Disclaimer: I do not own Spice and Wolf or any of its characters.
Lawrence awoke the next morning with a big red bruise on his left check, which was given to him by his favorite wolf goddess.
"That was totally uncalled for, I wasn't in the wrong." Lawrence rubbed his sore cheek, while Horo sat beside him with her hands and legs crossed.
"What do you mean you did nothing wrong, you assaulted me while I was asleep." Horo argued, turned her head away from him, and refused to look at him.
"You fell asleep in my arms, after you came back all bruised last night. I tried to wake up you, but you slept like a log." Lawrence argued back, but it was clear that the person needed to hear this is most was apparently not listening.
"I did no such thing!" Horo denied all reasoning Lawrence offered. However, Lawrence could see a slight red blush on her cheeks. In the back of his mind, he thought it was a cute reaction from her.
"All right, it's my fault, I'm in the wrong." Lawrence can see that her stubbornness was still a natural trait of hers. He didn't mind giving up this argument with her, since he had already seen Horo's cute blush.
"I do not like the sarcastic tone in your voice. Here, let me break it down for you, so you will understand where you are wrong."Horo turned her body in his direction. Her tail swept the floor as it did so.
"One, where are you right now?" Horo asked.
"In a shrine…I guess?" Although there was nothing in this room, it looked more like an empty unused storage room. However, he knows it was the place Horo currently lives, and where the townspeople worshipped her.
"Right, and who owns this shrine?" Horo asked another obvious question. In hindsight, he realized he was being toyed with. It was always ended up with him being toyed in arguments with her, regardless of what time period he was in.
"You do." Lawrence answered in the most unenthusiastic tone as possible.
"And who decided to sleep here without asking my permission." Horo continued.
"You said I could spend the night here when we met." Lawrence retorted.
"Yes, and I meant only for that night. Horo put extra emphasis on her last two words. Lawrence knew where this was going, and decided to end it before he got mocked even more.
"All right, I already said I'm sorry. Wait, I see now, you want some kind of compensation right?
Horo smiled widely, revealing her fangs.
"You catch on quite quick." Horo replied slyly with her tail wagging back and forth.
"So what do you want me to do?" Lawrence asked, preparing himself for some monotonous task.
"If you are going to spend more time in the village, I want to find a place to stay in the village besides here." Horo said swiftly
"That's all? You don't want me here?" Lawrence's eyes dropped disappointedly. He was hoping he could spend more time with her.
"A human like you should spend your time with other human beings, instead of a wolf like me. Your place does not belong here, and you should leave. Staying with me will not get you any reward or fortune in future. " Horo replied with a smiled, which seemed to be a wistful smile at the same time.
"But I don't mind staying with you." Lawrence quickly rejected Horo's notion.
"Okay you fool. I tried to put it in a nice way, so your feelings would not get hurt. However, quite realistically, I want you gone. You are annoying, and I hate that you are living in my shrine like it was your house. And worse of all, you stink and I cannot stand your smell." Horo responded bitterly, and Lawrence felt that he had been shot several times in the heart.
In the same time, he felt the silver thread in his wrist tighten, which hurt his wrist. He covered his writ with his other hand to numb the pain.
" Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Horo asked out of concern when she saw that Lawrence covered his wrist with his hand.
"I'm fine." Lawrence replied. Compared to the heartache he is experiencing, this kind of mild pain was nothing.
"Go to the village, and get someone to look at it." Horo commanded with a voice that wanted him to leave immediately
Horo quickly pushed Lawrence through the shrine door. He felt something bumped against his back, and followed by a short yell from someone behind him.
Horo stopped pushing him, and Lawrence quickly turned his body to see that he knocked a man of the stairs behind him. The man lay on the ground, and rubbed his head after being knocked off the small shrine stairs.
Lawrence jumped down and offered his hand to help the man get up. He was dressed in black robes, and a linen rope belt was tied around his waist. His blonde hair was cleanly cut to suit a gentleman, and his hands were smooth and clean. He was obviously not someone from the working class such as the farmers on fields. Upon appearance, this was no your average villager and he probably belonged to some family from a noble class.
The man grabbed Lawrence's hand and quickly got up. He looked at Lawrence closely. Lawrence can tell he wasn't expecting him to here, and was trying to deduct his identity.
"Oh great, you're back." Horo said from the shrine doors. Lawrence assumed that the two know each other, and guessed that he was someone with a seat of authority in the village. However, he had never seen anyone in the village dress with a robe and rope belt.
The man bushed off the leaves and grass on his robes. Lawrence saw he was carrying a thick black book in one of his hands, and was wearing a necklace with a very familiar religious symbol on it. The man quickly regained his composure, and shot a few short glances at him and Horo.
"Lady Horo, I wish to speak with you about some matters. Do you have time?" The man spoke casually yet with a strong tone. He must have done a lot of public speaking and social negotiation.
"That can wait till later. This fool needs a place to stay in the village; you can help him find a place I believe." Horo commanded like the man was her servant.
The man looked at Lawrence, and then turns his attention back to the girl in front of him.
"Yes, but we need talk." The man insisted.
"We can talk after you find him a place to stay. I am going to go sleep some more, I will see you in the afternoon." Horo went back in her shrine, leaving the two men awkwardly looking at each other.
"She is always doing things her way." The man placed this hand around the back of his beck and sighed. Somehow, Lawrence was able to understand the man's feelings.
"Please come this way, I will find you a place to lodge." The man said with a gentle as he addressed Lawrence.
Without much choice to anything other than to accept the man's offer, he signaled the man to lead the way. Traveling through the same trail they got here, Lawrence noticed that the man had a perplexed expression. It was one of those expressions when a man was deep in thought, and Lawrence felt the feeling that he probably had forgotten that he was walking behind him.
"Ahem." Lawrence alerted the man in front of him.
"I am truly grateful that you are helping to find a place stay, but it will be good to know who you are, so I can show my gratitude in proper."
The man perplexed expression instantly changed to a friendly one upon seeing Lawrence.
"Oh right sorry, how rude of me for not introducing myself. I am Father Benedictus; I am a missionary in the village. Well, sort of." The man voice trail off at the end.
A "sort of" missionary? Lawrence thought. Well, by the looks of his clothing, he probably would have guessed he was connected to some religious organization.
"Nice to meet you, Father Benedictus. I am Craft Lawrence, and you could that I am a traveler." Lawrence responded in kind. He somehow doubted that Benedictus was his actual name from birth, since the church required priests and missionaries to drop their original names and take up names after saints.
"What do you mean by a "sort of" missionary?
"Hmm… it is rather hard to explain." The robed man said as he rubbed his chin with his thumb.
