Cursed love

Cursed love


Ethan was standing in front of the mirror, adding final touches to his costume. “Tonight, finally I can go out again!” He grinned to himself while adjusting his large, wide-brimmed hat. Tonight was Hallows Eve. A night with long traditions of dressing up in costumes to scare away evil spirits. Only recently these traditions had evolved into a game for children and Hallows Eve had been renamed Halloween. Children of any age would dress up in cute and slightly spooky costumes to “scare” the neighbors so they'd get some candy as reward. It was a game Ethan had enjoyed a lot and every Halloween he'd have a more or less self-made costume ready to go outside hunting for candy and easy targets to scare.

Sadly enough his mother had disagreed with him that Halloween was a game for kids of any age. As far as she was concerned, Halloween was too childish for a fifteen year old boy and so Ethan had been forced to remain inside on his favorite night of the year and watch others have fun outside. As true as it might be that Halloween was more frequently a game played by younger ones, usually accompanied by an adult to supervise them, Ethan felt that it was absolutely unfair to keep him locked in the house and forbid him from having fun outside. According to his mother, Ethan had to attend costume parties for kids “of his age” as she put it. At the age of sixteen Ethan had allowed some of his classmates to drag him to such a party. For a few brief moments it had actually looked like a nice place to spend the evening, but then Ethan had realized that the whole thing was actually an excuse for his fellow classmates to drink alcohol and get blackout drunk. He had left the party after only half an hour and had spent the rest of the evening outside, trying to have some fun with his usual Halloween practice of trick-or-treating from door to door. Sadly his mother hadn't been the only one thinking that Halloween was for younger children only and thus, after having been sent away or even scolded multiple times, he had given up and just walked home defeated. The next two years he had spent Halloween locked up in his room, doing everything possible to forget his misery...
However, today everything would be different! Half a year ago he had moved into his own apartment so his mother wouldn't be able to bother him at all. Also, due to the fact that he had spent the last two years of school in drama class as costume and make-up artist, he had managed to make himself look as if he was only fourteen years old instead of nineteen. His small build also helped with the fact of hiding his true age.

Ethan grinned at the mirror. Everything was perfect. He looked exactly like a fourteen year old version of Cedric Nightbane, a demon hunter from one of the older games of Thundertech Industries called “Shade Hunters”. The graphics and gameplay had actually been of mediocre quality, however character development and background lore had more than made up for that.

Ethan flicked the brim of his hat upwards, one of the many gestures Cedric used during the game, and made his way to the door. After making sure that the stairway way empty, he quietly snuck onto the streets. While he might live in his own apartment, he didn't really like his neighbors that much and wanted to avoid any unnecessary confrontations. Also it just felt amazing to him to dash from shadow to shadow, just like Cedric would do when closing in on his prey. Once Ethan reached the front door and exited the building, he took a deep breath and a wide, somewhat stupid grin formed on his face. “Finally, after all those years...” He checked again that he had enough storage space for all the candy he planned to get tonight and turned left towards the smaller, more quiet roads. The main road of the small town had always been off limits to him. Too much annoying competition and small brats with their supervisors.

***

“Ruuunn!”

“She's a monster!”

“Mooooommyyy!!”

Ethan looked surprised at the small band of children that charged past him, their faces all wet by tears. When he looked back forward, into the direction they had come from, he noticed a single figure standing outside of the brighter circles of light thrown by the lanterns. In her hands she was holding three moderately sized bags filled with sweet booty. As he drew closer to confront her about what she had done, he noticed that she seemed to be dressed as a succubus with red and purple wings and skin. Her hair was styled loosely and hung over her shoulders. Ethan was almost one hundred percent sure that she wore a wig. Either that or she was only visiting. He knew there was no girl in the village that had waist long, bright pink hair. Her left hand was wrapped up in a glove that almost covered her entire arm and made it look like her hand had corrupted into a purple-blackish claw. A three foot long, heart-tipped tail was swinging softly behind her and he wondered briefly how she made it look so real. Ethan grinned and checked his sword in his scabbard. “This will prove to be an interesting encounter.”

Caroline laughed as the three kids fled, leaving their hard acquired booty behind. She delved through one of the bags with her uncorrupted, right hand and quickly unwrapped any caramel candy she could find. Just before she was able to eat the first of many sweet treasures, she heard someone call out: “Halt there immediately, creature of darkness! Thy do not belong into this world!” She looked around and spotted a boy wearing a wide brimmed hat and an idiotic cape, raising his sword at her. “I shall vanquish you, foul creature!”

A vile grin settled on Caroline's face, quite matching for her outfit. “And why would that be, Nightbane?” She asked mockingly. “As far as I can see you are alone. Do you really believe your puny stick will be enough to defeat me?” To emphasize her words, she spread her wings outwards and activated her powers to create a small burning orb in her left hand.

'Damn... that girl is good.' Ethan thought. 'How the hell did she do that? I have to know...!'

