Venom (Book I) ✓

Chapter Twenty-Five

Red awoke with a strange taste in her mouth. She sat up slowly, trying desperately to recall what had happened. Where was she? Looking around she realized that she was lying in the clearing she had been found in by Edward all of those years ago. She stood slowly, trying to deduce why her head felt so foggy and why there was a dull sort of ache in her chest. Had she fallen asleep?

She took a tentative step forward and was shocked to find her knife bouncing against her leg. When she looked down she found that it was staining her trousers with blood. That was when it hit her; the beast was dead. The beast was dead. She had succeeded.

A hasty search turned up a glistening claw hanging from a chain around her neck. She had the venom. She should be thrilled to have succeeded, so why wasn't she? She took a moment to gaze around the clearing, somehow convinced that the reason for her sorrow was lingering just outside of the ring of trees.

Then, shaking off the strange sensation, she began to run. Edward could not have much longer she was sure, he could not afford for her to be confused or concerned about her state now. The forest shot past her at a pace she never knew she was capable of, but she knew that she could not slow. She burst from the trees in minutes and though she should have been ready to sob in relief she found that she felt exposed and somehow vulnerable running through the half-harvested fields. Determined, she pushed this thought into the back of her mind with everything else she would have to sort out later.

When she crossed the line into her village a strange sort of alienation washed over her and she slowed to a jog, surprised to find that she was not even winded from her long run. At this point, people took notice of her return, and the news spread like wildfire. By the time she was bursting through Appa's door she had a following of curious and amazed villagers asking her questions she was steadfastly ignoring.

Appa looked up in surprise when she came in, but when he saw her his frown turned to a beaming smile and he abandoned his work over the fire to greet her with a warm embrace.

"Ruby." He muttered into her hair and something strange prickled down Red's back.

Yes, Ruby was the name she was given. But...it felt wrong. She was not the Ruby who had left this village two weeks ago. She'd been somehow changed among those trees.

Rather than correct him though, she removed the chain from her neck and offered it to him, the claw glistening maliciously in the dusty afternoon light streaming through the windows.

"You did it?" Appa breathed, reaching to accept her offering. "You did it child!" He crowed, embracing her once more. "I will have an anti-venom by evening. Go clean up and rest. You've earned it."

She smiled and nodded, but when she climbed the stairs and entered her room she could not immediately approach the wash basin or her armoire. She lingered like a ghost near the doorway, overlooking the room she'd once so adored. It did not feel like it belonged to her anymore. This was the room of a stranger.

Still, because she did not want to cause Appa any more trouble, she chose a pale blue gown she'd once called her favorite and changed into it. The knife carrying the beast's blood sat like a trophy on her vanity and she carefully folded her travel clothes and crimson cloak and tucked them beneath it. They were a comfort to her and as she washed her face and brushed her hair she found herself glancing at them frequently as if to ensure they were still there.