Alice

Scars To The Innocent Part 1

The sky darkened. The last few dying rays of golden light gave the forest a yellow glow. As the sun rested, silence settled in, and was only broken by the crunch of leaves under boots. Godfrey marched ahead of his men. He was leading a band of maybe 100 people, all armed to kill. It was overkill in his eyes, but he wasn't one to question orders, especially when they were given by the King himself. The forest they travelled in was densely wooded, with large masses of trees rising on either side of them and the canopy above them was thick enough that only a glimmer of the most persistent light could reach them. He quickened his pace, and his men followed suit. They would need to reach the village before the break of morning.

As they continued down their trail, the sky opened up into an ocean of stars and night came in all its glory. Godfrey had loved the stars, and everything that came with night really. When he was younger, he liked to think that the cycles of day and night were actually the sun and the moon fighting over control of some kingdom in the sky. He still humored the thought sometimes, though much of that creative spark was dead to him. He sighed wearily and continued down the path ahead of him. The thick mass of trees began splitting apart, becoming sparser. Soon they were few and far between, and he had reached a clearing. He paused. The canopy was gone, and all that lay above him was the night sky. He didn't let his gaze linger too much longer, for he knew he'd get carried away. Instead, he turned to face the party behind him.

"We are nearing the village", He said to them. His voice was steely and commanding. "Remember, we are searching for a girl with red hair. Anything else would be excessive".

He doubted they would listen even as he said the words. They had a terrible tendency to be excessive. There was no helping it. Sin was going to be committed, both by him and his men, and he carried the weight of all of it. Godfrey couldn't help himself this time; he let himself be swallowed by the stars. It never gets easier. He was doomed to carry on this way, on his path of self destruction. The stars always shined. Despite being so distant, despite being blocked by clouds or out shined by the sun. Their light was weak, but they were resilient. He wondered how they did it. He bit back his own bitterness and readied himself. When he strode  forward again he had no sentiments left. He would not hesitate beyond this point.

Some distance away from Godfrey, there lay a village. It was small and bordered by tall trees. Life in this village was simple. Hunting was the main source of food, water came from a nearby stream and wood for housing was all around them. It was decent. Though while decent was good, some might get bored of it. A young girl from this village was very much bored of it. Her biggest thrills didn't come from chasing boars, rather she, just like Godfrey, enjoyed stargazing. The atmosphere about it was what appealed to her. To listen to the sway of the trees battling against the silence of the night, or the way the dew laden grass would just fall under her fingertips, it was these things. In her own head she created these fantastical galaxies of thoughts and ideas when she looked at the stars. She wondered what they were, or how it must feel to be up above the world so high. Her thoughts were disturbed by the mush of boots walking on soft grass.

"Alice," her father Hugh said as he came behind her, "you're going to have to come inside soon".
Alice let her back ease into the ground as she laid down and turned her head up to face her father. "But it isn't even that late. Besides, there isn't much of a a threat being out this late".
Hugh smiled as he responded, "This cold is as good a threat as any other. Winter would be coming soon so there's a nip in the air. Now get off the ground and come inside".
Alice, very reluctantly, got up and brushed herself off.
"Do you think there'd be snow this winter?", she asked hopefully.
"Hmmm," Hugh pretended to think about it. He knew the answer was no, but he didn't like crushing her spirits.
"Well, it is very unlikely... But it has happened before on jksome very special months. So it just might". Alice was delighted.
"Now off to bed with you", Hugh ended the conversation there.
With her inside Hugh allowed himself to remain outside a bit longer. There was no nip in the air. The reason he sent Alice to bed wasn't because of the cold and he knew it. Beneath the sway of the trees and the song of the crickets, there was something there. A type of silence. Not the type that comes when you're alone. This felt like the type of bloodthirsty silence that follows a predator as it stalks its prey, right before it makes its kill. It felt uneasy. Hugh had felt this silence many times before, but for the first time he felt like the prey.