“Well, Nightbane, what is it?” Caroline taunted. With a flick of her wrist, she uncurled a long, thorny whip from her right arm. “Let us duel! If you win I'll owe you a little favor. If I win... you will tell me what an almost nineteen year old boy is doing out on the streets on Hallows Eve pretending to be barely fourteen.”

Below his hat Ethan started sweating heavily. 'H-how... how does she know...?'

“Or are you too chicken to fight me?” Caroline kept taunting. “What's with all she brave talk about vanquishing me?”

Ethan gritted his teeth and took a step forward. “Cedric Nightbane fears no one, demon!” He managed to keep his doubts out of his voice so it wouldn't start shacking. 'Just stay in character, don't dare to drop out!'

Caroline's grin grew wider and she stepped forward as well, leaving het stolen loot behind on the ground. “So you say, Nightbane.” She took a deep breath and flicked her whip back and forth a bit. “But even from here I can smell your fear.” She took another step, causing Ethan to raise his sword a bit higher. “Let's end this.” With a mad grin on her face she charged forward.

For a split second Ethan was too surprised to react and when he did, everything was over already. The succubus' whip had wrapped around his sword and yanked it from his grasp. At the same time she had ran past him and kicked out his legs with a wide sweep, causing him to drop painfully onto his behind.

“Well, seems you really are only an airheaded showoff, Nightbane.” She chuckled and walked back to help him back onto his feet, her whip secured tightly around her arm once more.
“Th-thank you...” Ethan muttered.

Caroline raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to him. So close that he could smell her skin and... brimstone...? “Don't thank me yet, mortal. After all you still owe me some answers.” Her lips twitched and revealed two quite large fangs.

Struck by horror Ethan stumbled backwards until he painfully realized that he was standing with his back against a wall. Immediately the girl reacted and followed up, again positioning herself very close to him. When she grinned this time, he realized that she was actually only wearing fake teeth and that she smelled more like sweat and roses than brimstone.

“What's the matter, big boy?” She asked innocently. “Scared by a pair of cheap corner store fangs? I thought you were the brave Cedric Nightbane.” She chuckled and inched even closer to him.

Ethan started sweating even more. He had never been this close to a girl. Even less a girl that seemed to be interested in him? It was confusing. Really, really confusing.

“Well, am I going to get my answer anytime soon?”

“Wha-what answer?” Ethan tried to stall her.

Caroline grinned devilish and literally pinned him to the wall. One hand was positioned left of him against the bricks and one on the right. Additionally she leaned forward a lot, causing Ethan to get quite a good view into her cleavage, which caused him to blush extremely. “The answer to why an almost nineteen year old boy is cosplaying as fourteen years old.”

“E-eh...” Ethan stuttered and gulped heavily when Caroline adjusted her tiny top, she didn't wear a bra underneath it, to give him an even better view. “I...”

“Well...? Am I going to get my answer tonight or do I have to get even more persuasive?” She sounded somewhat annoyed, which made Ethan feel incredibly uncomfortable. He gulped again when she pressed her upper body against his, causing her breasts to almost escape her top. “Oh whatever, who cares. In fact I can see that you are quite distracted with something else.” She grinned and moved her head forward, forcing him to readjust his view from her cleavage to her eyes.

His whole forehead was glistening with sweat. “Err... I c-can exp-plain... I wasn't-”
“Oh I rather think you were.” Caroline teased him.

Ethan blushed heavily and tried to avert his gaze, however Caroline had pretty much snared him in place. Her red eyes, most likely contacts, seemed so enthralling to him that he just couldn't break free.

“I know exactly what you were thinking.” Caroline whispered and moved closer until only half an inch separated the two. “If you want I will be all yours, you just have to say-”

“Excuse me?” A female voice sounded from behind, causing Ethan to flinch heavily and Caroline to free him and whirl around in an instant.

“Yes?” She asked and innocently fluttered her eyelashes. “What seems to be the problem?”

An older woman, somewhere in her mid-forties, was standing in front of them. She wore a large fur jacket that had probably been fashionable two decades ago. It was accompanied by similar boots of a dark brown color and a long black scarf that made her look a lot like Ethans grandmother. On her face she had strapped a cheap hooked nose from the next corner shop. She also wore one of those iconic black crooked witch hats, probably acquired at the same store. All in all she looked like a miserable old hag that could not await the moment that she, and the three kids peeking out from behind her, could leave the streets and she could go back to finishing that open bottle of wine or something the like.

“What seems to be the problem?” The old hag asked angrily. “Well, for starters the fact that someone stole my little angel's candy.” She indicated one of the kids, who glared accusingly at the succubus.

“Oh my!” Caroline exclaimed surprised. “Who would do such a thing?” She seemed legitimately shocked, though Ethan knew that she was merely putting on an act.

The woman seemed to be taken aback for a moment. She had probably thought that the girl would confess immediately, Ethan guessed. “Well, as a matter of fact I've been told that it was you, young Lady.”

“Me?” Caroline shouted and sounded honestly insulted. “I would never do such a vile thing.” Again she fluttered her eyelashes and for a few brief moments seemed to be more of an angel than a creature of darkness.

