My hands ached. I could still feel the sensation of the man’s neck slowly giving way as I squeezed it.

Just as I had practiced many times in the past, I forced myself to calm down. This time, however, was far more difficult than any time before.

The first time I saw a person die, I was five years old. My father had me stand right in front of him as he cut the man’s throat. I almost immediately threw up on the body and was reprimanded by my father. This continued every week until I had managed to get through it without vomiting.

Calming my pounding heart, I looked around and saw a door on the far side of the room.

Seeing where I was looking, the marquis spoke. “Don’t worry about that room. There’s no one in there right now.”

Nodding my head, I followed the man as we left his dungeon and returned to his office.

Taking a long look at me, he spoke. “I’m glad I prepared more clothes for you. I didn’t recall there being so much blood.”

I looked down and saw that I looked just about how I felt. Blood stained my shirt and pants, as well as caked mud and more sweat than I thought should have been there.

Stepping over to his desk, the marquis reached into a drawer and pulled out a bundle wrapped in thick sackcloth and tossed it at me.

“Hurry and get changed.” He ordered. “I assume you still want to see Charlotte today.”

I caught the sack and opened it to find clothes identical to my own, even in size, strangely enough.

Changing quickly and uncomfortably under the marquis’ watch, I finished and we exited the room.

Walking to their parlor room, Lord Renae called for one of his servants to fetch Charlotte.

“You have exceeded all of my expectations, young man.” The marquis spoke suddenly.

“I- I suppose.” I responded, unsure of how to do so.

“If you continue to impress me like this, then I’ll have to choice but to award you accordingly.” He spoke, his tone as flat as usual. Inside, however, the man was amused. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, but I’ll take what I can get.

“Thank you.” I spoke, trying to do so as confidently as I could make myself sound.

“Don’t thank me just yet.”

Just then, the servant who had left to go and get Charlotte came back without her.

“My lord, I apologize, but it seems that the miss is nowhere to be found.” The servant spoke, dabbing the sweat off of the side of his neck.

Sighing, the marquis dismissed the servant and mumbled. “That girl…”

“Do you know where she could have gone?” I asked.

“I’ve had her followed before. She runs into the forest outside the city.” The marquis explained, taking a seat in the large chair at the end of the room. “After that, I don’t know. She’s somehow managed to evade all of my men. We’ll have to wait for her to come back.”

“Would it be alright if I search for her?” I asked.

Eyeing me curiously, the marquis spoke. “If you wish.”

He then closed his eyes and leaned back against his seat.

I paused for a short moment, watching the marquis sit completely unmoving. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing. Deciding not to stick around any longer, I stood from my seat and left the room, closing the door as quietly as I could so as to not disturb the man.

Standing alone in the hallway, I realized one problem. I could easily traverse the woods, but how would I find Charlotte. I had no real tracking skills and the spirits were temperamental and haven’t listened to me since I had tried to heal that girl. I could try to use them again, but it wasn’t a guaranteed solution.

Pacing through the halls, I glanced out a window and saw the crowd of guards outside, doing their usual drills and spotted Dame Austen among them. With a new idea, I rushed out to the fields.

Just as I left the manor, the group had started another drill. Sitting down, I watched a small group gather to spectate and felt something brush against my side and looked to see that Bark had curled up next to me and had rooted in a sunny spot on the ground. Patting it’s silky, moss-fur, I turned my attention to the group in the field.

Dame Austen stood in the center of the field, surrounded on all sides by five other guards, each holding a blunted spear. The lady knight was holding an arm length, metal rod and tapped it against the heel of her boots.

“All right, come at me whenever you feel.” She spoke, almost taunting those surrounding her.

In that moment, one of the men behind her dug his feet into the ground and thrusted his spear forward, aiming for her back. Dame Austen reacted immediately, twisting her body around the head of the spear, and swung her metal rod backward, hitting the spear just above where the man was holding it. Frightened, the man let go to protect his hands and the spear went flying and landed a good distance away. Despite his efforts to protect his hands, the lady knight continued in her motion and swung out, cracking the back of the man’s hand with her weapon and dashing forward, driving her elbow into his chest and knocking him down.

