《Providence》 Prologue and Chapter 1 Prologue The child had horns. That was the first thing every single person in the temple noticed. The mother, the midwife, the grandfather, grandmother, and the priest were silent. The only sound in the temple was that of the horned child. Anna, the mother, could be seen to slowly descend into the realization. On her face you could watch as the exhausted smile changed to a blank expression, and the neutral expression to one of raised eyebrows and an agape mouth. ¡°Is that my baby?¡± asked Anna. The midwife gingerly handed over the bundled infant. ¡°Seems to be.¡± Out of everything Anna imagined her child would be, a demon was not one of them. At no point did her and her husband ever consider this. Anna¡¯s father, Michael, pushed his wife aside reached violently towards the baby inAnna¡¯ hands. Anna pulled the baby out of her father¡¯s reach and the midwife made space between Anna and Michael. ¡°Father what are you doing?¡± Michael swallowed down his anger. ¡°This thing¡­ is an omen. A curse. A blight! We should rid ourselves of it, before something bad happens to all of us. ¡°This is a baby! My baby! How dare you!¡± Michael turned to the priest, expectantly. ¡°Anna, may I see the child?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re going to kill it! I saw the look my father gave you!¡± The priest, an older man, put on a most solemn of faces, gripped his holy book, and held his hand against his heart. ¡°I swear in this temple, I swear upon this book. I swear upon The Ten. My intent is to observe, and advise to their will.¡± Anna reluctantly handed over the child as the priest examined the child from head to toe. He touched the horns, and looked over every inch of skin on the infant, all of which was a fall crimson. Finally, he looked at the child¡¯s eyes, which were brown, like her mother¡¯s. ¡°This child is only half demon. It has human eyes. To rid ourselves of her would be a grave error in the eyes of the The Ten. Yes, it is demonic, but to harm a human, even something that is only half, would be a grave mistake. The child must live.¡± The priest gave Anna the child back as Michael spoke up. ¡°This thing is going to get us all killed! This is a blight, a cu-¡± ¡°Respect the Ten or be damned Michael!¡± The priest snapped. Michael stopped talking, and let out a long sigh. ¡°I apologize for my outburst father.¡± The priest nodded, and put his hand on Michael¡¯s shoulder. The grandmother, Yvette, put her hand on Michael¡¯s other shoulder and pulled him to the main chapel. ¡°Michael. Please, we need to be here to help Anna and Jonathan. Anger isn¡¯t going to help us guide them. I know you are concerned for her safety and our own, but I need you to be concerned with the child¡¯s safety too. This is not our child, but Anna is.¡± ¡°Yes, Yvette. I just wish things were different.¡± Yvette and Jonathan walked back into the birthing room of the temple. ¡°Mother, Father, have you heard anything from Jonathan?¡± asked Anna, holding the child over her shoulder. ¡°No, he said he had something to grab from your home before he came back to the temple.¡± said Yvette ¡°That¡¯s odd, that¡¯s not like him. Father, can you go check on the cottage?¡± Michael nodded, and left the room. It was around ten o¡¯clock, when Michael arrived at it Anna and Jonathan¡¯s cottage. It was near the tavern and inn that Anna owned and worked in. A simple structure made of stone, its front was being caught by the moon, high in the south. The ground in front of it had begun to frost, and it too was reflecting the full moon. Michael opened the door to the cottage with a candle in one hand, to find the cottage in disarray. The wood in the hearth was burnt, the drawers to the dresser were open, and several of the large food and water pots Michael and Yvette had made for the couple when they had married were missing. Whoever had taken things seemed to have been in quite a hurry. Michael pulled at the fake stone he had made for the couple to store their money in, and upon finding it completely empty threw it at the ground in anger. ¡°Damn you! I knew I was right about you!¡± He kicked the bed frame, hurting his foot. He knew. Michael left the cottage and headed towards the temple, his hot breath visible in the winter night. Back in the temple it was still quiet. Anna held the sleeping child, while the priest donned the accoutrement for the naming ritual. The midwife had left several minutes ago, her job done. ¡°Do you know what you are going to name it?¡± asked Yvette. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what Jonathan has to say, but we did have a name in mind.¡± Anna said, staring past Yvette to the wall. ¡°I am glad to hear that.¡± Michael walked back into the room. ¡°He¡¯s not at your home right now. Maybe he got lost in the woods?¡± Confusion showed itself on Anna¡¯s face. ¡°He should be fine. He hunts a lot.¡± Michael offered. The priest walked back in with a lit censer and brought it face to face with the child ¡°What will this child¡¯s name be?¡± Anna thought a moment, and then nodded. ¡°Her name will be Sarah.¡± The family and the priest all maintained a moment of silence. The censer was doused in a bowl of water, as Sarah roused from slumber. She looked at the priest, Michael, Yvette, and finally up to Anna. ¡°Anna, your father and I will help you raise this child, as we promised. However, to protect her and your family, we are going to need to plan.¡± Jonathan did not return. Chapter One I heard Grandpa clanging one of the pots as I began to get out of bed. My first task for the day is to check on Grandma and Grandpa¡¯s pots in the brick kiln next door. We live outside of town, about a league or so. A good hour or two along the path in the woods is usually pretty lonely. We like it that way. The kiln itself wasn¡¯t much to look at, just some bricks that leaned inwards to a point, and a metal hatch on the side to shovel some of the coal into. I thanked my lucky stars that the heat seems to be going strong, so I don¡¯t have to pick up that shovel. Instead, I got to go inside and enjoy breakfast with Grandma and Grampa. Grandpa was at the large pot, stirring the porridge, while Grandma was at a low table, working on one of the larger storage pots that we make. Grandpa turned to me and said ¡°Child, grab me another log.¡± So I did. The morning outside, now that I had more time to look at it, was just beginning. The sky was barely purple, the moon and the stars were still visible. I could see my breath, and the ground was frosted. It was getting close to winter. Probably a couple of weeks before the first snow. Mornings like this were special, because it meant I didn¡¯t have to cover my skin and face until a bit later, when it was warmer. Meaning, if I was lucky, I¡¯d get to feel the sun on my skin. I grabbed one of the logs from the side of the house and brought back in, throwing it onto the fire in the center. ¡°You¡¯ll have to be going into town with me today, child. Your mother ordered some new plates for the inn, and the temple is preparing for the equinox celebration.