The Merciless

1.

Preface

A shrill scream escaped my lips as I saw what lay before me. My mother.
She was barely recognisable, stripped and bloody with a deep gash from throat to navel.
Gutted like an animal.
The murders had been going on for a few weeks with people finding bodies left out in this manner. However this was different.
As I looked down in sheer horror at my mothers form, an unrecognisable symbol stared back at me, etched into the fair skin of her forehead.
Marie, the petit woman who had been escorting me through town under my fathers order grabbed my arms in a sort of worried embrace uttering holy words under her breath.
"Look away child."
The woman tried remaining calm though tears clashed with the look of terror in her eyes.
By now most of the villagers were gathered around.
Gasps and shrieks of fear could be heard as they set their sights on the once beautiful woman's body strewn across the cobblestone in the middle of the town.

All I could do was slowly back away, a hand over my mouth, as the crowd parted and let me pass. Without another word I shrugged off Marie's grasp and ran out of the square. Tears blurred my vision as shock worked its way into my very being.
She was dead.
It had all happened so quick.
One minute I was walking through the street looking at a variety of vendors and shops, and the next I was fleeing from a murder sight where the victim was the woman who had loved me since I was born.
She was the only family I had left.
How could I deserve this?
I had only just come to terms with my fathers death from two years ago. I couldn't comprehend the fact that I was now an orphan, and now I was going to be alone at barely eighteen years of age.
It was my birthday today.
Both of my parents had died on my birthday.
I reached the front steps of the manor house in which I lived and threw open the doors.
My crying form ran up the stairs desperately trying to get to the mahogany door that marked the entrance to her room.
As I pushed the door open, the lingering scent of my mother's perfume filled my nose and a fresh wave of tears took over.
Sobs racked my body as I sunk to the floor.
I started to slowly rock backwards and forwards, hands covering my ears to shield them from any sound that was made in the empty house.
I released a loud strangled scream full of raw emotion. This couldn't be happening.
It was impossible.
No one had this much bad luck.
I didn't keep track of the amount of hours I just sat there sobbing until eventually my eyes ran dry and I was reduced to a shaking mass. She was dead. My mother was dead.

*****
One year later

I sat straight in the chair in front of my vanity, looking into my reflection. Today was my birthday. Birthdays were usually celebrated but how could I celebrate the anniversary of my parents' death?
Every year today, there was a ball held in my father's - and now my mother's - honour, although I never attended. This would be the first one I'd been to.
I fastened the diamond earrings to my lobes and placed my mother's necklace around my neck. I was trying, I really was. I knew that they would've wanted me to carry on with my life but it was so hard.
When they had died my uncle George had taken over the family business and had assumed the role of my guardian. I was grateful. Without him I would probably be out on the streets by now, even with the considerable sum I had inherited.
My dress was an off white and had sleeves that flared out at the elbows. I had opted for a dress that didn't have a large poofy skirt. I wasn't in the mood for anything ostentatious.
Instead the skirt, while full, hung down in soft, flowing pleats. Gold trim lined the sleeves, hem of the skirt and the neckline while a satin tie wrapped around my waist. I left my hair out in it's chestnut curls, only pinning back the front bits. My lips were stained red and my cheeks had been dusted with rouge but other than that I left my face bare. With one last quick glance in the mirror I turned to face the girl sitting on the edge of my bed.
"You don't have to go if you aren't ready Juliette." I had been friends with Bella since I was a little girl. She was an amazing friend who I cared for deeply.
"It's time Bella. I can't keep ignoring it thinking that if I don't pay attention to it then it will go away. That won't happen. They died and I have to accept it. It's been long enough, they deserve to be remembered properly."
She looked at me with sad eyes. Or perhaps it was better to say concerned.
"Juliette, you are the strongest girl I know." She stood from her seated position and came over to me, capturing me in a firm embrace.
"Come, we best get going." With a nod of agreement, we began making our way to the ball.