Anna was silently stalking her favorite human from the woods, for once again. It was a girl, around the age of eleven, but maybe she was a bit younger or even elder, Anna wasn't exactly sure. However, that did not really matter.
The girl was always dressed in a simple, clean, yet beautiful white dress with a blue bow tied to her waist. She also had these blue shoes and blue bow that was tied to her hair, another precious gift from her mother.
Y/n was her name, Anna recalled. Her name was so unique and matched the girl perfectly. For a girl her age, she sure was mature. She had kidnapped a lot of girls before, most of them could be difficult to handle. She remembered that some of them were a bit too immature, which made her job ten times more difficult, as they would refuse to eat, behave or stay silent. Of course, she adored every single one of them, all of these innocent faces were unforgettable, but the fact that every one had to suffer to death brought Anna bitter memories. Every time, she would promise to herself that she would do better and raise a child on her own successfully, just like the way her mother had managed to accomplish so much on hear own. Despite that, Anna was never successful. The girls' deaths were so painful, but she would never lose her determination. What she would lose, however, was every bit of sanity left in her.
Y/n lived in a small village near Anna's woods. She expected to find more children happily running around, but it seemed like Y/n was the only child there. Most people were adults and more specifically, most of them were men. Anna would usually find Y/n helping the women with the chores, such as cleaning, washing or cooking.
Y/n was hardworking and disciplined, for her age. She did not seem happy like other children, however. She wouldn't play outside, laugh or smile. She always just carried a blank face. There was never a hint of happiness or shine in the girl's eyes. However, she did not seem sad, either. She was just raised to be a serious woman from a young age, so she never really had the chance to enjoy childhood. Not that the girl cared much about that, however. Her mother and her little garden was everything she needed to be happy.
Anna smiled to herself. Yes, Y/n would be her new beloved child to raise and love. Due to the girl's maturity, discipline and calm personality, she would be easy to tame. She could imagine brushing her (hair color) hair, taking her out in the woods with her for walks or for hunting, or even singing her favorite lullaby at night while she would sleep.
That made Anna wonder, did the girl understand Russian? Now, it is not like she was doing good at speaking Russian herself, due to the fact that it had been so many years since she last had conversations like a normal human being. She still remembered how to speak a bit, she would even practice on her own, but it was obvious that she needed more practice. However, the girl would most likely not be able to speak Russian, so it would be difficult for the two to communicate. Fortunately for Anna, she would listen to humans having conversations, which helped her catch a few words and phrases so she would be able to speak to the girl in the language she knew the best.
She had to be patient and prepare herself for the girl's arrival. She had to make sure that she would be able to provide the girl clothes, food and other necessities but also find different ways of communication, before she would murder everyone in the village and steal the precious angel away.
This time, she had to succeed. She would do her best to keep the girl happy, healthy, alive. Y/n was going to be hers. She would protect her with all her will and be with her for as much as possible, unlike the past neglected girls that Anna would lock somewhere, either for protection or for punishment, that would die from sicknesses, starvation, dehydration or cold.
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Y/n let out a sigh as she continued washing the clothes. There were so many dirty clothes and she was still at the beginning! There were a lot of men in the village, and the few women there, including Y/n, had to do the 'women work'. At that moment, the other women handled the cooking and cleaning, while she was washing the clothes. The men were out hunting or collecting wood for the following winter.
Y/n was taught to do the housework and take care of herself, instead of learning how to have fun, make friends and socialize. That was the reason she was not so eager to meet and have fun with other children.... Not that there were any. However, it would be a lie if she said that she wasn't feeling a bit lonely. There were the women and men that she would talk with and learn things from them, but of course, they had to work and talk with the elders for things that had to do with business and other adult stuff.
She was an animal lover and she did like to spend time with the few chickens, cats and dogs there, but unfortunately for her, she was not allowed by her mother and others, since the animals were 'dirty' and could cause viruses, infections and other dangerous things. That didn't stop her, however, as she would hang out with her fellow animals in secret.
