For The Fairest Part-20 (Conclusion)

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For The Fairest-
Part Twenty (Conclusion)

by:
Enemyoffun


Trevor is from one of the wealthiest families in Ravencrest. His father is a distinguished man that everyone respects and fears but he's practically invisible to his peers. He enjoys his quiet non-existence but all of that changes on his 16th birthday when he discovers the family secret and nothing about his life is non-existent again.

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Author's Note: Here it is, the end at last though not the end of Tracy's story---just the end of this particular one. I want to thank everyone who has commented and enjoyed this story, it is by far my most successful story on the site to date. I'd also like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone else for loving my universe so much. This universe is only getting started, there's plenty more to come not only from me but also from the other wonderful authors---new and old---who are contributing :)

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Ch.20

I screamed as I snapped awake. The blanket flew across the room, my arms flailing about in front of me. It was coming after me, something big and monstrous. I’d been trying to run from it and no matter how hard I ran, it just kept coming. I’m not sure what it was either but it was big, it was fast, and the faster I ran, the closer it got. Then I tripped and it was on me, it tried to rip me apart and that’s when I woke up. It took me a moment to process all that and then realize I was no longer in the woods with that horrible thing. My heart was pounding a mile a minute in my chest and my entire body was drenched in sweat.

I looked around and found myself in my room---my actual bedroom. How I’d gotten there, I don’t know. The last thing I could truly remember was being in the pool house. Damien had a gun and he hit Mary with it. Mary, God I hoped she was all right. I hoped everyone else was all right too. The last time I saw Chris he was on the ground bleeding and Greg---I broke his nose. I groaned at all of that and groaned even more at the fact that I couldn’t remember what happened after Damien hit Mary. There was something about my body, something painful. It was like the whole thing was on fire and then nothing---total blackness. That scared me more than worrying about my friends.

I vaguely remember all the pain, too. I looked down at my hands, half expecting something wrong with them but they looked normal. I turned them over a few times just to make sure. I fixated on my nails, were they longer now? They didn’t really look all that different but something told me that they should have. I looked down at my legs too, at the bite marks that should have been there. The scars that Uncle Frank told me I’d have, the ones I knew were there---but they weren’t. I looked at my arm too; the marks were gone there too. What the hell happened to me last night and why couldn’t I remember.

You transformed,” said a familiar voice, one that caused me to jump.

I snapped around and found him, the large silver wolf sitting in the corner of my room. Silver was in my bedroom.

“What do you mean I transformed?”

His voice sighed. “Weres have two forms. The wolf form is something we use most of the time, it’s our natural form. The second form is called the Beast form, all of us have the ability to tap into such a thing but in most Weres, it takes decades to master. For a young Were like you to be able to tap into something like that,” He sighed again. “It’s unheard of.”

He walked over to my bed and jumped onto it. He sat there and stared at me with those unnatural blue eyes of his.

A few things occurred to me then. One thing I wanted to know more than the other. “Who are you?”

Silver scoffed. “The second form is dangerous,” he said, as if I didn’t even speak. “It can’t be controlled. The first time I transformed into it, it was an accident. I was out with my girlfriend and we were attacked by a group of Cougars. It was childish stuff; just them wanting to pick a fight. I’m not sure what happened but I lost control. I turned into the Beast and killed everyone, Sarah included. I woke up a mile away with no memory of any of it. Your father stripped me of my Beta rank and tossed me into Omega, told me I had to earn the right to stand by him.”

Beta? Silver was the Beta? That didn’t make any sense, why would a distant cousin be Beta over one of my uncles. Unless, Oh God it couldn’t be, could it? I looked at the silver furred wolf, really took a look at him. He was a good size, not quite as big as my father as a wolf but bigger than my Uncles Trev and T-Bone. It was the eyes that I found myself really looking at though, that vibrant blue just like Dad’s. How had I not noticed that before?

“How did you get stuck like that?”

I told you.”

I shook my head. “No you dodged the question earlier.” I bit my lip. “You’re not one of my cousins are you?”

Silver chuckled. “You might not want to hear this but you’re just like your father when he was a kid. He always went right for the truth even if one was presented to him. He could never accept the lies that people told him. He is a good man despite what you might think of him at the moment. I’ve never known him to truly hate something and trust me I know your father better than most.”

The way he said that, his familiarity with Dad. He spoke about him like that earlier; I thought nothing of it until now. A random cousin wouldn’t talk about my Dad like that; it would have had to have been someone close. Someone like one of his brothers.

How had I not seen it before?

“You didn’t become a minister and leave Ravencrest, did you?”

I told them that that lie would never work but I was ashamed of my stupidity,” he said as he jumped off the bed.

I was appalled at how he’d been treated, how he was living. “My Dad makes you live in the woods like that?”

