The girl with the fire in her veins

Rozdziale Siódmym

Lucja ran through the woods. She could feel their yellow eyes on her back as they watched her, their low growls following her until she heard someone’s footsteps behind her. She quickly hid under a big bush and kept very still, letting out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

She heard the footsteps get louder and she closed her eyes, praying not to be found, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“There you are!” her brother called and Lucja let out a big sigh.

She was creeping out from under her hiding place so that her younger brother  could help her up when she saw the little bright, red veins on her wrist, almost like fire.

She tried to cover her shock with a smile, but the worry that came along with the revelation on her arm was evident in her eyes. Fortunately her brother was oblivious to his sister’s distress and he tugged her along as they started making their way back to the little house.

“Happy birthday Lucja!” he sang as he held onto her hand, almost touching her wrist, while swinging their arms back and forth.

“How does it feel to be seventeen?” he peered at her through his messy bangs, waiting for an answer.

Lucja looked down at their hands and tried to swallow the lump that has formed in her throat. “Uhm… it’s something.” She finally said.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, the swooshing sound made by their swinging arms filling the comfortable silence.

Once back home Lucja made her way to her room, almost expecting to see the seer sitting on her bed again, but found it to be exactly as she left it…empty.

A while later she was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a plan, while constantly re-reading the note that jasnowidz had given her:

“When the little girl turns the age of seventeen summers she will ignite from within. Her veins will burn like those of her brother’s and she will not believe her fate. The prophecy will be shunned from her thoughts and she will be rendered powerless against the curse.”

It was true… for a moment she didn’t believe what she had seen and she tried to ignore it, but after reading the note again she realized that she couldn’t shun it from her thoughts any longer. She had to do something and it had to be soon.

“… she will be rendered powerless against the curse.”

The last few words of the note rang through her ears until she felt dizzy. Powerless… she was powerless. The full weight of that realization made her breath hitch and she let out an unexpected sob. The pain she felt in her wrists reverberated through her body and she fell to her knees sobbing.

She didn’t want to be powerless. She wanted to live. She wanted a cure like her brother’s. She wanted to tell her parents.

The latter stopped her sobbing as she thought about it. There was no way that she was going to put her parents through this drama again.

With that she got up and made her way to her dresser and dug out the small suitcase she had used when they were travelling all those years ago. She started stuffing it with clothes and other necessities when her birthday present caught her eye. She carefully folded it and placed it on her pillow.

 **********

After nightfall Lucja made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed a few apples and placed them in a satchel along with a canteen filled with water and a box of matches.

She scribbled a note on a piece of paper and placed it on the tabled before making her way to the front door. Silent sobs racked her tiny frame as she unwillingly made her way down the porch steps into the field.

The moon and stars shone bright enough to light her way as she slowly moved forward. After taking a few steps she stopped and dropped her suitcase at her feet.

She turned around and stared at the small house she had known all her life. She cried uncontrollably, knowing that she was far enough not to be heard by her sleeping family. She came to terms of what was happening to her and she found closure in the tears that streamed down her face, knowing that one day she’ll return…

After it felt like she had no more tears she got up and dusted some dry grass off of her dress. She chose to wear the birthday present she got from her parents earlier that day as a reminder of home.

A moment later she started her journey as the stars watched over her. Her heart broke with every step, but something kept her going regardless….

 Her goal to get to the field where the jasnowidz had said her cure would be.