The next to attack came from her side, and just like before, she narrowly dodged the attack, letting it pass by her back. She then wrapped her elbows around the pole of the weapon and twisted her body, wrenching the spear from his hands. Spinning the weapon with her free hand, she caught it and thrusted it towards the weapons owner. The man flinched, trying to protect his face, but missed as she bonked him in the forehead with it, knocking him down.

The final three all moved to attack her at the same time, each thrusting at her from different sides. Throwing her metal rod and the spear into the air, the lady knight dropped to the ground as the spears all passed through the air. Balancing on her hands, she brought her feet up and kicked one of the guards in the chest and grabbed his spear in between her legs and spun on her hands, deflecting the other two guards spears as they tried once again to attack. Letting go of the spear, she twisted her body and flipped back to her feet. She then caught her metal rod and threw it at one of the men, colliding with his helmet and disorienting him enough that he didn’t see her take a step forward and bring her other leg up, kicking against his leg, causing him to collapse to the ground.

With just one guard remaining, Dame Austen looked to him and gave him a thumbs up. The man tilted his head, confused. Grinning, the lady knight looked upward, the guard following her gaze just as the spear she had thrown came down, bonking him in the forehead and knocking him back just as the lady knight stepped forward and pushed him back, making him fall on his butt.

This fight had lasted less than a minute, but in the time, she had disarmed or disabled all of them. Hands on her hips, Dame Austen waited as all five of the guards sheepishly gathered in a line directly in front of her. She then started lecturing all five of them on things that they had done wrong.

I stood up and stretched, watching as Bark wiggled in his sleep and continued to rest. Dame Austen’s group was just out of earshot, so I couldn’t understand most of what she had told them, but judging from the intensity of it and the deadened eyes of the five as they marched into the nearby barracks, she knew what she was talking about.

“So, what brings you out here?” Dame Austen spoke from behind me, causing me to jump. I had been too focused on the group sulking into the barracks, that I hadn’t noticed her. “I don’t see the miss anywhere, so you must have come by yourself. Don’t tell me you came to see me?” She teased, feigning shyness.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Sort of, yes.” I replied, trying to ignore her reaction. “Charlotte’s missing. Her father said that she goes into the forest frequently. Do you know where she goes?”

Smiling nervously, the lady knight answered, “I tried following her once, but she just disappeared. Are you going to try and find her?”

“Yes, I’m afraid that something might happen to her out there.” I replied.

I really was scared for her. Something never sat right with me after we encountered some of my father’s goons in the city. And then there was the matter of Lord Gelling’s son who looked quite angry when he left the party before. Anything could happen out there, and nobody would be around to help her.

“I can show you where she usually starts from, but I can never remember the path she takes, so you’ll be on your own from there.”

“You’re not gonna come with me?” I asked.

“I’ve got things to do here. I can’t just run off.” She shrugged. “Follow me. I’ll show you the place.”

She started jogging off to one direction near the back of the estate. The entirety of the estate was fenced off from the outside world, but there were gates positioned in a few places to allow entry without having to walk completely around to the front.

These gates were heavy and locked tight, so how did Charlotte get out so easily. If she had a key, they would have taken it away at this point.

“We’ve done our best to keep it hidden from Lord Renae, but it looks like Charlotte’s been picking the lock to get out.” Dame Austen explained, gesturing to the lock. It had a lot of scratches and cuts on the front, which was a telltale sign of being tampered with. “I have no idea where she learned how to do it, but all things considered, it’s a pretty nifty skill to have.” She nodded her head.

Pulling an iron key from out of her pocket, she unlocked the gate and yanked it open.

