1. Narxia
Narxia
As the youngest and the most adored (yes, I am saying that in a perfectly objective point of view) child of the Cross household, I, Narxia Cross, will introduce our family.
But before that I have to tell you about my grandmother, Elenkel. She is everyone’s beloved God. Born from a camellia flower, she has been since the beginning of time. With the ability to create anything from nothing, she made this earth.
Fire-god Xanxesh is the head of the Cross household and is also my father. Born under the grace of the sun, he has the power to control fire. With a phoenix as our house symbol, all flying creatures obey our family’s command. He has three wives, with my birth mother as the Head Lady of the house.
And I have three mothers, Caroline, Callista, and Laine.
Caroline is my 80-year-old birth mother, and is also the only human of the family. She met my father when she was eighteen and when he was 8074 years old. Of course, in her eyes he was in his twenties. The two fell in love, and although my father already had two wives they got married. After the marriage was when she found out the shocking truth. However my mother is an understanding, reasonable and kind person. She accepted the fact that my father has a never-ending life and wives with trashy personalities. She became officially his third wife, but earned the title Head Lady because my father loved her the most.
Callista is the second wife of Xanxesh Cross. She is a female werewolf, and was married around 160 years ago. She is in good terms with my birth mother, but I remember she was quite upset for the first twenty years or so. Her son is Alex, and unlike his mother, he can transform into a wolf at will. Callista has a quiet and somewhat passive personality, but when it’s around the time the full moon comes up she becomes very violent, causing her to dwell in the dungeon voluntarily when it is near her transformation time. She likes to cook, and her dishes are delicious – although the main ingredients are nothing but meat.
Laine is my father’s first wife. I don’t know how old she is, frankly I’m too afraid to ask because if I do then she would probably whack me on the head real hard. However I know that she married my father around 3000 years ago. She is a fairy, and is very stuck-up and rude. According to Alex she was very angry when Father brought home Callista with him, and when Alex was born her rudeness just pierced the sky. She still did not bear a child back then, her stubbornness declaring that her blood was ‘too precious’ to share. But when Alex had his third birthday she gave up that thought, and had Xuhar, her daughter. That made her extremely angry, since she expected a son. What she didn’t expect was a third wife, and when the title Head Lady was stripped from her and was given to my mother she just became the very devil.
And I have a brother and a sister, who I very much love.
Alex is half-werewolf and half fire-god. He is the oldest of us three, and is quite hot-headed and rash in my opinion. I rarely see him in his wolf form, since he doesn’t like to transform and when he does he goes outside before anyone sees him. Callista says she wanted him to live a life that is as much as human as possible, so she gave him a common human name.
Xuhar is my sister and unlike her mother she is polite, but is just as independent and firm. She is also the smartest and the most beautiful. Sadly she’s not in good terms with Laine because she ‘doesn’t meet the expectations’ but I think that’s completely a ridiculous statement, since Xuhar has qualities that Laine will never manage to have.
We live in our manor, which is deep in the mountains. And here I am, heading to the dungeon with a plate piled with pork in my hand. I grabbed the torch to light the way and went down the stairs. I started to hear heavy breathing with a hint of pain mixed with it. As my footsteps continue down the spiral staircase, the breathing sounds become clearer and louder. Now I can hear a faint growl at the end of each breath.
I reach the bottom of the stairs, and I find myself staring at Callista, sitting on her knees, her back turned against me. Her silver hair is oily and frizzy due to the fact that she hasn’t taken a shower the past four days.
“Hey,” I said in a friendly manner.
She didn’t turn, but continued staring into blank space. She sniffed twice, and said, “Pork?” The single word had a hint of annoyance in it.
“I didn’t ask for it, Laine did,” I replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. ”why do you ask?”
“Because if Laine is giving me pork then that means she sees me as a wolf. However, wolves prefer hooved creatures when it comes to their diet.”
I frowned, unsure of what to say.
“Just put it there.” she said curtly.
I approached her slowly. ”I won’t say words like ‘I know how you feel,’ but I want you to know that I am and will always be here for you,” I said as I placed the plate next her on the cold stone floor. ”Tell me if you need anything, okay?”
She turned her head and looked up to face me. She opened her mouth to say something, but with a small tch she looked away, with a bitter expression on her face. Confused with such behavior, I cocked my head a little to the side.
“Are you all right?”
From Callista was a long exhale, and all I could do is stare at that helpless, drooped back of the silver-haired woman. My attempt on approaching to put a hand on her shoulder failed when Callista quickly turned and lunged herself at me.
I screamed, startled at the sudden action. My head came crashing down to the stone floor, and she lifted her foot and landed it on my chest. Crossing her arms, she looked down at me with eyes full of hatred. I was lying helpless, looking up with confusion and fear.
“Why do you have to be so human?”
