Title: One of a kind.
Magic is part of your bloodline, passed from mother to daughter. You are the last of your line.
It had been more than a decade since Jenny last saw Mother. She remembered their last moments, the urgent whispered advice, Mother’s sad smile, and their fingers slipping from each other. If her title was accurate, then Mother hadn’t survived. Deep down, Jenny already knew it; she’d already mourned many years ago, but she always kept a slim hope. Jenny’s escape had gone downhill from their plan, and she arrived in Blackthorn months later than planned.
Biscuit had gone silent, which Jenny was glad for. The blonde closed her eyes, one hand cleaning the tears from her face while the other sought comfort on the rabbit’s soft fur. Jenny willed her mind to bring back the last memory of her mother.
…
Jenny wasn’t aware of how much time had passed, but she felt better. She was still sad, but just the usual sadness of remembering a loved one. The injuries didn’t hurt as much anymore; her shoulder and leg still stung, but it was more like a pinprick than burning agony. The blonde opened her eyes and looked at the rabbit. Biscuit slept on her lap, nose twitching from time to time.
A smile blossomed on Jenny’s face. Her stomach rumbled, and the rabbit jolted up, ears swirling in all directions.
“Good morning, Biscuit.”
The rabbit sagged after hearing Jenny’s voice. Biscuit opened her mouth in a big yawn. “Mornin’.”
Jenny drank water and ate the fruit she’d gathered from the orchard. She placed a few of the leaves for Biscuit and pooled water on her hand for the rabbit to drink. Morning routine done, Jenny packed things again.
“Our most pressing problem right now is magic.”
Biscuit made Biscuit noises, which Jenny agreed with.
“Back in the dungeon, we had the berries, but even then, those worms sucked us dry of magic.” Biscuit tittered at her comment, but Jenny didn’t know what the rabbit found funny about it. “I know there’s another way to recover magic,” the blonde said, weighing her words. Jenny didn’t want to antagonize the heroic titleholder turned rabbit. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of eating these fruits. If I can hunt down game, we could eat better and use the wild animal to replenish our magic. What do you think?”
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Biscuit was silent for a long while. The rabbit stared at Jenny unblinking. “Jus’ animals and monsters?”
Jenny nodded. “Just wild animals and monsters.” The memory of Ferdinand and what he had done surfaced again. Jenny shuddered. “I don’t want to be like him.”
Maybe the rabbit understood. Biscuit didn’t ask who.
“Tomorrow.”
Jenny looked at the rabbit, “Why tomorrow?”
“Safe, have agik to heal.”
Something Jenny hadn’t felt for a long time crept from her stomach to her chest and face. She blinked a few surprise tears away, Biscuit’s words taking her by surprise. “Right you are.” She said, doing her best to speak through the thick throat.
Revisiting the memories of Mother and confirming her death affected Jenny more than she wanted to admit, if even a logical suggestion by her pet rabbit brought her to tears.
For the rest of the day, Jenny kept watch and studied the spellbook while Biscuit slept. Night soon arrived again, and Jenny settled beneath the blankets to avoid the cold wind. Like the previous night, Biscuit kept guard, but nothing happened.
Jenny relieved herself, ate, and drank the last of their dwindling water reserves. After packing the improvised camp, she slung the bag over her shoulder, tied the dagger around her belt, and picked up her spear. She also packed the torch in the bag, hoping they could reignite its magic in the future.
After they left the makeshift camp, Jenny looked around for any familiar landmark. With none in sight, she oriented herself by the sun, judging the town’s probable direction. She set a steady pace towards it, keeping an eye open for any wild creature they might encounter.
----------------------------------------
Jenny pressed the spear down into the animal in front of her. The tip had pierced its flank, not enough to kill, but enough to immobilize it. It was one of the strange creatures from this island. Smaller than a horse but larger than a dog. The head resembled a long tube, with small beady eyes on the sides. The fur on the legs and tail was long and flowing, a white line dividing the grey fur on its back and the black fur on its belly. Jenny didn’t know what it ate, but the wicked claws on its forepaws looked mean. The creature was slow and not known for being aggressive, she leveraged that knowledge to hit the beast first and bring it down before it could retaliate.
Biscuit squealed, jumped, and frolicked, repeating “anteater” many times. Jenny hadn’t figured that out yet.
The sight now wasn’t as pretty as before. With a spear stuck in the animal’s flank and a foot pressing its head down, Jenny looked on while Biscuit used the creature’s blood to draw symbols. Then the chanting started.
Eerie words resounded in the area. The sun seemed to lose its luster, and cold air crept up Jenny’s spine. Unbidden, the memories of that night came back. But she noticed something different. Whatever Ferdinand did, it wasn’t the same as Biscuit.
Biscuit burned the creature’s life force, converting it into magic, whereas Ferdinand did something... Jenny’s gut squirmed at the phantom sensations on her stomach, that sensation of something fleeing through the wound.
“Kill et!”
Biscuit squeaking ripped Jenny from the memory. She blinked before pulling the spear up and piercing the creature’s head. She felt the flesh giving way and bones breaking. It was never a good thing to feel.
The animal’s blood boiled and bubbled, seeping from the injury and gathering where Yuki had drawn the symbol. When the animal stopped struggling, no blood leaked from the wound. A deep red stone sat by the side, gleaming in the sunlight.
Even in the sun, Jenny shivered.