Streams of sunlight peeked through the cracks of the lean-to and touched Gloria’s face. She blinked her eyes open and found herself tucked into her bedroll. Gloria sighed and stretched her aching muscles. That’s odd, she thought. I don’t remember getting into my bedroll last night. She stared up at the roof of the lean-to. In her gut, she felt that something had happened – but what?
She wracked her brain, trying to remember. Then she froze and blushed profusely – she had fallen asleep on Seth’s shoulder. He must’ve helped me into my bedroll then. Gloria thought, trying to cool her burning cheeks.
She sat up and looked around the lean-to. She saw Elias still asleep in his bedroll but she didn’t see Seth. Where did he go? Gloria wondered. She looked down at the fire; it was getting low and there wasn’t much firewood left. Maybe he went out to get more? she reasoned and climbed out of her bedroll.
Gloria added the remaining logs to the embers and stoked the flames, then she stepped around the fire and sat beside Elias to look him over. He had more color in his cheeks and his expression was peaceful.
She stroked Elias’s head and smiled. He reminded her a little of her brother, Kelva. Gloria’s heart caught in her throat. I wonder how they’re doing, she thought, trying not to cry. They’re okay…right? Father only despised me, so maybe….
The sound of footsteps brought Gloria out of her thoughts. That must be Seth! Gloria brightened slightly. She wiped a stray tear from her eye and hurried to the door.
“Welcome back, Seth!” she called. “I was wondering where you were. What would you like for breakfast?”
The footsteps suddenly halted and there was no answer. A shiver went up Gloria’s spine and she froze. Something didn’t feel right. Was it Seth by the door or someone else? Gloria looked around for a weapon, but she couldn’t find anything. Then she slowly peered under the dress door. She saw Seth’s boots standing beside the entrance to the lean-to.
That’s Seth… she thought, furrowing her brows in confusion. What is he doing? Then a fearful thought came to her. Does he see something?
“Seth?” she hissed. “Is everything alright?”
A pile of firewood dropped from his hands onto the ground, and she heard a muffled cry from Seth. “Seth?” She cried louder. “Are you alright?”
“Gloria!” Seth’s voice rang out. “Don’t come-!” His cry was cut short, and the thicket went eerily quiet.
“Seth!” Gloria cried and crawled out of the lean-to. But as soon as she came out, a heavy boot stepped on her back and pushed her into the snow, pinning her to the ground. Gloria cried out in surprise.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Gloria?” A soothing voice said, stressing out each syllable in her name. The Lady! Gloria panicked and struggled against the boot that pressed against her back.
Seth’s foot pressed harder and pushed Gloria’s cheeks into the snow. The soft snow burned her face. “It’s about damn time you got close enough for darling Seth and me to be reunited. I was starting to get a mite restless just sitting in his head.”
Gloria felt Seth’s body stretch and bury her in the snow. “It feels good to stretch my legs.” The Lady said, then she chuckled. “I’m sorry, I mean, his legs.”
Oh Crim! Gloria panicked. Oh Crim! What do I do? Gloria’s mind raced with ideas, but Seth’s hand gripped her collar and dragged her through the snow. Gloria sputtered and spat snow from her mouth. She tried to fight against his grip and pry his fingers from her dress, but his grip was too strong.
“I suppose I have you to thank for saving Seth from those dreadful hounds.” The Lady sneered. “Although, if it weren’t for you,” The Lady’s voice rose to an angry shout, “he would already be with me!”
Gloria’s heart pounded fiercely. She couldn’t break free! Elias! Gloria thought wildly. Maybe he can help!
“Elias!” Gloria screamed. “Help-!”
Seth’s body tossed her in front of him and delivered a swift kick to her gut, silencing her scream. The Lady bent Seth’s body down and drew his face close to Gloria’s and chuckled. “Oh, no, no, my dear. This conversation is between you and me.”
Gloria shoved Seth’s body away and tried to scramble to her feet, but Seth’s body snatched her arm and yanked her back. Gloria cried out and fell on her back. She looked up and saw Seth’s face looming over her; furious black eyes glared down at her. Terror filled Gloria and she trembled at Seth’s feet. It’s not Seth…she tried to tell herself. It’s not him.
“Come with me to Westfjord,” The Lady said mimicking Gloria’s voice. “You’re so strong, Seth! You’re so brave!” The Lady rolled Seth’s eyes and gagged.
Then Seth’s body reached down and grabbed a fistful of Gloria’s hair. “I had hoped that Darling Seth would abandon you at Westfjord after visiting the temple,” The Lady chuckled. “Then I could bring him home to me. He was perfect; Broken and frightened.”
