It all started when I lost my keys. I had to backtrack on my walking trail in the Center Moriches Trail on Long Island. Knowing my luck I had probably lost them when I was wading through the beach at the end of the trail.
I pushed forward shoving away the brush that came at me as my booted feet touched upon the dirt. I gritted my teeth as I came to despair knowing I was essentially looking for a needle in a haystack. I nearly tripped when a squirrel ran right past me and under my legs to another section of the trail. After gaining my balance back, I sighed, shook my head, and marched forward.
I came up to the end of the trail at the beach I was wading in earlier. I cursed myself for not being more careful about my keys. I stripped off my boots and socks and rolled up my pants legs. Then I began to wade through the water like I did earlier and stooped over to reach into the shallow depths. I ran my hands over the sand feeling for any out of place object. All I got was sand in my fingernails and the roughness of the sand and loose pebbles as I trailed my fingers over it. My finger caught into a key-chain. Pleased that I got the wanted result I pulled the key-chain out of the water only to discover it wasn’t my key chain at all. It was a key chain with an oddly shaped key. The key was no bigger than my thumb and it had a metallic frog head at the top. Curious, I shoved the key chain into my pockets and dug up the muddy dirt. Nothing else was present and I had succeeded in only becoming a mess. I stood back up and turned around.
That is when I saw her- a young woman that couldn’t be any older than twenty three. My heart pulsed. She was beautiful and so pristine. A glow surrounded her and her white dress shaped her curves nicely. My breath caught and then afterwards I breathed normal again. I walked over to the mystery woman since I didn’t view her as a threat. Perhaps I should have at the time.
“Hello,” she offered in greeting.
“Hello there,” I said back. “I’m Jackie and you are?”
The woman smiled a pure incandescent smile. She waved my question away as if it was of no importance. I stared.
“My name is of no importance but if you need to call me something you can call me Belle. That should be enough.” She answered softly.
I looked at her skeptically. I wondered if she escaped some psychiatric ward and if I should keep my guard. Only crazy people didn’t reveal who they were. Of course, we were both complete strangers and in a society where talking to strangers was frowned upon since childhood. I put my frustration aside.
“By any chance have you come across a set of keys?” I asked politely.
Belle stood there for a moment as if in thought. She had a finger tapping on her chin and her arm across her chest.
“I hate to say I haven’t,” she replied. “However, I can help you look?”
“That would be great.” I replied and walked away.
I continued my fruitless search in the water. I even scoured the ocean banks but to no avail. My keys were thoroughly and utterly lost. Belle came up to me then. She looked into my eyes. I felt a strange sense of peace for several seconds but then uneasiness swept through me.
“Yes?” I squeaked.
Belle chuckled softly but it was a mirthless laugh. I shuddered. Something in me wanted to run but I stayed where I was, transfixed by this beautiful and unknown woman.
“You may find the key you are holding to be of great use.” She suggested.
My eyes widened. How did she know what I found? Then I remembered I had seen her standing there at the end of the trail when I turned around. Perhaps she had seen me scoop them up.
“That key is useless.” I replied. “You can have it if you want. I just want to find the keys to my bike lock.”
Belle laughed again. I looked at her with a stupefied look. I pulled the key chain out of my pocket and handed it to her. She snatched the key chain from me and cackled. Fear spread across my face as Belle stabbed her own chest with the frog key. Blood didn’t spurt out of her chest though. Instead, enchanted ropes fell around her feet. She smiled once more and looked me up and down with a sizable gaze. I was frozen with fear.
Belle transformed right in front of me into an old man with a long gray beard and dark gray robes that were stained with dirt and possibly blood. The old man looked at me with cold gray eyes. I couldn’t even speak.
“Thank you, young lady.” The man said. “You have freed me and in return I shall reward you. You will be my apprentice from this day forth!”
“Wh-What happened to Belle?” I stammered albeit stupidly.
The old man laughed and held a sinister grin.
“She was my last apprentice and had tried to imprison me to make sure I couldn’t practice blood magic.” The man said and cackled.
My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe it.
“What have I done?” I asked in despair.
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