A Gift(I love goat cheese too)

In the early dawn of an ordinary day, Jerarme de Selfine was born to two wealthy nobles, Jeanne de Selfine and Diamen de Selfine.

"Lady Selfine! Hold on! The child is almos-." The midwife shouted, focused. Sweat running down her brows, drawing down the paths of her wrinkles. Her thin, white sleeves bunched back, consoling the soon-to-be mother.

A midwife short and aged, calm in practiced ease of delivering children, she consoles the soon-to-be mother.

Jeanne breaths shallow and fast. Heaving, struggling for breath, she takes chokes for a single breath. It sounds like a desperate and last inhales of man.

A shuddering exhale and a single cry shakes the early dawn.

The midwife rushes quickly, steady. Taking the baby out to a prepared bath as the new mother takes a moment to breathe and pray.

Jeanne closes her eyes and intertwines her hands. "Oh God, God, God… Solis, we are finally a family." She cries, love in her voice. "Our… child, our child, I'll love, love… till my baby doesn't know anything else but our love. I swear it. I swear it..."

Sobbing, her breath skips steps. Her tightly clasped hands, shaking and pressed against her forehead as if it was her only way to live.

"Oh Holy God of ours, may the blessings of Solis be with our family." Still weary as can be from childbirth, she weakly intertwines her hands together in a short prayer. Delicately she turns her head towards one of her maids attending her. "Go and bring my husband." Efficiently, the maid bows and heads outside the chamber to call for the lord of the house.

Taking a deep and wet breath, she opens her eyes to the real world and turns to the nearest maid. "Bring in my husband, it is over." She smiles, tear tracks mar her face, nose bright red and dripping.

The maid smiles back with barely contained joy, frantically nods turns on her heels and heads for the door.

A muffled shout, a hurried steps came towards the door. The door bursts open.

Diamen de Selfine, a prideful and religious man. His black hair streaked with age and eyes the color of the sea. Diamen was neither tall nor short. Just a man with an average height and wishes of glory.

"Jeanne!" Diamen crows, worry painting his visage for his weary wife. He reaches out to grab his wife's hand in his. "A-are you alright?" Then, realizing, Diamen whips his head around, turning towards the maids nearby. "Where is my child?"

Just then, the midwife walks in carrying a bundle, "Lord Selfine, here's the boy," the midwife gently guided the baby into the lord's hand, "Please support his head, cradle him in the crook of your elbows."

Diamen's arms trembled, awe in the child he held. Closed eyes and chubby cheeks, still rosy red.

"Diamen? Now, dear, you can't forget the one who birthed him, can you?" Jeanne chuckled, light and teasing. Her rich, bronze hair curled down her shoulders like waves. Skin, pale from her ordeal moments ago, but her grey eyes held sparks of satisfaction.

"Of course not! Dear wife, I could never forget you." Diamen smiled, full of joy for the new life and his beautiful wife.

Gently and ever so tenderly, he lifted the child into his wife's weary arms. "A quiet child, isn't he?" Jeanne whispered, barely a breath, to not startle the child. She observed his features, drinking in the moment. "What shall be his name?"

Diamen took in the scene, his wife and his son in her arms. His smile still on his aged face. "I know a perfect name, Jerarme." He wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders. "Jerarme, our gift from the Gods."

"Our precious gift." Jeanne exhaled and pressed her lips tenderly against their child's forehead.

—————

"He's nothing but a curse!" Vicious venom flung across the bejeweled room. Rugs embroidered in gold thread, furniture made out of expertly furnished wood. Yet, the occupants of the luxurious room seemed blind to the riches around them.

"I'll say it again! You birthed nothing but a monster!" Diamen spat out, disgust clear on his sharp features. His hands gripped tightly into fists.

Jeanne's sweet face warped with indignation, "What do you mean,' You?' This is your son too!" Bitterness crept up her soft features. Her hands clenched together, in an attempt to steady herself.

