Mei
"Alessia .. " I whispered again with tears in my eyes as I watch her shifting, her growls echoed followed by cracking of bones , her facial features changed and canines replaced her normal teeth, She wriggled as a black fur appeared through her soft skin.
After a few seconds she finally shifted , my eyes were wide as I looked at the sister who I have adorned for years sulking and trying to walk in her new form wriggling her tail .
I breathed for the first time after a long night, my hiccups slowing down as i looked at her speechless for a moment .
Alessia .. Oh Alessia ,
I whispered thankfully that she made it , She is okay . She did it , she made it even though it was really hard for her , i witnessed it and i can't see myself making it, i am not as strong as her .
Wiping my tears , I walked slowly to her , in the aim of calming her down .
"Shsh... it's okay ," I cooed and bent down touching her fur caressing it and showering kisses on her fur .
" Mom, " I heard Alessia whisper but her voice held pain that made me feel so sorry for her and myself,
It's Mei ! Alessia , it's me ... Your sister , I whispered on her ear and embraced her curtly .
She went silent and not soon she angrily did the unexpected. She dropped and pushed me on the ground and cruelly bit my hand with her sharp teeth making me scream out loud earning attention from the other village members .
" What was wrong with her ? "
Alessia stop !!! I cried trying to take my hand out of her sharp canines but she stagnantly bit me untill one of the village old man stepped between us and commanded her to stop .
Leaving me crying, Alessia gazed at me one more time before joining the other members who have already shifted sassily ,
I can read her like a second skin and I know she did that purposely , she is in her senses .. She knew me , she identified me but still bit me .
I felt soft hands on my body , I looked at the person and saw it was Lila , the girl who sells some vegetables and she is a good friend of mine .
"Such an ungrateful sister !, " she spat out and hushed my cries down .
"Huh!! " She gasped looking at my bleeding hand and directly took me and sat me on the rough floor before telling me she will be back .
My hand is bloody and trembling , I didn't know it was this simple to get injured with Alessia's furious bite , Wallowing in pain, i couldnt help but ask myself ,
" What did I do to her , ?" All that I did was help her regain her new form , did I do anything wrong by doing that , ? My mind spread out with thoughts as i sat with no one by my side .
I heard hushed whispered from some other girls and not soon Lila came back with some herbs and water and a little cloth and started to clean my hand .
I am sorry Mei , she whispered and blow my injury as she cleaned it softly .
"It's okay , I am alright now" I whispered holding back my tears.
No it's not okay , for how long are they going to mistreat you like this , ? First your mom then your sister , that bratty sister of yours !! She is becoming evil and cruel day by day to you , and I am just so frustrated seeing you alone all by yourself . You don't deserve this , any one in the village would have been so appreciative if you were their daughter or sibling,
You do alot to them, earning for them and in the end of the day you get all the miseries. That's unfair , she cried out her tears dropping on my hand .
Then I wondered how many people are like Lila who care for me and would appreciate me the way I am but do not tell me , I wondered why was I still with my family who treated me like dirt ?
" But whose family if it's not only them , ? Alessia is my older sister and mom .. Mom is my mother , she gave birth to me and gave me life . "
I can't abandoned them just like that ,
I know they are just angry with me , and after some time Mom and Alessia will both come around in their senses , They will love me just like before ,
Just like when dad was still with us . They are just lost, I tried to convince myself .
Oh yea .. lost ! Lila says rolling her eyes and wiping her tears ,
There ...you are good to go now , make sure you don't pour any water from it and take this herbs , you will apply on the injury now and then .
Thanking her , she helped me on my feet and coincidentally a loud horn was heard indicating that the king is here and the shifting has already ended .
We have a lot of things that usually occur in this night, the shifting , the ceremony and meeting up with the king after everything is complete .
Greetings to you our king, we both chorused after seeing him getting off from his horse and walking towards us with a very concerned face , followed by the royal guards .
"You may rise . " King Jerald instructed ,
I expected to see him aging, but my mouthed gaped when I looked at him . He looks flare and a little bit older , a little pale but looks healthy wearing his royal attire and a serious face that screamed i am concerned .
We stood up and he walked around looking at the mess , Silent whispers started and i looked around .
My eyes stopped on five dead bodies that laid back on the ground, face emotionless making my breath get clamped away ,
They couldn't make it ..
They didn't made it , they couldn't shift ... Clutching my dress tightly painful tears streamed down my eyes .
This is heartbreaking, it can be anybody in their place.
My dear subjects , I am honoured to be here with you today. I am glad I came in an auspicious time .I want to tell you all that ..
He stopped and looked at the young shifters who made it into shifting which was a fairly large number of them , and the few that laid motionless .
He swallowed the lump in his throat and carried on , In this night I know everyone of us gets worried , I know no one knows what the expectations are .
But I am proud to say that I am honoured to be apart of this pack, kingdom and this village .
It has been tough for every one of us , now and then seeing our loved ones in pain because of the curse that has been here for decades now .
Looking back at the newly shifted wolves again , he then congratulated them on their shifting and expected and told them all to be at tomorrow's parade so that they could be assigned tasks each and every one of them as a great functional team into the kingdom .
The newlyshifters howled with appreciation cheering up to the king's words.
I wonder what he means ,
He didn't say a lot of words and continued .
" And for the ones who haven't made it, I want us all to gather around tomorrow afternoon for a proper burying , they couldn't shift today but tomorrow they will be reborn and be apart of us again ."
Some parents who lost their children broke down hearing the most bitter yet comforting words but they had no choice but to accept the truth .
The king bowed respectfully to us after a chilly silence and heartbreaking sobs that were heard from others and left to the palace .
"I hate this day ,"