Rose, Wilted: Book 1

Chapter 12 - Blizzard of Blood

I heard the crunch of a boot on the snow and froze. I let my hand fall slowly back into the snow. I gritted my teeth as my shoulder shuddered in pain. A splash of crimson leaked onto the snow beneath it. Hunting me down would be far too easy. I’d left a trail of both upset snow and blood that shone like a beacon against the white nothingness. I heard the crunch of boots moving quickly and even a heavy breath. My arm gave out and my shoulder buckled. I landed hard on my shoulder and the thorn bush gave a tremendously loud tremor. The crunch of snow halted.

I heard the shift of arrows in a quiver and the stretch of a bowstring.

I screwed my eyes shut.

I was going to die.

Suddenly, a roar ripped through the tense silence from the shadows of my mind. Someone shouted in surprise and I dared to look up. Through the snow I could barely make out the battle scene before me. Avoln and the Beast grappled with each other in the snow like starving animals fighting to the death over a pile of scraps. Avoln’s bow lay like a discarded corpse on the snow, far away as its owner fought for his life against the monster who ruled these woods. The Beast roared and pinned Avoln’s shoulders to the ground, sinking through a layer of white. The madness of the animal was combined once again with the intelligent side of him in pursuit of a common goal. His green eyes spoke of twisted anger and hate, but also of desperate, fierce loyalty.

His ripped, red cape swirled around him as the wind picked up the snow and dashed it this way and that, howling for blood. The Beast gave a bellow of pain as a flash of steel and spray of red sliced across his chest. Avoln rolled out from under him and scrambled towards his bow with the Beast close behind. He reached out and whipped the weapon up to his cheek, fitting and firing off an arrow in one frantic motion. The arrow missed the Beast’s heart, burying itself in his shoulder instead. For what seemed like the thousandth time, he let out a deafening roar, but this time of pain. He swung an enormous paw and cracked the bow in half in one fell swipe.

Fear consumed Avoln’s eyes and he scrambled to his feet and dashed away. The Beast tried to follow but his leg crumpled beneath him and he crashed to the snow as Avoln sprinted away through what was quickly becoming a blizzard.

The wind howled around me as I tried to rip myself free of the thorny brambles, but the stabbing pain in my shoulder and ankle forced me back down into the blood stained ice. I whimpered at the pain that shot through my shoulder when it buried itself in the snow. The Beast stirred. A low growl resounded in his throat. Suddenly my gut twisted in fear. Predators can smell blood. I froze like the snow that surrounded me. The Beast's eyes found mine and I saw the animal. Terror spiked through my heart. He shook his head and clawed at his skull, growling. I could hear him muttering,

"Stop it, stop it, stop it."

One last swipe at his head and I saw the animal vanish. The Beast was back to himself, but I was only half reassured. He shuddered and limped forward, arrow still embedded in his shoulder.

I frantically attempted to disentangle myself, sure that now I would pay the price for running away, for breaking the deal. He reached me and I shuddered as I was bathed in his shadow. I felt myself curling up small, trying to hide, even though I knew it was futile. I accidentally jarred my ankle and cried out. I was certain I looked pathetic in that state. The Beast dwarfed me in size and strength, and even injured he towered over me with a certain quality that froze my heart. My shoulder was bloody, my ankle was twisted, my dress and shawl were in tatters, and somewhere along the way I had lost my shoes. I was wet and freezing, my tears had frozen to my cheeks, and my exposed skin raw and flushed with cold. I was, in a word, vulnerable.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

I looked away. I bit my lip and shook my head.

"I- I don't think so."

"You need to get back," the Beast said. "You won't last like this out here."

I couldn't meet his eyes. Shivers began to rack my body as the heat of adrenaline began to fade from my limbs.

"Wha-what about you?" I said, teeth chattering.

"Fur is warm. I'll be fine."

"That's not what I-,"

But my words were cut off with a startled gasp as the Beast scooped me up out of the snow and rose to full height. It was like it had been that first night, when he'd carried me to my bedroom. I found myself nestled up against a thunderous heartbeat and a blanket of warm fur. The Beast groaned and his arm shuddered. A dark droplet of thick blood splashed into the snow.

The snow lashed at us, still hungry, biting at my toes and ankles. The Beast took a step forward into the storm. His breath shuddered and there was the barest stumble to his step. His features twisted at the pain, trying to conceal it. Another drip of blood trickled down his shoulder.

"Beast?"

"Don't. I'm fine. Ah!"

He stumbled and nearly fell, recovering at the last moment, but my ankle jarred and needles of pain slashed against my skin. The barest whimper escaped me.

"I'm sorry," he managed, through his own pain. His breaths were coming in gasps.

"Don't talk. Not if it makes it hurt more."

How could I show my pain when his was so much greater? An arrow lodged in his shoulder, carrying me? Every step, every breath pained him. And how quickly could he go from being the subject of my hatred, to my fear, to my sympathy?

He plodded forward into the driving snow, into the snowy wolves of winter that struggled to bring him to his knees. He plodded on until I no longer recognized our snow blurred surroundings. I felt every labored step, every shuddering breath, but even when swirling snow mixed with maroon rain, he never groaned again. He never complained, never spoke a word, just plodded onward through the blizzard until we passed through the castle gate. Up the flagstones, past the castle doors and then, on the white marble of the entry hall, a shudder racked his form. His green eyes rolled and he took a shallow, quivering breath. Then, without a sound, the great beast collapsed to the floor.

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Another day, another cliffhanger. Well, at least I got an update out.

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