of anything that might hurt.
“It
was the last time I saw my mother.” The redhead continued her voice flat. “And
it wasn’t enough. They followed us, and a few hours later they caught us.
People I had knew my whole life looked at me as if I was a beast, a monster. I
tried to talk to them but they only cursed my name.”
Rapunzel
tightened her hold on the woman. Part of her wanted to shush Ruby, kiss her and
make her forget about everything wrong that had ever happened to her.
She
knew it wouldn’t work.
It
might soothe Ruby’s mind for a while, but only when the woman dealt with what
happened could she truly overcome it.
“How
did you escape?”
“My
grandmother turned into a beast, a giant half-human-half-wolf creature that
walked in two legs – I realized then what the growl I had heard before was – my
mother confronting the villagers, and I knew they were right. I was a monster.”
Rapunzel
kissed Ruby’s temple, tightening her legs around the redhead’s frame, using her
body and heat to comfort her. “You’re no monster.”
A
tear escaped from Ruby’s eye. “Yes I am. That’s why my family worshipped
Selene.”
Rapunzel
had never heard about such a goddess before. It wasn’t rare; there were all
manner or beings and spirits that passed as gods – some were very powerful,
others only managed to do some parlor tricks – but many had followers.
From
what Ruby said and from what she had seen of the curse that assailed the
redhead, this Selene was powerful. That might explain the presence Rapunzel had
felt within the transformed Ruby.
“What
did your family’s worship entail?”
“I
don’t know.” Ruby replied. “I never found out exactly. I learnt something about
it years later, when I visited an old witch of the woods. She explained that
the goddess was angry at me, furious about me turning my back on her blessing –
I guess that explains why I am always pursued by wolfs wherever I am.”
“The
blessing … she meant your transformation?” Rapunzel asked, wondering about how
it could be called a blessing.
Ruby
nodded. “Supposedly yes, but something went wrong. According to the witch I
didn’t make my offering and so the blessing turned into a curse. I don’t even
know what I did wrong and sincerely I don’t care – it’s a curse, and one that
won’t ever assail my bloodline.”
“What
did you do?” Rapunzel asked, a sudden premonition making a shiver run down her
spine.
“I
asked the witch to curse my womb and make me barren.”
“But…”
“It
was the only way.” Ruby said, shaking her head at Rapunzel. “Otherwise my
bloodline would carry the curse and my children would one day become monsters
just like me.”
Rapunzel
remained silent, not quite knowing how to tell the other woman that she might
not have a choice about the matter.
“I
always dreamt of being a mother.” Ruby whispered with longing in her voice.
Rapunzel
could only close her eyes and tell her the truth. “You might get your chance.”
She said her voice calm and rational – she didn’t want to upset Ruby.
Ruby
blinked a couple of times before she faced Rapunzel once again. “What do you
mean?”
Rapunzel
extended her hand and poised it over Ruby’s stomach, letting her magic invade
the woman’s body and making sure that what she had felt before was really
happening.
“You’re
pregnant.”
“What?”
Ruby asked her mouth opening in startlement. “I can’t.”
Rapunzel
smiled, gently, soothingly, her hands caressing Ruby’s face. “It’s my fault.
There’s magic in my blood, fertility magic. It’s what makes me different from
regular women, and what makes me have so much stamina when it comes to
lovemaking.” She pointed out with a blush.
“You
mean?”
“My
seed was strong enough to ignore the curse the witch cast over your womb.”
Rapunzel smiled again and leaned forward, taking Ruby’s mouth, plundering it
with her tongue. “You’re pregnant with my