The Unraveling

Nesta

Nesta was starting to get worried.

She had come home yesterday evening to find a note from Aielle.

Nes,

Today is my final trial. I will be home late.

Send me luck. I'm sending you love and peace.

Love always,

Aielle

How late was late? The final trial should have only lasted a few hours at most. Yet, here she was. Waiting. Nearly twenty four hours later. Don't make yourself frantic. There has to be a logical explanation Nesta. After all, she knew little to nothing about how the trials worked. Aielle had talked about it, sure. But that didn't mean that Nesta had listened. She was always trying to get Aielle to focus on a safer occupation. One that couldn't be outlawed, the second King Vier got bored. It was stressful enough for Nesta to worry about herself getting caught. Let alone her closest friend.

"Aielle, where are you?"

Nesta couldn't stand to wait around another minute longer. She slipped her boots onto her feet and grabbed her coat. She was going to find her friend. Even if it meant interrupting her final trial. As she was reaching for the handle of the door, someone knocked. No one was paying a social call this late in the evening. Which meant that the chances of whoever was behind that door being friendly were slim. Nesta ducked as a shadow came into the view of the window.

"Nesta? Please answer the door." Whatever was outside sounded a lot like her best friend. But Aielle wouldn't need to ask her to answer the door. Which meant this thing was probably a goyanda. A mimicker. It sounded like Aielle, but looked nothing like her. Goyandas walked on two legs, dragging a third behind them. The leg that dragged was a ruse. Goyandas were not slow. If she opened the door, she would be dead within minutes. Either way, she was dead. Goyandas had siren-like abilities. They could mimic to the point of belief. It was just a matter of time before Nesta's will wore down. Until her mind tricked her into believing her friend really was on the other side of the door.

"Nesta, please! Someone is coming! Let me in!"

She crawled away from the door, keeping away from the window. The goyanda wouldn't be able to come in unless she opened the door. The more distance she put between her and it, the better.

A blood curdling scream ripped through the air. Nesta blinked away tears. It's not real. It's not real. She knew her friend wasn't on the other side of that door. But suddenly she had a thought. What if this creature was the reason Aielle wasn't with her? What if this creature had hurt Aielle? After all, the creature knew her name and where to find her. An image flashed in Nesta's mind. One of her friend, crying out for her as the goyanda...she refused to let that thought fester. Aielle was safe. She had to be.

"I know you are not Aielle." She saw the shadow in the window turn towards her voice. "Did you hurt her?"

Nesta knew little about goyandas and wasn't expecting any sort of response. However, the creature sighed. A sigh of pleasure, knowing her resolve was weakening.

"Hurt?" The laugh that followed sounded just like Aielle's, but crueler in a way hers had never been. "We did not hurt Aielle. We are Aielle now. Let us in." The voice turned into a wispy rasp.

We are Aielle now. Nesta tried to keep herself from thinking the worst. Now? Where was Aielle? She was supposed to be home. She wasn't. Which meant...she didn't know what it meant, but she knew that she needed to find her friend. And she couldn't do that if she was trapped in her house. How could she get out? There was only one way in or out. Which meant that she would have to find a way to kill the goyanda if she wanted to find her friend.

Nesta got to her feet. She knew nothing of slaying a goyanda. But she knew plenty about killing in general. She had killed both small and large game and savored the challenge of a hunt. What was a goyanda if not a bigger challenge? She grabbed a few knives and strapped them onto her body, within reach for when the fight became one of close range. If it became one of close range. She grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows, setting herself up in the middle of the room. Goyandas could only come in through a doorway that was opened willingly. Her plan was to shoot it through the window. She knocked her arrow and sent up a silent prayer. Arteim, please let this work. Guide my arrow.

She loosed her arrow.

The window shattered. Aielle's scream filled the air.

It's not her.

This time, that thought made Nesta angry. She didn't know where her friend was and this creature was keeping her from finding Aielle. It was time she got rid of it. The shadow moved into the window, twisting to pull the arrow out of its shoulder. Nesta let another one loose, hitting it in the side. She'd been aiming for the heart, but didn't quite know if goyanda's even had hearts. If they did, it wasn't located where a human's would be. The goyanda just pulled the arrow from its flesh and turned to face her.

"You cannot win, human. Open the door and accept your fate."

With the window gone, Nesta could see the creature clearly. It was beautiful in a very twisted, grotesque fashion. Everything about the creature's face was angular. It almost looked as if it was starving. However, the belly of the goyanda was well rounded. Suggesting that it had eaten sooner than the gauntness of its face led one to believe. The goyanda was a sickly green pallour. No doubt, this helped it to disappear quickly whilst in the greenery of the surrounding woods. Nesta knew that if she left this house, she would likely die. She notched another arrow, looking down the shaft at the creature.

"And if I refuse?" Her arrow found its home in the chest of the goyanda. Their hearts definitely weren't where a humans would be. This was going to make things considerably harder for her.

The creature smiled. "You will open this door. You will die. It is your fate."

Nesta grimaced. She only had three arrows left. The first three had done little to nothing, as the creature just plucked them out. She could sense its growing annoyance. She needed to figure out how to kill it. Arrows alone wouldn't be enough. Her blades were made of the same material. Iron. She ruled them out as a possible means to an end. Unless. She could improvise...Aielle had poisons in her room. She could dip her blades in the poison. But would it work? Poison wasn't always effective in fairytales. That's what this felt like. Another twisted fantasy tale. Think Nesta. What does work?

Fire.

Nesta looked around. The curtains were falling apart and the tablecloth was in tatters. Plenty of scrap material laying around like cinder for a campfire. She used her knife to cut several large pieces and wrapped them around her remaining arrows. She only had three shots.

Nesta notched the arrow and pulled back on the bowstring. The creature cackled, thinking she was going to waste yet another arrow. Nesta crossed the room and stuck the end of her arrow into the flames of the still burning hearth. Quickly, she assumed her previous position in the middle of the room.

Please Arteim, guide my arrow.

She let loose just as the creature caught sight of the flames. Her arrow found its home in the goyanda's belly. She rushed to light the other two arrows. The creature let loose an unearthly screech which only grew louder when her second arrow burrowed into its shoulder.

"You will die for this." She ignored the creature's hiss and loosed her final arrow. Arteim must have sent her favor, for this arrow lodged itself in the goyanda's eye. The creature fell and did not move. Nesta knew better than to trust that it was truly dead. She let the flames burn the goyanda to nothing but bones before she opened the door.