Lately, she heard from the village that some men would start to disappear in the forest and that had everyone worried. Whenever she would ask the villagers about them, they would put on a fake smile and tell her that everything was alright, that they went somewhere and other lies. However, she knew the truth. She knew that the missing men were later found dead in the forest, their heads and other limbs missing or they were hung and other disgusting details. She heard a lot of rumors saying that whatever caused these deaths were either an animal, a monster or... A murderer. Possibly from the village or not.
That did make her scared and sad. She wasn't familiar with everyone, but some of these men would do nothing but offer kindness to the girl. Listening to these awful things hurt her a lot.
Her mother would hug her and comfort her by saying that whatever was out there in the forest seemed to only come after the people that disturbed the forest, and that as long as she didn't step inside, she would be safe. She felt relieved with the thought, but if that was true, why did men continue to enter the forest?
After a few days, it was decided by everyone to get away from the village and find a safer place to stay, for the sake of their lives, as much as they despised the thought of leaving their beloved homes.
Little did they know that the monster of the forest was planning on ruining their plans.
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Her mother kissed her forehead and mumbled a "Sweet dreams, my beloved," after singing her favorite lullaby at night.
Y/n would toss and turn at night, unable to sleep at the thought that tonight was her last night sleeping in this house. So, instead, she closed her eyes and prayed for her father that had sacrificed himself for her and her mother, also wishing for him to be happy whenever he was and telling him her everyday.
Loud noises were heard, followed by pained screams from the outside. She immediately ran to her window and started looking outside to see the cause of the chaos that had started within seconds. She couldn't see what was going on and she screamed when her bedroom door was pushed open with force.
"We need to get out of here!" Her mother shouted, before she grabbed her daughter by the hand and made a run outside. As they left the house, Y/n felt petrified when she noticed the dead men and women on the ground with blood being spilled everywhere. "Y/n, don't look, just run!" Her mother yelled out of fear and anxiety for her daughter and her's safety.
They stopped dead on their tracks when a silhouette of a big woman appeared a few feet away from them. Her face was covered by a bunny mask, but the worst thing was that she was covered in blood, and so were her two axes that she held in each hand. The woman titled her head, either observing the two of them or feeling pleasure from their fear. Y/n's mother stretched her hands in front of her daughter in a protective matter as she glared at the strong women as much as she could to hide her fear. "Stay away from my daughter! You won't hurt her!"
The foreign woman raised her finger at me and spoke in Russian, "Я хочу твоя дочь." (Ya hachu tvaya dotch/I want your daughter.) We both stared at her, confused of what she was saying. But before we even had the chance to act, the woman threw one of her axes towards my mother's head, and she didn't miss.
It felt like time slowed down as I watched my mother's corpse collapse on the ground and her blood staining whatever was near her, including innocent little me. I was left in a state of shock, traumatized by the scene in front of me as nothing was in my mind. I couldn't move, cry or think. I didn't even notice the woman approaching me, until a man ran in front of me, his back facing me. I looked up with my eyes widen. He glared down at me, even though his eyes showed pure sadness and fear "Run as far away as you can and never come back! Find a safe place! There's no hope for her.... Move!" He yelled as I gasped and started to run as fast as my legs could. The man, however, stood his ground, grabbed his bow and prepared for the battle against the woman.
It wasn't long after I heard a cracking sound and a body of a hero falling. I didn't even turn back to look, I already knew what I would face. Somehow, I knew that the foreign woman was not the fallen one.
Feeling tired and being ready to collapse, I found refuge in an abandoned, big house not that far from my village. I knew that it was wrong for me to stop and hide there, as she would most likely find me, but I couldn't carry on anymore.
I pushed the already broken door open and immediately hid myself inside a bedroom. I didn't even pay attention to my surroundings as I ran in the big closet and hid myself inside the many clothes. I closed my mouth with my hands and tried to control my shakey breathing and heart that was beating rapidly. I didn't know whether the dead silence was worse than the screamings and crying I witnessed earlier. I closed my eyes and prayed that this was just an awful nightmare and that I would wake up from the daylight warming my face and my mother's singing while preparing breakfast.
I opened my eyes a few minutes after, and realized that this wasn't just a nightmare, but a living nightmare. I was still hidden in the closet, as anxious as ever.
