Hollow winds carried the message of dread. The moon was nowhere to be found. There were few stars in the sky, pouring little light. From above, two eyes seemed to be losing their light.
Garrett lay on the cold snow, slowly turning warm under his own blood. His throat was filled with bleeding, and everything he could see was fragments of his life.
The figure vanished into the dark, and Garrett's heart was getting slower and slower with every passing second. His body was going numb and his eyes heavy.
"Maria, Violet..." The names that were in his mind—he couldn't speak, neither could he move. There was no blood left to carry anger through his veins. What was left in the body of clay were prayers...
"Please be safe, my love, my world... I wish I could've seen you both happy, Violet running without care, you growing old... I wasn't a good husband and father.
I am leaving you early at the hands of this world. Forgive me... forgive m—" The last breath left Garrett's chest, and the night engulfed him in cold slumber.
---
In the dark forest, Maria was running with Violet in her arms.
Oblivious to Garrett, a few men were able to slip away to pursue her. They were far, but Garrett was prepared for such a situation.
When he planned to run away to the north, he brought a spell-enchanted talisman.
A talisman attached to a cloth makes the person invisible if lost from sight and sound.
The only way to counter it is to never let go of the sight of the user, and once the user's face is seen and heard again, the user becomes visible again.
The talisman was on both Violet's and Maria's clothes. They ran deep into the woods, and the pursuers weren't able to locate them.
Maria ran nonstop. Her legs cried in pain, and she didn't think about it for a second. In her mind, there was only one thing—Violet's safety.
While Violet's heart was getting crushed by guilt...
---
Violet's PoV
Why am I like this? Always like a stone on a drowning person?
A burden...
I looked at Mama. She held me tight, and her eyes had no concern—it was Papa and me...
If not for this frail body, maybe I could've helped Mama and Papa. If only I hadn't got caught by those masked men, Papa wouldn't have had to stay behind.
It's all my fault...
"Mama—" I whispered, because somewhere in my heart, I knew my words would hurt her. She tightened her arms around the blanket I was wrapped in.
"What happened?" Mama didn't look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the track, her legs moving.
"Please leave me here. Please, Mama..." I said.
But she didn't even look in my direction. She just continued to run...
She sighed and then said, "What a brave thought. But tell me... do you really think that I'll leave you alone like that?" She said with a smile, and I knew she wasn't lying.
Then suddenly, we heard a crack behind us. They were close...
Mama's worries rose. The desperation on her face was clear as day. She looked around, and then her lips trembled.
"Oh no, no... How could I forget about it?" Her face twisted in deep regret. She looked around.
Then Maria stopped, her sight dipped in despair. There was no way they could lose the pursuers on their tails. There was only one way to run, but if they did, they'd be caught.
It was a dead end. The left was blocked by a tall mountain, and in front, there was a cliff. If one had to run, they could only go back or right.
Maria took a deep breath and tried to recall everything she learned about these woods. Then she recalled a small piece of advice from the women while hunting.
"If you ever get stranded in dark woods, you'll only end up at the edge of a cliff. To return, walk straight back.
If chased by any beast, always look for the low cave."
The sound of pursuers getting close was like a drum on her heartbeat. Mama then stopped, her eyes fixed on me, and then she whispered...
"If only we can save at least..."
---
The pursuers were getting close. Even though, with the talisman, Maria was not visible or audible to them, they still had a way to chase her. They had a compass whose needle pointed in the direction taken by any being.
Unfortunately for Maria, no animal lingered in the forest. People called it the Dead Woods, for there were cliffs and woods only in these parts.
There wasn't any greenery to attract herbivores, and their absence made hunters and predators ignore the woods too.
There were no prey or predators in these woods until tonight. The masked few—only a few remaining—chased with the shadow figure riding a large wolf.
The figure got close to the masked men, and they looked at her with low gazes.
"We have found traces. In a few moments, we'll find them also," one of them spoke.
