Scarlet Soul

Chapter 3: (Mis)fortune

Although Edrich did understand that the odds of him escaping unnoticed were slim, being discovered before he could even get away from the darned wagon was just cruel. Fate could have at least been generous enough to wait several minutes before acting but the shadow of death clinging to him would never allow that, would it?

His sneaking skills were actually quite decent and he could've pulled this escape off if luck was on his side. That was not the case, though- as he was mentally preparing himself one last time, some slaver felt an unbearable urge to answer the call of nature. Of course, his plans were altered when he noticed the dark blue stain hiding one of the wheels of the wagon that was fourth from the back. "Oi, you!" he exclaimed, "What are-"

Before he could finish the sentence the boy sprinted towards him and forced his seemingly insignificant weight on him. The man, caught off guard, fell back from the sudden impact and his head collided with a large rock. The obese man's soft body cushioned Edrich's fall so he was not injured but the damage had been done: "He's trying to escape! "A small head popped out of one of the nearby wagons and several others followed. Before the men could organize themselves and chase him, the black-haired boy ran.

Even his fragile health could not deter him from giving the pathetic escape attempt a chance. Edrich somehow managed to get his hands on a knife that was lying on one of the boxes of goods left outside for the night and he hoped that it would actually come in handy. As the men closed in on him he was suddenly very conscious of the fear overwhelming him along with desperation and strangely enough, hope. His feet ached from the physical effort he put into running and he knew that they would fail him soon enough. Could it be the end?

No, it wasn't. Not yet. Apparently, Edrich was not the only one to attempt escape that night- a few wagons ahead, a girl looking slightly younger than him was surrounded by men after failing to get away. Even from a distance the boy could tell that her appearance was strange: she was unnaturally pale and the long, white locks of her hair were touching the grass underneath her as she sobbed desperately, her hands concealing her face.

"I told you that keeping a vampire is too dangerous. She has to die. "

"But the gold-"

"Forget the darned gold, your lives are on the line!" The man who captured Edrich, a bulky fellow with wide shoulders and long legs, was the only one who dared speak his fears out loud. He loved gold more than any of the others but strangely enough, he loved his life more. As the eight men surrounding the child went on bickering, Edrich saw the girl's lips moving in the small gap between her long fingers.

One last flower clinging to the tree

Carrying the faith of others

That was it. The song haunting Edrich, the voice that could free him from his pain. For a moment, his mind was clear- no fear altered his judgement anymore and there was no factor that was not included in his calculations. He could tell that if he keeps going in the direction he was heading at the moment he'd reach a bridge in a minute or two (or so the maps would have him believe) and that, obviously, could turn out to be an enormous advantage for him.

He knew that he should take the girl with him, as well. He did not want to- he was actually quite suspicious of the power her voice had over him, that seemingly hypnotizing effect that has only played in his favor up until now but posed an unknown threat in the future.

Will it live through winter, spring and fall,

Or will it rejoin its brothers?

It was as if the men discussing her continued survival and the lack of thereof could not hear her agonizingly pure voice as she released the beautiful words into the air with the most honest feelings in them. Edrich understood now- these were to be her final words. This song, this song of death and of what does not come after... How cruel, how cruel could this world be? Why would a child pray to death as it comes for her, beg for it to caress her gently as she goes? She was a vampire, as well- she has died once before, obviously, but this time she did not even have a loophole to slip through, no hope in near sight.