The Last Heiress

To the center of the land of Castell dwells a silent village. Its livability is questionable as evident to the wind that blew away a withered leaf unto a barren land.

Several miles to its south lies a steep mountain with a vast deep forest which served as its entryway. It is a wonder what could there be lying in wait in such a dark place. Perhaps nobody is interested to know as it would be a gamble of one's life.

Separating the two is a shallow river which can be easily seen from the village. Mysteriously, it is the only place that looks magical in the middle of that ominous territory. The water glistened as light reflects on it. Within a few meter range on its riverbank grows grasses and wild flowers.

However, its magical atmosphere is disrupted by a flow of strange red liquid mixing together with the crystal clear water of the river. In its riverbank slumps a small wounded body of a child.

The sting that seeps deeper into her flesh made the child wince and slowly open her eyes. Her gaze is empty, looking to a distant far away land.

The cold made her shiver when a soft wind embraced her body, wondering why the cold is registered into her brain when she taught that she finally felt numb upon receiving multiple wounds now covering her body.

With little to no strength, she dug her fingers into the soil and struggled to push herself out of the river. She is barely holding into life thus she has no enough strength to stand on her feet, not that it matters now that her limbs are beyond repair.

Only with willpower fueling her mind and body to move, and by gripping unto dirt and grasses, she drag herself like a disabled person devoid of limbs. She feels like a sore loser but contemplating on foolish thoughts will not guarantee her a chance to survive.

She doesn't even know if she still has few more days, no, a day to live. With all the wounds, lost blood and broken bones, she herself is amazed as to why she is still alive. But the appropriate question right now is how did she end up in such a sorry state. However, she herself don't know how to answer it nor have an idea of what happened.

Remembering that tragic event, she visited her memory of that night.

She awoke to a soft shaking of something she might be riding which turns out to be a carriage. With her are nine other people. The couple in front of her were embracing their three sleeping children. To the back of the vehicle, on the other hand, were three people that seemed to be a party of adventurers composed of two men and a woman. Apparently they seemed to be hired bodyguards of the travelling merchant who's by her side.

Five carriages are travelling together, one in front of their carriage and another three behind. Each carriage carries four lamps on each, two lamps besides the coachman and another at its back. Those were indeed necessary as it is in the middle of the night.

It is indeed dangerous to travel at night but camping out in the wilderness is not an option to even ponder on.

Travelling with lamps would surely attract beasts but if they stay together they have the confidence for a counterattack. If they choose to camp out they are likely to be attacked by bandits instead. Also, time is of the essence.

This journey is a party of travelers that joined together. It was an agreement to help each other out as all of the parties wanted to arrive at their destinations earlier as possible. Thus, travelling at night have been the decision of the majority.

The night was still and cold. That kind of stillness which brought anxiety with it and that cold which slips through defenses and grip's one's heart in weariness.

The light given off by the lamp created darker and deeper shadows in that pitch black road they are traversing. These shadows seemed to play along one's imagination, creating sinister dancing images which would really creep out a person.

Only a small light illuminates from the moon which appears in an impressively large circle. Staring at it somehow gives off a strange and frightening vibe. The trepidation she has also been feeling since waking up doesn't feel subsiding even as time passes by due to the sounds of the crickets, owls and flapping of wings.

Another blow of the cold wind made her shiver. Even the wind seemed to be whispering something. Despite wearing long-sleeved shirt topped with a jacket made of wool, fitting trousers and boots, the cold still managed to creep into her. It was the kind of coldness brought by the eerie atmosphere she cannot ward off.

Embracing her curled knees as she peeks outside the carriage, anxiety creeps into her as dawn seemed so far away. The sun has no sign of showing up and waiting for another four hours for the sky to be painted in blue seemed to take much time than usual.

Right now, all she ever wishes for is for the day to break. With that kind of thought that is secretly shared by the others as well, the vehicles stick together and advances in a slow pace however.

***