¡± I wouldn''t get to sit in the sun today. I kept a straight face, I knew better than to complain in front of him. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Days like these, were among my least favorite. I got to see my mom, which was nice. But, I would have to spend all day with gloves, and a scarf over my face and hair. We said I had a skin illness. Something that made the wind burn me. The priest confirmed it, and I was told to live with it. It has been this way since I can remember.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Sarah, we do this to protect you.¡± I remember my mom told me when I was around five. That was eight or so years ago. I don¡¯t really get to talk to the other kids, especially now because my grandparents are so far out of town. Once in a moon, usually during things like the equinox, I get my chance to talk to them. I never remember their names, I¡¯m pretty bad at those. ¡°Grandpa, sir. Could I go by myself? It¡¯ll be faster that way. You could stay here and help Grandma with the big pot. I¡¯ll just throw it all on the cart.¡± Umo was our mule. An old lady, but she was still holding on, probably had a couple more winters in her. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt. I promised your mother that I would protect you, and so I must come. Anyways, you''ll get into trouble.¡± I decided to suggest something that I had suggested many times in the past year. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m older now. I have done this so many times. Plus, it¡¯ll make mom happy to see me do this myself. I¡± ¡°Michael, wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful for Anna?¡± Grandpa thought a minute, and looked at Grandma. ¡°Yes, child. If you promise to be careful. Remember ta-¡± ¡°Talk only when spoken to. Don¡¯t take my gloves off until I¡¯m inside. If anyone bothers me, talk to Benevolence.¡± He went back to his room with a one of those small runs people do indoors, and came back with a kinfe. ¡°This is for your protection.¡± I took the knife from his hand, it was heavier than I thought it would be. ¡°Yes sir.¡± We ate breakfast in silence, and then began to pack for my trip. It took us a bit to load everything into a couple of crates, and put those in the small cart that Umo pulled. ¡°Child. This is a privilege of age. Now go put on your outfit.¡± So, on came the gloves, scarf, and the coat that concealed me in these trips. ¡°Thank you Grandpa!¡± I shouted as me and Umo began walking towards town. He looked at me briefly, and then set his gaze downward as he chopped firewood. I couldn''t tell if he was scowling. It had been about an hour when I had to stop with Umo,she was already tired. Couldn¡¯t blame her, she was old. I found a nice spot off the path near the creek, looked carefully around, and took my scarf off so I could feel the sun on my face through the oaks. I was also tired, so I decided to close my eyes for a bit in the sun. Grandpa would have never let me do this. I was asleep too long, I think. I woke up to the crunch of leaves, and the shouting of some of the kids from the village. I quickly reached for my scarf and wrapped my head in it, some of my hair was sticking out, but it was better than nothing. I threw my coat¡¯s hood over my head as they ran into vision at the far end of the creak, just in case. ¡°Up Umo,¡± I said as I tugged at her reigns. She had decided to nap too. She reluctantly stood up, and I again fastened the cart to her harness. We got back onto the path towards town, and began to progress again. I really hoped Grandpa wouldn¡¯t be disappointed in me for my lateness. In the forest, I could hear the laughter of the other kids as they chased each other all around. I looked towards the creek again. There were five of them. One of them was soaked, but she was still smiling as the sun lit her face and reflected off the creek below her. They looked at me and waved, so I waved back. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the Dewsworn girl?¡± the soaked girl shouted at me, cupping her hands to project better. ¡°Yes!¡± I spoke back, and continued down the path.I was not going to be late. Not this time. I heard the crumple of small footsteps as they all ran up to my left. ¡°Is it true the wind burns you?¡± One of the younger boys with bright blonde hair asked, as he tapped on my arm for my attention. I could see that Umo was getting nervous from the crowding of the other kids. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Does it hurt to wear clothes?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The questions were starting to lay on top of one another, and some of the kids had now gone in front of Umo, who was beginning to try to back away, making the cart almost tip. ¡°Everyone away from the cart, you¡¯re scaring Umo!¡± They all made a little space for me and Umo. ¡°Yes. It hurts. My skin hurts. I need to go into town with my family¡¯s plates.¡± The soaked girl, still smiling, the sun poking from behind her, asked me one last question. ¡°If it won¡¯t matter if you¡¯re late this one time, would you like to join us?¡± I hadn¡¯t thought about this question. This is to protect you. I could hear my mother¡¯s voice in my head. I looked at the girl, at the creek, and then at the crate of ceramic. I really wanted to. I almost did. But then, I thought of my Grandpa¡¯s reluctance, and his anger. If I were late, I would never get to do this again. ¡°Sorry, I have to take this into town. Next time.¡± I don¡¯t know why I said ¡°next time¡±, I figured that Grandpa wouldn¡¯t let me have a next time. I think I was trying to be polite. Anyways, the girl gave an exaggerated frown, drew a fake tear from her eye to her cheek. ¡°Next time!¡± she smiled at me, and beckoned to her posse to run off back towards the creek. ¡°Okay, Benjamin, you¡¯ll be a wanderer of the platinum dragon, and I¡¯ll be the bandit queen this time! Joseph, you¡¯ll be the¡­¡± her voice trailed off as Umo and I walked on the shady path to town. It was just after midday when me and Umo got to the inn. Mom was outside kneeled at the wash bin, working on some dirty linens. ¡°Sarah! I didn¡¯t realize you and your grandfather were coming today.¡± She set the cloth she was washing back into the basin, and ran over to hug me. ¡°Speaking of your grandfather, is he still lagging a bit behind?