Seeking for the Cure

~Fender~

Hope pressed the bell button that attached on the wall besides the main door of Frank’s home. Only one press and one second, a vampire girl who was wearing the maid uniform opened the door. Without smile, she stared at us. It was Hilda, Frank’s most loyal maid.

“Good-den, milady. ‘Tis not polite of me to come to thy home at night. I beseech thou to seek for Frank Damon?” he asked, I actually thought that he was not asking. He was too polite even for a maid.

She nodded, again without any smile, “I believe he know that you come, Milord. Please, come in,” she politely asked us to come. I didn’t know that she would reply that odd fairy speaking with a polite way.

Hope bowed down like a prince or a knight in a fairy tale, “The pleasure is mine.”

Without thinking twice, we both got into the manor. As usual, the house was very quiet. Hope was looking around the house. It seemed that he hadn’t been there for a long time. I thought that two years ago was also his last meeting with Frank.

At last, a handsome with a pale-face guy came from the second story. Frank smiled faintly, and a second later he had already stood in front of us. After closing the door again, Hilda begged for her leave and went away.

Hope smile grew larger, he bowed down again. I didn’t know whether he would bow down to everyone he met. “Good greetings, my old friend. How now, Frank?” he asked.

“All of God’s greetings upon you, Hope. I’m well, and you may be well. And…” Frank looked at me, “Fender, what are you doing here with…Hope?” he asked me. Then I saw his nostril was moving as if he smelled something and he began to look down, “I smell blood. What happened to your leg, Fender?” his face turned to be a bit serious.

I didn’t speak a word. Seriously, I was still trauma with what happened to me.

“May I be the one to give the words? Methinks he hath an unwell situation now,” Hope said. When we saw Frank nodded, he began to speak, “We encountered a forgotten race of this town, a werewolf. He hath been bitten. Methinks it wast an alpha.”

Frank’s eyes bugged out at the moment. For several seconds, he barely could speak. I wondered what an alpha was. I didn’t have more knowledge about werewolf. Frank moved and hugged me for several seconds, tried to calm me down.

“It killed Angelica, Frank,” I finally started to speak, “Am I going to be a werewolf?” I asked desperately.

Frank brought me to the sofa and asked Hope also to follow us. He whispered to me, “Just sit down for a moment, Fender. Don’t worry. I’m with you.” Frank sat next to me while Hope sat in front of us. For a moment, we kept staring each other without any words.

I began to think if I ever became a werewolf. Am I going to wander around aimlessly? Maybe killing someone? Wake up naked somewhere in the morning, that was I thought. God, I couldn’t imagine more. It was too scary to think about. I figured my body was filled with hair, and my gorgeous face would be like a monster.

“Could you guys tell me what an alpha is? That word is bothering me since I heard it,” I asked.

Frank sighed, “Alpha is the strongest kind of werewolf, just like pureblood to us vampires. They are the leader of their pack. There is usually an alpha in one werewolf pack because it may cause an internal chaos if there are two or more alphas in a pack. But, it’s not impossible.”

Why should Frank tell me about the meaning of an alpha, I thought. What I wanted to know was the impact of that alpha biting my legs.

“I don’t care about that. I just want to know how an alpha’s bite effect to a human. Am I going to be a werewolf?” I asked again, with complaining.

Frank nodded and whispered, “I think so.”

“Otherwise, my friend, thou shalt die like an abandoned fried leaf in the forest of sorrow,” Hope added, and it was like a thunder striking my head. I didn’t care about how flowery the language he had spoken to me, it really annoyed my mind.

Just for a second, it was like my heart beat was nearly stopped. I couldn’t think of anything. I was too scared, that I was going to die just like exactly what Hope said. Those options were not fair. To be a werewolf or to die? What could you expect?

“Don’t worry, Fender. It’s only 3 percent of all occasions where someone dies by an alpha’s bite,” Frank explained.

I just looked down to the floor, “How about if I am including in that 3 percent?” I said desperately. I suddenly straightened up. I took a very deep breath, tried to think positively. “Okay, I just want to think that it’s only 3 percent and there’s no way I will include to that number. Now, what I want to ask you is…is there any cure to this werewolf issue? God, I don’t want to be a werewolf. You know that every single frightening image is crossing my mind right now?”

“Methinks a necromancer knowth one thing,” Hope said.

What with that phrase again? A necromancer? I don’t know what it is, I thought.

Frank looked so seriously thinking hard. “But where do we find a necromancer?” he asked with confuse.

