Ovolara: Claws of Darkness

Chapter 2: Hope

Hope, 13 years old, from the village Hollow, was an adventurous child, At least that's who she considers herself to be. She hopes to one day explore every corner of the continent and map it out in great detail for everyone to experience the world. But on the outside, Hope is an obedient kid that does everything she's told, studying harder than anyone like her father wishes. It wouldn't be an understatement to call her the perfect role model for kids her age.

But even though she gets all the praise and compliments from her teachers and parents, what she feels isn't accomplishment, but emptiness, boredom, and the feeling of being trapped. She wants to go out and explore the world outside her village, but her parents would never let her.

The reason why she's so obedient is her parents Hearth and Milia, mainly Hearth, her overprotective father who makes sure she stays on the right path, "his right path" Hope thought many times. If she so much as walked anywhere he thought was dangerous, or did something he thought was a bad influence, he would find a fitting 'lesson', which ranged from writing a few pages detailing what she should have done, to making her run around the village with him for a few laps until she tires out.

"Mom... Why is dad so mean sometimes?" Hope asked her mother as she sat next to her outside their house.

"Oh?" Milia replied, a little curious as Hope never asked such a thing. "Why do you think your dad is mean, sweetheart?"

Hope hesitated, but eventually. "Well, every time I try to do something new... he punishes me, he won't even listen to me try to explain why anything would be a good idea." Hope complained. " The other kids don't get punished like I do, so why does he do it to me?" She said, clearly frustrated.

"He just wants to protect you, and give you a good life, dear." Milia tried to comfort Hope, when she suddenly pulled away from her mother's shoulder, looking at her eye to eye

"Well what if I don't want that life?" She raised her voice a little. "What if I know what life I want, but he won't let me?!" She complained.

Milia smiled at her, and held her hands under Hope's cheeks "Well, what life is that?" Milia asked, looking genuinely curious.

Hope hesitated, she thought if her father heard what she wanted, he'd probably chain her to the house when he wasn't around, or tell someone to constantly watch her when he can't. But she also knew her mother stood up for her many times when her father tried to punish her for the smaller things he didn't like.

So after a bit of pondering, she took a deep breath. "I want to explore the world!" She exclaimed, her eyes looking like they're on fire. "I want to see what's out there, outside our village, not just imagine it through books!" She went on, unconsciously smiling while thinking of what her dream would be like. Then let out a sigh as if she were holding her breath for years.

Milia gave her a curious look, seeing her eyes glowing with excitement at the idea, then stopped to think for a bit. "...Well, how about I let you explore the outskirts of the village for a start?" She offered. "You can go into the forest, but not too far. Oh, And only in the morning till afternoon before your father comes back from hunting, and when it's safe. You know what they say, 'if you go to the forest at night, NightWalkers will gobble you in one bite-'" She was cut off as Hope hugged her with tears running down her face.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" Hope said, crying her heart out while repeatedly thanking Milia.

"Anything for my little Hope."

A few months later...

"Mom... Mom, wake up!" Hope yelled, shaking Milia's shoulder.

Milia slowly opened her eyes, barely able to sit up. "Hope...? Why are you up so early?" She said with her eyes half closed.