Silvermoon watched as Valera dressed for her evening at the theatre. Despite the
relatively small population of the town, her performance was, as usual, sold out. Few people could
pass up the opportunity to see and hear the legendary Valera Ravencrest sing. Things might be
different, of course, if they knew her musical gift was inherited from her Basira ancestry, but that
was a secret that Silvermoon guarded as closely as the medallion around his neck. Reminded of
her curse, and his own, Silvermoon turned from watching Valera. The sight had suddenly become
bitter and painful. Valera noticed his sudden sadness, and stopped arranging her raven-black hair
to sit beside him and give him what comfort she could.
"You know that my heart is always with you, even when I can't be. I'm sorry that it has to
be this way." Silvermoon sighed.
"But why? Another town, another one-night lover, another awkward scene in the
morning. I know that it is your curse, as much as this," he gestured to his moon-shaped necklace,
"is mine. It's just... I wish you could stay with me, even if only for tonite. You know I dealt with
my jealousy long ago, but for once, I would like to sleep with you beside me, to pretend, if only
for one night, that we could be together like that always."
"I know, Silvermoon, I know, but you know that I must restore myself. That requires
feeding, as my mother and her mother did. It is the Basira blood, I'm afraid. At least I do not
bear my mother's pain, or the full monster blood of my grandmother... If a creature of magic has
blood. I have no choice."
"Then I wish you could feed on my dreams, my desires."
"You know that I cannot. Have you forgotten what happened the last time I tried? That
medallion protects you from your curse, but it also prevents me from taking you as my prey and
lover. I wish it were some other way." He sighed, knowing as always that there was no other way,
and allowed her to rise and continue her preparations.
Silvermoon escorted her to the theatre, and took his seat among the rest of the audience.
Like them, he never tired of hearing her sing, although he was immune to the true magic of her
voice.
Valera might have been singing to a packed house, but she didn't notice. Her eyes were
fixed on Silvermoon. She wished he would take a lover, a normal woman, and end his suffering.
He, of course, refused to even consider it. Not that she could fault him for that. If not for her
curse, she would probably feel the same way. Reminded of her needs again, she tore her eyes
from Silvermoon and scanned the audience for her prey. She found what she was looking for, a
man sitting alone, in the back row. She reached out with her inhuman senses, felt his loneliness,
his frustration. He was held as rapt by her voice as everyone else, but he was different. She could
see the wounds on his heart, and the grief he wore there, though for the moment her music
transported him beyond them. He was a plain-faced, forgettable man, insecure, shy, and
absolutely perfect. The small monsterous part inside of her decided that he would be her prey
tonite, and the rest of her knew a grief far deeper than any he'd ever experienced. She knew that
her feeding would leave him desperately needing her, and that she would abandon him just the
same. She cursed her Basira blood, but knew that she would do as it demanded.
When her songs were over and she'd taken her last bow, she sent an invitation to the boy,
to have him meet her backstage in an hour. He arrived early, as she knew he would, and she took
him back to her dressing room. They sat silently for a few moments, the boy nervous and afraid
to speak, she studying him. Valera had hoped he would begin the conversation, but she decided
to prompt him.
"I saw you in the audience. You seemed so sad, I just had to talk to you. Tell me, what
is your name?"
"Edward, m'Lady."
"Oh, please, call me Valera. I don't demand formality."
"But you deserve it." the boy spoke before he thought about it. He looked fearful, afraid
he'd said something wrong. Valera laughed, the sound of her voice alone setting the young man
at ease.
"Thank you. It is so rare that I get a genuine compliment like that. But please, I hear
enough about myself from everyone else. Tell me about you." They talked for almost an hour,
the boy gradually growing more comfortable in her presence, until finally he found himself sharing
his darkest secrets with her, revealing and trusting in her. When that moment of vulnerability
came, the monster inside her forced her to act.
"You're lonely, aren't you?" Valera asked, striking at the root of the young man's
discontent. Too full of emotion to speak, he merely nodded. She sensed that the time was right.
"Perhaps," she paused a few moments, drawing out the moment for full effect, "Perhaps I could
help you with that?" The boy stammered, taken completely by surprise.
