╚╩╩╩╝ Hamil ╚╩╩╩╝

With our heavily disheveled appearance, a smear of dirt on our faces and a few randomly placed leaves and small twigs in our hair, we all blended in with the few refugees who had turned south for refuge after their homes were destroyed. I even recognized some familiar faces from the group that we had guided to safety whose gazes passed over us without the slightest sign of recognition.

If everything continues to go this way, then we’ll be safe.

How far south did we need to go? Pert said to go south, but where was our destination supposed to be?

With only one direction to go and heaps of gold hidden under our belts, the future was worrisome, but also optimistic.

╚╩╩╩╝ Damian ╚╩╩╩╝

Judging by the voices that quickly drew near, our plan was working exactly like we’d planned. Or what Astrid and I had planned, at least.

It was becoming increasingly harder to move with my arm missing. I’d nearly tripped more than a dozen times in the first few minutes of our travel alone. We were never going to outpace an army of healthy, well-rested soldiers.

Once we heard their march behind us, I looked to Astrid. She was worried, understandably so. We had to make this as believable as possible.

Reaching my good hand over, I felt around in the scarred area of what was left of my other arm. Eventually, I found a spot that was particularly tender and dug in with my fingers. The wound opened with relative ease as blood started to seep from the opening. Reaching further, I pulled, further opening the wound.

After completely opening my arm, I felt the blood rush to my head as the world grew fuzzy. The blood loss wasn’t a problem before, since the wound had been seared closed the moment it had happened.

Astrid grabbed me by the shoulders and helped me sit down, checking my arm and trying to close the open wound with what little supplies she had on-hand.

“Stop!” A voice boomed from behind me.

“Please,” Astrid started to plead, “he’s bleeding out. He needs help.”

“Take him to get bandaged.” The voice said more quietly.

I didn’t look back to see, but I could hear some footsteps drawing closer just before two pairs of arms slid under me, their arms carrying me like I was in a chair. Whisked away, I had to leave things to Astrid.

Now that we had some degree of sympathy from the soldiers, they were more likely to listen to us and believe what we told them.

They seared my wound shut again and wrapped it in clean gauze, laying me in the shade just off of the road. Closing my eyes for a moment, I let the weariness take over, relaxing my whole body.

Hopefully, the one in charge would believe us. If they didn’t, then it all ended here.

We spun a story about how we were both blackmailed into working for the Wark family. We followed them west after had they fled the city, but were betrayed again. I was severely injured trying to get Astrid away safely and we were both left behind.

If everything goes as planned, then finding Jaime will get much easier.

╚╩╩╩╝ Jaime ╚╩╩╩╝

I couldn’t breathe. The darkness was suffocating, but there was no end to it. Despite this, I kept running.

All feeling had left my body and I had no real sense of direction, but I could feel that I was moving. Wherever I end up, it has to be better than where I was before.

Eventually, I couldn’t move anymore.

It felt like I was surfacing from under a tub of cold water. The air rushed into my lungs as I greedily sucked it in.

It was night time. The moon hung high in the sky, staring down at me.

Toppling over, I stared at the dark soil as my body convulsed, heaving the contents of my stomach onto the ground.

Breathing hard, it took all of my strength to not collapse and to roll aside, staring up at the empty sky.

The moon seemed to grow larger and larger as the seconds passed, like a giant eye that glared at me, like, it knew what I’d done. It was judging me. Condemning me.

Feeling the weight of what I had done bear down on me, crushing me, I started crying. It started out slow, as I choked on the air before it could come out, then the dam burst and the silence of the night was overcome by my wailing.

I cried until my tears ran dry and then until my voice broke and all that came out was a gasping sob.

The moon passed out of sight and the light of the sun peeked into the sky.

I can never go back. They don’t want me back.

“Gracious!” I heard a woman scream from nearby.

She rushed to my side and crouched down over me. She had brown hair and blue eyes and looked utterly horrified.

Did I look how I felt? Was I still a monster?

“What is it, Vanessa?” A man’s voice came from further away.

“Stay back, dad.” The woman shouted.

“Why? What is it?” The man asked.

“Just stay back! Everything’s fine.”

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The woman reached under my back and lifted me up. She then removed her cloak and wrapped it around me.

“What happened to you?” She asked, looking me in the eyes.

I don’t know what I would have said, but even if I tried to answer, all that came out was a sob.

“Dad, let’s head back. We need to prep another bed.” The woman said, hefting me up by the armpits and leaning me against her body.

“Can I come now?”

“Yeah, she’s covered now.”

I heard a rustling as someone came from behind me.

“Ah!” The man paused. “What’s it look like?”

“We’ll worry about what happened once we get her a bed and some clothes.” The woman affirmed.

Pinning the cloak tightly closed around my body, she gently tipped me back as two large arms wrapped around me, picking me up.

“Don’t worry about a thing.” The man said, smiling warmly. He had the same brown hair and blue eyes that the woman had.

He carried me for a while. Eventually, we made it somewhere with a lot of people. I could only see some of them, but I could hear all of their whispers. They pitied me and were promising vengeance for whoever did this to me. What would they be saying if they knew who was truly at fault? Would they pity me, or would they try to take out their vengeance on me, instead?

We entered some kind of building where the man carried me down a long hallway and into a small room where he laid me on a bed. He then left, closing the door behind him after the woman stepped through.

Alone with me, the woman removed the cloak. She spent some time looking at my body before dressing me in some clothes she’d brought in with her.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She eventually asked.

I wanted to say something. To say that I was a monster, and that she had put everyone in danger by bringing me here, but I couldn’t form any words. Like before, only sobs came out.

The woman stood up and pulled me into a warm embrace.

After some time, she tucked me into the bed left me to myself.

