Fluttering shades of light drew Will out of his sleep. Groggily opening his eyes, he noticed that the shades of brown wallpaper were definitely not from his bedroom. Attempting to sit up straight, he realised that it was a bad idea due to the great head rush that accompanied it.
"What...what on earth happened?" Will, muttered to himself. The flashbacks of previous events caught up with him and created a startling flutter in his heart, basking in his memories of his mum...as a bear.
Hushed whispers outside the unknown room caught his ear and the wooden door opened in a creepily slow stance, revealing a sheepish, but human looking Mammy.
"Mammy..? Jesus Christ Mam, what happened?" Will groggily asked whilst trying not to slosh his words around. He had never fainted so he realised how similar secret underage hangover felt like. With the chiming clock in the background signaling 9am, Will finally sat up properly and attempted to give his Mam a serious "I am communicating with you in a professional manner" stare glare.
"Oh Will, love...you better relax a bi-
"I am relaxed."
"...right, well..." Mammy eagerly looked around as if she was distracted, or trying to find a distraction, even with dust.
Will couldn't even believe what he was in right now.
Sure.
A hallucination of a bear was fine, he had the excuse of exam stress and sleep deprivation. Any sleep walking or fantasy-like objects appearing in reality would be the norm for this!
But, it was real.
In his bones, he could feel the reality of this bizarre scenario. With Mammy still fiddling with her fingers by his bedside, he decided to mutter one word to ease the tension:
"Harrison?"
Mammy's head sprung up and gleefully chirped up. "Oh! The cute thing! He...well he passed out too funnily enough! Thank God I can speak for England. We both pushed it under exam stress and that the 'scary bear' was a leonburger!"
"...so it was a bear-
"So he is safe at home, no memory whatsoever-
"Mammy!"
She abruptly fell out of her gleeful excuse parade.
"It. Was. A. Bear. YOU. Were a...a bear."
Catching her eye line without blinking, Will would not leave her sight till she even mouthed an answer.
With a heavy breathe. Mammy paced in front of Will.
Stopped;
Paced again;
Then stopped;
Then sighed and sat down next to his bedside.
"Will..." She started with exasperated breathe.
Slowly, her hand reached his, as if she were about to tell him the absolute worst news imaginable.
"I have so much to tell you. This would have been the conversation we would have had after school, but...seeing in these circumstances" she chuckled slightly-
"I guess it is better late than never."
Will said nothing. He patiently waited for her next breathe to express answers to the million questions running through his mind.
"The amount of questions you must have...Will I used-"
The bedroom door was thrown open with a loud bang. A big eyed, awkward looking man stood between both rooms, holding a cup and a book in both hands.
"I kicked the door open...Sorry." The Canadian accent seeped through Wills head as he continued to blankly stare at this intruder.
"Mam- Maureen, Bill said to give you this." Walking towards Mammy and handing her a tattered, leather book held together by weak string. She gave relieved thanks and Will could see her opening the book to corner down specific pages.
"...Tea."
Will was jumped out of his trance in fright as he saw that the man had moved closer to his bedside, holding a dainty cup in his paw of a hand. Not admiring the intimidating 'stare into your soul' look coming from the man, he meekly accepted the tea with a squeaky thank you and nod of the head and quickly took a sip, as to not offend him.
"Thanks Tristian love, send Billius my regards! Hope you're feeling better too." Mammy heartedly voiced after the tea acceptance.
Tristian nodded calmly towards Mammy, and with a final awkward stare at Will, turned around and purposely closed the door in a gentler way.
"Right!" Mammy exclaimed and cleared her throat. "This book, oh gosh I am so glad we have it! This will explain so much sweetie. I am an absolute nightmare explaining all this and I swear, I knew I should've had a script prepared for this day for you!" Jabbering on, Will gave her a look so she knew that she was jabbering on.
"Just read this and I'll explain how we are in this love. Don't worry, I'll know when you're done." Mammy said with a worrying smile.
Will gave an eyebrow raise and slowly turned towards the book that was now placed on his legs. Lifting it up, he carefully opened the first page to see the words Shifters: Past, Present and Future. (Updated 2017) by Hugo Asprey.
Will immediately looked up at his Mum with an inquisitive glance to which she egged him with her eyes to read on.
Will slowly turned the first cornered down page, and began to read:
Legend of the Shifters
Centuries ago, dark magic ran through the world and only the rich and powerful could seek it. Providing patron to any witch or warlock resulted in loyalty back, as well as ultimate status and power.
In the 1200s, there were four powerful lords and ladies, Lady Miriam, Lord Byron, Lord Vincent and Lady Clara, who had come upon a lonely and scared warlock. They took pity on him and brought him onto their lands, giving him luxuries no one could imagine. In repayment, he revealed himself to be Matthias, a dark and powerful warlock and gave them the chance to be the most fearsome in all the land.
