Snow and Silk: Sacrificed to the God’s

Prepare

{Shitari’s POV}

I made my way back out of the library with my plate after I finished the food that Arabella made, a small smile across my face just thinking of how sweet it was for her to do something like that for me. As I made it to the entryway of the castle, I could see the door was left open. I walked to it, looking down and seeing blood that had dripped onto the floor. I looked back, seeing that it trailed across the floor, and down the stairs. I knelt down at the door, carefully pressing my finger into the drop and bringing it up to my nose. It was human blood.. and this scent.. it was Arabella’s. I stood up, looking outside, and my blood ran cold. The gate was open, and in the far distance, I could see Arabella’s silhouette disappearing into the forest.

“Arabella!” I shouted, dropping the plate, and taking off outside, trying to follow after her.

Feryn soon followed behind, catching up to me. “What happened?” She asked.

“Arabella’s run away, go back in and get the others, she’s gone into the forest!” I demanded, as I took off into a full sprint trying my hardest to catch up to her.

This forest had its own protection spells infused in it. It would drive any human that stepped foot inside mad over time, the fae that stepped within took longer to drive insane, but eventually they would forget who they were, taking on dangerous new persona’s. Not the creatures that used this forest as their home. Only the worst fae live within the forest, enjoying the madness that the fog brings. The beasts that live within the fog are even worse, most primal creatures that hunt for fun. If I didn’t find her soon.. she may not survive.

I soon heard footsteps approaching behind me. Theluun, he was the quickest of all of us, while NymKarna trailed behind him. “How far ahead was she?” Theluun asked, running up beside me.

“She ran into the forest when I was still in the castle..” I replied, as we came to the forests edge. Looking inside, it would be impossible to follow her trail, if not for the blood dripping from her, which showed us the way to go. We followed the trail, and as we got deeper into the forest, the day turned to a deep shade of grey as the fog began to sink in around us.

“It’s quiet..” I said, the silence hanging just as heavy as the thick fog around us.

In this part of the forest, the only creature here, are predators.. and they don’t want you to hear them coming. I sighed, peering around and noting the blood trail began to trickle with less and less blood. “The blood.. it’s clotting.. we don’t have much time before this trail runs out!” NymKarna said, making his way to us. “The more she runs, the harder she’s going to be to find..”

About that time, a scream sounded in the distance, and my blood ran cold. It was her.. it was Arabella. I took off in a sprint going the direction of the screams, but soon I noticed that the blood trail led away from here. The fog.. it’s trying to separate us, and because of my rush to find her, it had. I paused for a moment, looking all around me and trying to see if any of my brothers were close by. Suddenly the black hair, and red eyes of NymKarna came into view. “Nym.. where’s Theluun?” I asked, looking all around.

“He’s following the blood trail, he sent me to get you. We need to go home, this forest.. the fog, it plays too many tricks. He’s been in these woods a hundred times.. he will find her!” He said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back towards where we came from.

“We can’t just leave her out here!” I shouted.

He turned, shushing me. “Shitari! Theluun will find her, he’ll bring her back, for now, we need to get out of here! If the fog keeps playing these tricks, we may not make it out! Trust our brother! He’s the one who has braved this fog hundreds of times and come out unscathed!” He said, pulling me until we were back in the calm part of the forest.

I felt the panic from before lift off of me as soon as we steeped out, but the fear.. the worry.. I still can’t forget how much I want her to be okay. She’s so small, so fragile, so kind.. I don’t want her to lose herself in the mist like so many before her. I couldn’t bear the thought of it.

“Where is she?” Feryn asked, running to us, she had just come from the castle, her eyes red with fury.

“Theluun’s gone after her.. the mist.. it’s too much..” I said, turning back to the forest.

“Why are you so angry?” NymKarna asked, turning my attention back to Feryn.

Her fists were balled up at her sides as she shook slightly. She was angry enough to hurt someone, possibly anyone in this moment. “It was Andromedus.. he’s the reason that she’s hurt.. he’s the reason she ran away!” She sneered, looking back to the castle.

I looked up towards his tower and could see him, he was staring out the window, looking into the forest, a strange expression on his face. Was it worry, regret.. honestly I couldn’t tell, not from this distance. I glared up at him, anger bubbling in my chest. “Of course it was him.. he’s always the one who acts out this way.. he just always has to be a di**..” NymKarna said, bringing me back from my thoughts. “Now isn’t the time though Shitari.. Theluun will find her, and when he comes back, we need to be here and ready to help her, especially you! You’re the healer, so we need you focused and ready!” He said, placing both of his hands on my shoulders. “So go home, prepare poultices, prepare bandages, and any equipment you may need! Get everything ready, and when you’re prepared, and calmed down, come back!” He said, pointing to the castle.

I nodded, turning on my heel and heading back to it, and began doing what I could to prepare for the worst.