The Story of Liu

[Liu]

Chapter One

Liu, sweetheart... Come here for a moment. Liu looked up from her drawing, turning her deep blue eyes to the beautiful face of her mother. Young, eleven year old Liu rose to her feet and went running to her mother, who scooped her up into her arms and held her closely. Her father rounded the corner, and even though he had a smile on his face, his eyes were sad. The young girl turned her wide eyes back to her mother, confusion beginning to wash over her face. Liu... Your Mother and I are going to be leaving, but we are going to leave you with a gift. Something that will help you when we are gone. Okay? her father explained, coming over and running his hand over the back of her head and down her mane of black hair. Liu stared wide-eyed at both of her parents, not understanding. I'm sorry we have to go, Liu, but you will be safe. We promise. her mother added, tears welling up in her eyes. That was when she set Liu on the ground. We love you so much, Liu. they both said before beginning a spell. Young Liu felt a warming sensation start in her heart, and spread through her veins like liquid fire. Her thoughts became jumbled and her head started pounding. Her nervous system suddenly lit up and she felt a new power, something incredibly different from what she was used to, rush through her. The hair on her skin stood on end, goosebumps raising on her flesh. Whatever her parents were doing was changing her, and she knew it. That was when everything went black, and Liu crumbled to the floor.

When Liu woke up, she was alone. It was dark out, and the only sound she could hear was the soft humming of creatures outside of the hut her parents had. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around. Mama? she called softly, her ocean eyes searching. Papa? she called after not getting a response. Fear tugged at the young girl's heart. Liu attempted getting to her feet to go search, but her body wouldn't allow her. She was still weak and disoriented from whatever her parents did to her. She stumbled backwards, toppling into the makeshift table they had, gripping the edge and holding herself up. Everything was spinning, and she felt like she had been drugged. Mama! she called out, louder this time. Her voice was shaking and she felt tears pool up in her eyes. Why did they leave her all alone? After letting her legs adjust to her weight, she pushed off the table and began searching the hut for her parents, repeatedly calling their names. Panic swelled inside of her, her heart racing. They were no where to be found. They were gone. Tears streamed down her rounded cheeks, her vision blurred by the pool of tears that were building. Liu collapsed on the floor of the hut, laying there helpless, alone, and confused.

After laying there for hours, sobbing and crying for her parents, Liu finally sat up. The tears would no longer fall, and they had dried up on her rosy cheeks. She looked outside, and saw that the sun was starting to fall over the horizon. A whole day had passed. Liu looked down at her stomach when it growled. She took a deep, shaky breath. Where was she going to find food? Fear began to creep back into the young girl's heart. How was she going to survive? Especially when it was dark out. Her parents had chosen to build a hut in part of the Southeast Asian jungle. At night, there were creatures out that would make a meal of a girl of Liu's stature. It was too dangerous for her to go search for fruits now. Darkness began to fall, and Liu crawled to the door. It was a Full Moon, and it was beginning to reach it's peak. Staring at the brilliance of it, Liu felt something stir deep within her. Another few moments passed, and then a horrible pain streaked through Liu's body. A shriek ripped through her throat as her body crumbled involuntarily. Everything hurt within her. Her bones, her muscles, her joints, nerves, everything. Even her skin felt like it was ripping. The screams never ceased, and the pain became more and more unbearable with each passing second. Except now, they began to snap and break, reshaping and moving. She could feel all of it. Her jaw expanding, her teeth lengthening, her spine stretching, her arms breaking, her hips molding, and her nails growing. Hours passed, and finally, Liu lay on the floor of the hut in the form of a black Leopard.

It took quite a few minutes for Liu to recover from what had just happened. She didn't move, nor did she try to. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. She had no clue what had just happened to her, but all that she was registering at the moment, was that she was hungry. She wanted food, and she could feel a new instinct kick in. Liu finally rose from the floor, and her eyes drifted downwards, and her eyes landed on two large, black paws. She turned, looking at the rest of her body. What had her parents done to her? That didn't matter right now. The hunger burning in her stomach was beginning to take over. That was all that was in her mind. Where she went to feed that hunger, was somewhere she'd suffer over for the rest of her life.

