Chapter 3: Where it All Started

"What are you doing?" Peter asked Jessica and she closed the diary and put it under her pillow. "Oh, nothing just scribbling" she answered and smiled at her husband. He smiled back and sit beside her, he touched her swollen belly lovingly. 

"Just a little time left?" He asked her and she chuckled and nodded. "Yup, few days left till we meet our baby boy." she said and peter chuckled, "How are you so sure it's a boy?" he asked her and she shrugged. "I have a strong gut feeling, I wish its a boy," she said and Peter crumbled his face, "No, I want it to be a girl, another version of you," Peter said and Jessica forced a smile. 

"It'll be fine," he said to her and she shrugged, "No, you don't understand Peter, another version of me? Am I not burden enough for you?" she asked and Peter shook his head, "I love you, you can never be a burden on me," he said and Jessica shook her head in no. 

"What will you do when she turn twenty two?" she asked him and he shrugged, "I will protect her, I will keep her save. Don't talk like you won't be there with me to protect her," he said and she sighed. 

"Peter I already warned you about all this when we married, I told you clearly that if we ever to have a girl, her life would be in danger like mine is. This curse can only end if I give birth to a boy," she said and Peter shook his head again, "And I told you even then that I don't care about such stupid curse or spell, there is nothing that we can't stop if we have each other," he said and kissed the crown f her head. 

"You have no idea what you are talking about," She said and went in the kitchen to keep herself busy. Peter sighed and pulled out the diary from under pillow and opened it, like usual she didn't say anything. The pages were empty, and Jessica had told him that no human can see anything scribbled onto her magical diary pages. 

He got up and went in the kitchen to his wife, "Relax, it'll be fine. It doesn't matter what we wish for. We will get whatever God has planned." he said as he went near her and massaged her shoulders lovingly. She sighed and looked at him.

"You have to understand Peter, when I left witch craft to be with you, I have already broken the crucial law of engaging with human, let alone marry one human. The spell makers and witches are angry with me. Everyday they are searching for me, and when they will find me they will kill me. I will only have one shot to save either me or my child because I don't have my abilities now. They won't hurt you because we are forbidden to hurt humans." she explained it to him and he sighed.

"Then what can I do? I have kept you hidden since so long, haven't I?" he asked her and she nodded, "Yes, you have done am amazing job at that but tell me, if we had a girl she will require similar protection and safety, especially after she turns twenty," Jessica said and he nodded.

"Yes I undestand, and as I said it doesn't matter what we wish for. We will get whatever God has already planned." he said and bent down and kissed her lips lovingly, she wrapped her arms around him and he too engulfed her in his arms craddling her like a delicate flower. 

Jessica winced in the kiss and looked down as she felt water pooling around her feet, "Oh my goddess, it's time," she whispered and Peter immediately broke out into a cold sweat. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked and she pointed towards the room, "Help me get in the room, I will get in the tub when contractions start," she said and he picked her up.

She chuckled, "I can walk silly," she said and he looked at her face, she was calm and smiling. She seemed extra beautiful in that moment. He laid her on the bed whilst holding her hand and sat beside her. "Well, we were expecting this to happen in few days," he said and she chuckled. 

"Yea," she said and he chuckled, "Do you know how to do this?" he asked her and she shook her head in a no, "It is my first baby as well, but I have seen babies being born. I will get contractions anytime today," she said and he sighed.

"I feel the contractions now, I don't know if this is supposed to happen so quickly," she said as she tried to sit up, Peter helped her and she breathed deeply, "This is not right, this wasn't supposed to happen like this," she said and tried to stand up and walk towards the tub. Peter helped her, "What are you talking about?" he said and she didn't answered, she was sweating and trembling because of the contraction pain.

She left a trail of blood on her way to the bathtub, Peter helped her get in, she lay down and pointed towards her leather cap, "Pass me that," she said and Peter quickly passed it to her. She bit down on the cap hardly to muffle her screams and moans. Peter broke out into a cold sweat, he was watching her wife in agony and pain and he couldn't do anything.

He held her hand and she squeezed it hardly, she had her nails dig in the palm of her hand of other hand so hard that she had drawn blood out of the skin. She throws her head back and let out a muffled scream. "I am going to get some help," Peter said and got up, Jessica held her hand and stopped her, he looked at her and she shook her head.

"come on, I can't help you and you are in so much pain," he said and she shook her head and spit out the cap holding in her teeth, "No one can know-" she said in shaky breath. 