"Well instead of explaining, would like to hear a prayer and the word of God while we are walking back to the village." The man happily suggested.
"I prefer that we not." Lawrence tried to sound unoffending.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped. Besides not everyone would like to listen to a single person ramble about some great being they have never met and lived so far back in the past." The missionary said in mockingly tone, as if it was to amuse himself.
That came out unexpected for Lawrence. The missionaries he had imagined and encountered through his travels in the north were full of religious zeal. They usually forced you to listen to their preaching, and when you declined the offer, it usually lead to force or underhanded tactics.
"This is what I meant when I am a "sort of" missionary. I spread the word of god, but I don't force people to abandon their old religious belief and convert to the church. If they convert, I welcome them with open hands. If they don't, it can't be helped I. I think if everyone is living happily and peaceful together, then that is good enough for me. That is what God really wants. Oh look, I'm rambling on again." Father Benedictus gazed over at the village that had just become visible.
Every time Benedictus looked at the village, it seemed like something was nagging him. Lawrence felt best not to question him on that subject because it would be inappropriate. However, the man's ideals were different from the other missionaries he encountered. Although somewhat idealistic, it had its own moral merit.
"I hope you don't say that in front of the church." Lawrence said.
"Ha, if I did, would I be standing here right now? If that did happen I would probably be hanged or stoned to death. And it is better that I avoid those two situation for my long term benefit.'
Lawrence agreed with a nod.
"Unfortunately, the church doesn't think like I do, especially with King Kerrenius as the current ruler of the southern Kingdom. That person seems to have an awkward obsession of wiping out everything that is not worshipping the same religion as him. I heard he had already carried out multiple crusades in other countries, and had conquered a few in the process. However, I advise you to keep your distance away from him if you want to see your future children. His administrative staff and even his own personal bodyguards changes from year to year, but no one knows where the old staff had gone. If you don't realize what I am talking about, then let me show you." Benedictus lifted his thumb to his chin, and traced his finger across his throat, and making an eeking sound while it does it.
"That holds true, unless of course, if you are a member of the church, in which they get along like peas in a pod." Benedictus continued in a somewhat ironic tone.
"You seem to have some deep grudges against the church." Lawrence added.
"Well, I wouldn't say I had grudges. However, the fact that the church is perfectly fine with the slaughter thousands of innocent civilians in the holy name of God sometimes scares me a bit. It makes me seem like the bad guy, I don't like being the bad guy, and God isn't a bad guy."
"You do know that if I am part of the church, you would have been in seriously trouble right? I could be someone secret investigator." Lawrence was feeling a bit awkward that the man in front of him was saying things that could easily get him killed. Also, members of a church disguising as villager in order check up on priest to make sure they are doing their job was not unheard of either.
"Well, if you are with the church then you have an ample amount opportunity to kill me. I mean, going missing in the forest, nobody would bother investigating that. Also, by the strange choice of clothing you are wearing, you didn't seem anyone religious. You also would not let the girl at the shrine live so easily." Benedictcus confidently stated.
"You're very observant; you would be a valuable ally to have in a business deal." Lawrence commented.
"One of the perks of my job, my friend." Benedicitus gleefully stated.
Lawrence didn't realize that had talked for so long, until he heard a villager call to Benedictus's name.
"Father, welcome back! How was your journey back to the capital?" The villager asked.
"I am tired, stressed, and frustrated, so the journey went well."
Soon a mass of villagers began to amass around Benedictus, asking him various sorts of things. The villagers seem to very friendly with him. Well, from his first impression of him, he seemed quite a likeable person.
"Thank you all of you for coming to greet me upon my return, but I need to get back to the church, I have a guest waiting. Beneditcus shouted out loud, and began to push his way through the crowd, and signaled Lawrence to follow.
"You seem very popular with the villagers." Lawrence commented. It reminded him about Horo.
"Yes, the villagers are very friendly, and the village is a peaceful place to live. I would like to preserve the peace for as long as I could. I had already seen too much bloodshed in the name of almighty God." Benedictus said in dark tone.
Lawrence had agreed to the father's notion. When he arrived, the villagers greeted him quite friendly as well. Usually when a he enters a new village, the villagers are often cautious of him, and avoided him if possible.
"Besides, this village is a bit special."
"What do you mean?" Lawrence asked intriguingly.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice the cute wolf girl living in the forest."
"Ah right, Horo."
"When she arrived a year or two ago carrying two small children, I was dumbfounded. I have never seen anything like her before. So do you want to know what the first I did?" Benedictus hinted with his eyes that he wanted a "yes" answer from him.
Lawrence gave him the answer he wanted, since he was so enthusiastic about it, and he was also curious.
"So the first thing I did was just walked straight up to her, and rubbed her ears. I mean how can anyone not resist not rubbing her ears? Just to feel if they are real of course. She punched me in the face in response. She may look small, but she can throw hard punches. However, in the end of the day, it was worth it." Benedictucs said with full of pride as if he had done something amazing for the world.
Lawrence o the other couldn't stop laughing just by imagining the scene. Soon the priest laughed, and the air was filled with laughter from the two men.
"I hadn't had a good laugh like that for awhile."
"Thank you, I am happy that my misfortunes are somewhat amusing you." Benedictus said sarcastically, but Lawrence just kept laughing.
"But after that, I think we are friends. She once described me as a chirping bird during a spring morning."
"Wow that seemed like a pretty good complimem…"
"Cheerful and annoying." Benedictus continued. "She said it would be nice to break the body of the chirping bird and have it for breakfast."
"Oh…well, at least she thought up a good metaphor for you. That got to count for something right?" Lawrence managed to say that one line out, despite the hurting from his rib for laughing so much.
"That is exactly what I thought, Lawrence. We kind of think alike. I can see that we will get along very well in the near future." Benedicts nodded his head, which only seemed to be agreeing to himself.
"By the way, I saw you in the shrine with her this morning. Do you know her by any chance?" Benedictus asked out of curiosity.
"We have met in the past." Lawrence answered, or would it have been more appropriate to say in the future he wondered.
"Is she still as abusive as she is in the past?" Benedictus asked.
Lawrence nodded solemnly.
"So, I see it is just not me then." Benedictus smiled cheerfully.
"She seemed to be a lot happier though, than the last time I had seen her." Lawrence thought maybe it was Benedictus' cheerfulness rubbing off on her. Ten years with this type of person would probably do that to you.
"Oh really, that is great. You should get happier when you grow up, and not the other way around."
"I agree, even though it is likely impossible." Lawrence commented.
"It wouldn't hurt to dream right?"