Seth’s face twisted into bitter rage. “But no!” The Lady spat in Gloria’s face. “You and that stupid boy had to go and fill his head with ridiculous ideas of heroism and bravery!” Seth’s body yanked Gloria’s hair and pulled her to her feet. Gloria yelped. “Honestly! It’s disgusting!”
Gloria panicked; she was running out of ideas. He’s – no, she’s too strong! Gloria tried in vain to pull her hair out of Seth’s hands and run, but Seth’s body adjusted its grip and pulled Gloria along behind him like a dog on a leash.
“Let me go!” Gloria cried, fighting each step. She turned back and screamed again. “Elias! Elias! Help me!”
Suddenly Seth’s body drew his knife and yanked Gloria close. His body held the knife to her throat and leaned his mouth by her ear. Gloria trembled and eyed the gleaming knife. From the corner of her eye, she saw Seth’s hand tremble. Is he…? Gloria thought frantically, Is he fighting?
“Now, you will stop your screeching,” The Lady hissed sharply in Gloria’s ear. “Like I said, this conversation is just between us. Do you understand, Gloria?”
A few tears beaded in Gloria’s eyes, and she nodded quietly. Seth’s body gripped Gloria tight and led her further into the thicket. Gloria managed to glance back; the lean-to was disappearing behind the trees, along with any hope of Elias saving her.
“Where are you taking me?” Gloria whimpered.
“You’ll see,” The Lady answered with a throaty chuckle. “I think you’ll like it. Darling Seth was the one who found it.”
Soon, the sound of running water drifted to Gloria’s ears. Between the trees, Gloria saw a bubbling creek. Seth’s body dragged Gloria to the bank and forced her to her knees.
Gloria stared down at the running water. Why am I here? Gloria thought, gripping her skirt and trying not to shake. What do you have planned? Gloria’s heart pounded in her throat.
From the corner of her eye, Gloria saw Seth’s body kneel beside her. His hand reached out, cupped her chin, and then turned her face towards his. His mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “It seems,” The Lady cooed. “That just words won’t do the trick anymore.”
Gloria stared into Seth’s eyes and began to sob. “Seth!” she pleaded. “Please help! You have to fight her! Please!”
Gloria started when she saw Seth’s face contort between emotions and his eyes flickered from black to blue. No, Gloria realized. Not emotions; Faces. Seth was fighting! Hope began to rise, maybe he could regain his body!
His eyes flickered blue and Gloria saw recognition in them. “Gloria!” he cried. Gloria’s heart lifted. “Run!” Seth gritted the word out. But before Gloria could move a muscle. The blue disappeared from his eyes and a sneer replaced the panic on his face.
“Well now, that was close.” The Lady chuckled. She tilted Seth’s head and shook it. “But darling Seth can’t save you from what’s about to happen.” Then Seth’s strong hand gripped Gloria’s head and shoved her into the water.
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Ice-cold water burned Gloria’s face and rushed into her lungs. Air! she panicked. I need…air! She flailed and tried to push against the strong grip holding her. Then she was roughly yanked out of the water. Gloria gasped for breath. The cold air bit her face and burned her lungs. Seth’s body shook her, and she let out a broken cry.
“If your father was here, is this how he would do it?” The Lady cackled, then she leaned into Gloria’s ear. “Tell me,” she whispered. “How does it feel to have Seth do this to you?”
Gloria refused to look at Seth’s face. It’s not him… she told herself. It’s not him!
“Did you have fun snuggling on his shoulder last night?” The Lady asked nastily. “Taking pleasure in a stolen moment?”
Gloria was dunked underwater again. Her face began to feel numb. I can’t…think… For a moment, she thought she heard Seth’s voice call out to her, but the roaring water in her ears drowned it out.
Seth’s grip loosened for a moment and Gloria tried to take the chance to flee, but the lack of air slowed her. The grip regained strength and shoved her deeper into the water.
It felt like an eternity before Gloria was pulled out of the water again. She sputtered and coughed. Her vision blurred as she tried not to slip into unconsciousness. The Lady threw Seth’s head back and laughed.
It’s not… Gloria began to cry.
Seth’s fingers lifted Gloria’s face. “When are you going to tell him what you really are?” The Lady spat.
Gloria’s heart dropped. She knows? Gloria trembled. “How do you-?”
“You stupid child!” The Lady raged, dunking Gloria into the water again. When she was yanked out, Seth’s face was thrust close to hers. Faces flickered back and forth — The Lady’s rage and Seth’s desperation. “Of course I know! I’ve known since I first laid eyes on you!” The Lady sneered, “I know your dirty little secret.”
