Revenge Is Bitter
Warning: The following scene might be a bit too graphic for some people. If you are put off by the contents of this nightmare, please skip to the next bold part.
The air reeked with the smell of death and smoke. The large fires were the only light, in the full moon sky. As I rose up to my feet, I wiped my mouth clean and spat. However this was not the usual taste-less saliva. This one tasted a little salty…and very metallic. It tasted like blood. But that is because it was blood.
Lying on the ground, was the now corpse of Garret. His lifeless eyes and mouth were wide open; his golden lunula had fallen of his stained robe and on his neck was a large, deep bite-mark of a wolf. Blood was pouring from it and staining the ground next to him. But I could not care less. It was the least he deserved after what he has done to me. What they have all done to me.
I turned away from the corpse, to admire the work of my wolves. We had attack the human town, on the cover of dark. With my abilities, spells and planning, they had never stood a chance. Now the town was covered in a thick fog, many of the houses and homes were in flames, the people were running in fear, screaming and doing whatever they could to defend themselves, and the wolves were running through the town, hunting down and slaughtering any human that would be unfortunate enough to end up in their way.
As I kept watching them, I could not help but smile. I had done it. I had avenged my people. The humans that had caused our extinction will soon be no more, and my people will finally rest in peace. Mother would be proud.
You may resume here:
"How could you do this Aisling?"
With that one sentence, any pride and joy I felt was instantly replaced with confusion and shock. The voice…could it be? Was it possible? NO, it could not be…could it? As I slowly turned to the source of the voice, my skin turned pale, my heart sank and my pupils shrunk. Standing there was my mother with a look of anger and hate.
"M-m-m-mother? I-is it really you?" I stuttered shocked, as small tears of joy started brimming in my eyes.
"Why did you do it Aisling? Why did slaughter innocent lives? None of them deserved it! Are you trying to become a monster?" Mother angrily shouted at me. Her voice and expression usually full of warmth and love were now full of anger and disappointment.
My heart shank to the bottom of my stomach, when I heard those words. They echoed endlessly through my mind, as any tears of joy I had turned into tears of pain. Gone was the sound of burning fire, the growling of the wolves and the cries of the human. Only the words of my mother of anger remained in my head.
My entire body trembled, as I slowly walked back sweat betting from my brow, as I stuttered in desperation: "B-b-b-b-but mother-." I was unable to finish, as I bumped into something behind me, causing me to fall. As I tried to get back up, I looked to see what it was and saw something that made my blood freeze…my father, with the same expression.
"I thought we thought you better than this! What kind of heartless beast would be cruel enough TO MASSACRE AN ENTIRE TOWN!?" He roared at me, with a glare that looked like his eyes had become fire.
"But-but I was doing it for you!" I pleaded in vain, as tears fell down my eyes.
"And do you really think, we would have wanted this?"
My skunked heart shattered and my blood turned into ice. I turned to the source once more, and saw my three best friends Ronan, Oisin and Nuala.
"How could you Aisling? You were better than this!"
"You are not the one, we used to be friends with!"
"You are a monster! Exactly like the Dark One!"
That last one shattered me. Shattered what little pride and happiness I had within me. "N-n-no! I am nothing like him!" I tried to convince myself, as I fell to my knees, my body trembling, my blood freezing and tears falling down my check.
"You have massacred a whole CIVILZATION! HUNDREDS OF INNOCENTS ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Father roared once more, unleashing every bit of his anger onto me.
"An to think I was proud of you. YOU ARE NO CHILD OF MINE! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE, THAN A HEARTLESS MONSTER!" Mother roared on, her tone matching that of my father.
"N-n-n-no! Please! I-I-I-I-I AM SORRY!" I wailed in pain and despair, as tear after tear fell down my checks.
"MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER!" My parents and friends were chatting, their tone never lighting, and full of hatred, anger and disappointment. As they kept chatting, I saw other Tuatha Dé Dananns walking from the fog and joined in, their voices identical of the others. The wind turned into a blizzard, the air became cold and a whole flock of ravens and crows flew from the sky, as if to join the chanting.
"PLEASE! I AM SORRY! I AM SO SORRY! I JUST-I WAS ALONE! I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO! I THOUGHT I WAS DOING THE RIGHT THING! I AM SORRY! I AM SORRY!" I cried in despair, as their shadows hung over me, like raven looking at dead flesh.