“The bags of my angel and his friends tell a different story.” The woman angrily crossed her arms.
Caroline turned around and looked at the three bags standing on the ground next to one of the lanterns. “Oh those.” She said and smiled apologetically. “I never intended to take those. I apologize for scaring your... angel. I just like to make my costumes as real as possible, though I might have overdone it a bit this time. Your angel and his friends dropped their bags while running away. I honestly didn't think I could produce such a panicked reaction. After all they are already almost grown up and I couldn't see any supervisor nearby, so I assumed it would be no problem to scare them a bit.” For the third time she fluttered her eyelashes, though at the same time her gaze was hard and piercing. The woman was about to reply something nasty Ethan realized, but the  stopped again. After all, she did neglect her supervising duties towards the three kids.

Suddenly she nodded and smiled apologetically towards Caroline. “I see. I apologize for accusing you, you know how kids are sometimes, always exaggerating.” She laughed awkwardly and gestured for the kids to grab their bags. “Get them. We're going home.”

“But mu-um-” The kid referred to as “my angel” protested.

Ethan was quite surprised about her sudden mood swing. For a moment she had looked as if she was about to berate Caroline about her bold speech, however all of the sudden she seemed to agree with the girl. He tried to protest, that Caroline did scare those kids on purpose and indeed had intended to steal their candy, however... not a single sound came over his lips...

“No but, Roger. We've been out for long enough now. We're going home. And that's final.” The woman snapped unfriendly.

Grumbling to themselves and taking a huge detour around the sugar sweet smiling succubus, the three kids gathered their bags and walked off with the woman. Caroline waved after them and called out: “Sorry again for disturbing you two love birdies.” Then she was gone.

Caroline waved after them and innocently unwrapped one of the caramel candies she had taken out of the kids’ bags. For a few brief moments she savored its taste, before whirling around to Ethan once more. “Alright, where did we leave off?” Upon seeing that Ethan was struggling to talk, she grinned broadly and snapped her fingers at him, whereupon he momentarily felt an icy shockwave, which left him coughing and gasping for air.

“Wha-what th-the hell...?” He whispered, slightly scared.

“Well, I couldn't allow you to ruin my spell with the truth, so I momentarily took your ability to talk. It's really no big deal to be honest. You might feel a bit sore down your throat for a while, but it's nothing that will last.” She winked innocently at him. “After all, as my boyfriend you are supposed to cover, not betray me.”

“B-b-boyfriend...?” Ethan stuttered with utter disbelieve.

“Yep!” Caroline grinned broadly, grabbed his hand and began dragging him down the road toward the large mansion situated on top of the hill overlooking the village. “I just decided that.”
Despite her being half a head smaller than Ethan, he was unable to free himself from her grasp and could only stagger after her.

***

“Hey girls, I'm back!” Carolina screamed at the top of her lungs after bashing open the door to the mansion. She dragged Ethan through the opening and slammed it shut again with her tail.

<No shit, Sherlock, we noticed.> An ethereal voice floated through the hallway. <It's in fact impossible to not notice your arrival, sis. You should really try to be a bit more subtle about coming home.> A white, glowing orb manifested in the air before the succubus. After a few swirls around its center axis, it grew and formed the ghostly silhouette of a young woman. Angrily she crossed her arms. <I just managed to finally get some rest after our Lady's demands and then you had to ruin it! In fact that reminds me... WHERE THE GODAMN HELL WHERE YOU TONIGHT?!?> Her last words were shouted with such force that Ethan lost his footing and was thrown over backwards by it.

“Err...” Caroline started. “You know it's Halloween and I...” She trailed off upon noticing that the ghostly woman had lost interest in her and instead floated around her to take a look at Ethan.

<EEK!> She screamed and whirled around to Caroline. <YOU!! HOW DARE YOU?! WHAT BY ALL DEMONS OF HELL ARE YOU THINKING ON THAT IDIOTIC LITTLE BRAIN OF YOURS?!?> With a loud crack two light bulbs and a window shattered. Sparks were twirling down the room, causing the already scared shitless boy to flinch as a few dropped onto his arm. <WELL? SPEAK UP! HOW DARE YOU BRING A HUMAN INTO THESE HALLS?! A MERE HUMAN!> The ghost advanced on the succubus and poked her deep in her chest.

“Errr...” Caroline stuttered. “I...”

“What is the meaning of this noise?” A soft voice rang through the air, causing both the succubus and the ghostly lady to flinch heavily. In an instant they stopped arguing and whirled toward the large staircase directly across the hallway.

“Ap-pologies-” <-milady...> both of them whispered while curtsying deeply.

A woman had appeared at the top of the stairs, clad all in black. Her sleeveless dress seemed to flow down her body and played around her feet as if it was made from water. It was slit at the sides until slightly higher than her knees to allow for easy movement, for the most part however, it clutched tight against her skin and pronounced even the slightest curve her body could offer. Her hands and actually entire arms were covered in silken gloves, while her feet sat in black gleaming three-inch heels. Below the dress she wore thin silver stockings that reached about as far as the dress was slit. The woman brushed back her copper-colored hair and slowly descended down the stairs. “I thought I had been clear about disturbing me tonight.” She softly scolded the succubus and the ghost.