Silver chuckled. “I chose that life for myself, actually. I can’t live in this place, watching my family live their lives. It’s too painful so I exiled myself out into the woods.”

I found myself crying. “You can stay now.”

You’ve got a good heart Tracy; I can see why everyone loves you so much.”

After that, the silver wolf---my long absent uncle---leapt out the window. I rushed to my bed and hoped to catch him but he was long gone. It amazed me that he was able to make such a jump. It amazed me even more that he could disappear so quickly like that. I stood in the window and tried to find his shape as it darted across the lawn though, in hopes that I might be able to shout to him to come back. I stood and looked for a good ten minutes but he was definitely long gone. I sighed heavily. Silver was my uncle. It boggled my mind. If he wanted to stay away then why did he follow me into town, why did he stay with me at Terry’s and then at Aunt Mari’s. If he was so ashamed of himself why didn’t he just leave, turn his back on us like he did before.

I finally turned away from the window. After that, I wandered into my bathroom and started up the shower. The water must have drawn attention because I could hear someone moving around in my room. I didn’t get out though, instead I let the water wash over me. I was in there about ten minutes before I was out, wrapping a towel around myself. Looking in the mirror, all I saw was Tracy Locke, the girl. I smiled at that. I went into my bedroom and found Constance waiting for me with a smile. She was sitting on the edge of my bed. I lost it then, bursting into tears and rushing into her arms. She held me tight, wishing reassuring words into my ears.

It was a while before she let me go.

“I turned into a monster,” I sobbed into her chest.

“No” she said, pulling me away from her. “You saved your friends and stopped a monster.”

I wiped tears from my eyes. “Is everyone all right?”

Constance nodded. “Your friends are fine; they’ve been here to see you on and off the last few days.”

“Days? How long have I been asleep?”

Constance chuckled. “Four days.”

Damn it. “I’m so going to have a mess load of school work.”

Constance laughed, stroking my hair. I looked up at her and saw sadness too.

“Is everything ok?”

She sighed. “Nothing that can’t be fixed. Things are going to be bit hectic for a while but that’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Why did I feel like that was somehow my fault?

“Do you feel up to school today?”

I thought about it for only a second. I nodded. I wanted to see my friends for myself, wanted to know that they were all ok. I especially wanted to talk to Dana. She had some explaining to do and I had some comforting to give her. Her father was dead and her brother---well I’m not sure what happened to him but it couldn’t have been good. There was a lot I needed to talk about and I wasn’t going to keep anything from anyone anymore. No more secrets, no more pretend friendships or whatnot. Nothing more that could lead to people to getting hurt like the other night.

I got off the bed and wandered over to my closet, opening the door. I looked at all the clothes hanging in there and found an outfit that I thought might suit me today. I’d been giving a lot of thought to things lately: my situation, who I am and who I was. Even if Mrs. Crawford was able to turn me back into Trevor tomorrow, something must have made me this way. Something that wanted me to be this way. I’d spent the last two months or so trying to dodge it, to even fight it but I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I’d accepted that I might be stuck like this and now I needed to accept that this was who I was. No more fighting, no more trying to be someone who I wasn’t. I grabbed the outfit and smiled. I’m Tracy and that was fine with me.

----- OOO-----

I walked into the school with my head held high. As soon as I walked through the front doors, a lot of heads turned. I liked the attention. It made me smile to see all the guys gawk and all the girls give me these nasty looks. I felt freer somehow, less restricted than before. I never felt more alive in my life. I tried to put my past self behind me and be the person I wanted to be. No strings attached, no more lies, no more compromises. I’d already stunned my little brother at the breakfast table this morning; after he got over the shock, he actually threw a compliment my way. Even Boomer told me that I smelled nice and looked pretty. I felt pretty too.

When I got to my locker, Mary and Greg were waiting. I stopped for a second, Mary’s back was to me. Greg saw me first though. I felt bad looking at him. He had a bandage on his nose and lots of bruising. I frowned, I did that. A small part of me wondered if he was pissed off. Constance told me how Mary tried to lie to him that night, telling him that it was an accident and that I punched him instead of punching Damien. She tried to use magic to get him to believe it but I’m not sure if that worked or not.

“Whoa” he said as I approached. “You look really really good.”

“Thanks” I said with a happy smile.

Mary turned around and raised an eyebrow. Then she shook her head. I was surprised to see she had no bruise---I’m guessing magic had its perks. Before she could say anything though, I pulled her into a tight hug. Never was I happier to see anyone. The last time I saw her she was lying on the ground, not moving. I thought the worst then and that’s the last true memory of the night I had. Seeing her now, standing her, scrutinizing me. I cried a little bit, I think she might have been crying some too. People started to stop and stare, which is when Mary broke away.

“Nothing to see here” she snapped, scaring them all off.

I laughed. “You big softy.”

She smirked. “So what’s with the new look?” she asked.