¡± she asked, with a bit of trailing laughter. ¡°No.¡± I said ¡°He let me go alone today.¡± A big grin hit her face as she tied her brown hair behind her head. ¡°That¡¯s great! Now let¡¯s unload these plates.¡± We unhtiched Umo from the cart, and brought one of the crates into the storeroom that was next to the main sitting room in the inn. ¡°You didn¡¯t run into trouble on your way here?¡± Mom asked, while examining one of the new plates ¡°No, just some of the village kids asking me about the condition. I told them it burned and all that. Like I tell everyone.¡± She looked concerned. ¡°Do you know who?¡± her tone of voice was much more serious. ¡°Sorry Mom, you know I¡¯m bad at their names. There was a girl with black hair, about my age? Though she didn¡¯t bother me with any of those questions. Can¡¯t say I remember who else was there.¡± She stopped to put her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Sweetie, I¡¯m very happy that you were able to get here by yourself. Remember, these kids, -if they saw you without your outfit- would shun you, or worse. You are a smart kid, so I know you won¡¯t be seeing them much. Just be careful if that happens again.¡± She started putting the plates on the shelves again. ¡°Also, they should know better than to bother you with questions about your illness.I thought their parents raised them better.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think the questions were...invasive.¡± ¡°You might not be worried, but I¡¯m worried-¡± She turned to me again, to emphasize her point. ¡°I¡¯m worried that these questions could be signs of a deeper curiosity as to how things are. Too much attention-¡± I cut her off, finishing one of Grandpa¡¯s often said phrases: ¡°Too much attention makes doubt, doubt creates curiosity. Curiosity will get me and the family hurt.¡± She relaxed. ¡°Smart kid.¡± We unloaded the rest of the plates meant for the inn, and before I left I promised to visit Mom again soon to go foraging for mushrooms. I wasn¡¯t very good at it-I usually found the poisonous ones-, but sometimes when I was far away Mom would let me lie in the sun without my hood and scarf. Next was Benevolence Benevolence, the priest, was pretty old. He was definitely older than Grandpa. He was the only other person that lived in the town proper that knew of my condition, the midwife, Joanna, had passed a number of years ago, before I can remember. I didn¡¯t know his given name, but the name he took on when annointed to be service to The Ten was Benevolence. Not all who worked on the behalf of The Ten took on new names, but there had been many before him who had. Some for reasons in the writings of the god they represented, some for other personal reasons. True to his name he would always invite me to talk to him over tea and lunch when I visited, and this time was no different. He usually asked me if I had any strange dreams, or if anything I experienced felt different. ¡°No strange dreams, sir.¡± He pulled his steeper out of his mug. ¡°How is living with your Grandparents?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Grandpa is how he always is. ¡®Don¡¯t talk to people or you will die¡¯, I was surprised he let me go by myself when I asked this time. Normally he just scolds me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been telling him he needs to give you more room. That is why your mother moved you out there in the first place. Good news for you is that he seems to be turning a new leaf.¡± Benevolence smiled at me as he blew on his tea and took a sip. ¡°That would be nice. Would you mind if I-¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He said gesturing to me, as I began to take my hood and scarf off. ¡°I really wish I didn¡¯t have to wear this all the time. It¡¯s stuffy.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, that is how things have to be.¡± I sighed and leaned back in my chair. ¡°Benevolence, how do you get people to change for the better?¡± He took another sip of his tea and set it down. ¡°Truth be told child, carefully. At least in my experience. Change is not easy.¡± He sat further back in his chair. ¡°When I was much younger I was an underling at a chapel in larger village. I really truly thought I was doing a good job. I was attending to my mentor and her needs, and spent much of my time studying the writings of the The Rake. However, whenever I tried to teach people the lessons I had learned, they would just tell me that I was young. I didn¡¯t understand why the stole, or fought. For years, I remained as an underling because I could not get the people of the community to respect me. I was bitter! Surely, they were the wrong ones! Ha! ¡°However, in my sixth year as underling, a famine hit my village. I would go days without eating. It got so bad, that one night I snuck into the loft where we stored wine, looking for anything to eat. I was so hungry, I lost sight of my teaching. Thinking I had been sneaky, I took a bottle of wine and drank the whole thing by myself. Boy was I in for a surprise when I woke up with my mentor looking at me. It was the most embarrassed I have ever been! To my surprise she didn¡¯t scold me. Instead, she took me to her quarters, and shared some of her bread with me. She didn¡¯t say it, but through that action she told me exactly what I was missing. I finally understood what these people were feeling. How they could ignore the teachings. So I met them in the same way my teacher met me. With bread! A little food goes a long way!¡± He set his tea down quickly, before finishing. ¡°And that¡¯s why I call myself Benevolence. To remind myself to get my head out of these damn books and think about bread!¡± Benevolence broke into a fit of laughter at his own story. I waited a bit for it to end. ¡°But what has this got to do with me?¡± I asked. ¡° If anything, Grandpa needs to be the one to change, as you¡¯ve been telling him.¡± He handed me some bread and cheese. ¡°Lunch takes two people!¡± He laughed deeply as he poured me some more tea. Now that I think about it, he never told me what it had to do with me. Chapter 2 Chapter Two My return home was uneventful. Grandpa asked me for the money I had received for the plates, and then served an uncharacteristically quiet dinner. I could tell him and Grandma had been arguing, because they weren¡¯t talking to each other directly, only to me. Well, it was most Grandma talking to me. Grandpa was quiet. Grandma got up to serve herself seconds as she spoke to me. ¡°So your mother wants you to visit later this week? That seems lovely, doesn¡¯t it Michael?¡± Grandpa looked at her, and then looked back into his bowl ¡°Sarah, the equinox is in a few weeks, do you have a prayer thought up for The Rake?