Lark crept through the field in the dark making as little noise as he could. He now lived for every night that he could see Erin and talk to her. It was almost like old times but he still ached to be next to her, hold her and eventually kiss her.
He crept to the tree where he always sat and spoke to Erin. He always waited for the music of her voice when she arrived.
“Lark?” She had arrived. He felt his heart skip a beat.
“I’m here my love,” Lark replied.
“I hoped you would come earlier today,” Erin said.
“Why?” Lark asked.
“Horton has left for a few days. I thought you might be watching the cabin during the day and notice that he was gone so you could have come earlier and we could have spent more time together.”
“I was not watching my lady. But now that I know I will be sure to arrive earlier tomorrow. I could even stay the night if you would like,” he said hopefully.
Her silence told him she was considering his suggestion.
“I don’t know,” she said at last. “He might return.”
“But you said he will be gone a few days.”
“I did. He said he would but you never know,” Erin replied.
Lark was silent.
“Lark?” Erin called eventually.
“Yes?” he replied.
“You were so quiet there I thought you might have left,” Erin said.
“No, my lady. I was just thinking,” Lark replied.
“About?”
“I was thinking…,” Lark hesitated to say what he wanted to.
“Thinking what?” Erin urged.
“I was just thinking that if you wanted to try to kiss me, now would be ideal. Horton is gone, there is no-one that will see us, no-one that can catch us. We are alone. And we can deal with whatever follows if there is a curse that will be activated if you kiss me.”
Again, she was silent, considering. Then finally she answered, “Lark, I can’t guarantee I will kiss you but come closer. Slowly. Come to me, slowly. Let me see you, let us see what happens.”
“Okay,” Lark said. He stood from his place behind the tree and slowly circled it to come face to face with Erin. When he stepped into view Erin saw him. He was as she remembered him. Handsome. His face was kind and his smile so beautiful and gentlemanly. It took all her willpower to resist running to him immediately.
Lark approached slowly drinking in the sight of Erin. The love he felt for her now was stronger than ever before. In his heart, he prayed to God that she would relent and kiss him. He recalled Eugene’s words saying that life, after life, he would search for her trying to get her to say she loved him. He prayed that it would still be possible in this very life.
They were both oblivious to the four sets of eyes that watched them as Lark neared Erin.
“God you’re so beautiful,” Lark murmured as he drew closer. He felt the itching begin on his skin as fur crept from his pores and began to cover him, “I’m beginning to change.”
He paused and Erin beckoned him closer.
“It’s okay, come closer,” she said smiling. She was hesitant though and tensed fearfully despite encouraging him to approach.
Lark stepped closer slowly and his transformation quickened. Fur sprouted on his hands and he felt the bones in his legs and hands starting to change. He held up his hands and saw they had changed to claws. His vision sharpened as it switched to the monochromatic view of the world he had experienced during his previous transformation.
He stopped. His transformation was complete.
Erin studied him and tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at what her father had done to him.
“God, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She climbed off the swing and approached Lark slowly, hesitantly.
He did not move. He wanted to feel her touch and was afraid that any movement he made would scare her off. Erin approached slowly until she finally stood before him. Hesitantly she reached out and touched the fur on the back of his claw. She stepped closer and, looking up into his eyes as he towered over her, he could see her sadness. She reached up and stroked his hairy face as tears streamed from her eyes.
“Kiss me,” he whispered. Instead, two soft grunts left his mouth and he realized she could not understand a word he said. “Kiss me,” he grunted again but this time he placed his claw first on her lips and then on his own trying to show her what he wanted.
Erin looked at him her eyes searching his, looking for a guarantee that if she kissed him everything would be fine. He couldn’t give her that. Neither could he talk to her.
At least he was gentle as the monster he was cursed to become. There was no fury in him, no anger, nothing for her to fear.
In that instant, she decided she had nothing to lose. She closed the distance between them and put her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her too being careful not to scratch her with his claws.
She looked up, into his eyes and smiled, and nodded.
“I’ll kiss you,” she whispered.
He understood her and looked down at her as he smiled. He had no idea what his smile looked like but he hoped it didn’t frighten her.
He bent his head slowly to meet her lips as she stood on tiptoes to reach him. He was so much taller in his transformed state.
This was the moment he had hoped for, for so long.
