Edited by: Flubbykin

We got up around hour before morning – the darkest hour, they call it. We gathered our equipment, double checked if we didn’t leave anything behind, loaded our new supplies on the cart and readied ourselves for departure. The sun was just rising when we were finishing our breakfasts.

There was one last place that Giselle wanted to check before leaving – major’s house. Village elder was around 50 years old. He wasn’t actually the oldest person in the village, but as the son of the previous elder, he was prepared to serve this particular role for the community. And as I heard, he was doing it at least properly, for rest of villagers respected him dearly.

Giselle knocked the doors twice and then kicked them open. “I’m both respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority by entering anyway” – her action said.

Elder, his wife and (very young) daughter (for she was merely few years old) were already awake and our sudden intrusion did frighten them quite a lot.

- “Greeting, elder Thomas. Do you remember me?” again, together with Lanele we waited by the entrance and watched dragoness sitting uninvited by the table where the family was eating breakfast.

- “I… Of course I do, Gisele.” He didn’t beg. He didn’t cry for help. He looked…. Tired.

- “I am not very convinced. You look quite plump. Well rested. Happy even. I wonder how person which did such things could sleep well at nights, eat plenty of food and actually managed to look for happiness. When I was a kid you were still unmarried.”

- “That’s… indeed what happened.”

- “And you still can look into a mirror without a disgust?” she asked raising her brow truly surprised.

An older man forced his gaze on bits of dust in the corner of the hut.

- “LOOK AT ME!” she yelled and hit the table with her fist. The table broke into two pieces. All the food and cups fell on ground spilling it content.

The man was trembling, woman became pale, child started sobbing.

- “What do you see, Thomas? What do you see when you look at me!?”

- “I see… I see a warrioress. A strong person. Someone who didn’t let her past to…”

- “You have no idea what my past did with me, old man. Because, you see, when I look into mirror I still see little, weak, bruised girl. Every few nights I have nightmares about this place. Every few nights I see you and rest of the village tormenting me. Every few nights I see you letting my mother die. And I was dreaming about the day I would face you – the person responsible for this village well-being. The person which could with a single word stop my agony. A person who could with a single gesture let me and my mom live, not comfortably, not sumptuously, but just live. Happily. Together. I remember the evenings when I was waiting in front of your door waiting for you to come back from meetings. I remember begging you for help, to tell rest of the village to live me alone and help my mother. Just a little… Do you remember what you answered each and every time?”

Elder was staying quiet.

- “DO YOU?!” Giselle got up, picked a chair and smashed it on another furniture making them both shatter into wood dust. Child started sobbing loudly, yet covered her

- “I told… I told that I would talk with them.” Man said

- “And did you?”

Silence again.

- “DID YOU!?” Once again she picked a piece of elder’s equipment with desire of destroying it.

- “I didn’t! I didn’t!... I… I wanted to… But I was afraid… I was weak and foolish. Back then I had just started being a major… and I didn’t have the position I have now… I… Even if I knew that what was happening to you was terrible… I just… I just gained more by not confronting myself against rest of the village. I just… used you to… strengthen my position.” Man finished quietly.

She picked him by his hair and lifted up till his eyes were located exactly on the same level as hers. And because she was quite taller, the man was actually hovering with his feet few centimeters above the floor. Lanele hit me slightly with an elbow, asking if we should stop, I have just shake my head to the sides.

Still weeping girl jumped from behind her mother and started hitting Giselle’s thigh with her bare fists. Like a mosquito biting dragon.

- “LEAVE PAPA ALONE!” little girl yelled “Leave him! You evil lady!”

Just as the little girls asked, Giselle release her grip letting man fall of the ground. Then, she kneeled in front of the girl.

Little child was trembling and pale, but in her eyes there was a determination only child could have.

- “You are calling me evil, little one?”

- “Yes! Because you are mean to papa! And he is good!”

- “Good, you say? Tell me, do you love your mother?” girl nodded few times “… I loved my mother too, and I also used to be a little girl. Just like yourself. Your father, is a real scum and villain. He turned my life into nightmare, and because of him my mother, which I loved just as you love yours, died. He deprived me of everything.”

- “Not true! Papa is good! And caring! And shares his apple pie with me!”

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- “He shared nothing with me. Me and my mother were starving and the village was celebrating the harvest festival. I still remember it. Villagers killed five fat pigs. Made a goulash, roasted tenderloins, baked lots of pies. And cheered and danced and sang. Neither me nor my mother was given even a single bite. I tired stealing a little, so my sick mother could at least try it. Your father was the one that spotted me and told rest of the village. They hit me with metal pipes and took almost everything I stole away. I only managed to hide a single pie. But, as I was being kicked lying in the mud, it got all crumbled. I managed to save a single piece. Not more than a one bite. My mother still believed that villagers cared about us, so as I was giving it to her I had to lie that I ate rest of it on my way back!... Since that time I am getting nausea when I am eating sweets!”

Giselle started crying. She was literally letting huge drops run down her cheeks.

- “And you dare to call this… this… monster! This beast! A good man in front of me!?”

- “L-lies! You are lying!”

Giselle, crying with her beautiful emerald eyes, faced elder.

- “Tell her. Am I lying? I was so very young! Maybe I forgot something? Maybe I made something up, just like children do?” she started taking her top off revealing her upper body covered in scars. Quite few of those … impurities… were made my claws and fangs of beasts. Few weren’t.