¡± Truth be told, I didn¡¯t really pray to The Ten. I would say things, but I know I didn¡¯t mean them, and I know The Ten couldn¡¯t hear me. They didn¡¯t want anything to do with me. That had been very clear since I was young, when my prayers to live like others went unanswered. ¡°Not yet Grandma. I¡¯ll probably just pray for what I usually pray for. Your health, Grandpa¡¯s health, Benevolence¡¯s health, Mom¡¯s health, and some good clay.¡± I had stopped wishing for a normal life years ago. She sat back down with a fresh bowl of mushroom stew, and looked at Grandpa with a look that could kill. ¡°What will you be praying for Michael?¡± ¡°Family.¡± He mumbled, looking up briefly at Grandma, who looked way from Grandpa and at me. ¡°Sarah, would you like to give the familial offering this year? You¡¯re going to be a woman soon, and you¡¯ll have to eventually¡± I did not want to. It would bring bad luck. Maybe the creek would dry up. The Rake never answered my personal prayer, and an offering I made would be no different. I looked for an excuse before Grandma spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to do the offering this year. I know it¡¯s a lot to ask of you. You will have to eventually, before you move out on your own.¡± Grandpa stood up, leaving his bowl at the table, and walked off to his and Grandma¡¯s room. Grandma looked exasperated. ¡°Goodnight Michael.¡± She said. Grandma and I finished dinner and washed the dishes together. Grandpa was still asleep in the morning when I left for the village, so only Grandma saw me off. She gave me a pear for the trip, and a kiss on the cheek before I put my scarf and hood on. ¡°Stay safe sweetie¡± she told me. The fall morning was sunny, without a cloud in the sky. It was shaping up to be one of the hotter days of fall, so I decided to go towards the creek and walk without the scarf. It was nice to feel the sun on my hair. I had gone a couple of hours, when I heard the sound of kids playing in the distance getting closer. I ran behind a tree and wrapped the scarf around my face, and threw the hood over my head quickly, and then continued walking in the sun. The girl with black hair, and the four other kids were running around in my direction when I heard her shout.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh look it¡¯s the Dewsworn kid! Hi Sarah!¡± she waved and ran over to me. ¡°Hello!¡± I said back, trying to be friendly. ¡°So, are you going to play with us this time, like you promised?¡± She asked. I had forgotten I had said ¡°next time¡± until now. Should I lie? I wondered. I don¡¯t have Umo with me, so that might now work. I thought of my conversation with Mom the other day, that talking too much was a bad idea. It seemed like an eternity of thinking. I really wanted to, just like last time. Alright, as long as they agree to not touch the scarf and hood it should be fine. ¡°I have some free time, so why not?¡± I said ¡°Excellent.¡± she said ¡°By the way, please don¡¯t take my scarf and hood off, I don¡¯t want the pain of that. Also, what are you names? I¡¯m sorry to ask, I¡¯m really bad at names.¡± The girl pointed around, first to herself. ¡°I¡¯m Michaela, this is Joseph¡± ¡°Hi¡± ¡°This is Vincent and Esther¡± ¡°Hello¡± ¡°And this is my brother, Max.¡± Michaela finished, pointing at the boy with the bright blonde hair, who was staring at my scarf and hood. She grabbed a large stick from the ground, and pointed it upwards. ¡°Alright so the roles are that of bandit lord, bandit, and farmer. Since Max had to be a normal person twice in a row, he gets to be a wanderer of the platinum dragon. The townspeople have to defend their town with the help of the wanderer to stop their treasure-¡± She waved the stick around for dramatic effect, ¡°-from being stolen by the bandit lord. Now, since she¡¯s new, Sarah can choose her role.¡± Bandit lord sounded up my alley. Not having to answer to anyone. Doing what I wanted, without rules. ¡°What does the bandit lord do?¡± I asked ¡°Well that¡¯s easy! They steal stuff, and with the help of their shadow powers can easily escape capture! The bandits are less powerful¡­¡± She continued on to explain how to play. Basically, me and the bandits had to grab the stick from the townsfolk. The townsfolk and the wanderer had to stop us. The wanderer had special powers to send a bandit back to where we started if he touched. If we touched townsfolk they had to stop for 10 seconds, and if they touched us first we would have to stop for 10 seconds. Because I was the bandit lord, only the wanderer could stop me, and it took all of the townsfolk touching me to send me back. The game ended when the bandits were sent back 5 times each, or the stick was stolen. It took me a couple of times being stopped and sent back before I really got the hang of it. Max was small, so my best idea to win was to run right by him, because the townsfolk were off dealing with the other bandits. When Max did tag me he had to make the decision: to hold me in place forever, or to send the other bandits back. When he made the decision to send the other bandits back, it was my time to shine! So I grabbed the stick, and started running up the creek! Immediately the townsfolk were on my trail! I ran as fast as I ever have, they could barely catch up. I was almost to base, when I looked back to see Max, hot on my trail as well as Michaela, both of them trying hard to catch up. ¡°Fools! You cannot catch Sarah! The great bandit queen!¡± I laughed, still looking backwards as I ran. This was my mistake. Immediately I felt a smack on my head, and I went tumbling down towards the creek. I could feel the air on my face as my scarf began to unravel, having been caught on the branch right before I landed face-first in the creek. I raised my head to gasp for air, and threw my wet hair out of my eyes. I could hear Michaela¡¯s voice. ¡°Sarah are you oka-¡± ¡°Monster!¡± Max screamed. I heard more screams. Not of joy. I heard pure terror. I looked up to where I had heard Michaelah talking from. She was frozen. He eyes were wide. I shielded my face and turned away. I heard her footsteps as she ran. Faster than when she had been chasing me. In the creek I could see my reflection. My brown hair, and brown eyes. My short nose, and my wide face. My red skin, and my curled horns. Muddied. I didn¡¯t know what to do. So I cried. The screams disappeared in the distance. I wished my Mom was here. I wished my father never left. I wished I avoided them. Grandpa was right, Mom was right. I was an omen. ¡°Damn you!