Tale of the Bloody Swan (Patreon)

At the side of a quiet rural village, there was a lake of majestic beauty and crystal-like water feeding into rivers and streams. In that lake lived a gaggle of swans whose feathers were all majestic white and they loved to swim and fly around the lake, showing off their beautiful necks as they spread their wings backward and greeted each other in a pose of pride and grace.

Among those beautiful white swans was a black swan, one of a kind among the gaggle. The swans never shunned her and they all saw her as family, however, the black swan was always jealous of the other swans for their white feather to the point of envy, she wanted to have not just white feathers like them but wanted her feathers to be whiter than any of the other swans to the point where it can rival silver in its beauty, believing herself to better and more deserving.

For that, the Black Swan reached out to the Devil Man who once visited the lake, she asked for the silver feather but the Devil Man, like any other devil, offered her two paths, whether he gives her the feather for free in exchange of a later price or become his servant right away and he will give her silver feathers after her service ends.

The Black Swan was smart… no, she was so cunning she tricked the Devil Man. She offered him what couldn't refuse, she said she would do him a favor and be his servant in exchange for the silver feathers and to consider each other on an equal footing as friends since the two were like birds of a feather. In ecstasy, the Devil Man agreed for no one has ever called him a friend ever before.

His mistake was that he missed fine details of her words.

She did him a favor by being his servant and since they are friends on equal footing, he can't possibly make her do a thing she doesn't want to and so the Black Swan got her white silvery feathers and flew away far from the Devil Man.

The Devil Man didn't get angry for the trick he fell into by the Swan, rather he fell in love with her and chased her across the sky to be with her once again. As he caught up to her and threatened to take the feathers away if she didn't listen to him, he offered her a choice that whenever she is under the moonlight of the full moon, she transforms into a Devil Woman so that they can become truly equal.

Knowing that the full moon takes effect only a few days a month, the Swan accepted the deal and exchanged love with the Devil Man as his Devil Woman. What the Swan never expected was that by the next morning, she would still be human and never become a Swan under the light of the sun to bathe in the lake as the most beautiful swan. After all, isn't moonlight just the light of the sun reflecting on the moon?

Angry, the Swan faced the Devil Man and he explained to her his trickery for her. As they are of equal footing as a Devil Man and Woman, he ought to return the favor and trick her back as a sign of his twisted love for her. Wrath consumed the Swan and she used all her power as the Devil Woman to destroy the Devil Man but couldn't shatter his heart, his true source of power as it is only hers, and it is what gives her beautiful silver feathers in the darkness away from the light of sun and moon.

But a pity she was, as she couldn't enjoy the silver feather where it is dark and dim. Her rage got fueled by her envy of the other swans and she rushed at them like the Devil Woman she has become, tearing her family apart limb by limb, eating their flesh and bathing in their blood to block away the light of sun and moon.

Silver stained with blood, the last of the Swans ran from the lake but not before casting a powerful curse on the Black Swan, binding her to the lake by the blood she bathed in and thus the Bloody Swan was born.

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Summarized Version: In a tranquil village by a picturesque lake lived a gaggle of majestic white swans. Among them was a lone black swan, who envied the beauty of her companions' white feathers. Seeking a way to outshine them, she struck a deal with the Devil Man who offered her a path to silver feathers. However, the cunning Black Swan tricked the Devil Man, leaving him enamored and offering her a choice to transform into a Devil Woman under the full moon. Embracing their twisted love, the Swan became the Devil Woman by night but remained human under the sun. Consumed by rage and envy, she unleashed her power as the Devil Woman, destroying her family and bathing in their blood to block out light. Cursed by the remaining swans, she became the Bloody Swan, bound to the lake by her bloody bath.

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Trying my hand in short stories.