"I...I-I d-don't know. I-I mean, what..." She silenced him by placing her hand on top of
his, sending a small shivering thrill up his spine. He raised his head from staring at his feet, and
was caught by her eyes, like twin pools of midnight, soft, inviting, demanding. Gently, carefully,
she brought her powers to bear on him, weakening what little resistance he still had. She stood,
and gently pulled him from his chair. She smiled at him, and he blushed. She pulled him into her
arms, and used her powers to intensify the loneliness he felt, bringing him to tears. Hating herself,
she fed on this outburst, hoping, as always, that it would be enough. It wasn't, it never was, and
she knew her hopes were futile. When his sorrow was exhausted, she sank to a kneeling position,
slowly pulling him down with her. She allowed him to pull away to arm's length. She gave him a
few moments to wipe the tears from his eyes. He tried to apologize for his tears, but she shushed
him, placing her hand on his chest. She felt his vulnerability, and knew how to use it. She pushed
him back, until he was prone beneath her. She used her powers once more, sensing his fantasies
and bringing them briefly to life, channeling all of his repressed energies to the surface. She fed
on his ecstacy, drinking deeply of his heart and soul, once again sating the monster within her.
For the moment, all of her guilt left her, washed away in torrents of delicious pain and release.
A few minutes later, he lost conciousness from his pleasure. She left him, still fully
clothed, in her dressing room, telling the manager to let him leave when he woke up. The
manager was struck more than every by her beauty, which seemed to create a glow around her.
Valera kept to the shadows, as far as possible from the man. Not seeing her attempt to maintain
her distance, he stepped closer, to better see this radiant creature. Her Basira blood, though
sated, was strong in her after her feeding, and the man collapsed, his body awash with chaotic,
confused sensations. Valera ran before the man's fantasies could reach her, praying that he didn't
have a weak heart. One one occasion, she'd accidentally killed a man that way, stopping his heart
in the hieght of his ecstacy. No one had suspected that it was anything other than a natural death,
but from then on she had been very careful, choosing only the healthy and young.
She returned to the room that she and Silvermoon were sharing, knowing that he would
be asleep already. She came in quietly, careful not to wake him. She changed into her nightgown,
and lay down beside the man she loved, the one man her powers could never touch. She prayed
before she went to sleep that the young man from the theatre wouldn't find her.
"Valera! Valera!!" She woke up and groaned. Someone was beating on her door. She
got out of bed and pulled a robe over her gown. Silvermoon sat up, then settled back in. He'd
seen this before. Valera opened the door, just as the man banging on it was threatening to break
it down.
"Yes?" She asked, as politely as possible.
"Valera! Thank the gods I've found you!" Valera decided to be direct and cruel, to save
the man as much embarassment as possible.
"Look, what happened last night is over. I'm leaving, you're staying, and we'll never see
each other again. Don't even try to fool yourself into thinking you love me, because you don't.
You don't even know me. All you know is that I made you happy last night."
"What more is there to know? You have taken my loneliness away!"
"No, I gave you one night to be free of it. Aren't you listening? I'm leaving. Good-bye!"
She slammed the door in his face. She returned to bed, where she wished she could give herself
the luxury of crying. Unfortunately, her tears had stopped flowing years ago, after she'd learned
that she was a monster, something less than human. Silvermoon sat up again, and pulled her into
his arms, trying to offer her comfort she wouldn't accept. When he realized that there was
nothing he could do to heal her pain, they got up, got dressed, and packed to leave. A few days
later, they would be in another town, for her next performance.
The next night found them on the road, their coach bumping and jostling over the track.
When Silvermoon judged they'd traveled far enough, they stopped beside the road, making a small
camp and tending to the horses. After a simple yet delicious meal, they spread their pallets and
turned in for the night.
Sometime later Silvermoon was shaken awake by Valera. He sat up quickly and looked
around, trying to find the problem that caused her to awaken him.
"Nothing's wrong, Silvermoon. I was just wondering if you'd give a girl a hand washing
her back."
"At this time of night?"
"Sure, why not? There's a pond right over there that's just asking for someone to bathe in
it." She smiled, her perfect ivory-white teeth shining in the light of the moon, "I promise I won't
get the soap in your eyes." Silvermoon, slightly puzzled, agreed. Gathering the soap and a cloth,
they located the pond, stripped, and dove in. The night water was bracingly chilly, but soon
warmed to a comfortable temperature, provided they didn't move too far from where they were
standing. Valera lathered up the soap, and began washing herself. Silvermoon was content to
watch, although he did turn his head when she came to more private places. Valera chided him
for his modesty, and pointed out that he was just as unclothed as she was, except, of course, for
his blasted amulet. Valera handed him the cloth, and turned to let him scrub her back. He had
just finished coating her back with a thick lather when she took a step back, pressing herself
against him. He stopped, and stood stock still, his eyes closed as he felt her skin brush against his
body. She turned around to face him, a knowing, inviting look in her eye.