Benedictus seemed to know Horo very much. Maybe he was one of her good friends in the past. Or maybe it was something more than that.
"This might sound intrusive, and you don't have to answer it, but do you have any feelings towards Horo?" Lawrence asked.
"Towards Lady Horo? Besides the feeling of pain I get from her for hitting me every time I see her, I don't have any feelings beyond friendship. I am a missionary after all, a man of the lord, no women for me, I'm afraid. I treasure her like any other villager in the town, and nothing more." Benedictus stated.
"Why do you asked? Don't tell me you fancy her?" Benedictus eyes went wide.
"No, I don't really..."
"I can see it now. Benedictus interrupted. Two couple intertwined in love. However, I kind of wondering how would it work. The two of you are different species, if I believe I am correct. It will be funny to see how the children turn out. I will be cheering you on Lawrence. I will pray for your successful courtship."
Cheerful and annoying. He could now see what Horo meant by that. He bonked Benedictus on the head.
"Okay, maybe that went a little too far, but don't tell me you haven't once given that a thought."
Unable to completely deny the obligation, Lawrence remained silent.
The sound of galloping house came nearer. Directing his attention to the sound, Lawrence saw people on horseback riding towards their position.
The two horsemen came to a stop in front of them. There were both wearing iron plated armor, and a religious tabard in front of their chest. From their first impression, it seemed like there were knights sent by the church.
"Well, hello there brother, what are you doing in the village, I thought we had a settlement." Benedictus said with a tone of malice, while putting on a smile on his face.
The Horseman closest to Benedictus took off his helmet. His brown hair and eyes matched Benedictus, but his face was hardened by war, while Benedictus had the face of a noble. There were numerous scratches on his iron armor, which meant that he had fought in battle many times. And the dark scar between his left eye and nose further proves that.
"Hello there, brother. Don't worry; I'm just here to check the village the out. Full of filthy pagans like the reported suggested." The Horseman said with a smirk and spit on the ground.
"You will not harm these villagers, while I, a servant of god am here." Benedictus declared.
"Well, that is up to God and the villagers I suppose. Also, you should refer to me as Field Marshal Torez, since I am on duty."
"By the way, who is that guy? He dresses funny." The horseman asked.
Can I go for one day without someone commenting on how I look? Lawrence thought.
"He's just a friend, leave him alone." Benedictus warned.
"Hah, if he's your friend than that he can be anyone. You can be friends with everyone, even with these heathens."
"He is not a villager, just a traveller." Benedictus said with venom in his voice.
"Oh, a traveler. It's dangerous times to be traveling these lands. I'm surprised he is still alive. It would be wise for him to leave this village. Maybe get eaten by wild bears and wolves while we're at it." The Horseman laughed.
"If you don't have anything useful to say, I suggest you leave immediately, you are wasting my time.
"I say you are already wasted several years of your life with these filths. Just don't forget the deal we had."
Benedictus remained silent.
The Horseman signaled his guard, and they both galloped towards the end of the village.
"Well, it seems like the church is on your back big time." Lawrence noted
Benedictus still remained silent, and walked down the street. Taking the hint that he wasn't in talking mood anymore, Lawrence followed him in silence. The light hearted that once fill the air early has completely disappeared, and was replaced now by heavy atmosphere that could crush an elephant.
"Ah, sorry about that." Benedict was the first to break the dead still silence.
Lawrence wasn't sure why he is apologizing, but decided not to comment on the matter.
"He is a good man, despite his views on particular groups of people." Benedictus continued.
"I heard that you responded to him as your brother. Are you two related?" Lawrence asked.
"Yes, we both lost our parents when the pagans from the north launch a counter-offensive against King Terrenius' rule. War is like that. I kill your family, and they kill my family in revenge. It continues in an endless cycle of killing and sadness. That is why I will do whatever necessity to prevent war and battles that will cost innocent lives. War never determines who is right, only who is left." Benedicts said grimly.
"I assume you're older brother didn't feel the same way as you, considering he joined the army."
"Our views parted midway during the course our life. As orphans, we joined the army for food and money, so we could continue living. After many battles, I grew sick of war, and instead became a missionary. My brother, on the other hand, stayed with the army and became a field marshal. I can't blame him though, as I understand his reasons for going to war against the pagans." Benedictus stopped in front of a large hut.
"Sorry, before we go to the church, I need to make a small detour here. I apologize for making you wait, but I will return as quickly as possible."
"It's alright, I'll wait here." Lawrence hadn't had anything particular planned for the day, so it did not matter to him.
Benedictus knocked on the door, and was greeted by a fellow villager. The door unlocked and opened, and Benedictus went inside. Suddenly, Lawrence felt the atmosphere felt a lot quieter with Benedictus' absence, and only realized how much he enjoyed his company.
However, his brief moment of calm was disturbed when he heard two familiar childish voices.
"Oh hey, it's the fool!" Samuel shouted.
"Samuel, don't greet the man so impolitely." Josephine corrected her brother by elbowing him in the side.
The two children seemed to be carrying some tools, and were walking towards him.
"Hey there. What are you two up to?" Lawrence asked with a warm smile.
"We're taking some tools and supplies to the village elder." Josephine replied in a sweet voice.
"Oh alright, then I guess you should hurry and move along then." Lawrence replied. He admitted that he had little experience when dealing with children, since his life revolved about dealing with adults that might backstab him for money. Therefore, it would be his best interest to end this conversation as quickly as possible.
However, the two children just stood in front of him looking at him, and then each other.
"Um fool!" Josephine elbowed Samuel in his gut.
"I mean, sir! Could you like move aside so we can get through. You are blocking the way." Samuel stated.
Looking behind him, he realized that he was standing in the middle of a narrow trail that led to the hut backyard.
Oh, so this was the village elders hut. Lawrence smacked himself mentally, as he should had realized it a long time ago. The hut was bigger than any other hut in the village that he had seen.
Covering up his slight embarrassment in front of the children, Lawrence diligently moved to the side to let the children through.
Josephine and Samuel walked past him, and disappeared once they turned around a corner and entered the backyard.
Once again, it was silent for Lawrence.
Lawrence stretched his arms and yawned. Benedictus was taking longer than he had expected. Since he didn't have a way to tell how much time has passed, he estimated that at least an hour and passed. His muscles was sore from sitting in one position for help him confirmed that.
What is taking so long? Lawrence thought.
However, he immediately noticed that thought was akin to a thought from an impatient child, and corrected his thinking. Since he was talking to the village elder, he assumed it was something rather important, and thus the long wait.
Lawrence grabbed a nearby twig close to where he was sitting, and began to poke aimlessly and pointless at the ground. He hoped this will somehow fasten the passage of time, and give him something to distract his mind.