“Good luck out there.” She spoke, giving me a thumbs up, causing me to look upwards which made the lady knight laugh audibly. “I see you’re learning.” She then handed me the iron key. “Make sure to lock up.”

Waving to me as she walked away, I stepped through the gate and closed it behind me, making sure to lock it tight.

Stepping into the forest, I realized why the guards had such a hard time following Charlotte. The woods around Pyle were sparse, leaving a lot of walking space. This forest, however, was more like a jungle. The trees were closely connected, with their roots reaching out of the ground in large, thick tendrils. If I was any bigger, then it would be incredibly difficult for me to move.

Wandering through the woods, I wondered just how far I had gone. I couldn’t see past the thick line of trees, and the sky was almost completely obscured by the thick foliage at their tops. Then, as I stepped over a particularly large section of roots, I noticed something. Near the base of one of the trees just in front of me was a marking of sorts. It looked like it could have been made by one of the wild animals that I had disturbed as I traversed the forest, but something about it looked off.

Examining this marking closer, I could tell that it was made by a person. They had taken something hard, like a rock, and spun it against the bark, leaving a tiny indentation in it. Searching around, I spotted another, similar marking and then another, leading down one direction. The markings kept going and I kept following them until I felt something nearby.

I had been around Charlotte enough recently that I had recognized a kind of signature to her emotions when I read them. I felt this signature somewhere nearby. And, though I could barely feel her, it was like watching a storm cloud.

I could feel that I was getting closer as I followed the markings until eventually I pushed my way through into a wide clearing. In the center of this clearing was a gargantuan tree. The base of the tree was multiple times larger than any of the trees in the forest, and its branches spread out far, blocking any other trees from coming closer.

Skirting this titan of a tree, I couldn’t find Charlotte, but I knew she was here, I could feel her like she was sitting right next to me. Then I heard a sniffle and it sounded like it came from… inside the tree. More closely examining it, I found a small opening near the roots that looked like it had been dug out slightly and obscured by a small bush.

Holding the bush aside, I poked my head inside the opening and spoke. “Charlotte?” Only to be met with something hard in the nose. I pulled back, holding my injured nose.

“H- Hamil!” Charlotte’s voice came from inside the tree. “I- I’m so sorry.”

Charlotte’s head poked out of the hole. She was definitely worried, but her eyes looked puffy and swollen.

“Hurry inside.” She spoke, her voice weak. “I have some stuff in here.”

I followed her through the hole to find that the inside of this enormous tree was almost completely hollow from bottom to top. A steady stream of light flowing in through the top, illuminating Charlotte. She was seated on a surprisingly clean blanket and was digging through one of multiple baskets.

“What is this place?” I asked, sitting down beside her.

“Hold- hold on.” She spoke as she pulled out a couple of small cotton balls and a jar of strong smelling alcohol. “Please turn to look at me.”

She grabbed onto my chin and held my face as she examined my nose.

“It doesn’t look broken and it isn’t bleeding.” She let go of my face and started putting things back into a basket.

“Charlotte, what’s wrong?” I asked, trying to see her face.

“Nothing, I-”

“Charlotte, please.” I interrupted her. “Remember what I told you. If anything is wrong, anything, then please tell me.”

“I- I…” She hesitated.

“I am your friend. No matter what, I will never abandon you.” I assured her.

Her breathing became ragged, and she turned to me and wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest. Her cries started soft, but quickly became a pained wail as I held her.

“You’re not alone. I’m here for you.” I whispered to her.

Suddenly, a distant, faded memory rushed to the front of my mind. I was crying just as Charlotte was, though I was barely two years old. My mother held me in her arms and told me to be strong, and that it was good to cry. She told me that it was normal to be afraid, but that I should never give up hope. She then started to sing to me. It was a strange song, with words that I didn’t recognize. I think I fell asleep soon after she started signing, because I don’t remember anything afterward. The tune, however, stayed fresh in my mind.

Quietly, I started to hum this tune and, as I did, the storm that had built up inside of Charlotte began to break.

