Willow
Willow healed faster and more seamlessly this time around, able to provide the food she would need plus replenish her energies as needed with sufficient rest. By day three, she was already able to breathe more easily, although the horribly audible crunch of her ribs realigning had turned even the even-tempered Agnes green when it had happened at random over a cup of tea. Willow had apologised profusely, having known it was coming, and had completely forgotten to warn anyone of that fact.
Willow'd also put a hold on all lessons while she healed, knowing better than to push herself on that front. The children were vocal about their disappointed, although quickly silenced by their embarrassed parents.
Edward had ordered the body of the beast be burnt, after they’d gathered all the information, they could from it. The smell it had carried with it in death was nothing compared to the acrid fumes that resulted from the flames. It had taken two days of constant high temperature burning before it had disintegrated. It had forced them to build a stack of wood over the body, cover it with dirt and burn it that way to rid themselves of the thing. It was clearly not a natural thing, although no one had thought it was by that time. Either way, no one enjoyed admitting just how unnatural it was.
By day seven, Willow felt comfortable enough to visit the canteen for meals again and was met with many a pat on the back, although she was always on the lookout for the small group who supported the actions of those that had nearly let her die. She saw no one she suspected of such behaviour, but she never let her guard down either. No point in being foolish, even with Jonathon's constant presence.
Willow was sitting down to an early lunch with a small gaggle of children, expecting the rest of her students to join her as the hour passed. Agnes had joined her, as did several parents, and it had become a warm, homey little circle. Willow was laughing at the children's antics when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Turning in surprise, she faced one of her student's mothers. She looked terribly frazzled, hair coming loose from her bun, face red from running and panting heavily as if she had been exercising vigorously.
"Have you seen Liam?" She asked breathlessly, sounding almost... desperate.
Willow frowned, thinking back. She hadn't started classes back up yet, but she often saw many of her students throughout the day.
"No," Willow shook her head slightly. "I don't think I've seen him all day, actually. Have you asked Mina? Her son is close with Timmy, so maybe he's over there?" Willow added but quickly rose in shock.
The woman Lizzie had broken into tears and Willow quickly grabbed her shoulders to keep her balanced as she cried, panicked.
"I've already been to both Mina's and Harriet's! Liam isn't there. Mina and Harriet's children are also missing. I've also spoken to Old Ben and Lucas. Old Ben hasn't seen his granddaughter since breakfast, and Lucas and his wife haven't seen their daughter either. We've been searching the compound for hours. You were our last idea!"
Willow shared the woman's concern. Willow was intimately familiar with the group; they were a small ring of minor misbehaviour in her classes. All five of them were under the age of ten and enthralled with Willow's tales from back home, thinking of themselves as future adventures, often playing games in which, they met new people and exploring forgotten places. Willow had thought it a quaint little game, an amusing idea given their lack of understanding of the political climate. But that was the joy of children. They very rarely understood the world around them but had big grand ideas for what they would do within it. Willow had always found the innocence of children refreshing, contributing to her desire and enjoyment of teaching. It was always awful to watch that childlike wonder die as the child grew up and became an adult, but Willow always savoured the short time she had with each child before that realisation happened.
Willow had sent several of the children with her to find their respective parents and Jonathon had sent for Agnes while Willow tried to comfort the fearful mother while trying to coax out of her where she and the other parents had already searched while she formulated a plan.
Agnes had joined midway through this list and Willow turned to settle the woman in a chair with a glass of mead to, hopefully, help calm her.
"Did you get all that?" Willow asked Agnes and Agnes nodded. "Any idea where they might be? I've asked the children, but they don't know anything. Could they have got out?"
"I'd genuinely doubt they could get out of here. We routinely check the whole thing to make sure there's no breach. There are some smaller areas that I'll arrange some other folks to search. I'll have them meet back here."
Willow nodded. "Have the missing children's parents come here to me too. They'll hold things up if they're part of the search parties right now. Besides, I need to speak with them. I have an idea."