But it wasn’t to be. As their lips neared Lark heard the cries of a man somewhere behind him. Before he could turn something struck him in the back and a sharp pain tore through him. He jerked upright, drawing his mouth away from Erin’s as he grunted in pain. He released Erin immediately and she stepped back confused.
“Lark? What’s wrong?”
He began to grunt a reply then realized it was pointless. He turned to look for the person whose cries were interrupting the quiet of the night.
It was then that Erin saw the arrow protruding from Lark’s back. She screamed. Lark saw four men emerging from the field. Two carried swords while the other two carried crossbows.
“Take him!” one of them shouted and Lark realized in that instant that it was Horton.
In his transformed state he realized they had been tricked.
Or had they?
Erin had given him up once before? Had she done the same now? Had she known this was going to happen he wondered? He didn’t want to believe it. He trusted her too much, loved her too much. The first time she hadn’t understood but now she did. All the nights they had spent talking. He was sure she had not betrayed him. At least not willingly.
But perhaps Horton had discovered he was visiting and had forced her to betray him. Only she could tell him. Erin was now backing away behind him and the effect was almost immediate. He could feel the transformation reversing. If he reverted to his human form now, he knew he would be no match for four men. If he wanted to escape he had to stay transformed.
He looked behind him and in that instant, he made his decision. He turned and ran straight for Erin.
Erin screamed as she saw a half transformed Lark become fully transformed again as he approached her. Then he lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He slung her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes and turned to face the men who had given chase.
Lark roared and Erin screamed. One of the men aimed with his crossbow. Lark knew the men with crossbows were the most dangerous. He lunged as the man nocked his arrow. Before he could let fly, Lark struck upward with a backhand launching the man off his feet. As he lifted off the ground and flew through the air, he dropped his crossbow.
Satisfied that the man was taken care of he turned to face the others. Erin was still screaming. As he turned, he felt something strike. The force with which it struck almost knocked him off balance but he felt no pain. He was sure it was an arrow from the other archer. Erin still screamed now but it was a different scream. Had the arrow hit her he wondered?
All he thought of was escape. He advanced as the archer tried to nock another arrow. He closed the distance even as Horton shouted for the archer to stand down.
Lark reached the archer and this time swung with his claw. He caught the man in the throat and his claws sliced it open.
Blood sprayed the night as the man dropped his crossbow and collapsed to the ground clutching his throat. He was dead in seconds. As Lark watched him die, he felt pain as something pierced his side. He roared in pain and almost dropped Erin who’s screams had stopped.
Lark knew he could not be killed but he knew he was hurt and that he needed to find a place where he could heal safely. He was sure Erin had been injured too and he needed to try and help her. He bent and grabbed the sword from the dead archer’s belt and then took off into the field. His monochrome vision was excellent in the dark and his senses were heightened. He could smell blood, other animals, and the humans that pursued him as well as his own.
With his animal instincts, he was much faster than Horton and his remaining companion. Lark charged across the field and disappeared into the woods. Horton and his companion pursued him but their cries grew fainter. He picked his way carefully through the dark forest and finally, satisfied that he had managed to elude Horton and his colleague, he stopped when he found a rocky outcrop. He lowered Erin gently and laid her on the ground.
He looked at her and she looked back at him. She was weak. Very weak. It didn’t take Lark long to find the arrow that protruded from below her ribs.
The angle of the arrow indicated that it had entered her body diagonally upward. She was bleeding internally and he had no idea what damage had been done inside her body. Her breathing was raspy and she coughed up blood.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Lark whispered. “Please don’t die. Please don’t die,” he begged.
Then he realized that she couldn’t understand him. His voice was nothing but a growl because being this close to her he stayed transformed. He punched the ground in frustration. He hated his situation so much. He couldn’t speak to her unless he moved further away to transform into a human again. He wondered if he should do it but then decided against it.
They had been about to kiss when Horton and his men had interfered. He gently tapped Erin again and she opened her eyes weakly.
Lark tried to show her again that they should kiss. Erin simply looked at him weakly and then nodded barely perceptibly.
He stroked her hair softly with his claw and then leaned in to kiss her. He closed his eyes and so did she. But she did not close her eyes because she anticipated the passion of their kiss. She closed her eyes because she was dying.
Lark felt his mouth brush her lips. He didn’t know how she was supposed to kiss him since he didn’t have lips but the mouth of a monster, an animal instead.
He gently bumped his mouth against her lips but she did not respond. He bumped her mouth repeatedly but she gave no response at all. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He bent his head and listened for her breath. There was none.
