The Shapeshifter - Part II

She was turned into another creature to avenge what she lost.

   She sat down in front of the mirror and gazed at her reflection; pale skin, emerald green eyes, and silky blue hair that reached a little past her shoulders; before that fire, she would have been called a pretty picture. Dmitri had long complimented her on her beauty, and it was why he tried to flirt with her on their very first meeting that day in the academy. He was especially fond of her eyes, often had he called them a ‘pair of rare jewels that must be treated with extensive care,’ that he would be quite careful not to upset her and cause her to cry-perhaps that was why Anjela shed tears a lot less often.

 

  But that beauty was cruelly taken away after the fire. The pale skin that many had compared to that of a porcelain doll was forever disfigured by an ugly scar that covered the left side of her face. Her left eye was miraculously saved, but the green jewel didn’t fit what surrounded it anymore. The scars not only covered half of her face, but her left half of her body was completely scarred as well, through her neck, arms and hands.

 

  But the true scar wasn’t there. Her hands slowly moved to where a small baby had once lived, before she was ruthlessly taken away from her mother. She had put all her hopes for a future in that baby girl, promising her a wonderful life, even if she had to grow up without her father. She was going to spend every possible effort so her little girl would live happily and grow healthily; even if Dmitri was taken away from her, as long as she had the baby, she could look towards the future with a strong smile.

 

 So, why did things have to end up like this?

 

  It was then when she felt a touch over the hands on her belly, and as she snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes faced her mother’s. She had quietly approached her, it seemed, and was holding Anjela’s hands in her own, looking gently at her daughter.

 

  “Darling, why did you get up? You haven’t recovered completely yet, my dear. Here, let me take you back to the bed.”

 

  “I’m fine, mother,” Anjela quietly replied, and forced a tiny smile to her mother in an attempt to reassure her. “It’s been a couple of weeks. I won’t remain in bed for the rest of my life.”

 

  Her mother sighed, seemingly admitting the truth of her daughter’s words, and after caressing her hands gently for a moment, she replied, “I know, darling. I suppose...I can’t easily forget the sight engraved so well in my memory. It’s as though it’s right before me now; you unconscious under that closet, the fire surrounding you everywhere and the blood all around you...When I first laid my eyes on you then, I thought I lost you forever.”

 

  Her mother’s hand slowly moved to Anjela’s cheek and caressed it lovingly, before she brought her into her arms, fighting back her own tears. Anjela had to be grateful for the presence of those arms around her; what could she have done if her mother hadn’t been there for her? After she lost her husband, when she rescued her from the fire and now, when she had no one else to rely on-her mother was always there.

 

  “You came just in time, mother,” she softly murmured as she returned the hug gratefully, “Yes, you came just in time to save my life...But what good is it now?”

 

   The tender mother looked taken aback by the last comment, and even Anjela regretted immediately letting it slip. But it had come out quite inadvertently, as though she had finally found someone she could cry her pain to.

 

  “Goodness, don’t talk like that, darling, don’t talk like that,” her mother replied and hugged her closer, as though she were afraid she would lose her only daughter if she let go. “You’re alive, Anjela, and you’re alive for a reason. I know you feel like you’ve lost everything and there’s no hope for life anymore, but Heavens kept you alive for a reason, darling. Heavens sent me that night to find you in the right time. Heavens made that closet fall over you and protect most of your body from the fires. It’s all for a reason, darling.”

 

  She stroked her daughter’s hair as she spoke those words softly, hoping that if logic couldn’t find its way into her mind, the love in her gestures could. Anjela had only a blank stare over her face, her mind wandering off far beyond that word, ‘reason.’

 

  “The other families...What happened to them?” She asked softly after a couple of moments had passed, and a look of disappointment formed over her mother’s face only momentarily, for she thought her daughter completely disregarded her previous words. Deciding to answer her question though, the mother sighed sadly as she replied, 

 

  “One family was lucky-they were staying over at a relative’s house that night, although their house was burned down, of course. However, the other soldier’s family...”

 

  Her pained face told Anjela all she needed to know, but her mother continued after a breath, “The mother, the wife and two baby boys...All killed.”

 

  Anjela broke her mother’s hug then, and turned her gaze to the mirror again, looking at the scars covering her face. Even those scars, no matter how much disfiguring, looked pathetic to what she had just heard; nothing to the loss she was enduring. And then they came to her.

 

“By orders of the queen, burn down the traitors!”

“A reason she was alive.”

 

  “Why was Dmitri executed, mother?” And the question was softly murmured from her lips. Her mother looked surprised, and after a moment she could only reply with, “Darling, you really need to rest...”

 

  “He was executed because he killed the king and queen of the devils’ world, right? Even though he just acted on orders and wouldn’t have killed them willingly, isn’t that true?” Her daughter continued, a hint of determination slowly forming in her voice, although the mother was confused where this was heading. She only nodded her head, and Anjela continued,

 

  “He wouldn’t have killed them willingly...After all; he knew that the king was my father.”

 

   She wasn’t crazy, and she hadn’t lost her mind from the recent events. King Forbesii of the devils’ world was indeed her father, who had secretly married her mother for only a short time without publicly revealing their marriage, before his parents forced him to leave her. Shortly after, he got married to the daughter of a wealthy, highly-ranked nobleman and gave birth to a baby girl, her lost sister.