Blue returned for a moment and Seth’s eyes quivered in sorrow. “Gloria…” he wept, “I’m sorry….” Then he was dragged back.
A cool calmness came across Seth’s face and soon only one face remained. The haunting black eyes returned and smirked at Gloria. “Now stay down there like a good little boy,” The Lady crooned. She turned her attention back to Gloria.
“So?” she jeered, flashing Seth’s eyebrows at her. “When? When will you tell him all about your whoring mother and what she is? What about the reason daddy despises you,” The Lady twisted Seth’s face into a grin, then chuckled. “Or will you continue to string him along like a dog?”
The black eyes twinkled in wicked delight. “Maybe I could tell him for you!”
“No!” Gloria screamed. She summoned a burst of strength and tried to flee, but Seth’s grip tightened and yanked her back.
“We’re not stopping until I say we’re done,” The Lady laughed.
Gloria panted – exhaustion was setting in. I don’t think I can fight much longer, she thought. “Why don’t you just kill me then?” she said, beginning to sag.
The Lady tsked. “Death here is far too kind. No, I have better plans for you,” The Lady answered. “This is just for fun.” Seth’s hand started to push her towards the water and Gloria prepared herself for the pain.
Then behind her, Gloria heard Elias’s voice ring out. “Let her go!” he cried, his voice shaking.
Gloria looked over and saw Elias. The boy leaned on a tree and panted heavily. Hope and fear sprang up in Gloria. She reached out to him. “Elias!” she wept. “Help me!”
Seth’s body looked back and laughed. “What do you think you can do, little boy?” The Lady mocked. Seth’s body gripped Gloria’s collar and rose. He towered over Gloria and Elias.
Elias trembled and shrank back beneath Seth’s shadow. “Go back to your tree house, child.” The Lady taunted with a smirk. “Gloria and Master Seth will return in a moment…The adults are having a conversation.”
Gloria shook her head. “Elias!” she pleaded. “Please! Don’t leave me!”
Elias looked from Gloria to Seth’s body. Then he frowned and straightened as best he could. “No!” Elias cried. “I said, let her go!” Then he made a holy sign over himself and began to speak in a strange language.
Seth’s body froze. Gloria peered up and saw Seth’s face twist from cruel pleasure to fear. “No!” The Lady growled.
Seth’s body dropped Gloria and raced towards Elias, but before The Lady could do anything, a flash of white-blue light erupted from Elias. The Lady shrieked and Seth’s body went rigid, then limp.
Seth groaned and Gloria watched him collapse on the creek bank. “Seth!” she cried and crawled over to him. She frantically looked him over before looking up at Elias. "What did you do?" she demanded.
"I don't know!” Elias cried, dropping to his knees and hesitantly reaching out for Seth. “I heard you screaming and crying for help, so I followed you as fast as I could.” Elias winced and held his side again. “When I saw The Lady had control of Master Seth, I thought maybe blessing him would be the right call!”
"Is he dead?" Gloria panicked and searched Seth’s body for a sign of life.
“No,” Elias answered, then he examined Seth’s face. “At least, I don't think so."
"You don't think so?” Gloria cried wiping water droplets off her face and glaring up at Elias.
He fidgeted. “How should I know?” he cried. “I’ve never had to battle an evil demigod before!”
Gloria felt Seth’s neck for a pulse. She found it! It was strong! Gloria sat back and sighed in relief. He’s alright…
Gloria looked up at Elias and gave him a shaky smile. “Thank you, you were very brave.” Elias didn’t return her smile; he narrowed his eyes and watched her carefully. Gloria looked away and tried to calm her pounding heart.
“What are you hiding from Master Seth?” Elias demanded.
The blood drained out of Gloria’s face. She tried to curl up, but her ribs ached. “Nothing," she answered.
"Don't lie to me!” Elias shouted, his voice echoing in the woods. Gloria looked up, startled. The boy sat in the snow not too far away and glared at her. “Just because I’m a child doesn’t mean I don’t know when I’m being lied to. I heard her!” he pointed an accusing finger at her. “What are you hiding?”
Gloria stared. She didn’t know what to say. Anything but the truth! she thought.
“Tell me!” Elias demanded. “Will it hurt Master Seth?"
Gloria recoiled. “No!” she cried. Then she bit her lip and looked away. “At least, not in the way that you’re thinking.”
“Then why are you hiding it?” he asked, his voice softening a little. “Why can’t you just tell him?”
“I just- I can’t.” Gloria turned away from Elias.
“Why not?” Elias pushed and crawled back into her view. “Did you steal something?”
Gloria rolled her eyes. “No, of course not.” she scoffed.
“Did you kill someone?”
