The Lady of the Lake

When Col walked in they were clinging to each other, pressed up against the stable's doorpost, her leg wrapped around him and her dress hitched up as he held her thigh. He was carrying two bags of feed for the horses and dropped them when he saw Lesya and the stable hand.

He was silent, but it would have been hard to miss him. They both looked up to see a fuming Col. Dmitrei quickly dropped Lesya's leg and sputtered, "I-I thought you were out fishing." Col moved closer to them his fists clenching, as if he was trying to control himself. The other two backed up, until the wall was almost against their backs.

Dmitrei shoved Lesya behind him, putting distance between her and Col. Col grabbed Dmitrei's shirt, pulling him away from her, and shoved him against the wall. "What the hell are you doing with my wife?" he shouted, hand around Dmitrei's throat.

"Lesya, you need to go." Dmitrei said, surprisingly calm.

"Don't say her name!" Col yelled, slamming Dmitrei's head into the wall. Lesya shrieked as blood began to trickle down Dmitrei's neck. "Don't ever say her name!"

"Col, please don't." Lesya begged. He looked to his wife who had hay in her dark hair and wide, terrified eyes. He hesitated for a moment then turned back to Dmitrei, who flinched at the sudden movement.

"Don't hurt her," Dmitrei pleaded. "Please don't hurt her; it's my fault. It's all my fault." He winced as his head was slammed into the wall again, and a crack sounded as it connected with the wooden boards of the stable. Lesya sobbed.

"Shut up!" Col shouted at Dmitrei. Lesya turned her head away and covered her ears, unable to listen to the sickening thwack as Dmitrei's skull was bashed in. Blood poured steadily down from Dmitrei's head, coating the wall and Col's hands. Col let go as Dmitrei went limp and dropped, lifeless, to the ground. He wiped his hands on his pants carelessly and turned to see his wife. Lesya retched as she looked at Dmitrei's mangled face, then she glanced to Col, who was now moving toward her.

She darted behind them and Col reached out to grab her, just barely missing. She ran, screaming her lungs out, calling for anyone to help her. She knew no one would.

Col ran further into the stable and let out his horse. He led the horse out of the sturdy enclosure and quickly mounted him. Grasping tightly to Vasile's mane, he rode after his wife.

                                                                        *****

The sun shone, bearing down on Lesya, and the breeze blew light and cool through her hair. Sweat dripped from her furrowed brow, and her hair stuck to her forehead. She panted heavily as she ran, hardly able to keep from choking on her tears. The sound of the horse trotting as it closed in was terrifying to her.

She sobbed because she knew she wouldn't be able to outrun him. Her feet ached as she stumbled over rocks and tree roots newly formed cuts already stinging.

When she stumbled upon the lake, she almost tripped. It was in the middle of a glade, where the trees thinned out and the sky was visible. She could see the clouds and the lake sent off a glare where the sun reflected off its surface. She came to a stop. There was no way she could run around the lake in time and she couldn't swim across —her only option was to face him.

She turned and he was there, coming to a stop a few feet away from her. She wiped hard at her face, tears and sweat coming away on her hand. "Please," she whispered.

Col hopped off Vasile, leaving him to graze, and advanced, his eyes filled with anger and his dark hair clinging to his forehead. He now stood in front of her and she shuddered —she was going to die here, in the middle of the woods, at the hands of her husband. He gently touched her face, and she flinched away from him. "Lesya." His voice was a whisper.