The autumn breeze softly ripped across her forearms and brushed against her skirt. The red cloak laid heavily on her shoulders, the hood shielding her scarlet hair from the dangerous world. The hidden threats lurking around every steps, the suspicion hanging above her head in every town she crossed, the longing looks of the lonely animals living in the forests she trekked through.
There used to be a time she found comfort in the silence of the woods, now it only seemed to serve as a reminder of every loss and every fear haunting her waking moments and sleepless nights. Now she only wished for the looming trees and scratching bushes to just burn and leave her be.
The sound of nothingness was too loud and she barely resisted the urge to cover her ears the further she stepped in the forest. She could swear the smell of smoke had still lingered in the clearing of death. The stench of burnt bodies made her nauseous as she at last reached the grave of her children.
Luuk and Irina.
There was one man responsible for her heavy soul, for the chaos thrashing in her mind. Master. And it was time for her to face her maker. It'd be a battle with only one victor at the end of it, and Lucretia could no longer stall her inevitable fate.
So she must retrace the life of freedom she cursed herself with.
For even in her escape she didn't find the peace her heart craved.
All the way back to the beginning, to that day. She hadn't bothered to bid farewell to Aleksander, Baghra or even Luda. She had no place in either of their hearts any longer and a part of her was relived to have left their lives as she did. And another part of her mourned yet another heartbreak.
Her only act of cruelty towards the boy she cared for, the young man she admired and the one her archaic heart beat for.
Her Darkling.
Her hooded figure halted in front of the nonexistent cabin, her eyes searching for faded memories and for false promises.
But the only thing staring back at her was the charcoaled patch among the viridian grass. Mocking her failure and loss, the dark spot laughed at her misfortune and she wanted to scream.