“What is a necromancer anyway?” I asked again.

“It’s the highest level of witch,” he answered, maybe he didn’t want to continue further since I complained him in his first explanation about alpha.

Witch? What I thought at the moment was Ino Rays. I remembered Sam and Walter had said about Ino’s friend who was exactly a witch that threw them into another dimension. Witch must know something about their kind, I talked to myself.

I looked at Frank for a moment, “How about Ino’s friend? He’s a witch, right?” I suggested.

“There’s no way Ino have to know about what happened to you,” Frank yelled at me, “It’s dangerous, Fender. We don’t know what he will think of you as a newbie werewolf. He may kill you right away. And I don’t want to take that risk by letting Ino knows about this,” he explained.

Frank’s right. How could I not think about that? Ino is the most merciless hunter and we are no friends. To think that he will easily help me, I’m so stupid, I talked to myself.

Hope suddenly rose, “Ye dost not worry. I believe I know one or two things about a sorcerer. Thither is one lives near the edge of the top hills to the north,” he said.

“Twilight town,” Frank whispered, and Hope just nodded.

I was a bit shocked that there was someone who lived near the devil’s lair. But he or she was the witch anyway. Witch got the power to protect themselves from any danger. And from what I could imagine, that witch seemed to be a strong one.

He bowed down again to us, “Let me humbly take my leave. I shalt soft ye in the place when the sun peeks from the east. Fare thee well, my friends, and may by fate we meet again.”

“When did you come here, Hope?” Frank asked.

Hope smiled and replied, “Just recently.”

“Let me show you the way, Hope,” Frank offered.

“Nay, ‘tis a pleasure, but I shalt go alone,” he insisted. He then walked away to the main door and went out. I just hope that Hope can give me a hope, I talked to myself.

When I made sure that he already left, I immediately talked to Frank what I wanted to talk to him from the first time I arrived there, “What’s wrong with the way he’s speaking? He speaks like a bloke. The other fairies are not like him?” I asked.

“He’s the only descendant of the Rovals in town. I believe you have already known about the Rovals. They are dukes among the fairies and from what I know about the Rovals, most of them speak like that,” he explained, “Now it’s better for you to rest. I will call your mother that you will stay here for the night. Just go to your bed, clean up yourself, and pray for the better tomorrow,” he ordered.

I nodded, “Yes, Milord.”

***

Angelica’s body was missing. Frank told me that he couldn’t find anything near the location. He managed to clean up the mess of my broken car. At the time, I didn’t know what to say to my parents if they asked me about my car. Perhaps it would take several days for my car to be repaired and back to the way it used to be, leaving the trails that would make my parents’ suspiciousness grew larger.

But there was something I was trying to find for the excuses if somebody asked me about Angelica’s whereabouts. I thought whether I should tell the truth or not. Frank said that I should think about it later.

We walked through the forest to the higher hill of the north where the road led to the valley behind the hill. After the valley, we will find the abandoned town which is rumored to be a devil’s lair, Twilight Town. But it was not our destination, we wouldn’t go that far. We just wanted to meet with that odd fairy and tried to find the witch he mentioned the previous night.

Actually, it was Frank who running while he was carrying me on his back. As you know that vampire movement was incredibly fast. It is impossible to go through the road by car since the road was blocked and a dead end. And reaching to where Hope wanted us to meet is not a nearby area.

When we saw a gentle smile from a guy who leaned on the tree, Frank stopped running and put me down. We walked slowly, approaching Hope who also walked toward us.

Frank bent down, and so did that odd fairy. “Good greetings, my friend,” he greeted with faint smile.

“All of God’s greetings upon thee, Frank. How now? Both of ye?” Hope replied.

“It’s never been better,” I answered, trying to smile very wide even though it was broke inside.

I pulled my trousers up a little bit and showed him my wound that already gone with my fake smile. Yes, I was successfully being a werewolf and I didn’t have any idea what will happened to me next.

“It seems that I’m not like those who are in the 3 percent. The good news is I’m alive, for now, and I have never been healthier than this time,” I added. God, I don’t know how to express my feeling now. Happy or terrible, I thought.

“’Tis an honor to be as happy as thee now, Fender,” he replied, “Anon, methinks we should go. It shalt take one and a half miles walking for us to reach that sorcerer’s home, my friends,” he explained that it seemed that it was a very long journey. Imagine, just one and a half miles!

Frank nodded, “Then don’t waste any more time,” he agreed.