None of them replied, instead they crouched slightly lower and tried to avoid the black lady's gaze. She sighed and shook her head. “Nothing changed I see...” After one last glance at the two cowering beings, the lady averted her gaze from them and focused on Ethan. “And you are?” She asked not quite unfriendly.

“E-err... I...” Ethan stuttered, unable to build a single correct sentence.

The woman smiled. “I see, this must be quite confusing for you.” She turned around and walked back towards the stairs. “Come, I'll invite you to dine with us tonight. You don't need to fear my two friends. They might look a bit unusual, though I can guarantee that none of them will hurt you.”
Guided by Caroline, Ethan followed the lady upstairs, for the first time in his life wishing that he would've stayed at home during Halloween. At the same time he was curious about what would happen next. Thus, with mixed feelings, he climbed the stairs towards the dining room.

***

“Well?” The lady, her name was Nina, Ethan learned, asked with a soft voice. “How was it?”

“It was actually one of the best meals I have eaten in a long time.” Ethan replied.

Nina smiled. “Would you like to have some more cake?”

Ethan rubbed his full belly and burped softly. “N-no thank you, milady. As good as it was, I doubt I'd be able to eat one more bite without blowing up.”

Nina laughed softly. “Oh please, just because the other two are always curtsying and overly polite, you don't need to copy them. In fact it's quite annoying.” She shot both of the other women an annoyed glare.

<B-but milady...> Stephanie, the ghost, stuttered. <You... you're a-> Caroline kicked her under the table. <OUCH!> She exclaimed and glared at the succubus, who angrily hissed something Ethan could not quite understand, before shooting a meaningful glare in his direction.

<Oh, and now you're regretting brining that mortal along, just like always you little->

“Girls!” Nina said, raising her voice a tiny bit above normal level. Then she turned to Ethan. “Apologies for those two. They're always bickering about this or that, it' pure bad luck that you're targeted at the moment. What Stephanie wanted to say is: I'm a witch Ethan.”

The boy merely stared, unable to comprehend her statement.

Nina didn't seem bothered by that and simply went on. “Me and my two friends had an accident on exactly this night several years ago. In fact we've been targeted by the prank of an old witch that lived in this house before us. She gave us some magical candy that lead to each of us transforming into our respective costumes. Conveniently enough I had dressed up as a witch, so I could undo the curse after some training under the old witch.” She shrugged with a sad smile. “However every new moon and Hallows eve the curse grows too strong and I can't hold its effects back anymore. Thus both my friends transform once more just like back then. I've given up on searching for a cure long ago, since it's far above my powers to fully break it.”

“We told you already, milady, it's not your fault.” Caroline said.

Stephanie nodded. <You've tried everything. We were the ones that wanted to knock at this mansion. None of us is blaming you...>

Nina sighed. “I know... I know. I just feel so helpless sometimes.” She shook her head and fixed her gaze on Ethan once more. “Apologies for my rambling. I didn't mean to... anyway, as matters are now...” She shook her head and rose from her chair. “Walk a bit with me, Ethan. You two others can clean up a bit.”

Caroline and Stephanie nodded and began to collect used plates, cutlery and other things to carry them to the kitchen. As Caroline passed Ethan, she softly nudged him with her tail. “Go.” She whispered.

Nina smiled and beckoned him forward. “Come, I won't bite you.” Ethan did as he was told and followed the witch out into the garden.

“Say, Ethan.” Nina started after having led Ethan away from the house. “How do you feel about Caroline?”

“Wha-what...?” He stuttered.

“Please be honest with me. I won't tell anyone.”

“I... I'm not sure...” Ethan began. “When I met her in the village...” He halted midsentence and stared out into the night.

Nina smiled softly. “You mean before you learned her secret?”

He nodded shyly.

“I see... sadly that's how everyone reacted so far. She might not seem like it, because she tries to hide it behind false confidence, but in fact she's very, very lonely. Yet every time she tried to find a friend other than me or Stephanie, it only holds until next new moon. As soon as they learn her secret, and they always do, since she's incapable of lying, they turn their backs to her. You can't imagine how many memories I had to alter to conserve our secret. And every time it happens again she's left even more depressed than before. By now it has reached the point where I'm thinking about denying her to talk with humans outside of this mansion. I'm barely strong enough to wipe someone’s mind and it always leaves me sickly in bed for several weeks. It might sound selfish, and in fact it is. But if I have to keep wiping people's minds so they will forget what happened to Caroline, sooner or later my body will simply combust and no one will be left to protect my friends... I just want them to be able to live a normal life for as much as possible.” She broke down on a small stone bench. “I just feel so useless... I'm a witch and should be able to undo these things, yet I'm simply and utterly powerless to fix this problem...”