Vincent did not admire the warlock and his gestures; however Byron persuaded Lady Miriam and Clara to accept the power and loyalty of Matthias. Begrudgingly, Vincent accepted, but disliked the warlock. This dislike would change history forever.
Matthias told them of a power, a power so fearsome that no other warlock or witch had tried it because they were too weak and were too scared to trust anyone with the creation. The warlock told them of spell. A spell so strong that it would change their souls forever. All four, already consumed with greed to be the most fearsome in the land accepted without question.
The warlock gathered them, one by one and chanted a spell so dark, so impure, that the words have been lost throughout time.
Matthias had created a gene. A gene that had combined their souls and personalities to create fearsome shapeshifters.
The lords and ladies went through 2 days of agonizing pain and sacrifice for the spell to be complete. After the grueling two days, Matthias unlocked them all from their rooms and welcomed them all to their grand hall. The warlock explained that their souls had attached themselves to a spirit, a spirit of an animal that was depicted from their character.
Changing was easy. They had to be one with their animal and let them take over physically, but with their mind still in control. Lady Miriam was revealed to be what we now know as 'Unicorn.' Lord Byron was revealed to be what we know as a 'Dragon.' Lady Miriam was revealed to be what we know as 'Monster du lac.'
Will looked up with a humorous laugh, "Monster du lac? What is that the Lochness monster" he chuckled a bit more, not believing what was actually happening at this moment. With a disapproving stare, Mammy sternly said that Will was correct, to which he shut his mouth, gulped, and read on:
Lastly, Lord Vincent's transformation was the most vigorous and painful. The warlock watched over him with a lustful greed in his eyes. After the agony had stopped, Lord Vincent was finally known as a creature, a creature that was not whole. The animal was known as 'Drion', half Lion, half Hippogriff.
Enraged with jealously, Lord Byron begged for the warlock to give him the power of the Drion, but he was refused. Years and years the four lived harmoniously together and with their shifters. Their land in Yorkshire was the most successful, powerful and fearsome. However, blessed things had to come to an end.
Lord Byron, filled with jealously of Vincent's power and jealous of the admiration from Lady Miriam, decided to bestow lavish gifts, patron and status to the warlock. Warlocks were seen as inferior to the rich, thus with his new found status, Matthias finally acknowledged Byron's request.
However, Byron wanted more power now and wanted to be the leader of shifters instead of a team and wanted any additional kin in their bloodlines to have the power of a shifter, even his own. The warlock granted the request...however Byron wanted more.
The antagonist lord was jealous of the adoration Lady Miriam had for Vincent and in a jealous manner, forced the warlock to use an awfully dark ritual to extract her shifter and put it in him. Byron thought that Miriam, being weaker would cling to him, but the ritual for extracting was too powerful, and she died due to her soul being dissolved into nothing. With another shifting power in his soul, he repulsed the idea of mourning for Miriam, but wished for the warlock to also kill Vincent and Clara so that he could be the most powerful Shifter, and his descendants following.
In fear, Lady Clara and Lord Vincent tried to escape, but Byron had built up to strong an alliance with the Warlock who obeyed his every command and forced him to turn his armies into shifters known as 'Turncoats.' Fortunately, knowing that any descendant, or close relative can gain their shifting ability, Vincent sacrificed himself to let Clara run free to hide for the rest of her days.
To this day, the descendants of Byron have searched far and wide for any trace of Vincent's remaining Kin, but have never found any. Turncoats are still at large, hiding, waiting for their next command from their new leader that now bestows the dragon gene.
Eagerly turning to the last cornered page, Will saw that it was full of splotches, as if someone was updating the book with recent notes and findings:
My Additional Notes:
· Lady Clara – Possible sighting of descendants in Scotland. Maybe known as the "Lochness Monster." Not enough information to appoint this.
· Turncoat – ENEMY! Make sure kids know this!
· Defectors – People who the warlock has changed unwillingly. Their spirit animal is evil so even if the person doesn't want to hurt anyone, once they shapeshift, they aren't in control, their animal is EVIL and will kill the good guys (THAT IS US!) Look out for the shifters with animals that look dead and rotten with soulless eyes.
· Warlock – Made himself immortal the slimy git!
· Gunby Farm scent protection (Need to buy more soil/ Ask Bill to do his business outside to help?)
· Humans find out that they are shifters when they are of age and have gone through puberty etc. So from the ages of 17, they find out, but some people can find out only when they inherit a shifting power when their parent dies or sibling does, who already had and knew about their shifting power. They can have more than one due to them inheriting animal souls from their ancestors also! Could have a few!
Placing the book back down on his legs, Will slowly turned his head towards Mammy with the biggest 'what on earth did I just read' look to which she laughed. "I was waiting for that look love! Before you say anything, yes it is all true and yes I am a descendant of some Welsh bloke who got his from his ancestors who were originally part of that awful army. That does not mean we are evil, because we are NOT. Gunby farm is a place where I trained and is where new shifters train and are safe from the Turncoats. No one wants to be an awful defector...."
