LYSSANDRA

  ‘’Is something wrong?’’The voice asked.

  What could I say to her? What kind of a lie shall I craft to escape from her?

  There was no need to speak as the strange man’s shouts were coming closer.

  That made the woman take one more look at me with a wedding dress and imagine what it could possibly mean.

  ‘’Come with me dear’’She whispered and held my hand tight, making me follow her. As deep as we went inside the cave, the further his shouts went. Until there was nothing left.

  The woman did not speak either while we were both running for our supposed lives. After a few minutes though, we were at the bright side of the cave. The stones were created centuries ago in a wide dome, dressed in bright blue stones like stars. At the wet ground there were some old clothes lying around as roots of old trees.

  The woman let me go and she kept walking to a hidden place where there was a strange smell alluring me to go closer.

  ‘’The soup is almost ready if you are hungry.’’She announced and turned to take another look at me.’’You look hungry.’’

  I did not speak as the woman walked back to her corner.

  ‘’Speak up girl, I don’t have enough meat for an army’’A harsh laugh.

  ‘’Thank you, my lady.’’My voice shook and my steps began to approach her. My eye turned around and I could see a big flock of sheep that were wearing bright yellow wool, sleeping tight to an old tree.

  My fingers tried to touch one of their fascinating wool until the woman spoke up.

  ‘’If it’s gold you are after…’’

  ‘’Gold?’’ I gasped and looked at her mixing some vegetables in her flaming pot. Was she talking about their coat? Did that mean…But that was a myth. It couldn’t be…

  Maybe I shall take some part of it I could make a good profit. But the woman would probably curse me so I suppose it would be a failure/

  ‘’Standing there is no use’’She held a knife and moved her head at my side. Then, she jerked it to the left.’’There is a rabbit there, go fetch it.’’

  Such coldness. But she gave me shelter and helped me. Giving her the prepared rabbit was enough payment.

  Or so I thought. Because the rabbit was not dead. The rabbit was skinned naked, blood falling from its flesh, shaking and crying as its small limbs were tied all together.

  My stomach began to get tied up into a firm knot.

  ‘’Is something wrong? It’s not dead yet is it?’’ She sounded so encouraged that she wanted the rabbit to stay alive.

  My heart sank with my skin feeling the cold sweat flowing down my spine. Was this some kind of test? To show her that I could do that? Never mind. I grabbed the shaking rabbit in both of my hands and walked back to the woman. She seemed surprised that I did what she asked for. Her fingers played with the knife and she took the rabbit and hung it between two branches near the fire, forcing me to watch it getting cooked and listen to every last of its screams. Everything inside my stomach was about to get out. No, not yet. Keep calm.

  The woman looked even more surprised at that part

  ‘’Why are you here young bride?’’She asked me while she kept cooking the broth above the trembling animal.

  ‘’I was running away from my groom’’I lied.

  The woman’s eyes opened wide and let out a pout. That looked strangely familiar.

  There was silence for a while until the soup was ready and the woman placed the soup and parts of the rabbit in two old bowls.

  I was about to dig in and yet the woman decided to speak of how she hunted the rabbit down. How much it tried to escape, the supposed lovely screams it let out.

  ‘’I managed to catch a few of the little ones it had near but they died so easily.’’

  Another challenge? The sad story of food wouldn’t stop me from eating. I was already about to die so I did not care enough about the tragic stories of rabbits. My tongue began to turn numb as I stopped smelling a few minutes ago. Well, here it goes. I ate the entire broth with the chewing rabbit as the woman kept looking at me with a narrowed brow.

  ‘’What’s the matter my lady?’’

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The woman shook her head and took a better look at me.’’Your face…what happened to it?’’

  Well, that was a question that I did not like the answer to.

  ‘’An accident.’’I lied.

  The woman did not seem to believe it.’’Shame’’ She took a bite of the rabbit by holding it with her fingers.’’You would have been such a beauty without it.’’

  I did not comment on her cruel compliment and tried to avoid any other conversation.

  ‘’My son would have fallen in love with you.’’

  Oh. My curiosity fell to her.

  ‘’You are a mother?’’