Ethan sat down next to her, unsure what to say to comfort her. He'd never been good at comforting people, even less people he only knew for a few hours.

“Say Ethan...” Nina asked weakly. “Why didn't you try to leave yet?”

“E-eh? I... I don't know...” He whispered. “It's weir knowing what you told me now... but...” He blushed heavily. “I feel weird when thinking about her... all... all warm inside...”

“I see...” The witch smiled softly. “Did you know that you are in fact the first person she ever brought up here? Usually she has a small apartment in the city for this.”

“Why me...?” Ethan asked. “She basically assaulted me down there.”

Nina snickered and looked at the stars. “Caroline is a bit weird during her phases. She's a succubus after all. And as far as I know she even touched you with her magic. That's also a first.”

They sat quietly for several minutes and watched the flickering jack-o'-lanterns in the village. Once or twice a late car drove out onto the road. A few bats were dashing through the air around them. “Ethan?” Nina finally broke the silence. “Can I ask you something very personal?”

“Hmm...?”

“Are you happy with your life as it is?”

The question hung in the air for quite some time. “I...” He finally began, as Nina was just about to apologize. “I thought I was... I'm not sure now...”

When he fell silent, Nina decided against continuing to ask. She briefly brushed against him with her magic to find out about his feelings. To her satisfaction she saw that he had no intention of leaving or running away and that he had had told her nothing but the truth.

***

Later that night all four sat in front of a rather large TV and were watching some old horror movie. Personally Ethan never watched this genre, but of course Halloween was an entirely different story, sort of... Usually he refrained from watching horror movies, because he got rather easily scared by them.

During the first half of the movie, Ethan had managed to remain more or less calm, however, at one point the scares got too much for him. Thus, when the black shadow dropped in front of the only exit out of the small cottage the main characters were hiding in, he simply snapped and screamed just like the characters in the movie. After the scream followed an awkward silence, only interrupted by the sounds of the TV. Ethan blushed heavily and wished that the ground would simply open up and swallow him whole.

Suddenly Caroline, seated next to him, started to giggle and wrapped her tail around his waist. “Daww, did the brave Cedric Nightbane get scared by a little shadow?” She pulled him close and put her arm around his shoulders. “Don't worry, my brave hunter, I'll make sure to protect you.”
Ethan tried to break free and play it cool, though he gave up struggling very quickly. Partially because the succubus was simply too strong and partially, because he felt happy and safe in her arms.

“Is it safe enough to continue the movie? Or would you rather prefer the first season of My Little Pony?” Nina inquired jokingly, causing Ethan to blush deeply and Caroline and Stephanie ti giggle.
“No, no! That j-just surprised m-m-me!” He tried to talk himself out of it, but of course everyone could notice the shacking in his voice. However they were also mature enough not to comment on it. Only Caroline squeezed him tightly once to let him know that everything was alright.

As the movie continued, Ethan found himself often simply focusing on Caroline's soft breathing and warm body, instead of said movie. The way she had pulled him close, it was very easy to just cuddle against her chest and ignore everything else. It was the first time Ethan had been in this position with a girl for longer than the small second a hug takes. Even so he had had very little physical contact with girls and, being this close to her chest, he couldn't help himself and just had to touch her boobs. He did it very sneakily of course and first barely brushed against it. Then he waited to see if there was any reaction at all. To his delight there was none, not even after several minutes, and thus he tried again. This time exerting just a little more pressure to-

“And what exactly are you doing there?” Caroline snapped, as her tail wrapped around his arm. “Did you really think I wouldn't notice?”

In an instant Ethan sat bolt upright and, stuttering, tried to defend himself: “I... I d-didn't... i-it was an accident!”

“The first time maybe.” Caroline commented sharply. “The second time surely not!”

“I...” Ethan tried to apologize, however Caroline ignored him and turned away. She even removed her tail from his arm.

“You're no better than the others.” She mumbled angrily. “Just go already.”

Her words pierced right through Ethan's heart. “No! I'm not like them! I'm different! I love you!” He wanted to shout. Wanted to tell her how he truly felt on the inside... yet no sound left his lips. It took him some seconds to realize that again Caroline had cursed him with silence.

“Just go... I don't want to hear any excuses anymore... I'm tired of them...” She stepped even further away from him.

Ethan helplessly clenched his fists. 'No...' He thought. 'Not like this... I don't want this to end here. No... I won't let this end here!' A jolt of energy surged through him, fueled by a mixture of anger, regret and simple, pure hearted love for the succubus. He took a deep breath to gather his courage and then stepped forward quickly, until he was standing right behind the girl. Before she could react, he reached out and hugged her from behind.

“Get lost you-” Caroline snarled angrily, however he interrupted her.

“I'm sorry...” he whispered, causing the succubus to freeze instantly. “I didn't mean it that way. It's just... I've never been that close to a girl. My curiosity just got the better of me...”

Stephanie floated down to Nina. <Did he... did he really just break her curse?> She asked in a whisper.

