The lady

Five

5.

Maerwyn…

I had just killed him. I killed a person. My hands were trembling as I stared at Stefan's headless body. Minutes earlier, i would relish at the sight. But i didn't, instead, i was horrified. My dress was splattered with his blood, and my face also. My dad took the sword from me.

"We have to hide the body, help me carry his body to the horse" he said, without any remorse in his voice. I hesitated. My body still stiff.

"Dad, I've just killed a person" I whispered, feeling a knot in my throat. He paused and looked at me.

"You did what you had to do. If you didn't, i would have killed that bastard anyway" he said flatly, as if it was just any ordinary thing. To him, it sounded as if he was slaughtering any animal. But this was a person, a person we know. And I had killed him in the most brutal way. The anger had taken over me and i didn't hesitate to think the after of taking someone's life in cold blood.

"don't you understand?" I yelled, and his forehead creased with surprise. Maybe he thought that killing Stefan brought me contentment, but all it did, was force my soul into a corner. Now I had to live with it for the rest of my life. "Who I'm i?" I muttered and my dad moved towards me but I backed from him.

"Don't, please" I mumbled. It was all his fault. If he wasn't so harsh on Gwen, this wouldn't have happened. If he treated her like her own daughter, she wouldn't have run away with Stefan. And i wouldn't have been forced to kill him. My chest moved up and down faster as i tried to process everything at a go.

"You killed him" my dad said "And blaming yourself won't bring him back alive. Plus, he deserved it"

"Help me carry him so that I can bury him or you'll be charged with murder" he said as grabbed Stefan's lifeless body.

………………

It was drizzling, and dad dug a hole to bury Stefan. We did far from the scene so that no one would suspect it. He shoved Stefan's body into the pit like a sack, and threw his head on the body as we begun shoveling the hole with the soil. It was almost midnight when we made it home.

"Dad, i think I'll have to leave" i said when we entered the house, my clothes were dripping with the rain water, and i was shaking from the cold. My dad stopped midway of the living room.

"Where will you go to?" He muttered, sighing. I thought he would refuse.

Where would i go? I knew i had to get out of here, sooner or later, Stefan's body would be found and i wasn't ready to deal with the guilt. But where was i going to ?

"I don't know, anywhere, but here" I replied, aware of my cracked voice.

My dad kept quiet for sometime before he spoke. "Okay" he said. "You can leave, you'll go to Northania, your mother is there" he said before walking to his room.

That night i couldn't sleep as the horrifying images of Stefan's headless body kept appearing on my head. "You are a killer Maerwyn. A killer" my subconscious yelled at me. "You are just like your father, a heartless Sadistic monster"

"I'm not, alright, Stefan sold my sister, and he almost r***d me" I shouted out loud, trying to convince myself. But my subconscious wasn't going to left me off the hook, i knew this was going to happen, and i was going to live like this, for the rest of my life.

…………………

I bade my father goodbye the next day. He had gave me everything that would lead me to my mother. I was actually surprised he knew where she was, after all the years he had sulked about her betrayal, he was still thinking about her. It was clear he was hurt deeply by what she did, and it still made him angry.

The journey to Northania took two days. I used ordinary travel, with other travelers. I had some money on me, which i had saved from the little garden that Gwen and i had created on our father's ranch. My father wanted to give me more money but i refused. After arriving in the capital of Northania- which was very magnificent, with tall brick walls, endless lines of shops- with very admirable necessities. I begun searching for my mother who i had not seen in ten years.

She had left after being beaten to a pulp by my dad over some misunderstanding– possibly cheating. It didn't took me long to find her– in a very unlikely place– a brothel. She had changed so much, she had gained alot of weight, but still very beautiful. She had Gwen's blue eyes, and my freckles.

"I didn't know you were coming" she said, when we met. She was living in the brothel, and didn't want me to stay there, said it was inappropriate. I couldn't help but notice how wrong I've been on my dad, it was clear she was always the problem.

"I've come to look for Gwen actually" I said before adding. "I need a place to stay for sometime, before i figure what to do next"

"What happened to Gwen" she asked, trying to act concerned, and failing.

"She was sold, as a slave" I muttered and she gasped. "I want to buy her back" I added.

My mother rubbed my shoulder, releasing a sigh. "Darling, why can't you stay here with me, before we figure how to help your sister."

"Really? You will help me" I asked.

"Why not, she is also my daughter. I didn't leave you and your sister because i don't love you. But i had to"

"I know" I whispered, feeling my eyes welling up. Maybe i read her wrong afterall, she was nothing like my father. She was just a helpless woman, trying to escape a violent man. She pulled me into a hug as i cried over her shoulder.

TBC…