Here's the beginning of a new story. Any feedback would be appreciated. 

Song inspiration for chapter: 

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift

Bang U Up - Kristina Maria

Bottles & Hearts - Late Fallen

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Prologue

Franklin Chambers had always been considered lucky. All his life everything had always gone his way. He had all the ladies fawning over him with his good looks and just a natural good charm that drew everyone around him and made them love him. This had been the best month of his should-have-been-a-gap-year-but-had-turned-into-three-years-trip yet.

When he had decided to put off going to university and just travel the world, naturally he had started in Europe. Things had been going very well for him, he had a free bed to sleep in every night and food every morning courtesy of the women he picked up wherever he had been the night before. Some he spent weeks with, other's just the night, but once they had given him what he wanted he just left. He was in a perfect state of irresponsibility, he may never go home.

But that wasn't all he did. He hiked, he surfed, he explored all there was to offer both culturally and spiritually in each place he had gone. So, it wasn't all about finding women, some of it was about finding himself. Except he had found a lot more women than he had found himself.

A month ago, he had stumbled upon this marvelous affair. It was this large party in a massive Russian castle out in the middle of the winter tundra. The original plan had been to snowshoe up and camp on these peak to see the Aurora Borealis. Then he had gotten lost.

He had been worried that he was going to die. Frozen and lost somewhere in the snow. Would anyone find his body? Probably not for hundreds of years, but at least when they did he'd be perfectly preserved.

The palace had appeared out of no where. It gleamed, looking like it had been carved out of a mountain of ice and sparkled like a diamond in the night sky. They had been kind enough to bring him in, to warm him up, and then dress him up.

A party was going on, the servants had said. They must have assumed he was late for it. And Franklin was never one to turn down a party. Especially a fancy one like this. So he put on his borrowed clothes, went to that party looking for something fun for the night.

He had found the black-haired woman at the bar and had immediately worked his magic on her, he had her eating out of the palm of his hand. If she lived here, he was definitely going to milk her for all she had before leaving. And that's how he ended up staying there for about a month.

Franklin stretched out in the bed and rolled away from Lydia.

She liked her beauty sleep, and he didn't want to wake her. A grumpy Lydia was a bitchy Lydia and he didn't want to deal with one of her tantrums. Yes, the month he had spent at the castle wasn't as perfect as he had hoped, what with have to deal with his grumpy princess's mood swings and temper tantrums. But he was waited on hand and foot at all hours of the day, there were constant parties with more girls to flirt with (when Lydia wasn't looking of course), great food, and a woman willing to give him anything and everything he wanted at the snap of his fingers. He could totally put up with a few temper tantrums if he could get all of that plus guaranteed sex with a hot girl at the end of the night.

Franklin rolled out of bed and moved to the mirror to fix his blonde hair, smoothing it out. He looked his reflection up and down with a smile of appreciation on his face. He could definitely see why the ladies found him attractive, with his chiseled abs and his strong jaw line.

It was getting annoying have to bed the same girl every month, usually he'd be gone by now but he was finding it hard to say no to this woman. Plus the place was so great he didn't want to leave. He mentally began his pep talk on how he could survive one more day here only to be interrupted by the raven-haired beauty stirring in her sleep, no doubt roused by the lack of him in the bed.

"Franklin?" she murmured to the large open room. He turned and tried not to frown. Lydia was getting really clingy recently and it was kind of killing his attraction to her. "Baby, where are you?"

"I'm here, just appreciating the view," he said, a cocky smirk on his face.

She blushed at him bashfully, drawing the white blankets up against her chest and blinking her eyes seductively, it almost made him want to go over there and ravish her all over again, but he also wanted breakfast and a new wardrobe.

"So, what would you like to do today?" she asked him.

"I wouldn't mind staying in bed all day," he said crossing over to her, he leaned in and kissed her solidly on the lips.

"Yes, but we have much to do," she said. "It's been a long time since I've had anyone and I'm going to introduce you to everyone I know." Franklin blinked his eyes at her, suddenly very concerned with her. "And we have a wedding to plan now."

Franklin nearly choked on his own breath. "A what?" he echoed.

"A wedding," she said plainly. "We are so alike that it will work. You told me you love me, remember, and I love you. You promised we'd will be together forever."

Franklin was silent. Yes, he had said that he loved her, but that was because she was about to make a very big scene over him flirting with a blonde waitress at last night's party. That didn't mean he meant it. He just said whatever he had to to shut her up and he hadn't wanted her to throw him out in the snow.

