Open Season

The Bludhaven Estate swims into view from astride my stolen steed. Every bone, every muscle, the entire fiber of my being screams. Crude bandages, now soiled with my blood, are wrapped around my waist, shoulder, and forearm. Partially healed burns dot my body in mottled splotches. I’m bruised and broken, a shell of what I once was.

With my fingers wrapped in its mane, I cling to the horse’s neck for stability as I ride onto the grounds. Heads turn and faces pale as if they’ve seen a ghost, the ghost of their Queen. Once the initial shock wears off, chaos breaks out, people running around and shouting. Yet it all becomes mere white noise to me. I barely register it as someone helps me off my horse and I collapse into their arms. Every last bit of the resolve I clung to, that kept me alive for this hellish week is forgotten. The fight has been sucked straight out of me, as the darkness swallows me whole.

. . .

7 days ago…

The sound of hoofbeats trail behind me as I pump my legs as fast as I can. The wind tangles through my hair and branches scratch across my face as I weave through the trees. Risking a glance over my shoulder, my heart drops when I see the Knights of Stronghelm right on my tail. Oh, how the tables have turned. The hunter has become the hunted.

A silver arrow whizzes by me as I duck under a low hanging branch. I push on. To where, I don’t know. The ambush on my hunting party got me all turned around. To think I once knew these woods like the back of my hand, but now everything just seems to blend together. Didn’t I pass that tree already? I could’ve sworn I had. I feel like I’m a rabbit running in circles, while they are the fearsome hounds.

I let out a hiss as an arrow nicks my right shoulder. Stumbling, I catch myself on a tree trunk with a grunt. I hardly get a chance to catch my breath when there’s a loud thwack, and I gasp when I see the silver arrow now lodged into the wood by my head. There’s no time to waste. I push off of the tree, taking off again.

I don’t know how long I run. It feels like hours, but it could have just as easily been minutes. My adrenaline is beginning to fade, and with it the pain of my wounds come screeching to life. Exhaustion is setting in. I don’t know how much longer I can go on.

The terrain ahead starts to change, the trees thinning out and—Oh shit. I send a spray of rocks and dirt over the cliff edge as I come to a sliding stop.

“There’s nowhere to run now, Inferna!!” My gaze snaps back to the Knights. I’m trapped. I realize. The sound of churning water down below catches my attention. Inching closer and peering over the edge, I see rapids several yards down. Unless…

I glance back at the Knights. The moonlight reflects off of a silver arrow notched and pointed at my skull. I take a deep breath, and before I can talk myself out of it—I jump.

. . .

It’s an odd sensation, that feeling of weightlessness. Time seems to slow down around me as I freefall. My feet are the first to hit the water’s surface, the impact radiating up through my legs to my core as I’m swallowed whole by the river. The current is strong, dragging me under and downstream with ease. Thrashing, I fight against it, trying to get my head above water. But, amidst my panic, a familiar calm fills my inner being. As my hand sways in the currents in front of me, I can see the glow of my serenity ring.

Even here, in the dark and cold, a piece of Azrael remains with me, protecting me. And that’s all the strength I need. I look up to the surface where I can see the rays of Selene seeping into the deep. They call to me, guide me, saying “Today is not the day you die.”

With powerful strokes, I swim upwards, fighting the current with all my might, and this time I win. I take a well needed gulp of air as my head finally breaks the surface. Bobbing up and down, I assess where I am. The shoreline is not too far. I take another deep breath, before going under again and propelling myself towards the rocky shore.

A sigh of relief escapes me when my hands finally make contact with rocky earth. Clawing my way up, I collapse onto the river shore, my strength all but spent. My eyes flutter and close, succumbing to the call of sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept there, out in the open. All I know is I wake up screaming. My skin feels like it’s on fire, burning and cooking under—

It’s dawn. I realize. The sun is creeping above the horizon, rays filtering through the treetops. But that shouldn’t be a problem because of—

I can hardly finish the thought when another bloodcurdling scream is ripped from my lungs. Large welts break out across my skin where the sunlight touches it, burning and melting my skin like iron in a forge. I take off in a blind panic, desperately weaving between rays of light as I search for the closest bit of shade. Following the cliff face, I plunge into the darkness of a rocky alcove, tears streaming down my face. I crumble to the ground, crying out from the excruciating pain. The blackness of unconsciousness tugs at the edges of my vision, before pulling me under.