Nina nodded with a smile. “That's the power of love, my dear.”

Slowly Caroline turned back to Ethan. “You...”

Ethan raised his hand and shushed her with his index finger. “I love you, Caroline. More than anything else in this world. I don't want to lose you.” He pulled her a little closer. “I don't want to go back to being alone again...”

Only mere inches separated the two now and Ethan slowly leaned forward. “I love you as you are.” He whispered softly. A moment later their lips connected.

<H-hey!> Stephanie protested and wanted to float over to separate them again, however Nina's magic held her back.

“It's what they both want. Don't you dare to interfere.” She glanced over at the young couple and smiled.

What had started out as a soft and curious touch of their lips had grown into a fully-fledged kiss as Caroline wrapped her tail around Ethan's back to pull him even closer.

It took them quite a bit to finally part again. Slowly Caroline released Ethan from her tail. “Why...?” She asked softly, obviously confused that Ethan was so different from any other person she had encountered before.

The boy merely smiled and was about to reply, when suddenly a jolt of energy surged through his body, leaving him staggering and eventually crashing forward towards the ground.

“ETHAN!” Caroline screamed and jumped forward, catching him with arms and tail alike. Slowly she lowered him to the ground.

“I...” he croaked out, but was interrupted by another jolt surging through his body.

“Ethan! T-talk to me!” Caroline shook him violently. “What's going on?!”

“It's the curse...” Nina whispered softly, causing both Caroline and Stephanie to whirl around and stare at her.

“Wh-” <-at?> They called out simultaneously.

Nina refrained from answering for the time being and instead indicated Ethan.

The boy was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Sweat had gathered all over his body due to the heavy spasms induced by whatever had been causing this. Caroline looked at him with pure sympathy and crouched down, wanting to brush some hair out of his face. Then she noticed something strange. Below Ethan's hair, right on top of his head, she noticed two bulges below his skin. As she examined them, the succubus noticed how they seemed to grow, seemed to push out of his head. After only a few seconds his skin split, revealing two black, slightly spiraled horns. “Wha...” Caroline mumbled.

<A t-tail...?> Stephanie whispered confused.

“It's exactly like what happened to Caroline.” Nina mumbled. “He's becoming a demon.”

Silence fell over the group as they watched Ethan transform. A long, crimson-purple tail with a sharp hook as tip grew out from his spine. Slowly his skin turned the same, maybe a slightly lighter shade of crimson. A ripple ran through his body, increasing his height by several inches and almost doubling the size of his upper body muscles. A single drop of blood dripped from his lips when one of his canine like fangs pierced into it.

While Stefanie and Nina were still watching with horror in their expressions, Caroline showed an admiring expression for the ongoing changes. Soon Ethan's already strained shirt ripped completely as two giant, crimson and black wings tore through the fabric. Caroline let out an involuntary moan of admiration and desire, however beside Nina, who flashed her a sad, yet knowing smile, no one noticed.

“Man...” Ethan grumbled, his voice sounding deeper and more powerful than before. “My head hurts... what hap- mphf!”

He was completely cut off by Caroline that had jumped forward to lock her lips onto his. Only several seconds later,  she let him go again and shyly retreated a few steps. “Sorry...” She mumbled, her face flushing heavily.

<Caro, what the hell?> Nina exclaimed, yet neither of the two demons reacted to her. Instead Ethan stepped forward to embrace Caroline, before locking his lips onto hers.

<Could someone explain to me what the hell is going ACK!>

Nina had grabbed the ghost with her magic and dragged her out of the room. “Quiet.” She shushed her. “Let them have this to themselves!”

When the door fell shut neither of the two demons noticed. They were way too busy with other things.

***

“I'm s-so sorry...” Caroline mumbled for the hundredth time in a row. “I didn't know...”

Ethan sighed softly and pulled her a bit closer with his newly grown tail. “I told you I don't mind.” He said. “At least this way you are not alone anymore.” He smiled softly.

“B-but...” Caroline tried to protest.

“No but.” He cut her off, slightly annoyed. “It's only every new moon and on Hallows Eve, correct?”
The girls nodded. “Then I don't see the problem. Becoming this about thirteen nights a year seems like a small price to be with you, my love.” Softly the two demons kissed, causing Stephanie to groan.

<Get a room for yourselves!> She grumbled.

“We already did.” Caroline grinned, slowly snapping out of her despair. “Or what did you think we did the last hours?” Instantly Stephanie flushed deeply, which was such a weird sight for anyone else that they all burst into laughter.

<Meanies...> ^</i>The ghost grumbled, but soon joined in as well.

“I'm glad you two have everything sorted out.” Nina smiled. “Now there's only one question I have to ask: Ethan, do you wish to move in with us?”

Surprised his head shot up. “You would... “

“The mansion is big enough for about a hundred people. I don't think it will be a bother if four instead of three people live here. And you'll probably share a room with Caro anyway.”

Ethan smiled happily. “Then, yes, I would gladly move in with you.”

