Red Snow

Valance, France 1361

As Yves stood there, aghast, he had an uneasy feeling that someone was watching him. Something shifted in the shadows of a nearby alleyway; Yves' head snapped round to see if he could catch a glimpse of the culprit of this sudden shift in he shadows. Perhaps it was the killer, returning to revel in his glorious and gruesome murder. However, Yves saw nothing untoward.

As Yves soon found out, the girls name was Marie; she was the daughter of a poor street merchant and had, in recent years, turned to prostitution to make ends meet. He pitied the girl and her family as the law would not look kindly on young Maria and she was unlikely to even receive a proper burial. Yves did not doubt that, with the ground being so frozen, her lifeless corpse would be burned. Shaking his head, he returned to his horse.

As he galloped over the snowy ground, Yves remember what drew him to Valence: the letter. Who on earth had beckoned him to that city, and why?

This murder troubled Yves; it felt as if it was the opening paragraph to a long and terrible story. The image of that poor girl, alone in the cold, burned deep into his mind. Perhaps, if he had tried harder or ridden faster, he could have saved that girl and prevented all of this terrible pain and sadness.

Now dusk, the cool evening air danced around Yves as he rode. The winds had died down and now softly fluttered at his hair; overhead an eagle soared on the gusts of air with grace and purpose.