A Wish Gone Astray
Chapter 1
** Foreword: Yay! My first (completed) story ever! Please note that these pages will eventually include instances of an adult nature. Anyone under the age of 18 should not view this. For those of you who are 18+, also note that the adult themes aforementioned will be homosexual in nature. Yes, this means gay sex! (Duh!) If this isn't your cup of tea, please avert your eyes somewhere else. Oh yeah, by the way- the story, characters, locales, etc. are all copyright to me, MakeInu. Mine! Please rate me or otherwise lemme know what you think of it afterwards, ok? E-mail [email protected] some constructive criticism or kind words. Other than that, thank you in advance, and I sincerely hope you enjoy yourself. :3
The sun broke over the horizon early that morning; the rays of light creeping along the ground and casting lengthy shadows from trees that grew partway around a small cottage. Here lived a relatively poor family, as most were in this particular village. The family consisted of four people: Johan, a hard-working farmer and father; Marie also did her fair share of work as a seamstress in the village itself as well as having the arduous task of being the mother of two; Markus and Andrea were their children, the latter being a mere eleven years of age and full of curiosity. Markus, the elder of the two turned nineteen not but two days ago. He was tall at 6'2" and though he didn't look to have much weight on him, was fairly well built. His skin was light and his face a little rough but handsome nonetheless, accentuated by his long, dark-brown hair. The strongest feature about him by far was his amber-gold eyes. They were unexplainable by his family as none of them had such a trait. But, his mother always said it made him look all the more handsome and unique.
"Father, please allow me to come into town with you today, I think I have the strength to walk there and back," pleaded Markus as he hobbled next to his father toward the road.
"Not today, Markus. You may be feeling well enough to go to Saras and back, but I'm doing more than just walking to the edge of the town. I've got a lot of market to cross if I'm to buy a few supplies for the coming weeks. I don't want you to get fatigued or come into some pain during the whole thing." Markus sighed heavily, having been denied this chance for some time now. He had a little money and wanted to buy new fletching feathers for his arrows. Markus, through a turn of bad fortune, wasn't in the best of conditions to be making the trip, despite his desire to. When he was fourteen years old, his left leg was crushed by a horse-drawn carriage while he was playing on the side of the road near his home. The village's doctor couldn't do much else but bandage him up, give him wooden splints and a crutch, and tell him to take a few vials of medicinal herbs that acted as painkillers. He had been this way ever since, too weak to help in his father's field and only able to help with smaller chores around the house and practice his archery. "Are you sure, Father? I promise I won't be a burden on you!" Johan merely shook his head as he opened the gate leading to the main road and Saras village and threw himself over the back of one of the family horses. "I'll be back soon, my son. Besides, it's really not that exciting..." he replied, riding off and leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
Markus sullenly turned away and thought angrily to himself that any place was better than being stuck at home. "I can't believe it! Once again, I'm just shunned aside! I can make it there...if he'd just let me."
"Now, Markus dear, don't be upset at your father," said Marie quietly as she stood in the doorway to their home, drying a clean pan with her apron, "you know he means well. He's just thinking about your health." Markus nodded a little, slightly embarrassed that his mother heard him. "Yes ma'am. I know...I just wish I could walk normally again, that's all." Marie smiled at him and reached out a hand to run through her son's hair and look into his amber-gold eyes. "I understand dear, I wish the same thing for you. I wish it had never happened. But, you can't change the past, so you must move toward the future, don't you think?" she replied wisely. He nodded again, and looking over his mother's shoulder saw his little sister helping with the dishes. She looked up, smiling and waving at him, and he could do naught but smile back as he always did when he saw her. He had to admit to himself that he was still happy with his family in spite of his disability.
Later that evening, Johan returned with many different supplies and a tool or two that couldn't be found readily at hand in their home. "And I got all of this for a few Ramsens, Marie. It's an excellent bargain, I'd say!" Marie readily agreed with her husband, "Indeed it is, darling. Very wonderful that we are so lucky to be able to obtain these things. Now please sit and eat with the rest of us." They all quietly ate the meal so carefully prepared by the women of the household and almost immediately turned in for bed so as to wake early next morning to more work and chores.
Markus, however, could not sleep. He was thinking constantly of how to mend his worthless legs and no longer worry about burdening his family. "But what? What can I do?" he muttered silently to himself. He sat up and gazed out the window above his bed at the moon. It was full and crisp, hanging in the sky as if by an invisible string. There were only a few stars visible due to how bright the moon seemed that night. In his muddled thoughts, Markus suddenly remembered something he heard a passing villager say a few days ago when he was working on the front gate hinges. It came to him vividly, the man was speaking with a friend of his, saying something about the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. He said that strange things happen or are seen by many others there and that it was a very foreboding place. Markus had heard of it even before then and knew that Schwarzwald was just down the road from his home.
"Maybe, just maybe there is someone or something there that can help me" he thought to himself, "I've got to go there and at least see, but I can't during the day...so, I must leave tonight. I can make it back before sunrise and father will never know." With a resolute look on his face and his mind set, he slowly got out of bed and quietly grabbed his crutch as he made his way to the door. It creaked slightly as he closed it and he stopped for a moment to listen. Hearing nothing from inside, he grabbed his bow and quiver, slinging them over his shoulder. He moved fairly quickly, his strong arms skillfully utilizing his crutches along the road as he passed several other neighboring farms. Before long, he stood before the dark, gaping forest he had heard about. Taking a deep breath, he began his trek into the blackness.
After only a few steps he realized that the overgrowth on the forest floor was thick, and it continually tried to snag his crutches. "Grr...this damnable place! What a silly idea that popped into my head!" he grumbled to himself as he nearly tripped over another root. He was making quite a bit of noise other than his little exclamations and noticing this, he suddenly made himself silent. All around him were trees and little filters of light coming in through the branches and of course, the pressing silence. Not even an owl would dare hoot in here, he thought. What seemed like hours passed, and Markus made more headway deeper into the forest.
He sighed in relief as he noticed a clearing. He got closer to said place, noticing that the branches had thinned out and the moonlight hit smartly upon a large boulder in the center of it all that seemed like some awkward, black pedestal. Working his way there, Markus huffed out of exhaustion and leaned heavily upon the cool stone. "This was a fool's errand after all," he said to no one in particular. He was disappointed that he had come all this way and nothing at all seemed out of the ordinary. He once again looked to the moon. It seemed even brighter than at home and he noted that no stars were visible at all. On a whim, he looked hard at the moon and prayed to Lunari, the patron Goddess that controlled the night sky. "Please...if nothing else, don't allow my search here be in vain. Help me become able again somehow. That is all I ask."
Knowing that night would soon be at an end, he began his trek back home with a heavy heart. He had no thought except that maybe there was nothing that could be done for him. This knowledge made the trip back seem that much longer to him, though he did make it back to the cottage just before sunrise. He placed everything back where it was before he had left and removed all but his undergarments before sprawling himself across his bed in exhaustion. His eyes caught a glimpse of the moon one last time before he passed out and dreamed of nothingness.
He awoke! Something horrible has flashed through his blank dream! All he could remember were the amber eyes and how quickly they moved toward him. Then, he realized something. In his fright he had jumped out of bed and was standing on his own two legs! "Wait..." he thought to himself, "Why are they covered in fur?" He held his hands up in front of his eyes. These couldn't be his! "Why am I covered in fur!?" Movement behind him, near-silent but he could hear it and as he turned, he looked upon his mother's shocked face as she opened her mouth and screamed. "A demon! A wolf-demon has eaten Markus!"