I shut my eyes and kept wailing for what felt like hours, until suddenly…the chanting stopped. I waited for them to return, but they never did. Now I was getting confused. Why had the chatting stopped? Were they taking pity on me? Were they ever there to begin with? Or had I just been seeing and hearing things, like when I was at my old home?
Wanting to find out what had happened, I slowly wiped my tears as I opened my eyes. And greeting me was…nothing. Not my mother, not my father, not my friends, not any of the Tuatha Dé Danann, not even the former human village or any of the wolves. Just empty darkness. I stood perfectly still for a few seconds, before I opened my mouth…and at that moment a light shined. I turned away light, until my eyes had adjusted…and there was none other than The Dark One, Crom Cruach. I screamed in absolute horror as I tried to get away, until I noticed that I could not move my arms or feet. They were all wrapped up in Crom's tounges. As I struggled to get free, I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker, until eventually I gave up.
Crom Cruach chuckled at this and spoke something that once again turned my blood into ice, shattered my heart, ate my voice and ripped apart whatever happiness l had: "Congratulations Aisling. You have become a monster…just like me." Before I could fully react he opened his mouth and lounged at me.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! I screamed in horror, as I bolted awake. After a few seconds recovering, I slowly began to take deep breaths, as I looked around my surroundings. I appeared to be inside a small cave of shorts. There was sweat on my forehead and brow. As I wiped them off, I realized there was something near my eyes. Something was equally salty, but different. Almost like…tears. That was when I remembered yesterday's events. How I had woken up, by the dead body of my mother, digging her grave, digging my the grave of my father, getting him back from my old home, digging the graves of my friends and all of the visions and voices I had seen and heard, which had caused me run away crying, begging my mother for help and hide away in this hole.
As the memories returned, I sighed sadly, fighting back any tears I had, as I thought about what I should do now. I wanted to go back to my home, and get the rest of my people, but then the voices would return, and haunt me. I would not be able to take them for long. But I could not just leave my fallen people. They deserved a funeral, and I would give one to them. I had to do something. If is kept on at the same pace as yesterday, it would take me years before I would be finished. And no matter what, the voices and visions would no doubt only make things worse. No matter how hard I tried to ignore them, they were too painful and too many. But I had to do it. I had to finish what I have started. But how could, I when I would constantly be attacked, by the visions and voices of my people?
I groaned in annoyance and pain, as I struggled to figure out what to do. Finally I sighed in defeat, and decided to go for a walk. Hopefully it would help me. I slowly got out of the hole and went outside. It was a nice day. The weather was nice and warm, the sun was shining brightly and plants were looking very lovely today. But no matter how beautiful it was it did not do much to help my mood. I sighed once again and kept on walking.
As I walked through the forest, I could see that many of the animals I passed by looked at me, with concerned and sad expressions. But I mostly ignored them, as I kept on walking. I was not in the mood, to play with them right now. It was not, until I heard a very familiar sounding whimper that I bothered to pay attention. I turned to the source, and there was the little wolf pup, walking slowly through the forest, with his head hanging low and a sad expression on its muzzle. This made me concerned. While the animals all seemed a bit sad today, the pup seemed different.
As I slowly approach it, the ears of the pup ears twitch, having no doubt heard me. The pup slowly turned to face me, and I gave him the best attempt of a smile, I could make right now. The pup simply hanged his head back down, and kept on walking as if he never saw me. Now I was getting concerned. As I slowly approached the pup, I crouched down to his size and gently, yet concernedly asked it: "What is wrong little one? Did something bad happen?"
The pup stopped in his tracks, and slowly nodded and let out a sad whimper. "What is it little one?" I asked. The pup did not answer, and simply turned his head away from me. "Please tell me. I want to help you, but I need to know what is wrong. I know it must hurt, but please…for me," I asked once more, in a concerned motherly tone.
At first the pup did not respond, but then he slowly turned back and began to walk into the forest. I followed him closely. As we walked through the familiar looking tress, bushes and lakes, I realized that he was leading me to his cave. Now I was getting more concerned. Had something happened to its family? What was it? When we finally reached the cave, I saw the answer. My heart dropped, my pupils shrank and my blood turned cold when I saw, what has happened.
