Warhorse

10

Luna had been trapped in the restraints for a couple of days now, Clarice had been feeding her and trying to talk to Luna, but Luna either wouldn't talk or insisted she wanted to leave. Needless to say, Clarice wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

"I know you want to go home Luna, but please you have to understand, that we can't let you go like this. You'd be a danger to yourself and to others." Clarice talked to Luna while she wrote in a notebook.

"I don't care... I've been here too long... I need to go home... I need to leave..." Luna refused to look at Clarice, her voice was tired and her eyes showed signs of exhaustion.

"Luna please, you need to help me out here." Luna was beginning to get angry with Clarice.

"No. You need to help me. You and this fucking town have convinced me I'm crazy. I'm not crazy! I know the truth! You people are just too blind to see it! You're all the crazy ones! Not me!" Luna faced Clarice and raised her voice to her.

"Look Luna, I... I need to go for a while... but I will be back soon, please try to think logically about this while I'm gone." Clarice stood and left.

"Don't bother coming back unless you plan on letting me go," Luna said coldly as Clarice left.

Luna noticed that Clarice had left her pencil on the stool next to the table, she tried to squeeze her hand out of the restraints to grab it, but she couldn't get her hand out. She continued to struggle and lash against the restraints but never made any progress.

"Oh sweetie, you poor thing." Ms. Baker looked at Luna from the window.

"What do you want?" Luna said harshly.

"Please dear, we're just trying to look out for you. You are sick, you need help. We're trying our best to help you." Ms. Baker placed a basket of fresh bread on the windowsill.

"I don't know what you people think you know, but I'm not sick. You vanished for a day, you and your store. Mr. Smith tears metal in half with his bare hands. Arden eats poison recreationally. Then you reappear out of nowhere and everyone is trying to make me feel like the crazy one! I'm not the crazy one! I know what I've seen! You are all insane! And at the first moment I get, I am getting the fuck out of this town." Luna glared at the old woman.

Ms. Baker paused for a moment, before placing her hands over her face and sobbing quietly, walking away and leaving the basket. Luna couldn't help but feel bad for making the sweet old woman cry, but she wouldn't be swayed. There was something wrong with this town, and she was leaving the very first moment she could. A few hours later Clarice came barging back into the room.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? I can not believe you could be so cruel as to say all those horrible things to Ms. Baker! Keep this up and you will never leave this bed! I don't know why I'm trying with you! You are insane! Might as well lock you up and forget you exist! Let your worthlessness waste away and out of our memories!" Clarice was fuming, she picked up the basket Ms. Baker had left and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Luna was beginning to feel regret at her decisions, she made the sweet old Ms. Baker cry and put Clarice through so much mental torture. She looked out the window again, eyeing Hemlock's hut. He was standing there again today, she still felt like he was watching her. He would never come and see her, but she refused to break eye contact with the figure on the hill. He watched her, and her, him. For hours they stayed like that. Until the cloaked figure retreated into his hut at sundown. Later that evening Clarice returned to feed Luna. The both of them sat in silence until Clarice spoke.

"I hope you know that I'm not here because I forgive you. I'm here because I took an oath to heal the sick, and you are very sick." Clarice held a bowl of soup in her hand.

"I am not sick. You all are delusional." Luna refused to give.

"Luna! Stop it! I will not sit here and take this verbal abuse! We are fine. We are healthy. It is you who is delusional. Screw your head back on before you talk to me." Clarice was losing patience fast.

"Let me go! I will leave this village and you will never hear from me again! My body is healed! I'd rather risk another attack in the woods than spend another minute with people who make me feel like I'm crazy!" Luna struggled against the restraints again.

"You have no idea how much I want to kick you out into those woods! You've been nothing but a pain in everyone's side ever since you supposedly saw Hemlock talk to you. He lives away from people for a damn reason Luna! Why the hell would my recluse of a brother want to talk to you of all people? What makes you special huh? You're making shit up and I'm getting tired of it! Either cooperate or shut the fuck up!" Clarice stood and left the room, slamming the door again.

Luna laid back, a million thoughts running through her head. Was she in the right? Of course, she was. The people of this town were all insane, she was the only logical one there. She turned her head to look out the window again, the moon peeking out from behind the hill where Hemlock's hut sat. She stared at it for a little while, hoping that perhaps Hemlock would walk out and the two would have another staring competition. But it didn't happen, so instead Luna turned her head back to the ceiling. She was beginning to drift off when she felt like she was being watched, she turned her head to Hemlock's hut, but he still wasn't there. So she turned over to the door to her room and there stood that familiar ragged cloak.