Once upon a time, in a kingdom relatively far from here, there lived a Princess. She had moved from the South to the land of ice and snow, in search of work and the hopes of finding a Prince.
This Princess was unique in her own way, and lived at the highest level of The Towers in a one bedroom apartment with her cat. Often she was confused to be a witch as most Princesses her age had already wed, but she didn't mind much, she was happy.
Her name was Lunabell, and she was a tall full figured woman with long purple hair and golden eyes. Lunabell lived in a world of magic, and like the other royals in her land had powers of her own.
She was named Lunabell because she had a light within her, she could literally light up a room. Her brightness helped lift the mood of those around her, and she enjoyed sharing her gift.
Lunabell was lonely in her new world when she first arrived, but managed to make friends with a Queen. Her name was Sheild because of her ability to protect the weak. Sheild was beautiful and had long raven hair and eyes the colour of the sea. She was married to a red headed King named Gumphry.
Lunabell enjoyed the thrill of moving to a new place, and felt comfort with her black cat Svenka by her side. She worked in the forest protecting the trees, and spent her off time reading, hiking, and having adventures with Sheild.
Lunabell missed her homeland and her family, but felt like she was right where she needed to be at this time. She loved the natural lands around her, and felt a kindred friend in Sheild.
She was happy.
One afternoon Lunabell was on her balcony painting a picture with spray colours. She looked out to the street below, and saw a silver carriage pull up in front of the Towers. Out stepped a young man who appeared to be in Princes clothing. She tried to continue on her painting, but was intrigued.
The young man looked up at Lunabell, and smiled. She felt her face blush as she smiled back, and continued on with her craft.
Days passed and Lunabell saw the carriage parked out front each day. She did not see the man again however, for some time.
The big sun began to rise in sky in the land of ice and snow, and with that turned the land into a green wonderland of spring. The spring was never long to stay, but Lunabell enjoyed a break from the cold. Lunabell was from a land that saw all four seasons, and she missed it.
On a sunny afternoon, Lunabell was out on her balcony tending to her hanging garden. Her garden was beautiful and lush, and her light helped the flowers grow fast. She knew that the garden would not make it long, but enjoyed the life around her for the time being.
Lunabell finished up watering, and heard a voice call out a friendly "hello". She looked up and across the Tower saw the young man standing on the balcony next to hers.
Shocked, she jumped and mustered a "hello" back. The gentlemen introduced himself as Jinks and said he had just moved in to the Tower. Jinks asked Lunabell about her job, and she explained her love of the outdoors. Jinks said he worked as a butcher, and with that Lunabell began to laugh.
"Let me guess" said Jinks, "you don't eat meat."
"Correct" Lunabell smiled.
The conversation was brief as Jinks said he needed to be going, and Lunabell waved goodbye as she stepped back inside her home. She felt her face flush and a smile begin to curl. She felt the butterflies for the first time in years.
Lunabell went on with her day, and followed her usual routine. She retired to the balcony in the late evening when all her chores were done, and sat outside for a pipe. It was something she did from time to time.
She enjoyed watching the smoke billow up into the night sky, and thought of her loved ones and kept a watch on the balcony next to hers. She sat but saw nothing of her neighbour, then heard a knock at her door.
Lunabell put out her pipe and went to the door. When she opened the door, there he was, standing with a bottle of wine.
"Would you care to have a drink with me?" said Jinks.
"I would enjoy that," said Lunabell, "please come in, we can sit on the balcony."
Lunabell showed Jinks into her home, and walked with him outside on to the balcony. She felt comfortable having him in her home, because her time in the wilderness had taught her to be "tough".
She also felt at ease with this man. They sat and chatted well into the night, and finished the bottle of wine. Lunabell was shining brighter than she ever had, and found good company in Jinks.
As the moon rose in the sky, Lunabell finally had to wish Jinks a good night, and shook his hand at the door. As she closed the door she leaded back against and let out a joyful sigh.
That night Lunabell dreamed of happiness. When she awoke in the morning to the sound of her cat meowing in her ear, she smiled again realizing the night before was real.
The following evening, Jinks stopped over again, this time with ale to share. This went on for a week before Lunabell realized she had neglected her friends. She immediately called on Sheild and met her in the park to catch up.
Sheild was very happy for Lunabell, and told her she deserved to be happy. Lunabell said she worried that he lived so close, but felt like maybe, she had finally found her Prince.
The spring lasted longer than seasonal, and by the time the first frost had come, Lunabell and Jinks considered themselves officially dating.