After a long moment, Charlotte calmed down and sat back, sniffling.

“Better?” I asked, choosing not to acknowledge the large stain on my shirt from where she had buried her face.

Grabbing a handkerchief from an open basket, she wiped the tears from her face.

“Yes.” She spoke, still sobbing quietly. “Thank you.”

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” I asked, concerned for her.

“Promise- promise me that you won’t hate me when I tell you.” She pleaded, hiding her face.

“I promise.”

After a short moment, Charlotte took a deep breath and started explaining to me what had caused her to break down like this. She told me of the abuse she went through at the hands of Lord Gelling’s son when she was younger. How she suffered for more than a year before working up the courage to tell her parents. This happened just over two years ago, about a month after I had met her for the first time. Her father immediately started to demand that the engagement between the two of them be nullified, though they would never get a response. Her mother, however, began to abuse her as well. It started with verbal abuse, but quickly became physical. She was covered in bruises in places covered by her clothes. It happened several times a week and more whenever her mother was in a bad mood.

She had found this place some time ago and made it her own secret base, but it had turned into a hideaway after the abuse started. She had contemplated running away on several occasions, but never went through with it for fear of what might happen to her on her own. Conflicted and depressed, she frequently came her to cry where nobody could see her.

Her reason for coming today was that her mother had told her that she didn’t like me, and that she was going to have me barred from ever coming back.

Finished, tears started to form in her eyes as she became choked up again.

Seeing this, I embraced her. “That’s never going to happen!” I promised. “Your father and I have made a deal.”

She immediately pushed away and looked at me with wide eyes. “A- a deal?” She asked, looking down at her legs.

“Don’t think about it too much. He promised that I will be able to spend as much time with you as we want.” I explained.

Her face turned red and she stood up and froze. “Okay.” She mumbled, facing away from me.

“Do you want to stay longer, or should we head back?” I asked.

“I- I think it’s time we headed back.” She answered quickly.

“Alright. Then I’ll have you lead the way.” I said, standing up.

Before I could do anything else, she whipped around and embraced me one more time. “Thank you.” She mumbled.

Smiling, I rubbed the top of her head before she pulled away and crawled out of the tree.

Outside of the tree, I stopped as Charlotte turned to look at me. Her eyes were still slightly puffy, but they were outshone by the wide smile on her face.

“Don’t get left behind.” She challenged before hurrying into the trees.

I quickly chased after her and, to my surprise, I really did lose her. I could feel her nearby, so I knew that she hadn’t left me behind.

The storm was gone, and the sky was bright and clear.

“Boo!” Charlotte shouted as she jumped out from behind a tree, genuinely startling me.

She was happy, the pain and suffering that had lingered deep inside her was gone.

With little more surprises, we got out of the forest and came back out right where I had entered.

Charlotte ran up to the gate and, within a couple of seconds, unlocked it and swung it open.

“I have the key, you know.”

“Key’s aren’t fun.” She retorted.

“Where’d you learn to pick a lock?” I asked.

“I taught myself.” She answered proudly. “My mom used to lock me in my room for days. I had to find a way out, so I picked the lock.”

“Oh, I think I dropped something, go ahead without me and I’ll be back right away.” I spoke, turning and running back into the trees.

“Okay!” Charlotte replied, her voice getting quiet as I ran.

After I had made it a short ways into the trees, far enough that I was sure that she couldn’t find me right away, I let out a stifled breath.

Gritting my teeth, I punched a nearby tree as hard as I could.

Right in front of me. She was right in front of me, and I didn’t notice. She was suffering just like my mother did, and worse.

Letting out a haggard, course breath, I punched the tree again, splitting my knuckles.

I’m not going to let this continue. Even if it kills me.

Breathing steadily, I summoned my wings and thrust them forward, cutting deep into the tree.

Lord Gelling.

I’m going to wipe your whole miserable family clean from this world.