"Wait for me!" I said, practically giddy with excitement. I had just turned fourteen, running in the woods to escape my home and parents. Sora had pulled ahead of me, laughing as she skipped away.
"Okay, but hurry up," she called back. "I don't have all day!"
I watched her lithe form flit between the towering trees. We'd met on a hot summer day in the forest. The pond we were headed to was where I'd seen her then. Turns out that both of us had frequently visited it to get away.
I'd learned that she came from the Leonari family. She was high up in social status wise, while I, a farmer's daughter, was pretty much dirt. Regardless, we became fast friends. It was almost too much for me to believe; I, friends with a Leonari.
Our first meeting had been three months ago.
"Hah! I got you!" I shouted triumphantly, catching hold of Sora's hood, nearly tripping. "Now you have to slow down."
Sora struggled, giggling, and turned to grin at me. Her eyes danced with mischief.
Little did I know that her smile hid a much darker intent.
We both collapsed in the clearing where the pond lay, laughing ourselves silly. I spread my arms out in the soft grass. Sora flopped down next to me, gasping in short breaths. Her blonde curls lay like a halo around her, making her look angelic.
"So, what have your parents been up to this time?" Sora said lightly, her big blue eyes blinking innocently.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Father made me get up before dawn to plow the field after he made me stay up until midnight as punishment. Then Mother made me wake my brothers and do the laundry by hand. After that, when I asked for a break, they said just because it was birthday didn't mean I'd get any favors. As punishment, I had to go fill in the stream out back after Father hit me. Father had meant to do it himself, but they made me. What about you?"
"Oh, um, I had breakfast then went horseback riding," Sora replied hastily, her treatment a massive understatement to mine. "Speaking of that, why don't we go today? Your parents still think you're out in the markets, right?"
I nodded hesitantly, unsure, but Sora was ecstatic. "Then let's go! What are you waiting for?"
Shaking off my anxiety, I followed, brushing grass off my clothes. I didn't know how to ride well yet, I'd only learned a couple of days ago. But Sora had my back, so it'd be okay. As long as she was with me it'd be fine.
Scrambling after her, I called out, "One short ride, then I have to go home."
"Aw, your parents are really strict, aren't they? Okay fine, only one ride," Sora pouted, disappointed.
When the stable hands saw Sora, they immediately bowed and got out of our way. They'd even had her favorite steed ready and hurried to put the tack on for mine. A few of them shot dirty looks at us behind our backs, but I didn't notice.
Sora mounted her horse, beckoning for me to come. Less eager, I obeyed warily, not sure what to do, and waited for a cue from Sora. She waved me on and I guided my mare down the trail she'd chosen.
The sign read: "Danger: Ride at your own risk."
Seeing me pause, she assured me, saying, " Don't worry, I've been down it before. It's really not that bad. Come on, what're you waiting for?"
Urging my skittish horse on, I nervously called back, "I really don't think this is a good idea."
The trees all around were a sickly gray, the trail seemingly made of gravel. Shadows leered at us in the figurative sense. It grew darker as the sun traveled across the sky.
As I became more and more nervous, Sora grew bolder and bolder. Her steed didn't seem to share the same feeling. He whinnied uncertainly, but Sora ignored him.
Something crackled in the dark branches, and she came to a halt. I stopped too, for there was nowhere else to go.
Before us, a gourde in the path separated us from the rest of the trail. The river roared and clawed at its banks, a great drop under our feet. One frail looking bridge scaled the chasm and was the only way across. My stomach lurched just looking at it.
Sora, on the other hand, was undaunted.
"Oh come on! I've stood on the bridge before. It's sturdy, it'll hold." If anyone knew it, it had to be Sora. She knew just about everything...right?
Leaving her horse, my friend bravely stepped onto the swaying rope and wooden construction. Tossing a laugh my way, she confidently continued on. Arriving on the other side, she turned and yelled over the noise. "Come over, Mel! You're not scared, are you?"
I shook my head indignantly, slowly setting a foot on the shaking structure. Protesting my advance, the river rumbled even louder. Vibration shot up the arm that was clutching the rope railing. Another few steps brought me to the middle of the bridge, its most precarious point.
And that's when Sora took out her pocket knife.