Agnes nodded, face serious as she turned to the other parents slowly trickling in at the words of their children. The adults had herded the remaining compound children into the hall, creating a cacophony of its own, for safety. Agnes organised the adults into smaller groups and sent them out with instructions. The missing children's guardians soon trickled in and joined Willow and she set to work attempting to reassure and comfort as she waited for all of them to join her.
Five children with a total of seven parents or guardians. It was a typical scenario these days. The original mother, Cecilia, and her husband had been searching for one of their sons with Lucas and his wife. They'd visited Mina and Harriet, both widowed women, who had been searching for their daughters, joined them in the search where they had found Old Ben hobbling on his old cane, looking for his granddaughter. They'd split up to continue the search while Cecilia searched out Willow, and here they were.
Once they had all assembled, Willow carefully making sure Ben was situated comfortably. He had received a particularly nasty wound getting his granddaughter away from the massacre of the Lieutenant as a child. He'd already been a member of the Resistance, as a spy essentially, but had moved into the compound after the attack. He had survived, but it had left his leg terribly twisted and deformed.
Once sure he was safe, Willow revealed why she had collected them all here.
"As I'm sure you know I can use magic," Willow started, checking for understanding as she went, "I might be able to use it to trace your children."
"Then why haven't you!?" Mina demanded, harshly.
Willow pinned her with a serious look, offended. "Because it is an incredibly invasive technique. It is a spell I have used only once without permission, and I refuse to do so again unless a situation of similar disaster is happening. Just because I have magic does not mean I may use it on everyone I meet." Mina averted her eyes.
"I gathered you all here to ask for that permission."
Each of the guardians easily agreed, and Willow turned to hail Agnes back to the table.
"Can you hold down the fort?" Willow asked, teasingly.
Agnes clapped her heels together, standing as straight as she could, and saluted her. Willow giggled a little.
"Please look after these guys," Willow added as Agnes escorted her to the door in a lowered voice. "Keep them from joining the hunt just yet. Their worry will only be a hindrance and tempers will flair. We can't afford such things right now."
Agnes agreed emphatically and turned to see to her charges as Willow made her way out into the courtyard.
Pulling in a deep breath with her eyes shut, she focused in on the essence of the children, searching for the vague imprint every person left behind them as they moved about the world. She found one of the children and following it a short way, found that all five of the children had met up that day with several of the other children in the small, grassy area specifically set aside for the children to play in. She followed the path of the five behind buildings, where they played and built in the dirt along the wall. Occasionally she was interrupted by one searcher or other, sent by Agnes, to inform her they’d finished searching. Jonathon, trailing her as always, remained silent as she searched, but his growing worry was clear in the set of his shoulder and the way he pushed his injured limbs to work harder.
Stolen story; please report.
Willow felt bad pushing him to do this but was as yet too afraid to be without him. It was later in the afternoon when they came to an area, well-worn with little grass and mostly dirt beside the wall that still bore evidence that the children had spent time playing there, little hills and scraps of wood and bark left as if mid game, as if the children had only recently departed the area.
She called their names softly, Jonathon joining in so they could cover both sides of the small area but heard nothing. She continued to follow the imprint and stop short, blood running cold.
"Jonathon," she screeched, attempting to squash the cold trickle of dread dripping down her spin as she waited for Jonathon to ambled slowly, his limp more pronounced with all the extra stress put on the limb. He looked almost hopeful, but when he caught sight of Willow's pale, panicked face, the hope disappeared and he came to stand at her side, looking to where her trembling fingers pointed.
There, in the wall, was a tiny gap.
Willow couldn't have got through that gap, nor any other adult, but a child under ten? Willow forced herself to crouch in front of it, examining the work and reaching through to the other side to inspect if a child could have genuinely fit through the space and made their way outside. As Willow's hand made it through to the other side, Willow felt the heat of heavy breathing and snatched her hand back just as a great beast appeared where her hand had been, nicking the soft flesh where her thumb joined her hand.