As he continued to poke the ground, two small shadows approached and cover the ground he was poking out of pointless amusement. Lawrence looked up and saw the two children again.
"What do you want?" Lawrence voice was monotone, representing how bored he was.
Josephine and Samuel stared at him.
"Why are you here? You have been sitting her for quite awhile." Josephine asked curiously.
"I'm waiting for someone, and don't you have something that you need to be doing." Lawrence asked with irritation in his voice.
"Nope, we finished all our chores." Samuel stated proudly.
"Well, I'm not really in the mood to play with you, so why don't you play by yourselves."
The two children looked at each other with a hint of disappointed. After that, both children laid on the ground, while Josephine was making some sort craft with whatever flowers she could find, while Samuel was busy picking fights with bugs.
Lawrence had only originally hope that they will play somewhere out of his sight. From a proud merchant, to a wandering traveler, and to a babysitter, Lawrence thought in defeat at how his professional status had degraded.
A few more moments had passed.
"You know this is feels really weird." Samuel whispered to Josephine.
"When we are with Horo, everything felt fun and relaxing. However, with this fool here, he seems really creepy." Samuel continued whispering to Josephine, but was loud enough for Lawrence to listen.
"I know right." Josephine agreed and they both looked at Lawrence, which is making an incredibly scary and frustrated face that gave off an evil aura.
"I mean look at how he is staring us. Doesn't it make you feel nervous?" Josephine nodded.
"I can hear what you're saying." Lawrence said eerily
'Ah, sorry!" The two children both said at the same time.
"Speaking of Horo, what do you children think of her?" Lawrence asked, thinking that he didn't know much of the children that Horo rescued.
"Kind? Protecting? Selfless? Cool? Awesome?" Josephine and Samuel continued to describe Horo in all sorts of wonderful and positive adjectives. Most of them were opposite in what he would use to describe Horo's personality, remembering all those times he was teased by her.
"She seems like the greatest person on the planet from yr description." Lawrence said dryly.
"Yes, and we feel kind of bad about it." Samuel said in a slightly regretful tone.
"She is always protecting us, and even found us a place to live. She took care of us when even though we didn't know each other when we first met. However, we never really did anything to repay or help in anyway. Even if we did, it would always turn in to a situation where she needs to help us get out of it." Josephine added on.
"Besides, I don't think she likes it here. She never said it out loud to us or anything, but we could feel it when we are with her. It feels that she is lonely, even though she often tries to hide it with her smile whenever she sees us. It was like she needed to be somewhere besides. We're afraid that she is only here because of us, and that we are keeping her here."
Lawrence was very surprised about the children's response. Maybe it was the fact that Horo saved them, and that they had spent a long time with her.
Lawrence heard the door open, and Benedictus walked out, or more likely stomped out. His face was full of fury, and his hands were curled tightly into a balled fist. Lawrence took a hint that his negotiation with the elder did not end well.
"Father Benedictus! I didn't know you had returned! Will you play with us?" Benedictus looked towards the children. His rage-ridden face he had a moment ago instantly vanished and was replaced by his old friendly warm smile. However, Lawrence still noticed that his hands were clutched into a fist.
"Hello Samuel and Josephine! Sorry, Father is very busy today, and needs to leave. But stay good alright." The two children smiled happily and went off on their own.
"Sorry, that took longer than I expected. I bet you waited a long time."
"It wasn't that long." Lawrence said, as he followed Benedictus once again to his church.
The church wasn't very far away from the elder's house. However, calling it a church would be stretching it. The church was just an ordinary hut found throughout the village. The only difference was that it had religious symbols hanging at the front door.
Benedictus led him inside, and offered him a seat in the living room.
"Yes, I know it's not much of church, but it serves its purpose well. Besides, not many, even one at all, comes to the church to pray." Benedictus looked at Lawrence's underwhelming face and commented.
"That's not what I meant. I was surprised to see that with the funds and favor the church has from the king, they would be able to build a decent church in any village."
"Well, I guess you're right." Benedictus sat down. He seemed to be tired or under a lot of stress, which gave Lawrence some concern.
"By the look on your face, you can tell that things aren't really going well for me." Benedictus looked at Lawrence concerned face and smiled.
"You need some help." Lawrence offered.
"Well, I do need some advice on what I should do next. As you can tell, the church is on back with torches in hand, and the village elder is a rather not so understanding person."
"So, I have come up with two plans. One plan would let me to the right thing, but then people will suffer. Or I can go with the other plan. It is not morally correct in my opinion, and it will cause some people to hate me, but less people will suffer. So Lawrence, which plan would you choose?"
Thinking it over in his head, Lawrence gave the first answer that came to his merchant mind.
"Well, if it were me, and that both choices will negatively impact me someone way, then I will choose the plan that minimizes my losses." Lawrence stated and thinking back to how he usually handle these dilemmas.
Benedictus sank in contemplation.
"I guess I was thinking of the same thing you did." Benedictus smiled at him.
"Thank you Lawrence for helping me. Well, I guess I better go then, you can make yourself at home here, and I'll see you later in the evening." Benedictus got up from his chair, and hastily headed for the door.
The silver string that was still attached to Lawrence pulled his arm towards Benedictus, and insisted that he followed him. Lawrence did not resist, since he also wanted to know what Benedictus' scheme was. After Benedictus closed the door, Lawrence headed out to the street tailing Benedictus. Lawrence used the surrounding houses and crowds to hide, so that he wouldn't be seen.
The wolf goddess lay resting against a tree resting in her favorites spot. She liked this spot because it provided a good view of the surrounding areas. The smoothing scent of wheat filled the air around her and a good breeze usually blew past here. The tree offered shade against the intense heat around the summer time. However, despite all of this, she couldn't relax, since she was feeling guilty for what she did this morning.
It wasn't that she wanted the fool to get out of her shrine; it was that she felt uncomfortable around him. She dropped her guard when he was around, which scared her because she didn't know why. She didn't mean to say those harsh words about him, but he wouldn't leave if she hadn't done so. He was kind, and a really nig softly, like a sheep. In her heart, she knew that she liked him, but afraid to get too attached because that usually led to heartache. Besides, he was a traveler, and that means his stay was only temporary and he would leave soon. It was better to not get too attached to momentary things.
Her little two companions did not join her today, which disappointed her. The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She slowly opened her ruby eyes in that general direction, thinking it was the two children. However, she only saw the annoying chirping bird walking up to her. Her ears droop. A day filled of disappointments for her, but she also needed to talk to him about something.
"Hello, Lady Horo. I figured you would be here in this time a day." Benedictus said in a voice that was too friendly for Hero." Benedictus' waved at her, as he walked up the small hill.
