Oreus

King Lycaon - Chapter 1

Translations at the end of the chapter

She sat on the floor in front of her window and looked out to the trees. The strange feeling of being incomplete was something she'd been feeling for a while. It wasn't crippling, it was more of a nudge. A nudge that made her want to search, but for what, she didn't know.

What was missing, and why did it bother her so much?

There was nothing she could do about it though. What was she to do? Go out and look for a measly feeling she had? Where would she even begin to look? The only thing she could do was sit and quietly mumble a song to herself, wondering what could possibly be wrong with her.

"Hurry and get ready, Eden! Olivia just called and said she'd be here in ten minutes," her mother called from outside her door.

She sighed, taking one last glance out to the trees before getting up. "Sí mamá, I'm going," she answered as she walked to the clothes laid out on her bed.

She thought of Olivia, or Oliviá as she likes to call herself, her best friend from America who told her rich father to send her abroad. For some reason, she thought being in the Dominican Republic would make her stand out at home when she went back.

The way they became friends is strange according to everyone else. All it took was one glance at Eden the first time they saw each other and she'd decided she'd be her closest amigo. She was confused at first but decided, what did she have to lose? Even when everyone told her she should stay away from her, she ignored them, claiming none of them knew what they were talking about.

Instead of coming in ten minutes like she said, she came in twenty.

She watched from her spot at the window as the door was flung open by Oliva, obviously in a rush.

"Oh my God, Eden, we have to go! We were supposed to pick my friends up from their hotels!" Olivia exclaimed, taking her by the arm and dragging her out the door.

"What did you even do that made you late?" she asked, jogging down the stairs.

She rolled her eyes, "Emily was nagging me about doing my work again."

Eden nodded, although Olivia was there for the experience, she still had to complete college.

"By the way, cute outfit."

She smiled at the compliment.

They turned the corner and ran to the door. Their efforts were all in vain, and they realized this when they came to a screeching halt at the sight of Eden's mother standing there with her hands on her hips.

"¡Espera solo un minuto! Olivia, I know you're in a rush, but you both know we have to do a rundown of everything."

They groaned, there was no chance of being able to leave as soon as they'd hoped.

"You know it's been getting dangerous lately, I just want to make sure you're safe," she told them with a stern look. "Phones?"

"Charged and with help on speed dial," Olivia answered.

"Pocket knife?"

Eden pat her back pocket, "Lo tengo."

It went on until she was sure they had everything.

"Alright now be safe girls, stay out of trouble," she told them as they walked to the door.

"Sí sí, we know, it's so annoying doing this every time," muttered Olivia under her breath.

Evidently, she wasn't quiet enough, and Eden's eyes widened when she saw her mother twist down.

"¡Lo siento, mamá! Forget she said anything!" she yelled, shoving Olivia out. A shoe flew past their heads, urging them to quickly get in the car and speed off.

They were going to a museum in Santo Domingo that Olivia thought was amazing. With them living in Bonao, it was going to take a while to get there.

Her mother worried for them because Olivia had dropped the plans last minute. Without knowing every single detail, she had the mindset that something would happen to them and she wouldn't be able to get to them in time.

To ease her mind, she sent a friend of hers ahead to make sure it was ok and had him stay to keep an eye on them.

"So Eden, where's the best place to get some tacos or some Spanish food around here," one of Olivia's friends turned and asked as they wandered.

"You're in La República Dominicana, I'm pretty sure most things here would be Spanish," she retorted lowly.

He immediately asked more questions, telling her to say things because her accent was a 'turn on.' She became uncomfortable and decided to stick close to Olivia from there on out.

She rolled her eyes when Eden made a complaint, obviously knowing who she was talking about without her needing to say who it was.

"Ignore him, he's Dallas. I didn't even invite him, somehow he found out and decided he wanted to come too," she explained. "Come on, I want a tour of this hallway."

The walls were covered with war history, one of Olivia's favorite subjects. She smiled, letting her do what she wanted.

"Francisco del Rosario Sanchez corresponded with Duarte during his exile in Venezuela. Then, Ramon Matias Mella, along with Duarte and Sanchez, became known as the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic," the woman drawled.

Eden listened intently, seeing why Olivia was so interested in it.

"Is... here... read...way...."

The faint whispers interrupted her focus and became the only thing she could hear.

She turned to see who was talking so loud, if only to tell them to shut their mouths, but no one was speaking. To her utter surprise, everyone was paying attention to the lady as she pointed to a portrait of a general.

She tried to listen to her as well, but she couldn't stop hearing the whispers. It bothered her, not seeing who was speaking. Then she noticed it was coming from a certain direction.

"Olivia, do you hear that?" she leaned in and whispered to her.

"Hear what?"

"You don't hear the whispering?"

She raised her eyebrow, "I think those cocadas are getting to your head, Eden. I told you eating too many was bad for you."

She didn't reply and only stared at the hallway she noticed it was coming from. There weren't any footsteps, but she decided for her own sanity that it was probably just more people. She turned away and tried her best to listen to the woman and ignore the whispers, but she flinched when she heard a new voice.

"EDEN!"

The voice rang in her ear. It was loud, and the only thing she could think about was that it knew her name and that was not ok. It hadn't come from the hallway either, if anything, it sounded like it was in her head, but that didn't stop her from hearing the other voices.