¡± I screamed into the ground at The Ten. Not that they would hear. I got up, still crying. I wrapped the ripped scarf around my face, and pulled the damp hood over my hood. The pear Grandma had given me was okay, at least. I cried for a few more minutes. I hopped on the path, away from the creek, and headed towards town. Chapter 3 I took the long way around town to the back of the inn, which happened to border the forest. I couldn¡¯t risk any of the other kids seeing me. They would make a scene. I hid behind a tree for a bit, to make sure no one was watching the clearing that separated the two. When it looked clear, I run for the door, slamming it shut behind me. The storeroom¡¯s door was open, Mom was carrying a sack potatoes from it. I took a second to catch my breath. ¡°Hey sneaky! You could have walked, gives me more time for fun with these potatoes.¡± she laughed. ¡°Ready to go find some mushrooms?I think I¡¯m going to make that soup you liked from last year¡¯s equinox.¡± I didn¡¯t know how to explain my mistake. I didn¡¯t want her. I didn¡¯t want her to know that she would be hurt because I had been so careless. I had failed to keep an easy promise. Don¡¯t remove the scarf and hood. So, I ran towards her with my arms open and held on to her for dear life as my eyes began to water. She shepherded me upstairs to one of the unused rooms, trying to quiet me on the way. ¡°So it looks like you¡¯re not feeling up to mushrooms. Can you tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡± I tried to collect myself, occasionally blurting out ¡°I¡± or ¡°my¡±, but I kept choking on the pain of my shame. ¡°I need you to calm down if you¡¯re going to explain anything.¡± she started rubbing my back to soothe me as I threw myself onto the clean bed. ¡°Your scarf is dirty. Does that have something to do with this?¡± I nodded, and pulled the scarf off, showing my muddied face. ¡°People saw!¡± I managed to choke out. Mom paused for a moment. She let took a deep breath. ¡°Why don¡¯t you wash up in the baths, while I go grab Benevolence?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± I barely managed to say, my crying getting softer. Mom stood up and left the room, she walked fast. I wrapped my scarf around my face again, and headed down to the inn¡¯s bath, locking the door behind me as I cleaned up. Benevolence and Mom walked into the room, Benevolence had a serious look on him that I had never seen before. I knew him as a happy, carefree person. This was not that Benevolence. There was more presence to him. My attention was required to be on him. ¡°Tea, Benevolence?¡± Mom asked. ¡°Yes please, Anna.¡± He nodded as he sat down in a chair that faced me on the bed. He removed his holy symbol, an ornate leaf carved out of Oak, and handed it towards me. ¡°Sarah, I need to know everyone that saw you.¡± ¡°They were all kids...Michaela, Esther, Joseph, Vincent, and Max.¡± I said ¡°So the Goldleaf children, the Barrowmoor child, and the Smith children.¡± Mom walked back into the room and handed him a cup of tea. ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°About an hour ago, Benevolence.¡± He set his cup down on the ground and looked upwards, placing his hand under his chin, scratching his uneven stubble. ¡°Fortunately, it was only children that saw you. This would have much more serious implications if it was any of the adults. How did this happen.¡± I repeated what had happened with the game of bandits, and running into the branch that unraveled my hood. ¡°If they raise trouble at the next council I will have to think of a way to explain this away. I do not like lying, but it is something we will have to do, again, to make up for your mistake.¡± He picked up his cup and drank from it again. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t my fault! They had asked me to play and I was trying to be polite and-¡± Benevolence interjected. ¡°Sarah, you put yourself in a vulnerable position. To rough house in such a manner puts you and your family at risk. You have been taught multiple times as to how you must act to protect those things. Whether or not it was your intent to reveal your face does not matter. What matters is that now the adults- Your mother, your grandparents and I- have to figure out how to correct the consequences of this misfortune.¡± I shut my mouth, and held my anger back. You don¡¯t know what I go through. Just once. Just once! There was no risk! It isn¡¯t my fault that something normal led to my scarf getting pulled! No one even tried to anyways! ¡°Benevolence. What if you just went and talked to the children?¡± Mom asked. ¡°Anna, because to let those children know that I am aware of what happened...it will mean that someone told me. That someone would be Sarah. The best I can do to protect you and your family will be to make an excuse as to how what they saw was not your daughter.¡± Mom nodded, and then spoke. ¡°Benevolence, what help do you need of us?¡± ¡°More tea, for one.¡± He laughed as something in his body language changed. He was less imposing now. Friendlier somehow. ¡°But more importantly, we need an alibi for Sarah. Yvette and Michael will need to be informed before the next townReading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. council about this incident. The equinox is in ten days, which, if I check my schedule-¡±He pulled out a small black book, and flipped to the middle. ¡°Is in three days.¡± Mom and Benevolence talked a bit more, and the plan was set before Benevolence left the inn. The rest of the day was less serious. Mom asked Dewey, her cook, to watch the inn while she spent the rest of the day with me. We were lucky it was past summer, turning into the slow seasons. The inn didn¡¯t get many guests this time of year and in winter, cause we were so far west, and cut off by the mountains to the rest of the Kingdom. When it got hot, sometimes there would be twenty guests. Sometimes pilgrims, but usually merchants. One time a wanderer showed up, but I didn¡¯t get the chance to meet him. Because of the incident, going out for mushrooms wasn¡¯t going to happen, so we mostly stayed inside and played cards and Parillion. Parrilon was played with each player having 7 pieces on a 20 square board. You wanted to lock down the other player¡¯s pieces so they had no way to move, or you wanted to capture their 3 important pieces. I always forgot how the pieces moved, but Mom didn¡¯t mind explaining. After losing more times than I can count, we went to bed. We had Grandpa and Grandma to talk to tomorrow. We woke up before the sun was up. The dew on the grass had frosted over, and the fog was hanging off the town. Mom had her lantern lit, and gave me one of her old scarves from before I was born. She was working on mending the scarf from yesterday, and Mom pointed out I shouldn¡¯t be looked at with that old one. I didn¡¯t know exactly what Benevolence planned to say if it