Shot Through the Heart

~2~

"Leo! Leo look at me!" Selene shrieked.

He could barely hold his head up, what happened to him?

"Leo hold on! Just a bit longer and you can rest!"

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I woke up to see Aria rinsing her hair out in the river water.

"I still didn't find out who they arranged me to. Honestly, I don't think I want to know. If I'm going to be a Hunter I need to focus on that."

Aria shrugged, "I don't think being arranged would be that bad, you just would have to hope that person understands your job is of utmost importance."

I stretched and slowly stood. We joked and talked a little more, and then I walked her home before heading home myself.

"Welcome back son, would you like to open your other envelope? Jackson isn't taking his arrangement very well," my dad offered.

"Not now, maybe in a while. I need to process being a Hunter."

Something just didn't sit right. Something about being a Hunter made my stomach churn. It felt strange and almost wrong. Hunters were heroes and very respected, weren't they? Why did I feel like it was wrong?

I shook my head and went to check on Jackson. Jackson seemed very lost in thought and was sitting on his bed alone.

"What's up Jack, I heard your arrangement wasn't good."

"It was far from good."

"Anybody we know? That girl, what's her name, Aurora! She's pretty cute. You two would make a good match."

"Aurora is like a sister to me, I wish it was her, at least she would understand my dislike for arranged marriages."

"Well, what about Theresa? She's pretty nice."

"To you, you're the one a lot of girls want since you're the 'stronger twin'. She's faker than plastic and a bitch at that."

"Okay. Oh! What about-"

"My God James shut up!" Jackson was exasperated, "It's no one important to me! And it is no one I find attractive in the slightest!"

"I'm sorry Jack, I was just trying to help."

"Help?! Have you not helped enough?!"

We were face-to-face. An unsettling feeling washed over me and an uneasy calm washed over the room. I excused myself very quickly, not wanting to push him over the edge. I was so confused. I left on a walk to the only place I knew would be calm. The river, the tree, and the ruins themselves felt of peace, yet of lasting sorrow as well. The war had taken many lives on both sides. Now that I am a hunter, knowing I will take part in the next war if there is one brings me even more sorrow.

I took a seat by the river and took a look at my reflection. My eyes looked tired. All of a sudden I saw my reflection shift. I looked worn, and covered in blood, and my clothes were torn. I recoiled in fear, throwing myself back into the ground. I went to take a second look when a voice pierced the air

"Whatcha doing there?"

"Aria, you scared me. I didn't hear you even..."

"James, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I turned my head to face Aria. I looked for the concern in her voice somewhere on her face, but it wasn't there. For just a few moments, the silence was loud.

"...it's happening to you too, isn't it."

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

"The village, the story, the myths, there's something to it James. You know there is!"

As much as I didn't want to entertain her ideas again, I couldn't help but admit her making a fair point. My reflection was not me.

"There's an older lady in the village. She's like an oracle of sorts, at least, that's what I believe."

"I know what you're thinking Aria, but I can't go. Dad is gonna take me up to the cabin and teach me how to formally be a Hunter. Besides, none of those myths are true. They're old wives tales and exactly what they are, myths."

"Oh fine, but we need to go someday. And Jackson! If it's happening to you then it's probably happening to him too!"

"Someday, sure..."

With those words, I parted ways with Aria. Myths are just folklore that people made up to explain statistically impossible things. The village has always been obsessed with those old stories and Aria fell right in with them. I was not about to get hung up with some fairytale when I had a bigger problem to attend to.

I went back home and grabbed my dad's old hunting gear. I remember him wearing it when I was younger and asking for it. The day had come. It was in pretty good condition considering Dad absolutely loved his job. When I put the gear on, I felt this shock go through my body. Dad led me to the cabin and we had a little bit of target practice before Dad gave me the rundown of the area I would be patrolling. I was used to the area since Dad took me with him often, but this was just a small part of the bigger area. I have to start somewhere I guess.

"You will be here for six moons. It's okay to feel a bit homesick, but you're strong. You can handle it."

With that, his dad left. It became just me, my thoughts, and the ever-expansive forest. There wasn't much to do besides a bit of target practice and drudging up and down this same path. The next few days became rather uneventful and I decided to take less traveled paths through the area. Anything to make this chore less of a chore. On the fourth day I came upon a waterfall. The waterfall radiated peace, tranquility, and warmth. For a moment, I basked in it and felt reinvigorated. I've always lived around these woods, but never have I seen this waterfall. It felt like I wasn't in the forest anymore. I was in a place that I could only describe as a storybook oasis. Is that someone in the water?

I was frozen. How would someone get all the way out here? Then I took a closer look. I saw her wings. She seemed to notice me in that instance. Everything seemed so slow. She looked as if she were a drop of color in the world of greys. She had light pink hair and purple eyes. I was quickly knocked out of my trace.

"Please don't hurt me! I'll do anything!"

I am a hunter. This is an elf. I am supposed to capture this creature and bring it to the village, but before I could think my words had already came out.

"Hey, hey it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

I watched as she turned from fear to confusion.

"You're a hunter, aren't you going to kill me?"

"No, just, follow me."

I began to get a headache. I felt like I wasn't in control of myself. I led her back to my cabin. No one else is allowed to be in my cabin, so it should be safe. I let her have a seat on my bed while I sat in a chair nearby. For a minute, I just observed her. I had never seen an elf except for pictures and never this close up.

"I have absolutely no idea why I am sparing you, but it doesn't feel right to kill you," I sighed as I put my head in my hands. "You did nothing wrong."

"...My name is June. Thank you."

"June. I like that."