"What are you doing?" I shouted over the roar. Fear surged through me faster than the river's current. My blood ran cold as Sora brought the knife down on the rope lightly.
The rope was the only thing keeping the bridge up.
"You know what, Melody?" Sora said softly. "I want to tell you a couple of things before I let you drop. Oh, and not a step farther or I'll cut it right now."
"Why?" I croaked in disbelief. "Why?"
Sora spat in disgust, fury in her blue eyes. "Because I don't need a lowly villager who only wants my gold. You've been my little experiment all these months. But now this experiment has come to its end. Better this way, don't you think?"
"No! I don't want your gold, I don't want any--"
"Oh, I don't care," Sora cut me off, studying her nails nonchalantly.
"How could you just--why would you just--?" I responded, genuinely puzzled. "My parents will come looking! And how can you speak so lightly about this? Honestly, who have I been talking to the last three months?"
She cooly replied, lowering the knife farther and sawing slightly. Pleasure shone in her expression at my wince. "So many questions that I won't answer. You're my first experiment, actually. Probably the last, but I might as well enjoy it while I can."
Who was this cold-blooded murderer? Was it the same little girl that I'd befriended before?
I had to stall for time. Somehow. I couldn't die yet.
My brothers needed me. And I needed them.
Desperate, I quickly came up with an argument. It wasn't hard, considering that my life was on the line. "Wait! Why did you take me as an experiment? What was it for?"
Sora gave an exasperated sigh but nevertheless answered. "I wanted to see what it was like to toy with emotions and crush them utterly. I plan on devoting your reactions to my studies. You'll be a part of a much larger picture. Even if you survive this, who'll believe you when you say that I tried to kill you? Nobody, that's who. So it's useless to attempt it. From what I heard, not even your own parents would care." She repeated what she'd said before. "Isn't it better this way, hmm? No one cares about you. What's there to live for?"
Thank goodness I hadn't told her about Erin and Mike. Who knows what this lunatic would've done to them.
I'd stayed silent and calculating for too long because Sora decided she had had enough. "Moving along, let's finish what we started, shall we? Maybe you can say a few last words if you wish."
This is one sick child I was up against.
Gritting my teeth, I spat out, suddenly running. "Yeah, I'm. Not. Dying. Today!"
I saw the sneer on her face and reached a hand out as the blade swung down. She had expected this. I'd been too predictable. In one swift stroke, she sawed through the one object connecting me to this life.
The rope seemed to slither in slow motion, snaking its way towards me as gravity took hold.
Planks tore from their positions as the rope keeping then in place disappeared. I was losing footing and already the bridge had tilted hazardously. The strain of holding a fourteen-year-old girl and the whole bridge was too much for the string on the other side. It snapped, and the last flicker of my hope went with it.
I distantly heard Sora say, "Bye, Mel. It was nice knowing you. Not really. I have places to be. Tick, tock."
The words thundered in my head, counting down seconds until my death.
Tick, tock.
The water was nearing, rushing up close. If the fall didn't kill me, the water and rocks certainly would. Flailing in mid-air, I snatched a plank of wood nearby and clung onto it for dear life.
Please, please, please. Let my brothers be alright, please.
With an enormous splash, I entered the water, freezing though it was still between summer and fall. It closed over my head and I slammed into the boulders below. I heard something go snap and nearly blacked out from the shock and pain.
Well, that complicates things, I thought, desperately attempting to calm down. It could be worse though.
Struggling to keep my head above the crashing waves, I gasped for breath. Up ahead, I glimpsed the river pouring down. A waterfall.
Things just got worse.
Nearly strangling the plank in my hands, a scream tore from my mouth as I took in the dizzying heights. The river spilled into the sea, pouring me out with it.
I clutched the plank tighter and prayed that it'd be over soon.
"Please, let me live, if only for my brothers," I whimpered out loud, shutting my eyes. "Please," I cried out one last time before I tumbled into the sea.
Simple pain transformed into agony and I gave in to the numbing relief of eternal sleep.
(Side Note: Ash's point of view will be coming up soon, so watch for that. You'll know 'cause I'll put his name at the top of the chapter. Oh, and I remember someone requesting a drawing of Isaac and Sylvia, so here it is. It's kind of blurry but I hope you guys can see it. See you at the next update!)