Horo also noticed the footsteps of one other person nearby, hiding in the wheat brushes. She decided to ignore him, since she did not really care about him or in the mood to reveal the person. Besides, she would be able to hear every move the hidden person performs.
"If I remember correctly, you came to my shrine earlier this morning and wanted to talk with me about something?" Horo asked Benedictus.
"Yes, it is something really important." Benedictus sat down beside her, and lay against the tree, keeping some distance between them.
"Let me guess. Has it to do with why an armed force from the king is setting up camp around the village?" Horo shot him piercing gaze.
"So you had noticed." Benedictus said.
"Yes, it is quite hard to miss the sound of people marching, when it is disturbing your sleep. It is also hard to miss the black smoke trails coming from their camp." Horo said sarcastically.
"I'm surprised you didn't tell anyone in the village about this."Benedictus turned around to see Horo redirected her eyes to her tail.
"I do not feel the need yet. I do not know of their true attention, but I had gone and did some scouting. They are not a major threat, but still pose some threat. I guess you are here to tell me what their true intentions are." Horo eyes were still on her tail, but her ears are pointed towards Benedictus' direction.
"Well, you see…they are planning to purge the village tomorrow evening." Benedictus said, as Horo redirected her full attention to him.
"However, if the villager agreed to convert to the church, then they would be spared." Benedictus continued.
"Oh, I see, and you're here because your talks did not end so well with the village elder." Horo continued on for him.
"I'm surprised you remained so calm, and didn't go and attack the arm force after hearing that."
"What's the point? If I attack and wipe them out, then they will just come back with more men. I can't fight an entire kingdom by myself. However, I will admit this is a troublesome situation." Horo said.
"Did you tell the elder to evacuate the village?" Horo asked."
"Impossible, they have already surrounded the village and set blockades up. Any villager that attempts to flee without a religious symbol proving their faith to the church, they will most likely get killed."
"Figures. You humans really like to kill each other over simple things." Horo weaved her tail back and forth across the ground.
"Well, I can wipe them all out, and allow the villagers to flee before they send in more men."
"They have hundreds of men stationed there, you can't kill them all. Besides, my..." Benedictus decided to close his mouth before saying that the force was commanded by his brother. He really did not want Horo to fight his brother.
"Well, it is either we kill them, or they kill us. I rather we kill them in my opinion. I do not enjoy killing people, so unless you have a better idea, I will be glad to hear it."
"Yes, I do have a better plan." Benedictus said.
Horo's ears twitched, and narrowed her eyes at Benedictus.
"Oh, so you have a plan that not even I, Horo, the great wise wolf, can come up with."
"Yes, the plan might not be right, but it is the best course for action. Also, I will need your cooperation."
"Right and wrong are all subjective views. When you think you are doing the right thing, it might seem wrong to other people. Therefore, it is always best to go for the best choice. If your plan is sound to my ears, I will lend you my full support."
Benedictus sat up, walked over to Horo, and gave her a hug.
"Thank you, Horo. You were one of my good friends, and I will definitely remember you and your sacrifice." Benedictus solemnly said.
"What are you talking…" Horo was interrupted when she felt something strange in her stomach.
She coughed, and red liquid came out of her mouth. She began to feel dizzy and her vision blurred. She kicked Benedictus off, and scrawled back away from him. The clothes on her torso were stained in red, and she could the dampness of her shirt spreading.
"So killing me was your grand plan? Some man of god you were, betraying people like that. Horo said weakly. Benedictus aimed straight for the vitals in a normal human body. She would be dead by now, but fortunately, her body is constructed slightly different than a normal human.
"Yes, if you were gone, then everyone would be saved. I didn't want to do this, but it was the best option available. " Benedictus walked towards her, preparing to go for the finishing blow.
"May god forgive me for what I am about to do, as I will gladly accept any punishment you may bestow upon this sin." Benedictus said sorrowfully with his face towards the sky above him. A silver stream of liquid streaked across his cheeks.
Before he dealt the finishing blow, he was tackled off the cliff. Benedictus rolled down the hill, disoriented, until he hit the flat ground on the base of the hill.
He picked himself back up, and he was tackled again, and tumbled acrossed the field with his attacked. Using his two feet, Benedictus managed to stop the tumbling, and knocked the attacker off him. He quickly stood up, and took a few steps back to gain some distance.
His attacker was someone he knew. The friend he made earlier today."
"Sorry Lawrence, I didn't want you to see that."
"Shut up! Why did you attack her!" Lawrence said in rage
"It was the best the choice I had."
"Don't give me that crap! How was that the best choice? Can't you just tell her to go talk the elder herself, and say that she won't protect the village?"
"Haha, didn't you think I already thought of that? If things were really that simple, than I wouldn't need to resort to underhanded measures. You don't understand anything about this village at all!" Benedictus said with tears streaming down his face.
"What do you mean?" Lawrence asked.
Benedictus followed the man into the elder's house, and walked toward the elder's room. The villager knocked on the door and opened it, directing Benedicitus to go in.
The elder's room was spacious with a round wooden table and chairs surrounding it. One the chairs were occupied by the elder, who was actually quite young to be the elder. He assumed that this was the room where village meeting were hosted after looking at the room layout. The elder looked to be around the age of 40. His hair was mostly black, but some grey hairs were starting to appear on the side. He had big and broad shoulders, as one would expect from the laboring life of a farmer.
"Welcome, Benedictus. What brings you here to my home today?" The elder greeted him.
Benedictus sat on the chair opposite of where the elder is sitting on the table.
"I have some very important things to discuss with you. Please take what I am about to say calmly. The church has sent an armed force to attack the village. However, if you and the villagers convert to the church and their beliefs, than they will halt the attack."
The elder just looked at him and laughed.
"I am serious here! They have already stationed around the village!" Benedictus yelled, seeing that the elder was not taking him seriously.
"So what?" The elder reply, as if thinking this not a big deal.
"What do you mean, so what? You are all going to be killed if you don't join the church." Benedictus was oddly confused and surprised at elder's reactions. It looked this was a simple problem that could be solved easily.
"Benedictus, with all due respect, you are a great man, and has help many of my people. However, you are telling me to abandon the beliefs and culture my precious ancestors spent their entire life to build. I just can't abandon all that."
"You can't be serious. You are going to let the entire village get burned and destroyed, so you hold on to your beliefs. When you are dead, those beliefs don't matter!"
"Who says my village is going to be destroyed?" The elder asked with a smirk on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"I have always prepared for a situation like this. Ever since the day King Kerrenius was crowned to the throne and the church gain power, I had prepared for this day. Unless you have forgotten, we have a certain deity looking overlooking this town." The elder stated.