Mammy stopped their and sighed, before slapping her hands on her thighs and stood up to pace in front of her son. "I was a...oh god right, I'll say it...I was a turncoat love."
Will, still processing absolutely every single detail from the book, perked up to the word 'turncoat', understanding that this equaled to the big enemy. Before he could question, Mammy continued, "I actually met your father there, funny story actually! I guess now is not the right time, but yes, I was a bad guy because there was no one there to help or guide me and some dog shifting lad sniffed me out and bribed me to come back to a haven for people like me. Bloody cheek of him to say all that utter rubbish! Also no. That was not your Dad.
I worked for the descendant of Byron as his right hand man and so did your Dad. After we saw our first extraction, the...the part you know where they kill someone for their animal...yes, we both realised that we did not want to be a part of this anymore and we escaped. Unfortunately, they knew I had a powerful shifter...and knew your Dad had one too. Before we escaped...well you know. We were already romantically involved! I'm not saying anymore! However, your Dad, he didn't make it far and killed himself so that I could escape, and so that his shifter could escape too. He was a brave man, and I would give anything to see him again. His shifter was a tiger, a brave, fearsome beast...you probably understand what a hunk he would've been!" Mammy stopped and looked out of the French windows and stared longingly out towards the rolls of land and breathed a heavy sigh. Touching her necklace she looked at Will with a sad smile and finished off the rest of her story.
"I ran. I just ran and took buses, a taxi and ended up in a pub in Grasmere and just thought...what do I do now? I was basically in hormonal rage, oh quick note, I was pregnant with you, surprise! With the pregnancy rage, the loss of my George, I started shifting. Right in the pub! So I had to leg it out of there before I went full furry mode. Didn't even get to finish my bloody chips! Anyway, I dashed out and before I knew it, full bear mode and walking through the countryside being all philosophical and woe is me, till I see another bloody bear! That bear my dear was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. That is Billius, the owner of Gunby farm, where we are now. He helped me get on my feet again....my normal feet. Him and Hugo, his partner and fox shifter, looked after me and raised me like their own! They kept all of us safe, so many of us managed to lead good lives. I had you here you know. Not in this bed, but it was here! Too much information love I shall move on!
So, with that going, turncoats and their defectors can't find this place due to the beautiful power of British soil! The smell keeps the shifters with keen senses of smell at bay...you'll get a big waft of it when you harper outside, but you'll get used to it!" Mammy finished the epic speech to which Will thought was actually the prologue to his life now.
His adventures were set, he had enough common sense to realise what Mam was saying...he was a descendant and he was going to get a shifter attached to his soul...and apparently it bloody hurt! Now panicking, he started to use his hands to roam around his body for any sprouts of stripy, orange fur seeping through.
"Jesus Mammy! I'm going to be a bloody tiger! It's going to be two days of agony! Oh no chances, you better knock me out before that! NO chance Mammy no bloody chance take it away from me!" Will anxiously exclaimed whilst fidgeting uncomfortably. Mammy grabbed his hands and placed them on his sides, "Will love, calm down. Yes. Yes you will have your father's gene, I was the next closest relative to him as he had no one, but I never got it. It descended to you and....yes it will hurt, but it needs to adjust to your soul and body. You....so I will be there every minute, every second. We have all gone through it here...that is why 17 is such an important age. It seems that after 17, the soul is good enough for the shifter to attach itself to its next family member. That doesn't mean it comes now! Kris out there didn't get his Jaguar till he was 24 bless him, then his crow literally a year after! You'll meet him in a bit anyway he is a gorgeous thing! He is from Hong Kong and speaks so many languages; gosh he is great for when we need to go to the Far East to help new shifters there! I'm going off track aren't I...well see... it basically doesn't come along straight away...it sort of...hits you."
"HITS YOU? LIKE FULL BLOWN WHAM BAM I'M HERE MAM!" Wills anxiety started picking up again to which Mammy grabbed his head, "If you have a bloody panic attack now you're going to get a hiding! Yes, it will be all wham and bam, but that is why we are here. You are not leaving here till you do! I don't care if you are 35 you are not leaving...people are after us as you could tell from the note. They know I had you, they know what shifting abilities we have. We are good to have on their side...we don't need that. I will not have my son be a turncoat or a defector if you refuse!" Mammy started to blubber with her last few words and stood up to her full height again and turned away from Will.
Will sheepishly looked away too and closed his eyes to accept his panic attack and regulated his breathing. This was big news. All of this was big news. All of this happening, starting right in the middle of Mr. Wadey's class. How random was that change of scenery in life?
Will heard Mammy sniff a few times before she spoke, "Get ready love, it was a lot to process, but when you are happy to come out, I will introduce you to the group." She walked slowly to the door and held the side before taking one last look at Will, and with no response or reaction from him, she shut the door.