I looked down. I had on a pastel colored top and a khaki skirt. Not the most ideal clothes for November but I was making a statement. I wanted to prove to myself that Trevor was gone. I definitely didn’t plan on dressing like this all the time but it was nice for once and a while.

I shrugged off her question. “I wanted to look nice today.”

She didn’t buy it but she smiled nonetheless. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry about Halloween,” she said softly. “I didn’t get a chance to say that and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate what you did for me back there.”

I nodded. “Whatever that was.”

“You don’t remember?”

I shook my head. “I guess it’s for the best actually.”

“About that” said Greg, interrupting our female bonding? I turned to him with a smile. “You owe me a big explanation.”

“What ever are you talking about?” I teased.

He shook his head. “I saw Dana turn into that thing, she’s some kind of were whatever isn’t she?”

I clamped a hand over his mouth. “Not so loud dummy.”

He nodded his head. I removed my hand. “Come with me” I said, taking his hand.

Mary followed me as I led Greg toward the nearest bathroom. He paused at the little girl figure on the door and protested. Mary pushed him inside. There was a girl doing her makeup in front of the mirror. She gave Greg a disgusted look.

“Leave now” snapped Mary.

The color drained from the girl’s face and she took off, her makeup unfinished. I frowned at Mary and she shrugged.

Greg looked uneasy. “We can’t be in here; this is the girl’s room.”

Mary laughed. “You should have seen Tracy’s face the first time she came in here.”

Greg looked confused. “The first time? You’re a girl though.”

I sighed. “Greg what if I told you that everything you knew about Ravencrest was wrong?” His eyes got real big.

I laid it all out for him, not leaving out a thing. His eyes widened a few times during my story and he looked at me funny a few times too. When I finished, it was a while before he said anything. He looked me over, from head to toe.

“You’re wearing a skirt?” I nodded “and you let me hit on you, numerous times.”

Mary laughed. “That was the best, kept me amused for days.”

“Ignore her,” I said quickly. “Are we ok?”

I tried to read his face, wondering which way he was going to swing. I was surprised to see him smile. “You’re a Werewolf?” I nodded. “That is so fricken cool. Can I see you transform?”

I groaned. Same old Greg. I think the two of us were going to be ok.
Mary grabbed his arm, dragging him toward the door. “Now that that you’ve got the whole story, get the fuck out of the girls’ room you perv.”

“Wait what?” he asked, confused as she pushed him out into the hall.

I shook my head. “That was so wrong.”

She nodded with a smile. “But it felt so right.”

We started to laugh. I washed my hands while Mary touched up some of her eyeliner. As we were leaving, Dana came in. She looked at the both of us, trying to decide if she wanted to stay. In the end she did. I gave Mary a look and I think she read the meaning---I needed to be alone for this. Mary left the room and I locked the door behind her. I turned around and waited for Dana to come out of the stall. As soon as she did, she turned pale when she saw me standing there.

“You and I need to talk,” I said, trying to keep emotion out of my voice.

She nodded. “I’m sorry about everything” she said softly then started to cry.

I took her into my arms and let her cry into my shoulder. Here I was ready to go into bitch mode when I forgot what happened Halloween. She’d lost her father, how could I have forgotten that. I let her cry until she was done then I told her what I remembered. I wanted her to know that her father died trying to save me and Mary. The bathroom wasn’t the best place to tell her all of this but you can’t really chose the time or place for things like this.

When she was done crying, she wiped her eyes. “I’m glad Daddy didn’t suffer, tell me that he did?”

I knew the "he" she was referring too. “I don’t really remember. The last thing that I can recall was Damien hitting Mary in the head, after that everything was a blank.”

I don’t think I wanted to remember. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened to Damien. Though neither Silver nor Constance told me, I kind of figured out what I did. I didn’t regret it in the least; he was a bastard that deserved every bit of what he got. I’m not sure what that was going to do in the long run with Were things but I didn’t care. As far as I’m concerned, I helped stop a murderer. I was happy with that knowledge.

We stood there in a moment of silence before I said. “You want to tell me about it?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to go along with but I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

She shook her head. “I loved my father but he had certain expectations for us, for me. I’m sure you know about the whole marriage thing?” I nodded; she cried a little bit more. “You were a great person and I have nothing against you but you were never my type.”

That stung a little but totally understandable.

“Damien found that out the hard way when he caught me and Clara together.”

Clara? Wow, I didn’t see that going. Who would have thought that Dana Stiles would like girls? I couldn’t help but smile though. Then I pulled her into a hug and let her cry on my shoulder a bit more. She didn’t need to tell me anything more because I figured it out on my own. After Damien caught her, he must have been blackmailing her into helping him. I knew her father well enough to know that he was one of the most conservative people in the town and a lesbian daughter would not have gone over well. I could only imagine the pain Dana must have been feeling and then for that bastard to exploit and use that.

