2 Chapter 1: Six Women

A/N: I know sometimes I do too much description but I can't help it, tell me your thoughts on it anyway, or how I can improve. (All feedback is accepted, be as brutal as you like) I know it's a slow start, but it gets better (I hope to you haha)

Aiyana's eyes flickered open, adjusting to the dim lighting in her house; one lantern swayed next to the door with the candles flame inside gleaming warmly, filling the small house with a soft hue of orange. Above the door hanged spices of thyme, rosemary, lavender and basil, the herbs kept the smells of the latrine from entering; it was around the side of the house. Her mother, Malena, was asleep above her. On the houses first floor was a stone fireplace which slumbered, it was accompanied by two sitting chairs in front of it made of wood and metal with a fluffy wool pelt beneath their feet. Opposite of the fireplace was a rope ladder which led up to a loft, where her mother resided among trunks for their clothes and belongings. One circular window was against the back wall behind her, a black curtain shielding it shut. Aiyana laid further back past the fireplace and chairs, near the table and kitchen area, small enough to fit only two people in at a time. She changed into her tunic and coat as she waited for her mother to rise.

Their house was humble since her mother was a baker, making principally scones, pies, sweet rolls, fine cakes and her most popular baking with a secret ingredient was twisted bread of cow's milk, vanilla, sugar and two pinches of honey and cinnamon. The kitchen always smelt nice, the neighbors would sometimes comment on the fragrances wafting out of their house, they lived in the middle of town close to the center where the marketplace was; where Malena sold her goods.

They were safe and sheltered from anything that lurked at the borders; Moonbright was a vast town with around three thousand residents. Towards the South it was located on the borders of a large forest which was hugged by large, snowy mountains as tall as the clouds, some of their peaks breaking through the cloud bank.

Towards the East of the town, there was a clearing, this was where the farmland resided and past that, the Duke's manor, Volkav manor. The West side of Moonbright was where there was a lake, connected to the rivers that ran into the forest which began from the mountains. It was where most of the fishermen lived since it was close to their trade.

At the break of dawn her mother came down and both of them had cheese and boiled vegetables for breakfast. They ate in silence.

Last night was a full moon, all the townsfolk knew that on that night they had to lock their doors and seal their windows shut because of the beast of the forest. Nobody knew what it was; some speculated that it was a bear, wolf or even a creature that was demonic, summoned by a witch to haunt the town. Each month when the full moon rises, the farmers offer an animal. Sometimes a piglet, a hen or even a lamb, when the sun breaks the horizon the animal is gone.

After pulling back the dark curtains and opening the windows to let some air in, the two women head towards the market to sell their bake goods. "Make sure to have the jelly tarts in the front of the scones, they look more appealing and plus they're what the children love." Malena rambled as she set up the other side of the stall.

"Yes mother." Aiyana sighed as she pulled her brown hair into a bun.

During her break she went to the well to fetch some water to wash her hands and face. Fixing up her hair she then felt a hand grab her shoulder, she quickly looked behind her to see her best friend Lark smiling down at her.

"I swear each time I see you you're either fixing your hair or clothes" he joked, making her swat his hand away.

"I'd rather that then always looking in a mirror or reflection" she snickered back, watching him chuckle as he ran his hand through his blond hair.

Aiyana knew Lark was attractive to women, most of the girls her age would swoon and gush about him, his gleaming blue eyes and blond hair was a killer combination they'd say. His height was around 5'11 which irked him, always saying he was still growing at nineteen which make Aiyana holler at his excuse.

However Aiyana thought, his appearance was nothing compared to the Duke according to her friends. This pissed Lark off, his cockiness sometimes got the best of him. He was considered as one of the most dashing bachelors of Moonbright, he wanted to be the best.

Aiyana barely saw the Duke growing up in her seventeen years of life, the only strong memory she had of ever seeing him was when he was in the market doing business with his workers. His towering frame was all she could see with a head of hair as black as raven feathers. That memory was four years ago when the Duke was twenty.

His father died from a sickness when he was eighteen and his mother died in childbirth from his younger brother. Nobody knew much about his younger sibling, it was rumored that he was sent of to the capital for a higher education. Anyone would only know the truth from the Duke himself, but nobody would ask him about something so trivial.

After her break was over Lark went to the bookstore where he worked and left her to it, as she helped customers and replaced brought goods with news ones she began noticing some of the fishermen talking in hushed voices across at their stall; other stall owners and customers began to notice too and joined the group. The commotion rose to the point where some of the people hurried off and citizens in their surrounding houses came out and listened, both Malena and Aiyana exchange a worried look before joining the growing crowd to hear what was going on.

"She's the first one to make it back." The blacksmith uttered.

"Did you see the cut marks over her body?" The apprentice whispered almost in shock, his hands subconsciously touching his sweating neck.

"She's near the lake as is Mr Andrew" a young boy exclaimed, somehow excited about the news, probably not realizing that the girl didn't make it back alive. Or in one piece.

Aiyana knew instantly what was happening and turned to her mother quickly "Ma, I'm going to see this, I'll be back soon I promise." Before her mother could utter a single word Aiyana kissed her cheek and ran to the bookstore to grab Lark, both sprinting to the fishermen district near the lake. She weaved and slicked past crowds of people all heading in the same direction like cattle changing fields, Aiyana was petite and medium in height, similar to her mother besides the green eyes that she inherited from her father. Lark tried his best to follow but since he was bigger he got caught in the crowd.

"I guess I'll just catch up later then" he yelled meekly, his words didn't reach Aiyana who kept going forwards.

Avoiding the mud and puddles she made it to the area where there were easily a hundred people. Her heartbeat began to thud louder in her chest as she got closer with each step; she didn't want to believe the words around her, she was hoping that this was a nightmare, a dream, anything besides the harsh reality of truth because Mr Andrews's daughter, Lily, was Aiyana's friend.

