AZRIEL

CHAPTER TWO

Our home was a two-story house with small and narrow windows - meaning sunlight indoors was limited. It wasn't like that before...before everything went downhill. Our house and the village it was in were once bright and delightful like our family. Now everything was cold and dead.

Papa slowly climbed the stairs, making sure he was gentle on his weak limbs. My eyes were fixed on the photo on the wall - the only photo we had with mother- as I followed behind silently.

In the photo, two year old Elena was hugging mother's right side while I stood to her left - five years old and proudly showcasing my missing teeth. Since Papa was the tallest one amongst us - he stood behind, his both hands on either of his daughter's shoulders.

I wish you were here mother. Everything would've been so much better with you.

Papa took a seat on the edge of my bed, the wooden bed creaking under the pressure.

"Adeline, dear," He began, "You know that I love both you and your sister very much. I can't lose you or your sister after I lost her". His sad eyes wandered to the corridor and I knew he was referencing mother.

I took one of the spare pillows from my bed and hugged it to my chest before sitting down next to him.

"Papa I-"

I was suddenly interrupted by aggressive shouting coming from outside the house. Papa mirrored the frown of both concern and confusion written on my face as we stood, rushing to the closest window.

It looked like chaos. Men in torn clothing ran back and forth while screaming the same two phrases repeatedly, "The time has come! We need to make a sacrifice!"

We already lacked food and water, what other sacrifice did we need making?!

"Papa," I tore my eyes away from the scene outside the window for a second to glance at his face, "Why are there men looking like Jesus in front of our house? They look like the Jehovah's Witnesses or something to me."

After receiving no reply I turned to look at Papa again and I noticed - noticed how the blood had drawn from his face and how his eyes glistened with fright and concern. Sweat gleamed on the collar of his neck, " It can't possibly be time already? It can't be."

I continued to stare him down for an explanation. My mind was growing impatient with every continuing second while the screaming outside seemed to progressively get louder and louder. Next thing I knew I was running down the stairs and out onto the porch.

It seemed I wasn't the only one confused. People from the village were watching the group of men from their front doors with expressions of both horror and concern. By now Elena had joined me on the porch after being disturbed by the commotion.

"Brother Zakariath!" A middle-aged woman called out to one of the men from the group. I believed I recognised her as the owner of the local farmer's market. She was well dressed before the famine hit, and now she was clad in brown rags with dark bags of anxiousness and restless nights staining her under-eyes. "Is it true the time for the legendary sacrifice has arrived?!"

The man Zakariath replied with an unsettling excitement laced in his voice, "The Father of Hila said - quote on quote - 'those who experience the severity of a famine for over 40 days shall sacrifice a beautiful daughter with talents in combat to the west of the wood. In return, the Legend promises bounties and food in plenty."

I felt Elena take a step back so that she was now standing in my shadow.

Such bullshit - I could honestly say humans were one of the stupidest things to exist in the world and, ladies and gentlemen, this was one of the cases to demonstrate that.

"Why should we throw away one of our beloved sisters?!" I snapped, my mouth working before my brain could even think, "You're all selfish bastards to sacrifice actual humans for something that won't even happen!"

People's eyes now turned towards me. Some gasped and some looked at me in disgust as though I had danced naked in the middle of the road. None of the young girls dared to voice their approval of my outburst, even if they did agree.

An unfamiliar man shouted back in reply, "You females belong under our feet! We can't go to sleep with an empty stomach again when the Legend demands something so simple of us! We need to sacrifice someone and we must do it now!"

The first suggestion arose. "We should sacrifice Amelia Fitzpatrick. She's beautiful - the Legend will enjoy her!"

Elena took another step back, her fingertips lightly gripping my wrist for protection. Her voice wasn't beyond a whisper, "A-Adeline, what're they doing?"

"Fitzpatrick can't fight to save her life!" another male objected from the crowd, "Elizabeth Castille can run a gun or two and is sexy, why not her?"

He was interjected by another, "The Legend don't want no sexy girl with a gun, it wants skill!"

The crowd continued to argue over who to sacrifice while I watched as mothers one by one started to hide their daughters from sight. Papa from behind had attempted to grab my arm and drag me into the house multiple times but on each occasion I had freed myself from his grip. I wasn't prepared to stand by while a helpless girl would be thrown into the woods because a damn fairytale said so.

"Elena," I whispered to my left. My fingers clenched and then loosened, "Take father inside before he-"

"What do you think of Adeline Blanchard?"

My mouth ran dry when I was interrupted by my own name. I knew that voice, and I knew it well.

Uncle Howard.

"She's the perfect sacrifice, gentlemen! She is the village's best huntress and a gorgeous sight, what better could we offer?" He stood with his wretched wife, smug smiles dancing on both their lips.

From beside me, I heard Elena's breath stifle.

No no no. That bastard. I had known there was something wrong with him - and he was fucking smiling! Never in my nineteen years of existence had I seen him smile.

Murmurs of approval began to emerge from the crowd. People were turning from each other to me, nodding in agreement. Women were looking at me with hopeful eyes - like I was their only hope to end this famine.

I scoffed.

"Nice joke. There is no way I'm performing slow suicide for you all so-" before I could protest in my favour any more, a loud thump caused me to spin around behind. Papa had been pinned against the front door by a man who must've snuck onto the porch while we were distracted. My eyes widened as I instinctively reached to grab my pocket knife, but I was pulled back by a strong grip on the length of my brown hair before I could do so.

I tried to kick and scream but whoever held me possessed overpowering strength. Elena was pushed to the ground by a group of unfamiliar women - a scene I watched helplessly from my peripheral vision as I tried hard to resist against the strong grip the men held around me.

My teeth dug into my bottom lip, a habit that I had inherited from my mother as I tried to come up with some form of escape. There seemed to be none. Goddamn it.

Suddenly, the unfamiliar texture of a cloth was clamped onto my mouth and from its strong scent I had already realised what it had been dipped in - chloroform.

No, no, no, no.

I desperately tried to resist while my heart hammered in my chest. Blood rushed to my ears and my eyelids became weighty. From the faint hearing I still had left I listened to Papa and Elena's painful, helpless wailing of my name. It was as though it was a funeral and I was the unfortunate corpse.

And then all vision and sound drowned out into darkness.

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- jen <3