╚╩╩╩╝ Astrid Nile ╚╩╩╩╝

We rode for barely an hour before the adrenaline faded and exhaustion overtook us all. The hours of riding and then the fight that followed had drained all of us. It was a miracle that we’d even made it this far.

Each horse had a large, woolen blanket rolled up in its saddlebag. We’d already wrapped Pert in one.

Finding a relatively dry space in the trees, we laid down several blankets and let the children sleep, rolling them up all together. They all drifted off almost as soon as they laid down.

I volunteered to take the first watch once we’d gotten a fire started. Dame Austen took a blanket and laid down next to the fire.

Damian, however, simply stared into the embers of the fire. He looked distant. He’d lost a lot, but I don’t think he’s processed it quite yet. I wanted to talk to him, but was afraid that I’d say something wrong.

After checking that the horses were still tied down for the tenth time, I drew in a deep breath and mustered all of the courage that I could and walked over to where Damian was sitting and sat down beside him.

“Are you… feeling alright?” I asked, trying to plan out my words as best as I could.

His expression blank, he kept his gaze pointed down into the fire. With a quiet, somber voice, he spoke. “I don’t know.” Moving what was left of his right arm around, he said. “I can still feel it. It feels like I can reach out and touch the fire, but nothing’s there.”

“Is… is there something I can do? A way that I can help?” I asked. I stopped myself from reaching out to touch him.

“You don’t need to coddle me. I’ve lost before.” He said, lowering his head.

“I-I’m not trying to coddle you.” I said, feeling the moisture gather behind my eyes. “I know what it’s like to lose.”

“I know.” He tensed. “And it was my fault that you did.”

“No. No it wasn’t.” I argued. “It was my family’s fault. I’ve spent every moment since that day planning my revenge. I’ve put up walls so that nobody else has to get involved.”

Finally, he turned away from the fire, looking me in the eyes.

“I-I know know… that I was wrong to do that.” I continued, not shying away from his gaze. “I’m not alone in this world, and neither are you.”

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but lowered again as he turned to look at his missing arm.

Reaching out, I gently lifted his gaze toward me again. “I don’t need revenge… as long… as long as I have you with me.”

Reaching his arm out, Damian held my hand in his. “No,” he leaned in close, “I won’t let you give up.” Our faces were close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him. “We’ll do it together.”

“Together.” I muttered.

Then, I leaned in closer and pressed my lips against his. He responded in kind. They were warm. I could feel a desire behind them, like a thousands words of longing. Longing for companionship, for someone to brave the world with him. I wondered if he could feel the same from me.

“Ehem!” Dame Austen cleared her throat loudly, causing Damian and I to quickly separate. “I hate to interrupt, but someone has to take next watch.”

Red in the face, Damian let himself smile. Meeting my gaze again, he said. “Thank you.”

Laying down against the blanket we had been sitting on, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

Wrapping the blanket over him, I watched his sleeping face, feeling my heart flutter as I remembered the feeling of his lips against mine. Then, remembering our situation, I couldn’t help but scold myself. Though, behind the guilt was a warmth that filled me entirely.

After keeping watch for a couple of hours, Dame Austen sat upright and looked around before standing and stretching.

“You don’t have to get up now.” I said, watching her.

“You two need the rest more.” She responded. “I’m well used to getting little sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

The lady knight strode over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “In a minute.” She said. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” I asked, feeling slightly worried.

She tipped her head to look at Damian’s sleeping form. “You did good.”

Feeling the heat rush to my face, I asked. “What do you mean?”

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“I’ve seen many lose limbs, and very rarely do they recover, mentally.” She explained. “Worse so is that he practices the Weeping Fist. The technique teaches a person to control their emotions by bottling them up. I’ve heard many stories of people who have suffered terribly because of that.”

“So, you’re saying I need to get him to stop?” I asked.

“Not necessarily.” She replied. “He might stop by himself. What he needs, right now, is a better way to control himself.”

“I… I think I understand.”

“Good, now go get some rest.” She patted me on the shoulder.

Thinking about what she’d said, I walked over to where she had been sleeping and laid down.

“Oh, also.” Dame Austen spoke up. Rolling to face her, I looked up to see her with a wide grin and with both thumbs raised. “Nice.”

Feeling flustered, I quickly rolled over, pulling the blanket over me.

Morning came suddenly as Charlotte lifted the blanket off of my face, letting the sunlight wash over me. I’d somehow positioned myself so that the light that passed between the trees landed directly on my face.

“I’m sorry.” She was startled by my sudden reaction. “It’s almost time to eat.”

Almost as soon as she said that did the smell enter my nose.

Through most of our journeys together, Damian and I would live off of rations we purchased from locals towns. Occasionally, though, Damian would scavenge for herbs and plants that were edible. We would eat them alongside meat, if we could catch anything.

Standing over the fire, Damian was carefully applying various greeneries to what looked like rabbit meat. Dame Austen was standing close behind him, skinning another rabbit.