“He made me spy on you for him,” she said, after her second crying bout. “He said if I didn’t help him he’d tell Dad everything.”

I nodded. “Its ok, it’s over.”

“When he tried to kill you I couldn’t let him get away with it. That’s when I realized that I didn’t care if he told my father my dirty little secret; I knew he needed to be stopped.”

I gave her another hug. How did I know Trevor was finally started to disappear and Tracy was here to stay, all the hugging. I never hugged anyone as much as Trevor as I did as Tracy. I was like a hugging machine now. It was kind of strange because I never really thought about it until now. This morning when I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out of the mirror, I just felt different. Sure I’d just had one of the most horrible moments of my life a few days before but I somehow felt better than I’d ever felt. Maybe it was shell shock or whatever, maybe I was going to crash in a day or two but right now things were good. I think I deserved some good after all of that. Maybe some of that good would rub off on others like Dana. She certainly deserved it more than me, especially right now.

“So what’s going to happen with your family?”

She shook her head. “With Dad and Damien both gone, I’m the next in line. I’m supposed to meet with the Council this weekend to discuss things. They’re going to investigate my actions during the whole thing.”

I grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “If you need a character witness I’m there for you.”

She smiled. “Thanks, but your Dad said that he would help me.”

My Dad? Seriously? I had a really hard time believing that. I didn’t want to question it though because clearly she looked happy to have his help so instead I smiled.

I think it was about then that the two of us noticed that we’d been talking this whole time in the bathroom. We took a look around and couldn’t help but laugh. Dana wiped away the last of her tears and I went to unlock the door. There were at least two girls who gave us nasty looks before pushing past us, one of them mumbling something about “dykes”. I had half a mind to stick her head in a toilet for the remark. I grabbed Dana’s hand, hoping that the remark didn’t bother her but it didn’t. I let go of her hand as we started down the hall. It was still about ten more minutes before first period---I liked to get to school a bit earlier in the morning.

As the two of us walked toward my locker together, there was a bit of commotion up ahead. There were a lot of catcalls and whistles. Dana and I looked at one another and rushed ahead. What we saw as soon as we pushed through the gathering crowd was a girl about our age practically bursting out of her clothes. Her top was too small to contain her breasts, her skirt barely covering her underwear. She looked familiar but I couldn’t place her. She was really pretty but all that makeup made her look really trashy. When Dana and I got to my locker, Mary was smirking with triumph.

“Nice skirt Misty” said one of the horn dogs, as he looked her up and down.

“You up to a good time after school today?” asked another.

The girl looked like she was about to cry. I felt kind of bad for her but she was bringing it upon herself. Dress like a tramp and you had to expect to be treated like one.

“Miss Curtis” said a stern voice as a teacher started to push her way through the crowd as well---it was Miss Dawkins, a spinster from the math department. “Your attire is in severe violation of the dress code. Report to Mr. McClintock’s office immediately.”

The girl looked like someone had shot her puppy then she burst into tears. Miss Dawkins could only glare as the girl---Misty---followed her down the hall.

Mary burst out laughing. “That was so worth getting to school early for.”

There was something in the way she watched the girl leave, something about the smug look on her face. I just knew she had something to do with all of it. “What did you do?”

“Poetic justice” said Mary, nodding her head.

I looked across the hall and saw Mike Curtis’s cronies, minus one---their boss. Then I looked down the hall, watching as Misty slowly disappeared. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. I turned back to Mary who was still looking pretty damn smug. “You didn’t?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s always been a Misty Curtis at this school.”

Dana and I laughed.

“Misty is in so much trouble” said Greg, appearing out of nowhere. “Did you see that outfit. It was great on her but McC is so going to drop the axe on her.”
Us three girls laughed even more. I’m not sure why Mary, Dana and I remembered Mike and I didn’t care. He did deserve it. I couldn’t wait to see him struggle through the rest of the day like that.

“Is that your super secret spell?”

Mary smiled. “Spell, I have no idea what you’re talking about”

She winked. Greg looked at the three of us like we were nuts.

“I’m hanging out with you two more often,” said Dana with a smile.

“You better” said Mary with a groan. “I’m about to get surrounded by testosterone soon. Grams just told me my cousin is going to come and stay with us for the rest of the year. He’s a bit of a geek so he and Greg will have a lot in common.”

“Hey” snapped Greg, insulted.

Mary waved him off. “You’ll get used to it.”

The two of them started to argue down the hall. I couldn’t help but smile. I think things with my friends were going to be ok. It was my family that I wasn’t sure about, one member in particular.

My father.

----- OOO-----

Lady no go into room?’ asked Boomer as he stood beside me.

