Since Merida was of little help she decided to get up and find a reflective surface by herself. As soon as she got up Merida had a bad premonition.
"Young miss you can't go out….. it's still drizzling," said Merida trying to convince her.
Lilith put on her robe while saying, "Call me Lilith….. and I am not afraid to get my fur wet."
Merida couldn't give up easily. As they stepped out at the mouth of the cave Lilith's footsteps paused. Yes, it was still drizzling with the silent misty rain forming a sheer curtain in the forest but Lilith didn't mind.
Her ears twitched as the soft sounds of a rushing stream attracted her attention. She didn't have a mirror but the clear surface of a stream would show her what she was looking for.
Merida seemed to predict her next move hence she stood in front of Lilith with her arms spread wide blocking her path. "You can't go….. you won't be able to see anything," she said acting like she was ready to sacrifice herself for the country and its people.
Seeing her stubborn appearance Lilith became even more suspicious. How bad was her appearance that even this timid little hedgehog would risk it all just to get in her way?
"Then how bad is it? If you tell me the truth I won't pursue the matter," said Lilith and thus Merida honestly said,
"You look like the very definition of a bad hair day….. you look like a dye job gone wrong….. Oh, I have another one. You look like a mix between a skunk and werewolf that is if they could get together and have a child."
The more she spoke the looser her tongue became. Unfortunately, her unrestrained words were slowly angering Lilith. She wanted Merida to be truthful not brutally honest. There was a big difference between the two.
"You had those comparisons right at the tip of your tongue, didn't you?" asked Lilith with a stiff smile on her lips.
Merida, "….."
AAAAAHHHHH!!!! She wanted to slap her mouth for saying such things. It seemed she became a little too honest with her words. While Merida was reflecting on her wrongdoings Lilith took the opportunity to escape.
In one breath she reappeared at the banks of a small lake with the ends of her hair slowly flowing back in place after being stirred up by the wind.
She took a step forward to take a look at her reflection in the water but her nerves stretched taut and she was suddenly anxious. What if Merida was lying and she had grown a third eye on her forehead? What if she had deep scars that couldn't be healed?
She wasn't a vain person but she was also worried if she had turned into a monster that people would subconsciously change paths when they see her? After gathering some courage and multiple pep talks she half knelt on the ground and took a look.
Two minutes later...
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
Merida who was distracted just now woke up from her stupor and rushed over fearing the worst. When she arrived at the banks of the stream, Lilith was fuming like an angry wolf pup trying to cover her hair.
Those jokes Merida made weren't an exaggeration. Dye job gone wrong? More like ran out of bleach half way while frying her strands in the process. Her lustrous locks were gone and she was left with hair as dry and brittle as hay.
That wasn't even the worst of it. Those cracks on her arms and thigh were also on her cheek. Though small it was still so visible giving off a unique captivating charm but she didn't see it that way.
Such an appearance would only bring harm especially when she had to go knock on someone else's door seeking assistance.
Unable to bear the weight on her shoulders she sat down with no consideration of her image and covered her face with her hands.
She really wanted to have a face-to-face conversation with the gods and ask them what crime she had committed for her and her family to be punished this way?
Merida walked over in hesitant steps and wordlessly sat down next to her. She silently accompanied her as her new reality sank in.
***
It turns out that Lilith wasn't the only one who wanted to have a serious discussion with the gods. In a clearing that looked like a circle surrounded by sparsely spaced buildings, a boy sat on the cold ground with his head hung low within the misty curtain of the drizzling rain.
Even if it was merely a light drizzle, sitting on wet ground with a bare upper body wouldn't be comfortable for anyone let alone a skinny looking child with a sickly appearance. He wasn't here by choice.
In fact, he was tied to a pole with the rope digging deep into his skin. He had long knotted hair which was covering his face and part of his chest but it couldn't conceal the grievous tortures the youth had been subjected to. At a glance, one would grimace before looking away.
What could such a young boy have done? What sort of crime had he committed against his pack to be treated as such. His crime was being born from a strange omega after a passionate night with the current alpha of the Lycius pack.
If he had no mate when this incident occurred it wouldn't have been a problem.
The problem was that he already had a mate he had marked and sealed a bond with. At that time they already had five sons and the luna of the pack was pregnant with a sixth.
Just as the saying goes 'children are punished for the sins of their father' he was punished from the day he was conceived. When his mate found out about it she tried to kill the temptress who had robbed her of her alpha and that spawn conceived from a treacherous betrayal.
That omega survived and so did the seed in her stomach. Instead, it was the Luna who lost her child right in front of the mistress. His mother was long gone and that burden had fallen on his shoulders. He was allowed to be born so he could bear it.