Chapter One
I sat here, alone on the roof of this tower, the bell tower of this old cathedral. I had been here a long time, nearly as long as the cathedral itself has stood, and it is over five hundred years old. At first glance I was like my stone brethren who adorn the edges of the roof. I look as if I was hauled up here and not used because there was no room for me. But I am much larger than my brethren who are evenly spaced around the edge of the roof, and I appear to be made of a darker material. On close inspection, one would notice that my surface was not weathered or worn like the others. That is because I was not at all like them. I was not even a statue, but an enchanted being.
Once, long ago, I was even human. I was tall, handsome, strong, and proud. It was my pride that caused me to end up here. My pride in my station, my wealth, my appearance. The stupid things that I valued so much. My family name would probably be recognized even today, so I will not give it. But my given name is, or was, Alain. That is all you will need to know.
She was pretty enough, even for a common girl. She tried hard to catch my eye, but I was used to those things and remained aloof. After all, she was common, and I, nobility. She even dared to approach me and tell me her name was Leanna, and let me know that she wanted only my love for a little while, nothing more. But I ignored her at first, then finally laughed at her, calling her silly and trivial. She finally left me, head lowered to hide the blush of shame my words, my laughter had brought to her cheeks. This made me laugh all the louder, calling out remarks at her in a loud voice, to embarrass her further. After all, she was just a common little wench. What could she possibly do to me? Such was the depth of my vanity, my pride. Had I but known.
For she was anything but a commoner. Her grandmother was well versed in the magical arts, and she had started learning from the old woman, to carry on the family tradition. Her embarrassment turned to anger, and she threw herself into her studies with a single-minded fervor that bordered on fanaticism, the only purpose in her life to be vengeance, directed solely at me for my actions. And I knew nothing of her anger or of her plans for me. Until she was ready to carry out her plan for revenge.
I awoke that night from a troubled slumber, to find myself trembling and sweating from a dream I couldn't remember. All I could recall was uncertainty at first, then fear, then sheer terror. I felt a breeze and turned to look at my open bedroom window, a window I distinctly remembered as being closed. The breeze strengthened into a wind, blowing into my bedroom. I could see a cloud approaching. My first thought was that a storm was coming, so I made to rise and shut the window, assuming that the wind had blown it open. That is when I discovered that I could not move my body. I could turn my head and move my eyes, but from the neck down my body would not respond. A sudden gust of wind drew my gaze back to the window and my soul froze at what I saw.
It was Leanna, riding the wind, approaching my window which was high up in a tower of my parent's castle. She was clothed all in black, her raven tresses blowing madly about, her arms outstretched like fantastic wings. She floated into my room and as her feet touched the floor the wind abated. She lowered her arms and smiled down at me. Her eyes burned into my soul and that smile chilled me to the quick.
"Hello, Alain," she said at last. "I've waited for this moment for some time now. You hurt me deeply, you know. All I wanted was to love you for a little while because you are so beautiful to me. I didn't want your wealth, your name, or even for you to say you loved me. But you laughed at me, called me names. You wouldn't even just let me go away quietly; you had to call after me and let my shame be known to the whole village. I've thought long on how to repay you for all of that. I've learned all my grandmother could teach me for just that purpose. Now it is time for my revenge. Come with me."
With those words I felt myself lifted on the wind and saw her fly out the window in front of me. We were carried high over the earth at such a speed as I had never known. I saw the city in the distance, then a few moments later we were soaring over it toward the new cathedral. The builders' scaffolds and cranes were still in place for the finishing touches being applied. We came to rest on the roof of the bell tower, the tower's steeple the only thing higher than this point. I was held in a standing position now, still unable to move anything but my head and eyes, not even able to speak; I know because I tried.
Leanna smiled that bone-chilling smile again as she walked slowly around my frozen form. "This will be your new home now," she said at last. "You will remain here until my curse is lifted. And oh, I have thought so long and hard about the terms and conditions of that curse. Are you ready, my sweet Alain?" Her hands and arms began tracing intricate patterns in the air as she spoke words my mind could not comprehend. Her eyes glowed with an inhuman light and sparks of lightning danced on her fingertips. Then the pain hit me, awful in its intensity. My body twisted and shook through no will of mine. I could feel it begin to change as Leanna chanted on. I felt something growing painfully between my shoulders and atop my head. I was forced into a squatting position and in a final burst of agony was frozen there.
