Blood Soaked

Ambers have gone and so has Mother. I convinced myself that exhaustion just got the best of me a fortnight ago. Surely, what Mother said –or prayed for to be more precise– is just a figment of my young imagination. That first statement is truly understandable as it comes from a place of love but the following thought messes me up a little. Whatever it is, I trust Mother knows what's best for me. She'll tell me everything I need to know as soon as she reckons I'm ready. Right? We're the only ones left for each other. Father's dead, the townspeople wish for our demise, and Masid is nowhere to be found. We shouldn't have anything hidden from one another. Wait. Something else is here. 'Someone.' I imagine Mother correcting me. Calista.

          I feel something slither into my room. It's Mother's familiar Calista. I don't see her a lot because she tends to conceal herself inside Mother's cloak but when I do, shivers run throughout my body. It's not that I hate snakes. They're magnificent creatures. She's a Black Mamba; one of the most venomous snakes in the entire world. Calista is just something else. She may look harmless but she's extremely lethal. Maybe that's the reason why Mother chose her as her familiar because both of them share those very traits. At first glance, you may think they can't even hold their own but once you see them in action, they can end threats a few times bigger than themselves.

          "Calista, aren't you with Mother?" Why am I even talking to a snake? "Where is she anyway?" She slithers towards me, eyeing me intently as she finds her way. The snake finds my foot, climbs onto me, then rests her long and slender body around my neck. It feels wet and warm. I can feel her tongue move in and out of her mouth as I continue to hear her controlled hisses. At this point, I remembered where Mother had gone. She went out to gather some herbs, crops, and some other materials for her enchantments. The Harvest. For some reason, she's not bringing Calista with her as she does these kinds of errands.

          It must be nice to go out and about on the island again. Mother has forbidden me to go out there. I understand her reasoning so I don't dare protest against her words. After hearing what the townspeople have unspeakably done to what was once our home, even the bravest of the Gods will have second thoughts going back out there. There's no telling what they'll do to us if they spot us lurking around. Mother would be fine but the same can't be said about me. They will undoubtedly eat me alive, feed me to the wolves, throw me to the ocean, or anything else horrific. I'm sure I'm just reaching too much with those sentiments but I can't help myself. I'm just a young boy who doesn't have the gift his Mother has.

          Every other month, Mother goes out for her restocks. It's a habit of hers or more like a tradition. At times like this, Masid keeps me company but he's not here. That's probably the reason why Mother had Calista stay to keep an eye on me. She always keeps my wellbeing her priority and I haven't questioned that even for a second. But what can Calista do? Just slither around while staring at me hissing all the time? That is creepy if I really consider it. I'll just enjoy my time alone. Maybe continue with my carving so Masid will be surprised how much I've improved once he comes back.

          "Calista, do you think Mother will teach me her magic?" I am carving while stealing a few glances at my subject; the Black Mamba. As usual, she just hisses in response. "I think so too." I pretend I get her train of thought. "I can become as strong as her…" My lips tremble in excitement with the announcement, "or maybe even stronger than her."

          Once I finished carving with Calista, I decided to roam around this vast cave and examine the areas I hadn't been in that much. I eventually stumbled upon a library at the back of the house. We haven't had a library back in our previous home so it's definitely something new to me. Mother has been teaching me how to read and write so my curiosity and hunger for knowledge invites me to explore it. Books about Herbology, Astronomy, and Potions are the most common texts I see which are all fascinating with their odd yet welcoming appearances but nothing grabs my interest the most like the book about Self-Defense. Unlike other books here, it encourages the readers to maximize their bodies to defend themselves. I skimmed through it from the front to the back cover and I saw that there were topics about weapons as well so that piqued my excitement even further. I've decided. I'll learn everything that needs to be learned in this book. In that way, I'll have means to protect myself and especially Mother from harm.

          The shade underneath the humungous tree rooted on the small patch of the island in the middle of the lake is where I decided to be my practice area. The place is calm, the aura of it all is peaceful, and it has the best spot to take a rest. Luckily for me, Mother has already built a bridge connecting that tiny island to the rest of the cave. It's exhausting to assault the air with my weak punches and kicks for hours but I feel good, great even. Even at a very young age, I know that once I master the teachings in this book, I will be a force to be reckoned with. I wonder what Mother will say about this newfound hobby of mine.

          Before the sunset, I made myself useful by feeding the animals. After that, I harvested some milk and eggs as well. Mother will definitely be tired as soon as she comes back home so I should probably have dinner prepared for her. Normally, I would need some help but Calista is the only one here and the only help she can offer is slither out of my way. Even if Masid is here, he wouldn't be much of assistance either. I can do this. It's a good thing I saw a good cookbook back at the library and I swear to the Gods that it's an actual cookbook. I've read through it multiple times just to make sure of it. I don't want to unknowingly cast a spell upon me and Mother.

