I tried to move closer, but my feet refused to obey—rooted to the ground like I’d stepped in tar. My body was frozen, every muscle locked tight… except my damn traitor of a mouth.
"I love you, Red."
The words slipped out before I could choke them back. Stupid. Reckless. But there it was—the truth, laid bare for this strange, impossible girl.
Fortnight back, I was just some random guy, another gutter rat in Meridon, scraping by on stolen coins and dumb luck. There’s no honest living here, but I had rules: Don’t steal from the desperate. Stick to the rich bastards who won’t miss it. Life wasn’t some fairy tale. It was a knife’s edge, and you either moved fast or bled out.
That’s why I was on the rooftops that day—practicing flips and dives for the new band of thieves I was enlisted. Then something blurred past me. "Just the wind" I thought, until hunters came crashing through the streets in a pursuit of whoever just whizzed past me. I never took it to heart. Chasing thieves is a daily routine in Meridon. But then a harsh rugged voice came from the commander of the hunters:
"Get me that witch!"
Now that got my attention.
Kill a king in Meridon, and they’ll sing your name between swigs of cheap ale. But a witch? Catch one of those, and you’re set for life.
So I ran.
I took the shortcuts only thieves and rats knew, cutting through alleys, leaping gaps—until I saw her.
No. Not her. It.
Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t human. The hunters had lost it, but I didn’t give up. A beast-witch? That’d fetch even double.
Branches lashed at its skin as it stumbled, thorns biting deep. A whimper cut the air, and I grinned. Maybe Gar finally had my back today.
Riches were so close I could taste them.
The beast dropped on the ground, curling up in its thick red overly grown hair. I could hear it screech in pain. Whimpering for help. I walked closer but steadily, for it could be a beastly trick and I didn't want to fall prey. I took a branch laying on the ground for defense as I walked closer to it at a gentle pace. "Wh--what are you?" I asked but the answer I got was a cry of pain. I knelt down close to it, my trembling hands reached for its hair and I moved it gently from its face. My jaw dropped when I saw it. Her skin was a striking shade of green, with piercing red eyes that were both terrifying and mesmerizing. But what truly set her apart was the intricate tattoo on her forehead—a design so unusual it seemed alive. At its center was a large, inky black circle, deep and void-like, as if it were a portal into another realm. From this dark core, delicate floral patterns unfurled like vines, weaving outward in elegant, twisting motions. The markings stretched down past her temples, branching like veins—only instead of blood, they carried blossoms, creeping all the way to the lobe of her ear. Every curve and swirl of the tattoo seemed to pulse with an eerie energy, as though it held secrets of its own. Her entire presence was strange, unsettling even—yet I had never seen anyone, human or beast, as hauntingly beautiful as her. "Who are you?" I asked, but her innocent eyes locked into mine and all I could see was the fear in her gaze. I heard the hunters scream come up again. I thought they had quit the chase but I guess no one would say no to a great fortune. She let out a painful screech, I looked back at her and saw why. I was so busy taking her features in that I didn't notice the arrow in her stomach. For once in my life I didn't know what to do. If the hunters saw me helping an outcast I would be hung in a pillory for a moon cycle without food or water, and that is their way of mercy.
"Help me" her voice managed to come out as a whisper bewitching my reasoning and without a second thought I carried her in my arms. My eyes wandered around the woods and it occurred to me that it would offer no shelter. A cave would have been just the best option but there was no cave in Meridon except at the outskirt and with this burden in my arms I knew that would be one hell of a task.
I took a step anyway__then the world lurched.
The air thickened, pressing against my skin like wet cloth. Shadows swallowed us whole. For a heartbeat I felt nothing __ just a dizzying rush of cold and dark. Then solid ground.
The cave materialized around us, it's wall slick with something that glowed faintly.
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