The Sword

By Jim Smith

Her beauty was one for the ages. Her body was that of a goddess and she knew it. She captured my attention the moment I saw her walking through the countryside those many years ago. Over time, my love for her never waiver. I was eternally faithful, to a fault some would say. So what did I miss? What made her change? Was I that dull and lacking of life?

Our life was wonderful after getting married. We lived in a modest yet elegant castle at the base ofMourneMountains. The view from the windows was breathtaking looking out over the sea.  We were very social with the families across the fields and often gathered at each other’s estates for weekend get-togethers.

The woman I loved had changed; she thought for the better, I thought the worse. She began to delve into a world that was unfamiliar to me.  Her new world was one of sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy and black magic. How would it be possible to handle this change?

The journey into this new world for her started innocently enough. She began meeting with a group of friends periodically and seemed happy. But over time her demeanor changed. The once carefree and happy person I married slowly became withdrawn. She would no longer attend social gatherings of any kind, except for her meetings with this new group of friends. No matter how hard I tried to get her active, she became more and more withdrawn.

During this transformation our relationship became strained. Our friends had abandoned us and our families became less and less interested in us. But nothing seemed to faze her, her decent was unstoppable. As time wore on the woman I fell in love with became distant, mean, malicious and even scary. I began fearing what might happen to me but my attraction to her outweighed the fear I had.

Trying to understand this world I accompanied her to one of her gatherings. What I saw was frightening. The meeting was held in theNorthTowerof the castle where they were out of public view. It was an eclectic group; several of them were prominent people in the community. Scattered throughout the room were the signs of this transformation. Bottles containing powders and liquids that could only be interpreted as poisons, along with eerie looking symbols painted on the walls and floors. A book on a lectern contained words in strange tongues; however, the most disturbing of all was the sword she carried during the meeting.

This “cult” of group was taken aback by my presence at the meeting. I could sense they were afraid of my participation. They had not had an outsider in the group for a long period of time and outsiders threaten their existence.   As the meeting progressed it was obvious they worship or paid homage to another deity other than God most of us have come to know. Their God took the image of a fire breathing dragon that was shown to destroy anyone that didn’t believe.  Each member of this secret society had the image of this dragon inked in to their back. The artistry of the ink was beautiful, but it stood for evil.  After a short period of time I was asked to leave the gathering. I can only assume they discussed the real reason for the meeting after I left.

Upon making my way down the spiral staircase the descended from the tower I began to wonder. What was she reading or writing in the book she kept locked in her sanctuary? What magical spells and potions were being kept in the jars and vases? However, the thought that disturbed me most was that of the sword. Would she plunge the sword through my body while sleeping?

My mind ran rampant with these thoughts as I lie in bed that night with this beautiful, yet dark goddess lying beside me. I contemplated leaving but fear stopped me. Her beauty was mesmerizing and this had such control over my body. I thought how could one woman have such a grasp over another human being? What was I to do? Stay with her or leave and risk the chance of being devoured by this society of dragon worshipers. This was my existence. I knew a change had to be made. But could I make that change.

Finally after years of this torment the only option was to leave and start anew. I had the fears of being stalked by her and the other believers of this society. So the decision was made. One evening as we slept I left the castle, leaving all my worldly possessions behind and began the journey to a new life. I came to the conclusion one must be happy with who they are and not succumb to the threats and ways of others. I know it will take time for my fears to dissipate, but I am confident there is a better life waiting for me. I just need to pursue it with a passion exceeding the fears I have.