Willow jumped back with a terrified yelp as she recognised a duplicate of the beast that had attacked her. It did not relent however, throwing itself against the wall, thick claws on burly arms reaching through the gap toward her. The noise it made was otherworldly, a high-pitched howl that made goosebumps appear on Willow's skin and her hair stand on end.
Suddenly blinded, the light of the sun caught on Jonathon's blade as he darted forward, nimbler than Willow thought a man of both his age and with his injury could be, thrusting the sword through the gap and into the beast's face. It let out another high-pitched noise as Jonathon pulled the blade free and retreated to Willow's side, but they heard the thump as it collapsed. It let out a last, rattling breath and was still.
Willow took a moment to calm her breathing before turning to Jonathon.
"Are... Are you all, right?" she panted.
Jonathon sheathed his blade and nodded. "I think we have more pressing concerns now," he said, looking back towards the corpse.
Willow took a deep breath. “Find Edward. Bring him to us. Once he's moving, pull every man you can to meet us in the hall. Those children are out there. Their fingerprints are all over that gap and I shudder to think what has happened to them..."
Jonathon and Willow shared a look before separating, Willow sprinting for the hall while Jonathon moved to meet with Edward. Willow ran as if her life depended on it, calling to anyone she passed to meet her in the hall as she flew past confused bystanders.
Willow burst through the doors to many a surprised yelp, and Agnes quickly moved to hand her a mug of water. She drank it down greedily before grabbing a hold of Agnes' hands, the fear in Willow's eyes contagious.
"They got out," she gasped. These words alone were enough to stir up genuine fear.
"Willow! Your bleeding!" Agnes exclaimed, attempting to pull her away for care, but Willow snatched her hand back.
"No.... time," she continued to pant, horrendous images of the five children plaguing her mind. "The... beast... the thing that attacked me... it hurt me. When I was reaching... through the gap in the wall... he got a claw into my hand. I saw no other blood. It had not found the children. But if they're still out there..." Agnes' eyes grew wide as she saw just how scared Willow was.
Edward joined them then. A stream of men and women had been trailing in at various moments because of Willow and Jonathon's orders.
"Edward. There are five children outside the compound and there are at least one more of those beasts out there with them," Willow spoke before any of the fear and drama could bleed into and confuse the situation.
Edward's brow crumpled in concern. "What is being done?"
"We've searched the compound. I used my magic to track the children to a small gap in the wall. When I reached through, checking if they could go through, a beast identical to the last one, attempted to attack me. Jonathon killed it and it did not appear to have fresh blood on it but..."
Edward nodded quickly, not wishing her to finish that sentence in the current company. "Who amongst you would volunteer to go out in search of the children!" He yelled out, gaining quiet and attention.
Quickly, a small group of ten were assembled and Willow sidled up to Edward.
"I wish to accompany the group. I can track the children far faster than anyone here can."
Edward sized her up. "I trust you not to run, Willow. But I cannot vouch for the others in the group regarding your safety."
Willow raised an eyebrow. "The children are the main concern. I think I am last on their minds if I am being useful. If I am attacked, I expect it will not surprise you if I defend myself?"
"Just try not to kill anyone," Edward conceded and Willow joined the group heading out to collect their arms.
Willow checked the tautness of her bow string after having strapped on her short sword and daggers. It would need attention the following day, she decided, pulling on her quiver, but it would do for now.
Jonathon was with the group speaking with them when Willow arrived, and they quickly departed. Willow wondered what Jonathon had said but disregarded it in favour of following the trail the children had left.
They moved as quickly as Willow could, still tracking the children. It was growing dark now, and Willow and the others around her were all on edge, aware of the danger lurking in the forest.
They passed the deceased body at the wall and Willow followed the trail back into the forest. After about a half hour of tracking, they came to their first heartbreak.
A mess of blood and flesh lay on the forest floor, and if it had not been for her fifth sense, Willow may not have been able to tell that this mess was not the remnants of some hunted animal. Willow had moved toward it with tears in her eyes and knelt by the small form of Liam, almost unrecognisable as human except for tiny feet, one still encased in its shoe, the other bare and found a short distance back beside a fallen tree.
