𝐼𝑁𝑁𝑂𝐶𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑇 // 𝐴. 𝐷𝐸 𝑅𝑈𝑁𝐸

𝑉𝐼𝐼𝐼

| VIII. Into the Dog's Maw | 

—

Thankfully Clervie had left out some extra clothes for Marion; although the girl was no longer wet, she felt... dirty. Although she had scrubbed the blood from her hands till they were red and raw, the feeling of the blood did not leave her fingers.

Now the sun had risen high over the land, the children had stayed at Clervie's house for the whole night and most of the day. They wanted to be sure that the villagers wouldn't find them. Amicia had fortified her sling, and Marion had sharpened what was left of her throwing knives.

They were going to leave Clervie's house soon– they still needed to finish the daunting task of finding Laurentius. Marion was hesitant to even think about leaving; she knew they needed to find Laurentius, but with the villagers and Inquisition trailing after them like bloodhounds... it sent a wave of uneasiness through her.

"So that's where you lost them?" The voice that seeped into the room through the walls said, making Marion freeze in her seat.

Conrad had found them– or was close to finding them. She turned to look at Clervie and Amicia, who had also frozen in their spots. They needed to hide, or run, or do anything to stay away from the grief-stricken man.

Marion flinched when a loud bang erupted from the backroom, her breath hitching and fists clenching. She quickly, but silently stood up and followed Amicia to the source. Hugo sat, a mallet in his hand and a pout on his little face.

"What on earth are you doing?" Amicia questioned furiously, "Put that mallet down! Are you stupid or what?"

Hugo glared at his sister, he stood up and raised the wooden mallet.

"I am not stupid!" He argued, his glare unwavering.

The argument only escalated from there. A flurry of voices filled the home, quiet hushes from Clervie, and Hugo's angry shouts. The tension in the air thickened with each shout, each quiet plea and hush.

"Mummy is dead, Hugo, you'll never see her again!" Amicia snapped, "Or daddy!"

A deafening silence fell over the room at Amicia's words. Marion's eyes traveled from Amicia, to Hugo; his big blue eyes were filled with tears, and his lip quivered. He furrowed his eyebrows, his hand going slack and dropping the mallet.

"You're... you're lying!" Hugo muttered, as his eyes trailed down to the floor.

Marion gently grabbed Amicia's arm before the brunette could feed the fire. Amicia's breath hitched, and Marion frowned when she noticed the storm brewing in her companions' eyes– they were red rimmed, and tears threatened to fall.

"They were killed at the house Hugo... I'm so sorry." Marion spoke softly, but Hugo's anger did not dwindle at her gentle tone.

"You're lying! Lying! Both of you are liars, I hate you!" Hugo screeched, before fleeing through the door to the backyard.

Marion's heart dropped when the boy ran off, unknowingly throwing himself into the maw of the very man who wanted his head. Amicia ran off after Hugo without a second thought, her instinct to protect taking over any rational thinking.

Marion took a glance back at Clervie, who had her lips tightly curled into a somber frown. The crone sighed, and with a short close-eyed nod, urged her to go after the siblings.

The dark-haired girl lagged behind the siblings by a lot, the only sign of the pathways they took was occasional footsteps in the more muddy footing. Marion had found their destination to be the old church– the gate to the building was rusted shut.

Villagers hounded the gate, seemingly watching as something conspired in the small courtyard. Marion's blood ran cold when she heard the sound of heavy armor clanking together, and crate's being smashed to bits. Her hands drifted over her throwing knives when one of the villagers turned to look at her, his hard eyes slimming.

The villager unsheathed a sickle from a makeshift sheath on his belt, and another man who held a butcher's knife began stalking closer to her. Marion let out a tense breath, her fingers finding their way over the handle of one of her knives to pull it out.

In a single breath, Marion pulled her arm back and threw the knife with all her might; the weapon settled into the man with the butcher's knife's head silently, and his body hit the ground with a sickening thud. The man with the sickle let an ugly scowl grow on his face, his grip on the weapon visibly tightening.

Without warning, the man ran at her with a speed she didn't expect, and he tackled her to the floor. The only thing stopping him from embedding his blade into her throat was her hands– blood leaked out of the flesh that gripped the blade.

Marion couldn't contain the scream that climbed its way out of her throat, her hands burned with a merciless fury, and for once her own blood leaked onto the flushed skin of her face and neck.

The villager had a crazed look in his eye... one that sent fear spiking through Marion's body. He pushed harder against her hands, and another agonized yelp left her mouth. The dark-haired girl grunted as she lifted up her knee, hitting the man right where it counted.

He fell to the side, and Marion quickly shuffled away from him. The pain in her hands was harrowing, the deep slits that ran across her palms leaked blood down her wrists and into the fabric of her not-so-fresh tunic. There were too many villagers to take on at once, the only way she'd live was to run.

The noises in the courtyard had gone oddly silent– Amicia! Marion felt her breath pick up, Amicia had to be alright, she just had to be. The rest of the villagers were close to the only spot she could climb over, but Marion didn't care.

Without using her hands, Marion hefted herself off the ground, and booked it into the direction of the stone wall. The dark-haired girl screeched when she felt the cold stone dig into her injured hands, leaving the stone sticky with her blood.

She unceremoniously landed on her back, and all the air in her lungs was sucked out. After a few sputtering coughs, she took in a much needed deep breath.

"Marion!" Amicia called out, and dropped to her knees in front of her companion.

The dark-haired girl allowed herself to be pulled up by Amicia, letting out a quiet hiss when one of her hands came in contact with Amicia's tunic. Her eyes trailed to the wall, where another villager had gotten the same idea as her, and began to climb up the stones.

"Amicia, run!" Marion commanded, before all three children ran towards the heavy oak doors of the church. 

—

| Glossary | 

N/A 

| A/N |

THIS CHAPTER ISNT GETTING A FUCKING GIF BECAUSE I DONT KNOW HWOW HTP WORK THSI DMAN COMPUTER

anywho

This one is kinda short, but I just got over a sinus infection so it's justifiable. I was struggling 😭

anyways, after re-reading this and consulting with Dr. Google, I now realize how many important tendons are in the human hand, and now little Marion might have some long term trouble! uhmmm yay me for researching as I write and not before.