Grim

Eldric headed straight to Lia's house once he received the news. As he got nearer to the outskirts of the city, the quieter the area seemed to get. The houses here were farther from each other, and unlike in the center of the city, the people from this part slept earlier. There might be a scuffle, which no doubt happened, but these people would not notice. 'Or be too scared to come out,' Eldric thought.

It did not take long for him to identify Lia's house. Like an odd man out, the house stood - still, silent, and eerie. He went down from his horse and checked the surrounding area. His men followed suit.

"They went this way," Joaquin called out from somewhere at the back.

Eldric followed and saw that the back door was open. Not too far from the house, they found footprints and trails, but there was no one in sight. Eldric's breath hitched.

"Let's look around some more."

All of them scattered in different directions. As he raced through the forest, his thoughts raced as well. Was he too late? Were they captured already? Did he fail to save someone again?

Eldric shook his head as if it would clear his thoughts. More importantly, why were they being repeatedly targeted?

There was something nagging at the back of Eldric's mind, but he could not quite put a finger on it. Maybe once he got around it, he would finally figure out why "he" turned his eyes at Lia's family. Was this revenge for the thwarted plan for the drink? But Eldric was sure he told his men to spread the words that it was him who found out about the antidote and that the witch was someone used by the mayor to be a lure from his plan.

His mind worked overtime as his feet took him further within the forest. The woods grew dense and a lot darker. His eyes grew accustomed to this darkness.

With pin drop silence, Eldric became more careful with his steps. He alighted from his horse and signaled for his men to do the same.

He rounded behind a big tree, and a force almost knocked him backward. It was his fighting instinct that allowed him to move fast and block the attack before he could finally understand what was really happening. He gripped the wrist of his attacker and knocked the blade away which flew instantly to the ground.

Joaquin rushed to his side, bringing a torch that he used to shed light on Eldric's attacker. The person flinched.

"Lia?" Eldric strained his eyes to see and discovered that his eyes were not playing tricks on him. It really was Lia. Part of him sighed in relief.

Lia struggled when the torch was brought closer as though it offended her eyes. She grunted and tried to break away from Eldric's grasp. He loosened his hold of her wrist, but it was still firm enough that she could not break away easily.

"Lia, it's me, Eldric." He did not know if she should really feel relieved or she would be more afraid of him. But thinking of Unknown, Eldric felt like he was the lesser evil at the moment.

Eldric looked around, searching for any of Lia's companions. They had to be around. If they were not, the situation seemed even direr than he had expected. "Where are the others?"

Lia flinched at his voice and shivered lightly, but she only glared at him. She tried to wrangle from his grip once more. Eldric held her wrist tighter.

"You'll come with us."

"No." Lia might seem scared out of her wits, but her voice came out whole and solid.

"You'll be safer with us." He wanted to add 'with me.' But Lia seemed to doubt him as much as doubted himself. "I can help you find your mother."

That seemed to quell her anger. He felt the fight draining from her.

"Fine," she whispered. They stared at each other. He was certain that the grim look on her face mirrored his because they both knew that they were not okay. Their situation was anything but fine.