One night, Lunabell and Jinks were sitting together drinking and talking. Suddenly, Jinks started to shake violently and fell to the ground. His head arched back and his teeth grew into fangs. His hands became giant paws and fur grew rapidly all over his body. He bust out of his clothing now on all fours, turning around and looking at Lunabell.
She stood still, shocked. There was no man in the apartment with her, instead she stood looking into the eyes of a Lynx. The Lynx growled at her. She stood still.
Seconds felt like hours as she gazed upon a beast before her, until Lunabell let out as much light as she could and the growling beast climbed back onto the couch, and curled up.
Lunabell felt herself calm down, and she slowly sat down next to him. She loved all animals in the forest, and she really loved cats. She told herself it would be okay, if she swallowed her fear and loved this creature.
Lunabell started to pet the Lynx, who then purred. He eventually fell asleep, and Lunabell curled into him and followed.
As the morning sun brightened up the room, the Princess opened her eyes and looked over to see Jinks fast asleep next to her. There was no wild animal in sight.
She shook him awake, and demanded to know what happened the night before, and rambled on about how he turned into something else. He struggled to open his eyes. Jinks sat up, and stared at the floor in deep thought for a moment.
"Listen," he said "I should have told you earlier, but I didn't want to scare you off, I care for you. Sometimes, I turn into a Lynx. It is a curse my dear, but I promise you this, I will never do anything to hurt you."
Lunabell felt uneasy, but said she understood, and was glad he was able to be so honest. He reassured her that this was a rare event, and she felt better. After all, she had known him for months and had never seen this before.
The days passed, and Lunabell and Jinks continued to grow closer to each other. They began to spend a lot of time with each other, and living so close at times it was like they lived together.
Lunabell sat with Jinks on the balcony that night, and shared her magical pipe. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds that night, and just as she was about to talk about the lack of stars, Jinks shook and fell to the ground again.
He changed faster this time, and walked towards Lunabell clicking his teeth as she pressed herself against her glass balcony doors. She had no where to go. She raised her hand in the air and told him to relax, but the Lynx was in full rage.
He swatted her out of the way and she flew across her balcony smashing into her plants. He smashed through the door, and ran down the tower stairs. As Lunabell picked herself up off the ground, she saw him run off towards the woods, growling the entire time.
Lunabell curled up under the dark night sky, and for the first time in awhile, cried.
When Lunabell cried, her light flickered with each tear. She waited for Jinks to return, she sat until the sun began to rise, and crawled into bed giving in to sleep.
As she slipped off into slumber, she entered a world of dark and terrifying dreams. She was lost in the woods, but there was no colour, no leaves, no grass, no green, no life. She wandered lost calling out for her cat, unable to find her. Lunabell awoke to Svenka pawing at her face, and she rolled into her pillow only to cry again.
Lunabell forced herself out of bed, and stepped out into her hallway. She could see nothing but broken glass and wood, her belongings tossed about from the night before.
She sighed, then decided to get showered and dressed. She sat down to eat, but felt no hunger. Lunabell felt nothing but a nervous feeling, and couldn't help but wonder if he was home.
She gave in and crept down the hall to his tower door, she knocked. She heard movement inside, and soon Jinks opened the door and wished her a Good Morning.
"Good morning?" Lunabell's voice was shaking, "how can you stand there like nothing happened last night."
"I did it again, didn't I." His voice softened, "Lunabell, I love you, I am sorry I changed last night, it's my curse. I understand if you never want to see me again."
With that Jinks began to cry, and Lunabell stood in the hallway, conflicted.
"It's ok," she finally sighed, "I know you didn't mean it, but I need to show you what you did."
Jinks followed Lunabell back to her tower and listened as Lunabell retold the story of what had happened the night before.
Jinks leaned over when she finished and held her as he spoke to her ear, "I am sorry, but I love you so much dear, that I was trying to run into the woods so I wouldn't hurt you. You were standing in front of the only exit, maybe next time you should move. I love you, and I swear I will never intentionally do anything to hurt you."
"I love you too, next time, I will step aside." Lunabell whispered back, still feeling a tingle of sadness deep down.
As time passed, Jinks started to change into the Lynx more and more, and each time Lunabell would cry as he ran off into the woods. Her light glowed less and less, and Shield started to take notice.
One afternoon, Shield and Lunabell sat over lunch and talked about Jinks and his curse. Shield told Lunabell she knew that they were in love, but just kept telling her to be careful. Lunabell didn't tell her friend all the details because she didn't want her to think Jinks was a bad man.
Lunabell felt the winds change as the cold touch of winter fell over the land. Lunabell sat with Jinks one evening, chatting again as Lunabell sipped on tea her love drank ale.
