A Winter's Love In Murder Ch1

Late December, 1795

        "Requira, what do you think you're doing?!" Jason shouted through the forest.

        "Abandoning this cursed child, what would our families do if they found out about her?" she answered, while searching for a place to leave the child she held. She was seventeen, unmarried (though engaged) and had a child. Their families didn't know they were living together, the families assumed the two had gone missing, possibly killed by the horrors of the forest.

         "But, we could simply claim that we have been married longer than we have, so then they wont question the fact that we have a child, its that simple." Jason tried to calmly explain to her, "Anyway, my sister is waiting for you, she has the wedding dress almost finished. She wants to make sure it fits you, so go." he said, while taking the child from her arms.

        "Well, look in the mirror and tell me what you think!" Ami, Jason's older sister, yelled out in joy.
        "I love it! It fits perfectly, thank you!" Requira was nearly dancing in pure joy as she replied. The wedding dress clung to every curve flawlessly, swirling effortlessly as she twirled. "Should Jason see this? I'm sure he would love it."

        "Oh go show him, he'll see it at the wedding anyway." Ami encouraged, thrilled to see her future sister-in-law so happy, especially after how depressed having a child had made her.

        Once outside Requira ran to her future husband, "Love, look at this dress, its perfect!"

        "Yes, its stunning. Requira, go across the lake, I have a gift waiting for you by that stump." Jason said, without an ounce of pretending to be interested, and pointed across the frozen lake, they had made their home near, towards one fallen tree that had always looked out of place. They never had a way to know how much of the lake had actually frozen solidly, the snow always covered it.

        "Oh, what is it?" She looked puzzled, wondering what he was hiding.

        "Just go find it, you'll love it. Trust me, the ice is completely safe." Jason tried to assure her. Though his voice was betraying him.

         "Well, okay. The ice probably is solid, you would have had to cross the ice to put something there anyway. This better be good Jason." she agreed to cross, despite her fears. Reluctantly she walked out onto the lake. As she was walking she heard the faint crunch of snow under her bare feet. Many steps further across the, eye shaped, lake the sound of ice cracking reached her ears. "Jason, you said the ice was safe!" she shouted towards the shore.

         "So there may be a few cracks, you'll be fine love. Just keep going, the surprise is worth it." he shouted back at her.

         Barely convinced by her fiance's words she kept walking. The sound of ice cracking grew more frequent. As she went farther out she noticed the water coating the ice. After pausing and looking around, Requira realized that it was more dangerous to try and walk back, the opposite shore was closer than where her fiance waited. She sighed and took another step. With that step the ice gave way, sending her under the freezing waters. "Jason!" she screamed as she fell.

        Wickedly laughing before he spoke, "Frozen and thoughtless at last." was the last thing Requira heard as she went under.

         Once Requira hit the lake bottom her arm smashed on to the razor edge of one of the infinite stones that coated the lake bottom, slicing a deep gouge into her dying flesh. As her blood gushed into the water, shards of ice poured into her veins. As the ice mixed with her blood and the anger of her fiance's betrayal, somehow delaying her death. Her skin grew pale and cold, fingers turned to spirals of ice. Her eyes seemingly got replaced by shadows, a void where a spark of life should have been.

         The time Requira spent in the void between life, death, human, and creature was forever unknown, it was at least several months, possibly years. Eventually though she did emerge from the water. It was no longer winter when she walked onto the lake shore, but the ground under her turned into winter. Not realizing her transformation she walked to the cabin that she had shared with Jason. Once at the door she pushed it open, ready to take her child and flee him.

        "Who are you?!" Jason shouted at her, picking up his gun and pointing it at her. He looked at her as if she was a bear about to attack him.

        When she opened her mouth it revealed teeth that appeared to be a cross between a snake's fangs and the canines of a large cat'. "Its me, Requira. How could you not tell?" she pleaded, but her voice had turned into a low hiss, her words now difficult to understand.

        "What are you?!" Jason screamed, readjusting the grip he had on his gun. He was ready to try and kill the strange creature that had burst into his home. While he stood, ready to shoot, a woman walked into the room. Once she saw Requira she screamed and hid behind Jason. "Love, just stay behind me, this thing wont harm you." he commanded.

         Requira held her hands up in panic, staring at the gun barrel pointed at her. As she stared a layer of frost started to appear on the gun barrel, then spread across like a stain. The woman behind Jason screamed as she noticed the ice on the gun, and with that scream the barrel shattered into miniscule fragments of metal running through the air. Requira ran from the metal shards, fleeing the cabin. She kept running, finally stopping and turning to see the cabin across the lake.

        "I just ran across water, and my fiance tried to shoot me. What is going on?" she thought to herself. Looking into the water she saw her reflection, opening her mouth to examine her new teeth, and taking a moment to look at her new hands. "What did I become?" she whispered to the water, noticing her new voice as well. Requira closed her eyes and walked into the lake, allowing herself to sink and entered a coma-like sleep with the hope to never wake up. As she went into her coma the water around her froze, turning to a bubble shaped shield around her, slowly sinking to the bottom of the waters.

         Years later she woke, floating out of the icy shield she had hid in. Walking onto the shore, with the sound of snow crunching under her being the only clue towards a date, she turned to look into the water. Seeing that what she had seen the day Jason tried to shoot her wasn't a dream she let a shriek, that sounded like the cries of many pained animals at once, rush from her vocal cords, only emphasizing how human she no longer was.