- “Tell me, am I the only one seeing those scars?!” she pointed at a darkened skin on her rib cage “… Tell me, did merchant Peter did this to me, or did I merely stumble?...” she pointed at another one “… I was working at inn as I was… how much? Four years old? For spilling a single mug of ale I was hanged under the ceiling and punched in stomach. I WAS FOUR YEARS OLD!”

This time, she didn’t manage to hold her anger and she punched man in the guts. His eyes almost popped out as he felt on his knees fighting for air. Yet, for the first time, little girl didn’t react. She looked at her father with shock.

- “I was… dreaming about this day. I was wondering what I would do to all of you. To you in particular. I was imagining breaking your bones, one by one, I was thinking about cutting off your ears and tongue and gouging out your eyes before taking you into the wild and dropping in the deep dark forest among predators deaf, blind and mute! I wanted you to suffer just as we suffered. I wanted you to feel same fear I felt!... But now…”

She dropped on her knees, as if she was a puppet and someone cut off the strings

- “Now… even though I want to… I can’t. I just can’t. It’s like… in the moment I would harm you, it would justify all your previous action. It would be as if I deserved those things. I would become something what my father was… or even worse – I would become something that YOU are. You… you think your sins got washed away? That, just by doing few good things your past is no longer valid? You… you have robbed me off my childhood. Of my love. Of my innocence. You forced me to live a dangerous life… And all… I really wanted… was to bake an apple cake with my mother on harvest festival.”

The last sentence she barely whispered.

- “I hate you…” she kept whispering, with a trembling voice “… I hate you so, sooo much. There was a time when I was praying to Heira begging her to send me her devils for vengeance. I have even partook in blood rituals few times, but… apparently, my hate was not enough to form a pact… I… With my whole heart, I hope, and I wish you, that you would pay for your crimes. That you would rot and decay. May you be cursed! May the plague consume all who partook in that… that… disgusting act of hate. You are beyond salvation. You are beyond redemption and forgiveness. That’s what I wanted to say…”

She finished still trembling, her eyes were bloodshot, every muscle on her body was tensed, ready to deliver a devastating strike every second. But she didn’t hit him nor destroy anything else again.

She got up and started walking toward us, but for the last time turned around at desolated room and hissed”

- “The evil triumphs when people refuse to do what is right. You have created a monster, Thomas. I could be a cheerful village girl. Instead… I can’t control my most brutal urges and instincts. I keep hurting those I love and care about. Because of my violent nature I was banished from quite few cities and villages. All because of you. Hope you will never sleep well again!”

She left. For a split of second I thought I felt some magical anomaly. Yet, it vanished as soon as it appeared. I wasn’t even sure if I even felt it, and not my instincts merely reacted to the adrenaline jump in Giselle’s body.

Giselle moved past us and headed toward the cart. Without saying a word, we have followed her.

We got onto the cart and Lanele headed toward the cart’s man spot. Yet, she hesitated.

- “Giselle, do you want to drive?” it was more than obvious for everyone that priestess wanted to cherish her companion just a little, even if she did that extremely clumsily.

- “No, not this time. Could you drive this time Lana? I…”

- “No problem.” Elfish beauty quickly slapped horses with reins.

Giselle, which usually sat in front of me during ride, lied her head on my shoulder while looking for comfort. I embraced her gently and kissed the top of her head.

- “That was quite wonderful of you, Gis.” I said.

- “I am still so, so angry.” She whined.

- “Yet for the first time you were stronger than the berserker inside of you. I am proud of you babe.” She just hugged me tighter “… Giselle?” I asked with a soft tone

- “Yes?”

- “I… I am not sure if this is a good idea… But, would you like to bake an apple pie with me in the next city we would stop by? I think they will let me occupy their kitchen for few hours.”

She tensed for a moment, yet suddenly relaxed, as if melting under my hand.

- “That would be great… I am rather bad at cooking, can merely prepare some edible meals… And I just hate cakes… But… I will do my best.”

Atta girl. Brave little girl. You did great, much better than I expected. My little brave girl.

I lied my head on hers offering as much of comfort as only I could. This silly gekko needed it now. Well, even if she didn’t need it, I would still do this for her.

There were around two more days of travels till next city. I just rested my back against the bench of the cart and closed my eyes.

Magic. Has many forms. It feasts on many fuels. Mana, blood… Emotions. How many times you heard from your mother to watch your tongue, because words had power – especially those said in hate. How many times non-magicians caused a bad things to happen for he wished that the other one the worst possible fate.

The world is filled with spirits, devils and evil creatures. Hiding. Listening. Waiting for a command. For invitation. Which would allow them to slip through the crack of worlds.

The night surrendered the village, every farmer started preparing to go to bed in order to spend another productive day on the field.

But, in the darkness, something was born. Something blacker than night. Something as evil as devil. And so very thirsty. It was summoned by hate and lured by suffering. The magical words that Giselle whispered were its reason of existence.

She said: “Hope you will never sleep well again”.

And thus, one of the most deadly and nasty spirit-class of an undead came to haunt the village and everyone who caused dragoness harm.

Even though it was a spirit, it took a material form made of smoke. It looked like a sick, twisted hybrid. Like a horse and rider merged together, both horse and rider head faces of their own, with pieces of skin falling off, with unnatural wide mouth and razor long and sharp teeth. The rider was holding a harvesting sickle in each hand. And it was ready to harvest – the agony of the one he judged guilty.

That night, a Nightmare was born.