came up, but I knew whatever those kids saw in the forest was not me. We cut through the inn, to the back door, so we didn¡¯t get seen walking through the middle of things. Inside, the chairs were turned on the tables, and the fire only had a couple of embers. Dewey had forgotten to knock the logs out. Mom went behind the bar and grabbed the crossbow she kept back there. The woods were dangerous before the sun knocked away the night. A couple of kids disappeared in them the year before I was born. We didn¡¯t know what happened with them. Mom handed me the lantern as she opened the door to the back of the inn, and we walked into the forest. The light of the lantern barely clung to the trees through the fog, but it was better than no light. I held onto her as she led us to the main path to my Grandparents¡¯ home. We had been walking for about an hour, the fog hadn¡¯t cleared, when Mom saw a tall, wide shape in the dark. It turned towards us, one of its ¡°arms¡± splitting into tendrils. Mom grabbed my hand and pulled us behind a tree, while smothering the light in the lantern. There were slow, steady footsteps, and deep breathing coming from the direction we had seen figure. It was coming towards us. Each step sounded closer to us, until they stopped. The creature was right next to us. Mom held her hand over my mouth so it wouldn¡¯t hear us. Finally it spoke in a deep voice, like a growl. I felt it in the earth, in the pit of my stomach. ¡°K¡¯al xit ral. Toril par skit.¡± I went cold. Frozen. I was certain it knew we were here. We heard more footsteps as the autumn leaves were crushed by more creatures as they moved through the oak forest. When the sounds stopped, Mom and I waited until the sun was out to stand up. To make sure the fog creatures were gone. ¡°Mom, were those Fell?¡± ¡°Yes. Thank The Ten for the fog or they would have found us.¡± The Fell would sometimes hunt in the woods near the village. I had only heard stories of them during festivals. The first nightmare I can remember was after my Grandpa told a story of The Fell. How they took children, and ate them with their terrible mouths. Other stories were mostly the same. They are why we did not leave the village at night. ¡°Thank The Ten.¡± I said. I meant it. Thank The Ten they couldn¡¯t see us. It was another hour until we had made it to my Grandparents¡¯. The fog was starting to lift since the sun had risen above the mountains. The kiln and the house still had the shadows of the surrounding oaks, but the grass that was lit by the sun had started to thaw. I went to check on the kiln before we went inside. It was running a bit cold, so I shoveled some coal into the chute. Grandma was in the kitchen this morning, tending to a fire. ¡°Good morning Sarah.¡± Grandma said as she adjusted one of the logs. She looked up again as surprise swept across her face. ¡°Good morning Anna! To what do I owe the pleasure.¡± She said, smiling as she walked over to Mom to give her a hug. ¡°Something happened concerning Sarah. Is Father up yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, he was up late working on a new storage pot. The innkeeper in Tarvis Path has an order due in a couple of weeks. Michael wanted to fire this pot before the equinox. You know him, stubborn.¡± Mom rolled her eyes and sighed. ¡°Sound like him. Let me help you with breakfast while we wait.¡± Mom, Grandma, and I had just sat down to eat when Grandpa came out of his room. His face looked defeated, but the moment he saw Mom he was beaming, and full of energy. It was the most I had seen him smile. ¡°Anna, what are you doing here?¡± he asked. ¡°Something happened with Sarah, Benevolence told me to come talk to both of you.¡± ¡°Sarah looks fine. What time did you leave on your walk here?¡± ¡°Before dawn.¡± ¡°Through the forest?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Grandpa sat down, he was his normal stoic self. ¡°Child.¡± He turned to me. ¡°What did you do?¡± This was not going to go over well. Mom jumped in. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to her like that. She¡¯s a kid, not a criminal.¡± Mom and Grandpa looked at each other for a bit. Grandpa spoke again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Anna, I didn¡¯t mean to be rude. I am tired. I was up late.¡± Mom nodded, and then got Grandma and Grandpa up to speed. ¡°Okay, so we will have to go in for the town council?¡± Grandpa asked. ¡°Yes, you and Mom will have to go in. Benevolence thinks it would be best if you were present so that everyone believes Sarah was at home.¡± ¡°So I have to go all the way into town, just to make sure that if-¡± he raised his voice, ¡°-If someone mentions something about your child, I can lie to these people who I have known for years, just to make sure there are no consequences for its mistake?¡± Mom snapped ¡°You promised me and Jonathan you would help us raise the child! You promised the night she was born that you would help raise her, and keep her safe. You agreed to this. We walked through the damn forest full of Fell, so that way people wouldn¡¯t kill Sarah if they found out the truth. Because you promised, all of those years ago when Jonathan disappeared, to help raise and protect her.¡± ¡°Jonathan didn¡¯t disappear! As I told you, he left! And no wonder he fucking left because look at the mess he knew he left behind!¡± Grandpa shouted Tears welled up in Mom¡¯s eyes at those words. Why was Grandpa like this? He didn¡¯t seem to like anything. Not me, or my Dad. ¡°You never liked Jonathan, and for no reason! But you swore in a temple of The Ten- The fucking Ten that you would help. You wanted to fucking kill her, but you decided to promise to your daughter you would help! I¡¯m sick of your shit Michael!¡± ¡°Enough, both of you!¡± Grandma chimed in. I stood up and removed my scarf and hood while heading towards the door ¡°Child. You put those on right now!¡± I turned around to stare at him. I wanted to scream. I was just a problem to him. An inconvenience. He had no idea what my life was like. No idea how painful it was to be me. I didn''t choose this. I was punished by The Ten for being born. Forced to wear winter clothes in summer. No Friends. No Father. Every time I put on my hood I was reminded I also had no future. I walked away from the house, to the edge of the forest. The arguing continued. The sun punctured a cloud, briefly hitting my faceI could still hear yelling from the house, but it was distant. Grandpa wanted to kill me. Umo, who had been grazing when I walked out trotted up to me. I hugged her mane, and cried again for what felt like the hundredth time in the past day. Things would have been easier if he had. