How The Flower Blooms

Chapter Two

Standing, backlit and in shadow, was a man. Em was able to make out his short and impeccably styled hair, so black it appeared almost blue. Though no light hit his face, his violet eyes seemed to glow as though filled with silver flakes. He wore a purple shirt that was just tight enough to show off his muscular stature, dark pants, boots, and gloves.

It was Rhysand.

***

Gross. I could feel the mud soaking through my socks. How could I have forgotten my shoes?

"Chase her!" Men's voices shouted through the training camp. I looked around frantically. Every direction appeared the same, packed with drunk and sparring men. They smelled disgusting, like sweat and urine and leather. "Get the girl!" The voices called out again. The men around me started to notice the screams, and looked around in confusion. Maybe they were too drunk to notice me, a small girl in a white frock. Coated in blood and mud. Pale faced and weary. The shouts got closer.

"They talkin' 'bout her?" A voice questioned in the crowd.

No, no, no. Without a second thought, I bolted into the masses. Shards of glass and debris cut through my thin socks and I was sure I was leaving a bloody trail behind me. I quickly lost track of where I was. Blood pumped in my ears. I kept running, but the camp just went on and on. Like I was stuck in a loop.

"There she is!" I didn't bother to look back. They would catch me. They would hurt me. Maybe I should just let it happen. I felt a hand catch the back of my dress making me trip and fall into the mud. My chin smashed into the ground with a smack and pain ripped through my jaw. I had nothing left in me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the night sky, ripe with stars like pinpricks in rippling navy velvet. The moon was so bright. It lit up the smoke drifting into the sky, made by the fire pits and chimneys of the camp.

"Look me in the eye." A gruff voice called out. Hands flipped me over and I was suddenly able to see. He stood there, hot breath pummeling my face. His teeth were yellow and crooked, eyes so dark I couldn't determine where the iris ended and the pupil began.

"What are you doing out here? Try to escape your chores?" He grasped the front of my dress and yanked me up.

"You're gonna pay for this." He laughed, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. I couldn't respond. He would kill me, or worse. I looked past his oily hair up to the sky.

Please, I begged the moon. I can't do this. I watched as a shooting star streaked across the horizon, so fast I almost didn't believe my own eyes.

"You little [redacted]! Get out of my way!"

"Hell no. Don't think I won't beat your ass to a pulp. They won't even be able to determine what's mud and what's guts!"

The man's hand loosened on my tunic as he looked towards the ruckus.

"Oh-ho-ho. You have it comin' for you now!"

"Really? Is your Daddy gonna come save you? Oh, wait."

A scream pierced the night air. Suddenly, a dark tangle of limbs and wings flew into the man and barreled onwards. His hand was ripped off my shirt and I heard him gasp as his body hit the mud several feet away. Noticing an opportunity to run, I clambered up out of the mud and began to run. I ran as far and as fast as I could, ignoring the pain in my legs and the burning tightness in my lungs.

After what felt like an hour of running, the tents of the camp began to thin out. I felt the incline increase as I began to slow down and walk up a hill. Several feet away sat a cabin, tucked into the trees at the end of the clearing. Lights were on, shining through the windows. It looked homely, in a way. A little bit sad, but better than I'd been living in for ages back at camp. Laboring away every day for nothing more than a few scraps of stale bread and dirt filled water. Maybe there was a porch I could hide under for a few days. The men at the camp would probably forget about me in time. I could wait it out.