Lunabell, feeling uneasy about how much he drank, decided to ask him about it, and suggest he slow down for awhile.
"You drink with me," he said as his voiced raised, "I can damn well drink as much as I want."
As he finished his sentence his body shook, and within a second, had become a full Lynx. Lunabell stepped aside giving him room to leave as she had learned to do, but this time he didn't run.
He growled at Lunabell, and lifted his giant paw into the air. With a full hard swing the Lynx knocked Lunabell clear across her kitchen, causing her to smash into the cupboards and fall to the ground.
Shocked, she was frozen on the ground as she looked up at the beast. He crawled towards her, completely over her, and leaned in to roar into her face. With that he turned around, and raced out the door.
Lunabell didn't get up to see if he had run into the woods, she curled into a ball on the floor, and sobbed. This time as she cried the light flickered and flickered until finally, it went out.
Lunabell sat in the darkness, crying.
Hours passed before she realized she was still in his place, in his kitchen, sore and motionless on a cold tile floor. She was unable to swallow her fear anymore, and it came shooting out of her and her darkness.
It came shooting out as rage. Lunabell got to her feet and began to shake. Her eyes turned from golden to brown, then from brown to black. The darkness filled her eyes covering the white, she was madness.
"Fuck him." She said to herself, "fuck him for making me feel this way. Fuck his growl and his teeth, fuck his curse and fuck the drinking he does that seems to spur it on easier. I am no fool, he has made a fool of me."
With that she stormed into his living room and began to destroy. She smashed the pictures off the wall, she frantically tossed used ale glasses left on the table out onto his balcony to smash and finally she took his large bottle of liqour, and poured it down the sink taking sips for herself along the way.
The tears had returned, burning her face like acid as they fell. They were filled with toxic rage. She slowly felt the alcohol course through her veins as she took one final gulp and dumped the final drops into the kitchen sink.
Before she could do anymore damage she heard a familiar voice at the door, she realized it had been open the entire time.
"Bell?" Shield called from the hallway of the towers, "are you in here?"
"I'm here" Lunabell called back.
Shield walked in and gazed upon her friend. "You need to get out of here, you need to stop, let's go."
Shield grabbed her friend and walked her next door, locking and closing Jinks' door on the way out. She sat her friend down and poured her a glass of water.
"What is going on?" she asked.
Lunabell whimpered softly now, eyes back to gold but bloodshot. She let it all out. She told her friend everything, all the changes she saw in her once loved Prince. She recounted the times he left her alone crying, the drinking he did, the anger he had.
She even found herself saying things she didn't realize. She told her friend about all the nasty things he would say right before he changed, about how she felt she had to tip toe around him to not set him off, how alone she felt. Isolated and alone she repeated between sobs and stories.
"I don't know who I am anymore, or when it got so horrible. There is still a lot of good, and if he would just try to help himself we could be perfect like we were." Lunabell finished her tale and put her head down.
Shield listened, told her friend she loved her and that she hated seeing her in such pain. She hugged Lunabell and told her she was there for her, no matter what.
The two friends sat together for the afternoon, until Shield had to leave. She reminded her friend of the love she had for her, and let her know she was never too far away if Lunabell needed help.
"Be safe." Shield whispered as the hugged goodbye.
Lunabell sat herself back on her couch, and waited, waited to hear him come home.
Hours passed again before the night fell and the sound of Jinks stumbling down the hallway woke a sleeping Lunabell. She had fallen asleep waiting, again.
She sat up fuzzy and heard a pounding at her down, it was him. She cracked the door open a bit and he swung it hard knocking her backwards. He made no apology and he burst through the door.
"You bitch." Jinks scowled, "you fucking bitch, where is my booze?"
"You knocked me over!" Lunabell screamed. "You don't need that booze it makes you worse."
He made no apology, in fact much to Lunabells horror, he was smiling. "You love this don't you?" He laughed, "you get to play the victim, your favourite role!"
With that, Links spit at Lunabell, told her to leave him alone and slammed her door. Within minutes she heard loud music blaring from his home and the sound of him smashing around. She knew he was drinking now and most likely he had changed.
She knew it wasn't safe to go over there, but she did anyways.
It didn't take long before Lunabell found herself in his empty place. He had taken off again, and she was tossed aside and on the kitchen floor. She couldn't remember this time if it was Jinks or Linx who had hurt her.
She could not remember the first time he growled at her, and wasn't sure when the emotional sabotage began, but she knew exactly where she was when she came to her senses and realized it was over. She was curled in a ball on the floor in the kitchen. She had run out of tears, excuses, compassion and overall care.
Lunabell was nothing but a dark shadow.