I didn’t answer. The two of us were in the hallway outside of my father’s office. All through school today I couldn’t help but wonder about a few important things. Most of it came from what Silver and Dana told me. I’d always had this picture of Dad painted in my head. He was the distant figure in my life, the man who used to care for me when I was younger but when I grew older just didn’t seem to have time for me anymore. Back then he’d always been kind if a bit standoffish, like he was afraid that if he got too close to his children he might crack or something. I never really understood it but I suppose he had his reasons. My father didn’t have the best childhood. His own father was a busy man too that barely had time for his own children and his mother left when he was young. From that, moment on he and his brothers were raised by nannies. Of course by the time Tim was born Dad was old enough to take care of things himself.

It couldn’t have been easy.

Then there was his adult hardships. I can’t even imagine losing a child. Of course, I was too young to think of those things but lately I’d been thinking more and more about children. Of course as Trevor I could have been a father but now it was something on my mind a lot. I could be a mother; I went to a gynecologist not too long ago in fact. When I was there that fact kind of scared me but now I knew it was a part of life. It was one more reason I knew that Trevor was truly gone and not coming back. So having children and possibly losing one was something that was scary. I was kind of sad that I never got to know Teddy; he seemed like the kind of guy that would have gone out of his way to make everything all right.

Losing him must have crushed Dad. Then he got rid of Terry. I’m not saying that was right or wrong but it couldn’t have been easy. Then there was me, the child he had high hopes for---the one he called a thing. That thought alone made tears sting my eyes.
I wiped them away and knocked gently on his door. No going back now.

“Come in” said his muffled voice from the other side.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. I’d only been in Dad’s office a handful of times. It always surprised me at home old it looked. The office belonged to my grandfather once and his father before him. It had cherry wood furniture, hardwood floors. Most of the walls were taken up by books and there was this huge window behind the desk. New more modern things were added through the years: filing cabinets, a computer, fax machine, copier. But it looked pretty much the same from the old photographs that I saw on the walls. On the edge of Dad’s desk was a globe, leaning against it was his wolf head cane. The cane was a family heirloom; it belonged to my great great great grandfather. It was passed down through the generations from father to son.

Looking at it, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of loss. First, it would have been Teddy’s then Terry. For a split second, it might have been mine but now it was Tommy’s.

Dad was sitting at his desk, working on some paperwork. I could only imagine how much he had. Especially in the wake of everything that had happened. His chief rival was dead, there was a huge hole to fill in the Council and he had to clean up the mess that Damien started. The only good thing about it all was that was cleared of all charges. Except he didn’t look any happier, in fact he looked pretty much the same since the last time I saw him. The time I screamed at him and embarrassed both of us.

Dad didn’t bother looking up from his paperwork when he spoke. “Your mother said you wanted to speak to me.”

He called Constance my mother----which I suppose was technically true.

I cleared my throat. Here we go. “I’ve come to apologize.”I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for before.”

There I’d said it. Mission accomplished. I didn’t really think it was necessary but I wanted to get it out of the way.

He didn’t stop writing. Instead, he said. “And do you feel like you need to apologize?”

I didn’t even have to think about my answer. “No, but I thought that’s what you would want me to do.”

I was tired of fighting with him. If he didn’t accept me that was fine but he was going to have to live with me. I was his daughter now; there was nothing that was going to change that.

He set down his pen. When he looked up at me, I couldn’t read his face at all. Blank slate like always. “You feel you need to apologize or is it that you think I want you to apologize?”

“I’m not sure; you’re the difficult one, not me.”

He smiled. It was the same one he gave me the other day. “”You don’t need to apologize. You said what you felt was right and I respect that.”

I waited for more but there wasn’t any. He picked up his pen and started writing again. Wham, just like conversation over. My father, the great negotiator. I’m not sure if I should have screamed or told him to go fuck himself. I was trying to extend an olive branch and yet the man did nothing in return. I thought maybe there might be something more to him---from what Silver said and how he was going out of his way to help Dana---I thought he’d learned something.

But he was the same cold bastard from before.

I groaned. He was never going to change.

I turned my back on him. I was done with this mess. If he didn’t want to try then I didn’t even want to bother. I felt the tears start to well up as I walked out into the hall. I got about halfway down it before I broke down, collapsing into a ball. I didn’t care if I was sobbing in the hallway. I hated that man, I hated everything about him. I wanted nothing more to do with him ever again. I was willing to let things go. I watched Damien Cross shoot his own father when the man had his back turned. I could only imagine a relationship that would lead to that. I just didn’t want that to be me someday, pulling a gun on my own Dad and shooting him when he wasn’t looking.

I wanted something, anything other than what I had right now.

