FANGS AND HOWLS: The Promise of Love

The storm raged on, pouring out it's fury relentlessly. 

Rain fell heavily from the skies, so much that it resembled thousands of whips from the skies.

Lighting streaked across the skies as thunder rumbled. There was a downpour on the earth so great that it flooded homes. 

It has been seven days since this rain began.

The streets were covered with mud and water as the people stayed within. Well, that was for those with homes still, others whose homes had been destroyed in the violent storm scrambled around like cold chickens, seeking a place of refuge.

Most of the places were already filled.

There was also something being heard amidst the raging storm. It appeared to be wailings. In some homes, there were mournful crying from the people that had lost loved ones to this madness.

In one such home, a woman suddenly burst out through her door, her hair was disheveled, her skin pale, and her eyes red-rimmed from crying.

"Mistress, please don't go out there!" her maidservant cried, grabbing at her arm. "It's madness! You'll catch your death!" Her maidservant who followed behind her quickly cried out.

The woman shook her off, her gaze on the sky, not minding the showers that seemed to aim daggers for her eyes or the pain from the waters that had made their way into her eyes.

"I have nothing left to lose," She whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain. "I lost my husband three years ago and now, my son is gone, taken from me by the cruel hand of fate. What is there to live for?"

The maidservant's face contorted in anguish as she fell to her knees, her hands clasped together pleadingly. 

"Mistress, don't say such things! You're strong, you'll get through this. We'll find a way..."

"A way?" The woman asked and scoffed.

"Yes, mistress. A way." The maidservant said.

"I see." The woman said, nodding her head now as she broke into a crackle. It was not a laughter. There was something else in it, the bitterness and anguish could be told from the sound she made.

Then she turned and looked at her maidservant with those sorrowful pools.

"You don't understand, child. I've lost everything. My son was my world, my reason for living. Without him, I'm nothing."

As she spoke, she raised her face again to the sky, letting the rain wash over her. 

Her eyes closed, and a look of determination and resolve settled on her face. 

She drew a dagger from her belt, its blade glinting and even revealing the faint flashes from the lightning above.

"I make this prayer to you, the king of the heavens. If it would please you, save the other children. Please. Take back the rain."

The maidservant's scream was lost in the thunder as the woman plunged the dagger into her own throat.

"Mistress!!!" She cried out as she ran over to where her mistress laid, with the dagger still embedded in her neck.

Realising what had already happened, she reached for the dagger, pulling it out of her mistress as she drove it right into her chest. Her head fell over the woman who had just passed as both their blood mixed and slowly washed into the rain.

The flow from their blood seemed to have been making a unique pattern.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble and the rain ceased as if it never fell. 

The only reminder being the the destruction it had left behind.

(It was said that the King of the heavens heard her cries and saw the purity in her act that he decided to oblige her prayer and united her and her son by creating a space for them.

He made the moon to compliment the sun that had been hidden that day and there, they were allowed to live out the rest of their days. If one even looks closely at the moon, we could still see them playing together by their shadows)

In the realm of the heavens, the gods gathered before the throne of the King. 

The air was thick with tension as Dracula and Selene, the two gods who had been the cause of the earthly casualties stood before the him. 

Their faces were set in stubborn lines, their eyes flashing with anger. Their shoulders heaved to show their dissatisfaction.

"So, you two have finally managed to cause chaos on earth," The King said, his voice like thunder. 

"Your constant bickering and disregard for the balance of nature have brought suffering to the mortal realm. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Dracula sneered at Selene. "She's the one who's been causing trouble, Your Majesty. She's always been jealous of my power and influence."

Selene's face turned red with rage. 

"How dare you! You're the one who's been manipulating the mortals, using them for your own gain. I'm just trying to maintain the balance." She said.

The King raised a hand, silencing them both. 

"Enough!!! Your petty brawls are of no concern to me. What's important is the harm you've caused to the mortals. And as punishment, I decree that you both shall be banished to the mortal realm, forced to live among humans and learn to coexist."

Dracula's face turned white with rage. 

"You can't do this, Your Majesty. I'm a god, and I won't be treated like a mortal." He stated.

The King's expression was firm. 

"You will do as I say, or face greater consequences. You will remain in the mortal realm until you have learned to put aside your differences and work together. And when you finally find a way to love and tolerate each other, you will be granted a way back here, but it will come at a great cost."

Selene's eyes widened in horror. 

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

The King's smirked. They all seemed to have forgotten why he was the king above all gods.

"You will pay the ultimate sacrifice, just like the mortal woman who gave her life for her people. You will give up something precious, something that will change the course of your existence forever. So I have declared, so let it be done." He said as he stomped his feet heavily.

Just then, a wind began to swirl around Dracula and Selene, lifting them off the ground. 

They felt their divine essence being stripped away. And then with the dawning realization of what was about to happen to them, they tried to plead. Making promises.

"Majesty, please!"

"I swear, we would never fight again!"

"We would learn to coexist in peace."

"Don't do this!"

"I'll stay off his business."

"And I, off her path, please."

All their pleas fell on deaf ears. Because the process had already begun but then the king whispered.

"Don't worry, you'll be allowed to keep a little bit of your powers, just enough for your survival and sustained immortality." He whispered.

And suddenly, the horns from the heavens blared, sealing the deal.

The King's words echoed in their minds as they were borne away by the wind. 

"You will learn to love, or you will suffer the consequences.”

Darkness. Cold and something else...

The deafening silence marked death's omen.

In the midst of all that, an owl hooted in the night, sealing the already screaming fate.

A child sat on her knees beneath a wooden trap door. There were streaks from a dull light coming in through the tiny spaces between the planks but not enough to reveal her.

She clutched a torn teddy bear to her chest with one hand while the other was placed over her mouth to prevent her from making a sound.

The floor above vibrated with shouting.

There were voices.

Two she recognised. Her father bellowing and her mother crying.

Then there were others. Foreign voices, cold and demanding.

"Please, we have given everything for the pack." Her mother pleaded.

"You knew the rules. And now, you must pay." An airy voice said.

"No!" Her father yelled.

Something fell, maybe a vase but whatever it was clattered to the floor loudly as it sha