"Oh, look, silly me. I've gotten soap all over you. Well," she grabbed the rag from his
hand, "as long as I've started, I might as well finish." She dove backwards into the water, looping
back to come up right where she started, rinsing the soap from her back. Taking the soap, she
rubbed a generous amount onto the wash-cloth, and began to scrub Silvermoon, who was still
standing motionless. She began with his chest, soaping around the medallion, jerking her fingers
back once when her hands got too close and brushed against it, sending sparks of pain through her
hand, then moved downward to his navel. She stepped closer to him, passing the cloth around to
his back. "I like this way of washing your back better, don't you?" Not getting an immediate
response, she moved even closer, pressing herself against him, moving arousingly and feeling him
respond. He began to nod vehemently, hoping that she would stop. She backed away again, and
took her washcloth lower, washing his thighs and hips, reaching around to pinch his buttocks. She
took the washcloth finally to the most outstanding part of her lover, eliciting a low moan. Before
she could go any farther, Silvermoon stepped back, into colder waters.
"Why are you doing this?" He demanded angrily, "Is this some new torment your Basira
blood demands? You know that every time we try to make love, this blasted thing burns you.
Why must you vex me so?"
"I'm not trying to hurt you. I was hoping that I could give you some sort of pleasure, even
if I can't make love to you. Why can't you let me give you what little I can?" Silvermoon flew
into a rage, all of his frustration coming to a head, and he dashed from the pond with an almost
inhuman roar, vanishing into the woods. Valera stood alone in the water, both hoping and fearing
that she'd driven him off at last. After a while, the water and solitude became uncomfortable, so
she climbed out, towelled off, and began to dress. A savage growl stopped here where she was.
"Silvermoon?" she asked, amazed. She'd never heard her love so much as raise his voice
in all the time she'd known him. Silvermoon stepped from the woods into the pale autumn
moonlight, his well-muscled, naked body glistening with the moisture of the pond. Silvermoon
reached up, and snapped his amulet off its chain, throwing it aside. He ran to her.
"Valera, soon my curse will be upon me." He said, speaking hurriedly in hushed tones.
"Before I lose my humanity again, please, take what you need from me." Valera could think of
nothing to say. She just nodded. Her Basira blood surged at the thought of feeding again so
soon. She turned her powers on Silvermoon, feeding his frustration and seeking his ultimate
fantasy. She decided that if nothing else, she would give him as much pleasure as her gift would
allow. She found his fantasy, and began to give it life, only to find that her power was even yet
rendered useless. Silvermoon came closer, his body already becoming covered with the thick,
sliver fur that had earned him his name. He ripped her clothing from her with a snarl, but
stopped there, a pleading look on his already inhuman face. Sensing what he was waiting for, she
invited him to take her, and he shuddered in anticipation.
He pushed her to the ground, and joined her there. The two of them coupled in a frenzy
of pent-up desire. Their first time together was urgent, hurried and brief. They parted, and
Valera watched as Silvermoon became more wolf-like with each passing moment. She knew that
even as a full wolf he wouldn't hurt her, but even so the transformation was disturbing. Seeing
Silvermoon, one of the gentlest men she'd ever known, as the savage beast before her was
shocking, to say the least. Minutes later, the transformation was finished, and the thing that had
been Silvermoon pawed it's way next to her. It nuzzled her cheek, and licked her chin. Seeing
that, even as a werewolf, Silvermoon loved her still, she began scratching behind his ears.
Silvermoon made a whining, contented noice, and lay his head on the ground as she scratched.
He looked up at her, and she was surprised to see the same look of intelligence in his pale grey
eyes that Silvermoon had.
"Silvermoon? Can you still understand me?" Silvermoon bobbed his head, in what was
recognizable as a nod. "Can you speak?"
"'alerrrrra" he managed to growl.
"Well, I suppose that will do. Come on, lover, let's get back to camp." Silvermoon stayed
where he was, even when she stood to leave. "What's wrong?"
"hrrrrsss" he said, obviously not pleased with his vocal abilities.
