Scarlett's P.O.V
Scarlett lay on her bed, thinking. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her mind raced with thoughts. It was dark already. She checked the time on the alarm clock, on the sidetable beside her bed. It read 11:00 pm. One more hour to her birthday. One more hour, and she'll be sixteen. Tired of trying to force herself to sleep, she switched on her bedside lamp and got up from bed.
I wonder if there's any book to read in this house. If not, I'll just wonder around.
Scarlett gingerly opened the door, and slipped out. She gently climbed down the stairs, trying to keep quiet.
Damn this creaky stairs. She cursed in her mind. She turned a corner and entered the parlour. It was silent everywhere. The soft, yellow lamps fixed on the walls, bathed the room in a bright, golden glow.
Grace is probably asleep. I wonder if grandmother is back yet?
Scarlett ambled across the room, looking around. She came near the fireplace. There was a big painting on the wall, above. It portrayed an old man with a long, white beard in long robes. He had his right hand outstretched, in which a bright light shone from. The light cast on some people, who seemed to be morphing into beasts. She spotted a particular man; his pantaloons were ripped, and he was hairy on his back than usual.
More like fur, she contemplated in her head. He had long, sharp claws and he looked savage. So did all the others. The painting looked so fascinating, that she was mesmerized by it.
What a nice piece of art. Looking at it is almost like I'm in another world.
"Yeah right." She admonished her self. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Shelves were on either side of the hearth, but they were filled with vases, china and other things, but no books.
Great. Nothing to engage myself with. And there's poor network connection in this house. She rolled her eyes. She turned her attention back to the painting.
"I suppose only you is worth entertaining." She spoke with a touch of sacarsm, to the painting. She lightly touched the edge of the painting. Something fell out. Scrunching her face in curiosity, she bent and picked the item up. Her hair swept downward as she bent. Standing back up, she used her hand to sweep her curls behind her ear, as she observed the object. It was a long, pale teeth. A canine. A long, sharp one. More like a fang.
A fang!
She thought of all the stories she'd read about vampires. She looked back at the painting. The people-beasts didn't look like vampires.....more like....wolves. Huge wolves.
Perhaps, this is a werewolf fang.
What? Impossible! A voice said in her head. That only happens in books and films.
But what if it was indeed? Another voice said in her head. Wouldn't that be cool?
"Now I must be going crazy. I must be tired after the long journey here. That's what I get for reading and watching too many books and movies about werewolves and vampires." She chided herself. "Now where did this fall from?"
She lifted the painting off the wall, and turned its back. A little roll of paper was in a crevice, shaped just like the fang.
The fang must have been embedded there.
Scarlett brought out the little roll from the crevice and put down the painting. She rolled out the paper and read the words on the paper:
In the blackest of nights, the moon will be turned to blood,
With ancient sacred magic, the werewolf's curse will flood.
On the blood moon the fated one will rise,
With the cursed fang, the werewolf curse dies.
"What on earth....?" Scarlett heard the stairs creak slightly and quickly ducked behind a sofa. Still clutching the fang in her hands, she put it in her trouser pocket. She carefully peeked out and saw Grace at the doorway. Grace opened the door, and stealthily slipped out.
"Where's she sneaking off to at this time of the night?" Scarlett asked to no one in particular. Curious, she decided to follow her and see what.
Scarlett carefully stole into the night, in her pyjamas and flip-flops. The night was cold due to the rain that fell earlier in the day. She hunched her shoulders against the cold, and dug deeper into her nightrobe. Scarlett brought out her phone from her pocket and checked time. It showed 11:36 pm. She looked around and saw Grace's white blouse disappear behind the cottage. She followed silently as Grace went through the grove of trees, into the woods.
The light from Scarlett's phone offered her help, to navigate her way around as she followed Grace. The moon was hidden behind the clouds. Eerie sounds of nocturnal birds and insects filled the forest air. Scarlett kept Grace in her sight as she ran after her.
Man, but she runs so fast! Scarlett thought wildly as she struggled to keep up with her. This went on for some time, until Grace stopped at a clearing of trees. Quite suddenly, she turned around and Scarlett quickly hid behind a tree, her heart thudding in her chest.
Grace shouted at her to come out, as she had caught her. Fearful but gathering courage, she slowly walked out from her hiding place, squaring her shoulders with her chin held up high. Scarlett answered Grace's question with a question in a very condescending voice.
"You cannot be here!" Grace said in a firm voice. "You don't know what danger you put yourself in by being here."
"And what about you? Aren't you in danger too?" countered Scarlett.
"You cannot be here!" she repeated. "Leave. Now."
"I will not!"
"Leave!"
"No! At least not until you come with me and explain what is going on right now!" Scarlett insisted.
Something is not right here. What could she be doing here in the night?! I knew something was fishy about this woman, and the way she acted at dinner only increased my suspicion. Now all these, just proves my point.
The clouds slowly drifted away from the moon, until the scarlet moon stood clear in the dark sky.