Prey

[ Gray pov ]

Panting, I continued running alongside my mother.

"Come on, we are almost at the river!" she screamed, pulling me closer to her as we avoided the trees that filled the forest.

I was wearing my hoodie, covering my face as usual, though this time it served for more than just that, it also covered the look of confusion in my face.

One moment everyone was excited that someone was coming to town and the next moment, my mom came in and dragged me outside, saying we needed to escape.

I didn't trust her, not really... but I also didn't want to stay in the town. Everyone said that the magus coming was going to finally revive King Arthur... and what would that mean for me? Was I supposed to finally fulfil my role as a 'vessel'?

Staring at her for a moment as we kept running, the urge to ask her where we were headed to rose within me, but once again I remained silent. There where many other questions in my mind, countless thing I wanted to ask her...

*Fwoosh!*

My mother and I stopped as one tree next to us was suddenly set on fire.

Jumping to the side, we managed to avoid the flames from getting to us, but the heat proved they were very real.

"How-" muttered my mother with wide eyes and a scared expression, however she was interrupted by a voice coming from behind us.

"Hello there, young ladies." said an old man who seemingly appeared out fo nowhere. "How about you stop running and we have a chat?"

The old man was dressed in an elegant suit and had a fine appearance, in a way he was everything I imagined a servant from royalty would be.

For a second, I found myself wondering if he had teleported, because his appearance was too impeccable for someone who had been running in the woods.

Turning to my side, I saw my mom's terrified face as she looked at him, which made me raise my guard. I wondered if I should pull out my mystic code 'Add', however I wasn't sure.

"He asked you a question." said another voice, coming from our left side. This one was more feminine, yet it had a coldness that seeped directly into my bones, making me feel like a lamb in front of a wolf.

I felt Add tremble slightly as a woman appeared from the dense trees, and soon, I too found myself trembling.

Her face... it was everything I hated about myself and so much more, it was like looking into a mirror that reflected everything 'dark' about yourself, it was like staring into-

"Gray." said my mom, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Turning around, I met her eyes and found myself staring at her, however it felt like looking at a complete stranger. Nothing about her current appearance showed any type of semblance to the woman I knew.

Her usual fanaticism was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by what I imagined 'love' would look like in someone's eyes. Her usual detachment from me was gone, and that space was instead replaced by pure emotion. For some reason, everything about her current look screamed 'mother'.

She pulled me in, hugging me tightly for the first time ever, while small tears flowed out form the corners of her eyes and moved slowly down her cheeks.

"I am sorry I couldn't protect you Gray." she said in a tone filled with regret and sadness. "I wanted to save you so badly, but in the end I failed to show you love every time you needed me."

As she continued speaking, I found myself wondering if I was in a dream, or perhaps a spell of sorts.

"I know you felt so alone..." she muttered. "But it won't alway be that way, alright? You will find someone who can love you and, unlike me, that person will surely be able to protect you."

Nothing seemed real, everything that had happened today was like a strange dream, but even then... I also knew that the warmth of her embrace was real, it had to be.

My mind... I was sure my mind wouldn't be able to imagine something so nice...

"But before that happens, you need to first protect yourself, alright?" she said, putting the small paper she was using to guide herself in my pocket.

Nothing could ever feel so... good. Nothing could ever fill me so much, and at the same time... nothing had ever made me so sad.

I found myself crying in my mom's embrace like a small child as she said how much she loved me, how proud she was of me.

"Now run." she said, pushing me away form her warm hug. "Leave!"

I didn't have time to process anything before I found myself running once again. Everything turned hazy as I simply moved as fast as I could in the direction my mom pushed me.

There was something warm on my cheeks and my vision was clouded, making my surroundings harder to perceive.

'Ahh, I see...' I thought, ignoring the scream in the background. 'I am crying.'

My mind was both thinking extremely fast and halted at the same time. Memories of every time I was with my mom flashed through my mind, every time she brought me a book or taught me to do something, and I found myself getting lost in them.

Nothing else mattered and, for a second, it was as if the world had stopped just for me to remember.

Eventually, I arrived to a different memory, this one wasn't of my mom, instead it was me training with Bersac.

I heard him tell me all about fighting, and how is is said that when you are about to die, your memory flashes through your eyes one last time.

'So this is it?' I thought as my legs stopped moving forward.

I wanted to die, I really wanted to die, but now... I guess I would like to die with my mom if I could. Not alone in the middle of this cold forest, but next to her, as she hugs me one last time...

From the corner of my eye, I saw a black armour being worn my the same person whose face I hate.

As I saw the black and red sword moving in my direction, I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the irony of the situation. It was even funnier that the first time I laughed in my entire life was while watching my very own face come to take my life right after my mom said everything I ever wanted to hear.

'Life really is... cruel.'

*Swish!*