A hand touched my shoulder gently. I seized up, waiting for something. What I didn’t expect was that hand to be joined by another which pulled me off the ground and into a strong embrace. He wrapped his arms around me and let me sob into his chest. I cried for the longest time I’d ever cried before. My father held me tight and for a moment, I almost forgot that this was the cold hearted bastard who called me a “thing” and ignored me for a month or more. I just wanted to be that little child again, the one who was held by her Daddy when she was hurt and needed to be comforted.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled me away. He looked down at me with a warm smile, wiped the tears from my cheeks and kissed me on the forehead. Then very slowly, he turned and walked back to his office. He never once looked back but the meaning was there: my father did care, even if it was his own standoffish and cold way. I stood in the hall and watched him walk away. I stood there for a few minutes after he was gone too. It was Boomer licking my hand that finally broke my trance. I patted the dog on the head and the two of us went to the living room to think about what just happen.

I sat on the couch a long time. It wasn’t what I wanted but at least it was a start. I couldn’t help but smile at that. My life was finally starting to piece itself back together. I was happy with things now, happy that I could look forward instead of back and start this new chapter with a clean slate. After sitting there for a while, I left Boomer to head back to my room. I had a load of homework I had to catch up on---missing a few days of school sucked. I left my backpack on the bed when I got home, my books still inside so I was a bit surprised to see another book sitting on the bed.

I walked over to it but when I got closer, I realized it wasn’t one of mine. It was smaller and made of red leather; the book had a clasp and a lock. On the cover in fancy script were three words: For The Fairest. It was a diary I think, something that I never thought I’d actually possess. I picked up the book and when I did, an envelope slid out of it. It was old, yellowing on the sides but there was no name on it. When I opened it up, I found two things: a letter and a key. I knew what the key was so I put that aside. I took out the letter and unfolded it. The first few words froze my heart like a block of ice that I read them aloud softly.

“My Dearest Daughter”

I didn’t recognize the handwriting which sent a chill up my spine.

THE END FOR NOW

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

Picture Credit: Actress Jane Levy



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Thank you...

... for writing this, and I hope you continue. When I log into BC your name is one of those I look for to see if anything new has popped up.

- Manii Names

great story.

great story. i hope to see it continued someday. keep up the good work.
robert

Wait, you call that the end?!

Wait, you call that the end?! You can't end a story with a cliff-hanger like that. :) We need the next story, now.

Thanks for the story

It was great following Tracy in this story and you did a great job making me check this site for updates, an activity that has now become a part of my routine.

I'll keep following your stories and the Ravencrest universe for a long time, I think ^^.

About the diary: Since she doesn't recognize the handwriting and it's addressed to her as 'her', I think it's safe to assume that A. it was Tracy's mother who wrote this and B. she had something to do with why Tracy changed genders?

Exactly!

So, Trevor's mother knew he was going to turn into Tracey. Given all the other lies, who wants to bet what we've been told about her is another pack of big fat ones? OK, that's a sucker bet. Waiting with baited breath for the next one! :-)

Great story, thanks!

Not necessarily

The letter could have been written by the last Alpha female to her intended successor. Of course, since they all got killed it never got read... until now. It did say the letter was old and yellowed, after all, so written a long time ago.

Don't forget Trevor's mother married into the family, so wouldn't have been a Were herself. Also we do know that the sudden gender-switching in Ravencrest is all connected with something big that's supposed to happen soon, so nobody was expecting it to happen.

Penny

Loki's picture

Again, not necessarily...

"Don't forget Trevor's mother married into the family, so wouldn't have been a Were herself."

This may not exactly be true. Who is to say that Tobias didn't marry another werewolf from outside Ravencrest in an effort to set things right with the clan? It's possible, after all. Anything is at this point. But while I think it may be a stretch, it certainly is plausable.

And that's a very true statement about the gender-bendering amongst the weres.

--SEPARATOR--

Peace be with you and Blessed be

That was so low!

What is this,"my dearest daughter"? Surely you intend to tell us at some not too distant time? This was quite a story.

Very nice

Gwendolyn

quality

Your writings are always of the highest quality. I am very gratefully that you continue to be so prolific.

Continue!

This story deserves much more than this short effort!

For the Fairest..

Great story EOF! I've enjoyed many of your tales but this one is one of my favorites. I look forward already to seeing a sequel. lol

GAH!!!!!!

Grabs a Hammer an beats you over the freaking head with it. DUDE MAJOR CLIFFHANGER!!!! Now I gotta wait who knows how long before theres a squeal to this.

So he's not her father?

I'm astonished, because I'm starting to think that her father is actually the man who became Silver, her long-lost "Uncle". Hmm. I can guess some other things too, but I think I'll PM you about those. I might be totally wrong, or I might have nailed it, but I won't screw up the sequel for anyone if I'm right.

The reason the story was popular is obvious. It is a wonderful story, well told and with interesting cross-overs, and a cliff hanger for an ending. I absolutely loved it, and I hope the wait for the sequel won't be a long one.

Wren

D.A.W.'s picture

Great story!