People began to notice how she was frozen in place, staring at the hallway. She heard them ask if she was ok, if she needed some water, but the whispers were getting louder and louder.

They just wouldn't stop.

She told them she was fine, but she kept watching, hoping someone would come around the corner to ease her mind.

That didn't happen though, and she felt tears come to her eyes. Even more when an urge to follow them pressured her. She was being lured away by the strange incoherent whispers. The tug became too strong to resist. It captured her attention and in a trance, she began to follow.

Olivia stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. For a brief moment, Eden came back to reality as she asked if she was really ok. One word from the voices was all it took for her to be brought back to a single goal.

Follow.

"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back," she said in a daze, pulling away from her concerned friend.

"I can come with you, really Eden you don't have to go by yourself," she insisted.

A blank look crossed her features. Even as she felt controlled, her need to protect her was stronger. "I'm fine. Stay here." Whatever she was following wouldn't lay a hand on Olivia.

That thought was all that ran through her mind as she walked, and the whispers kept a steady direction as to where they were coming from.

She found herself in the section for Greek mythology, the whispers getting so loud they began to ring in her ear.

With trembling legs, she made her way through the marble corridor to what seemed to be a monster.

She stared at it, the once incomprehensible words became clear. Some said come here and others read it, but there was one that rang out the most.

"Learn."

There was a touchable little booklet in front of a portrait that read Lykaon, King of Arcadia. Picking it up, she started reading where things seemed to be popping out of the page, and once she did the voices disappeared altogether.

Some of the first accounts of werewolves come from Ancient Greek literature. Ovid, in the Metamorphoses, told of the Arcadian King, Lykaon. King Lykaon was visited by Zeus. Not believing him to be a true all-knowing god, he went on to test Zeus by serving him human flesh in one of the many dishes served at a banquet in their honor.

It wasn't normal flesh - Lykaon was said to have served his own son. Nyctimus (son to be killed) was just one of 50, so King Lykaon felt he had plenty more where that came from.

Murder and cannibalism were a major crime at the time and with Zeus being a God, it didn't end well. Upon discovering the tainted dish, Zeus was furious and had King Lykaon changed into a wolf. He then turned his other fifty sons to wolves as well.

Zeus, feeling that since Lykaon obviously had a penchant for human flesh, the monstrous wolf body would be a more acceptable form to take part in such a vile activity. He then brought his son Nyctimus back to life.

Nyctimus succeeds his father as king of Arcadia. His rule was cut short by something or someone, which some speculate was caused by one of his brothers for his lack of respect for the Gods.

She kept reading until a near presence caught her attention, and turned to look behind her.

There was a man, and he looked... fake. To be specific, he looked like one of the statues in the room they were alone in. Which didn't make her feel any better.

Especially since he was right staring at her.

"I see you're interested in the origins of werewolves," he stated, eyeing the book in her grasp.

She stuttered, startled he had asked, "Uh, no, I was only-"

"It's alright, I'm sure everyone wants to know where they come from."

Fear overtook her, he shouldn't have been able to tell.

"Ya sabes, Nyctimus was to succeed his father as king of Arcadia. But his reign was cut short, some think it was one of his brothers."

"I read that, um do you... research this kind of thing?" she asked, getting even more nervous. He wasn't normal, whoever he was. The fact that he knew what she is made it clear. Normal people, including people like herself, shouldn't be able to tell.

He looked at her, a glint in his eyes, "No, I just find it... fascinating ."

Panic took over and an internal struggle had her heart racing. She couldn't stay with him any longer, she had to get back to the group and leave.

"May I have your name?" he asked, getting closer.

She backed up a little before answering, not sure if she should tell the truth or not. She decided to anyways, certain that she wouldn't ever see him again. "Eden."

His eyes flashed in what seemed to be excitement, "Well Eden, you probably don't know that someone has taken Lykaon's place as King. The new one is... much more dangerous."

She inched away even further, looking behind her to see if anyone was coming. He took a chunk of the distance away, surprising her as she turned around. She almost jumped, but instead, she slid her hand into her back pocket.

"What do you mean?"

"This King executed Lykaon and continued to murder his brothers, one after the other. He wanted to make sure no one would be able to take his place, but they say there's another reason."

"Eden! Where did you go?"

The man's face took a turn and looked darker as he flicked his eyes to the entryway.

She almost questioned if Olivia had heard her silent prayer. "Lo siento, that's my friend. I have to go but it was great talking to you," she said, using the chance to get away.

She turned quickly and sped to the main hall but not before hearing him one last time. His raspy voice hissed at her, and whether it was a threat or not, she couldn't tell.

"The heroes are the ones who always get remembered, but the legends never die. Heroes live in books, written but forgotten. Legends haunt you, they follow you home and make your life a living hell. They are vengeful, breathing wraiths with flesh and bone. They are the ones to worry about Eden, not the heroes."

It felt as though he were right behind her, saying it directly in her ear. She whirled around, the knife flying through the air to where his throat should've been.

Only it wasn't, and neither was he.

The knife was useless as it stuck to the wall.

She looked around to see where he could have gone, but there was no possible way he could have left without her seeing him. All around the hallway, even from the reflection of the marble walls and floors, he just wasn't there.

It was as if he was never there at all.

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Sí - Yes

Espera solo un minuto - Wait just a minute

Aquí - Here

Lo tengo - Got it/ I have it

Lo siento - I'm sorry

Ya sabes - You know