Into the Inferno

1 - The Poor Farmer's Daughter

Lilja wiped the hair away from her sticky face as she struggled to carry the overflowing bag of wheat. She had been up since sunrise, and with it only being early morning still, she could tell that today was going to be scorching hot.
"Papa," she called as she brought the last bag into the small and dilapidated barn. Slamming it down, she sighed with weariness and looked up at the only horse they had, a sweet old mare by the name of Daisy.
"Today's going to be hot," she called, as she gazed into the blue eyes of her oldest, and only, friend. Daisy had been her companion since the beginning, and now at 19 years old, she was weak. Lilja feared that someday soon, she might not survive the hard work they put her through.
Lilja placed a parting scratch on her nose and went to find her ever-deaf father. He was approaching his late 60s, and was still lucky to be alive. He had lost most of his hearing and his eyes were starting to go. Yet, he still ran the farm and lived and acted as if he were a younger man.
After searching their humble home, she found her mother hanging up the laundry in their small backyard.
"Mother, do you know where Papa is?" Called Lilja as she whipped her dirty hands down her dress.
Lilja's mother, Anhala, smiled as she hung up her fathers spare shirt.
"He's gone to town, dear. What is it that you need?"
"Has Papa gathered any fire wood for tonight? You know how easily the weather can turn nearing the winter."
"Your father did start gathering this morn, but he did not have a chance to bring it back to the house before he had to go. The pile is at the edge of the forest. Retrieve it, will you? Be careful now!"
Lilja slumped away, groaning silently to herself like the teenager she was, and made her way to the forest, her young body aching with every step. Her flimsy shoes offered no protection against the hard and rocky ground and she could feel the blisters beginning to form.
Even though the day had barely started, she was tired and ready to sleep. But, because her father was selling products in the nearest town, which was over an hours' ride away, and as she was her fathers' only child, she couldn't even rest for a minute. Life as a poor farmers' daughter wasn't easy, especially because it gave her no time to make friends or hang out with the friends that she did have. It left no time for boys, which would become a problem for when it was time for her to married. No man would want a woman who had bigger arms than them from lifting so many sacks of wheat or bales of hay. They would feel extremely emasculated.
We can't have that, can we? Sneered Lilja as she continued to trek to where she could could now see the small pile of dry wood. The boys only wanted pretty, dainty woman who would be weak enough to submit, but strong enough to bear them sons. That was everything she wasn't, and everything she was never going to be.
Although, Lilja didn't like to think of herself as ugly. At the young age of 18, she could be considered quite pretty; with her long, wavy, honey-blonde hair or her amber-colored, almond-shaped eyes which had rare flecks of a turquoise-green, and her heart-shaped face with her high cheek bones, which surrounded a cute button nose. Yes, she was barely 5 foot 2, but she made up for it with her feisty personality. In fact, her nickname was 'fieré,' or 'fire.'
As she heaved the wood onto her shoulders and continuously hauled it back to the front porch of her home, her blisters were blazing with heat. With the last piece of wood, she realized that there wouldn't be enough wood to last for the next few days, and she didn't want to do this job again-her feet couldn't handle anymore blisters.
With an annoyed sigh, she limped back to the forest and stopped before she set foot inside-she had been told about the beasts that lived in the forest ever since she was a little girl, and even now, the gruesome tales were enough to give her pause.
She cautioned her footsteps before she walked around the small grove of trees, looking for firewood. Seeing that her father had picked up all the available wood, a prickle of fear sparkled up her spine as she realized that now she'd have to go deeper into the forest.
Resisting the urge to run away in fear, she grabbed a rock by her foot that could be used as a weapon against any monsters that roamed near her. She had a small saw in her pocket, but it was for cutting leaves and small sticks off of slim branches- not for killing a beast.
With every step she took away from the entrance that glowed with light, and towards the unknown shadows, her grip on the rock tightened. Finally, she saw another small grove up trees up ahead, where there was enough light that shined through the for her to see what's she was doing. Picking up the pace, she ignored the burning pains of her feet and focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible.
Using the weak light, she picked out a tree in the darkness that was small enough cut up with her weak saw, but big enough that it would give her family a few more days of warmth.
Climbing over a huge fallen tree and thumping to the ground, Lilja almost screamed as she felt a warm, sticky substance soaking into her worn shoes and coating her blistered feet. Slowly looking down, she actually did scream when she saw, just a few feet away, there was a body, covered in rags and blood.
The body was of a man who looked only a few years older than lilja was. Yet, she knew he had gone through things that she never would.
His half-naked body was covered in rags, scars, and blood. Not inch of him was unscathed, and the scars ranged from years old, to only a few days old.
From her place by the tree, he didn't look to be breathing, but every few seconds, his fingers would twitch or his eyelashes would flutter.
Cautiously walking over to him, Lilja crouched down, winching when her shoes squished loudly in the pooling blood. Reaching down to check his pulse, she jumped again.
He had grabbed her arm with lighting-fast speed, and was looking up at her with pained, silver eyes.
"Help me," he croaked. "They're going to find me."
Then, his hand slackened, and he passed once more, leaving the darkening forest in silence with a sense of danger lurking in the rolling mist.