Rue

Chapter 3

The news of what had happened spread like wildfire. While walking back to Uncle's house, I had been stopped many times. My blood-soaked shirt was hard to overlook. I passed on the news to each person who asked, making sure to insist there was no idea yet of what had led Eleonore to her doom.

Despite what I told them, a small glint in their eyes told me they already knew what had done it: the mysterious wolf that had been hunting the village's animals for three months.

I sank in the barrel full of water, dropping on a wooden bench I had built. The fire underneath kept the water hot even in the low temperatures outside. I was forbidden from bathing inside the house, and for what reason, I never knew. Uncle forbade it, so I obeyed.

My privileges had been limited to eating and sleeping inside, in the attic. Now that it was winter, Uncle didn't mind as much when I spent a few hours inside. Once the weather perked up, I would be kicked outside once again. I dropped in the water until only my nose hovered over it.

I had gotten away with murder.

That poor girl should've made it home, not died like livestock in the woods. I was saved for now because of the mysterious person who erased my footprints. Looking at their size, I guessed it to be a girl who had done it.

But why? To cover my mistake, so our world might not be discovered? My thoughts ran rapid, the possibilities seeming endless.

I buttoned up a fresh shirt, happy to rid myself of the blood that stained my skin. I could still feel it there, but so long as I didn't have to look at it, I could manage.

I walked down the steps to the main level of Uncle's house and headed for the dining room. The smell of roasted meat hit me, and my mouth began watering. It had been so long since I had had any, it seemed like eternity.

I pushed open the door. A table large enough to seat ten fit in the large white room perfectly. Uncle, Aunty, and my five cousins sat ready to eat. Uncle held a butcher's knife, ready to carve into the cooked deer roast sitting in the center of the table.

My eyes dropped—the more I wanted it, the less likely I would be to get any at all. Pretending to have no interest, I took up my usual spot in the corner of the table. Across from Henri, and an empty chair between me and Aunty.

"Do you like the deer we hunted last night while you were running loose?"

I nodded, finding it best to agree. "Ja, Uncle. It must have been quite the challenge,"

My eldest cousin Henri, twenty, slapped his hands down on the table. "By the stars in Aldreina's skies, the beast wouldn't drop! Claw it, bite it, the thing would just keep running. I can still taste fur," Henri's smile lit up.

After Uncle murdered my father, Henri became next in line for the throne. He seemed to be kinder than Uncle was, but I never really spent much time with my relatives as of late.

Lore, fourteen, rolled her eyes. "I believe it kept running away because you allowed it to."

"Do you think we didn't see that tumble you took?" pitched in August, sixteen.

Jan looked down into his plate. "I hate being this young. I can't wait to go with you guys. I'm stuck running around in the backyard with Els."

Uncle stood. "Enough chatter. It is time for us to enjoy our catch of the month."

The knife stabbed into the meat, its juices flowing out from the puncture hole. Uncle dragged the knife down, carving out a large piece and plopping it on Henri's plate. Each one of my cousins received their share first, then Aunty.