 

  The mother probably misunderstood her girl’s intentions, because alarmed, she quickly said,

 “What are you saying, sweetie? Of course that’s the case. Dmitri would have never laid a hand on the king and queen if he could help it. But those were orders from the king at that time, he couldn’t act against them. A soldier doesn’t think about his orders, darling, he only makes them come true.”

  She paused for a moment, then quietly continued, “And Dmitri told you himself that he made sure he didn’t act use his sword to kill them. He was the captain of the battalion that attacked the castle back then, and although he led the operation, he didn’t actually kill your father.”

 

  Anjela nodded slowly as she continued gazing at her reflection in the mirror, and quietly said, “I know...But that’s nothing of what I meant, mother.”

 

  Her mother was genuinely confused, and decided to remain silent until her daughter made things clearer. Clenching her fists, Anjela continued, “If Dmitri was executed because of a crime he was forced to commit, then why should the queen continue to live when she willingly and knowingly killed these people? Why, when she’s nothing but the cruel, ruthless queen? Why should Dmitri and my little baby be taken away from me and she continue to live happily and peacefully?”

 

  Her mother continued to maintain the confused look on her face, but only for a moment, before realization sank in and she understood where Anjela was heading with this. Confusion was replaced by fear as she replied, “Darling, no. I am not going to let you do anything dangerous. I know you lost a lot lately and fate has been only cruel to you, but this is madness.”

 

  Anjela finally turned away from the mirror, looked sharply at her mother and angrily said,

 

  “The only madness would be if I let her go after everything she’d done. She ruined my life, mother. She didn’t just kill my husband-she wanted to have me dead and she killed my baby, the only hope I had for a life after Dmitri. Tell me, if I won’t live to avenge my fallen husband and child, what will I live for?”

 

  “For me, your mother,” the said mother tearfully said, and her arms surrounded her daughter once again, hugging her tightly. “Why aren’t you thinking about me? I-I’ve lost your father after the war...perhaps he wasn’t always with us, but the times he’d come to visit and stay with us were enough to give me safety and happiness for a long time. And my heart is breaking to witness my only child suffering like this, but I won’t bear to lose her as well.”

 

  She broke down in tears, and held Anjela even closer. At that moment, there was nothing Anjela could do but return the hug and wrap her arms around her mother as well. Any words she would speak would be useless then, so she could only hold her in her arms, comforting her as much as she could.

 

  But she wasn’t backing off.

 

  Her mother eventually calmed down, and looking straight into Anjela’s eyes, she replied firmly, “If I hear such talk again from you, Anjela, I won’t forgive you. I won’t bear to lose you too. Understood?”

 

  Anjela sighed, and reached out to hold her mother's hand in hers, then gently said, “You’re the one who has to understand me, mother. My husband Dmitri, and my little baby...I won’t let them die like that. No, I can’t do that. The queen who has murdered them both-she will have to pay. She has to die just like they died, mother.”

 

  Her tone was firm and determined that even her mother faltered, but she didn’t stop. Frowning, she continued with only increasing strength, “I can’t live another day peacefully and pretend nothing happened. I can’t go on and forget that Dmitri was executed in front of Cephiron’s people as a criminal for a crime he didn’t want to commit. I can’t forget the baby who was growing inside of me and was taken away!”

 

 

 

 Her mother went silent as she observed her daughter, shaking as emotions built up inside of her, but showing no signs of weakness. She went on, “For me, mother...for me who was killed even though I had nothing to do with anything. My only fault was that I was Dmitri’s wife. I need to avenge myself, too. And you have to understand, because I won’t let anyone stop me.”

 

  Stopping her indeed was out of question, although her mother probably didn’t need to be told that, for the look inside Anjela’s eyes told her everything. She sighed in defeat, and quietly asked,

 

 “And how do you intend to do that? I am not underestimating you, darling, but...you’re only a fire sorceress. Even if I help you, despite our strength, do you think we can just break into the castle, grab the queen and kill her? Trust me, my darling, she would have been killed a long time ago if it was this easy.”

 

  Anjela looked saddened and lost for a moment as her mother hit her with reality, and as soon as her mother noticed them, she was about to use them to her advantage to try to change her daughter’s mind, but Anjela suddenly looked hopeful, as though she remembered something very important. Softly, she murmured as though she were talking to herself,

 

“That’s right...I need a new ability then. A rare ability, a power that people scarcely hear of...something even the queen herself wouldn’t expect.”

 

 “What are you talking about?”

 

  Anjela softly said, “I know of a woman...Dmitri knew. She’s a witch, literally. She was a distant relative of Dmitri’s and although he didn’t like her, he said his father was quite fond of her in his life and on his deathbed, he asked Dmitri to check on her regularly after he was gone. Such a witch...I know where she lives. And I know she must have something in mind to help me with.”

 

  Her mother sighed, and thought her daughter had lost her mind, hanging on to hope that wasn’t there. She was about to speak her mind, but the desperate look Anjela had in her eyes made her decide against it, and instead she said, “It...won’t hurt to give it a try, I suppose.”

 

  Her daughter smiled softly at her, silently thanking her.

 

  She definitely wasn’t backing off.