He sat back down helplessly and looked at her while she struggled to deliver their baby. She cried out in pain, and immediately tried to muffle her screams. "Its... come ... coming.. I ... I ... can ... I can feel it," She said in between shaky breaths and moans. He held her hand tightly, she pointed down at her feet, "Look ... for .. look .. look for the head, and .. pull it out .. now!!" She almost shouted at him and he hurried, after few more moments they were successfully able to deliver the baby, Peter cut the cord as Jessica guided her, cleaned the baby and wrapped it in a towel.

"Its a girl," he said and Jessica still broke out into tears, but they were happy tears. "Show me," she said and he gave the baby girl into her arms, she held her softly. "Erica, my lovely strong Erica," she said with tears streaming down her face and a smile on her lips. She kissed the crown of her head as Peter held them both and he kissed the crown of Jessica's forehead. 

"You even came up with a name?" he said and she chuckled, "I couldn't help it. It is your mother's name, I wanted to honor a lady who raised a fine man like you," She said and Peter smiled lovingly.

"Thank you, she must have been very happy," he said and kissed her. They lay Erica on bed and Peter helped Jessica to clean herself, and soon the three of them were lying on the bed, and Jessica was feeding Erica.

"She came so quickly," Jessica said and Peter shrugged, "I don't know anything about child birth timings," he said and Jessica nodded thoughtfully.

"Some thing is not right," Jessica whispered and immediately whipped her head in the direction of the door. A black foggy smoke was entering in their room. "Oh no," Jessica said and quickly passed Erica to Peter. Erica started crying loudly as she was separated from her source of food. 

"What is it?" Peter asked her, "They have found me," she said and stood up infront of Peter and Erica as a shield. "What? no," Peter stood up and went near Jessica, she looked at her crying baby in Peter's arms and kissed her tiny forehead. 

"I have created some of her false memories in her head of spending her time with me, take care of her Peter." Jessica said and Peter shook her head in a no furiously. 

"How can you do such a thing?" he said with tears pooling in his eyes. Their room was filling up with the dark smoke, followed by a shrieking laughter signaling a presence of some evil woman.

"I love you so much Peter," she said and kissed him one last time with tears streaming down her face as well as Peter's.

"How lovely," Jessica and Peter looked at the direction of the voice and saw a black veiled, tall and slender witch standing there. “It is a girl after all, so the curse continues,” the witch said and Jessica looked at the witch angrily.

“You will not be able to take Hecate, I will sacrifice myself for her, the curse ends here!” Jessica said and the witch laughed in a loud ear piercing voice. “You really think that your sacrifice will stop us? And help your daughter to survive the curse? Don’t forget that you have broken the witch hood vow of not only leaving it, but exposing us also and then going off and marrying a low life form of human,” The witch said evilly and Jessica got angrier.

“Say whatever you want to say Hecate, but I can assure you that King of the night will take care of my daughter, and you or your brood of bitches cannot defeat him ever,” Jessica spat angrily and Hecate roared with laughter again.

"That old man is nothing against me and my sisters, don't be too comfortable. Say your farewells now.” The witch sang and took out her hands from under her veil. A black smoke shaped like hands came out of her long dirt nails and moved towards Jessica.

She turned around looked at Peter, “Look away Peter,” she said and he just stood there in shock. He didn’t listen to her; instead he ran and stood in front of Jessica holding their daughter close to his heart. Jessica placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, and she placed her other hand on Erica’s tiny forehead.

Peter stood still, and watches the hands of smoke move slowly towards his wife, Jessica covered Peter’s eyes with her hands, and he realized in that moment that he can never save her wife from such magical powers. 

After few moments Jessica’s hand was gone from his eyes and shoulder, he looked around the room and saw no one. The witch had taken Jessica with her, and his house was as silent as a grave. He looked at Erica in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably whilst cradling her and holding her close to him. 

“I will not let anyone hurt you, I promise, I will keep you safe. I will teach you how to hunt, and how to protect yourself from anything. I will-“He couldn’t continue because he had promised safety to Jessica as well and he was unable to keep his promise with her. He sat down and started crying loudly, he was scared. He didn’t knew how was he going to raise a baby on his own, how is he going to keep her safe from any danger like that again. But he knew that he had to, Jessica had given him their baby girl and he was the only hope for her left in this world now. 

Time flew by and Peter taught her daughter to hunt like a professional. She was the best hunter in the whole town, even better than the boys. One thing he gave her was the diary of her mother, he knew that whatever her mother was, Erica possessed the same abilities and same vision and she was able to read and write in that diary. 

By the age of eighteen Erica had grown into a beautiful girl, she had black beautiful hairs and almond shaped black colored eyes. She had no idea what her life awaits for her in the future nor did ever her father told her. He thought if he didn’t told her she might be much safer from the witch who killed her mother and promised to take Erica away too. But one thing Peter didn’t knew about was the King of the night.