Benedictus was completely baffled.
"And what makes you so confident that this deity will come help your extremely foolish cause to fight the church and king?"
"I have no reason to tell you, but let's just say I have my trump cards. Now, if you don't have anything else to say, then please leave."
"This is absurd, your foolishness and ignorance is going to cost hundreds of innocent lives."
Enough! Leave Benedictus." The elder roared.
Two villagers came into the room. Benedictus catching the hint, got up and left the room escorted by the two villagers. He was completely enraged at how the elder is responding to the situation. However, he was wondering where his confidence was coming from. How was he so sure that Horo will take up their side and fight for them? What trump cards is he talking about?
He walked out of the elder's hut and was instantly greeted with Samuel and Josephine cheerful and smiling faces.
"Father Benedictus! I didn't know you had returned! Will you play with us?" The two children asked, and then it came to in to his mind.
Of course! Horo, just how much did you sacrifice to get the elder to accept these children? Benedictus thought inside his head.
"You see now. She had no choice, but to take the elder side. What do you think will happen to Samuel and Josephine if she refuses to help them! Don't you find it was curious that Horo would do whatever the villagers ask of her? Now you do! The two children were basically hostages under the elder, and Horo was nothing but a slave to them."
"That still doesn't make it right!" Lawrence yelled.
"I know it wasn't right…I know it wasn't right! However, it was the best option available. Think about it, with Horo out of the equation, the village elder would have no choice but to surrender and join the church. The village would be spared and no villager will need to die. The life of one, for the lives of hundreds of people. Isn't that what you told me to do? To make the best choice?"
"You bastard!" Lawrence charged him at full speed with dagger in hand for making him feel guilty and responsible for this outcome.
Benedictus skillfully dodged his charged by twisting his body out of the way. Lawrence turned around to swing his dagger, which was blocked by Benedictus' own dagger. The priest pushed Lawrence attack back, and he took a few steps back to gain distance.
"I might look like a normal missionary, but I have gone through some combat practice and battles when I and my brother were still in the army. Taking me down will not be easy. Lawrence, you're a good man and my friend, I don't want to fight you. I need to return to the village as soon as possible and tell the elder. I want to keep casualties in minimum.
Lawrence charged at him. Benedictus skillfully evaded his attack, and used his knee to hit his hand that was holding the dagger, and thus disarming Lawrence. After that, Benedictus ran straight in to the wheat field, fleeing from battle.
Lawrence, breathed heavily decided not to give pursuit because he cannot track Benedictus through the wheat field.
Lawrence picked up his dagger from the ground, when ran straight up the hill as fast as he could.
To his surprised, Horo was gone, and all that is left are some blood marks on the grass and dirt, and a small trail of blood leading in to the golden wall of wheat. He tried to figure out what Horo next move was. She would probably not be able to move around freely or launch and assault at the camp with a bleeding wound. With no follow up plan in his mind, Lawrence decided to return the village to check out the situation. More than likely, Horo would eventually appear there.
Near the outskirt of the village, Commander Torez was busy checking the troops for the upcoming battle.
His routine check was interrupted when a church messenger on horseback came to him carrying a royal message. Torez signaled the messenger to read the letter out loud to him.
"A surprise enemy invasion force from the north had managed land on the southwestern cost. Under the absolute command of the king, King Kerrenius, and supported by the supreme recommendation of the Grand Church, Field Marshal Torez are to immediately complete its current given objectives. After that, you and your force will march west to the city of Rubinhagen in order to fortify the city and strengthen its defenses until reinforcements from the north arrived to repel the invading force." The messenger declared.
"Alright, I understand, you can go now." Torez said. It was unusual for the king to want him to purge this small village before marching to reinforce Rubinhagen. Normally, the king would cancel the current objective and made reinforcing Rubinhagen his top priority. Maybe it was because the King was scared of a revolution if pagan villages caught word that there is a pagan army marching towards the capital.
Calling his second in command over to him, Torrez gave his orders.
"Rally up the men and equipment. We are going to start the attack earlier than planned, which is this evening instead of tomorrow evening. I doubt those pagans will change their faith over night."
Within an hour, Torez solders gathered in the open field before him, as he was about to explain his battle strategy. Considering that the enemy he was facing did not have any experience in battle or tactics, Torez thought a simple diversionary tactic would do the job.
"When the battles begin, I want the siege ballistae to bombard the northern entrance of the village. This will divert their forces towards to north side of the village. When there forces are diverted I want the two cavalry regiment to charge through their defenses in the east, and breach until they are in the middle of town. Fan out and raid any household along the way, and regroup towards the northern outskirts of the town. After that, I want my three spearmen units and two archers units to take advantage of breach in their defense and confusion, and take control of the east side of town and secure the middle. After we have secured the middle, the spearmen will take up defensive positions, while the ballistics and archers will bombard their position in the northern part of town until they are dead. If anyone tries to flee to the north, the cavalry will intercept and kill off any stragglers. You all understand and men?
"Yes, Sir." The soliders shouted in unison
"Get into your position, and wait for the horn of battle."
An hour had passed, and the orange reddish sun began to set in the horizon.
"Alright, sound the horn", Torez commanded the soldier.
The horn sounded and traveled through the village. The first salvo of the ballistae was fired and streaked through the air. The battle had begun.
Lawrence interfering in the middle of that was definitely not part of Benedictus' plan. Neither was escaping through the densely packed wheat fields, which obscured his vision and took him far longer to return to the village than normal. In hindsight, the plan did not really go as planned, but at least the wolf deity should be too injured to fight. If he could convince the village elder of that, then his ultimate objective would be fulfilled. On the positive side, he still had one day left to convince the elder.
However, what awaited him back at the village was even more hindrances. The villagers had already fortified east and north entrance to the village to prepare for the upcoming and futile battle. Most of the defenders were pleasant farmers with no combat experience aside from hunting wildlife. Their weapons were all farming equipment, and they had no armor at all. Against an organized and supplied assault force with battle experience, they would be slaughtered in seconds. Benedictus must prevent that at all cost.
"Stop right there Benedictus, the elder has instructed us not to let any of church members to go inside the village." The village defender moved to block Benedictus from entering the village.
"You can't be serious. Has everyone in this village lost their mind?" Benedictus yelled in frustration.
"It is the elder's orders, and we are to obey." The defender said.
"Now please leave, Benedictus."
"I only need to talk the Elder one more time, please let me through," Benedictus tried to maneuver around the defender, but failed as more villagers gathered around him, and further boxed him in.