Despite the large crowd, the conversations were hushed. Slipping through the crowd with many muffled "Excuse mes" and "Please let me through" she made it to the front. What her eyes saw made her wish she never laid sight of the scene before her.

Pass the fence line and graveled path that led up to the porch, Mr Andrew sat covered in blood holding the body of his daughter, or what was left of her. The area smelt of blood and something else, something earthy, a combination of dirt and pine. It was overbearing, clinging to Aiyana's clothes and the people next to her, some going back into the crowd after glancing at the sight before them and covering their mouths. Aiyana looked at Lily's body with tears threatening to turn into a river, there were scratches all over Lily's body, but the biggest and most abhorrent was the three that went across her neck, you could see her muscle and tissue. What made the crowd gasp and even scream was her face.

One eye socket was almost completely ripped out, hanging by a blood vessel, her top lip was sliced and her bottom lip missing. Before Aiyana could take in anymore, the guards put a cloth over her body and helped Mr Andrew up. Mr Andrew was shaking before he began speaking.

"What is going to be done about this!" He yelled, facing the guards and then the crowd. His anger and grief getting turned into one emotion, fury.

"My daughter has been the sixth girl that has gone missing, somehow to return but to end up like this at our front doorstep, my daughter deserves justice!"

He was right Aiyana thought, something needed to be done about this. For the last sixth months women between the ages of fifteen to twenty have vanished around or on the full moon, Lily has the latest one and had been the only one to mysteriously come back.

The town had tried to take precautions over them but each month they somehow got taken, it was like the creature or person lured them out of their houses or the women went willingly. The duke of Moonbright sent out guards to look for them in the forest, after a week of hopeless searching they would come back, assuming the girl dead. What made finding them difficult wasn't just the size of the forest; it was that they had nothing to go on. No footprints, no blood and no screams.

The crowd hollered and agreed with Andrews, especially the families that had their relatives or friends taken from them previously.

"We need to find it and kill it!"

"The Duke has to do more about this!" The crowds grew louder and angrier, like a hornet nest that got knocked over. After minutes of bellowing and shouting, the guards trying to dampen the growing fire from the people, it was in vain.

"I say we gather our weapons and hunt it, bring the fight to it"! Andrews cheered.

"But what exactly is it?" A deep yet mellifluous voice spoke loud and stern.

Aiyana turned around as she gripped the railing of the fence, she witnessed the crowd all go silent and begin to part like the earth. A tall, dark haired man with a cloak of fur strolled down the path, two men in armor followed three steps behind him. It was the Duke himself, Konstantine Volkav. His presence was suffocating, even his name reeked power, he continued to walk all the way to the fence line. He stopped right next to Aiyana.

It was as if time slowed down for her, she stared at the man with a height that loomed above the crowd, nobody taller than him. Aiyana herself would only reach his chest if she stood in front of him. As she observed him her intrigued olive eyes she got to his face, which was currently staring at Mr Andrew and glancing at the surrounding crowd, then landing on her in an instant. His eyes were a deep rich, earthy brown yet light around the edges. They were like the very ground you stood on that held different layers of soil, the top later a light mossy color but the deeper and longer you dug, the darker and richer they became. They were below two dark eyebrows which complimented them. His facial features were as strong as the earth itself, high cheekbones, a proud chin and black stubble that was visible on a strong clenched jaw, his nose was straight and sharp, like a canines. It felt like their eyes met for minutes but it was merely seconds, a clash between brown and green for a few impermanent seconds.

His eyes glanced behind her momentarily before he walked up to where the body was covered and where Mr Andrews stood. Mr Andrews was rather a tall man, easily around 6'3, Konstantine was easily 6'6 compared to the fishermen. The Duke gave the man a sideways glance before speaking firmly to the guards.

"Take her body to the tombs, get the grave digger to inspect the body, see if he's seen the claw-like markings before and double the guards for this area of the village."

Aiyana listened but felt a presence behind her, turning slightly she saw Lark staring at the body being lifted and carried into a nearby carriage. He was as silent as a catacomb.

"Lark" she called out to him but he didn't answer. His eyes were glued to the body and unwavering, seeing the dried blood stained on the wooden deck and on Mr Andrew's clothes, Aiyana shook him gently. Lark was never good with violence, he was a gentle soul despite his bad boy attitude. His eyes were glassy; it was like he was in a trance, those blue orbs were trying to process that a few meters from him a young girl of sixteen winters was brutally murdered. After a few more seconds he responded as the crowd watched the body be taken away to the other side of town.

"I heard from a friend what her body looked like, how deformed and twisted it was left, what the fuck could of possibly done that?" He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes to the ground, long lashes now sheltering his eyes. Before Aiyana could console him the Duke had finished talking to Mr Andrews and was addressing the townsfolk.

"After the body has been examined, the town will have a gathering at the church at noon, be as you were." He finished curtly as he walked past the coward and got onto his Stallion. Many of the women were whispering and gushing at him, hoping to have his attention for only a few seconds. With a final glance around at the crowd, his dark gaze met hers briefly once again before setting his horse into a trot, heading off towards his manor.

Aiyana watched as he rode off and looked at the swooning women around Lark and herself.

"Hey Lark" she began.

"What?" he responded, watching the Duke ride off.

"You have some serious competition."

Lark turned red and screeched.

(This is non edited so I'm sorry for any mistakes, point them out if you see any!)

A/N: This chapter took forever since I kept changing things and second guessing if I should write in first person or third for Aiyana. Plus my PC crashed in the middle of writing making me lose a few hundred words, ugh technology am I right? Please leave a comment and tell me what you think and vote too! ;) - Caliginous_Rose