"Daren, what have I told you about lying?" My mother sighed.
"Er…to keep it to a minimum?" I nervously looked around the room.
"Why gods, did I have to fall in love with a man like your father?" my mother mourned, making the sign of the holy circle on her forehead.
"Just because you got married doesn't mean you were in love," I pointed out. That was a lie-my parents were the most loving couple I had ever seen, while father was alive.
My mother gave me a tired look.
I should perhaps explain about my family. Do you know by chance happen to know the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf? Well, that was my grandfather. After that particular incident, he didn't seem to have learned his lesson, and kept lying for the rest of his life. He isn't around this world anymore, but then, neither is my father, and that is because of the curse of lying the males in my family have. It isn't actually a confirmed curse, but what else could it be? As I happen to be a male, the curse has passed onto me.
"I'm sorry mother," I said apologetically. "But I couldn't help it, you know that."
Mother just sighed again.
"You don't do anything to try to break this abnormal curse, anyway." My lying mouth often opened without my prior permission. My mother had tried all sorts of cures on me and my father.
Mother ignored me, as she often does when I start spouting lies.
You see, the trouble I had caused, or will be causing is the worst that has happened in my fifteen year old life. My mother, two sisters and I live in a small town; far away from the place that grandfather had grown up in. Even here, however, my father and I had gotten ourselves in enough trouble to gain reputation. This proved to be something my sisters thoroughly frowned upon, as they wanted to marry gentlemen of good standing, and that wouldn't be happening soon with the way I was.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I chanced upon a brilliant idea. This "brilliant" idea was in hindsight, probably the stupidest idea I could have come up with. My idea was this: a wizard dealt in magic, right? So since I happen to have a curse, a wizard could take it off me. The best wizard would be able to do it easily. I then proceeded to write a letter to the wizard Cyist, who was rumored to be the best. Then I slipped my letter into the messenger's bag when he stopped at our town to rest. The letter was vague at best, as I couldn't stop lying even in writing, and implied that I was wealthy, which I nor my family was most certainly not. Today I had gotten a reply, indicating that Cyist would be glad to help me, if only I would meet him at the Vineyard Inn in our town a few hours from when the letter was delivered. My mother had received this news harshly, and I realized that I would only embarrass myself if I went, since I had no money to speak of. My new plan was to retreat silently into my room and pretend I hadn't sent that letter at all.
My mother seemed to have gathered back her strength. "Daren, you will speak to the wizard, and tell him you do not require his services."
"But mother," I began, only to be interrupted.
"No, Daren, I know that you cannot help lying, but I will not let you be some rude, unmannerly young man, as well." Mother told me sternly. "You will go to the Vineyard Inn. Now it's some ways walking distance from our home, and you need to get yourself cleaned up, so get going."
Now I sighed. "Yes, mother," I murmured, dragging myself to get the bucket so I could get water from the well to wash up with.
A couple of hours later, I was ready to go. I wore my best clothes, which admittedly wasn't all that great, but I don't know why mother insisted, because on my way there, the dirt and dust from the road would keep me looking like my humble self again.
"Daren, please try not to lie," mother pleaded, looking sorrowfully at me.
"I…I'll try, mother." I couldn't disappoint my mother, not when she's always so good to me when I lie. "See you later, mother."
"You have your money, don't you?"
I didn't look back. "Of course, mother." Another lie.
I stepped from my warm safe home, into a dusty road that immediately spat dirt onto me, proving my theory that the road always had and always will hate me. I gloomily started my journey to the Vineyard Inn.
Now, I realize that inns in general are pleasant enough places to stay or eat a meal at. The Vineyard Inn, however, contrary to its name, was not as pleasant as it might first sound. It was a moderately priced bar converted to a sort of meal and sleeping place. I say sort of because it was mostly a bar, anyway. That the wizard Cyist wanted to meet me here was saying something. He either liked this sort of place, didn't believe me about being wealthy, which isn't hard at all, or didn't have much money himself. I had my doubts about this whole thing after I sent the letter, and this just added to my worries.
I nervously looked around for a table to sit at, and quickly sat down at a small and grimy, but empty one. I had no idea if this wizard would even show up, now, and if he did, he wouldn't know what I looked like. I cheered myself up with this thought, planning to stay for about an hour, then head home, and tell my mother that Cyist hadn't showed.
I was abruptly interrupted from my thoughts when a barmaid/waitress plunked a hand down on the table in front of me. This barmaid happened to be one of my sisters' more disapproving friends, and when I say disapproving, I mean that she disapproved of me. Jissa, as her name was, sneered at me.
"What's Brie and Fina's little liar brother doing here?" she drawled.
I glared back at her. "I'm here to drink myself into oblivion, if you must know." A lie, but she'd believe anything bad about me, and I might as well lie to the wrong people, if I had to.
