A Stranger

"Curse you... curse you all." A faint and broken voice could be heard from the limp body two men were dragging. "Shut it you bitch, haven't you learned your lesson?" One of them said, "Not that it matters, she doesn't have long anyway." Soon the gallows came into view as a noticeable crowd had gathered, all looking intensely. The two men handed off her body to the guard waiting for them, he grabbed her body and hauled it up onto the platform, letting everyone have a good look at what had become of her. She was stripped of all clothing, and her arms and legs were broken beyond repair. Her hands and feet were mere stumps while she had gashes and slices across her body. She was so badly mutilated that she would likely die in a day regardless.

Many of the spectators turned away from the sight, while others continued to watch with hatred. The one thing they had not taken from her however was her tongue, as they wished to hear her screams of agony. So she spoke with all the strength she had as the executioner began stringing her up. "I curse you all, I vow with my dying moments, you will all suffer just as I have. I will destroy you all and I will rip apart your world, this I swear upon the gods themselves." At this point everyone was watching her, the noose was around her neck, and the executioner was ready to drop her.

She slumped her neck and spat blood onto the ground in front of her. That’s when she noticed a man who was going unnoticed by anyone else. He was pale with an iron crown, a black veil beneath it. He wore black ceremonial armor with a red glow in the center of his chest. He gave her a cold smile with his golden yellow eyes and white hair. Time seemed to slow as the floor beneath her fell away as the man nodded and turned away just before she heard the snap and everything went dark.

The next moments felt like an eternity before she heard two voices. They were gods and they had come to give her another chance at life, as something more than human, something true. Then an angel appeared before her and offered her alternatives, which she accepted as a sign of her being chosen to fix this world she was being sent to by both sides. She would take these gifts given to her and change the world for the best. It would be a world without kings or nobles, without slums and orphans. Instead, it would be a world under one mind, hers. She would make all equal under her, for the greatest curse of mankind is freedom.

A moment later, she opens her eyes to see a stone ceiling with pillars rising to meet it. She can feel the cold stone against her entire backside. As she just looks at the ceiling, she can feel tears beginning to roll down her cheeks, "I'm... crying? This isn't a dream. I'm alive, I'm alive..." She raises her hands above her and sees two almost dark stone-colored hands, and yet when she rubbed them together, they were the smoothest her hands had ever been. She then put her hands down and pushed herself up off the ground. She fell onto her ass when she tried standing which allowed her to fully see her new body, at least most of it. Her entire body was the same color and smooth warm texture but there were spaces along her legs, arms, and torso which were glowing an almost golden glow. What's more, was... everything else. Her chest was massive compared to any she had seen before, ending in two dark rings, they were the most beautiful she had ever seen. She felt at her head and saw her neck-length white hair. When she moved her hand further, she felt horns that curled out of her head.

Looking down, she was able to see her legs had a second joint below her knees and hooved feet, much like a horse. Now understanding why she had difficulty standing, she sprang up to her feet again, this time being much easier. When she was finally standing, she could feel that she had a tail which she swept around to see it. Even more, she finally noticed her size. She stood at roughly 12 feet tall with her body in proportion to her height. She could also feel... many different things, things she could do but before she could learn more, she noticed a presence forming nearby and with a flash of light, someone was here.

"Great, now I have to take care of a mon-" The boy went silent as he saw the form standing before him. He quickly turned around looking down, his face now bright red, "Calm down Ariel, that's still a monster, not some cute girl..." but she could care less about his reaction, she was left staring at him in an almost trance like state. By the time Ariel had gathered his composure and turned back around, making sure to avoid looking anywhere below her face, she was still staring at him. "Uhh, a-are you gonna say anyth-" He silenced himself as he finally noticed tears streaking down her face. "A-a-alexander?" The smooth and beautiful voice was drenched in a mixture of sorrow, joy, and confusion. As she spoke, she stepped toward him and dropped to the ground to be level with him. She was now lying on her belly with her face and chest the only thing exposed to Ariel, causing his eyes to dart about, and eventually he just turned his head away. "I'm A-Ariel, y-your guardian a-a-angel." He stuttered, "I don't know who Alexander is, but he clearly must be important."

Just as Ariel turned to look at her again, he was only met by her two hands gingerly holding him from under his shoulders. "Hey, put me down, I-I-I..." She was now sitting with her legs crisscrossed, she pulled him to her face and before Ariel could speak again, she gave him a kiss on his forehead causing his heart to jump for a moment. "Maybe you aren't Alexander, maybe you only look like him... But if I made it here, I don't see why he couldn't have made it too in some way." She gently placed him back down before standing up. "Thank you, Ariel was it? I will forever appreciate your company."

Ariel was left speechless for a moment as he unknowingly just stared at her body before shaking himself back into reality. "Then what shall I call you? You're certainly nicer than I was expecting a... devil? No, you aren't exactly one of those. I'm sorry, now I'm just mumbling to myself." She soon found herself looking around the room for the first time, noticing it was quite a large chamber, even for her size. At one end was a grand door, though it looked nearly broken and off its hinges, on the other, a grand throne fit for her size. She began walking towards the throne and turned to sit as she answered, "I am Hecate and you are my family from here on, my dear Ariel."