Narration POV
Gaia marched up to Carn, her eyes burning with hatred "How dare you talk so bad about my child?"
"Why won’t I?" Carn scoffed "I know for years you’ve desired to be ... to hold the position I am currently in, to be with my husband but I won’t let it Gaia... Just like the way I fought and won twenty years ago,".
Gaia’s face turned white and her gaze flitted to Kiba and for a second, mories of their youth flashed through her mind. They had been in love so much but the law didn’t let them marry. Gaia had been heartbroken when Kiba broke up with her and had nursed her wounds in the hands of a wizard who had been head over heels for her.
Just when she was beginning to fall in love with her husband, he was killed leaving her with a child and another broken heart.
"Carn...." Kiba drew closer to his wife and tried to hold her arms but she pushed him away and faced Gaia, her eyes red with rage.
"Why are you silent, Gaia? You think I wouldn’t know about your relationship with him?"
"That was years ago, Carn," Gaia said quietly "We went our separate ways why are you trying to bring it up now,".
"Perhaps you weren’t satisfied with the way things ended back then," Carn snarled "And you decided to throw your daughter on my son but best believe , Gaia, I would do everything in my power to make sure your family doesn’t co and inch close to mine,".
"Enough! Both of you," Priam growled as the room shook with his voice "How dare you conduct yourselves in such a manner in my presence? Haven’t you no fear for again?"
"I’m sorry, Your Majesty," both won muttered.
Sighing, Priam turned to Kiba "What do you propose we do?" he asked.
"Y-Your majesty..." Kiba stuttered his gaze darting between the Lycan King and his wife "I am in no position to make such a decision when you’re here,".
"I give you my permission, Kiba... whatever you say now would be what we will do. So, go ahead,".
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as his gaze swept from his wife to Gaia – his heart sank when he saw the tears in her heart... he had loved her so much...even right now, he didn’t think he stopped loving her.
Kind, beautiful, sensitive, Gaia that couldn’t start the hurt of others. For years, he had wanted to make up for abruptly ending their relationship and cutting ties with her. A night before his coronation as Alpha, they had t up and renewed their love oaths, only for Gaia to wake up to the coronation bells the next morning.
He looked at his wife again and sighed... Carn had always been jealous of Gaia. Despite repeatedly telling her that they ended everything years ago, they still fought occasionally because of that.
He knew Gaia wouldn’t go to these lengths if she didn’t see sothing. Aside from her great powers, her intuition was top-notch. If anything should happen to her child, it will break her into pieces.
Sighing, he turned to King Priam "Let the child live, your majesty," he said "We don’t know what would happen if Dimitra is subjected to such painful thods. She’s only a child,".
"Kiba!" Carn yelled as tears gathered in her eyes at her husband’s betrayal.
"It’s against our law to shed the blood of the innocent much less a child... so let the child live," Kiba said with a note of finality ignoring his wife.
Priam nodded and let his gaze rest on Dimitra "Are you ready to bear the sha and consequences of being a mother at this tender age?"
Dimitra raised her eyes to where Damien stood and then to her mother who nodded silently "Yes, Your Majesty," she murmured "And I want Damien to stay away from ,".
"Dimitra!" Damien whipped his head up to look at her with shock in his eyes "You can’t do that,".
"I can!" she shouted "You’re the future Alpha, you should be more concerned with learning to rule as an Alpha. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Forget that I existed! forget this child! forget !"
"Dimitra!" a tear rolled down Damien’s cheeks "Y-You can’t do that..." he stuttered.
Dimitra gave him one last look with hatred in her eyes and stord out of their presence.
***
For nine months, Dimitra nursed her pregnancy in silence refusing to say anything to her mom who was constantly worried about her and had cut off every tie with Damien. One rainy night, Dimitra laboured for 14 hours and then the children were born.
They were twin; each a spitting image of their father and mother. As soon as the twin was ushered into the world and their shrill voices pierced through the morning sky, a blood moon appeared and rested on the roof of where they were birthed.
Dimitra welcod her children with joy and awe at being a new mother and for the first ti in the last nine months, she spoke to her mother.
"Aren’t they beautiful?" she murmured gazing at them.
"They are," Gaia whispered back trying to fight back tears at the preciousness of the children swaddled in layers of clothes "I can’t believe I am a grandmother,".
Together, mother and daughter nursed the kids and for a while, the bleakness and sadness of being yanked from the love of their lives faded. One day, Gaia had gone to the forest to pick so dicinal herbs while Dimitra had left the children sleeping for a few minutes to take her bath before they woke up.
But when she ca into the room, she didn’t see the twin. Thinking her mum was back and was with them, she relaxed and dressed up. When she ca out of the room, she t her mom peering over a pot in concentration. She was mixing potions.
Dimitra peered around her mom, noticing she was alone.