Liu wandered through the jungle, arriving on the outskirts of a small village. Her yellow eyes glowed, zeroing in on the closest hut. From where she stood, she could hear the multiple heart beats coming from within. The smell of sweat on their skin, and the flesh on their bones. The hunger roared through her, and she began to move. Her heavy paws were silent on the jungle floor as she maneuvered through trees just to stay out of sight. She came around the back of the hut, and she rounded the side. She could hear breathing now. It was slow, the type of breaths taken while sleeping. Liu did not hesitate. She entered the hut, and immediately took hold of the closest body, sinking her teeth into the throat, crushing the esophagus. The man began thrashing, and it was enough of a movement to wake the woman, who began shrieking. The sound of an infant screaming ripped through Liu's brain and it only fed her hunger more. The screams. The fear coming from the bodies. It only drove her. As the woman ran for the door with the child in her hands, Liu attacked her from the back, her jaws clamping around the back of her neck, crushing her spine and killing her instantly. She had no mercy for the infant either. People from the village began coming out of their huts one by one, and Liu continued the massacre. No one was safe. No child, no woman, no man. She was hungry, and she had no control. There was no one to stop her, and how could they? She destroyed like a plague. Silent, invisible, and lethal.

Morning came, and Liu laid naked and covered entirely in blood in the middle of the slaughter. When she came to, she rose to her feet, looking around her. Her entire body began shaking violently. What... What have I done? she could taste flesh and blood in her mouth, and she could feel her stomach convulsing. At the sight of the first body with gashes and claw marks upon it, she expelled her stomach contents. Liu fell into hysterics. Wails of horror and sadness left her body, and tears streamed her face. She couldn't believe what she had done to this village and to all of the innocent people around her. Liu sat in the middle of the slaughter for the longest time, unable to move; except rocking back and forth in a fetal position, unable to contain her sobs long enough to move.

When Liu could finally gather herself, she rose shakily to her feet, arms wrapped around her naked bodice. Her eyes scanned the area. Blood was everywhere, painting the ground a dark crimson red. She could feel dried blood on her face, arms, and underneath her finger nails. She needed clothes. Her tiny feet moved, stepping carefully over arms and legs that had been ripped from bodies. She ventured into one of the huts, hands shaking as she gathered a small tunic and a pair of small pants that looked like the had belonged to a boy her age. With fresh tears brewing in her eyes, she slid the garments on and made her way back out of the hut. She had to go get herself cleaned up. Liu knew that there was a small stream nearby, and that would be efficient enough to wash all of the blood from her skin. With one last look back at the massacre she had committed, Liu took a deep breath and disappeared into the trees.

[Liu]

Chapter Two

Many years passed, and Liu watched as the times changed. She watched as cities rose, and as cities fell. Her body changed, and she began to grow herself, but after she turned twenty-five; her body stopped changing. She was finally at her prime age, and that was how she stayed, even as another thirty years passed. Liu had finally braved entering some of the larger cities after nearly a thousand years had passed, and she was noticed automatically. A woman of such beauty at the period of history didn't stay under the radar for very long. Word of a mysterious woman of beauty with no husband rushed through the city, and finally reached the ears of The Emperor. He wanted to see this woman of beauty, so he had her found and brought in. Liu went willingly, not wanting to stir any trouble. Upon her arrival, she was changed out of her shabby garments and dressed in expensive gowns. Liu was in awe with the colors and the style, and it struck her fancy immediately. She had never experienced anything like it. One she was cleaned up and well-dressed, the servants took her to the dining hall, where the Emperor awaited her. He was entranced by her. She could sense it as soon as he laid eyes on her. His heart began racing and she could smell the sweat on his palms. What she wasn't prepared for was the affections he began to show her. Gifting her with jewels, garments, and other things. He even offered her a home at his Palace. Liu didn't have a place to stay, so she accepted his offer.

For almost two years Liu stayed, enduring the Emperor's attempts at drawing her attention from the friendship she refused to believe would be anything more. He finally had enough and asked for her hand in marriage. Liu was dumbfounded, and she declined his offer, doing her best to stay as polite and as kind as possible. It didn't do any good. She could smell the rage on him before he exploded. He backhanded her, lashing her head to the side and knocking her off of the chair she was seated on, and he leaped at her, attempting to yank at the bottom of her gown to has his way with her. That was when Liu began defending herself. She tried being gentle, but that wasn't working, so she showed him she was not a creature to be messed with. She headbutted him while he scrambled on top of her, and he was dazed, so she lashed at him and threw him off, running out of the room, and out of the Palace. She could hear orders being screamed and the sound of footsteps on the floor. He wanted her head, and he would stop at nothing to get it. So, Liu ran. She shifted immediately into her Leopard form and left, traveling Northwest to Russia.