"Don't make me regret putting my trust in you all. I am already second-guessing," the figure spoke.
The masked men looked at each other and nodded. Then their legs came to a halt.
"Looks like we found them." They ended up in front of a straight cliff, half of the pathway blocked by the tall mountain riddled with sharp rocks.
"She can only go left," the men spoke, and the figure chuckled.
"Pick up the pace," it spoke, and they rushed that way like mad dogs.
Even nature seemed to conspire against them. Maria still had that blanket in her arms.
"Just a little more, and then everything shall be over." Maria ran, but then a voice echoed...
"Maria!" It was loud and hoarse, just like Garrett's. It felt like he was close.
Maria thought he had won and was coming to join them.
Maria shook in dread and slight relief—and made a mistake.
Maria's legs stopped, and she turned back. She yelled while unwrapping her face. The moonlight reflected on her face, reaching the sharp eyes of seasoned assassins.
But Maria realized the ploy. She immediately covered her face and started running, but it was too late.
"Oh, the love. Even the mightiest fell as victims of it," the figure spoke. Nocking an arrow, she aimed at the running rags, because it was impossible for them to lose her sight.
The string pulled back, and then a whistle silenced the loud sounds of crushing steps.
The arrow struck Maria in the right leg, and she fell to the ground. She squirmed in pain and tried to get up, but before she could, a rapier went through the femur of her left leg.
Maria screeched in pain, holding the blanket like her life depended on it.
The figure chuckled and then spoke...
"How far did you think you could get away while holding a grown child? Turn around, show me your face. I want to see your arrogant face riddled with regret as you realize that everything will be taken away from you!" The figure kicked Maria in the gut and sent her flying.
She rolled with heavy force until a dead tree stopped her. She lay on her back, coughing blood, but her grip didn't loosen.
"Persistent—that's what I really liked about you." The figure walked up to Maria, and the moonlight made the face visible to Maria.
The green eyes behind the round spectacles looked down at her, black hair tied up in a bun, and a cloak worn neatly over her body.
Maria clenched her teeth in pure rage. Her veins swelled, fists tightened, and she uttered the name in hatred beyond words.
"Calla..." Her eyes were red with anger. The betrayal didn't even feel like betrayal now—it felt anticipated.
"Sister..." Calla smiled at her. In pure contempt, she leaned down to snatch the blanket she thought Violet was in, moving her head close to Maria. But it was her arrogance that made her blind to the fact that a mother determined to protect her child is far more dangerous than any beast walking the earth.
In a flash, Maria pulled out a knife and slashed the left eye of Calla. Blood gushed out, and Calla screamed in agony.
She covered her eye to stop the blood, squirming as if salt were sprinkled on a leech.
"YOU BITCH! YOU LOWLY WHORE! I'LL KILL YOU! I SHOULD'VE KILLED YOU! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" Calla was screaming in agony. She got up and pulled out the sword from one of the men. She slashed Maria's arm off and then snatched the blanket.
"You'll pay for this! Don't expect an easy death, you lowborn bitch! Just because you raised Violet doesn't mean you are deserving of my mercy!" She slashed another of her arms in crazed humor.
But her smile faded as she saw the smile on Maria's face instead of pain.
"Why are you smiling? Have you gone mad?" Calla spoke.
With blood coming out of her mouth, Maria spoke with a smile,
"You really think you can continue the façade of a loving mother anymore? With everything you've done until now?"
Hearing this, Calla's eyes moved to the blanket, and she looked at it too.
"Don't worry, I know hundreds of medicines to erase memory! Everything she heard and saw will be—"
"Lady Calla!" The men spoke, and angered Calla turned to them.
"What?!" Her anger soon turned to horror as she saw the unwrapped blanket.
Instead of Violet protected in those rags, there were stones with a talisman slowly burning.
"You'll never see or hurt my daughter again..." Maria spoke. Then an explosion shook the mountain.