"Mom, are the kids with you?" she asked.
Looking away from the potion pot, Gaia squinted her eyes at her daughter "No dear, I haven’t entered the house since I returned from the forest. Why?"
Imdiately, Dimitra’s blood ran cold. "They’re not where I dropped them. I only left them for a few seconds, to take my bath,".
Alard, Gaia rose from the short stool she was sitting on, trying to hide the fear that was pumping in her heart "Let’s look for them, maybe you dropped them elsewhere,".
For fifteen minutes, they searched around the house frantically. Looked inside pots, under the beds, in the basket of clothes but there was no sign of the twin. Dimitra was going crazy by this ti; she couldn’t afford to lose her children.
"Mom. Where are they?" she sobbed running to peer inside the potion pot her mom was cooking "Maybe they crawled into it by mistake,".
"Don’t be foolish, Dimitra, they’re only three months old. Don’t worry, maybe soone took them when they were crying, let’s go ask the neighbours,".
The words had barely left Gaia’s mouth when one of their neighbours rushed into the compound, totally out of breath.
"Mother!" (was the na everyone called Gaia) "Hurry now to the square, Luna Carn has the twins,".
All three won rushed out of the compound, barefooted running towards the square. Gaia’s heart was pounding with fear, anger, and pain... why hadn’t she seen this? She had clairvoyance... she could see a future before it happened.
But it had been bleak with Kiba’s betrayal, her daughter’s pregnancy and now her grandchildren.
A while later, they arrived at the square and saw the children tied on a post, hanging upside down. Underneath them was a steaming pot of boiling oil... and a Moon priestess dancing around them.
The innocent children were crying profusely, searing into the hearts of everyone gathered at the square. As soon as Dimitra saw them, she lunged forward but didn’t get to them when four burly n grabbed her and pinned her to the ground.
Gaia, just stood there, shocked as she stared at the gory sight in front of her. Her gaze swept the crowd until it rested on Carn who was looking at her with a satisfied glint in her eyes.
Gaia approached her, with rage burning in her insides.
"What is this supposed to an, Carn? How dare you take these innocent children and treat them like thieves? Where is your conscience?"
"Right in my heart," Carn retorted rising to her feet "You promised that you would kill the children should they pose harm to our world. But it’s been three months now, Gaia... all I’ve heard is that you’ve been going around posing as a grandmother,".
"How are those children a threat to our world?" Gaia yelled.
"The day they were born, a blood moon appeared and it was morning, Gaia... a moon doesn’t co out until it’s night and we all know an appearance of a blood moon spells doom,".
"Or luck!" Gaia interrupted grabbing her by the collar "Those children would bring prosperity to our world. They have the blessings of the heavens,".
"It is not certain, Gaia," Carn replied through gritted teeth "And if we wait until we’re certain, they would have amassed power to destroy us all. I will not gamble with the life and safety of everyone here just because of your selfish interests. They deserve to die, just like always,".
Turning to the guards manning the platform that held the baby, Carn shouted...
"Release the children and let it be a warning to anyone here that thinks intermarriage would be accepted. It is a taboo aid at weakening our bloodlines...".
"Carn please..." Gaia begged clutching at her clothes "Please... don’t do this to , don’t do this to my child,".
"Kiba is not here to save you again," Carn laughed "I told you, Gaia... I must always win,".
"Okay, we’ll leave," Gaia begged watching as the rope lowered dangerously close to the pot of boiling oil "And never return. Please...".
The children’s cries heightened... Gaia felt like her heart was broken into tiny pieces, beating separately, she could not breathe... she couldn’t think... she held on to Carn, begging her...and so didn’t see as Dimitra overpowered the four n pinning her to the ground ... just before the children were lowered into the pot, she reached out and tried to save them...
Damien who had disguised himself and was watching from the crowd – helpless... imdiately he saw Dimitra rushing towards the boiling pot... all he could think of was saving her. There was no way she would survive that... He wanted to save her... and maybe their children.
Ti stopped... as all four of them jumped into the boiling cauldron... the sky darkened as Gaia watched her daughter disappear into the boiling pot...she couldn’t do anything... she didn’t rember any spell words... she turned to Carn who had frozen in shock, as she watched her son jump into the pot...
That was her star, her hope, her joy.... What would she tell Kiba? This was supposed to be a perfect revenge plan.... Why did Damien choose to sacrifice himself for that worthless girl....
Gaia unsheathed the knife hanging around her waist and turned to Carn, hatred burning deep in her eyes.
"Satisfied?" she said and, in a flurry, drove the knife into Carn’s heart until it ca out of the other side of her body. Drawing it out, she drove the sa bloody knife into her heart, welcoming the pain as blood spurted out of her mouth.
Both won died facing each other in a kneeling position.
That day was the day the moon shed its skin... and a curse was born
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