Ice Goddess Luna

Episode 3

From behind the thick curtain, Hadley could hear the cacophony of screams from the eager crowd awaiting her emergence. The three men stood ready, awaiting the signal to lift her prison and reveal her to the throng of spectators.

Finally, the moment arrived. The men lifted her cage simultaneously as the curtain dropped, exposing Hadley to the blinding brightness of the fairground. She squeezed her eyes shut, overwhelmed by the sudden flood of light, but the deafening roar of the crowd still reached her ears.

"There she is!"

"The monster!"

"She's terrifying!"

"She doesn't belong in this world!"

Insults and jeers rained down upon her from all directions. Hadley braced herself, steeling her resolve against the onslaught of hatred and fear.

Suddenly, she felt the person lifting her come to a halt. Curious, she opened her eyes to see why.

And there, in front of her, was an immense crowd—more people than she had ever seen before—eagerly awaiting her appearance.

"Brothers! The ice woman is coming back!" a man's booming voice echoed above the clamor, signaling the beginning of another nightmarish performance.

Stones and objects pelted Hadley's body, each impact eliciting a pained groan from her lips. The crowd's cheers and laughter only fueled their frenzy, their enjoyment evident in their relentless assault.

"What are you waiting for?! Change your form!" a man shouted, presumably under orders from the Master. But Hadley kept her head down, ignoring his commands.

A figure approached her cage, his voice dripping with anger. "Can you hear me, girl?! I told you to change your appearance!" he bellowed, but Hadley remained silent.

"Are you d*mb? you're a girl, do what I say! Do you want Master to hit you again?!" he threatened, but Hadley still didn't respond.

Memories flooded her mind—the times when the Master had beaten her for disobedience. Each blow had been a brutal reminder of her powerlessness, leaving her battered and broken. He had punished her relentlessly, using thick wood, pipes, and vicious slaps to assert his dominance.

Despite the abuse, Hadley knew she was the source of Master's wealth, her nightly performances at the fair lining his pockets with ill-gotten gains. Perhaps that was why he hadn't killed her yet.

But now, as the chaos around her subsided into an eerie silence, Hadley realized her defiance had angered the Master. And she knew what came next.

"You've made Master angry... Ha! You're in for it now. You know how he gets when he's angry," the man sneered, confirming Hadley's fears. She had pushed him too far, and now she would pay the price. But this time, she vowed, it would be her last.

Hadley trembled with fear, dreading the impending wrath of Master. She couldn't bear to endure his fists landing on her again, yet she saw no other way for him to end her suffering.

"Why don't you change your form?" a commanding voice, deep and authoritative, spoke from her right.

She remained silent, unable to muster a response.

"You won't like what I can do if you don't change your form. Do you understand me?" the voice warned, its tone sending shivers down her spine.

Despite the chilling threat, Hadley kept her silence. The whispers of the crowd around her intensified, their anticipation palpable.

Behind her, she heard the sound of her cage being opened. This was it—the moment she had been waiting for.

A man grabbed her roughly, pulling her upright and shoving her toward the stage.

Someone seized her hair, treating her like a wild animal being tamed. But as she looked up, she saw it was not just anyone—it was Master.

His eyes blazed with fury, and in that moment, Hadley knew her life hung in the balance. Death could come swiftly at his hands.

"Can you hear me? I said change," Master ordered, but Hadley turned a deaf ear to his commands.

"Why doesn't he change his form? Does he want to die? Master will be angry," one spectator remarked, their words ringing in Hadley's ears.

"You seem to be wearing out my patience, kid," Master growled, pulling her upright and thrusting her closer to the crowd.

A nearby man slapped her, laughing at her distress. Then, as Master approached, he grabbed her and flung her upside down onto the small stage.

Pain shot through Hadley's body, and she cried out in agony.

"Aren't you going to change your form yet? You're really challenging me," Master taunted, moving in to strangle her.

"Change!" he yelled, his grip tightening around her neck.

Unable to breathe, Hadley felt her consciousness slipping away. Master lifted her into the air effortlessly, as if she were nothing but a pillow.

"Come on, kill it!"

"Kill!" the crowd screamed, their voices echoing in Hadley's ears.

Tears streamed down her face as she realized this was the end. She was too weak to fight back, too tired to keep going.

It seemed that her bitter memories would be the last thing to haunt her before she passed away. Hadley closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

Then, suddenly, a loud bang pierced the air—a gunshot. The crowd erupted into chaos, fleeing in all directions. Master released his grip on her, and Hadley fell to the ground, gasping for air as she coughed and wheezed.

Hadley realized she was still alive, her gaze sweeping over the scene as she struggled to comprehend what had just transpired. Master's face drained of color, a flicker of fear evident in his eyes as he stumbled backward in disbelief. He muttered something incoherent, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

"Master, Here! Let's escape now!"

From the shadows, Dani's authoritative voice rang out, commanding attention. He held a gun in his hand, his expression resolute as he called out Master's name. In a desperate attempt to escape, Master lunged toward Dani, seizing the gun and turning it toward Hadley.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Hadley froze in terror as Master aimed the gun in her direction. But instead of pulling the trigger, he shifted his aim, firing in a different direction. Hadley's eyes widened as she watched a man collapse to his knees—a policeman.

As chaos erupted around her, Master vanished into the tumult of fleeing crowds and apprehending officers. Left alone amidst the confusion, Hadley knew she had to seize this chance to escape, to flee from the torment of her past.

Struggling to her feet, she began to walk, each step a testament to her resilience and determination. The dense woods beckoned to her, offering refuge from the horrors she had endured.

Through the darkness, she pressed onward, guided only by the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the trees. Despite the obstacles she faced—stumbling over roots, slipping on uneven terrain—Hadley forged ahead, driven by the urgent need to flee.

Hours passed as she ventured deeper into the woods, the relentless pursuit of safety propelling her forward. Finally, she caught sight of a long road stretching out before her—a beacon of hope in the darkness.

As exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, Hadley leaned against a nearby tree, her vision blurring with fatigue. Before she could succumb to unconsciousness, she glimpsed figures approaching through the trees, their presence ominous and foreboding.