  She let out an old frown.’’Two children. Twins’’A wide smile.’’One wild girl, oh she might like you too, loves to make friends like you…’’

  Wondered how much of what she was saying was true. Based on the way she was living she did not seem the warm motherly type. Then again, I never met my mother or father. How should I know right or wrong? And my parental types were not right-minded either. I can remember the arch priest of Apollo trying to pray my monthly flood away. Or the arch-priest of Ares who thought I would be the right sacrifice. Maybe she was a great mother.

  ‘’But the other one’’He smile faded.’’He loves too much and gets rather peculiar when people leave him.’’

  Was that the same man who she said that would have fallen for me?

  ‘’Maybe it was my fault but tell me’’Her hands grasped my wrists.’’What would you have done if you had to choose between one of your children?’’

  Did she have to choose between those twins? Seemed that she chose the girl. I wouldn’t be surprised if the boy turned overprotective. Another challenge? What could she want from me? What should I say?

  ‘’How could I not choose when his eyes looked like his father’s?’’Another shook.

  So that was it?

  I imagined that boy wearing a face that belonged to a cruel man. maybe he hurt her, maybe he left her and punished her. The boy had to wear that face for years until everyone was expecting him to be the same as his father. Until he might become like him. Was that what he would want? Was that his mother’s wishes?

  ‘’Love him.’’I whispered as an answer.’’What if your daughter had eyes like the father’s?’’

  The woman’s eyes fell to mine and I could tell she was ready to cry. But instead, she formed a smile.

  ‘’People lie about you, Lyssandra.’’She said and walked far from me.

  My heart dropped from the realization but when I tried to speak there was no voice. Turning back to my bowl, I slowly realized what she did.

  ‘’How do you…’’My throat was closing.

  ‘’Know your name?’’She laughed and she took out of the tree two pieces of rope.

  ‘’Who do you think your mother prayed to when she was giving birth?’’

  What?

  ‘’She had beautiful emerald eyes’’She moved to my side and grasped my hands, tying them together tight with the rope. I could not fight. I could not move.

  ‘’A shame that you took only her eyes. Everything else is a spitting image of the man who tricked her.’’

  ‘’They..’’ I remembered the priest’s words.

  ‘’Oh, he promised her the stars and the sun’’She moved at my ankles.’’Until her womb was all round and you were almost out to the light.’’ She lifted her jaw and and looked at the bright light of the cave.''No wonder she walked away after that.''

  ‘’I don’t care.’’I spat at her.’’Who are…’’

  ‘’I have seen countless women and thieves come the past few days. I gave them my hospitality, and I gave them challenges’’She closed her eyes as she cupped my face and with her other hand, she grabbed my poisonous arm so tight that made me scream out the last tone of my voice. I could not hold it anymore. All this pain brought me sorrow with tears beginning to fall right on my cheeks.

  ‘’You were the longest conversation I had in a while.’’Her lips parted with her face leaning to my ear.’’But he told me if I manage to kill you…’’

  A music sang to my ears and the woman wiped the tears off my face.

  ‘’He will give my children their titles and strength back.’’

  I left all my strength. Why did I trust her? Why? Was she working with the snake? Was she feeding people to it? Commanding it to attack people?

  ‘’What…’’I managed to ask her.’’Was it?’’

  Her brow arched. If I would die I just needed to know.

  ‘’You said.’’I coughed dry, giving all my strength to just talking.’’That you gave challenges…And I was the longest conversation…’’I let out one more cough, spitting blood to her cloak.’’What did I say and I failed?’’

  She opened her mouth and started laughing hysterically. What was wrong with that woman? It was not long when she let her black veil down, exposing a pair of long black wolf ears.

  ‘’You, whose mother ran, who never felt the cruelty of a lover’’She whispered back to my ear and her hand slid at my stomach, near my….’’Who will never experience what I experienced…’’A long pose and I felt that she was restraining her anger.’’Tried to give me advice.’’

  That was it? I did what she asked. Well, I could only assume how her son felt about her.

  ‘’I was not lying when I told you that my son would have fallen for you’’She kept whispering and her arms embraced me tight.

  She was insane.And I could feel my head going heavier. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep with the music accompanying me.

  ‘’This is why you shall die now.’’I looked above and found her holding her knife higher, ready to stab it at my eye.

  ‘’Leto?’’ A voice broke from behind and as I was about to see who was talking, everything became pitch black.