Benedictus continued to demand an assembly with the elder, while the villagers continued to refuse his offer. Meanwhile a whistling travelled through the air.
"Hey, what is that sound?" A nearby defender asked, which followed by a loud crashing sound at a distance, like a giant hammer hitting the ground.
Benedictus looked up at the sky above him in sheer terror, as he saw more black lines zipped through his vision, which was follow by sounds of houses crashing and people screaming to the north. Shortly, a panting villager came running towards the villager guardsman requesting help.
"The north side of town is under attack, we need more men to help defend it." Immediately, several guards left their posts and headed north, thinning out their defenses in the east.
Benedictus just stood still, dismayed, like if a man had lost all direction in his life.
"You, leave at once. Since the battle has started, we should have killed you because you are a member of the church. However, you are a good person and had done many great deeds for us and the village, so I suggest you leave or die." The villager's voice snapped Benedictus back into reality, and started laughing hysterically.
It's over, there is no turning back, and Benedictus knew it clearly in his mind. He started cursing his own brother for breaking their deal, and attacking the prematurely. He wondered that maybe this was his punishment from God for trying to strike down a friend. With these thoughts racing throughout his head, Benedictus could only laugh at the absurdity of it, and the pointlessness of his actions.
The village defender thought the man in front of him had gone insane. Using his large wooden pike, the villager knocked Benedictus to the ground and pointed the pike at his face.
"Leave or I'm seriously going to kill you."
The blow knocked back some logical awareness back into Bendictus as he was confronted with a sharp point mere centimeters away from stabbing his eye.
The ground started tremble underneath Benedictus. It was small and only he could feel at the moment because his hand and body was on the ground. Using his past experiences in battle and his brother's war tactics, he certainly knew was coming next. Benedictus quickly jumped of the trail into the tall prairie grass on the side.
The shaking became more intense, and the villager now also noticed. A thundering noise approached rapidly, and a cloud of white-brownish dust raced through the trail. The villagers quickly realized what was coming as the armor plating on the warhorse shined through the dust cloud. The villagers tried to regrouped, but it was too late, and by the time they gathered the cavalry were already at the gate. Caught out of position, and with its defenses thinned, the villagers were either trampled, or sliced to pieces as thundering cloud crashed against the defensive line.
The defenders that survived the initial charge, and realized that the line was broken like paper decided to flee for their lives. With the Torez's men on horseback, while he villagers were running on foot, it didn't take a wise man's guess to say that they did not run far.
The Horseman separated and traveled through the alleyways and roads in the village, and set fire on huts. Once the hut was on fire, the families and residents taking shelter within it tried to flee, which were hunted mercilessly by other cavalrymen. Blood was splatter throughout the ground, and dead bodies lay on the ground or against a burning house.
The foot infantry arrived moments later, and secured the eastern side of the villager with no resistance and marched deeper into the village. They Torched any huts of that had not been burned yet, and indiscriminately killing any residents that were either hiding or near-death.
Josephine and Samuel were playing in the backyard until they heard a loud crash nearby. Looking to see what had happened, an house was demolished by a giant wooden arrow with an Iron head-tip. If there were anyone inside, they would mostly likely be all dead. Several more giant projectiles crashed down, creating craters on the roads and killing unlucky fleeing villagers. Every villager was scrambled, and chaos soon spread everywhere.
"Brother, this is just like before. It can't be happing again right?" Josephine said in a terrified voice.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine, we had survived this once before. Besides, Horo would protect us. Let hide in the elder's house for now, it's not safe to be outside.
Josephine and Samuel hastily returned to the elders hut and took shelter there. Through the small window in the house, they observed in terror as more households were randomly demolished by objects raining from the sky, and flee running and trampling over each other to get to safety.
Josephine, unable to bear watching the horror anymore, crawled up to another corner, shut her eyes, and closed her ears with her hands.
'Where's Horo, why hadn't she come yet. She didn't abandon us right?" Josephine said as she began to cry.
"I don't know, but I'm sure she would come. She promised to protect us right." Samuel drew her younger sister in for a comforting embrace. However, the ceiling on top of them came crashing down, and everything went black.
When Samuel awoke, he could still see red evening sky above him. The ceiling was destroyed by a hit from a ballista. Since the elder's hut was more studier and bigger than the normal huts, it had managed to not completely collapse on them. Looking around their once clean room was now all but smashed to pieces, and dust and debris laid scattered everywhere.
"Josephine!"He called out his sister's name and searched for her, but the thick dust in the air blinded his vision. To his relief he found her a few meters away from him. The lower portion of her body was trapped underneath heavy debris, and he could no lift it up. Josephine was still unconscious, and was slightly bleeding from her head.
A distant scream of pain alerted Samuel attention. Directing his eyes in the direction of the screen, he saw men in white armor marching through the streets towards his position, and killing every fleeing villager on sight.
Looking around, Samuel found a large piece of torn tapestry that was once hanging on the room's wall. He quickly grabbed it and concealed Josephine with by placing it on top of her, and hoping that this would prevent her from being noticed by the soldiers. Samuel picked up a wooden board that was once a part of the main structure of the elder's hut for self-defense.
"Goodbye, Josephine." Samuel said to his younger sister as he stood bravely against the white wall of death that approached him.
"Field Marshal Torez, the infantry had secured the middle part of the village." The solider reported.
"Good work, now it will only be a matter of time before we're done here." If the villagers tried to flee north, they will be killed by the cavalry, and we had them surrounded. If they hide in their homes then will be killed by the artillery or be burned alive with their house. Field Marshal Torez was very satisfied with the results.
An unexpected wolf howl spread throughout the battlefield, and sent shivers down Torez's spine. A large figure, which Torez can only described as an amazingly large wolf assaulted and flanked the eastern entrance of town.
"Solider, are you seeing what I'm seeing right now?" Torez ask the solider beside him.
"I was about to ask you the same thing Field Marshal. Is that a monster?"
"Those pagans must have summoned up some kind of demon. Relay my orders to the artillery. Stop bombarding the village, and focus their fire on the large demon that appeared. We need to stop it before it tears through our forces." The solider quickly departed carrying Torez's orders.
Horo, in her true giant wolf form, quickly handled the guards at the entrance of the eastern entrance. She had wanted to come earlier, but she was unable to move until she stopped the bleeding from a stab she got from her former friend, Benedictus. The wounds still hurts, and not even close to being recovered, but she could not wait any longer. Once the bleeding had mostly stopped, she rushed to the village.
Racing through the village, she only saw fire, rubble, blood and dead bodies lying everywhere. She only had one goal in mind, and that was to find Josephine and Samuel. Smashing her way through pockets of soldiers running from her wrath, she was approaching the center of the village. Her ears caught the sound of whistling air, and immediate stop and leapt backwards. Momentarily, several large projectiles crashed on the ground in front of her.
