It must have been when he was eight, that was the first time he laid eyes on Anya. A lonely beast girl with an unsmiling face. Living each day surrounded by dark elves and few people to call his own, naturally Rei was drawn to her, a fellow outsider like him. He saw bits and pieces of himself in her, feeling her struggles to assimilate in Rahnoff were very familiar. This feeling made him want to defend her, it made him want to bring her under his wing.
When she first arrived in Rahnoff she appeared worse off than him. At least he arrived with a fancy blanket, unharmed, and just confused. When Anya arrived, she looked half dead, nothing but skin and bones with filthy rags barely covering her little limbs. It was a struggle for the nuns to even wash her those first few days. She struck out at anyone within striking distance, crouched in a corner, clutching her rose locket as she watched everyone else closely like a wounded little beast.
It took a lot of time to gain her trust and even longer to help her heal. He watched her rock herself to sleep several nights while tightly holding onto the very same locket Jasper just condemned as cursed. Rei can't help but feel his uncle's callous words might have ripped open her old wounds, causing her to lash out more fiercely in turn. He frowns deeply at his uncle, cautioning him silently with his eyes before turning to gauge Anya's reaction. Her emerald eyes look stunned by Jasper's words, her hand unconsciously reaching for her precious locket.
"What kind of rubbish are you spouting! Even if you want to lie to absolve yourself of murder, can't you think of some better bullshit!" To please the nuns Anya rarely curses in this manner, her crude words this time just goes to show how angry she is.
"That's quite a mouth you've got there little lady, completely rotten to the core. And here I thought I was doing a good deed by giving you a word of caution. Not to worry, carry on then, just don't come crying to me when your entire being has been consumed by the curse later. I'm telling you right now, I won't be able to help since I don't deal in holy magic."
"Who asked you!" Anya looks like she's ready to vault over the table and claw out his uncle's eyes out at any minute. The atmosphere is so charged that it would only take a single spark to blow everything sky high.
"Anya, please calm down for a minute so he can explain." Rei tries to pacify the grumbling wolf girl. As much as he wants to write this off as Jasper just being a thorn in his side again, he knows the older Bastion wouldn't speak lightly on such subjects. If he says there's a curse on the locket there likely may very well be a curse on it.
"Uncle don't take offense, Anya is simply upset because you just called her late mom's locket cursed. It's all she has left to remember her by."
"As touching as that might be nephew, that does not change the fact that it's still a cursed item. A very vicious one at that."
"What do you mean by this?"
The fuming parties break eye contact long enough to see lady Oya enter the room. The older dark elf looks a bit drained, leaning heavily on her cane as she's guided to her seat by Riell.
"Don't mind this old lady, what manner of foul language have these long ears of mine not heard yet. Please continue. I too would like to hear about this curse."
Anya's fair skin turns rosy with embarrassment as she realizes lady Oya heard her cursing a few minutes before. Chastened and ashamed, she becomes more docile, willing to quietly sit to the side without interrupting anymore.
Jasper raises a brow to her sudden change in demeanor. "Willing to say things in front of some but not others, what little courage you have."
"Bite me you murderous scumbag" Anya mutters, knowing his sharp ears would pick up her words just fine even if she whispers.
"I doubt your scrawny body would even count as an appetizer." Jasper chuckles, not caring for her childish behavior he continues his train of thought. "Now as I was saying, the rose locket the little miss is wearing is called 'The Rose of unending Woes.' Quite the name, right?"
Rei gulps, like Riell he finds himself nodding his head in agreement. The name alone should let you know it's not a good thing. He can't help but recall the night he retrieved this very necklace from Arie's neck while she peacefully slept. He can't help but look back at the innocent looking gold locket, never imagining such a thing could have such a wicked origin.
'Ariellia wore it for a few days before our wedding, is she alright?' He begins to worry for his wife, especially now that she's out of his sight. What if the curse left some lingering effect on her?
"I have never heard of such a thing." Lady Oya looks to Anya, politely stretching out her hand for a closer examination of the locket. "May I see it my child?"
"No!" Anya overreacts, bolting out of her seat and running out of the dining room. Her friends are so startled by her odd behavior it takes a minute for Riell to get up and chase after her. Rei wants to go too but he knows he must stay, only if he stays can he hear the full extent of the curse and how to resolve it.
"What does the curse do?"
"It's a sinister cycle of self-hatred and scorn. It invokes the wearer's inner jealousy for another, the more jealous they become the more unsightly they look to the subject of their envy. In turn the other will likely openly scorn and ridicule them whenever they meet, invoking even darker emotions within the bearer. This endless cycle of mockery and abuse doesn't end until one has slain the other."
"What a vicious thing indeed." Lady Oya looks deeply troubled that something so evil could remain hidden right under her nose for so many years.
"But it doesn't work if the owner isn't harboring thoughts of jealously towards others!" Rei becomes excited by the possibility that Anya might have subverted the curse's effect.
Jasper's similar red eyes stare deeply into his soul once again, his voice almost becoming hypnotic in nature.
"Dear boy, do you honestly believe one can free themselves of the trappings of jealousy. Can you honestly say you have never been jealous of another?"
…
He cannot, just the other day he wanted to beat up his uncle for daring to openly flirt with his wife in the forest.
"But then who would Anya be jealous of?" Lady Oya rubs her head, feeling a migraine on its way from all this bad news.
"Well, that's easy. Who has the looks, wealth, and all the love she could ever need and want?"
"…Ariellia."
"And there you have it nephew, your 'bestfriend' is deeply jealous of your wife. Do you still wish to take her to the capital with us?"