Ria
" We're back"
" Just in time" Illiana hugged me and took my bag as soon as I entered through the door, just when the sun was setting. Running had it's beneficts after all. We had managed to arrive before nightfall.
I hugged Illiana back and stepped forward, right into the chaos of the orfanage. Lii was running around, telling all the other kids the story of how we had bought all the market. That wasn't true, but it was fun seeing how she saw the world.
" Come, let's go eat"
I nodded and took off my cloak, hanging it on the rack near the door.
The table was already set, the food cold in front of the seats.
As soon as the kids saw we were seated they run to us, taking their seats while never looking away from the food.
" You could've eaten without us" I felt kinda guilty that they had to wait for us to come back. The children must've been starving while they waited.
" Nonsense. We all eat together"
The guilt disappeared when I saw Illiana's warm smile.
" Okay" I smiled back and attacked my food.
I rolled around in my cot, unable to sleep. The dark gut feeling inside my stomach and the spirit howling right above me didn't help me calm down. All I could think about was that I had to move, to do something, anything at all.
I turned again, trying to get to sleep, when I heard the sound of wings flapping outside. What the fuck?
I looked around the room and saw that all the children were still on their beds, none of them outside. If they weren't out making those noises then who was?
I got up with a jolt and ran to the window. Through it I could see the same official that I had spoken to not even a day ago landing gently on the snow, his subordinates following suit behind him.
Fuck!
I ran out of the room and straight into Illiana's room.
" Get up!" I gently shook her, trying to wake her up.
We had to do something before those guards knocked on the door.
" Ria? What's going on?" Illiana rubbed her tired eyes, barely looking at me.
" The guards"
The fear in my voice must've been patent because Illiana got up in a flash, her blue eyes showing her fear.
" We have to get you out of here"
" Right now?" I knew fleeing was the right thing to do, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't leave my family behind.
" Yes, now"
Illiana grabbed my hand and a bag.
" Throw everything you can grab here"
I panicked seeing Illiana so afraid. She always remained calm, no matter what happened. Her behaviour only set me even more on edge.
I knew the officials were not good people, but I had already met them yesterday and they had let me live. They wouldn't kill me now, right?
With shaking hands I begun throwing clothes into the bag.
" Open up!" A deep voice coming from the first floor startled us both.
" Get out of here. Now"
Illiana handed me the bag and begun walking downstairs, a fake smile on her face.
" I'm coming" Her voice was fake sweet as she spoke to them.
" Why? Why should I run?"
Illiana turned to look at me and walked back. She grabbed my hands, tears streaming down her face.
" You are special. It's good, but some people don't see it that way"
I knew that. What I didn't know was what they would do if they found me. I wanted to ask, but the fear I could see written all over Illiana's face pushed the words back down my throat.
" Run away. Hide in the forest. I'll come find you next week when everything calms down"
I nodded, not wanting to say anything else, afraid that the men downstairs could hear us.
" Open up!" The voice increased in volume and pounding on the door could be heard.
" Run away"
Illiana gave me one last kiss on the cheek before turning, running down the stairs.
" Just a second, sir. I'm putting on my clothes"
I looked at her retreating back and determination seized me, I would come back to them. As I looked at the woman that had been like a mother to me a heavy weight settled on my chest.
" It'll be fine. I'll see her again" I whispered reassuring words to myself, not that they calmed me down.
The spirit in front of me made my hunch worse, her creepy smile and laughter when she saw Illiana's retreating back making all my hair stand up.
She knew something. I looked at her for a second too long.
My mistake.
" Aggghhh!" The spirit changed, her face contorting and changing, blood pouring out of her ears and eyes as she shrieked.
I immediately looked away and focused on grabbing the bag with my shaking hands. I ignored the broken spirit screaming at me from inches away from my head.
I held my bag close to my chest and turned, ignoring both the screaming spirit and the sounds of conversation that could be heard from below.
Fortunately for me the window was open. For once in my life I felt grateful that Illiana always had night heats. If she hadn't kept the window open getting out would've been way more difficult.
I climbed out the window with all the care of the world, making sure there weren't any sounds that could be heard downstairs.
I jumped out the window, falling into the soft snow. Thank God it was winter and there was snow all over the place. If there weren't any snow I would've surely broken some bones.
Despite the fact that the snow took most of the impact my wrist still hurt, pain blooming all over my hand. Fuck!
I got up with my healthy hand, looking at the orfanage one last time before turning away and running straight into the forest.
I couldn't hear any sounds coming from the building as I ran, not looking back.
My feet hurt as I walked. I was never, ever again sleeping without shoes on. My whole body shivered from the cold. The light chemise I was wearing wasn't enough to keep away the cold. It permeated in my body through my feet and arms.
The blizzard outside wasn't helping either. My hair whipped into my face with every step I took and made knowing where I was almost impossible. All I could see was my own black hair and the white snow that seemed to fall from everywhere.
All I knew was that there was a forest right up ahead. I had no idea where it was with the heavy snow, but I had to keep trying. How those officials had managed to fly in this weather was beyond me. It took really powerful wings to fly in a blizzard. Good thing I heard them landing. The whole story would've taken a really dark turn if I had been asleep. For once my paranoia had saved me. Good for me.
I pressed on harder, moving one leg at a time. I watched the orfanage's light turn on and dread rippled through my body. What if the officials were torturing my family? What if they were planning to kill them after taking all the information they could from them?
My gaze kept landing there, my feet moving me in the opposite direction.
An extremely fast gust of wind made me focus on myself. I stood my ground, using all my strength to stand where I was and not move from there.
I was so focused on not ending on the ground with the freezing snow that I didn't realize the officials were leaving the orfanage until it was too late.
" Over there!" I snapped my head their way when I heard their screams.
