Nearing the night's end, a small girl was lying on her bed, wearing her pyjamas. She had her teeth brushed and should have been sleeping soundly. But instead she lay awake, staring at the ceiling with her blue eyes as the moonlight poured into the room.
The door of the bedroom opened softly and in came the girl's Father.
"What are you doing awake, moonbeam?" her Father asked.
"I can't sleep," the girl replied.
"What can I do to help?" her Father asked.
"Tell me a story, Daddy," the girl pleaded. She loved hearing her Father tell her stories.
The girl's Father smiled.
"Okay, but just one," he said firmly, "You can pick one from the shelf."
The girl shook her head.
"I want to hear a story from you," she told her Father.
"You mean you want me to make one up?" the Father asked with a smile.
The girl nodded eagerly.
"Okay, I'll try," the Father agreed as he sat down on a chair in the room. The girl got comfortable and snuggled with her teddy bear. "Are you ready?" the Father asked with a smile. The girl nodded. "Once upon a time, there were four men," the Father began, "And these four men were born with the power of the gods."
"Like you," the girl noted.
"Exactly," the Father replied, "Now these four men were brothers and they each had a special power. But they were cursed."
"By who?" the girl asked.
"By an angry goddess," her Father replied.
"Why?" the girl asked.
"Because the goddess believed they were responsible for the death of her lover," the Father replied.
"What was the curse?" the girl asked.
"The curse manifested itself in each of the brothers differently since each of them had different powers," the Father explained, "The oldest brother was able to see what had once been and his curse was to be haunted by what he saw, with no one able to see his pain behind his beautiful face. He was also able to feel the death of souls and they passed through him as they went to the afterlife. The second oldest brother was able to give things and take things away, thereby manipulating a person's fate. He was cursed to give fear and terror all while being haunted by his visions of things yet to come. The agony of not knowing which future was the true future threatened to consume him. The second youngest brother was able to influence the thoughts and actions of those around him. He was cursed to slip away, losing himself every time he used his powers. The youngest brother was able to see the auras of those around him and feel their emotions. He was cursed to have the feelings of others consume him. All of the brothers' curses were tied directly to their individual powers. They could all manipulate shadows."
"Did they ever break the curse?" the girl asked curiously.
Her Father smiled.
"We're not quite there yet, moonbeam," he told her.
"So then what happened?" the girl asked eagerly, desperately wanting to know what happened to the four brothers.
The Father chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm. He hadn't thought that she'd be enthralled by the story so soon.
"One of the other goddesses took pity on the four brothers," the Father explained, "She gave them a way out of the curse. She told them that they would all start to heal once they found their soulmates. The other halves of their wholes. The beings that would anchor them to this plane and bring them back when needed. The four of them spent centuries scouring the world, searching for their soulmates."
"Did they find them?" the girl asked.
"No," her Father replied, "And eventually they stopped looking and returned to their home, believing that their soulmates didn't exist, that the goddess had lied to them, that there was no one out there to help ease their pain. They spent decades trying to come to terms with the fact that their soulmates didn't exist and eventually, they came to accept it. But fate is fickle and loves to play games, so soon things took a turn for the worst. For you see, the brothers had a sister."
"A sister?" the girl asked nervously, worried about the brothers in the story.
"Indeed and she was just as powerful as they were," her Father continued, "The problem was that she had been cast out of their home. She was jealous of her brothers and the admiration they received from everyone in the city. Consumed by her hatred, she grew dark and her heart turned cold. She vowed to take away everything her brothers held dear. Their home and the people they had sworn to protect."
"So what did the brothers do?" the girl asked.
"Well, fate placed four maidens in the path of the brothers," the Father explained, "One for each of them."
"Their soulmates," the girl gasped.
"Exactly," the Father replied with a smile, "I'm not sure how the three younger brothers reacted to their soulmates, but I know that the oldest didn't take it very well. He fought hard against his need for his soulmate, thinking that it wasn't possible for him to have a soulmate and not wanting her to see his pain. But eventually he gave in and fell in love with her. And eventually, they bound themselves together."
"What was she like?" the girl asked as she blinked, trying to keep her eyes open. The Father smiled fondly and his eyes sparkled as he thought about the soulmate of the oldest brother.
"She was the most amazing woman in the world," the Father replied, "She was fierce and wasn't afraid of fighting for what she believed in. But at the same time, she was warm and gentle."
"Did they defeat the sister?" the girl asked as she yawned.
The Father chuckled.
"I think that's a story for another night," he told his daughter as he kissed her forehead, "Goodnight my little moonbeam."
"Goodnight Daddy," the girl replied sleepily as she closed her eyes. The Father tucked her in and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.
He entered his own room and found his wife sitting up in bed, reading. He smiled. It wasn't exactly a surprise that his daughter was restless at night when her parents were as well.
"She couldn't sleep?" his wife asked.
"No, she asked for a story," the man replied.
"I heard," his wife replied with a smile, "And you told her that one?"
"I thought it was fitting, given who her parents are," he replied with a mischievous smile.
His wife grinned.
"I suppose, but that's not quite how I remember our story going," she told him. He climbed into bed next to her and pulled her close to his body. She let out a sigh of contentment.
"True, but I thought telling a five year old about how I ravaged your body when we bonded was inappropriate," he smirked. She smacked his chest playfully.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," she told him.
"Then how did our story go, love?" he asked, "Perhaps I have my facts wrong. It has been a while."
"I don't mind telling you if that's what you want," she told him, "But it's not a short story."
"In my opinion, the best stories never are, love," he reminded his wife, "But perhaps we should both tell this story? I'm sure that there are some things you don't know about our story that I do."
"Okay then, but I get to go first," his wife replied with a smile, "Here goes..."
YOU ARE READING
Inflexible | Fated Four: Book 1
Romance*Book 1 of the Fated Four Series* *Inspired by the Three Fates (the Moirai) of Greek Mythology* ~*~ "Death affects everyone...especially the Inflexible." ~*~ Four children, beloved by their Mother, descended from the heavens and mingled among humans...
