***This story is prequel for Calla Lily for Matjaž*** It was a cloudy morning when they first met. Little Matjaž was playing with his twin brother Clave, in the red deer forest. That was when he heard a soft cry from behind a young angel oak tree; it was a girlās voice. He couldāve easily ignored it, but somehow the cry sounded so sad and fragile. When the spoiled Clave was busy clinging to the Red Warden, Esther, Matjaž decided to see who was crying behind the tree. Just when he approached the tree, a pale hand reached out from behind the tree, as if it was trying to reach him. Without hesitation, Matjaž reached for the pale hand and pulled on it. There she was, standing before him, a little girl with a beautiful yet sad face and shiny hair with a blue ribbon tied in it. She was sobbing quietly, looking down to the ground. āWho are you? Why are you crying?ā he asked softly. The little girl looked up, looking right at him with her big blue eyes. There she saw, a fine looking kid, with the most angelic face she could ever know. His hair was silky, his eyes were big and friendly, his skin was heavenly beautiful. āMy family abandoned me for I am unwanted and now Iām lostā¦ā, she answered, sobbing. Her voice was trembling, she sounded like she was in a great sadness and had been crying a long time. He looked at her closely, there was this feeling that he couldnāt describe at that time, it was like he wanted to stop her from crying, it was like he wanted to make her feel safe. āIām Matjaž, the prince of the red deer blacvetreseā¦ā, he said, āAnd I love berriesā¦ā, he stretched out his other hand toward her, then opened them to reveal a bunch of fresh blueberries. The little girl stopped sobbing when she saw the berries. She smiled for the first time and kept looking at him. Matjaž knew that this girl must be very hungry. She took the berries from his hand and put them inside her pocket. āDo you also like flowers?ā she asked while untying the blue ribbon on her hair. Matjaž paused for a while before nodding, āBut I donāt really have a particular flower that I really likeā¦ā She looked at him and gave him the sweetest smile, āWell now you will⦠Itās Calla Lily⦠Thatās my nameā¦ā She handed him the blue ribbon, ā And I give you this⦠Please wear itā¦ā Matjaž looked at the blue ribbon with this weird expression on his face, āBut⦠I donāt wear a ribbonā, he said slowly. āGirls doā¦ā, he said shaking his head. Calla, still holding out her hand with the blue ribbon dangling from it, stared at him with her big blue sad eyes. Matjaž could see that her eyes were watery, as if she was about to cry. āBut I-I w-w-wanted you toā¦ā, she said, with her sad trembling voice. Matjaž shook his head again. āThis is my treasureā¦ā, she said again, but this time, tears were rolling down her cheeks. Matjaž was stunned. He didnāt want to see her crying again! What he wanted was to see her smile. With this intention, he took the blue ribbon from her hand, while his other hand rested on her shoulder. āDon't cry⦠Don't cry⦠Here⦠Iāll tie this blue ribbon to my hairā¦ā, he said in the most caring voice he could. She looked at him, this time, with a smile, she nodded happily and giggled. She grabbed his hand and held it. Matjaž smiled, he was feeling relieved. āNow letās go, letās find more berries to eat!ā Calla nodded happily. Holding hands together, they ran to the other side of the forest, ready to hunt and pick some berries. It was just like that, Matjaž invited Calla to enter his life. From that day forward, they were always seen together, playing in the forest. When it was time for Matjaž to go back to the castle, he made sure Calla had enough food and warm blanket, a shady tree where she could stay safe under, until they met again in the morning and spent their happy times together. Little did they know, that the darkness was lurking⦠A very malicious BlacEvil was waiting to appear, in order to kill the little girl, who was said to have inherited a powerful J flower, which was believed to have the power to break a blac curse. On one fine spring day, the three of them, Matjaž, Clave and Calla, were in the forest. The weather was delightful, with a light breeze and warm sunshine. Well, it would have been a more beautiful day, if only the spoiled brat Clave would stop crying. He cried as hard as he could, for reasons that Calla failed to understand. She didnāt think it was such a big deal that Esther the Red Warden hadnāt showed up yet. āShe is late! She is late!