          Calista slithers her way back up and around my neck as if reminding me that Mother is running a bit late and the food I prepared for us is now cold. I think my hunger already departed and what remained were worries and unease for her. She hasn't been this late before. Maybe I should go out there and find her. No. She would be very disappointed if I went out of there and even more disappointed because of the fact that I came to her rescue. Mother is a strong woman. She doesn't need any savings. Does she? Shoving my exhaustion and indecisiveness aside, I got up and headed to my room to plan things through. I grab my cloak, and some of Mother's potions from her room even though I don't know what they can or can't do, and I even fetch some daggers just in case I need them. That Self-Defense book really propelled my hopes of becoming physically capable of defending Mother and me despite my young body.

          With my heavy steps, I walk towards the cave's only pathway out. I can hear Calista hissing rampantly, chasing me as she slithers on the ground behind me. What will she do once she catches up to me? Bite me? I highly doubt that. I know Mother trained her somehow to not harm me in any way. All this time, she's just a living camera that records my every move to be later reported to her. But, who can she report to if Mother is not here? If she's gone? I have to save her however I can. With her not here, the steps toward the cave's pathway are extremely hard to see. No torch is ablaze and it's not helping that the clouds obstruct the moon and the stars' lights. I now know how a blind person perceives. Darkness. True and utter darkness.

          That doesn't stop me from my goal. I will find and rescue Mother even if it kills me. I trust that my intuition, even though unripe, will lead me to the right path. The path out of this cave. I've memorized most of its nooks and crannies and I'm confident enough to be able to find my way without the help of an external light. However, even before I come close to the pathway, an ominous sensation of decay floods the entire area. It's as if a violent storm is coming and it's heading straight my way. I freeze. Still blind from the lack of a decent light source, I contemplate if I'll continue what I'm adamant about doing a few moments ago. This isn't normal. This fear is otherworldly. I must not be here. I looked back, hoping I could get a glance at something and I did. Lightning strikes from the outside of the cave rendering a flash of light revealing the beauty of this place. It's inviting me to come back and just stay put. No. This place means nothing if Mother isn't with me. I continue my way out of the cave.

          My entire body shivers with every step. I feel like the very gravity is against me as it weighs on me by the second. It seems that everything in here doesn't want me to go. Is it Mother's doing? I haven't challenged her authority before so this will be my first time breaking her rule of me not leaving this place if it so happens that I'm able to get out but with everything that's occurring, I highly doubt I'll be able to. Nevertheless, I have to try. It's not like something or someone is waiting for me outside this cave to hurt me let alone kill me. I have to be firm. I'm Mother's son.

          "I am Vatic, son of the Witch of Hiraya!" A sense of power envelopes me. I can feel my blood boil within my veins, tensing my muscles, and involuntarily shoot my gaze toward the sky. My vision is slowly being engulfed by a dark red hue like a tainted shade swallowing everything in its way. "I will not bow to anyone!" Everything halts. It all vanishes as quickly as it manifests. It's as if they're all sucked into a vortex far beyond. Everything went back to normal but along with the mountain of mind-melting sensations I just felt, my energy went away with them. I drop to the ground looking like a dried-up sack of potatoes. I can't move and my vision is failing me. I can't lose consciousness now. Not when Mother is still out there.

          I suddenly hear footsteps coming closer. Every single torch lit up in rapid succession, giving light to everything they come across. I want to call out but my voice doesn't want to cooperate. Then I hear her say, "Vatic, is that you my child?" It's Mother! A pang of relief devours me whole. But, something's wrong. Something critical. I see Calista hurriedly slither her way to her. Her head touches Mother's as soon as she holds herself around her neck. It looks like they're communicating. It appears like Mother saw a ghost as soon as she breaks off from Calista as her complexion becomes even paler than usual. "Vatic, my child! Oh, my boy." She howls, rushing towards me as I lie on the hard and very uneven cave floors. "Are you alright? What happened? I'm so sorry Mother wasn't here but I am now so you don't have to worry anymore." She carries me back home. Despite her petite form, she's strong. Now that I'm relieved, Mother is now the extremely worried one.

          Before I completely succumb to my exhaustion, I realize what's wrong. Mother's amber eyes hide from underneath a black silk cloth delicately tied across her beautiful face. On top of that, I smell a tinge of iron in the air colliding with her combined scents of coconut and lavender. I smell blood. It took a lot of energy to really try and look at her and it hit me to my core as I saw her covered in a dark crimson substance, her black tunic stained all over. Splatters of blood are also on her face and a lot of it is on her arms. I lost consciousness after realizing that I got soaked in blood as she carried me back here. I. Hate. Blood.