“No!” Gloria was getting agitated and tried turning away from him again. Why couldn’t he leave it alone?
Elias scoffed. “Well, if you didn’t steal anything or murder someone. Surely it can’t be that bad. Just tell him! What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
Gloria whirled on Elias and screamed. “He would leave me!” Elias started and the forest went quiet except for the bubbling creek.
Tears sprang to Gloria’s eyes, and she gazed at Seth’s pale face. She reached out to touch him but flinched back. It’s not… she couldn’t finish the thought.
"He would leave me,” she repeated, quietly this time and withdrew her hand. “Just like she did…” she looked up at Elias and her vision blurred. “I can't lose him. I don’t have anyone else left…"
Elias crawled over and collapsed beside her. "Well,” Elias began, “you know the old saying: if you love something-"
Gloria whipped her head towards Elias and stabbed a finger in his face. "Don't you dare finish that proverb!” She seethed. “Or I swear to Crim, I will slap you!"
Elias pulled away in surprise again. He opened his mouth to speak, then wisely closed it. He sat up and quietly looked from Gloria to Seth. “He cares about you a lot, you know,” he said after a long silence.
Gloria glanced at Elias, hope daring to raise her head. “I can tell by the way he talks to you and the way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not looking,” Elias smiled faintly and looked up to the treetops. “Whatever you’re hiding, I don’t think he’d leave you. He likes you too much to do that.”
I don’t know about that…Gloria thought before wincing. He doesn’t know the truth.
Elias’s face snapped to hers. “Are you alright?” he asked and reached out for her.
Gloria held her ribs from where Seth’s body had kicked her. Past experience taught her that it would bruise. “I’m fine,” she answered with a grimace. “Nothing a little rest won’t help.”
Gloria looked down at Seth, then back up at Elias. “If he doesn’t remember,” Gloria began, “Don’t tell him what happened.”
Elias frowned. “Master Seth ought to know what happened.”
Gloria shook her head and held herself. “I don’t think he could handle this. He hurt me once before and it was hard on him. This…” Gloria paused, “this would destroy him.”
“I don’t know…” Elias countered. “I think you seriously underestimate Master Seth. I think he would want to know. That way when we defeat The Lady, he can have the satisfaction that he avenged the agony that she put you through.” Elias grinned and put a hand on her shoulder.
“If we defeat her,” Gloria trembled. The Lady’s cackle and the freezing water replayed in her mind.
Elias withdrew his hand and twiddled his thumbs. “Whenever I got discouraged,” he said, “Father Verdas used to say this to me: ‘Defeat is imminent when the soul is discouraged.’” Gloria looked up at Elias and for a moment, his young face grew old and wizened.
He bowed his head. “Father Verdas and I have a complicated relationship, but that has always stuck with me.” Elias was quiet for another moment, then his youthful spirit returned, and he slowly climbed to his feet.
“Come on,” he said. “We should get you and Master Seth back to the lean-to and get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on things for you,” he held out a hand to Gloria.
“You’ll keep an eye on things?” Gloria raised an eyebrow. “You’re barely standing yourself!”
Elias’s face turned red. “Well, it’s what Master Seth would do!” Gloria looked back at Seth. He was right – It was what he would do. Gloria took Elias’s hand, and he helped pull her up.
Gloria looked down at Seth. “How are we going to get him back?”
“I got it,” Elias answered. Then the boy bent down to pick up Seth. He tugged and pulled, and his face turned red with exertion, but all he managed to do was sit Seth up. Elias paused and panted.
“Do you need help?” Gloria asked taking a step forward.
Elias shook his head and put up a hand. “No, I’ve got it,” he wheezed. Elias lifted Seth onto his back and tried to stand, but his legs threatened to give out under the weight.
“Careful!” Gloria cried and intervened. She wrapped one of Seth’s arms around her neck and gently slid Seth off Elias’s back. “I don’t want you to get flattened,” she said.
Elias laughed and wrapped Seth’s other arm around his neck “Well, at least I’d still be in one piece,” he grinned. “That’s what Master Seth said,” Then he imitated Seth’s stern voice. “‘I want you to stay in one piece.’ He said nothing about what shape he wanted me to stay in!” Elias’s joke made Gloria smile, and a little giggle escaped from her. Elias smiled, then turned his focus to lifting his side of Seth.
Together, Gloria and Elias dragged Seth between them, and slowly trudged back to the lean-to, each step heavier than the last.
Seth groaned and his head rolled onto Gloria’s shoulder. She gulped and trembled. His once comforting warmth now made Gloria shiver. It wasn’t him…she tried to tell herself. But the words were harder and harder to say, and Gloria began to wonder – maybe it wasn’t true.