Fortunately, the ballistae had a low rate of fire, and were inaccurate. Unfortunately, they have quite a large number of them, and they could easily puncture her thick hide. If she takes a direct hit, it would be over for her. However, she could be able to avoid them easily with her ears.
The strong smell of dead bodies and burning wood surrounded her, making it impossible to track the scent of Samuel and Josephine. So Horo set a course towards the elder's hut, near the middle of the village. She soon approached the blockade created by the soldiers. Using her momentum, she crashed the blockade into pieces, sending soldiers flying in every direction. She stopped in front of the elder's house. Her greatest fears are realized when she saw the village elder's house demolished. She quickly scanned her surroundings, and hoped her greatest fear hadn't become reality. She heard a muffling sound of a child moaning, and realizes the voice to be Josephine. She turned her gaze in that direction, and the sound was coming under some sort of tapestry. However, her sense of relief was quickly disappeared when she looked a little to the left, and saw the body of Samuel lying on the ground with a pile of blood. Horo quickly deduced what had happen, and that fueled her rage even more.
The next thing she noticed was that the soldiers had quickly surrounded her. She swung her left paw, and took out the soldiers on her left flank. However, because of the wound on her right, she could not attack the soldiers on the right. The soldiers quickly realized this.
"Everyone, the beast appears to be wounded on the right side. Everyone maneuver quickly to flank her right." The soldiers quickly mobilized and gathered to her right, which irritated Horo.
She also tried to maneuver so she can get a strike; however, the constant barrage from the ballistae from afar limited her movements, and prevented her from flanking the soldiers.
"Archers, ready your bows." Commanded one of the soldiers.
Horo turned her attention towards the direction of the voice, and saw hundreds of archers ready to unleash hail of arrows.
"Fire!"
The archers unleashed a hail of arrows that covered the red evening sky, and Horo was in absolute horror. It was not because the arrows would hurt her. In a matter of fact, arrows would not do a single shred of damage against Horo's thick skin and hide. What she was afraid of was the fact she was standing between the archers and Josephine. If she didn't block all those arrows, they would get passed her and hit Josephine.
Horo tried to jump up to block the arrows, but because of her wound, she didn't jump high, and the arrows got passed her. She heard a yell and then silence from behind her. Looking back, her greatest fears were realized, and she saw an arrow sticking out from the tapestry.
Horo howled in rage, and let the beast inside her completely take over, and went on a rampage. She crushed every living thing around her. She no longer cared that she was wounded, and only cared that the people who took her children away from her were dead.
"Torez, its seemed like the beast had gone on a rampage". Torez looked at the beast that was destroying everything in her vicinity.
"Sound the horn of the retreat. Our job is done here. The village had all but been destroyed. Gather up the man, and we'll march to Rubinheigan."
"Yes, Field marshal." The Horn of sounded. The soldiers in the village started to evacuate, and soon only the rampaging beast was left in the village.
Coming back to her senses, and seeing that everyone was dead or either fleeing, stop attacking and wrecking everything near her. Gaining back control of her emotions, she slowly walked towards the elder's hut, and lifted the rubble of Josephine with the tip of her nose. She transformed back in human form, slowly and gently pulled the arrow out of Josephine body, and lifted the tapestry of her.
She brought the body close to her naked chest, which is covered in blood.
"Horo, is that you?" Josephine said weakly.
Horo didn't reply as tear filled her eyes.
"I think… I'm dying. It's pretty …scary. Thank you… Horo for not abandoning us. Thank you… for protecting us. We would have died a long time ago, if we didn't met you. And… sorry." Josephine voice slowly trailed off and the sound of her beating heart stopped.
"No, I should be one to say sorry!" Horo started to weep out loud in sorrow for losing her two loved ones. Tears ran down her cheeks endlessly as she held both Josephine and Samuel body against her chest.
Benedictus walked through once peaceful and friendly farming village; now reduce to a burning field of destruction and graveyard. All the villagers he once knew, gone. He tried to search for survivors, and heard the sound of someone crying. He made a dash towards that direction thinking that it was a survivor, and saw Horo, carrying Josephine and Samuel body in her grasp. His heart sank deeper then the deepest part of the ocean.
Benedictus noticed that Horo saw him, and before he knew what was happening, he was instantly knocked hard to the ground with Horo on top of him. She was prepared to beat him until he died.
"You can kill me if you want, but you do realize everything that has happened was your fault. If you hadn't come to this village, then the villager elder would not have chose to fight. It was because of you, that the elder choose to fight because they were accustomed to you solving their problems. If only you didn't exist then everything will be fine. No one would have died, and the village will still continue to exist. You killed them, you killed them all." Benedicts lost himself to tears, as he continued to spoke.
"If only you didn't…"
Horo lowered her fist, and got off of Benedictus. She realized that what Benedictus said was all true. If she hadn't come to this village, then everyone would have been alive. Samuel and Josephine died because of her. She was a complete fool to think that she was able to live along with the humans. She didn't belong with the humans, and this was the result if she tried. She would only cause harm and misfortune to everyone near her. It would and had always been that way.
She picked up Josephine and Samuel. They should at least get a proper burial, and walked away from the burning village towards the nearby forests.
Benedictus still lay there on the ground crying endlessly. Amidst the chaos and carnage, Lawrence witnessed the entire thing from hiding underneath a nearby rubble form a demolished hut. He felt tears ran his check, and he could not remember a time when he had wept this much.
The silver thread around his armed snapped in two, and a bright light blinded his eyes.
Next thing he realized was that he was back at the theatre room. His entire body was covered in sweat, and sunlight was shinning into the room. Morning had arrived, but Lawrence felt he like he was awake for days. In front of him was Horo, still sleeping soundly.
Was that a dream? No, it was Horo's past that he always wanted to know about. This was only thought that came into his mind.
A.N: The conclusion of Horo's backstory. It was a long backstory to write, which I've only planned to be around 2-3 chapters. However, the backstory had enough content to span 4-5 chapters or even more. Sorry, for the late chapter because it was really long and hard to write. I orginally thought that making a story about a character's past would be easy, but it was the most difficult thing I had ever written. I had serveral writer's block, and was having a hard time trying to develop Benedictus' personality. In the backstory,he is the antagonist, but I wanted him to be a good guy and interesting. I also debated for awhile whether the children or Benedictus should die. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I will also revert back to about 5000 words per chapter instead of 10,000 words. It will allow me to release chapters more frequently, and it is a lot less pain in the ass to proofread.