My eyes widened when I saw them, three officials flying my way and pointing at me. I could barely see them through the blizzard but I could still make out the gold in their uniforms.
Crap, oh no.
I ran faster, pulling my gaze away from their flying bodies and setting it in front of me. I had to run as fast as I could.
I dropped my bag without regreats. I had to run faster and the bag was dragging me down, so I dropped it in the snow and kept running.
My body started screaming, too tired to move. The strain in my muscles was pulling me down as I gave it my all to run away from the officials flying over me.
I heard their wings flapping as they got closer to me. I kept running, looking only up ahead because whenever I looked upwards my heart sank a little further. The officials were gaining terrain every second. The wind pushed them away, but they kept flying steadily, their eyes set on me.
When I looked at my back I could see Illiana on the door, her figure barely recognizable. I wished the rest of the children were okay too.
Soon I had other things to worry about. The same man I had talked to just a few hours ago landed gracefully on the snow.
" You there" He didn't even wait a second before unsheathing his sword.
I backed away, trying to run away.
I turned on my heels and ran, but a strong hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
" Where do you think you're going?" A handsome man was looking down at me, his emerald eyes looking at me as if I was trash, without mercy.
" I... I" I didn't have an excuse and my odds of escaping were diminishing by the second.
The third man landed near me, his gaze focused on me as he unsheathed his sword too.
" You're coming with us" The first man pointed at me with his sword, the sharp edge a few inches away from my neck.
My whole body shivered in fear and cold. I had to get out of here, I had to get back to my family, but how?
One glance at the orfanage told me Illiana had gone inside again. I took a deep breath and faced my attackers. I would do anything for my family.
" Fine" I gave the one that seemed like the leader my hands, expecting to be handcuffed, but I had one condition. " But you have to keep my family safe"
" Hahaha" All of them broke out in laughter, looking at me with something similar to pity in their eyes.
" You think they care about you" The man's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he looked down on me.
My heart cracked hearing his words. Of course they cared about me, I was their family.
" They care about me" My voice was shaking from the fear and cold.
" They betrayed you. They sold you out"
What? That couldn't be it. I looked back at the orfanage, but the lights were already off, as if Illiana didn't even care to see me go into the forest. That couldn't be it. Illiana would never betray me.
" You're wrong"
I tried to back away. All I managed to do was get cut by the sword. A thin line of blood appeared on my neck. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. Fear overtook me as I looked into the man's cruel eyes.
" Think whatever you want, but Illiana has been working for us all along. We only ever let you live for a specific reason"
Why? My whole body was screaming to know the reason, but my heart didn't care. All it cared about was the betrayal.
" Did the kids know?" I wanted them to have nothing to do with this, but my heart didn't agree with that. My heart screamed that everyone had betrayed me, bleeding from the dagger wound where I had been stabbed in the back by the person I trusted the most.
The man just smirked.
" Let's go"
As he took out some handcuffs from his pocket and lowered his sword I saw my chance.
I kicked him on the chest with all my strength and ran away.
The man behind me tried to stab me with his sword on my chest, but I twisted and it embedded itself into my shoulder instead. Pain erupted all over my arm. I groaned as tears fought to escape me.
I had to get out of here.
Grabbing my injured shoulder I kept running, looking back at them with every step.
Luckily for me they were helping their captain up. The same captain that was looking at me with murder in his eyes.
" Get her!"
His voice made me shiver and run faster. I didn't know what I would do, all I knew was that I had to get out of there.
My strength weaned with evey second that my shoulder was bleeding, blood dripping into the snow, turning the white snow red.
I looked back and the men were mere feet away from me, their eyes trailing on my injured shoulder. Their swords glistened as they run, ready to stab me through the middle and kill me.
" Kill her" The captain's new order made me look back again only to see them even closer than before.
Crap, I was fucked.
I jumped to avoid a fallen branch and ended up with my head against the snow. I tried to get up quickly and continue running, but the men caught up to me.
" You should've agreed to our offer. You're going to die now"
The gleam in the captain's eyes as he spoke told me he was telling the truth. He would kill me without hesitation.
I didn't see a way out of there as the man lowered his sword, ready to stab me through my abdomen and end it all.
Fuck it all. If I was going to die I would die looking at my killer in the eyes.
I looked at him in the eyes, fear blooming all over my body. I was ready to accept my fate, tears streaming down my face. I had no real plan to escape when I saw a man standing right beside him, looking at me straight in the eyes.
As the captain's sword moved down I made a decision that I swore I would never do. Something that had gotten me the nickname the red demon. Something that had killed over ten grown men before. Something that I swore on everything I held dear I would never do again.
I had no other choice.
I looked at the spirit straight in the eyes, the captain's sword touching my skin. I had less than a second to live.
" Hello"
Just as the sword broke my skin, red blood blooming under the shiny metal the spirit looked at me and smiled, his eyes crying blood.
The captain thrusted his sword deeper into my chest. I thrashed, laughing with a derranged smile.
We were all done for.
" Why are you laughing?" The captain pulled out his sword, ready to stab me again.
" We're all going to hell"
The captain's face showed his confusion at my change of actitud. He looked back at where I was looking and his face twisted in fear when he saw only the consequences of what I saw.
The spirit was all over one of his men, his hands on his stomach. To the captain it probably looked like his man was levitating in the air, blood flowing out of a whole in the middle of his stomach.
" What the hell have you done!!!?" His tone was afraid as he looked at me.
I smiled, blood pooling underneath me. My whole body hurt like hell, but I still found the strength inside me to laugh, my whole body shaking from the pain.
" We're all going to hell"
His face fell as he looked back at his man and raised back his sword.
I leaned against the snow, a maniac smile on my lips. At least I wouldn't be the only one to die now. We were all going to hell.