Diamen's face turned dark, sneering, "That being, is no son of mine, you probably stuck yourself to a man and claimed that child as mine." Stepping dangerously closer, Diamen tore Jeanne apart again, "Why else would he be cursed?"

Jeanne's composure broke, "How could you say such things! I was always loyal to you, and only you!" Silent tears poured down from her eyes. "How could you mistaken me for a common whore…" Bitterness once again turned its ugly head, "Aren't you keeping something from me?" Savagery dripped from her silent fangs. "Since he is your child too."

"W-what!?" Surprise from the unexpected outburst, Diamen faltered in his steps. "How dare you!" Diamen started forward again. "You don't know how much I had to endure with the other nobles! My reputation is ruined!" His feet dragged against the fine carpet, muffling his heavy footsteps.

"Your reputation!?" Jeanne gripped at her elegant dress cluttering pleats down to wrinkles. She ground her blue heels into the ground, dragged herself to stand taller. "It's always you, you, you! The world isn't made only for you, you know?" Jeanne smiled bitter and broken. "Sometimes, I wonder what went wrong, but it all comes back to yo-." Jeanne's face whipped left, body following after her.

Her balance tipped. World under her thin heels slides right, as she, left. Luxurious rugs met her palms, as she held her torso from falling to the floor. Immediately after, she touched her reddening cheek in disbelief.

Diamen stared at her in surprise. As if he couldn't believe what had happened either. As soon as Jeanne moved, Diamen snapped back into reality, "Jeanne! I-I'm sorry! It was-. " Desperately he reached out to grab Jeanne's arm, but she pulled back flinching at his touch, Diamen faltered.

"Please let me leave. Please, please, please. I beg of you." Head turned down Jeanne begged, quietly, as if raising her voice any louder would anger him.

Diamen let her go.

—————

Jeanne had been enjoying an afternoon break, earl grey tea with honey and tea cakes. She sipped her tea out of a delicate cup, swirling with flowers. Placing the cup back onto the saucer, she looked at her company. Jerarme laid in a baby carriage, sleek and blue the newest model available, and was wiggling his arms around in the carriage.

Jeanne smiled, "Jera, sometimes I think you're too cute." Grinning like a Cheshire Cat, Jeanne made a move. Gently, she poked at Jerarme's cheeks, delighting at the softness. Jerarme reacted, he reached out to grab onto Jeanne, wrapping his tiny hands around Jeanne's index finger. Letting out little grunts, he gripped Jeanne's finger tighter as he grumbled.

Jeanne's smile turned to a small frown, "I wonder why you won't open your eyes… the midwife had said that you would, certainly, after birth. Yet, Jera you haven't at all. Will you have blue eyes like your father or gray eyes like me?"

Slowly, she combed her hand through Jerarme's sparse hair, in doing so made Jerarme let out a little gurgle of happiness. Just then, like an answer to Jeanne's prayers, Jerarme opened his eyes, he looked around his furnished surroundings in childlike curiosity.

But Jeanne was frozen, horror painted on her features. She ripped away from Jerarme's grip, making the young baby let out a piercing cry from the abrupt loss.

Jeanne couldn't focus on her crying son. Jeanne stumbled out of her chair to get closer to Jerarme, "No. No, NO. It can't be!" Jeanne reached out to cradle Jerarme's head in her hands and stared in dread at his watering eyes. His beautiful, bloody red eyes.

—————

Cursed beings, a force to be reckoned with. Beings born once every one hundred years, that say to have powers unimaginable. They could come in any form. But always, the beings seem to follow three rules:

First, Cursed beings are born every one hundred years. Second, Cursed beings are gifted blessings from the Devil God. Third, Cursed beings are to have a unique characteristic connected to the Devil God. Red eyes. Red like blood on the battlefield, eyes that would shame all the jewels that have ever existed.

But some believe there is a fourth rule.

[Cursed beings are born from sin.]

The wrong in the eyes of good. Acts that create an opening for the Devil God to swoop in to lead the parade of sin. That is why when there is a prosecution for Cursed beings, it is not just the Cursed who is being dealt with.

