Yuki and the Beast

Chapter 5: Yuki's New Room

Yuki's POV
From sitting where I was on the floor, I could vaguely hear what sounded like that wooden carriage thing coming back, softly scraping the floor with every step it took.

Closing my eyes and nodding my head, I opened my eyes and leaned my head against the wall behind me. Closing my eyes again, everything around me began to drown out as I fell asleep.
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I was walking down an unfamiliar path with my Mother. I immediately realized what was going on. I recognized this path from that day when I was around sixteen years old.

I was walking next to my Mother on a dirt road path with trees all around us. The road was somewhat narrow, but I guess I'd say it was large enough that you could still see the sides of the dirt road path if you were inside a carriage.

"Where are we going, Mother?" I asked as I looked at her. She gave me a smile and looked back ahead of her.

"We're going to pick up some food items from a friend, sweetie. It's going to be dinner for tonight and maybe tomorrow if I can't make everything tonight." She said.

"Sounds great." I said as I smiled back at her.
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After getting the food items, Mom and I started walking back home. While we were on our way home and getting closer to our town, I heard the rapid sound of hoofprints and the wheels on a carriage rolling towards us. The figure on the front of the carriage was wearing a long black cloak and carrying a sword in the right hand.

"MOVE!" The cloaked figure said with a voice that sounded male.

I started walking towards the side of the road as my Mother followed me. I looked at the briskly approaching carriage as my Mother was only halfway on the road. Extending my hand out to her, she did the same.

"Yuki!"

"Mom, grab my hand!"

Her hand so close to mine, the cloaked figure impaled my Mother in the abdomen using the large sword. The cloaked figure quickly took the sword out, the blood on the sword gleaming brightly in the sunlight as he continued riding away from us.

"WHEN I SAY MOVE, MOVE!" He said as the carriage rode faster away from us and out of my sight.

Before she could fall to the floor, I ran over to her and placed my left arm on her back, gently placing her on the ground as I knelt down next to her side on my knees, holding her hand in my free hand. Crimson blood poured onto her white dress and onto the brown dirt road beneath us.

"...Yuki..." She muttered, then let out a cough.

"Yes?"

"Don't...blame yourself....for....this...." She said, giving me a small smile.

"But what will Dad say?"

"Tell him....tell him...." My Mother started to cough again. I moved my left arm up to her shoulders and wrapped it around them, releasing my right hand from her hand.

"Tell him...that...it's not your...fault..." She reached up to touch my face, but was stopped with another cough. More blood poured from her wound as her hand fell to her side, her eyes closing, her smile leaving her face as a single tear drop rolled down her cheek. 

"Hey...?" I whispered.

No response.

I laid her on the ground and held my ear to her chest. No heartbeat. Eyes widening, I moved two fingers to her neck, but there was no pulse. 

My Mother was gone.

A sigh of sadness escaped my mouth as I stood up. When I turned away from the body and looked ahead of me, I saw my Father standing a few feet away from me with a shocked look on his face.