The Queen of Shadows

Chapter 10: The Shadow

Over 2 millennia ago...

The little girl walked beside her father as they returned from a bountiful hunt. He and other fellow hunters were carrying a freshly killed boar back to the village. The daughter herself was carrying the carrion of a rabbit; her first unassisted kill. The father looked down at his daughter. She was a natural hunter, and he could see her surpassing himself as the tribe's lead hunter one day. Young as she still was, she was rapidly learning how to provide for herself and her loved ones. The father could not have felt any more proud of her. They returned to their village, where the little girl's mother and twin sister were waiting for them, at a modest hut in the middle of the settlement. During the night, they feasted joyfully, made offerings to the gods; giving thanks for the animals providing their sustenance and prayed for more bounty to come.

The little girl was sleeping beside her sister when they were suddenly woken up by their parents. They became aware of loud noises coming from outside their hut. They were the sounds of screams, weapons clashing, and buildings burning...

The girls quickly became frightened as the father urged his wife and children to leave with him as he grabbed his hunting spear. When they got outside, they saw hell on earth. Unknown soldiers were going around killing villagers, setting fire to the homes, and taking children as prisoners. The family ran through the blazing settlement, desperate to find a way to safety. It wasn't long until soldiers cornered them. The father defends his family as best they could. He tells his family to run as he is overwhelmed by the growing force. The mother runs with the twins by her side, only to encounter another group of invaders. The sisters were grabbed and held prisoner as the mother was swarmed and killed by a sword through the heart. The girls struggled as they were taken away, and they looked back to see their father on his knees, clutching his side that was bleeding profusely. The girls watched in horror as their father gave them one last look before he was beheaded by an enemy chieftain; their screams reflecting the sorrow and anguish of seeing their beloved father so brutally murdered.

The girls were put into a caged-wagon and transported away to be branded as slaves, still traumatized by their parents' deaths and the destruction of their home. The girl managed to free herself from her bonds, cutting her rope-ties against an exposed nail in the wooden cage and freed her twin sister. They broke the cage open and ran through an open field towards a forest, soldiers after them.

Everything after that became a flash forward...

The dire wolf

The crimson spear

Starvation, Thirst

Hordes of undead

The Red Grove, the giant monster, the plummet from its jaws and her sister's screams-

"AIFE!"

Scathach's woke and sat up instantly. She was panting as her heart was thundering against her chest. As she tried to calm down, she was greeted by a familiar face, who was kneeling right beside her.

"Sister! You're finally awake!"

Scathach looks to her left and finds Aife looking down at her.

"Aife!" Scathach said, her mind still reeling from the nightmare. "What happened? How did-?!"

"Shhh, relax," Aife stopped her, trying to calm her sister. "One thing at a time..."

Scathach struggled to obey her sister as memories of recent events came flooding to the forefront of her mind.

"That monster! Aife, where did it go?!"

Aife put her hands on Scathach's shoulders in an attempt to calm her.