Twisted Perfection

♛ one ♛

Chapter 1|End Of The Line

Ends once looked horrible. They'd terrify my trembling heart. But now, after years, I laugh about it. For now it seems, each end brought a new beginning.

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A walk in the woods helps me relax and release tension. The fact that I'm dragging a body behind me should be irrelevant.

The moonlight shone between the branches of the pine trees, and fog enveloped the forest floor. Owls perched themselves on branches above me, their eyes watching curiously. I scanned the forest ahead, ensuring I was well into the dense wooded area.

'Nothing is ever easy anymore.' I hate this part of the job. Not because of my nightly walk into the forest, but because of the body I had to dispose of. Poor guy got in the way.

With a tsk, I stopped walking and dragged the body closer to my side. I was well into the centre of the forest, where I had dug a grave beforehand in case any plans had gone to flames.

Grunting, I pulled the body into the grave and grabbed a shovel that had been hidden in a nearby shrubbery earlier that week, to fill in the grave.

Patting the dirt with the shovel, I smoothed it over so that nothing looked out of order. I wiped my brow and let out a sigh.

'Now that that's done...' I looked up at the velvety night sky, and admired the intricate shapes the stars made against the blackness. The milky sparkles twirled and danced around in various patterns and I watched them wistfully.

It was hard to shove aside the worries corrupting my mind, but eventually, I closed my eyes and just... stopped thinking.

Taking a few deep calm breaths, I opened my eyes to admire the velvet sky once more, before turning on my heel and beginning the walk back to my horse.

He snorted in greeting as I approached, yet didn't lift his head from the grass patch he was grazing on, causing me to snort in response.

"Yeah, I missed you too, Jaye. Thanks for caring." I shook my head and stroked his dark bay coat. Just as I was about to mount, a branch snapped, causing both horse and I, to turn towards the sound.

A frown crossed my face as I tried in vain to see through the shadows of the trees. Leaves rustled, but I struggled to figure out if it was from the light breeze or movement.

My hand slowly stroked Jaye's black mane, as he grew more nervous by the minute—his ears twitching constantly being the indicator.

Flames exploded out of the bushes, throwing me against a tree stump with a grunt and causing Jaye to rear in panic. I scrambled back to the horse and mounted in one swift movement.

"MOVE!" I urged him into a gallop away from the flames, that were greedily engulfing the forest. Thundering hooves could be heard over the roaring flames and I looked over my shoulder to see three other riders chasing after me. It was hard to see through the fog and flames but I managed to make out the Royal Crest of Vasska on their uniforms.

"Just my luck," I muttered and looked ahead to find a path that would make it difficult for my followers to keep up.

"Stop!" One of the Royal guards shouted as his horse began the struggle to follow the footsteps of my dark bay one.

'Pfft.. As if.'

I continued to encourage my horse to weave between the pine trees and into the denser, darker parts of the forest.