They had brought cloth tarps with them in case and Willow helped another woman move the mess onto it. The front side had escaped much of the attack, although his facial features were indistinguishable. One of his legs had been severed, so ferocious the attack had been.
The fearful mutters were loud in Willow's ears as they tied the tiny bundle high in a tree to prevent wildlife from taking it. It would be retrieved later when the others had been found.
They continued on. Willow fought the bile threatening in her throat to expel as she forced her senses onto the other children and promptly collapsed to her knees.
Monitoring the children as closely as she was, she felt as one of the children died, the echo of their fear and pain bouncing back to her and vibrating in her head. Willow, on hands and knees, vomited until nothing remained before hoarsely explaining herself as she forced her shaky legs to support her.
It was dark now; the sun having disappeared below the horizon when they found the second body. Little Amelia, the youngest of the group, had been left in another mess on the forest floor, her right arm detached and sitting a metre away, her right leg beside a tree behind her. Again, they collected the body and tied her up in a tree for later collection.
Hope of finding the other three alive was waning and one or two members discussed turning back as a lost cause. The others quickly silenced them, denouncing them as cowards.
They followed Willow into a denser part of the forest when they heard a high-pitched childish scream of fear and pain which sent them running after it, Willow falling behind to follow the men with the largest swords.
The scene they came across would haunt Willow's dreams for the rest of her life.
Blood.
Blood everywhere and the body of one of the children scattered across the small clearing. Willow could see a foot near her, the rest of the leg in the centre of the clearing. An arm was wedged in a fork in a tree, the torso hanging from a branch above their heads. This child had been torn apart and Willow couldn't see the rest of them yet. Besides. They had slightly larger concerns.
Facing them, growling in its unnatural way, was another of the King's Beasts. With an angry yell, one man charged forward, sword raised. The rest joined him quickly, some acting in reserve to prevent it escaping and calling warnings.
Willow stood a little ways back, shooting an arrow in when she could get a free shot. The Beast didn't stand a chance and soon collapsed with a gurgling growl.
Willow moved jerkily across the clearing, searching for the two remaining children's essences. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to a large tree with wide, above ground roots and knelt.
"Hugh? Lucy?" She called gently, "It's OK now. The thing is dead. Can you hear me? It's Willow? You can come out and we'll take you home."
Willow found herself bombarded by tiny hands as Hugh came flying out and into her arms, his face wet, knees and elbows skinned but safe.
"Lucy..." he was sobbing, pulling on her hands, and Willow crawled in with the boy to find another bloody mess.
"Lucy," Willow murmured to her, noting the faint rise and fall of her chest. She was in a bad way. Her left arm was barely attached, held on by sinew, the bone shattered. Her hips were in no better shape and Willow could see her innards, muscle, and bone all on displayed.
Pushing aside her need to vomit, Willow touched her face, one of the few places barely touched by the monster. To Willow's surprise, her eyes fluttered open, and she caught her eye.
"Will..oh," she mumbled, blood gurgling in her throat and making her cough. "It... hurts." Tears trickled down her face.
Anger built inside of Willow at the sight, even as her hand moved gently over her face, words as soothing as she could make them. That hope had hurt, of feeling the two children still alive and close only to see Lucy like this.
From one moment to the next, it felt like she was on fire. Although she could see her hands, they were not. Willow heard the tree above her creak and shatter, the shards falling onto her. She heard the terrified screams of the group she had come with, in the process of diligently recovering Timmy. Hugh pressed in beside her tightly, not shaking with fear, but searching for comfort.
Before her eyes, Willow watched fascinated as Lucy's shoulder seemed to shudder before short, vine-like sinew reattached grew and healed. Willow watched bewildered as her lower half reattached itself. Just as suddenly, Willow felt exhausted and collapsed, forcing herself not to fall on Lucy's prone form.