Outside the cave, a few small black furred wolf pups gathered around, a black-furred motionless wolf. Their mother. Their Dead mother. Her teeth were stained, as if she had bit something. She most have been trying to fend off, whatever had attacked her. There was an arrow stuck in her neck. She looked as if, she had been killed just yesterday.
I stood still for a few seconds, as if turned into a statue, before I finally and slowly walked towards the mother. The pup joined his siblings, and began to whimper in sadness. I reached toward the arrow to pull it out, but then a few of the pups turned to me, and started growling in defense. I pulled my hand back and turned to the pups, and motherly reassured them: "Do not worry. It is all right. I am not going to take her away." This calmed the pups down, as they returned to whimpering.
Slowly and gently, I pulled the arrow out of the neck of the mother and placed it down on the ground. I sighed sadly as I turned to the wolf mother. I choked back a small sub, as I gently stroked her fur. She did not deserve this. She was just trying to protect her children. She did not have to die. I heard a small whimper next to me. I turned and saw the wolf pup, looking at me with pleading eyes. Begging me to bring his mother back. Begging me to heal the wound, and give her life once more. It was not long before the others, joined their sibling. Struggling to fight back tears, I gently stroked his fur and with a sad and hopeless tone cried: "I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do. The wound is too deep, and she has already past on. There is nothing that can be done. I am sorry. I am so, so sorry."
The pups looked down in pain, and kept whimpering while nuzzling the body of their mother. I sniffed sadly, as small tears started to form from. Seeing children having their mother taken away from them, at such a young age was just heartbreaking. Who would do such a heartless thing?
I wiped away the tears, as I picked up the arrow and inspected it. It did not look like a Tuatha Dé Danann arrow. It was smaller, lighter and the arrowhead was not as sharp. Not to mention, my people were dead. It did not take long to realize, what had been responsible. Humans.
Those cruel, heartless, savage MONSTERS! First they unleashed the Dark One upon us and NOW they were hunting down innocent wild lives? HOW DARE THEY! I would make them regret EVER entering our lands! I WOULD make them PAY! Starting with the ONE, who MURDERED the MOTHER!
I snapped the arrow in half. In my anger, I forgot all about the visions and the voices, all about yesterday, I even forget all about the dream. My mind was clouded with hate, and screaming for one simple thing. Vengeance.
That is, until a whimper of fear and concern entered through my ear. I quickly calmed down, and turned to the source. The pups were looking at me with concern. I pushed all anger aside for the moment, as I realized I was thinking about this, right now. I turned to the pups, and gave each one a small hug before sadly condoling: "I am so sorry for your loss little ones. If there was anything I could do, I would. But I am afraid this is beyond my control. I swear I will do whatever I can, to make sure nothing ever happens to you."
I spent the next minutes comforting the pups, before I decided to get back to business. I was going to find the human responsible, and make sure he paid dearly for what he had done. But what about the pups? I could not simply leave them here, all on their own. A wild animal or another human would no doubt kill them. They needed a guardian to protect them, while I was away. Perhaps there was a wolf pack nearby that I would be kind enough to take care of the pups, while I was gone.
I went to the pups, and caringly told them: "All right little ones, listen carefully. I will be gone for an hour or so, in a while. But first I am going to find you, someone to take care of you while I am gone, All right?" The pups nodded. I turned into my wolf form, and howled out for communication. It had been the first time I had actually howled, and I hoped that it was loud and clear enough to be heard. I waited for a few minutes, and at first it seemed as if no one had heard me. Then as I was about to try again, I heard several pawed creatures running towards the pups and I. I turned to the source, and saw a large pack of black furred wolves running towards me.
As they reached us, I turned back into my Tuatha Dé Danann form. Almost instantly, they halted in their tacks and stood up talk like soldiers. I smiled at their loyalty, before clearing my throat. "Greetings noble wolves of the forest," I greeted them sternly, but still with the same kindness and respect I would show to a fellow Tuatha Dé Danann. "I have summoned you, for I seek your services. Firstly, I need someone from your pack, to look after a few puppies while I am away. Their mother has been killed, and I do not know the whereabouts of their father. If any of you, would be kind enough to care of them, I will be very grateful."
It did not take long, before a tall, black furred, female wolf stepped forward and sat down before me. I crouched down, so we could look each other eye to eye, and caringly asked: "Can you promise to make sure, that no harm comes to these pups while I am away?" The wolf nodded, with a look that showed neither ill intensions nor malice. I smiled once more, and rose up. "Very well them, I leave them in your care."
