The Hunt

Chapter 28- Goodbye For Now

Cecily was quick to escort Alma to the bath, having taken all the common remedies to quicken the healing process and pouring them in the steaming water. 

She waited for Alma before stepping in herself, washing her body clean and especially the metal arm where she'd touched the most of the poisonous plant. 

When she stepped out, she was relieved to be able to step into what used to be her room and see that her dad had kept all of her old clothing. The room had actually been preserved. From the bed that was never made to the pencil that sat at her desk where she used to try to learn how to read and write. Her dad used to try his hardest to teach her. Now, the hunter wished she hadn't gotten out of all those lessons he'd tried to teach her.

Not only was it was  preserved, it was clean. There wasn't a spec of dust on the furniture or any on the little knick knacks and oddities she used to find in the forest when she was bored of hunting. 

Digging through her closet, Cecily pulled out a simple blue tank top before going to her dresser and digging out a long pair of black pants. Next, she grabbed a jacket hanging from the back of her door and rested it on her arm. The last thing she did was pick at her collection of old hunting knives and a single sword from when she used to have to hunt for food. Her mother had let her keep those because even the crazy old lady understood the need for money and food. 

Maybe it was because she knew her daughter would defend her and that she would never hurt her on purpose. 

Well, look at where that got the bitch.

Shaking off the thought, the hunter left the nostalgic room and headed to the living room.

"How do you like your room?" Her dad asked with bright eyes. "I did a pretty good job and keeping it clean, right? I think I did good."

Absentmindedly, she nodded, moving into the kitchen to check the food supply.

"Has anyone stopped by since before we got here?" She asked.

"Hmm, two people. Formally dressed. Probably hunting you."

"What did you say?"

"I told the truth, that after you were taken you'd never come back. But, you know in a little bit of a darker way, like you told me all that time ago. Remember when you told me to act like I hated you? So no one would think I was at least a little bit happy that my daughter murdered my wife. You were so serious then too."

"Good. I'll hunt you some more meat before I leave. When's the last time you ate something besides what you grow."

"A few days ago, the neighbor brought me something really fancy that I can't pronounce and it had meat in..." He looked up at her from the chair. His black eyes matched only in depth by his daughter were droopy like he'd lost twenty years because of a single sentence mumbled by his daughter. "You're  leaving."

"Only for a few days. I need you to take care of the others." More specifically, she needed them to take care of them. All those years without seeing her father and she was always worried. Of course she had other things she was wanted to talk about but there were things she absolutely had to get done first. 

"Wait, no." He stood a little too quickly and nearly toppled out of his crutches. If it wasn't for his hunter's trained reflexes, he would've hit the ground. "You've gotten stronger. When I wasn't even looking, my daughter went and grew up."

"I was already grown up. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to protect my father."

His hands let go of the crutches and wrapped around Cecily's torso. She easily supported his dwindling weight. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. It's my fault that I couldn't get rid of her."