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 In the forest, smothered with the fog of mistake, we tread through I can feel her- His- A presence behind me To guide. The figure in shadow is shone upon As I am thrown away, to hide my face. To protect It drapes me in the haze. I am alone as The Wound opens. She is not the hunt. *** I was thrown out of the nightmare panicking. I screamed, but my body was frozen. The feeling from the dream was gone, but I still felt scared. The words Fell spoke scared me, thinking about them made me panic. It took me a minute of laying there to realize that it was not the early morning, the day was older than that. Grandpa had been avoiding me since the argument. I wasn¡¯t surprised he hadn¡¯t asked me to check on the kiln, he must¡¯ve done it himself. Grandma knocked on the frame of the door, I was still stick. ¡°Sarah, are you okay? Grandpa and I could hear you from outside.¡± ¡°Nightmare,¡± I said. I could feel my body start to relax, I had been awake for a couple of minutes. ¡°Seems like a pretty bad one if you ask me. You sounded like you were dying!¡± she walked over and sat down at its foot to rest. Her age had started to catch up with her, she had to sit a lot more than she used to. ¡°I was frozen when I woke up. It was about The Fell Mom and I saw. In the nightmare it knew I was there, but just left me alone.¡± I could feel my back tense up as I remembered the dream. ¡°Well, now you¡¯re awake now, so let¡¯s forget that dream and get out of bed. Work to do today.¡± She smiled at me as she carefully pulled herself up and walked towards her work space in the other room. ¡°There¡¯s still breakfast in the pot. Wash it out at the creek when you¡¯ve eaten. Umo¡¯s stall needs to be cleaned today, so do that afterwards. I¡¯ll have more chores for you later.¡± Cleaning Umo¡¯s stall was the worst, and the smell had gotten worse lately. Everything had gotten worse lately. But, at least Umo¡¯s stall wasn¡¯t Grandpa asking me to do things. He wouldn¡¯t ask me, he would ask ¡°child¡±. I could feel the anger from yesterday. It wasn¡¯t as strong, so I was able to breath it down as I went to heat up the pot. Mom had made mushroom stew before she left in the morning. I grabbed one of the logs from outside and revived the fire with some of the embers under the ash. I walked by Grandpa, who kept his head down. I wasn¡¯t sure if he even knew I had walked by, he was elbow deep on the Travis Path order. The pot looked like it had a few more days to go before he fired it, if he worked late. It was overcast today, so at least the scarf and hood were practical. I wasn¡¯t about to risk another incident, especially with how yesterday turned out. I spent most of yesterday outside next to Umo, alone as Grandpa and Mom argued. In the end, Grandpa had agreed to show up to council, but I could not attend the equinox. Grandma was upset I wouldn¡¯t get to say the familial prayer, but to tell the truth I was happy it wasn¡¯t me. I didn¡¯t need another reason for Grandpa to hate me. I had begun to get Umo¡¯s mess out of the stall when I felt Grandpa standing behind me. I kept shoveling Umo¡¯s mess out, trying to ignore him. I did not want to talk to him. He kept standing there, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t going to let me go. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be bothered right now. Grandma says she has more chores for me¡± He didn¡¯t reply, but I could tell he was unhappy. I could feel yesterday¡¯s anger in my throat as I turned around. ¡°Why do you hate me?!¡± I shouted. No one was there, Grandpa was at his workbench. He looked at me, stood up, and walked over. I went back to shoveling, hoping he¡¯d get the message. I could tell he didn¡¯t as I heard him walking through the grass behind me. He cleared his throat and spoke. It wasn¡¯t his normal stoic tone, it was low and quiet. ¡°Child. I do not hate you.¡± ¡°Then why won¡¯t you call me my name? Why do you want me dead?¡± I threw at him, hoping he¡¯d leave. ¡°Child, you know I do not speak much. Um-¡±, he sounded like he was crying. ¡°I protect you because I love you. I made that promise. I promised to your mother that I would protect you, always. Your birth made my life more difficult. All of our lives more difficult. When you were born, we had to make a plan. We knew it would be hard. When a plan goes wrong, it¡¯s easy to forget the always. I broke that promise. I am sorry you think I hate you because of it.¡± He left me alone. The wind got the last word between us. *** A week had passed, it was the day of the equinox. Grandpa was still avoiding me, and Grandma kept asking me to do chores instead. They had both gone down to the council six days ago. We were lucky. When the incident was mentioned, Grandma and Benevolence were able to dismiss it by saying Grandpa and I were in Tarvis Path to collect the commission fee for the storage pots. It was probably a prankster faerie. I still had to stay home for safety reasons. I probably could have convinced Grandma to let me go, but the less I talked the less reasons Grandpa had to talk to me. With that in mind, I kept quiet. Night was coming in earlier. The bells of the temple struck five as the sun set over the horizon and I began to make dinner. I had moved Umo¡¯s trough next to the door so I wouldn¡¯t be alone while I ate. I had been by myself at night before, but not at Grandma and Grandpa¡¯s. I walked through the house bored, trying to figure out a way to pass the time. I was used to the house being cramped. There were a few times I would try to talk to Grandma, thinking she was working behind me. I immediately remembered every time I tried to talk to her. At around six, I decided to make a fire out front. The Fell come closer to settlements during the equinox, and after last week I did not want to come any closer to one. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The knife Grandpa had lent me was still home, so for fun I decided to pretend I was the bandit queen again, showing those stupid townfolks who the boss is. I swung the knife in made up battles as my group of outcasts swarmed the village who had kicked us out! ¡°Do not mess with the queen of battle!