Jissa grinned maliciously. "Momma's boy is gonna get himself drunk? I can't wait to tell your mother what you've been doing out of her sight. You might as well quit while you're ahead anyway, I know you've got no money."
"I've got every right to sit here as any other person in this town," I argued.
"Not if you don't buy anything, and not if you don't have the money to pay for what you buy," she spat back at me.
She did have a point-I didn't have any money. Well, it looked like mother was going to be disappointed in me again. I was supposed to have money; mother gave my sisters and me a small amount of money every month. Unfortunately, even though it was the beginning of the month, I had already spent my allowance on paying back the scribe for the paper and ink I had used to write the letter to the wizard Cyist.
"Can't you just let me sit here in misery for a little while," I begged, staring at her supplication.
"No!" Jissa snapped. "Unlike you, I actually have a job, and I'd like to keep it, which I won't be doing hanging around and helping the likes of you!"
"Get out now, or I'll call the bartender!" she hissed.
At least she didn't shout that out to the entire bar, or I'd be staring at a crowd of unfriendly faces. Drooping, I let myself out of the Vineyard Inn, letting the door slam shut on my way out. Outside, the wind blew dirt in my face, cold enough to wrap my thin coat around my frame and wish I was at home, warm, and relatively safe from grouchy individuals.
"Hoo, boy!" A voice sounded out of the night, wheezing and coughing.
I warily looked around. Everyone in this town-it's called Yind, by the way-knew me, or of me, and wouldn't have anything to do with me voluntarily.
An elderly man stepped into the light from the lantern hanging above the Inn, leaning heavily on a walking stick. He was balding, but had a long scraggily beard, and all his hair was gray or white. He seemed to be missing several teeth, and was wearing heavy robes, which looked to be part of the reason why he was panting hard enough to have run a ways.
"Boy!" he wheezed.
I had never seen this strange little man before, and so stayed where I was. I did however, answer him. "Yes?"
"Do you…know a cursed child…by the name of Darben?" he panted.
"Er…do you mean Daren?" I suggested helpfully.
"Yes, yes, whatever that name was," the old man waved his hand carelessly, seeming to be recovered from his run.
"Yes, I do," I hesitantly said.
"Fetch him for me, would you? I'm too old for this traveling bit," the old man sat down on the ground, content to wait until I "fetched" Daren.
"I'm Daren, sir," I told him, wondering if this was the wizard Cyist, as he was a stranger, was wearing robes, and was looking for me.
"What?" he said irritably. "Why didn't you say so? Help me up now, lad."
I almost laughed, but decided that my hide was more important-I didn't know what the old wizard would do to me if I did. I gave him my hand, and when he pulled on it to get himself up, I almost fell over. The old guy was heavy; for all that he looked like skin, bones, and robes.
"Let's get into that Inn, and you can tell me your story, lad," Cyist, or so I assumed, said, patting my hand.
"Excuse me, but are you-" the urge to lie took over me then "the entertainment for tonight at the bar?"
"What was that, young man?" The old man blinked up at me.
"Er…I asked if you were Cyist," I quickly said, trying to cover up my insult.
"Of course, lad, didn't I tell you that?"
"Er…" I shut my mouth, as I always did, when I tried not to ruin conversations with my curse.
The old wizard led the way to the bartender in the Vineyard Inn. Luckily for me, Jissa was too busy flirting loudly with a customer to notice that I had come in again. Cyist acquired a room upstairs for us to talk privately in, and ushered me into the room, lighting the fireplace with a wave of a hand.
"Now, boy, what was your trouble?" Cyist asked me, after he got comfortable in the only armchair.
Looking around, and finding there was no where else to sit, I plopped down on the bed. "I tell the truth sir, I can't help it. It's a curse that's been in my family for many generations, and I wish to be able to walk around curse free."
In my mind, I was berating myself harshly, but once my mouth got started on a great lie, it can't stop. "If you could lift the curse for me, I'd be very grateful, sir."
"Ah, a truth curse. That isn't so bad, but can be very annoying at times. Let me see, what can I do to lift it?" Cyist murmured, scratching his beard.
"Er…sir," I ventured, trying to take back what I had said.
"Be patient lad, I've almost got it!" the strange old wizard exclaimed. "Aha, I've got just the thing, one moment."
Cyist took a pouch of purple powder from his voluminous robes and sprinkled it around the me, ignoring my sneeze, when I breathed in some of it.
"Cinna, you owe me a favor, I want it now," he proclaimed to the empty air.
I wondered if he had suddenly gone senile, or well, more senile that before. A pop in front of me and the being that came with it quickly cleared those thoughts from my mind.
The being that…floated, for lack of a better word, in front of me was a small, green…person-I couldn't tell if it was a male or female.
"Cyist! Is that you?" Apparently, the beautiful, shining creature was a male. He circled around my head a few times, making me dizzy from trying to follow his path.