Hamil came running from behind some trees, carrying an assortment of other greens, as well as some berries. “Are these right?” He asked, Damian.

Quickly looking over them, Damian nodded. “Set them with the rest.”

It looked like he was having a hard time using only his left arm, but he didn’t look down at all.

Charlotte and the girl whose name I think was Clementine sat opposite of the group, watching the meat skewers with a distant look in their eyes.

Seeing that I was awake, Damian gestured to the food. “We’ll need to eat quickly, so we can start for Renae as soon as possible.”

Nodding, I stood up and checked the horses, making sure that they were all watered and rested.

The food was ready by the time I finished, so we all gathered to eat.

I noticed, as we ate, that Hamil kept looking from Damian to me and back. He couldn’t have noticed anything, right?

Finishing quickly, we packed everything up and remounted the horses. I was more than sore, but worried even more than that.

Who knows what’s going on in Renae right now?

╚╩╩╩╝ Veria Wark ╚╩╩╩╝

Everything was a mess. The estate was riddled with holes and covered in blood and the bodies of the people who’ve sworn to protect our family and those who tried to hurt us. I’d seen blood before, but never as much as this. It made me want to vomit.

Worse than all of this, though, was the feeling of emptiness.

It all started barely an hour after dad left with Hamil and some of the guards. Mom saw smoke rising from several spots around town and brought me inside. She was scared. I didn’t understand until the sounds outside grew loud enough that we could hear them, even inside dad’s office.

There was screaming and metal against metal. Fighting. It reminded me of when the guards would be training outside, but most of the shouting they did was about jokes. The shouts I heard now were violent, terrifying and from people whose voices I didn’t recognize.

How many were there? What did they want? What were they going to do to us?

My worries only compounded when mom started trembling, tears streaming freely down her face.

Hiding under dad’s desk, we heard as the door slammed open and multiple people entered the room. Then, everything went quiet.

“Boss, we’ve taken care of all of their guards and swept through the house. Nobody’s here.” Someone said.

I could feel my heart pound in my head as their footsteps reverberated through the floor.

“There’s no way that he saw this coming!” A man shouted. His voice sounded uncomfortably familiar. “Keep searching!”

“Yes, sir.”

The people left the room again, but one person remained, pacing back and forth.

I wanted to cry. To close my eyes and make all of the bad people go away, but no matter how many times I tried, they never did.

Where are you, dad?

“We’ve searched the entire house twice now, sir. They’re not here.”

“That can’t be possible!” The man shouted. “Where else could they-” Then he stopped.

I could feel eyes looking at us. The knew we were here.

Squeezing mom tight, I pressed my face into her chest and waited for the inevitable.

The floor shook as something groaned, and I felt mom trembling even harder.

“So you were hiding here the entire time?”

“Revan, you’ll never get away with this!” Mom shouted.

“Oh, I think you’re misunderstanding something.” Lord Revan gloated. “I am here under orders from the crown.”

“What?”

“All individuals involved in the abduction of the noble families, as well as their families, are to be executed on sight.”

“B-but, we aren’t.” Mom stammered.

“If you aren’t involved, then why did my men find several of the missing girls with men employed under your house?”

“They were bringing them back!”

“Likely story. Unfortunately, the girls are in shock, so their testimonies are of no worth. The judgment is mine and mine alone, and I say guilty.” Revan explained. “You and your daughter can be spared, though. That is, if you-”

“I would rather die!” Mom shouted.

“You would willingly let your daughter be killed?”

“Living with you would be worse than death for any woman.”

“In that case, how should I proceed? Do I kill you and force your little girl to watch, or the other way around?”

“Sir, there’s a problem!” Someone came bursting in the room.

“What is it?” Revan asked, clearly irritated.

“We found the Myth Beast in the master bedroom, but it-”

I pulled back and opened my eyes just in time to see thorny vines, thicker than an arm, shoot into the room. They wrapped around the man’s torso and ripped him out of the room, screaming.

Screams echoed through our home as the entire building shook.

“What’s happening?” Lord Revan shouted, drawing a weapon from his side and turning to the doorway.

“Mom? What do we do?” I whispered, trembling.

“Whatever happens, I’ll never let you go.” Mom said, pulling me in close.

“What is that thing?” Revan asked, turning back to us, pointing his sword at mom. “Call it off!”

“You’ll die as you lived, Revan.” Mom said. “A sniveling coward to the end.”

As mom and Lord Revan were talking, a soft, sweet voice spoke to me. “Do not worry. You and your mother will be safe. That is my purpose.”

Without thinking, I looked to the door. “Bark?” I asked just as it came into view.

Standing just beyond the doorway stood a writhing mass of thorns in the shape of an enormous, feral wolf. Deep behind the sharpened plants, glittering like the sun, shone two brilliant diamonds.

Bark, who had once been a beloved, adorable family pet, now stood like a ferocious guard dog.