ā cried Clave, sitting in front of a big angel oak tree. The soft-hearted Matjaž, who couldnāt bear to see his twin brother crying, tried to cheer him up. āLook what I found earlier today from the vampire castle library, Clave!ā he said, as he held out a piece of paper to Clave. Still sobbing, Clave turned his head to see. It was a torn parchment with a bizarre symbol illustrated on it. Clave took it, gave it a good look and then threw it to the ground. āWhere is Esther? She shouldāve been here already!ā cried Clave, stubbornly refusing to stop crying. Calla stood next to the tree, quietly watching the twins, her hands were busy making flower crown. Patiently, Matjaž picked up the parchment. āIf you stop crying, Iāll draw this symbol on the ground for you.ā Clave stopped crying for few seconds. āProve it first!ā he yelled. Matjaž smiled and nodded, he took a twig and walked to the open area, surrounded by angel oak trees. There was a mysterious whisper in Matjažās ear when he was about to draw the symbol. The whisper sounded like a sinister message but he couldn't really understand what was being said. Calla and Clave walked behind him, wondering what game they were about to play with the symbol. It was indeed a game. A lethal one. By the time Matjaž finished drawing the unknown symbol on the ground with his twig, inexplicably the sky started to turn dark and the air became chilly. It was then, Matjaž felt something was not right. He looked up and there, before him, a pitch-black creature was forming. Seeing this creature forming in front of them, Clave screamed as loud as he could, calling out for Esther, the Red Warden. āRun, Matjaž!ā he said as he started to run away from the creature. Calla and Matjaž froze; they couldnāt believe what they saw. The black creature was very tall, hiding inside a robe with a large hood that reflected light as if it was made of black blood. āYou have summoned me, I am the Most Evil, Sammael.ā The BlacEvil looked at them in a way that was most horrifying. Matjaž was trembling in fear, frozen, he couldnāt run. āThe heir of the calla lily flowerā¦ā the BlacEvil pointed his hideous finger at Calla, who stood behind Matjaž. Matjaž looked at Calla, frightened, but at the same time he was ready to stand up for her. āRun and hide, Calla!ā cried Matjaž as he stretched his arms, trying to protect his little friend by blocking the BlacEvil while she ran away. But the little red deer prince was no match for a powerful BlacEvil Sammael. With a whisper, he invoked a curse on poor Matjaž. āAn unwanted thou shall be, eerie and vile I shall make thee. With crestfallen memory and ominous mind, thou will be an absenteeā¦ā Sammael chanted the curse. As the curse was invoked, Matjažās physical appearance started to change into the most frightening visage of ugliness. There was no more angelic face, beautiful eyes and skin tone, heartwarming smile. All gone, replaced by a pair of hideous red eyes, greyish skin tone, and a very twisted shape of his lips. Calla could neither believe what she witnessed nor could she do anything about it. Her hands trembling, she dropped her flower crown and began to cry in fear. The cursed Matjaž began to cry quietly, but kept whispering, āRun Calla, hideā¦ā Calla didnāt know what to do as BlacEvil Sammael approached her and tried to reach her. She screamed and cried, she ran for a bit, but had no clue where to go. The angel oak trees seemed to turn into devil trees now. In tears, she summoned the calla lily flowers with an incantation. āGrow and tall, protect us from sorrow Take us down and belowā¦ā Within seconds, calla lily flowers started to sprout fast around her, the ground beneath her opened. In tears, she looked behind her to see the BlacEvil Sammael approaching; and her beloved Matjaž starting to behave as a cursed one, groaning and twitching. She jumped down into the hole that was opening up for her. The ground beneath her devoured her, and closed up so fast that Sammael couldnāt even follow. As soon as the ground closed, all of the calla lily flowers where the ground opened up bloomed intensely. It was like a grave, covered and guarded by beautiful white flowers. Beneath the glowing flowers, Calla was buried deep and safe. She closed her eyes, wishing that it was just a nightmare, and hoping that when she opened her eyes again, she would see her beloved red deer prince, smiling at her. And that some day soon they would play together again in the red deer forest and be with each other, until the end of timeā¦