"hearse? I don't understand." Silvermoon pantomimed an animal pawing the ground,
pulling things, and having someone ride on it's back. "Oh! The horses! I see what you mean, you
would scare them, wouldn't you?" Valera walked over to where Silvermoon had stepped from the
forest, and searched until she found his medalion. She bent down to pick it up, but as usual it
reacted to her partly magical blood, and she jerked her mildly blistered hand away. "I can't get
your medallion! Can you come here and get it?"
"Ugh!" Silvermoon threw his head from side to side.
"You can't or you won't?" Valera asked.
"Ont" Silvermoon declared.
Valera rolled her eyes. "That's helpful. Well, asking you why would be pointless about
now. What do you want me to do?" Silvermoon loped over, and pushed her towards camp. "But
you said you couldn't go back to camp, the horses, remember?" Silvermoon just looked at her,
until understanding dawned on her. "You want to stay here?" Silvermoon nodded. "If you insist.
Are you sure?" Silvermoon nodded again. "All right. I'll see you in the morning." He said
nothing, but watched as she gathered up her torn clothing and dressed as best she could.
Fortunately, her gown was still intact, since she hadn't been wearing it at the time. She returned
to camp, and quickly fell to sleeping, confused and exhausted by the night's events.
The next morning, she returned to the pond to find Silvermoon. To her surprise, he
wasn't there. Seeing his medallion where she'd left it the night before, she used a fallen branch to
scoop the broken chain off the ground. In this manner, she carried the necklace back to camp,
where she placed it in the coach. She returned once again to the pond, where she waited for
Silvermoon to show up. When he didn't, she decided to call him out from hiding.
"I'm not leaving until you come, you know that. I love you, blastit, and we'll think of
something. Okay?" She heard an answering bark from behind her, and she turned to see
Silvermoon step out of the forest. He was not the full wolf of the night before, but by the light of
day stood on two legs, looking much more human. He was still covered with the thick grey fur,
and his face was far from normal, as were his hands and feet. The fur around his mouth was
caked with deer's blood, from his hunt the night before.
"'alerra" he said, his speech much improved. "Lo'e you." She ran to him, and threw her
arms around him. He shrugged her embrace off. "alerra. Is rrong."
"What? What could be wrong? I love you, Silvermoon. So what if you don't look
completely human. Can't you put the amulet on, and take it off when you need to?" Silvermoon
shook his head.
"Currrse. 'ake off, s'a' off. 'rroke."
"But... can't you get it fixed? Can't you have someone take the curse from you? A priest,
or something?" Silvermoon shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter. I still love you, and even if
you are covered in fur, I still want to stay with you. I've always thought grey was your color,
anyway." He growled softly, and she sighed. "You're right, it was a poor attempt at humor. I'm
sorry I brought this on you."
"no' 'ourr faul'. 'as happy forr one nigh'. 'as good."
"But why? Why can't I live with you? So you have your curse. I can live with this."
"Iss no' all currse. Currse 'orrse nigh'. Make bad. I no' 'hink rrrigh' no'."
"You don't think right? I don't understand?"
"No' unnerrrsand. No' like Sil'ermoon. No' human."
"I'm not completely human either, remember? My grandmother was Basira, and my
grandfather an elf."
"'hink human." Valera could see that speaking was becoming tiresome for him.
"Yes, I do think like a human. But I don't want to lose you. If this is about my singing
career, forget about it, it doesn't matter anymore. I have money enough for us to live together for
the rest of our lives. Just please, come with me." Silvermoon sighed, but finally nodded. They
traveled back to the camp, where the horses did indeed shy away from Silvermoon, although less
than they would have in his full wolf form. The horses calmed somewhat after he was in the
coach--out of sight and out of mind, so to speak. Once in the dark interior of the coach,
Silvermoon curled up to sleep, since he had spent the night prowling the forest. Valera took one
of the blankets from her pallet, and covered him. "I wish I could have made your fantasy come to
life last night. I guess the amulet wasn't the only thing stopping my powers." Silvermoon opened
his eyes again.
"'ou did."
"I did? But my powers didn't work!"
"fan'asy 'as 'ou. 'ou made fan'asy rreal." He then rolled away, covering himself fully with
the blanket. This left the task of driving to a very astonished Valera, though she didn't mind. She
started the horses toward her next performance, knowing that she would be arriving a little late,
and wondering just how she was going to explain Silvermoon when she did arrive. Thinking of her
sleeping lover, she felt joy within her heart again. She knew that, whatever happened when they
reached the next town, they would handle it together. For the first time in her life, she almost felt
as if her curse had finally been lifted.
Finis
(
geocities.com/timessquare)