War of the Heart

Sabrina

In recent weeks, Sabrina had become very good at finding loopholes in rules. Before she'd become a Rindea, she'd permanently been disobeying people for the point of it, but her transformation had prevented her from doing so. Her brother had brought home a book on Rindea which she'd devoured. She'd learnt the ins and outs of her powers, learning the limits of her healing. She'd learnt more about the forest and how it turned people. She'd discover Ohne.

A Rindea was born of a terrible deed, of death. Through repent, the forest offered one sanctuary, a new meaning in life but at a promise. You must stay pure. Use your gifts and powers for good, better your ways. Strive for a better world.

The looming threat was part of the accidental contract Sabrina had signed in blood and tears. If she broke it, she would lose her antlers and her sanity. She would become a dark creature, a monster.

To prevent this, she had bought a little black notebook that was rather off-putting to look at. She found every book she could on morals and ethics and copied their rules. Some contradicted each other, so she tried to avoid such situations in the past. Now she twisted the rules to suit her. She picked and chose the one that suited her the most. If it was in the rules, surely she wouldn't turn into an Ohne.

Sometimes she though of this as she rode to the shelter, seeking out the kids they were hiding. She'd been a passive observer for too long, refusing to partake in this conflict for fear for herself. If she'd learnt anything from her transformation, it was that life shouldn't be about herself. Her gift was for others—her healing, the luck she brought—so if she tried to act in the interest of others, surely she couldn't go wrong. Sometimes impartiality did more harm, as she'd seen with Kaya. Maybe if she'd spoken to the girl earlier, her friend wouldn't have left. Maybe the rules were flawed. But without any guidelines, she was certain she'd be lost.

The shelter was an abandoned building that was supposedly haunted. The thought amused her, the Esprian religion shunned the notion of ghosts, yet here was a former religious order that had been empty for years. Admittedly the order had apparently left decades earlier due to restructuring, but still. Fortunately, its history meant that the owner had let it go cheaply and Allard had easily been able to sneak out the money for it. Sabrina believed that was known as corruption but she didn't mind. None of her codes said anything against it, only that one should help their fellow man and that children should be protected, just as they were doing.

Using her key, she opened the front door. The musty smell of the shabby building hit her. It was made of beige bricks, plain and sombre. The interior was rather dark, although it had potential to be brighter. They hadn't bothered with decorating the hallways, instead focusing their efforts on making a bearable living space.

She followed her nose, a reliable guide in this dark labyrinth. The smell of cooking bread guided her to the kitchen, a large room of which they'd tidied one corner do that the kids could provide for themselves. There'd been doubts about letting small children cook, but two of them were older and if they could fend for themselves in the wilderness, they could most likely follow a simple recipe.

'Which bread's on the menu today, Tally?'

'Rye bread,' said the tiefling. Her blue skin glowed somewhat from enjoyment. The Leere had softened to Sabrina, feeling more comfortable with her since their first meeting in the forest.

'Have you still got enough food?'

'Lara found loads of supplies while looking for potential potion ingredients.'

'Where is Lara?'

'In the library.'

Sabrina handed her some thread before she left. Tally's smile was something special because it felt as if her star-shaped white freckles were twinkling. These kids had genuinely sneaked into her heart.