She was staring up at him, her light blue eyes almost a light grey in the light. They were wide and she beamed up on him and Franklin groaned. His princess with her very own castle was absolutely crazy. Obviously, he needed a new plan. He couldn't stay here any longer if she thought he'd stay forever. He was going to have to leave sooner than expected.

"Okay... look, I don't want you to take this the wrong way but you know I'm travelling right? And I keep telling you, that I'm supposed to be back on the road. So, I think it'll be best for both of us if I leave, today." he said, his smile strained.

Her bright smile cracked slightly and Franklin took a precautionary step away from her. He stooped down to pick up his shirt from the floor. "But, you have me though," she said. "You don't need to travel anymore."

Franklin winced and pulled his shirt over his head. "Yeah, but I have to get back home," he said.

"Then I'll come with you!" she cried bolting to her feet.

Franklin blanched and backed up again. "No!" he shouted.

She stared at him, those blue-grey eyes watering in her confusion and Franklin sighed. He had wanted to polite about this, spare her feelings, but he was going to have to be harsh.

"Okay, Lydia, I didn't want to mean but you're kind of twisting my arm here. You're smothering me, I need some time away from you okay? So, I think it's best if I go travelling again and then when I feel better, I'll come back. How does that sound?"

Her face changed, almost darkened. "Excuse me?" she snarled, her teeth clenched. Her eyes were darkening, turning the color of ash, circles appearing under her eyes, like bags but they hadn't been there before.

Franklin sighed and picked up his jacket, he slung it over his shoulder with a casual shrug. He scanned the room for his backpack, it was probably in the back of the closet, he'd need to get it and hopefully fill it with some awesome stuff before leaving.

"This was nice. You have a nice home, and you gave me lots of great stuff and I'm super appreciative, really, I am. But honestly I'm a free bird, and you can't cage a bird... you know?"

"You said you loved me," she reminded him, stomping her foot much like a little child. The start of a tantrum.

For a moment he thought the room shook but it was impossible for such a small girl to make that happen. Outside clouds covered the sun, like a storm had just rolled in out of nowhere. He ignored all of that completely and crossed to the closet. Finding his backpack he quickly shoved a few expensive shirts in before turning to her.

"Sorry, but... I lied," he said plainly. "I didn't want you making a scene in front of your guests so I said whatever I had to. It's callous, I know, but if you didn't throw temper tantrums like a child I wouldn't have had to worry about you embarrassing us in front of everyone you know."

He turned away from her, to grab maybe a nice evening jacket or a nice tie and regretted it immediately. She must have been much faster than he had expected for suddenly she was right behind him, her hands on his temple. Her voice had split in two, a lower and a higher and Franklin was frozen the second he heard it.

Through time and stars above

you will transform

and be the monster inside

until you find true love.

In that excruciating moment his world went black and for that split second he was in the most pain he had ever been in. When he opened his eyes he was no longer in the palace bedroom but in a dark dingy office. He forced himself to stand and found a window in front of him. He stared out it and found a sleepy looking village just outside.

Franklin put a hand to his swimming head, trying to steady himself. His skin felt weird to him, not oily but not dry. He wondered if he was overly sweating, he also wondered how long he had been unconscious.

Until you find your curses broken

The others of this town will remain forsaken

Franklin turned, that didn't exactly rhyme and he wanted to tell her that.

What he found when he turned around was Lydia, completely changed. She was just standing there in a jet-black flowing gown, a crown of black thrones upon her head. She was leaning against a desk and glaring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. He growled to himself as he stalked towards her.

"What did you do to me?" he snarled.

"Rule number one: Franklin Chambers. Don't mess with witches," she hissed at him.

She side stepped away from the desk and behind her was a mirror. There Franklin could finally see what she had done to him. He ran around the desk and peered into the glass feeling at his face to see if it were real or if it were a trick.

His skin had gone a sallow, sickly ashen color, his eyes sunken into his face like a skull, his hair now greasy and thinned. It was almost like he was a rotting corpse, but he couldn't be cause he was alive. He was a living breathing person, wasn't he? With a heartbeat and working lungs, right? Because how else could he be about to hyperventilate in sheer terror of what he had become.

He stared at his reflection and the monster he had become and couldn't hold his scream of horror in.

Behind him the woman laughed, the sound chilling and cruel. "Welcome to Anathime."