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Aerona screamed when she saw the man ready to kill her.
He tried to strike her on the throat but she moved quickly but causing a small cut on the side of the neck. She held her neck tight to stop the blood trickling.
'What are you doing??!!' she cried.
He did not reply but poised himself for another attack. Aerona saw the rage in his eyes and she knew this man was venomed to kill.
He swung the knife at her causing another cut on her shoulder and she stumbled crying in pain. The man jumped at her and her quick reflex caused her to kick him on the stomach. Which luckily gave her a chance to run down.
But she was smart enough not to run back to her home.
The man knew she was a being of another realm, probably cursed. If he knew that humans have taken her, a being like her into their homes he'd probably notify the other villagers and she and her entire family will be executed.
The human villages never took beings of other realms kindly. Some villages gave them no mind but other villages like Rudark hated them and would love to have their blood. Aerona had seen many people decorate their homes with the heads to dwarves, Alkariyas (Phoenix-shifters), and many more creatures so. And her adoptive family hoped to protect her by hiding her wings from the other's views. Her family considered this barbaric and vile and this made them no different from the dark sorcerers who fought war with the world times ago.
The man was hot on her heels. She was running straight into the woods. The trees did hide her well but her big wings was very easy to notice.
The man yelled 'Filth stop right there! Come back you!'.
'Not in a million years. Not unless you tell me why your trying to-' huff '-trying to hurt me...' she replied back while still running.
'Filth like you don't deserve to live. Stop running and surrender or else I'll skin you alive when I get my hands on you' he roared which shook Aerona to her core. Not from fright. But from pure wrath.
She stopped in her tracks. The man stopped too but he walked towards her, his knife in striking position.
'This is absurd. Have you ever thought that this might be cruel as people like you have killed thousands of innocents. I have done nothing to you or your family then why do you carry so much hate in you?' she said bitterly.
'Why? Because you, all of your kind and the others are an abomination on the face of the earth' he spat. And suddenly he jumped at her.
She dodged but did an uppecut on his throat causing him to choke and stagger back.
He didn't notice a muddy ditch as he staggered back and due to his ignorance he fell down. Aerona ran to help him but while she ran she disturbed the loose soil and the whole mud fell down on top of the man.
Her eyes went wide in realisation.
'I killed him...! Oh good lords!!! I killed a man!!!' she cried. 'Well he was the one trying to kill me first. But oh what am I even saying. I shouldn't have tried to kill him. No wait I didn't kill him on purpose. It was an accident. Oh lords...' she comforted herself crying.
She slowly backed away. The heavy pang inside her heart grew heavier by passing minutes.
'I buried a man alive' she repeated in her mind. These thoughts started to depress her.
She sat down on the wet ground and buried herself in tears. Her bawling could be heard echoing the forest. She sniffled in guilt. She pulled her hair in frustration. His family would go all around in search for him. What if the signs lead his murder to her? Then the whole village will know of her identity.
Her face grew red. 'I can't let them find him' she said to herself.
She got up immediately and decided to go back to the scene of murder but...now she is lost.
'Oh lords!!! What did I do to deserve this? I killed a man but wasn't it an accident...' she cried looking up the sky.
She looked around the unfamiliar sights. She definitely is lost she thought bitterly.
Suddenly the ground beneath her shook. She fell down but the tremors stopped. She trembled in silence.
She slid her fingers to the soil and she felt the Earth beneath her shake.
Something is coming towards her. And fast. Something big and probably not tame.
She jumped up and ran to an unknown direction and suddenly the ground started to break and smoke rise from the ground.
Aerona panicked but she started to run with all her might. And her wings going up all the way and the wind positioning the feathers for flight.
As Aerona started to run faster she felt herself lift of the ground.
'What??!! No! I'm not going to fly' she yelled. But the wings seemed like to have a mind of its own. She was suddenly lifted a few feets causing her to panic a lot more the cracks and tremble on the ground.
The ground suddenly broke open and a vile creature so hideous emerged from the ground.
The beast had an owl head on a lion's body. The creature roared and charged towards her. Aerona screamed like all hell loose.
But suddenly the wings pulled her up to the sky. Aerona screamed in panic while the creature was thrown off guard.
Aerona was high up the sky. She knew not how to fly and her panic evident on her face.
She flapped her wings trying to imitate the birds but this did not seem to work but she started to fall down. Right down at the creature.
The golden eyes of the creature piercing her with its gaze.
Her life flashed in her eyes but as she fell to its mouth her wings flourished wide and with a might swing she took off to the sky again.
Aerona's scream intensified. Not from fright. But from ecstasy.
'Okay so my wings are controlled by my thoughts' she said while stopping mid air.
She grinned and turned herself to the right and now flew soaring like an eagle.
She shouted in glee and tried to flip herself around the air. But she was unbalanced and staggered down but immediately pulled herself up.
'Better not try anything new' she reminded herself.
As she was up the sky she saw the village of Rudark a few miles away.
She smiled in relief and happiness pounded her heart.
But suddenly a small part of the village started smoking. At first she thought the creature has gone to the village but then she saw many people throwing buring torches at the houses. And now the smoke turned to blazing fire.
'My family!!!' she cried and flew as fast as she could towards the village.
She heard cries and bellows coming from inside the burning houses and many people who jumped outside their houses were on fire or the villagers cut them up.
The villagers saw her flying overhead and started firing arrows at her. She dodged them and flew to her house and saw her house breaking down in fire. No sound coming from he house.
She flew down ignoring the blazing fire.
And amongst broken charred woods she saw burned corpses.
She walked slowly through the coals and ashes. Her mind void. She went near the corpse and examined it. A small cloth was sticking to the burned skin. She plucked it off the skin and saw it was maroon apron cloth. The one her mother wore.
Her heart hit a million times. She looked around and saw another two corpses on top of each other.
Airen seemed to have died trying to protect the older sister from the falling ceiling but got burned but the fire. Aerona couldn't bear it. She screamed in pain of heart.
Suddenly she heard a long hoarse wail. She looked behind her and saw a man. Her adoptive father.
'Papa!!! No go back!!' she yelled knowing what might happen.
But he didn't hear her and ran towards the burning fire. The men of the village saw him, pulled him off the buring ground and decapitated him with no hesitation.
'Papa!!' she yelled and ran towards his body.
The men positioned their swords and arrows. But Aerona was not in a mood to dodge and run. She was burning with revenge wrath that could burn the whole village.
She charged at them. Her wings wide open in a fighting stance. 'I killed a man. And I will not hesitate to kill a thousand more' she screamed and jumped at a man. Stepping forcefully at his head, it went down the earth.
The others charged at her with their swords high. She swung her wing and threw all of them to the ground. But another jumped up immediately and hit her head with its hilt and she fell down unconscious...