Nina nodded. “Caroline and Stephanie will help you with moving your stuff once their, and your, transformations have worn off.”

<Speaking of that.> Stephanie started. <The sun's coming up soon.>

“The sun?” Ethan inquired somewhat confused.

“Yep.” Caroline confirmed. “Our transformations are set off with sunset and end again with sunrise. Something about how the night and the moon amplify magic powers or so. I never really bothered with it.”

<You should though. After all your life is influenced greatly by it. And now you even transferred the curse on!>

“Come on, it was an accident!”

Nina sighed and apologetically smiled at Ethan. “Better get used to that. There hasn't been a single day those two didn't argue over whatsoever.” She rose from her chair and walked to the terrace door, beckoning Ethan and the girls to follow her.

Once outside Ethan immediately felt a tingling on his skin. “You've noticed it, didn't you?” Caroline asked softly. “It's the first rays of the sun burning away the magic of the transformation.” She wrapped her tail around his and hugged against him. A few moments later they heard a shriek of surprise from Stephanie, followed by a giggle from Nina.

<I'll never get used to this...> The ghost grumbled as she slowly descended to the ground. At the same time, much to Ethan's shock, her long hair retreated backwards, until it was cut quite short on her head. Her chest had also flattened out, as well as the rest of her figure. She hadn't really had that much curves before, but now absolutely nothing was left. “Man, I'm glad to have my body back.” He said in a rather deep voice.

“Wha-what...?” Ethan asked absolutely confused. A soft moan from the left distracted him again and he looked over to Caroline...

...only to have his jaw hit the floor in shock.

Caroline had changed drastically: Of course her skin had changed back to human skin-color, which was the most obvious change at first glance. Her hair had become of a muddy brown color instead of pink, but had also grown quite short and barely reached her neck now. Her tail and the small batlike wings on her back had gone as well, just like her hand was free from corruption.

However, none of these changes were the cause for Ethan's reaction. No, what shocked him was the fact that Caroline was not a she anymore. Similar to Stephanie he had lost her curves and had grown for several inches. There was even a slight stubble growing on his chin. He coughed a few times, before stretching himself and accidentally ripping Caroline's top. “Ups... should have changed clothes.”

“B-b-but...” Ethan stuttered, only to feel a sudden shock rushing through his system, somewhat similar to earlier when he had become a demon. His legs started to shiver and soon gave way, causing him to break to his knees. Shifting forces surged over his body and drained his muscles away. Within seconds he had reached the same build he had had before the change. However the shaping forces weren’t stopping there. Instead they kept going for a little longer, leaving him smaller and frailer than he had been before. Je felt tickling against the back of his neck as his hair grew to about shoulder length. Its muddy color lightened a bit and gained a slightly copper touch. He squinted his eyes softly as his vision began to blur. After a few seconds the blur partially faded again, leaving his eyes bright blue instead of brown. Still, his sight was left blurry and unclear. A soft weight appeared on his nose, which had slimmed down a bit as well, and allowed him to see clearly again.

“G-glasses...?” He mumbled confused. “Wait... my... my voice...” Ethan's voice had grown lighter than before and definitely sounded feminine now. A soft pain in his back signaled that his shoulders had moved slightly closer together, making his build look even frailer and more vulnerable. At the same time he felt an increasing pressure in bot his chest and his crotch. A short, but sharp sting down there made him clench his legs together, which met with absolutely no resistance. Scared she reached out to examine the changes, yet all she could find was a seemingly empty void where her manhood had been before. A hot sensation, originating from her chest, distracted her from her lower regions and made her focus on the softly growing mounds further up. “I... h-have b-boobs...?” She stuttered unbelieving. A warm shiver caressed over her body, signaling the end of her transformation.

She remained sitting as she was and merely stared down at her cleavage. Suddenly she felt a soft touch on her back. “Hey...” The soft, deep voice that belonged to the boy that had been Caroline whispered. “Are you okay there?”

“Of course she's not, moron!” The boy that had been Stephanie blurted out. “What did you think?”
“Shut up, Steve!” The boy that had been Caroline growled and then focused his attention back on the girl at his feet. He crouched in front of her and softly cupped her chin in his hands. “I didn't mean for this to happen...” He said apologetically. “I didn't even know it would happen... and I can understand i-if you don't want to be anywhere near me anymore...”

The soft shacking of his voice told him that his words were honest. At the same time she felt how much it hurt his feelings to say those words.

“I wouldn't immediately jump that far, Carol. First I'd say we all go back inside and you change clothes. I'll take care of her.” Nina's voice softly sounded from behind.

The boy named Carol looked up and then nodded. “Might be better, yeah...” He sounded horribly defeated. Slowly he raised himself from the ground and walked past her, back to the house.
A soft hand was placed on her back. “I know this is very confusing to you.” Nina whispered and then crouched in front of her, just like Carol had done before. “I will help you out as good as I can,. Just don't overreact right now, okay?”

The girl nodded softly.

“Thank you.” Nina smiled and offered her hand to her. “It's a good thing you have somewhat the same build as I have. At least that way we don't have to bother about clothes for now.”

