Family Jewels

To say that Trina had enjoyed her European tour would have been an understatement. New people, new cities, new buildings, all new ... and Trina loved in it, absolutely revelled in it. When the somewhat mysterious young man tentatively approached her, she welcomed him. Another breath of fresh air after the stultifying atmosphere back home. One by one, her other travelling acquaintances left, to be replaced by fewer and fewer new ones. The only steadfast companion was Valarian.

Of course, he couldn't really be a count. He was far too timid for that. That was just a tale to impress her. Trina wasn't so easily impressed, though. Still he was a lot of fun and seemed to know quite a bit of the lands around Germany and Austria. It was an old stomping ground, he assured her.

Over the weeks, she found herself becoming fond of him and finally in love. He reciprocated but always seemed distant, somehow. Not that it wasn't fun. He was a marvellous companion and a good friend.

Ten weeks after they'd first met, he broached the topic of visiting his ancestral castle. Trina could have been pushed over with a feather. He really might be a count.

When they arrived at the castle, a real medieval monstrosity (a terror to heat, was his only comment) she began to believe his noble status. A fairy tale in modern times? Well Grace Kelly had managed it; so had Meghan Markle; maybe she could too. Over dinner, he began telling her about his family and their history. He laughingly told of a strange curse from the dark ages. Seems his family could never marry into nobility for fear of the curse of the wolf. Trina was fascinated. This kind of thing was sooooo exciting. Counts and kings, castles and palaces, curses and witches. Cool.

After dinner he led her into a distant corner of the central keep of the castle. There, using a key the size of a dinner plate, he unlocked a great vault. It was somewhat disappointing when he proceeded to open an inner door using a modern DNA lock. The Family Jewels, he announced quietly. And what jewels! Emeralds, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and dozens of other stones she couldn't identify. All set in gold, platinum and silver. It was a dazzling display. An unexpectedly beautiful emerald choker with a huge central emerald caught her attention. It sparkled like a malevolent constellation with a central huge star. Despite her mental imagery, it was beautiful and spectacular. Trina wanted to wear it, to show it off.

After several weeks of courtship, he finally popped the question. Although she'd expected a lavish wedding, she had been totally taken aback by the size, grandeur and pomp of the actual thing. Almost as good as Princess Diana's wedding. After an eight month honeymoon at a dozen resorts all over the world, they returned home.

The first order of business was to recode the DNA lock so she could open the vault, too. That night, he'd gone off to his room with a touch of flu. Trina contented herself with looking through that unbelievable gem collection. But always, her hand and eye returned to the emerald choker. Finally, Trina could resist it no longer and slipped it over her head and closed the clasps.

The other gems seemed to hold little interest for her now that she was wearing the choker, so she locked up the safe and explored the castle. The well-lit garden caused the stones to sparkle brilliantly. Trina had never seen anything so lovely. She continually made her way to water features to look at it more closely. As she did so, she noticed a large flaw in its central stone. It was strange, looking like some kind of dog or wolf. A bloodhound or German Shepherd, maybe? Even with the flaw, it was a beautiful piece. Clearly the best and brightest of the lot.

After several hours of exploring and running into staff (who assumed she was lost and kindly tried to direct her to her chambers), she finally began to feel a bit sleepy. She retired, reading only a few minutes to settle her nerves before falling into a deep, dream-filled sleep.

Everything seemed so alive the next morning. She could smell the delicious smells wafting up from the kitchen. The breeze held numerous small sounds of animals and birds she'd never noticed before. If this what a princess felt like, they ought to bottle it and sell it. It would make a fortune. She stretched, a long delicious stretch. And then she noticed it. Her hands weren't hands ... they were paws. A tickle at her back announced the presence of a long tail. She screamed ... and her unearthly howl brought everyone running. The curse was real and even Trina's noble great-great-grandfather had been enough to activate it. But not enough to complete it, no, not nearly complete it.

PS.  This is a slight rework of a story and image from the old site.

Woman: E Digital Fantasy
Dog: Maky Orel