Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Recommended song for this chapter: avava Inouva, Idir

This cannot be happening…

It can’t be real…

Sara thought as she held her head between her hands, her breaths coming out in small loud gasps, too absorbed in her thoughts and horror to even try and calm herself, her heart was beating like a drum, the violent pulsations resonating in her ears, and every cell in her body shivered with fear.

She didn’t care about the small carriage speeding up, she didn’t care about the bumpy road that cause her to be thrown off her seat several times, she didn’t care about how dark nor cold it was inside the carriage.

She didn’t even realize, for she was imprisoned inside a toxic bubble of doubts and fears, she was reliving the whole night in her head over and over again, for the first few times, everything looked so magical and surreal, the feeling of being carried above the clouds washed over her, and a faint smiled graced her trembling lips while her eyes were distant.

It just couldn’t be, all their moments together, all the words said, all the touches, all the feelings, and their kiss, that damn scorching kiss.

It can’t all be a lie.

The smile on her lips then started to fade slowly until it was nothing but a scared and realizing frown, when she started to add some pieces into the incomplete picture she blindly ignored before.

The mask, she was too happy to think Eren hinted that she was his, that she wasn’t unclaimed and belonged to someone already to remember that she had never read or heard about such a bizarre costume, she just believed what ever he said without even stopping to think about it for a second, she just followed her heart and her heart was already with him.

The ball, they walked in, both masked and no one announced their presence, even though the Salvatores were suffering from a bad time, Eren was supposed to be one of the kingdom’s dukes, which means he was on top of the political and financial pyramid after the royal family, yet no one announced their presence, no one approached them, and no one came to talk to the duke and make any connections with him, everyone gave them not just jealous but unrecognizing stares, at first she thought they were directed towards her, but now that she thought about it thoughtfully, they were meant to him as well.

No one recognized the duke!

The darkness, Sara thought, the darkness took over once she confessed her feelings to him, and she saw how his eyes turned darker behind the mask before all lights were extinguished, what sane person would ignore the sudden darkness that made everyone panic to kiss another, as if…

As if he knew about it already, as if he wanted it to hide him from the eyes so he can kiss her the way he did, so passionately, so urgently as if he had been waiting to do for so long, it all happened in the right time, and it was perfect, way too perfect to be a coincidence.

And then he disappeared, Sara thought, in the darkness and left her alone, and now that she was alone without all the eyes to worry about she felt how inappropriate that was, he promised to stay with her and protect her, yet he left her alone when he knew her situation better, in the middle of all those people who wanted to harm her, she waited and waited but he didn’t come back for her.

Sara’s lips shook more with louder sobs, was it all a lie? All their friendship and memories? All the affection he had shown her? but why? If he is what the queen had claimed him to be, then why did he bother with her all this time? Why not just kill her on the spot? And instead show her all that care and affection? Show her a new face to life, a brighter, sweeter, more colorful one that she became so addicted to, just to turn it all into ashes in her mouth.

What if the queen was lying? A small desperate voice spoke inside of her, telling her she knew the woman for few minutes only and all she did was scare her, while she knew Eren for much longer and he had been nothing but kind and loving towards her, he saved her life, he changed her life, it wasn’t fair for her to start doubting him on the very first accusation, was it? She should trust the man she knows, the man she loves, and not the queen she barely knew.

Faith, she should have faith in him.

That is what he told her before, to trust him.

Sara wanted to jump off the moving carriage which was now out of the capital’s borders, making it way in the thick forest, towards the shack as the queen ordered, she wanted to go to the house instead where she can wait for Eren and ask him, hear him and believe him, but she doubted the guards would allow her, not to mention she was worried for her father and needed to make sure he was alright, and… that fear, that almost confirmed doubt, that maybe the queen wasn’t lying.

A loud growl followed by a pained scream pulled Sara out of her thoughts, she heard the horses’ whinnies before the carriage was brought to a violent halt, the growls got stronger and the door of the carriage opened with a loud thud that made her jump in terror, she backed away to the other side as she stared at the guard’s bloodied form.

“My lady, you…you need to run. Now.” The guard’s urgent voice spoke volumes about his pain and fear, even he was terrified for he understood how dangerous the situation in hand, seeing his urging eyes, she gave him a shaking hand and stepped out of the carriage only to gasp…

Not few steps away from her, the second guard was lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood, with his guts pulled out and thrown next to him with his eyes left wide open, she covered her mouth and stepped away, terrified and nauseous at the gory sight in front of her, there was just so much blood and flesh and death, her knees gave up on her and she almost fell on the ground if it wasn’t for the other guard who supported her.

“My lady, we need to leave.” He said as he picked her up and placed her on the back of the horse, and right when he was about to mount next to her, she heard the sickening voice of bone cracking before his head was thrown between the horses’ hooves.

