Corpse

An awful stench reached Geraldine's nose as soon as she arrived at the shed, it was the smell of blood and meat mixed together.

"What is that awful smell," She whispers while covering her nose and mouth. After she tied her horse, she checks her things to see if there's anything that was missing but luckily, everything was in their right places.

She was about to go away when her ears picked up whispering voices meters away from her and due to her curiosity. She put her black hood over her head, followed the voices, and saw Homir and Salle whispering to one another.

"Where's the horse!? I've told you to bring the horse here! Our customers are waiting!" Salle hits her husband who only lowered his head.

"It's not my fault that she's still awake! It's your fault for bringing her dinner too late!" Homir snapped back at his wife and both of them are fuming with anger.

Geraldine can't help but be amused at their whispers and decide to go back to her horse as she understands what the couple wants. They didn't want her gold coins, rather they want her horse meat to be sold in the market or their store and that explains the awful stench she's been smelling but the question is - Where's the owner of the horses?

She rides her horse to where her cabin is located as she remembered the scenery outside her window and uses it as her guide. It took her less than 10 minutes to find it and busted the windows open to get the stuff she bought from the store.

After she was done, she was about to go out when the door of her room opened and the couple entered with a shocked face.

"Well, that took you long enough," Geraldine grinned as she jumps outside her window and into her horse.

"WAIT!!!" Salle called out but Geraldine ride her horse as fast she could, away from the wrenched store.

"She escaped huh," A person appeared out of nowhere and stepped behind them. A thick black cloak covering the person's whole body and the hood is covering half of its face and a black mask with silver could be seen. Its voice is raspy and kinda robotic which you couldn't tell if it's a female or a male one.

"Ye-Yes, sh-she must h-have kn-known e-earlier," Salle trembled in fear as her husband holds her tightly in the waist.

"You fools, if you did your job right, she wouldn't have able to escape here," That person aggressively close its fist and turned its back to go away.

"Umm, If you may sir ahh miss ... madam.. sir, why do you want her so bad?" Homir asked without thinking much as his wife elbowed him in the stomach to keep him quiet but it was too late, that person stopped in its tracks and look back at them.

"I needed her blood," The person turned around and face them, "But since she's gone, might as well use both of your blood as a replacement."

As soon as that person said those words, took out a rectangular object from the cloak and with a single swift, it turns to a black spear and without hesitation, that person used it to cut the heads of the couple and absorbing their blood which satisfied him a bit.

"I'll come next to you, Geraldine Gauthier!"

****

Geraldine heard a faint scream which makes her look back but then, it makes her skin crawl which was new to her, as if someone is cursing her name.

Shaking it off, she goes back to the road but since it was nighttime and she hasn't taken a long rest, she decided to find a decent place to stay in for the night and enjoy the stars glistening into the sky and she didn't notice that she had fallen asleep.

The next day came in as Geraldine started her journey again but there's something inside her that nags to go back to the store. At first, she brushed it away and focused on her journey but then, the nagging feeling inside keeps on growing and she didn't realize that she changed her direction.

Upon arriving at the store, the smell of death reached her nose but what makes her curious is that it's coming from her room which is still the same as yesterday with the windows broken.

When she took a peek inside, two corpses are laying on the floor as if their soul has been sucked out, their heads are also separated from their bodies. It looked so terrible that it makes Geraldine looked away from them, her heart is beating so fast that she rides away from the area.

Her mind is going back and forth to the cause of their death because if they were really killed yesterday then their body wouldn't look decomposed as if they've been dead for a long time.

"Something like this doesn't happen in the past," She muttered while remembering all the reports that were sent to the castle before but even though how much she thinks of it, there are no such things that happened before.

"Who are you?"

These words came out of her mouth unexpectedly as she rides as fast as she could to the mountains.

It took her additional two days without rest before she finally arrived at the entrance to the mountains. The area was way colder than the rest of the forest and not many plants are growing, Geraldine could see the snow forming at the very top and took a long breath.

"Now, where are you nesting huh," Geraldine smirked as she went down from her horse and find a decent place to let him stay with enough food and water supplied as she might be gone for days climbing on the snowy mountains and she also needed to know where they are hiding.

Grabbing the tools she needed for her journey and other necessities, Geraldine couldn't help but smile as excitement started to build inside her.

"Just wait Paru-paru, you'll be mine soon!"