SPOILER ALERT!

Great story! I hope we learn sometime soon what this diary business is about.

Looks like Mr Locke and Tracy's relationship has taken a much better turn.

“The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.”

-Paul Fix

Her father is comming around.

To her being his daughter, the diary is a big mistery & who wrote the letter? Great great grand ma?

The big question remains... How did Trevor become Tracy?

I'm glad that Tracy's friends are ok & that Dina is now her friend & a cougar :)

Look foward to more on this story (subject) this story was gripping & addictive
Keep up the great work.

Love Samantha Renee Heart

Her father is comming around.

To her being his daughter, the diary is a big mistery & who wrote the letter? Great great grand ma?

The big question remains... How did Trevor become Tracy?

I'm glad that Tracy's friends are ok & that Dina is now her friend & a cougar :)

Look foward to more on this story (subject) this story was gripping & addictive
Keep up the great work.

Love Samantha Renee Heart

Loki's picture

Of all the things I could say...

I don't think any of them are fit for civil ears to hear. But I'll be polite and call you "Ze Mistro of ze Cleef-Hangar" and leave it at that. Excellent ending to an excellent story.

--SEPARATOR--

Peace be with you and Blessed be

How could you?

Nah...I'm not really bothered with the cliffhanger; I suppose because I've already come to my own conclusions about it.
I might PM you to query a few things but I think you ended it nicely. Thanks for this- I love your stories but I think that this was one of your best.

Cindilee's picture

great story

I thought i would hate this when i started but you totally sucked me in. I should have known it would be good :)

Peace!
Cindilee

I'm starting to suspect one

I'm starting to suspect one or more of a few things.

1) Tracy was transformed by magic, not by Luna or anything similar.
2) Mary's spell was related to what was used on Tracy. (the reason I say related is that the one used on Mike blurred memories in the school)
3) Mary is either Tracy's half sister, or a first cousin.
4) Tracy's mother is/was a witch. (A witch! Burn her! (She weighs the same as a duck))

Loki's picture

But what about that...

Lovely bunch of coconuts?

*ducks* I'm sorry... Seriously. Too good to pass up?

--SEPARATOR--

Peace be with you and Blessed be

There they are a-standing in

There they are a-standing in a row.
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!

You are evil!

The last chapter and you end it like it's majorly NOT. Book II better be coming quick!

If the envelope was yellow around the edges, it's most likely too old to be from Tracy's mom - maybe from multiple greats grandmom?

Mike/Misty might be worth his/her own story.

Enemyoffun's picture

Mike/Misty

Might be worth something to follow if anyone is interested. If you are interested, send me a PM :)

modern, acid paper will

modern, acid paper will yellow in under 5 years.

Acid paper

That's what they told you the yellow was...

Penny

I guess it depends on if it

I guess it depends on if it smells like potassium nitrate....

For The Fairest

I loved the story, please write more.

For the Fairest

The first chapter captured my attention. This last chapter has me wanting more.
I guess it has something to do with how well you developed the characters and
made them interesting. Trevor/Tracy is the type of person you would want to
be friends with either as Trevor or Tracy.

If you end this story now the Big Bad Wolf is going to bite you.

P.Sands

Love the story,

It was really fun following along the story as the chapters were updated. Kind of sad to see that this is the end for now, but glad to see that most of the story was wrapped up except for the cliff hanger. The only disappointment I had with ending the story here was that we still don't know who Tracy ends up with; whether it's Mason or even Chris. Personally, I'm rooting for team Chris all the way!

Team Chris

I have to agree wit this point. I like Chris better as a character and I think Mason is too close a relation to Tracy, which makes it a little disturbing to think of them together.

mittfh's picture

Hehe!

So that's Tracy's first major story arc complete - and you've left us a nice little teaser for the next part.

I'm guessing the diary was left by her real mother and fished out by dad (who looks as though he's taken the first step towards learning to show affection - but he's clearly still uncomfortable with it). So I'm guessing that either (a) her mother was a witch, or (b) her mother received a prophecy which dad chose to disbelieve / ignore.

But on the dad front, once the issues related to Damien have been cleared up, he hopefully won't be quite as bogged down in work. He hasn't got to keep the were secret from anyone in the family, as Tommy's now been told. As the key players in his property deal aren't around any more, there's a chance for him to make a fresh start - especially with regards to inter-were relations: Tracy solving the murders while remaining on good terms with Dana plus Tracy + Chris and Carson + Cindy.

Given her desire to not keep secrets from friends any more, there's the possibility that in future Tracy and Cindy will find out about each other's unusual 16th birthdays...

Meanwhile, it'll be interesting to see if further opportunities arise for Mary to use her super secret spell - it might be useful for TG students in the town deemed unsuitable for a rather more radical method of transformation...