¡± I shouted. Umo, who was across the fire, whinnied. I look over, and past her, to catch a figure at the edge of the Oaks. The moonlight hit it through the autumn clouds. I could make out its body, sewn crooked tendrils. Its deep black ¡°face¡± did not shine under the moonlight. Instead it glowed like a red gem that had broken and scattered. It was a Fell. Staring at me. I could hear the dream come back to me. She is not the hunt. I grasped Umo¡¯s reigns, and led her inside, keeping the knife pointed towards it. It did not move. As the moon become covered by the clouds once again, it joined with the gnarls of the oaks at the edge of forest. I barred the door. My breath fogged the window as I looked outwards to where the creature had been. Every time Umo whinnied my stomach dropped. It was going to come in here. It was going to hunt me. I was going to die. I should have gone to town. I would have been safe. My hands were sweating as I gripped the knife harder. I fumbled my knife as I heard the bell of the temple began to ring. It was not the ring of a new hour. It was the ring of danger. There was an emergency, the bell-ringer was ringing as fast as they could, and as loud as possible. I started to breath fast. I was in out of town, surrounded by a forest with Fell, and the only safe place during emergencies was going to be the temple. What if we were being attacked? I couldn¡¯t be here by myself, it was too dangerous. If Umo and I rode fast enough, we could make it to town. It was safer than by myself surrounded by Fell. I leaned against the window, to make sure there were no Fell in front of the door. ¡°Umo, up.¡± I could feel my back tense up, and my breath shortened. I was moving, but stiff. Umo remained sitting. ¡°We can¡¯t be here. We need to go.¡± I pulled at her reigns as she grunted and stood up. I ran to my room and shoved some hay from my pillow into my sack, I had to keep Umo going if she got tired. I opened the door, and mounted Umo. We sprinted into the Oak forest towards town, the bells of the temple still ringing. We were making good pace, but I kept almost falling off. Riding Umo with a saddle was painful for me, and I could tell she was tiring. We were going to have to hide, so I turned us towards the river. If there were soldiers, I didn¡¯t want to hide on the main path. The roots of a large tree draped over part of the bank provided good cover from the moonlight, especially on a cloudy night like that one. So I scrambled behind them, pulling Umo with me. The bells had stopped. For a while, there was only stillness as I waited for Umo to recover. I reached into my bag for some hay for Umo, when I heard water splashing. Someone was running up the river. I couldn¡¯t see them until they got closer. It was a girl. I couldn¡¯t tell what color her hair was, until moonlight poked through the leaves. It was black, her skin was pale, almost blue. It was Michaela, she was almost out of breath. I needed to know what was happening. Why did she run all of the way out here? As she approached my hiding place, I spoke. ¡°Michaela. It¡¯s Sarah. Please don¡¯t be scared. I can see you, I¡¯m hiding.¡± She stopped. ¡°Oh no. By the Ten, no!¡± She was panicking. She wouldn¡¯t be quiet. I didn¡¯t know how to make her stop. ¡°Shhhh, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± I said, trying to calm her down. ¡°Why should I trust you? You¡¯re a demon. Benevolence says to not trust demons.¡± She asked, I could hear the fear in her voice. Why should she trust me? I wondered. I didn¡¯t have the time to explain anything. She needed to get to safety, and I needed to know what was happening. ¡°I¡¯m not a demon, I¡¯m the bandit queen!¡± I said. Michaela giggled. ¡°I guess a demon is better than raiders.¡± she said. ¡°Raiders?¡± ¡°They attacked during the prayers. I couldn¡¯t get to the temple, so I ran into the woods. Some of them were chasing me, but they stopped after a while. I kept running, just to make sure.¡± I came out of my hiding place, lowered my hood, removed my scarf and handed it to her. She stared at me, holding on to the scarf loosely. ¡°Wear this around your face. We need to hide, and your skin is too easy to see in the moonlight.¡± I said. ¡°Holy shit you are a demon.¡± Her mouth was wide. ¡°I¡¯m not a demon. This whole thing-¡± I pointed to my face ¡°is not my fault. If you don¡¯t want to get hurt by the Fell, do what I say. I promise.¡± ¡°The Fell-?¡± ¡°I saw one earlier. We need to get back to my Grandparents¡¯. I have a fire going, it should keep them away.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± she said, as I helped her wrap the scarf around her face. ¡°Umo, stay.¡± Umo would have to stay behind, if we were going to be get through the woods without being heard. Her hooves were too obvious. The Fell would hear us. We would die. We climbed up the bank of the river, towards the main path.The moon would intrude through the canopy, but not enough to be too useful. I grabbed Michaela¡¯s hand as I guided her towards home. We were making good progress, and had not seen any Fell yet. Then, I felt a presence behind us. I turned to see nothing, at first. Then I began to make out a faint red gem. It was a Fell. It could see us. I Tossed Michaelah into a bush away from the creature, and jumped into one on the other side of the path. Hopefully it did not want us. Hopefully, it would just leave us alone. I could hear the leaves crack. It was coming towards us. I made a silent prayer to The Ten, hoping just once that they would hear me. I could see its pitch body through the specked moonlight above There was no sound when saw it ¡°breath¡±, only dread. It did not walk, it simply shifted. It was standing between me and Michaela, looking down the path. Maybe it will go away, I thought. The Fell turned towards my bush, and slowly reached a tendril inwards. It grasped my wrist. I wanted to scream from the pain, but I couldn¡¯t. Something in the tendril stopped me. It dragged me out of the bush, and raised me upwards. The red glow of its face disappeared. It¡¯s ¡°face¡± was pestilence. It was disease. It was famine. II was death. I felt the presence again. Something was behind me. At my shoulder. I spoke. But it wasn¡¯t me. It spoke. ¡°Par skit.¡± It said. Its hand raised, finger pointed. It was my hand. My finger was pointed. The Fell stopped. ¡°Par skit.¡± It repeated. I repeated. The Fell responded. ¡°Toril par skit.¡± ¡°Par skit.¡± It repeated. Finger still pointed. The Fell dropped it. Me. It shot its tendril into Michaela¡¯s hideaway, dragging her out. I think she was screaming. I could see her face move. I could feel it. But it was so distant. She was dragged to the red orb. I could feel the crack of bone. The wetness of flesh. It knew this sound. I knew this sound. Her lifeless body, torn, was dropped to the ground, her pale skin reflecting the moonlight. ¡°Par skit.¡± The Fell said, as it drew back into the forest. The presence, it, was gone. My ears were ringing. She had screamed. I couldn¡¯t move, my arm burned. I fell forward. I had failed. I was going to protect her. I promised. I promised. I promised. She screamed when I killed her. When I spoke to the fell. No, it spoke to the fell. Two, terrible words. ¡°Par skit.¡± She is the hunt. It went black. I did not dream.