the way from the Northern Region in search of a way to break his family's curse, one that had been passed down from generation to generation. Though it wasn't life threatening, the pain and fatigue it would afflict him at times prevented him from living a full life.

But try as he may, nobody was able to do a thing about it. Not the Church, not the elves in the enchanted forest, not even the shamans dwelling deep within the swamp lands. 

With no one left to ask, he had given up on the Southern Region and decided to try the Western Region next. That was until he met her, the woman who would eventually become my mother.

They hit it off rather quickly, and after just a few short weeks, he decided to live together. They gathered what funds they had and managed to buy a cabin in the woods, along with a horse for travel and work. 

Despite the curse, my father was still able to do tasks like tree chopping or even hunting. But he was always cautious, nonetheless, always being wary of the curse. This led to them having a simple, yet comfortable life.

But with so much privacy, it wasn't long before my mother was pregnant with me. The news of this brought my father both joy and guilt, as he knew that if it was a boy, he'd be passing the curse to him. 

My mother new of my father's condition, but was still overjoyed, excited for their first member of their family to join. Her optimism brought my father some reassurance, something he had been needing for quite some time. With a child on the way, they continued their lives as normal, with the addition of preparing for their child to be.

Time flew by in an instant, their child now finally on its way. His wife was now in labor, the village doctor by her side ready to help deliver it.

"How is she doing, doc?" my father asked, worried about her and their son to be.

"She's toughing it out, Wilson, but she needs to relax a bit more or the babies going to have a hard time coming out." Hearing this, he went to his wife's side, who was trying her hardest to breathe, the tension in her face as clear as day.

"It's okay, sweetie, I'm here! Just relax and--" He tried to calm Clarissa as he gripped her hand, but was interrupted by her sudden shriek of pain.

"It's coming, it's coming!" the doctor exclaimed, already in position to deliver the baby. "Push, Clarissa, push!"

With all the strength she could muster, she pushed as hard as she could. Even Wilson could tell she was serious, her grip on the cusp of breaking his hand. This intense moment felt like it lasted a lifetime, but was cut immediately by a moment of silence that was shortly followed by the sounds of a crying baby.

"It's a... boy," the doctor said with a bit of hesitation. The relieved faces of the two suddenly became stricken with panic as they both looked at the doctor, hoping nothing was wrong.

"Um, is everything alright, doc?" the husband asked, curious if there were any complications with their son.

"Yes, everything is fine, it's just..." He walked over with our son in hand, wrapped up in the blanket he had prepared for it. As he handed it over to Clarissa, she looked at it, ready to see a baby with hair as silver as hers or as blonde as her husband. But what they saw made them both pale instead. The baby in front of them not only had black hair, but also red eyes, a color that matched neither of theirs.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk about it," the doctor said before exiting the room to give them some privacy. As soon as the door closed behind him, his wife turned her head to him immediately.

"Darling, I swear I didn't cheat! This is undeniably your child, you have to believe me!" she tried to explain as quickly as she could. But her words fell on deaf ears, cause he knew exactly why he had turned out like this despite having never heard of this phenomenon in his family history.

"I know why he's like that, sweetheart." Hearing this was enough for her to know exactly what he meant. They both looked at their son as he looked back at them.

"What... what does this mean? Why is our son like that? Is that something that happens when you pass down the curse? Tell me our son will be fine, Wilson. Tell me!" She started screaming frantically at him, worried what all this meant for her newborn boy.

"I don't know what this means! This is a first for me, too!" He snapped back at her. The tension was thick, but with nothing more to say to each other, slowly dissolved until their attention was brought back to me.

"Well, cursed or not, this is our son. And our son needs a name, doesn't he?" Clarissa asked as she looked at her son, as though she was asking him the question. Wilson sighed, feeling like they were getting worked up for nothing.

"You're right, our little boy does need one. And we did agree if he did end up being a boy, I'd get to name him, right?" he reminded her with a smirk, who couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, fine, go ahead. What did you have in mind?" My father pondered for a minute before his face lit up.

"I got it! How about... Abel? It's the name of one of my ancestors, who was known for not just his strength, but also kind nature. How's that sound?" He asked, looking pretty proud of the name he'd chosen. Clarissa couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"Abel, huh? I think that's a good name for our boy." She looked at her son, cradling him in her arms with endearing affection. "Abel Holloway, welcome home."

Their life with me had kicked off with this nice, heartwarming moment. They even promised to love me, no matter what trouble or misfortune my curse may bring. But unbeknownst to them at the time, that promise was one that would be short-lived.