Anathematized

                                                                     Chapter 1 - Changing

         Analisa held her breath, her lungs cinched up and begged for air.
         Escaping her prison cave through a flooded underground cavern, took her longer then expected. Her arms and legs betrayed her as she surfaced into a large river. She swam, coughing and gagging, struggling to get out of the water.
         Once on shore her feet became tangled as she approached the edge of the woods, catching herself before slamming into a tree. She shivered deciding between a caged life with eternal despair or freedom with pain.
         Water rippled down her legs and dripped from her shaking bare-foot hovering just before the twinkling shimmer of the Hidden Forest, a forest wrapped in the sparkle of a magical spell put there by Lyché, Analisa’s Grandfather and kept alive by her Mother Rosabell.
         Trees rustled in the wind with whispers of run, run, run. Analisa stamped her foot on the forest floor making the bubble flicker that marked the edge of the spell.
         Analisa’s chest heaved with sporadic breaths in the anticipation of the pain. The anathema would feel like ingesting glass; screams would pour from her lips as blood-curdling and as loud as a volcano’s eruption. Her change happened twice before in her life; once by accident when she turned ten moons, and the other when she tried to escape at sixteen moons. Analisa, now twenty moons, had to get away from her Mother. Who only wanted her to get to this place called Earth.
         Would her Mother or that Troll Jo hear her cries and come after her, like before? How could she do this without alerting anyone? Her Mother had cast a spell for her protection. However, protection from what? She knew nothing about the ways of the world. The spell had kept her behind the forest walls for as long as she could remember. Her Mother’s warnings rang in her ears: “The person responsible for killing your Father would kill you too if given the chance.”
         Analisa looked around and saw only the towering chocolate cherry trees, with their multiply branches reaching for her to stay. The wind whirled her white hair in her face restricting her view. The forest she knew, but her captive as well.
         Hastily, Analisa stripped her dress off. Before hanging the dress in a nearby tree branch she tore a large piece off the hem. The black and red dress waved in the breeze as if to say goodbye.
         She swallowed hard. Took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Stuffed the torn piece into her mouth and stepped through the bubble.
Enveloped in a cascade of bright shimmering lights, it was as if every sparkling star in the sky danced and radiated in front of her. The lights changed from blue to green to purple. She enjoyed the spectacular images and the tingling sensation that started in her toes, radiated up her legs, and into her stomach.
         Wishing the change would happen without the agony. But, it was not to be. The tingling turned to pain, ripping through her chest into her neck and head. The lights changed to red and then black. The darkness took over and obscured her senses. She dropped to the ground, writhing as the change overtook her. The breaking and rearranging of bones echoed in her inner ears as consciousness faded.
                                                                               ***
         She awoke, still in a dreamlike state. Her thoughts were those of a human, but her instincts were those of a predator. She gagged up the piece of dress. An overwhelming thirst drove her to seek water and her internal growl drove her to food.
         As a human Analisa ate no flesh, but as an animal her craving for fresh meat overwhelmed her. She looked behind her to where the dress hung, but only saw a mirrored reflection of blue piercing eyes and a large feline body covered in white fur. She had hoped she could leave without this curse. How could she avert her presence like this, or have a human life?
         Hadn’t she suffered long enough? Wasn’t the blood her Mother took be enough? Why her? What made her so special?
She sniffed the air, wrinkled her nose and opened her mouth. The breeze brought the sickly sweet scent of the chocolate cherry trees and the berry bushes surrounding the forest. Deer, rabbits, and other animals were familiar to her. She turned around and sniffed again, the wind brought the abhorrent smell of something or someone else. Something familiar, but not so frequent inhabited the forest. Then it came to her.
Humans.
         Humans!
         Humans were in the forest and the stench seemed to surround her. Fear tempted her to step back over the line. Panic froze her movement.
         Images of her Mother’s cruel punishment floated before her. The ritual of the skulls, the bloodletting, the cage for leaving. Everything reminded her why she couldn’t go back. She would never allow herself to be caged again.
         She sprang into the woods and darted behind bushes. Her thoughts were telling her to run. But where? Any hesitation could mean death.
         When she ran, her animal instincts hit her brain. The desire for flesh was strong, humans or animals it didn’t matter. They were all the same when dead. Food.
         Analisa shook her head to bring back her human thinking. She looked into the sky. The sun shone bright and strong. Analisa admired her white paws how they glittered, blinding her before she looked away.
         Her heart beat through her chest. Panting, drool dripped from her tongue. Analisa’s eyes darted to and fro. She scurried through the forest, her mind raced with thoughts of what the humans might do to her. Would they capture her for entertainment? Or kill her?
         Mother often talked about how cruel humans were. And how especially cruel they were to animals. Analisa had to remind herself, she was the animal now.
         She slid to a stopped. Two humans atop horses blocked her path, gazing into the mirrored forest. The breeze came from behind her, wafting her scent forward. The horses smelled her. They pranced, snorted and twisted their necks. The scent of fear radiated from their quivering bodies.
         Analisa’s animal lust to feed overtook her. Her human part reacted just in time before the humans could see her.
         She crouched as low as she could and disappeared into a large berry bush. The bush swayed with Analisa’s movements to settle. Once settled the humans were none the wiser of her presence.