The Jem

~19~

The three of them stared at the body for a little while, Crimson disgusted, Hunter emotionless and Deeja was smirking with pride.

"Well we need to get rid of it." Deeja said carelessly, like he was some forgotten garbage left on the side of the road, as she cut him out of the vines and he fell to the ground.

Crimson gasped as she saw the man's wrists. The vines had tightened around them so tightly that his skin began to shred off and blood covered bones, were slightly visible. She gagged as the sight of it then quickly turned away. How could such beautiful nature hurt someone so badly like that?

And he was only trying to do his job! He was only trying to be loyal to his Queen who probably provided him with food and shelter too. A salty tear fell onto Crimson's cheek but she quickly wiped it away and turned back around.

                                         ~

Hunter took in a deep breath and removed one of his gloves.  

"What are-

Crimson stopped talking as he held out his hand towards the girls, then crouched down next to his fellow guard. Hunter touched the dead man's sharp cheekbone but before he could even look down at the body, it was already shrivelling up.

He turned to see Crimson filled with horror. But he couldn't stand to see her like that so he turned back to the corpse and watched the man disintegrate into dust and ashes. Crimson had removed the vines so no one could tell they were there.

Hunter placed the glove back on. Suddenly, Crimson kneeled down and grabbed all the ashes and walked outside carefully. She dug a little hole then poured the ashes in and covered it back up. She grew a beautiful bright peony and said a quick sentence that he couldn't make out.

His body twinged as he saw how distraught she was. She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry" he whispered as he brushed away some loose strands of her hair out of her face.

"It's what we had to do." She whispered back softly.

"Guys!" Deeja interrupted. Crimson broke apart from his warm embrace and began walking to the castle stables.

There plan was to cause a distraction so that they could steal two horses and leave.

                                        ~

Unfortunately, when Hunter and Crimson had filled Deeja in on how they intended to get out, she didn't realise she had suddenly became the distraction they were looking for.

"Seriously? Why me?" She moaned quietly as they walked to the stables in the clumpy mud. Horses could already be heard. She crawled from behind the big building filled with new ponies and smelly horses and made her way to the hard working people of all ages and sizes and forms.

She scratched her left cheek very faintly but as the blood came out it would eventually look worse then it actually was. "Agggghhhhhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and everyone began to crowd around her.

An old woman stepped forward, "What happened to your face dear? Who did this?" The poor woman looked mortified, damn these kind people. She really didn't like tricking them.

But she was very dramatic when she wanted to be. "He...he at-tacked m..me! He...w-went th...that way." She stuttered realistically, pointing behind her as she saw Crimson and Hunter sneak in.

"Please! Please find him. He might hurt your little boys and girls too!" She whimpered.

Someone began comforting her, "It's ok we will find them!" Someone else reassured her, she buried her face into her hands, then rubbed her eyes, "Really? Oh that would be so kind of you." She fluttered her long eyelashes.

Finally she saw the two lovebirds exit the stable house with two horses, one black and one white. And although they were normal horses they still looked majestic, she guessed that's what took them so long because they were picking out the prettiest horses.

She snorted in her head then went back to blubbering about some imaginary monster.

"I must leave and find someone to heal my cuts but when you find him please tell me, I'd love to give him a kick in the hoo-haa! That mean man!" She said with immense childish innocence.

"Of course dear, be safe!" The kind old woman patted her hand gently, then waved her off.

As she skipped away, amusement sprung onto her face. "That was too fun!" She whispered to herself.