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lesleycharles's picture

I can't wait to see the next

I can't wait to see the next part since you left that little cliff hanger. I love what happened to Mike/Misty Curtis. Maybe she will learn her lesson and become a better person.

Sarah_S's picture

Love the ending, can't wait

Love the ending, can't wait for the sequel! ^^

I do hope Mike/Misty won't stay like that permanently, that would be cruel...

I guess I'm just a big softie ^_^' Can't see anyone hurt, not even the bad guys.

ps: If Mike's change is permanent couldn't they have used spell on tracy, way back when? Or do the coven know something about Tracy?

Questions questions and more questions, I do hope the sequel won't be too long :p

grtz & hugs,

Sarah xxx

First Pass

This was my first pass at this story genre. I've greatly enjoyed it. Now I'll have to read more- what a shame! Many thanks for a well-told story.

Great Story and a question

EOF ...... You've done it again with a wonderful a story line, great character development and dialogue. I just lover your writing. I do have one question howe4ver. If it's been asked before, I apologize. In the very first chapter set-up, Trevor was bitten by Boomer. It was never explained why and what if any effect it had on his/her transformation. It seemed at the time that you were alluding to a connection. Am I crazy or is there something else going on here? BTW, can't wait to see what happens next!!....... Adoy

Enemyoffun's picture

The Bite

There was going to be a scene that was going to explain it but I cut it at the last minute. I decided to save it to the sequel :)

Thank you for this story

I didn't comment before because I didn't have an intelligent critique to offer, but as a summary I'd like to say:
Good storytelling as always, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Tracy :-)

the beginning

Thank you for a fine story an AUTHOR has licence to do many things ...
your work is great and loved by many ..... THANK YOU
Rone Welles XOXOXO

You are one of the reason's BigCloset is the best TG site

Just added the last chapter to my Kindle and am snugling up to read another of your fine books. I may be kicking myself later for doing away with a free thing, but you should seriously consider puting up your works as ebooks on Amazon like several other authors have done. It wont be big money, but I would buy another of your books site unseen. I can always depend upon Enemyoffun for a reasonable quality story.

Thank you

kimmie's picture

Well I can't see Tracy's life getting any easier

Especially if word gets out about her beauty and if she is the only female werewolf, anywhere. If there are others that would not be too bad. But she will no doubt feel the pressure to choose another werewolf as a mate in order to create the first pure werewolf.

I doubt she would turn her back on such an obligation.

Kim

dvdicvs's picture

For The Fairest

I hope you won't be leaving us hanging too long with the next part. This is definitely a cool universe. Can't wait for more!!

Mark

A very good read EOF!

Thanks so much for this and your other stories.

LoL
Rita

Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves are not happy.

Nooo!

I can't wait until the sequel! I guess I'll just have to read your other stories until you start posting it. I confess, I avoided the Dark Realms stories out twilight-hate, but seeing as this story was great, I'll give them all a fare shake.

Kalkin62's picture

Thoughts on the story overall

I like the story overall, but I would have preferred to see stronger emotional closure for Tracy.

While her desire for personal contact with her father (even despite all he does in the story) is certainly realistic, it has the effect of leaving her sliding back into the same rut, being emotionally abused by him.

There's a two fold problem, the first is that within the story, there's no epiphany for Tobias. There is no point during the story where he's forced to question his life and reassess his choices. He's an adult, he has almost no vulnerabilities. Emotionally, he's an island. The second problem stems directly from the first. Tracy has no emotional bargaining chips in play. There is never a point in the story where Tobias ever needs or wants anything from Tracy. He wants her to obey orders, but that's emotionally trivial. When Tracy refuses, Tobias is surprised, but then he becomes amused, which is patronizing behavior. Her refusal isn't according to plan, but it isn't really that important either, because she has no power over him.

A direct contrast to this is the confrontation scene in Some Kind of Wonderful where Cassie does have emotional bargaining chips in play when she has her conclusive interchange with her mother. In that interchange, Cassie gets to argue from a position of strength, because she has something her mother wants.

Another example of this would be the confrontation between Stephanie and Bruce in I Am the Night. Bruce does have things he wants from Stephanie, and Stephanie has options to pursue her goals without his help.

Tracy has nothing Tobias wants, so she has no way to force any kind of favorable accommodation with him.

Thus, any confrontation with Tobias ends up being pushed into two places, either Tracy falls back into the old relationship (which is essentially what does happen), or she takes the solution her brother Terry took and she severs her relations with her father.

So, in conclusion, I liked the story a lot, but I wanted to see a stronger 'win' for Tracy at the end. However, given the structure of the story, I think that would have had to result in an emotional break from Tobias. Many people probably would have felt that was an unhappy ending, although I think it would have been a stronger closure for the emotional arc as it was presented.

good story

Darn good story... reallyliked the whole premise .......well done young one .......Papa

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