We began to walk to our main destination, the witch’s house. We walked slowly, contrary to what they had already said that we should not waste any more time. They just had a little chit chat while I walked behind them with my desperate face. I didn’t really get what they were talking about. Yes, I never really got anything from their conversation. Hope always used his odd language and Frank replied him thoroughly. Perhaps it was me who dumb or didn’t used to speak in metaphor way.

Suddenly I felt something eerie in that forest. I thought that someone was passing behind the woods. I stopped walking, studying what I was looking at. There was no one there. I was sure that I saw someone, but it seemed that we were alone in that place.

“What’s up, Fender?” Frank asked, they also stopped and waited for me to continue again.

I looked at them, and then shook my head slowly, “Nothing,” I answered.

We continued our way and about 15 minutes later, we arrived in an old lone house made by wood. The house was so untreated well, just like nobody lived there for a very long time.

Frank looked at Hope’s face, “Are you sure we are in right place, Hope?” he asked.

“I believe so,” Hope answered with less confident. He studied the house again. Nothing seemed alive in that house.

I sighed, “Do we still have any hope…Hope?” I asked again, truly desperate.

Frank’s face suddenly become panic when he was aware that a sphere of light was fired directly to us. I didn’t realize where it came from. It was coming fast and fortunately, Frank could safe us both from the sudden attack. The sphere hit the ground and it was like a rocket that destroyed everything that it touched. The dried leaves were scattered up by the beam.

“Fear not, Sire! We mean no harm to thee, Sir Wizard,” Hope yelled.

Then we heard somebody’s voice from behind us. We turned around 360 degrees and saw an old geezer staring straight at us. I thought that he was about 60 years old man if he was a normal human. He wore a black robe like an old-time witch in the movie, but without a pointy hat and a worn wooden staff. His hair was a bit wavy and he wasn’t tall at all, but still his appearance could make everybody freaked out. His face seemed evil and I didn’t really like him.

He looked at Hope first. It was a long stare before he looked at me and Frank, “What are a fairy, a vampire, and a werewolf doing in my place?” he asked with his deep voice.

He already called me a werewolf. That was very troubling me.

“It’s my friend. He needs your help. We need information about necromancer,” Frank explained. But when he saw that witch furrowed deeply, Frank tried to explain further, “He was bitten by a werewolf last night. My fairy friend believes that a necromancer can help him. As a fellow witch, we think that you may know about necromancer.”

“Fool, how can you think that a necromancer can cure a werewolf’s curse? The curse is absolute. He will become a werewolf for the rest of his life. Nothing can change that,” the witch insisted.

“Are you sure, Old man? I really need a cure, please,” I begged.

He laughed a bit, but then his face became scary again, “I told you one more time, Kid. Nothing can cure the curse. You don’t have any choice. You have to live that way,” he said, “Now leave at once! I don’t like being disturbed!” he turned away and left back to his house.

The three of us were staring each other. It seemed that I really didn’t have a choice but lived it that way.

“My friends, ‘twas my mistakes. Ye must be angry to me. Please, I pray thee to sincerely accept my deepest regret. ‘Tis not my intention to disappoint thee, my friends,” Hope spoke in his too much way of speaking.

“It’s not your fault, Hope. We are just seeking for the cure, and you just suggest something,” Frank tried to ease him, he then looked at me, “If there’s nothing we can do, Fender, you have to do what I will tell you now. First, it’s going to be hard for you in the beginning. You must train to control yourself. I will help you through this, don’t worry. Basically, you need your fellow werewolf to teach you about werewolf thing, but perhaps I know a thing or two. Before you can control yourself, no too much socializing, no partying, no fighting, and no sport!” he said.

I was shocked when I heard those words from his mouth, especially the last one. “What?” I yelled, “It’s impossible. I will have a regional match. I won’t miss that, Frank,” I complained.

“Your shifting is caused by the moon and unstable emotion, Fender. It can’t be avoided by the newbie like you. And your sport, it heightens your emotion too much, and please don’t take a risk that you end up revealing yourself or maybe killing someone,” he said. It was true though it saddened me so much. He then spoke again, “Second, you have to be caged when the full moon. I will begin the preparation. Third, don’t interact to Ino until we have any proof that you can control yourself and won’t cause any danger among the neighborhood. He may kill you right away.”

I sighed and nodded. I didn’t have any choice but to follow Frank’s order. He was right, he was always right. I have become a werewolf and unless I can control my shifting, I may end up killing someone, or maybe it’s me who will be killed by Ino, I thought. Poor me!