They formed an alliance

Chapter 4

“Practice what you preach. Why would you not have some courage with what happened in the past? Elizabeth’s eyes are full of rage.

She is alone, sitting in the cold concrete of the municipal prison.

The local priest, Lucas, is busily preparing his paraphernalia, to talk to the prisoner, Elizabeth.

“What a nostalgic feeling this give me, Lucas. I used to sit on cold cobble stones in the past. Don’t you know?”

Lucas gave her an emotionless look.

“Just give in to Lord Avide’s wants, and you will all be released. He is a petty person, and just a simple apology is enough to stop all of these nonsensical actions.” Lucas pleaded.

Elizabeth gave him a cold stare. “Why should I beg him? Why should I need to heed your words?”

“Elizabeth.”

“You gave me a cold shoulder when I told you that I am pregnant, saying that it would be a disgrace to your family, and your parents want you to go into vocation. Do you know how terrified I am to see scissors that they will use to tear my insides? I fell asleep with the medicines, but I can still feel that they are slitting me, but I endured all of that, without you, or anyone by my side. When I woke up, I was shocked by what I saw. Our son died on cold table, and you’re not even there to comfort me. No one is there for me, no one to embrace me or tell me assuring words, like that it is all right, these, too, shall pass quickly, like what the Holy Bible said. You left me while I am on labour alone, while you go sign in for priesthood, reciting all the scriptures, while I am sobbing in the streets, with no one to talk or turn to. After the funeral of our son, you just pass me by the road, like I am a no one, like you didn’t even know me. Even a glance, or a single word, you won’t give me, as if I am begging for your attention. You are the worst. The politicians and businessmen don’t pretend for who they are, not like you. You wear cassock, your long white clothes and recite liturgy in the church, but you didn’t spare a mercy on me. You are a wolf in a sheep’s clothing, your smiles and gestures are fake, and you are so good at it! Bravo!” Elizabeth is trembling with ire as she clapped her hands loudly. Other women prisoners are eavesdropping their conversation, as they put their ears into the small window from the outside.

“I totally despise you, Lucas even until my final moments before death. They say that if you curse a person in your final moments, it is powerful and no one can lift it. Now I want to say this for the first time in my whole life. I can say that this is an exhilarating feeling, isn’t it, girls? Let’s curse this hypocrite ass hole!”

There is a huge and loud upheaval inside every prison cell. The women shouted in sync, punched the walls until their hands bled, for the prison cell is made up of steel and brick; other shook their head in disgust at what they heard.

Other women are crying, terrified and afraid for their lives.

It can be heard even outside, that the people passing by thought that the prisoners found a way to escape, that it is profound chaos. They ran as fast as they could to leave the place.

They ran fast, to not hear the wails of the innocent ones.

The prison constabularies went to the prison ward, and struck their thick batons into the prison walls. The women went into yelling, acting like crazy, not like the lovely and modest women herbalist in the past. They already gave in to their raw feelings and emotions.

“Tomorrow is your public execution day, along with the others. I will pray for all of you, the sinners. All of you should pray also for your own selves, and for your families who are suffering and will suffer more of shame and guilt when you pass. God bless to all of you!” he said unwittingly, without remorse.

“I have final words to you, my dear. Please lend me your ears.” Elizabeth pleaded endearingly.

Lucas came nearer her.

“I curse you to be miserable forever, even in the fiery pits of hell, where, I am sure, you will go to, someday.” Elizabeth’s murmur resonated in the eerily cold prison walls.

“My lady, you will never know the misery I experienced in the priest school. I missed you for every second, but I cannot see you, lest my parents influence the mercenaries to kill you. It is better for you to hate me this way, than for you to continue loving me and cherishing me as a person. Let us just meet in the Kingdom of God, that is, if He will not punish me for my countless sins that I have done to you, and put me in Hell. If he will throw me in Hell, I will gladly accept it, for I have sinned, and I truly deserve it. I am very sorry, My only love, Elizabeth.”

Lucas and Elizabeth are childhood friends since time immemorial. Lucas is the only son of a religious family, owning hectares of farmland where the farmers plant their crops. Known landlords, as they are, they belong to the families who made farmers work until the sun came up and pay them despicable daily wages.

Lucas’ parents want him to join the French clergy, but Lucas, at first, resisted.

“But I don’t want to be a clergyman! I want to be an educator, and a father of my own child!” Lucas said pleasingly.

“My son, you should dedicate your body and soul to serving God and His church. Before you are conceived, we promised God in our nightly prayers that once you reached the rightful age, we will surrender you to Him. Please, Lucas, make our pact to Him come true.” his mom is almost begging him at her knees.

“I cannot. Elizabeth, is carrying my child.”

“Por l’amour de Dieu, you said what?” his parents stared at him at disbelief.

“I impregnated Elizabeth, with our first child.” Lucas said in low tone.

His father, Lord Bastien, slapped him hard in his face. He almost fell hard in the wooden floor and hit his head.

