AUTHOR"S NOTE: FINALLY! I have posted again :D Enjoy the story. I won't say much here, but I'd like to thank Xemik for his helpful insights and for reading the drafts of this story. Yep. And you too, for reading.
It is the New Year. It is the end of misery, and the ghostly winds shall no longer howl. The trees of El Nath live no longer, but their seeds live on to take their place. It's a time of happiness.
But it is also a time when darkness creeps.
A man approaches the village. He wears a black, ragged cloak, and this conceals the sword he clutches underneath. His face is nothing but shadow.
Three guards by the entrance call to him, inviting him to drink. He ignores the guards. They don't mean it. He does not want them remembering him. He's going to kill a girl and then run. To where, he doesn't know.
In the town center, they have lit a fire. Adults sing and offer roasted chicken to their friends; children argue over marbles. He nearly smiles, until he remembers.
Nobody will ever offer the chicken to him.
He turns and descends down an alley. It is empty. Water trickles from a roof; a melody. The peace steels him. The water splatters against his shoulder, cold. He shivers, but nobody cares. Nobody will.
He sits, allowing the water to drench him. Where would he go after killing the girl? What would he do? He has nothing to live for but revenge. He has no home.
His determination wavers. Maybe he misunderstood them. Maybe they were repentant. Maybe he was the one who was wrong…
Maybe……
He raises his hand to the moonlight, but he knows it will not stay. He huddles against his cloak. His hate lingers.
Soon it is silent. Even the mice are going home. Peace has fallen over the village.
It is time.
He picks himself up. He wonders about the many possibilities, but even his heart refuses to listen.
He walks.
Soon, he sees the two-storey cottage. It's across a path. But he has one skill, his bond with the shadows. He calls it the Sight of the Dark.
He becomes one with the shadow, and moves.
He glances through the living room window. Father and daughter are throwing a ball at each other. The ball strikes the father's face, and he tumbles in mock fright.
They laugh, and the father tosses the ball back again. The mother enters the room, and put cookies on the table. They eat together. He is suddenly aware that he eats with only the walls for company. A tear falls from his eye, but he is oblivious.
Soon it is bedtime. He does not smile. The mother carries the daughter upstairs. He looks around and finds a tree. He climbs that, and jumps across to the balcony of the girl's room. He unsheathes the sword. The metal glows greedily in the moonlight.
The mother recites a story to the daughter. It is about a maiden overcoming her evil stepmother, and finding her knight in shining armor. It is ironic. He is like the maiden. He waits for the last obstacle to clear. He will soon overcome his enemies.
The mother puts the book down, and stands up to leave. His heart beats wildly; his hands shiver. He is wet and cold, and he knows only the voices in his head will reassure him. He places his hand on the balcony door to prepare himself.
The daughter pulls the mother back. She says that she is scared of the dark; afraid of the shadows that creep against the wall. The mother pats her daughter's head and tucks her in. She says that they'll always be there. The daughter nods. The mother bids goodnight, and leaves. The door is shut. The girl stares at it.
He pushes open his door. Something within his soul tells him to run. But his body will never obey again. The sword lies under the cloak.
The girl looks at him.
"Who are you?"
"The one you don't wish to see." He approaches. His feet kick a book, and it skids across the floor. Water drips from his cloak.
But the girl appears unafraid.
"Why won't I want to see you?"
"I am of Devil's descent." He tries to keep her calm. He wants to finish it off with one blow. But he himself is frightened. The voices tells him that her death would bring him calm, his enemy misery. Nothing else matters.
He obliges. There is no one else he can turn to.
"Devil's descent?" She looks intrigued. "Never mind. Wait – I think I might have something." She turns. He says a silent prayer to the heavens above. The girl fumbles somewhere under her blanket. He brandishes the sword but hesitates. The voices scream.
Coward.
It is time to prove his worth.
He raises the sword. One good strike. He waits. The girl has found something. She is turning. He aims for the neck, and gulps. He strikes as the girl says:
"Want one?"
There is shock. The sword slips and clatters against the floor. The girl doesn't notice. She offers a cookie towards him. He turns, but there are only their shadows.
"For me?" The voices scream, until it becomes painful.
"Yeah." She says and smiles. Is this a trap? He looks into her eyes. She merely looks curious.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Oh yeah…" She looks deep in thought. "Who are you?"
"Never mind." His hand stretches out, shivering. The voices scream. Certainly the parents would burst into the room at any moment, and they would raise their crossbow and shoot him through the heart...
But he takes it. The thing in his hand looks so delicate. He stares at it, and turns to the girl.
"You look sort of… sad." Her face frowns. She's strangely bold.
"It's nothing." He wipes his face. There are tears, and they feel strange. Something is he has long forgotten has resurfaced in his heart. It suddenly feels warm. "But I don't have anything to give you... except the sword."
He fears her disappointment.
"Never mind." She shrugs, and bites into a cookie herself. "You should eat it now, when it's still warm."
"I'll eat it later." Something has chased away the voices that haunted his soul. But he cannot tell what.
He takes the sword. He steps out onto the balcony.
"Thank you."
The girl shrugs. "It's nothing, you know."
But it is not. The hatred now seems so distant. He bids her goodbye, and leaps off the balcony into a quiet, strange peace he has never known.