ADVENTURE RP! NEW MEMBER WELLCOME!

William could only treat the spirit as a thought of his mind. Rather carelessly, he replied,

"Yeah, she does. Don't think it's because I love her or whatnot. I don't, although I want to. I want to love her, but only to save her from the curse that will kill her. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't want to love her. But I can't force my heart on something I don't want to do and want to do in the same time."

Ariel replied, "I sense that your intentions are noble but your lady friend is aware of your true reasons for wanting to save her and she doesn't wish to place a burden on you. She doesn't want a love that only comes because of the curse placed on her. If you truly want to understand her thinking, I can give you a glimpse of her past."

William replied, "Then she could let me go and stop treating me with her love words, because they kill me. Because every time she did that, it was like she was blaming me and it worked because I am an idiot. I want to drink this right now and leave," referring to the bottle of poison in his hand, "but I'd be betraying her. I don't know what a glimpse of her past would do."

Ariel replied, "It isn't so easy for someone to let go of a person they love and that's no exception to the lady. She has her reasons for behaving the way she does and perhaps by looking at what's happened to her, you can understand her better. I can send images to your mind of the lady's past, of the one she held the most dear to her heart before she met you."

William wasn't much interested still but replied, "Fine. I don't know what that may affect me much, because if she is worried about losing me, she will either way."

Ariel simply replied, "Then close your eyes and I will send the images of the lady's past into your mind. You will then see what she has experienced and thus her reasoning for her behavior towards you."

William closed his eyes without saying anything and then waited for the images the lady talked about.

Ariel then began to send images to William's mind. The first that she sent was one of Stacey as a little girl kneeling by her mom's bedside, crying. Her mom was dying but she smiled softly at Stacey and said,

"Don't cry, my dear daughter. I'm sorry that I can't be around to watch you grow up, marry a wonderful man and have a family. I didn't want this curse to be placed on you and I thought I had broken it when I married your father. But I made a mistake. I chose to marry him partly because he could save me but that only delayed the curse.

Dearest daughter, if you ever find a man to love, make sure that he loves you back and not just because of the curse. You deserve only the very best and nothing less than true love."

(Ok, I should get off for the night now and get some sleep. I'll post more tomorrow. Nite, nite, Love. ^^)

(Nite, nite. ^^)

As William saw the image before him of Stacey crying on her mother's deathbed, he could only remember himself being in the same very situation, when his mother was dying and he could only stay by her side when he was little. That could only make him feel sorry for Stacey and understand what she has been through, but he didn't see how would that change his mind, if what he wanted was to lift the curse from her, remove it completely, so that he would go instead.

In the flashback, Stacey looked on at her mom and replied, "I promise that I'll find a way to end this curse, one way or the other. I won't marry unless it's for true love and I won't ever spread this to another person. No one deserves it. Even if I have to die someday, at least I know no one else will suffer. That I promise."

Her mom smiled softly at Stacey and then with one last breath, she closed her eyes in eternal sleep. The flashback the ended and there was nothing left but darkness.

After there had been nothing left but darkness, William opened his eyes and came back to reality. It was a bit of silence for a bit, for he took in what he had just saw. After this brief period, he looked at the spirit and said,

"Are you showing me this just to tell me that Stacey had promised her mother not to infect anyone with the curse, not force it upon anyone or love a man just to remove it?"

Ariel replied, "I showed you this memory from the lady's past in order to see why she would not wish for you to help her in the way that you want to. She knows that you don't love her but if you did, perhaps things would be different."

She wondered whether she was getting the message to William somehow.

William replied, "And I won't be able to save her this way, because I can't love a person just because I want to. It's not within my hands. So if I can't save her at all, she could let me know and I'll go on, on my way."

Ariel looked curiously at William and gently asked, "Why do you not love the lady? Is there something horrible about her? Or is it something else?"

William slightly frowned, replying, "I love another, that's why. My heart isn't hers, no matter how much she gives me hers. I didn't ask her for it. I didn't ask her to love me, or to give me this responsibility, this burden. I didn't want it. And even if I didn't love another, Stacey isn't the one I want. She isn't the kind of woman I was hoping for. She is too far from that."

(Man, William is so stubborn. Alex, Greg, Bryan, and Ryan aren't nearly that stubborn. O_O)

Ariel replied, "What kind of woman are you looking for? Can you describe your ideal for me? The lady may fit the description closer than you may think."

(lol He is unique, isn't he? xD)

William replied, "If she was, I would have felt it, wouldn't I? I want a brave woman who is unique from others, not the typical one with the dress. I want the kind of the 'naughty' girl who can make me feel excited, who won't cry every five minutes if I had given her a bad look or a harsh word. That's how the woman I loved was, and because I know there is no else like her, I also know I won't love anyone else but her. Stacey is way, way too far from that."

(lol True, true. XD)

Ariel replied, "Perhaps you are not giving the lady a fair chance? You've only seen one side to her and from what I have learned about people through talking to so many, a person usually has many sides. Maybe put her in a situation where she can show you a different side."

*************************

Meanwhile, Stacey paced in the living room, thinking to herself how to best deal with the situation. She knew that William didn't love her and she wondered if there was something in her that needed to change.

He's harsh with me but perhaps I need to take a different approach.

She looked at her clothes and then thought

Perhaps a different look wouldn't hurt, either.

William laughed sarcastically and replied, "Put her in a situation where she can show me her other side? If I am going to love her and live with her, shouldn't she be always the one I want? Not occasionally, you know. Stacey is far from the one I want.

And in any case, why do you care so much about making me with her? What is it to you?"

Ariel smiled serenely and replied, "I just like seeing people have a happy ending. There is a chance for both you and the lady to be happy. I'm simply opening the door."

Her spirit then began to disappear and she added, "Remember what I said. Give the lady a chance. There is still time..."

Then she disappeared, away from William's view.

As the spirit disappeared, William groaned to himself, thinking,

What does she know? Happy endings, yeah.

But after what he had seen, he had to see Stacey and talk to her. He got up, put away the bottle he had in his hands and then went out of the hut to head towards Stacey's house.

(William will be in for a surprise. XD)

Meanwhile, Stacey had gone upstairs to her room and then went to the closet. She took out a pair of black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Then she changed out of her dress and into the t-shirt and jeans. Then she took off her shoes and replaced them with high-top sneakers. Going to a nearby mirror, she rearranged her hair in a ponytail. Once she was all done, Stacey took a good look at herself and she looked quite different from before. She now had this tough look on her and she felt stronger.

(lol xD)

After a while, William arrived in front of Stacey's house and knocked on the door. He needed to talk to her, in order to convince her to let him do what he thought, despite that he knew the reasons now.

Stacey went downstairs, wanting to go out for a while. She decided to head towards the nearest bar and have herself a good drink. It wasn't ladylike but she didn't care. Knowing that she only had a month left, she figured that she would make the most of her time.

Then she heard a knock at the door and went to open it. She saw William on the other side and said, "Hey, William. I was about to go out. Is there something you need?"

She was happy to see him but refrained from showing too much joy.

(Sorry I logged off suddenly. We had to go out and I didn't have the chance to write so.)

William was about to reply normally to Stacey when he noticed her completely new, different look. It was like she was a completely different person. He looked bewildered at her sudden change but then knowing that it would be weird of him to be silent, he replied,

"I wanted to talk to you, if you have time. And eh...what's with the new look?"