“You bastard! You dare commit a wrongdoing in the eyes of God, and did it with a worthless maid? How displeasing! This will taint our pure image in front of our family bloodline! You are a mere disgrace! I wish we just did not pray for you if we know that you will be like this, an asshole!” the head of the family headed for the display ceramic to knock Lucas unconscious, but he stumbled upon the edge of the thick family carpet.

“She is not a worthless maid, just because her family lost their lands. A person’s worth is measured by her character, not her family’s riches!”

“This piece of garbage! Why is this trash in here? This is not needed! Throw this thing away! Lord Bastien kicked the knitted carpet as hard as he could, but he could not lift it a bit.

“My dear husband, we cannot, because this protects us from the cold floor. Please, calm yourself, let us talk it all out with our son. Nothing won’t work with a simple calm conversation. Don’t shout, please. Let us all sit down. I will get some tea from the kitchen. Wait for me.” her mother tiptoed to the kitchen to get the Chinese wares and got the tea bags from the drawer, and pour warm water into the ceramics. She then gets the tray to place the teacups, and walked back to Lucas and Lord Bastien.

“Here, suit yourself. Get your own snacks.” his mother said as she held the china ware near her mouth and drank the tea.

“This tea is the most expensive tea in the world, the Da Hong Pao, that came from China. This is a rare kind, that is why, and it is a national gem. This is your favourite tea, Lucas, but you did not even try to know its name. Maybe you assumed that this is just an ordinary tea, is not it?”

There is an ominous tone in his mother’s voice.

“Lucas, my lovely son. You do not appreciate what you have. You have all the things in the world: money and power. And now, you will have the chance to serve God, without worries, because as your parents, we can stand on our own. Many young men want to be in the priesthood, and you are throwing the opportunity away?” his mother finally put down the empty teacup in the tray.

“You will enter priesthood, whatever happens. Try to disobey us, and we will kill that Elizabeth and your baby. When you will enter the clergy school, we will leave them unharmed, but we won’t support them. You should consider them lucky if we don’t inflict harm on them. This I promise you; we won’t even lift a finger to them.” she is smiling slyly.

My mother is a scary person.

The flashbacks made Lucas shudder in fear. He stood up from his stool, and left.

Lucas walked the hall carefully, that his robe won’t be filth with prison dirt that is covered with poop and urine. One of the women prisoners spit on him from inside her prison cell. Her spit is covered in clotted blood, as she developed severe pneumonia when she was put in the cell while doing her duty in curing the sick in her remote town. She laughed hysterically, and the others followed. They’ve gone senseless. The police opened her cell and beat her badly. She stopped as she fainted in pain. She is noticeably unconscious.

“I am sorry, Madame Elizabeth, for I am just following orders. I am powerless, like my colleagues. I wish you all well, that you inherit the eternal life; this reward will be surely given to all of you.”

Elizabeth heard what the police said, and she nodded afterwards, with welling tears in her eyes. She already forgave the man, who is a patron customer of her central apothecary; the one who always asks for help whenever he experiences those bothersome chronic coughs and migraine headaches.

“I forgive you. Do not worry, I understand in what position you are in. You are walking in thin eggshells.” Elizabeth smiled at the prison guard.

The police served them warm sumptuous meals; it consists of frayed tubers like carrots, radishes, charcuterie or olive tapenade, grilled chicken, vast array of French pastas and fresh bread, medium rare steak, sweet and sour salmon, mashed potatoes, boiled green beans, and soybean yogurt with pieces of fruit. Others also asked a piece of fruit, and a chocolate or mocha-flavoured cookie, and for the last course, piece of chocolate. Their D-day will be tomorrow afternoon, in front of the public veranda. Many trees are cut, and a huge part of the forest is just an open ground.

“Lord Avide, what should we serve the werewolves before the day of the public execution tomorrow?”

Lord Avide is staring at the beauties from afar, from their cold prison cells.

He has his eyes focused on Anais’ and Elizabeth’s prison cells.

What a waste of beauties. All these women are beautiful, but all of them will eventually disappear, that fast.

He imagined himself undressing the two women, caressing their naked bodies and doing all acts he wanted on their exquisite bodies.

The prison guard repeated his question, this time, louder, for Lord Avide to hear him. This disrupted his reverie.

He got slapped by Lord Avide.

“Disobedient.”

The prison guard said his apologies.

“Serve them raw and spoiled meat.”

“Alright, Sire.”

Raw and spoiled meats are thrown inside each of the werewolves’ prison cells.

“You are a werewolf, half-human, half dog?” Elizabeth asked her her nearby prison mate.

“Yes, I am. We are half-wolves, but we do not harm humans. We are wronged. We are all innocent. How can children can eat human meat? The children in our pack even got entangled in this mess.”

Anais buried her face in her hands, covered in tears.

“My name is Elizabeth.”

“My name is Anais.”

“Let us make a pact. Let us form a curse.”

The two women put their palms in the walls that separated them apart.

Elizabeth recited some words, and Anais followed her words.

They recited the words all night.

Preparations are already set. Loads of oil that are bought from the nearby towns surround the firewood, courtesy of the local governor himself.

Silver and red blood flooded the prison walls. It formed a sparkly liquid that sparkled throughout the night.