In that instant, he realized he had been just too late to kiss her. Erin had died even as he had bent his mouth to hers. He felt his heartbreak then into a million, million pieces. He had been so close to ending the curse and having the life he dreamed of with Erin.
He felt anger rise in him at the injustice of it all. The pettiness of the need for revenge. A need he would succumb to now. Tears streamed from his eyes and he realized that he had not changed back even though Erin was dead.
He realized then that the magic was attached to her body and not her soul. As long as he stayed close to her he would remain in this form. And right now, he did not want to change from this form.
An idea struck him as he cried silently with his head resting on Erin’s body. He took the sword he had grabbed from the dead archer and carefully cut off a few locks of Erin’s golden hair. He tied them together with a strip of material from her dress which he cut with the sword as well. Then, keeping the hair with him in his pocket he slowly distanced himself from the body. When he was far enough away that he should have transformed back into a human, he was still the monster he became when he was near her.
He moved back to her body and left her hair on her chest. Then he moved away again and this time he became human.
Satisfied that he had made an important discovery he moved back to Erin’s body and transformed as he knew he would. He picked up the hair he had cut from her body and pocketed it. He was not done though. He roared in the darkness and then moved away from Erin’s body again.
It was a few minutes before Horton and his colleague arrived. They found Erin’s body and he listened as they plotted the story they would tell Erin’s father. Horton snapped off the arrow brutally so it no longer protruded from her body. If her body was found they would think the monster had gouged her there. They were nearly finished when Lark emerged from his hiding place behind them. He grunted softly letting them know he was there.
Horton and his colleague turned together. Horton’s colleague drew his sword as he saw Lark. He charged without waiting for Horton’s command. He raised his sword above his head but Lark jumped over him effortlessly. Lark landed behind him and rather than attack him, Lark’s claw grabbed Horton and dragged him off his feet. Behind him, Horton’s colleague had turned and now charged. Lark turned at the last minute and Horton’s colleague’s sword pierced Horton from behind. Horton gasped as the sword passed through him.
Lark released him and the weight of his body bore down on the sword. It cut him upwards as his body sank earthwards. He looked down at the sword that protruded from his body in disbelief and then his head simply sagged onto his chest as he died.
Horton’s colleague released the sword and turned to run. Lark pushed Horton’s body out of the way as it collapsed and in two bounds he had caught Horton’s colleague.
“No! Please!” screamed the man. “Please forgive me. I’ll do anything…” he screamed.
“Die then,” Lark grunted wishing the man understood him. He thrust the man forward against a tree impaling him on a broken branch.
The man’s screams died with him and Lark left him hanging from the tree.
Then he returned to Erin’s body and lifted her carefully. He carried her back to the cabin in the woods. He dressed her wound and laid her on the bed beside him for the night. It was the first night he ever slept in his transformed state but he did not care. He would not bury Erin in the dark. He would dig her a decent grave in the morning and give her a decent burial.
Lark cut off all of Erin’s hair before he buried her. Since he could still use her hair to transform it had its advantages.
After Erin was buried, he realized that he still transformed when he stood on her grave as well. His proximity to her body when he stood on it or by it was enough but only lasted while he was close enough to her body.
He separated her hair and hid it in different places so that if he ever needed it at short notice he would be able to reach her hair to transform quick enough. He had no idea why he might need to do so but he knew he could fight better when he had transformed.
Every day Lark visited Erin’s grave. He transformed as he sat by it quietly and prayed and cried. He missed her so much. When she had been married to Horton, he had still had hope. Seeing her in the evenings had given him hope and on their last evening, they had been so close. He had almost had the curse destroyed and become normal again.
He remembered how that moment had slipped away from him as she had died at the moment he had tried to kiss her.
As time passed and his pain dulled, he began to think clearer. He recalled what Eugene had told him when he had been in the dungeon the night he had used Erin to escape.
Life after life he would search for her. He knew too from the spell he had found in the witch’s cabin that Eugene’s life was forever linked to hers. He thus had to die and be reborn to become her father again.
The realization spurred Lark to act.
He could live alone another sixty years or more waiting for Eugene to live the rest of his days, die, be reborn, grow up, and have Erin with his next wife. He wasn’t going to do that. He wasn’t going to wait. Eugene had made his life hell and he would now show him no mercy. He would shorten the wait and hasten Eugene to his next life.
Lark plotted carefully until he had determined the best course of action.