Damned Reality

~Daciana~

“Randall!” King Edwin called in shock, while Prince Randall kept smiling like a fool.

His smile made me so furious that I didn’t know when I began to approach him.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you blind that you didn’t see the cake in front of you?!” I yelled in rage.

“Daciana, please,” Carl uttered, holding my wrist as he tried to caution me.

“Woah woah! I think you need to watch your mouth.” Prince Randall responded. The smile on his face faded off as he closed the gap between us. As he moved closer, I could perceive the alcohol in his breath.

“That’s enough!” King Edwin commanded as he walked to where we were. We both kept quiet, exchanging death stares at each other.

“We should leave.” I heard some of the guests say to each other and one after the other, they began to leave.

“King Edwin, please excuse us,” Carl uttered as he pulled me away from the absurd scene.

Watching everyone leave broke my heart. This wasn’t the perfect birthday I had envisioned. Every single thing went wrong.

As we headed to my room, my anger turned into tears. I cried profusely and all attempts to console me were in vain. I hated myself.

“Why didn’t the name show? What have I done to deserve this?” I mumbled.

“Daciana, it’s not your fault, okay? There was definitely a mistake somewhere. You can always try another time,” Carl answered.

“Carl, did you hear what the chairwoman said?! It had never happened before, and that it was impossible! Everyone was watching. There shouldn’t be mistakes on a day like this. I am cursed.”

“You are not cursed, Daci. Stop saying awful things to yourself, okay? This isn’t the end. This must have happened for a reason. Whatever that reason may be, you know I’ll always be here.”

After hearing him say these, I raised my head to look at him. “You still love me?”

“What?! Of course, I still love you, Daci. Not even the globe can stop me from loving you.” He reassured me as he cleaned my teary eyes.

“You’ll be holding the globe in a month, what if another girl’s name appears?”

“Let’s not think about that now, Daciana. I love you and that’s all that matters.”

I nodded slowly and sniffed hard. It was easy to say I shouldn’t think about it, but it was impossible for me not to think about the worst thing that could happen after today.

“Cheer up, my love. You know you have to prepare yourself for your first wolf transformation, right?” Carl asked and I bobbed.

“My mother made arrangements already. The basement is all set.” I answered, and he smiled.

“Great. Don’t worry. Your wolf would distract you from whatever happened today. That, I can promise you. Though it’s pretty painful, it’s the best feeling ever.” He added.

“I can’t wait,” I responded with a faint smile.

“Daciana!” I heard Trisha call in the hallway.

“I’m here,” I responded, and shortly after, my door opened.

“Hi, Carl.” She uttered, moving to the bed where we both sat.

“Hi, Trisha.” He responded, adjusting himself.

“How are you feeling?” She asked me, and I scoffed.

“I would have felt so much better if Prince Randall didn’t trip over my cake,” I muttered, and she chuckled softly.

“Why am I not surprised? That guy is a pain in the ass. He left with the king already. What the hell was he doing here anyway?” She asked, causing me to heave a sigh.

“He came with his father, the king, and that is because my mother and King Edwin are a thing.”

“That is the most shocking discovery I have ever seen today! What?! How did it even happen?” Trisha asked enthusiastically. She seemed very curious about their relationship, but I wasn’t in the mood to share.

I couldn’t get rid of the feeling of anger and sadness I was feeling.

“Trisha, not now, okay?? My birthday party was awful! The worst ever in Bedfordshire.” I muttered.

“I think it’s best if you stay off the internet for a few days. It’s going to be crazy there.” Carl added, turning off his phone.

“It’s online already?” I asked in awe, and he kept silent, heaving a sigh.

“Some people took videos,” Trisha mumbled, causing fresh tears to heat the back of my eyes.

“Hey! Hey! Listen to me, Daci. It’s just going to trend for a week and everyone will forget what happened, okay?”

“No. It’s going to be worse than that.” I shook my head as I wept.

“It won’t if we distract them. Give them something else to talk about.” I heard my mother’s voice at the door, and we all looked at her.

“And how are you going to do that?” I asked, cleaning my tears with the back of my hand.

“King Edwin and I will get married this Saturday. Publicity would start today. They are working on it already.” My mother answered, and my eyes slowly widened.

“Wow! It’s really happening!” Trisha squealed happily.

“Saturday? You mean in two days?” I asked in awe, and she nodded with a faint smile.

“It will successfully distract the people from what happened at the party today. It was all King Edwin’s idea. And he also sincerely apologizes for his son’s behavior. He promised to put him in his best behavior before we become family.” My mother further explained.

The plan sounded very good to me, but all I was worried about was the fact that Prince Randall was going to become my stepbrother faster than I had imagined.

I wasn’t sure I was ready to live under the same roof with him. Not after pulling such stunt today.

*

Nighttime drew close very slowly. I couldn’t touch my phone because I knew I would be tempted to check my social media, and I didn’t want to be bothered about what people were saying about me.

I wanted to be emotionally stable for what was to come.

After Trisha and Carl left, my mom refused to leave my side. She feared I was going to feel lonely or angered for some reason.

“Daciana, it is time.” She uttered, looking out of the window and staring at the moon which was starting to get full in the sky.

I hurriedly pulled the duvet off my body and started taking off my clothes.

“Let’s go now, Mom. I don’t want to turn here.” I uttered in haste.

“Right!”

We both ran out of my room, heading to the basement. Getting to the basement, I saw the chains attached to the walls already.

I gave my mother my hands and she put shackles on them. She made me kneel and also locked my ankles.

“So here is the thing, Daciana…” She moved backward and sat on the stairs. “You’re going to feel a very sharp pain, starting from your chest. You’re going to be so scared, but remember, I am here with you.”

“Once you’ve turned, you’re going to be very hungry, your senses would be heightened, and you’ll try to get out of those chains to do something you may regret later, but don’t worry. I made sure they were tight enough. I’m here with you, baby.”

I nodded eagerly and shut my eyes, waiting for the sharp pain in my chest.

“The moon is full in the sky. It should start now.” My mother’s voice sounded shaky as she spoke. I shut my eyes even tighter, waiting to feel something.

After a few minutes, I slowly opened my eyes to look at my mother, and I could see a shocked look on her face.

“What is happening, mother? Why am I not changing?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“I don’t know. We should just give it time, okay? It’s going to come. We just need to be patient.” She assured me, and I believed her.

Minutes upon minutes passed, and soon hours painfully went by without me feeling anything in my body. Nothing happened!

“Get me out of these!” I yelled as I broke into tears again.

“Daciana.” My mother called softly.

“You said I was going to turn! The moon is gone! I’m never going to turn! Get me out of these!” I yelled even louder, and she rushed closer to me and started getting the shackles off me.

“I know I am cursed! I have always had that feeling!” I yelled in tears, running up the stairs. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me.

I felt useless… like a walking dead. I wasn’t even sure if I was a werewolf or not.

I rushed into my room and slammed the door behind me, hoping this would shut me out of my damned reality.