The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 8: Fox Girl

The storm exploded into existence as Levi reached the treeline. He didn't stop running until he was deep into the woods, too terrified that if he looked back, he would see a sword crashing into his skull. However, when he did hesitantly turn, there was no one. The woods were full of swaying branches, howling wind covering up all noise. Levi stared through a gap in the rustling leaves at the beach. The men were gone, as was the Dragonboat. He thought he could see it in the waves, powering through, a little purple shape which grew steadily farther away. They're going for the island. Oh no, what have I done, what have I DONE!

"I have to stop them. Everyone's celebrating. But what do they want? Why are they attacking people? How did they know about the Dragonstone?" Levi groaned. He racked his head for answers but found none. Deep in despair, he almost missed the shadowy figure darting to Anton's body. The girl!

"Who are you! Why are these men going to Eastrain!" Levi ran out of the trees, fear for the village's safety overpowering his fear of the open. The girl looked up at him briefly, her hands inside Anton's clothes. She removed something before closing the old man's eyes. Levi couldn't look at the broken man. He was telling me stories yesterday. He saved me. But now he's...

"Shut up. You had your chance to stop them. If you had just taken the stone with you when you arrived you might have survived. If you had just ran, Anton might have survived. And if you hadn't been too much of a coward to do what needed to be done, your village might have been spared this day." The girl turned towards the carriage, hopping aboard and going inside. Levi followed her, his hands slipping on the wet wood.

"Where's the horse? Who are these men?" He asked, fear making his voice desperate. She rummaged around the inside, picking up things here and there, Levi couldn't tell what in the darkness.

"The horse is gone. Anton hid her but the storm scared her off. This wagon is going nowhere." She seemed almost done packing, but did not speak anymore. Levi asked again.

"And the men? Who are they?" He feared what she would say. He was right to fear. Beneath her mask, he sensed pity in her voice despite the cruelty of her words.

"Men from the Deathless City." Her eyes were dark as she fiddled with something in a cloth bag. "To you, they are a nightmare. To your village a plague. No, that is not right. Plagues leave behind living to bury the dead. It is more like when a fox finds a hole in the henhouse. It is not a question of how many it kills, it is a question of how long it will take. No one will be spared." She stopped talking, standing there in the dark, lightning flashing through the carriage windows and illuminating her fox mask. Levi felt fear, he did not want to believe her, and yet...something about her face, hidden though it was, scared him. Perhaps it was the slight tilt, or the soft sadness and inevitable cadence in her voice. I believe her.

"Please, you had another stone. Give it to me. I need to warn the villagers. I can't cross without one." His words were undeniably suicidal but his voice did not quaver. She contemplated him silently, her hands coming out of the bag with the Dragonstone. The soft glow made her white mask look eerie, almost magical, unreal. She handed it to him.

"You should run. There are other places to cross the Yura which are guarded by men instead of monsters. You'll be able to convince the guardsmen to let you through. Look at that." She pointed out onto the turbulent waters, which thrashed and churned as if to prove her point, "The Yura will be almost impossible to cross now. This area is the only unguarded beach large enough to stage a hidden invasion. You think there's any chance those men will let someone live to tell the tale? The time to stop this is gone. But I won't begrudge a man a chance to see his dying family one last time. Take the raft if you want, Levi. May the Moon Goddess guide your soul tonight." The fox girl stepped past Levi, her flowery scent briefly mingling with the smell of blood and sweat. Levi started to go but stopped when he heard her voice.

"Wait. You're really going?" She seemed surprised that he really was going to do it. Levi turned around for but a split second, determination on his face flashing before the lightning strikes. He stared at the girl, one foot off the wagon, about to enter the forest. Something in his face made her feel surprised. For a second, she almost believed that he could do it. Reach the island in an uncrossable storm. Make the impossible, possible. "Don't go just yet. Stay, just a second." She whispered and though Levi was impatient, he waited. The fox girl's eyes closed behind the mask and she paused as if deep in thought. Her hand reached out, grasping at him, at something, but Levi felt nothing. Is she praying? Then she opened her eyes. "Go. Maybe, just maybe, you can change this dread fate."

Levi started to go towards the beach, but then he hesitated,

"Wait. What's your name?" He asked, not turning around for he feared the girl would disappear again. He felt her stop, just a step away, her presence blocking out the sound of the rain. He didn't expect an answer.

"I can't tell you that." She told him. He thought for a moment. For some reason, this last conversation before certain death felt like something he had to hold onto for as long as he could. Finally, he thought of another question.

"Then tell me what that scent is. The one you're wearing. It's been bugging me." He stilled, and thought that she was gone. But a whisper on the wind told him the answer.

"It's jasmine."

"I see." Levi turned around. "Well I guess I'll remember you as that instead of fox girl-" He paused at the edge of the carriage. No one else was there. "Bye Jasmine." He whispered to no one.