The Fireborn Chronicles: The Lost Maiden

Chapter 16: The Ones that Matter the Most

Something was raging and thumping inside of him, but all Isaac could hear was the sounds of horse hooves stomping on the ground. 

I... couldn't have prevented it, Isaac continued to say to himself, trying to insist that what he had done was not what he wished for. It was to kill or be killed, and I know it! There was no way I could have settled that matter peacefully!

But Isaac knew that there was another way. He could have trusted the Starosta's words that they could all leave the inn unharmed, but then Isaac would have had to give all their money to him and they would be left with nothing. What could they have done for Silva then? They wouldn't be able to search for her any longer, and they would have had to travel back to Rolnik as a result.

I did what I had to do for all of us, Isaac concluded, even though he still didn't feel like he did the right thing. So why then am I feeling so full of remorse? Is this what Kaika feels most of the time? Or is there something else to her that gives her a more despicable outlook? Should I have brought her along or not?

The group was finally out of range from the town, and they were now distancing themselves from the Orscińa Mountains with an unpleasant memory and a new companion as well. 

They had gotten back on the main road, which had now divulged from the mountain pass and would travel northwest until it reached Sawiton. Yet, they still had to clear a lot of ground before they could reach the port city, which meant that their journey to find Silva was far from over. None of them had said anything since leaving the village, and Isaac had figured it was because of the events they had seen and had felt before. He knew that Mary, George, and William would think differently of him from now on, and that pained him the most.

He then remembered seeing Mary all bruised and bleeding, watching him grotesquely stabbing Finn Ardwald and staring at the Starosta with murderous intent. I....wanted to kill him, Isaac thought, and that was because he had hurt Mary. Why do I feel in the wrong? I was protecting her! I was protecting George and William! Why do I feel like a murderer?

"Hey," He heard a voice call out from behind him. "I hope you aren't trying to make us fall off." 

Isaac noticed that he had lost a little bit of control of his horse, and he quickly got himself back together and kept the reins tight. 

"Sorry," Isaac said quietly. "I feel like I'm losing my mind here."

"You should be," Kaika responded. "I could see your face after it all happened. It must have been your first kill." Isaac noticed that Mary, George, and William were trying to distance themselves from him and Kaika, even though he thought that they had all made up at the tavern. 

"You can't ever go back," She told him. "Even if you want to, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. I'm sure they might be even scared of you now for what you can do."

Isaac looked at them again while reflecting on the words that Kaika had told him. He knew that they would all fear what he could do now, and it was the most painful and excruciating thing about it. Just the thought of them seeing him as someone who had no second thoughts of killing another person was something that he never thought would come across his mind.

He had always shown his image to the orphan children as a very loving and caring person, and the thought of that brought peace within his heart. However, there was another side to Isaac that he always shoved aside and never revealed to the church. It sometimes came into action as he chopped up pigs and other animals apart as a butcher. This violent side of Isaac was coming back to haunt him now. 

"You're wrong," Isaac tried to argue against Kaika, as he was still attempting to cast away that haunting characteristic about himself. "I know that if I repent to the Lord, He will someday forgive my sins. That's what I believe in."