The girl took her hand and Nina dragged her onto her feet.

“Let's go inside and see if I have something for you to wear.”

***

About an hour later they all sat grouped around the kitchen table, quietly eating scrambled eggs and sausages. Carol and Steve, after having changed clothes to fit their bodies, had made breakfast, while Nina had helped the girl, now dubbed Lilith, to pick a new outfit to wear too.

“Seriously, why Lilith?” Steve complained. “That's just a stupid name.”

“Still better than Steve.” Carol shot back.

“Dare say that to my face!” Steve angrily growled back.

“I just did.” Carol merely remarked.

“Why you little-” Steve pushed his chair back and was about to walk over to Carol, when a soft voice interrupted him.

“Lilith was the first woman ever created.” Lilith spoke, for the first time during breakfast. Her plate was still filled completely as she had only poked her food without real appetite. “She is associated with darkness, night, killing of infants, seduction of men and many, many more evil traits. She's also used in astrology to represent the empty focus point of the elliptical path of the moon.” Lilith dropped her head and stared at her plate. “I felt it was an appropriate name for a monster like me...”

“Wha-what?” Carol exclaimed and jumped up. “Y-you are no monster!”

“YES I AM!” Lilith shouted and buried her face in her hands. One by one, hot, salty tears dripped onto her plate. “I'm a monster...” She mumbled barely audible.

Softly Carol pat her back. “You aren't sweetie.” He softly whispered. “The only one deserving to be called a monster here is me... it's my fault you are stuck like this...”

“Actually it’s not. And yet it is.” Nina said with a knowing smile. A few seconds later she burst out laughing. “You should see your expressions right now!”

“Come one Nina! This isn’t funny!” Carol said angrily.

“And you know we don’t like your stupid riddles.” Steve added.

“No sense for mystery… Anyway, what I meant to say is that it is not completely your fault that Lilith became what she is, Carol. Only half of it. The other half is her own fault.”

“Huh?” Both Carol and Steve exclaimed at the same time, while Lilith softly wiped off her tears.

“What do you mean?” She softly asked.

“The reason Carol’s curse extended onto you and thus, the reason you ended up as a girl, is your love for each other.” Nina explained. Upon seeing everyone’s puzzled expressions, she went on: “Love is in fact a very strong power by itself already. To be precise, as far as I know there is no stronger power than love magic wise. However, the power of love is somewhat instable and often produces mutations on magic spells… or curses. We all noticed that you were able to break Caroline’s curse of silence, Lilith. When you kissed her afterwards, the curse of the old witch activated again and spread over to you. To put you on even terms with Caroline you were transformed into a demon as well. I’m not quite sure what kind of demon, but I’m strongly guessing you are an incubus. Not that that’s important, but whatever. When the sun rose and dispelled the moon’s hold over the curse, Caroline and Stephanie began transforming back, just as always. Once their transformation was done, the connection of yours and Carol’s love activated and triggered your transformation too. However, there’s one important detail in Carol’s transformation that is not mirrored in yours. He always changes into a girl when the curse takes hold. The magic checked both of you and, apologies for being so blunt, determined that neither of you is gay. In other words, for you to have a straight relationship, one of you would have to become female again. I don’t know why the magic chose you, I can only guess to that. Fact is that you ended up female, so your relationship would not suffer because you both are straight.” Nina ended her explanation and glanced around. “I’d gladly help you out of it, Lilith. However, as with the others, I cannot break this curse. Especially not after its powers have been amplified by yours and Carol’s love for each other. In short, you are stuck like this for the rest of your life.”

With big eyes Lilith stared at the witch. “A-are you sure…?” She whispered barely audible.

Gravely Nina nodded. “As much as I’d like to help you, I fear it is far beyond my powers…”

“Then…” Lilith whispered and suddenly spun to face Carol. “You will take responsibility, won’t you?”

“Wha-what?” Carol stuttered taken aback.

“If you wouldn’t have dragged me here last night, none of this would have happened. So you are still quite responsible for everything. Will you take responsibility?” Her eyes were hard and piercing, causing the boy to shiver softly.

“I… I will do my best…” He finally managed to say.

“Thank you…” Lilith breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t want to lose you again…” She softly added.

“Guess that got resolved then.” Nina smiled. “Carol, Steve you two will go to Lilith’s old apartment tonight and help her gather everything she needs and wants to bring with her. Tomorrow, we’ll go shopping. After all, I highly doubt that any of her old clothes will still fit. And I don’t intend to share my wardrobe forever.” She added with a sly grin, causing everyone to laugh.

Later that day Carol and Lilith were sitting high on the balcony of one of the two towers of the mansion. “Are you still sticking with Lilith?” He asked after a while.

She nodded. “I like that name. It kinda fits.”

Softly he put his arm around her. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”

“I never was… I was just scared. And after all…” She giggled softly and stuck her tongue out at him. “Should you ever be mean to me, don’t forget that every once in a while our roles reverse.”