Legends of Skidad: Corruption

Light in the Darkness

It was dark. Her legs raced down the abandoned streets of the city. The harsh, fast pitter-patter of rain was washed out by the pounding of her heart. She hunched over to protect her cradled, newborn baby from the rain. She was soaked. Keep going, she thought, breathe .Don’t let them catch you. She looked at the buildings for people, a light, anything. She kept running, becoming weak, losing breath. She looked at the buildings. A market, nothing. A church, nothing. Houses, nothing. She felt her pursuers advancing.

Just as she was about to lose hope, she saw a lit house. With her last bit of strength, she sprinted to the door and hammered on it, still clutching her baby in one arm. She hammered for what seemed like hours, until finally, the door was answered by a plump woman with a green mantle and apron.

“Oh my!” she gasped, shocked by how terrible this strange woman looked. “Come on, let’s get you in,” she beckoned. She pulled up a chair. “Sit down. Sit down.”

The woman sat, still clinging tightly to her baby. Her breathing calmed, her heart was still racing. The sound of the rain was softened. For the first time, she could hear her baby cry.

“My dear, you’re exhausted! Whatever could you have been running from?” her host asked.

She was still out of breath. “I… was running… from…” she thought quickly, “thieves. They thought… I was… vulnerable.” It was a believable lie. Hathalet was a big city, and had its share of crime.

She shook her head. “This city needs to shape up.” She paused and looked back at her guest. “But look at you! What’s your name honey?”

“Mary.”

 “That’s a beautiful name, darling. Fits you perfectly. My name’s Sarah. We need to get you some dry clothes and a new blanket for the little one. I’ll be back in just a minute,” and she hurried into another room, and the wooden floor creaked beneath her.

Mary took a minute to catch her breath. She looked down at her baby, completely covered except for his face and still cradled in her arms, which had gone numb from holding him for so long. Weakly, he cried. “Shh,” hushed Mary. He calmed down at looked back at her with his beautiful blue eyes. At that moment, nothing else existed, only Mary and her son. He needs a name, Mary thought. She looked around the room for a quill and ink. The house was small, but not too small, and made of wood. The crackling fire heated the room, but she was still shivering. She looked on the small, wooden dining table and found a feather sitting in a jar of ink. Weakly, she reached over to grab it. She could barely lift her hand, but she managed. Underneath the ink jar was a spare piece of parchment, of which she tore off a small piece. She started writing. When she was done, she lifted the parchment and saw his name. It’s good, she thought.

She sat thinking for another moment. What if the worst happened? She turned the parchment over and wrote, Please, whoever finds this, take care of him.

It won’t come to that, she thought, it can’t.

Just then, Sarah hurried back in with dry clothes and a blanket. Mary stuffed the parchment into her pocket. Sarah plopped the clothes on the table and said, “Now let’s see the little one,” and took the baby from Mary’s arms.

Suddenly, Mary remembered, and her eyes filled with terror. “I-I’ll do th-that myself,” she stammered, panicked.

“No, no,” assured Sarah, “you need to rest. I’ll take care of him.” Sarah cradled and bounced the baby. “He has beautiful eyes,” she said as she began removing the blanket from his head.

Terrified and panicked, Mary had to act fast. Filled with adrenaline, she stood up and tried to take her baby back. But it was too late. Sarah had already undone the swaddle. Sarah gasped. Wide eyed with shock, she dropped him. Instinctively, Mary dove in and caught him! The baby began wailing Mary looked at his hair, red, bright red, the mark of evil.

He was cursed.

Lying on her stomach, Mary looked up at Sarah pleadingly. “Please,” she begged, “just let us stay here for tonight.”

“No!” demanded Sarah, “I will not have this dark being in my house! Now out! OUT!” as she kicked Mary towards the door.

Mary stood up, weeping, and rushed out the door into the pouring rain. The rain was made inaudible by her baby’s now deafening crying. Something is wrong, thought Mary, they’re getting closer. She looked down the street and saw shadows, slowly approaching. Mary almost screamed. She sprinted in the other direction. She soon reached the road leading out of town.

The shadows were approaching more quickly. She couldn’t get away. It’s me or both of us, Mary thought. I can hide him and give myself up. She took the parchment with his name out of her pocket and put it into his swaddle. He continued to cry, but more quietly. Mary sat down in some tall grass on the side of the road. For the first and last time, she rocked him and sang him to sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off. Mary closed her eyes, weeping.”Please,” she prayed out loud, “let someone good find him.” She kissed him on the forehead, set him down, and stood up straight. With as much dignity as she had, she walked into town to meet her pursuers.

Before her were three cloaked, shadowy figures. The middle one, tall and foreboding, stepped forward. “I see you have returned,” he said slowly in a deep, sinister voice. “Have you disposed of the child?”

“Yes,” answered Mary, sternly.

“Very good,” replied the figure. “Then you are no longer of any use to us.”

The three figures disappeared, and of Mary, nothing was ever heard.

A middle aged man with graying hair stepped out of the marquis’s manor.  He paused at the doorstep and looked back at the manor. Frowning, he shook his head, more disappointed than upset. Wrapping himself in his cape to prevent his fine, blue robes from getting wet, he jogged to his covered carriage in the stables. He climbed in. “Ya!” he shouted as he snapped the reins. Whinnying, his two horses reluctantly pulled the carriage through the rain. They reached the main road and began the journey home.

Everything was well, when he heard a faint cry. “Whoa!” he called, and his horses slowed to a stop. He listened harder. It was coming from the tall grass. He hopped out of the carriage and found a swaddled baby. Intrigued, he picked it up and cradled it. “Shh,” he hushed the baby. The baby calmed down, and looked at the man with his blue eyes. The man carried him back into the carriage and pulled out the parchment with his name. “What a fine name,” he said. He turned it over and read, Please, whoever finds this, take care of him. “Now why would anyone not want you?” he asked the baby.

The baby responded by squirming and whining happily.

He undid the swaddle to see the baby’s head. Red hair. He blinked make sure his vision wasn’t failing him. He was assured it was not. He thought for a moment and smiled. He’s beautiful, he thought. “Ya!” he snapped the reins, and the horses gaited into the dark, rainy night.