As she walked towards the pups, I turned to them and gave them a reassuring smile, to tell them that everything was going to be fine. I then turned my attention back to the rest of the pack, and resumed with the same voice as before: "Now, I would like to ask for your help in a small matter. I need to find the one, responsible for the death of the mother and I would like to ask for your help, in finding him. Will you assist me?" The wolves did not respond, but as I looked into their eyes, I could see that they were willing to help me out.
I smiled and thanked them: "Thank you. Now hopefully the scent is still on the arrow. If we find the human with the same scent, we will most likely find the one responsible." With that, I turned into my wolf form, and went over to the arrow and sniffed at it until I managed to pick up the scent. As I began to look for the one responsible, the other wolves went over to take their own sniff at the arrow. "If you find the one with this scent, howl," I told them, before leaving.
I ran through the forest, past any tree, bush, lake or animal that got in the way. I only stopped occasionally, to try and locate the scent. If I found a lead, I would begin searching in that direction. I searched for minutes upon minutes, but was still unable to locate the scent. I was almost about to try looking in a different location, when I smelled something. I sniffed a few times to make sure it was the scent, before running towards where the scent was coming from. As I ran through the forest, the scent grew stronger and stronger until I finally stopped.
I hid behind a large bush, as I inspected my target. Just a few feet from here, there was a simple, male, human, picking a few apples from a tree. He had a slim build, blond hair and was wearing brown ropes. In his one arm he had a small basket, and on his back was a bow and a quiver of arrows. I sniffed quietly, and sure enough the scent was coming from him. My eyes narrowed in anger, as I dug my claws into the earth. 'It is him,' I thought as I growled; low enough so that he would not hear me.
I knew I should have called my wolves, to help me, but I did not want them to interfere. I wanted to do this myself. I turn back into a Tuatha Dé Danann, and carefully maneuvered away from the bush and towards the tress, making sure the human did not see me. Once there I used one of my mist spells, and created a small fog around the trees, to obscure myself from him. As the human placed the last apple onto his basket, I quickly hid before he could see me. "Huh, that is strange. I know this fog was not here earlier," he mumbled to himself, as I slowly got out of hiding. I turned into my wolf from, and slowly stalked him.
Snap
A twig snapped not far from the man. Acting quickly, he placed the basket down, and drew his bow and an arrow and pointed it towards the source of the sound. "Who is there?" he asked defensively. I continued to stalk towards him. Now that he was distracted, I could get a got shot at him. When I was close enough to him, I got ready to pouch. I stood low to the ground, readied my claws and bared my teeth. I was just about to attack, when suddenly-
"Papa!"
Out of the fog, came a little human girl running towards the human. Upon seeing her, the man put down the bow and crouched down the height of the girl. I just stood still and watched the scene unfold. "Maire, I told you to stay in the village where it is safe," the man scolded his girl, displeased with her.
"I know papa, but I was worried about you. I wanted to see, if you were all right," "Maire" responded; with worry in her voice.
"I told you dear, I will be fine. There is nothing to worry about," The father reassured his daughter, as he gently brushed her hair. His face lighted, as he placed his left hand on her shoulder and asked: "Is the arm doing fine?"
Maire nodded: "Yes papa, it is already stopped bleeding." She then lifted up her left arm, which was wrapped in a white material. But what caught my attention, where what were on the material. A few red blood spots, in the shape of…the bite mark of a wolf.
My eyes widened in shock, at the sight. And then I remembered, that the mother wolf's teeth were stained, as if she had bitten something. At the time I thought she had bitten the man, because he had attacked her. But as I looked at the man, I could not find any bite marks, or injuries on his body, only the daughter. My heart dropped, as I realized what had actually happened. Maire must have wondered off into the forest, and come across the wolf cave. The mother attacked Marie to defend her pups, and the man in turn shot the mother to protect his daughter. Not out of cold blood.
I watched as the man chuckled well naturedly, as he rose up and placed his bow and arrow back into place. He then picked up the basket with his right arm, and held his daughters good hand in his left hand. He turned to her and said: "Come on Maire, let us go home," before the two of them left.
