Hunting ghosts
1244 Words
“Madam! Madam! Come! We think we have found him! We need you to come identify him.” The servant seems exceptionally hopeful about this one. Setting my journal down I slowly get up with a sigh. At this point I don't allow myself to get excited anymore. “We are confident this time that its him.” The servant really does seem excited. We reach the hut that they have this man tied to a chair. With in a second I know it isn't him.
“See Madam! We found him and...” With a side glance from me he crumples to the ground never to finish a sentence again. “How many times have I said to never interrupt my work if its not him?!” There is a wave of “Yes Ma'am, Many times Ma'am” echoing through the other servants.
The poor man has a look of relief as if he's been saved. I look at him with a cold contentment. Unfortunately it isn't in my character anymore to be merciful. “Burn it.” I stand there for a moment watching tears stream down this mans face. “I won't even bother apologizing to you. For my own reputation I can't have anyone knowing why I'm doing this. Maybe in another life you will take revenge on me and in that life time I will accept it many times over.” With that I walk out of the already blazing hut. Walking over to my horse I can see my army is already torching the rest of the village leaving no witnesses. We've done this so many times there is no guilt or sadness left in my heart. The only feeling left is that of heat from the flames. Sitting on my horse for a moment I check my phone to see a missed call. With a sigh I put it away. I'll have to deal with it later. I already know the kind of lecture I'll get for burning another village down. I decide to take a river path back to the fortress. Its already a hot day and it's not even summer yet. Maybe its because I've grown accustomed to the icy terrain of the mountains. What ever the reason is I'd like to wash the soot off in the river and maybe just float there for a while. Dismounting I tie my outer clothing to my horse and slowly wade into the water. The river is cool against my skin. Dipping under the water I feel as if I had a new found energy as a small child. Laying down I start floating along the current. I can hear my horse following me along the river. A few nervous whinnys from him but I know he will be where ever I am when I get out. There is no loyalty stronger than a beast and their master. I feel as if the world around me has stopped and in this solitary moment all there is in this world is the river and I. Maybe there is hope for me. Maybe I can become the person I used to be. The person I used to be before the world killed her. I allow myself to drift off as I'm floating down the river.
I wake up choking water out of my lungs. I can feel someone smacking me on the back trying to get me to spit the water out. Looking up I see a man that looks roughly the same age as me. His deep blue eyes looking at me with only worry. No hate or fear. “That's a first.” I can't help but think to myself. “You're alright! It's just some water. Take slow deep breaths.” This is what he's telling me but all I can focus on are his eyes. I can feel my horse nuzzle me with concern. Slowly I stand up and grab my clothing from my horse. I get on my horse getting ready to leave. “Are you sure you're okay to ride alone?” All I can hear in his voice is concern. It's a little funny to me. I don't understand how he can have that kind of concern for someone he just met. “I'll be fine.” Trying to keep the conversation short so I can leave. “Can I at least know your name then” “You can call me Ror... Rory. You can call me Rory.” Knowing that I probably messed up I took off riding as fast as I can. Quickly I find myself winding up the familiar mountain path. As I enter the fortress gates the servants are quick to help me dismount and take my horse to the stables. I start to head inside when I see Emmie standing in the entrance with an angry aura around her. “You may have washed the soot off but the screams fallow you!” The scary part of her words is how calmly she says this. “Not only that but you couldn't even bother to send me a text to tell me you were okay!” I know that's what she is really mad about. She's so used to the village burnings at this point that its just a normal Tuesday for us. “I'm sorry Emmie. I'll text you next time.” I say this like a small child that got caught with their hand in a cookie jar. “I don't care if you have earned yourself the name ' Villainess of the Mount ' or not. You can still send your beloved Emmie a text that you're okay or something.” She says all this with crocodile tears. “I know. You're right. I'm sorry Emmie.” we continue this back and forth of her trying to make me feel bad and me apologizing all the way into our study. Looking around I can see the huge pile of paper work on the desk. “Emmie did you do any paperwork while I was gone these last couple days?” I ask With a devilish laugh “Nope. You couldn't be bothered to text me so I couldn't be bothered to do paperwork. Have fun!” With that she vanished. Letting out a loud sigh I sit down and start the paperwork. It's mainly preparations for the winter to keep the servants and villages in our fief alive. There is a reason I was given the harshest of domains. Maybe there is something I can do that will make things easier on them. After a few hours I stretch and wonder what time it is. I actually managed to finished everything tonight. I know tomorrow morning there will be even more. Slowly I head back to my bedroom. Someone has already started a fire in the fireplace. It's warm and almost home like. I sit down in the chair in front of the fire. My Journal sits neatly on top of the small table in front of me. Next to it is some food and hot tea. Emmie must have been the one to come in. The tea is one that she's made for me many times when I was extremely exhausted. Opening the journal back to where I left off I take a sip of the tea and wonder. “Where was I?” I mutter to myself grabbing the pen.
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