Leanna's laugh and the look of triumph on her face was terrifying. "I've done it!' she cried. "It worked! I've done it!" Again that terrible laugh of triumph. "Now I think it is only fitting for you to see what others will see, so you can fully understand the curse I am placing you under."
I suddenly found myself looking through Leanna's eyes, knowing that the thing before me was in fact myself, horribly changed. I saw a dark statue of a gargoyle such is common on the roofs of churches and cathedrals, but a larger statue by far. It squatted there, naked but for short breeks, a brooding scowl on its face as it looked out over the city. If in a standing position, the thing would easily be over two meters tall, the furled bat-like wings would easily span over four meters. The thing had short horns and a misshapen face with a protruding jaw and teeth. Pointed ears showed through long hair. The arms, body and legs were heavily muscled. The gnarled hands and feet ended in talon-like nails. Every detail of the statue was as clear as if done by the finest sculptor. Then my view shifted and I knew I was once again looking out of my own eyes.
"You have seen your new form, Alain, now hear the conditions that bind you to it! You will remain here for as long as it takes for the conditions to be met. You will not change though the very stones of this place crumble. You will only once again become animate if and when a woman sheds tears over you. But even then you will still be imprisoned within the gargoyle's form until a woman gives her body and love willingly to you. And just in case you actually do regain life and movement, you will never be able to tell anyone the exact terms of your curse." Leanna laughed in triumph. "How long will you wait? How long before your mind snaps? Will you last days, weeks, years, centuries? I wonder. Perhaps I will visit you from time to time, just to see if you remain sane inside your prison, for you see, I can feel your thoughts when I'm this close." She stepped to me and ran her hand over me as if caressing me. "But perhaps this is the last time you will see me. I will only come to see you if I lack other amusement. Good bye, Alain. May you know suffering as painful as you gave me."
With those words, Leanna once more stretched out her arms and caught the wind, to be lifted and borne off still facing me, still laughing until I could no longer make out her dwindling form.
Chapter Two
So there I sat. It was days before I was even discovered on this high rooftop, and then the workmen assumed that some others had put me there, for as I have said, there were cranes and winches still in place. But they told the leader of their work crew, for he came with them to see me for himself.
"Well, you weren't lying after all," he said upon seeing me. "I thought perhaps you were making this all up."
"No, sir, as you can see, the statue's real enough."
The foreman walked around me, studying. "Hmm mm," he said, "I wonder what he's doing up here? He is certainly not the same as the others. His mouth is closed, and he has no rain channel, He appears to be merely decorative, if such a monster could be considered a decoration." He was referring to the usual function of gargoyles. They are actually a decorative form of rain spout. The water on the roof is channeled into an opening along the back of the statue, to pour forth from their open mouths. The sound the water makes as it does so in a heavy rain is where the name gargoyle comes from.
Then the foreman turned to leave and said, "Come along now, back to work. I will look into this matter further."
Over the next several days, he and others came to examine me, each time, of course, my origin and purpose was unknown. After a visit by representatives of the Church, it was decided that I should be removed. So block and tackle was brought up and the crane was positioned to lift my form. The attempt failed, of course, for Leanna had said I would remain here even if the building should be destroyed. Try as they might, there was nothing that could even slightly shift me. They then decided that they would break my form into pieces that they could handle. Men of great size were brought, men used to breaking great rocks with the sledges they carried. The first swung a mighty blow against the horn on the left side of my head, to have the heavy hammer rebound ringing like a bell, the workman exclaiming in pain and surprise at the stinging in his calloused hands. The horn was not even chipped. Others tried, raining blows on my unmoving form, to the same results. Nothing could mar the surface of the statue before them. In the end, it was decided that all they could do was leave me where I was. So I was finally left alone again, keeping my vigil on the rooftop.
Time passed; the days began to blend together for me. The day the church was dedicated I remember well, because the bells rang all day long. In the days that followed, people came to the roof and enjoyed the view of the city spread out below them. They would look me over as well, making comments on the fine craftsmanship of the sculpture. Several offered guesses as to the identity of the unknown sculptor. Had they but known!