—————

Jeanne had been avoiding him for a solid week. Diamen sighed deeply, his sea eyes looking at the paperwork in front of him. He couldn't concentrate on the words running across his desk. They passed through his mind and left out the same way.

"Jeanne… I want to see you again." Papers, all forgotten, he'd left his desk to look at the sky outside his window. He had been pondering the 'what ifs' of that day, and found himself at a conclusion. 'It's that Devil's child's fault.' Where else could he go? A prideful man, always blameless in his own eyes. A religious man, knowing the evil deeds of the Devil. The Devil wanted to split up his love and him, and use the face of his son to do such.

Resolve on his mind, he sought out to find Jeanne, to fix them together again. Soles clacking against the hallways of the manor, Diamen ordered his servants to find Jeanne and report back to him. Swiftly, the servants all scattered about in search of Lady Selfine.

"Lord Selfine! I had found your Lady in the garden!" Rushing in was one of the maids, she made a half bow as she spoke out the details of Jeanne's location. "The Lady was resting in the right gardens, on the wo-." Before she even could finish her words, Diamen quickly stepped away heading towards the gardens.

Speeding away as fast and as dignified as possible, Diamen's thoughts clouded his mind but brushed them all aside when he saw a glimpse of Jeanne.

Sitting with her head in her hands, sobbing, she muttered words of what-ifs. Her locks of bronze, still immaculate as ever, draped over her shaking shoulders and bent back.

"Jeanne," Diamen whispered as he slowly walked toward Jeanne. Jeanne looked up, surprise in her shiny gray eyes. Hurriedly she moved to stand up and leave.

"Jeanne, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do such a thing to you. I'll never do such things again, please I just want to fix things." Diamen blabbered on his mind going off the rails, "I really just want to be with you again, because I love you." Jeanne stopped midstride, her hands trembled.

"Could you love me again, Jeanne?" Jeanne turned, bronze hair in the air swaying with the wind.

"I could never win against you, Diamen." Smiling wryly with tears still in her eyes, she answered. "And I have always loved you." Jeanne moved to sit back down onto the wooden bench. Motioned her hands at the empty seat.

Diamen sat down, turning to Jeanne, moving his hand to hold her. Jeanne flinched. Diamen faltered.

Jeanne stared at his eyes, putting on a soft smile. "I'm sorry, it's alright." Jeanne's hand slowly covered his. "We'll work this out." Diamen's eyes shined.

Suddenly Jeanne's face twisted with an ugly look. "Diamen, what can we do about the Devil child?" The child, forgotten, for the time being, came back in full force.

"You came to the same conclusion?" Diamen asked a solemn gaze. "That Devil had taken our child and replaced him with a monster." His hand under hers rolled into a fist. Heartbroken anger took over his face.

Righteousness and ignorance mingle like ballroom dancers.

"Yes, but what can we do?" Biting her lips in worry, Jeanne leaned her head against his shoulder.

It was something that everyone knew, sang in songs, in bedtime fables, and in history books. Cursed beings can't be killed just like anyone. The blessing from the Devil God makes it impossible to get rid of Cursed beings without consequences, since every God would pay attention to one of theirs being murdered. So it was well known for Cursed beings to be taken to the Church to be dealt with.

Jeanne sighed. "If we go to the Church for help, though they would deal with the Cursed child, we would be persecuted by the Church for creating a monster, like the Jinese."

The Jinese was a well-known noble family who the Church persecuted on the basis of the young daughter having birthed a Cursed being. The young daughter had turned out to have a secret lover, a man of many crimes, and a spy from another country. Soon that led to a full-blown investigation on the Jinese family. Which had found evidence of the Jinese providing information about the Ghatana Kingdom to the neighboring Illusiva Kingdom. Leading the Jinese line to ruin and execution.

"That'll happen either way we go anywhere for help. We might not be able to stay alive if things turn far too south." Diamen had worry flowing through his mind. "Even if we tried to get rid of him, the Devil God will come after us."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Jeanne's shoulders slumped down, her hair falling with her movement. "Why must the innocents carry the sins?