Cult of the Lamb : The Man in the Forest

Chapter 22: Bonfire

When Merida woke, she was in a complete daze. She was somewhere light, and warm. A complete one-eighty from the Hell she'd escaped from. A familiar, floral scent brought her back to herself. She was in Kenedra's bedroom, the curtains drawn back to allow sunlight to spill over her. It was an exceptionally welcomed sight. Merida looked over, expecting to see Kendra, but was shocked with the sight of Narinder sitting in a chair beside the bed. Something primal activated in her. A visceral need to get away. Merida jolted up, her hands trembling with panic as she reached for the blanket to throw it off.

"Woah, hey, hey, Merida." Narinder said in a soft, yet urgent tone as he leaned over and took hold of her wrists to stop her. She struggled against him, inexplicable tears welling in her eyes. "Relax. Merida, I'm not going to hurt you." She reluctantly forced herself to sit still, as still as she could manage anyway. She was shaking horribly. Her limbs and eyes twitched periodically against her will.

"Wh- wh- wha-" She couldn't speak, the words just wouldn't form. She was breathing way too fast, panting so hard she began to feel dizzy.

"Breathe... You're alright, you're safe. I won't hurt you." He repeated the words she subconsciously needed to hear.

"N- No, I- I-"

"I will explain everything, I promise, Merida. Please, just breathe. You're going to pass out again." He pleaded with her, looking extremely concerned. His own voice sounded a little panicked and somewhat breathless. Not nearly as bad as hers, of course, but it certainly wasn't the tone he usually used. Merida swallowed hard. It took an incredible amount of effort to relax her breathing. When she was no longer in danger of hyperventilation, Narinder spoke again with the same concerned, distraught expression. "The necklace you put on was cursed. I... I had made it in a desperate attempt to get revenge on Nykka. I abandoned the idea, realizing how foolish I was for thinking she'd ever fall for something like that, but I never destroyed it. I should have. I'm so sorry. Everything you saw, I... Fuck." He huffed, shaking his head. "I'm... I'm sorry." He muttered in a wavering voice, clearly at a loss for words as he stared off towards the floor in front of him. The way he was staring, wide wandering eyes, he was thinking feverishly. One his hands fidgeted with the amulet he had taken out of his robes at some point before she woke.

"Wh- What the fuck is- is that room?" Merida managed to ask, pushing the words out had been entirely too difficult. She was quickly becoming frustrated with the twitching. She couldn't help it, and it was made worse by the reactive tense of her muscles after each involuntary movement.

"It is..." Narinder sighed. "It was my makeshift inner sanctum. When I was bent on revenge, and mad with power lust. I created the room as a place to plan and... vent." He shook his head. "I... don't know what to say. Everything in that room, everything is sick and inexcusable. I wasn't-" He huffed with frustration, profoundly bothered by it all. "Please try to understand, Merida. I was insane when I created it and did everything I did in it. I was, quite literally, psychopathic at the time. It took years for me to fully recuperate after the rightful loss of the Black Crown."

"Did- Did you kill Nykka's Foll- Followers?"

"A few, yes." He answered quietly. "They were out on crusades, and I- Well, I abducted them."

"Wh- What did you do to them...?"

"Merida, please." He muttered, burying his head in his hands with his elbows propped on his knees.

"What did- did you do?" She repeated the question, not allowing him to hide away from the truth of it.

"You saw what I did to them." Narinder answered finally. "Those visions didn't come from nothing. It was- I-" It was so uncharacteristic of Narinder to behave that way. His words were rushed, nearing frantic and he didn't seem to know where each thought was leading. He looked at her. "That room is everything I used to be. It is the quintessential 'Man in the Forest' your parents warned you about. Had we met back then..." His brow furrowed, and he was quick to look away from her again. "I don't want to think of what I might have done in my twisted state of mind. Revenge and the Crown were all I cared about back then." Merida's stomach churned. She couldn't believe it. The horrific, revolting visions were real. Real creatures who had been slaughtered in the most disgusting and brutal way imaginable by Narinder's hand. Her parents told her that Narinder 'butchered' his Followers before their eyes. But that... what she had just been forced to witness, was nothing like what she had imagined at the time. The pieces were fitting together. She understood, she finally, truly understood why the elders in her life were so terrified of him. He sincerely was a monster. Still, there was no doubt in her mind, he had changed since then. His current reaction to reliving it was proof of that on its own. But, he had done it. That could never be changed no matter how peace-loving and kind he becomes. With that revelation, Merida also appreciated why he hated himself so. It was for that reason; nothing he can do, nothing will ever erase his bloody past. He is well and truly damned. Merely a sinful, shattered soul desperately trying to glue itself back together. The question remained; could he be saved? Was he even worth saving?