How Paint Came To Be
Page 2
    It was a beautiful sunny day with their wedding only days away, when Allen, Mary and Angel took a long walk into the forest in search of the perfect place for a picnic. This was to be the last day Allen  was to see his love until after the wedding and he wanted to make the most of it. Even though it was only going to be three days of not seeing her, he knew they would be his longest days of his life. After all just one day without his Mary would be unbearable.
     "Let's try up there on the hill." Allen said pointing to a small hill. "I can see some sort of stone set up at the top. Let's go see what it is.
     Something  inside Angel told her the place was not one that should be walked upon and she shook her head. "No I don't think we should."
     "Awww come on Cous." Allen called Angel by her pet name he had given her. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. It'll be interesting."
     Before Angel could speak another word Allen started up the  hill with Mary close behind. Grinning at her as he went, he gave her his 'come on, I'll race you'  look he often gave her, and began to run up the hill. He watched as she ran ahead of him and he followed laughing at her innocent enthusiasm.Neither one paying any attention to Angel at the bottom calling out warnings.
     They came to a clearing with a single stone alter in the center and an evil smell filled the air. A group of black robed fugures surrounded the alter, all bearing evil looking blades.
     Before Allen could stop Mary, she was standing in the midst of them. suddenly he heard her gasp as one grabbed her and pushed her on to the alter secoinds before a blade penetrated her chest. As if in a nightmarish dream he saw her blood spill from her lifeless body and then the men approached him.
     Without a thought he fought with all that he had. His strength was like that of three men and he was able to drop two of the men as their blades struck stone missing their mark. A sudden searing pain came to him just as he heard one of the men shout out an order of  retreat.
     Slipping in and out of conciousness, Allen saw Angel as she stood over him, but now she was very different looking. A blinding light seemed to emit from her and feathery white wings were raised over her as she reached down to place a hand over his wound. Darkness came to him and all was lost to him once again.
     Waking in his own bed, Allen tried to get up, but the pain in his chest caused him to fall  back clutching his chest. In a flood of memeories it all came back to him as he looked around the room and then saw Angel sitting in a chair in a dark corner.
     Looking at her he said, "Tell me please Angel that it was not real. That it was only a nightmare."
     Angel looked at him as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

     In the weeks to come Allen grew strong in health but weak in heart. He lost interest in all tthat existed around him. He spent much of his time in the tavern or on the street corners with a bottle of the strongest intoxicant he could get. Life had no meaning to him without his beloved Mary.
     Angel tried her best to help him get on with his life, but the hurt from the lost of Mary was far greater then any of the support she could give and she felt her own heart breaking not only for the lost of her cousin, but now for the lost of the man she once thought of as her friend.
     One night after Allen was brought home by overseers of the town, she finally lost faith in him and his life and knew she had to leave before he destroyed her own life. Telling her uncle and aunt it was time for her to leave and go on her way, she prepared for her departure. She left Allen a quick note telling him she had to leave with no explanation.
     In the morning Allen was told about Angel's leaving and that he too had to leave the place he had come to know as home. The Velvety's could no longer house and care for him in his drunken state. They wanted him gone.
     With no place to go and little care of what happened to him, Allen wandered the towns throughout the lands drunkenly strumming his songs of sorrow to anyone that would listn. All to often he would end his stupor in a gutter along a road or under a bush on the edge of a forest. It never really mattered to him.
     Finally with no money and a need for the intoxicant, he stumbled upon a cabin in a forest one day. In the back yard were bottles of moonshine set on a bench in front of a cellar door. Looking around, Allen saw no one and chuckled at his sudden luck of the find. Stashing first one and then another in his shirt he stumbled back out of the yard chuckling loudly.
     Before he got far an old hag appeared before him wagging her finger at him and chanting words that Allen had never heard before. She then turned and walked away without even trying to take her bottles back.
     Allen stood watching as she walked away and began to laugh as he downed one of the bottles without a breath in between. He staggered to a bush and fell to unconsciousness.
     The sound of hoof beat woke him and he opened his eyes only to squeeze them shut again. The sun shone much to bright and his head felt as if it was going to explode. He laid for a few minutes more until he heard the soft sweet sound of a woman's voice and he slowoy opened his eyes again. He staggered to his feet from the underbrush shaking loose leaves and grass from his tangled mane, looking about in a haze he saw  two creatures in the act of greeting each other. Even in his still dazed state of mind, he noticed one being  a bit wary, but still friendly, and the other obviously aroused and advancing in manner both menacing and provocative. He wondered if he should stand quietly by and watch, or to let his presence be known.
     He sees the more timid of the two creatures begin to move towards him and then stop and he realizes suddenly that he must still smell of the liquor he comsumed the previous evening that was stolen from the witches cellar and seems to remember something..... His head is all a blur, but he puts on his best winning smile and raises a hoof in greeting.... (HOOF?)
     "OH MY GOD!!"  He says aloud, "It wasn't a dream. That crazy old witch did turn me into a HORSE!"
     He screamed in disbelief and breaks down and begins to sob uncontrolably.