CHAPTER 50: HORROR

***

"How throughly vexing, how confounding! First we lost the trail and ended up in the middle of this a backwater place and now even the watermen aren’t helping us out. Such a thoroughly wretched day."

A beautiful girl in her late teens lamented as she walked along the side of the forest.

She was dressed in a simple but regal attire with a silk tunic and a skirt, with a fur cape on her back.

With a purse and a parasol in her hand, she gave off the perfect mix of nobility with some practical piece of clothing, just to move around comfortably but not suited for much activity.

Surprisingly she was asking across the land, something she wasn’t use to except for occassional few walks among the flower beds and gardens of ducal and royal houses.

Behind her, a tall woman in her mid to late twenties walked with two swords on her back, partial armour covering her body as she moved with precision, looking out for any possible danger.

As she moved, the girl kept complaining while the knight just listened with a neutral expression, offering occasions hums and nods along the way.

"If only those useless soldiers hadn’t gone and died on us. Father would be so mad. Regina, what should we do?"

The noble woman turned towards the knight with her expression almost on the verge of tears.

"You worry too much your highness. Lord Hart would understand. And we will eventually find a way to get back. Please have some strength."

The knight assured here sincerely as she nodded with a serious expression.

"Only because you’re here Regina. If something happened to you, what would I have done?"

The noble woman said as she looked up at the tall knight with stars in her eyes.

"Y-you flatter me your highness. It is merely the responsibility of a retinue to..."

"Of what’s that?"

As the knight was still going on about duty and honour, the noble woman suddenly noticed something at the edge of the forest.

A man in dark regal hunting gear and striking white hair stood still with his beautiful eyes wide open.

He stood absolutely silent as the wind caressed his delicate face. Even to her, who was used to looking at scions of rich merchants and nobles he possessed a charm beyond his youthful appearance.

Leaving the knight talking, she started skipping towards the man, unable to hide her curiosity.

***

The strange ethereal light reflected upon water and the flesh as the hunter’s eyes took in the view with the veracity of a starving soul.

Unabashed even as the women started noticing the hunger one by one, the man, unprudent, consumed by his primal desire kept feasting.

Soon, his eyes laid upon the most mesmerizing shadow he had even seen. He couldn’t have known that mere shadows could possess such charm that could topple best of cities and decimate greatest of men.

Even the flash of other maidens paled at its one look, just what kind of being could cast it.

Looking at the shadow he was sure of it. It could not belong to a mortal.

Searching desperately for the flshely origin, he finally noticed the cascading lock of golden hairs faling into the pool of water.

The light bounced around the hair, dancing him into a trance that beckoned him closer and closer.

His feets started moving as the scene fell eerily silent.

Feeling the change, the being that bend even the light around her, soon turned towards the front to see what had transpired behind her back.

The hunter, filled with immense joy waited hungrily for a single view of the being.

But before he could see the porcelian marvel his eyes fixated upon the two globs of void staring at him.

Just as the void’s gaze fell on him, his passion was dashed as reason finally came back to him.

Thinking of the situation he had forced himself into, the hunter’s whole body started shaking. He tried again and again to turn back around and make a run for his life, but he couldn’t move an inch, nor avert his eyes from the void.

{You dare. A mere mortal. You shall be punished.}

Before he could even interpret the meaning behind those words he suddenly felt a pain coursing through out his body.

Every bone in his body broke as his vision started clouding. He felt his back bone breaking and turning as it churned into various forms, finally turning curved as his hands touched the ground.

The pain cousing through his body made him scream horribly, but instead of the voice he was familiar with, all he heard was a screech.

Like a wild beast belting out its organs as more and more muscles and joints tore into his body.

Soon he had lost all his senses besides touch as he finally got control over his body.

Pained as it was, he forced himself to go back and escape.

But as he started making his way, he realised himself running on all fours. The worst part was, he felt comfortable this way.

All his attempts to stand up instead added more pain to his body.

His heart pounding in horror, he made a run from what he considered the way from whence he had come from.

Due to his lack of vision, he struck many a trees, each time eliciting a pained screech of a wild beast instead of his own voice, sinking deeper and deeper into the horrors borne of his own mind.

Without a care or caution he bolted in a mad charge, striking agonizing pain on his head as he desperately kept running.

Not too long after, he started hearing the sounds of barking coming from behind. He uplifted his spirits as he rembered his loyal companions he had came to the forest with.

As he tuned towards the direction of the barking, intending to go towards them, he felt sharp teeths biting into his flesh, starting another episode of pain.

Just as he realised the origin of the bite he started moving back once agian, with even more frenzy as more and more teeths bit into him, dragging along with him, leaving mangled flesh and blood marks on the forest floor and the trees.