I laid there until she returned, this time with some food. It was an almost tasteless soup that left a warm feeling in my chest with every spoonful.

It reminded me of the medicine that Licilia had given me when I had fallen sick. Without realizing it, I had begun to cry again.

Seeing this, the woman took a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed away the tears from my eyes.

This routine continued for several days.

I couldn’t find the strength to move or to even speak.

The voices never came back, including mom and dad. I could remember everything, including what I had been forced to do. I wanted mom to come and make me forget again. I wanted to feel the warmth of dad’s cloak again, but neither of those seemed like a possibility right now. Even the glass pendant that I could never seem to lose was gone.

During my time here, I was visited by a girl. She had dark, red hair and light, blue eyes. She seemed to be working for the woman who usually came around.

“How are you doing?” The girl asked, though I was still unable to answer.

Frowning, the girl handed me the bowl of soup and watched while I ate slowly. It tasted nice. Nicer than I deserved.

Once I finished, the girl took the empty bowl and looked down at me.

“I hope you get better soon.” She said before leaving the room.

“Hazel, I need some help in room four once you’re done in two.” The woman called from out of sight.

“Alright.” The girl replied, closing the door behind her.

Laying back against the bed, I stared up at the ceiling.

What do I do? If I stay here, then I’ll only cause more pain. These people are so nice. They don’t deserve to have me here with them. But what am I supposed to do?

Lifting the covers, I turned and slowly slid out of the bed. My knees buckled when my feet hit the ground, but I held strong. Taking one shaky step after another, I walked to the door and opened it slowly. The hall past the door was dark and empty. Silence drifted through the air, making every sound seem that much louder.

Creeping through the building, I walked over to the front door. Turning back, I thought of the people who had helped me. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to feel their warmth, but it would only end in tragedy.

Wiping away a tear, I opened the door and softly let the door close behind me.

Looking up at the dark sky, I picked a random direction and started walking.

I didn’t have shoes, but the woman who had been taking care of me had wrapped them in some kind of cloth.

After some time, I turned back and could no longer see the buildings that were so open and welcoming.

A sudden, loud crash caught my attention. It wasn’t too far away, and it sounded like someone needed help.

Maybe… maybe this was a chance to do good?

Breathing in deep, I stopped hard and turned toward the sound. Putting one foot after another, I headed forward, stifling the anxiety that pounded inside of my head.

It took some time, but I eventually caught sight of light glimmering through the gaps between some of the trees. A roaring bonfire sat in a small patch in the center of a small clearing. Scattered across the ground were bodies, some were dressed, others were completely nude. Some were men. Some were women. They were all dead.

Flashbacks to the times when the monster took over, forcing me to brutally kill people filled my mind.

Doubling over, I wheezed, trying to stop myself from vomiting again. Gritting my teeth, I lifted my head and looked over the scene. Maybe one of them was still alive. Maybe I could help them.

Feeling a chill run through my body, I leaned against a tree and balanced myself, taking one small, slow step at a time.

The first body I checked was cold. It had been here for quite some time. Several large gashed covered every person’s chest. It was terrible.

Taking in shallow, quick breaths, I felt lightheaded and stumbled aside. I wanted to run, but my body wouldn’t listen.

“What do we have here?” A voice came from behind the trees.

“I told you that someone would have heard us!” Another person shouted.

“Calm down, it’s just a kid. She can’t do anything.”

“What if there are others?”

“She’s alone, isn’t she? We’ve just gotta shut her up, too.”

Panicked, I fell to the ground. I was in danger, but the monster wasn’t coming out.

Was I going to die here?

Several people closed in on the clearing, looming over me. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t make a sound, not even a squeak.

Closing my eyes, I held my arms over my eyes and buried my head between my legs. This was the world punishing me for what I’d done. It was what I deserved.

But, I didn’t want to die.

Then the ground shook as the heat of the fire disappeared completely.

I heard people shouting, then a long moment of silence followed.

A hand pressed onto my shoulder, shaking me slightly. Cringing, I tensed and shook as fear took over my body.

“Peace, my child. You have nothing to fear.” A soft, soothing voice, come from behind me.

Lifting my head, I looked behind me. A shorter woman stood there, looking down at me. She was dressed in a simple, gray smock and a pale, white dress. Her hair was long and colored like creme and her green eyes matched the forest that surrounded us. She reminded me of someone, though I couldn’t tell who.

Looking around, I could see that all traces of both the dead and the attackers had disappeared. I wanted to say something, but I still couldn’t form words.

“Do not worry for the dead or their killers. I’ve sent them away.” She said, crouching down to meet me at eye level.

Why do nice people keep finding me? They’re only going to suffer for it.

“There is a darkness inside of you.” She said, frowning. Sadness in her eyes, she continued. “That darkness is not your own. It is not what makes you.”

I began to cry again.

“No truly evil creature could create such a powerful response in the spirits.” She explained.

Spirits?

She waved her hand, and the clearing was immediately filled with tiny balls of light that quickly swarmed to me.

“They were so worried for you that they came to find me.” She looked around at the swarm of spirits. Taking my hands in hers, she stood, lifting me to my feet.

Looking up at her, I saw something twitch on her head. Focusing on them, I realized that she had little bird wings on the sides of her head.

“The spirits truly adore you. They are asking me to help you.” She looked me deep in the eyes. “I will help you. The darkness inside of you can be controlled. Power is not evil, it is the wielder that chooses.”

The power inside of me was terrifying. But if there was even the slightest chance that I could stop it from hurting another person, then I had to take it.

Swallowing hard, I nodded my head.

Seeing my answer, she smiled, wiping the tears from my face.

“My name is Avryelle.” She introduced herself then turned and pointed in one direction. “I live in a cabin not far from here. It will be your home now, too. I expect you to do your very best.”