"No, that's the lad you have to work on," Cyist told him. "He's under a truth curse, so undo it, if you'd be so kind."
"Hm…this curse doesn't look like a truth curse," Cinna informed Cyist, still circling around my head. "It looks like lie curse."
The two gave each other looks, and then stared at me. I shifted under their attention.
"Well, nothing to do but undo it," Cyist cried, and looked askance at Cinna.
Cinna gave him a disgruntled look, and then perched on my head, tugging on my hair, and told me not to move. I obediently went still. This talk of magic aroused my curiosity, but I didn't want to disrupt the two magical peoples spell working, especially when it was on me.
Cinna murmured unintelligible words atop my head for a few minutes, then announced, "It's done."
I certainly didn't feel any different. Actually, wait, I did feel different. I had the strangest urge to not lie. Amazing! I was cured!
"I'm cured!" I cried.
Cyist sportingly patted my jovially on the back. Cinna however, didn't look so happy. In fact, he looked downright edgy.
"Cinna, sir? I am cured, aren't I?" I asked him when I spotted how nervous he was.
"Yes, and no," he hesitantly said. Then he admitted, "I actually put a truth curse on you, to counter the lie curse."
"You WHAT?!" Cyist roared, not sounding at all like the small old man. He didn't sound like an old man at all, when he yelled that.
"Do you know what you've done to the poor boy?" Cyist shouted. He sounded very much like a younger man than he appeared to be. "Now he'll be compelled to tell the truth and lie at the same time, once the curse kicks in at full strength!"
I was becoming very suspicious, and also very agitated. These two didn't obviously weren't how they appeared. Cyist noticed my wide-eyed stare, and sighed. Then he snapped his fingers and changed. His body elongated, and filled out, his white hair melted into black, his clothes growing with him, now a vest and shirt of black and white. His form was now of a man, in his twenties.
Cyist, if this was really his true form, stared at me, as if measuring me. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, lad, but you've been caught up in this, and now you'll have to come with us. The least we can do for you is to stabilize the two curses on you. Otherwise, you're just an innocent bystander."
Now I was completely confused. First he disguises himself, then places another curse on me, then tells me he's going to kidnap me? Just what was this about anyway? I opened my mouth to ask just that when Cyist snapped his fingers and I blacked out.
"Lad! Whatever your name is, wake up!" A voice buzzed in my ear.
I swatted away the annoyance, hearing a thud, then a cry of, "Cyist!"
Then I remembered. I sat up, and noticed that Cinna was glaring at me from the floor where I swatted him. I swallowed, and then croaked out a, "Sorry."
Cyist swept into the room, ignoring Cinna, and sat on the chair by the bed I was laying in.
"How are you feeling?"
I stared at him.
Cyist sighed. "I owe you some explanations, I know. I'll tell you a bit of good news first: you are able to stop lying."
I brightened, and but before I could say anything, he continued with, "But only on certain days. For instance, right now, you are able to tell the truth, but only the truth. I anchored the two curses so that on certain days, the truth curse would affect you, and on other days, the lie curse would affect you. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are your truth days, and Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are your lie days. The lie curse had been on you longer, so I had to give it the extra day. Today is Friday, so you'll tell the truth."
I absorbed that information for a moment. Then I panicked. "Why is it Friday? It was Tuesday when I met you in the Inn! Are you really Cyist? Where am I and why did you bring me here? Why were you wearing a disguise--"
Cyist held up a hand, and I subsided. "You were in an enchanted sleep, so I could bring you here, to my home, which is very far away from where you used to live. Cinna made a mistake, and because of that, I couldn't let you go and tell everyone what I was. Besides, I had to fix those curses on you. I can't fully cure you, because the cure to curse has to come from within the person cursed, and I can't help you with that. I am really Cyist, but I usually appear in my old man disguise. I would like to make you an offer, Daren."
"What offer?" I asked softly, wary of this man.
"Would you like to be my apprentice?" Cyist studied me as I took in his offer. "I can't return you to your home, and you will be safer here with me."
"I…I can't. You kidnapped me! I want to know what's going on!"
"I'm sorry this had to happen, Daren, but it can't be helped. I'll let you think on it." With that, he stood and left the room, closing the door, after Cinna glided out after him.
I was left to stare at the ceiling and contemplate my fate.
After a few hours in the room, with nothing to eat, plus the fact that there wasn't a bathroom anywhere in the room fueled my decision. I tried the door, which wasn't locked, and stepped out into the hallway. From there, I silently walked to the light that came from the other end of the hallway, which revealed Cyist alone, quietly eating supper. He looked up when I entered.
I looked down, feeling the weight of his stare on me. "I accept your offer, Cyist." I told the floor.
A hand on my shoulder startled me into looking up at Cyist. He smiled, and said, "I'm glad."