I just looked at them in complete silence, until they disappeared from sight. I did not move a muscle, as I thought of what had transpired. It was then, that I realized something. Ever since the faithful day when I lost my people, I became convinced that humans were nothing but evil monsters that only cared about them-selves and to get whatever they desired, no matter the cost. But now…this changed everything. Now there was no longer any black and white as I thought, back then. I remembered, what I used to think about them. That human were not all evil. Some were, but many others were not. They had their own morals and ideals, just like the Tuatha Dé Danann. Heck some of the followers of Julian did not seem too evil. They most have simply needed help. The rest of the humans that were not with Julian had not, even done anything too evil thus far. The humans were not all monsters. I remembered first seeing them come to our lands, and seeing how hopeless they were. I remembered father telling me about the humans, during the summit break. I remembered first seeing them in person. I remembered Garret trying to talk Julian out, of his madness. And I remembered the nightmare I had last night. How could I have been so stupid, as to forget about everything good about the humans and how I used to know better, than to judge them, and simply think of revenge.
Before I could think further, I heard the sound of running not far from where I was standing. I went to see what it was, and saw the wolf pack running in the direction, the father and daughter had left off to. They most have picked up their scent, and were going off to kill them. I could not let that happen. As they ran past me, I stood up and howled for their attention. They stopped running, and immediately turned towards me. As I turned back into my Tuatha Dé Danann form, I went over to them and ordered: "I am afraid we are now longer chasing that man. In fact from now on, none of you are allowed to kill any human, without my permission. But I am afraid, I still need you for something else. If you could, I would like you to go to the other wolf packs, and tell them to meet me close by the cave where I summoned you. I have something I would like, to tell them, as well as you."
Hours Later By The Cave
I gently stroked the fur of the pups as we stood quietly by the grave. I had taken the liberty, to dig up a grave for the mother, not far from the cave. As I heard one of the puppies whimper, I gave it a sad smile and motherly reassured it: "Do not worry, she is in a better place now."
The puppy nodded in response and went inside the cave for the night, its siblings following soon after. After I made sure, they were sleeping; I got up and walked towards a rock not far the cave. Sitting nearby were several black furred wolves, awaiting me. I got on top of the rock, and faced them. I cleared my throat and began: "All right, I am sure you are all wondering why I have summoned you. Well it is because I have something I would like your help with. As I am sure many of you are aware, the Dark One was released not too long ago. In his rampage, he has not only taken some of the humans…but he has also taken my parents and my people. I…I am the last Tuatha Dé Danann," I began quietly, as I fought back the tears. Even now it still hurt, and I could tell from a few of wolves' whimpers and sad expression, that they no doubt missed them too.
After a few seconds of silence, I finally recovered and resumed: "And this is why I need your help. It is now my duty to protect this forest, from any attackers or things that mean it harm. However, I fear that I may be unable to do this on my own. I need help. And thus I turn to you, noble wolves of the forest. I want you to help me protect this forest. To keep it safe and peaceful for not only us, but also all creatures that dwell in it. I know many of you might not want to help me, and if that is the case I understand and will not stop you. You are free to resume your own duties, if you so desire. But I would be eternally grateful and happy, if any of you would be kind, loyal and caring enough to help me, like many of your ancestors, have done in the past. I do not know if I will ever be able to fully reward you, but I shall try my very best. If you wish to help me protect the forest, and are willing to let me lead the way, I ask only for your loyalty and that you howl to show it."
About two seconds after I had finished, a few wolves began to howl…followed by a few more…and a few more…until eventually every wolf nearby howled into the night, in a large choir of song. As I watched the display, I could not help but join them in their howling. It lasted for a few more seconds, before they finally stopped. I smiled, as I leapt down from the rock, and with much affection and care thanked them: "I cannot thank anyone of you enough, for your kindness and devotion. I promise that I will care for each and every one of you as if you were my own, and do whatever I can to repay you. Now I want you to go back home and get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow. I will howl for you, if I need your help."
With that the wolves turned, and went back to their dens. I smiled and went over to a thick tree. I climbed up, until I reached a thick branch. I gently laid down on it, made myself comfortable and slept. Tomorrow was indeed going to be, a big day.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I. AM. BACK! Yeah, I'm sorry for not doing much writing. I've been busy with Schoolwork and the like. Not to mention transferring to new country. I will say though, that because of my new school, I'm going to post one more chapter and then I'm going to put the story on Hiatus. The next chapter will be up later this year. When? I don't really know, but I will try to get it out, before December. Until then I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I will see you all later.