Sara only heard the sound of the guard’s body hitting the ground but she didn’t see it for the horse had started running very fast as if it poor life depended on it, which was true, she didn’t dare look back, she didn’t dare scream, she just closed her eyes and leaned forward to hug the horse’s long neck and let it take her to whatever destination it wanted, she was too scared to make any move, and just like a kid, she closed her eyes and wished for this horrible night to be over.

It was too much for one night, and in each time she thought it couldn’t get worse it did, just like how she thought things can’t get worse when she heard the vicious growls around her, and the familiar cold presence, she shivered and opened her eyes when she felt a faint touch on her back, for he was there, the demon from the tower, he was there, and he was following her.

Sara urged the horse to run faster, shaking it reins urgently, but the poor thing was already at it limit, and from her peripheral vision she saw the many shadows behind the trees, speeding in the same direction as her, and a terrifying idea formed on her mind, for it was obvious they knew where she was heading.

What if they have hurt her father?

Before she could process the scary thought, the horse lost it balance and fell down, with her on it, the wait of it falling on one of her legs, Sara couldn’t stop her scream this time as she felt her leg being crushed under the weight of the animal, she tried to push it away several times before she noticed his immobility and the sticky liquid coating her fingers where she touched the poor animal, the warm wetness spread on her waist and tainted her dress, it was too dark but she was still able to distinguish the sickening redness of not only the horse’s blood, but hers as well.

Hearing the growls approaching as well as that familiar malicious presence, Sara jerked under the horse violently, driven by pure instinct, to run, to survive, to not die.

She finally managed to free her leg from under the horse and it was deeply wounded, and painful to no limits, she winced and cried but didn’t spare anymore seconds as she started running, or more accurately limping through the familiar forest, until she saw her destination not far away.

Inside the shack, king Edard was lying on the cold floor, barely conscious with his lips dry, a sickening smell of rotten meat and human residues, his breaths coming out shallow and ragged.

The king thought he was going to find his frightened baby waiting for him in the shack, scared and missing, her eyes blaming like each time he took longer than necessary to visit her, he was reluctant a little as he didn’t know how to explain his missing leg to her, only that he didn’t have to for she wasn’t there.

He waited and waited, but she didn’t come back, he searched for her around the shack only to be attacked by several demons disguised as her, he risked his life many times following an illusion of his daughter just to find out it was a demon, and in the end, he believed what those vile creatures told him, that they had killed her.

As if the pain of knowing his baby, the apple of his eyes and the last thing he had from his beloved Historia, was dead, the pain in his leg turned unbearable to the point where he couldn’t move, and that is how he came to know the worst feeling in the world.

Not pain.

Not despair.

Not fear.

But hunger.

The king even cried of hunger at one point, he couldn’t believe this was happening to him, for he had always been a proud dignified man, but now, he was a lonely starving man, abandoned on the edge of the dark forest, and he couldn’t help but think, was this his punishment for what he did? To Historia? To the innocent Fae? To his daughter?

The king cried some more, pitying himself as he heard the violent knocks on the door, and an urgent sound calling him.

“Father…”

There it was, the king thought, another demon pretending to be his daughter, calling him that urgently to trick him to open the door.

“Father please, open the door it is me.”, the urgency in the voice and the fear lacing it sounded almost real, almost sincere, the king thought as he slowly raised his head from the floor, staring at the door, and listening to the cries of the girl who sounded exactly like his Sara.

“Father please, open the door, he is getting closer! They are all getting closer!”

“Go away.” The king screamed, the hoarseness of his earlier cry making his words edgier, it was but a trap, he knew it, even though the crying pained begging shook him to his very core, even though his heart begged him to go open the door for it knew that this was his daughter, it was a trap, he knew it and he was scared…

“Father please, don’t let them take me, don’t abandon me…” the sound cried desperately, and the king crawled towards the door, he placed his hand on the handle, but he didn’t turn it. he just grabbed it, and cried as the crying and knocking stopped.

Outside the shack where Sara was crying and begging while avoiding to look back behind her, for she was too scared, Sara felt the familiar presence, the malignity, and the danger, the cold, her breathing stopped as she slowly turned to see the man standing few steps away from her, the man she loved with all her life.

Sara stared, but her eyes couldn’t believe what she saw though, the white and golden attire drenched in blood, the silky black hair disheveled, the gentle smile was replaced by a placid expression, and the eyes, the pools of honey that she adored were red as rubies, they were the same eyes she saw before, the same eyes that hunted her in her nightmares.

“Eren.” She whispered, not able to believe it, refusing to believe it, she shook her head, and tears fell like rain.

“I told you I will come back for you, haven’t I? My fair lady?”