My heart dropped as I heard a woman humming a lullaby, followed by footsteps that made the wooden floor crack by the pressure. The woman's voice was so gentle and beautiful that could bring someone the feeling of security, but I knew better than trust that. This woman had killed my mother and so many other people, perhaps, the whole village, too! Her humming brought nothing but anxiety and fear to me!
The woman was now inside the room. She took a quick glance around the room before she walked and placed her two axes on the bedside table, staining it with blood in the process. She examined the room, still humming as she looked under the bed. She then turned to the closet where I was hidden. She started approaching it and I was growing more horrified. She reached her hand to open the closet, until she heard a noise and her head snapped to the direction the sound came from - outside the room. She walked out of the room in a fast pace, forgetting about the closet and her axes. I remained silent, not knowing whether staying in place or getting out and running away with the axes was wise. On the other hand, these axes seemed to be very heavy, how could I carry such a weapon with me? It would only slow me down.
I decided to keep silent and wait, there was no way that she wouldn't come back. She wouldn't forget her weapons. I could just wait for her to get her axes and leave before I could step outside, even if the air inside the closet was suffocating.
So, it happened. She stepped back into the room a few moments later and she grabbed her axes before she left. Five minutes had passed and there was no sign of her. I slowly opened the closet and peeked outside, nothing and nobody was there. I tip toed outside, not letting my guard down, and when I was sure that she was far from me, I made a run away from that house.
Thankfully, the time I spent in that closet came to my advantage as I had the courage to run longer. When I felt relieved that there was a possibility I could have lost her, I gasped when large, brown wolf appeared a few feet away from me it's yellow eyes glared at me as it growled. I noted to myself; the wolf wasn't friendly. This was the worst situation to face in such a time.
A tear made its way down my cheek as I realized that this was the end for me, just like it was the end for everyone in my beloved village. I knew that whether dying by a wolf or by that woman would be painful, but I had to accept my unfortunate fate. So, I smiled as I thought about my parents that I would be with very soon.
Before the wolf could attack, I heard the woman's growl from behind me as I saw one of her axes passing right next to my head, making me think that it was aimed at me, but then I realized; It was aimed at the wolf. The Axe collided with the wolf's head, making it crack and bleed, as it died immediately. I let out a shakey cry and was about to run, but gasped as I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me protectively and hold me close to the woman's chest. I struggled and cried, "Leave me alone, please! Don't hurt me!! Help!!"
"Sh sh shh, не бойся," (Nye boishya/Don't be scared) The woman spoke gently with her broken english as she kept the child close to her. "You good girl, won't hurt you." I raised my head up to look in her eyes with my teared ones. The woman's eyes were a dark shade of brown, almost black. She smiled down at me as she used on of her hands to stroke my cheek and clean my fresh tears. "W-Why?" I sobbed.
Before she could reply, we heard a lot of voices from afar. The woman looked at me and put her finger on her lips, as if to tell me to be quiet. I didn't dare make a sound, as I feared of the consequences. She then picked me up with her free hand and threw me on her shoulder, making me huff as she gripped her one axe with the other hand as she started to walk away with me, leaving her other axe behind, as a sign of warning.
She had been walking for a long time and I had started to grow very tired and nauseous of the same position, so I closed my eyes and fell into a slumber, without even noticing. I couldn't fight against her, there was no escape from the woman, so the best thing I could do for me at that moment, was rest to regain my powers for another time.
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After what seemed like a few hours, I opened my eyes. I found myself lying in a small, torn bed. I got up and took a look at my surroundings. It seemed like I was in a small, abandoned cabin, judging by the looks of it. It must have been abandoned for years, as the walls had scratches, the furniture was dirty and so was the whole place. Spider webs could be seen in a few corners and I did expect to see some insects running around. The doors and windows were blocked and only a few rays of day or night light could be seen, and I couldn't get them open, no matter how much I tried. The room's temperature was quite chilly, too, and those blankets did not help that much. There were a few shelfs that I opened, hoping to find something useful that could help me escape, but I could only find clothes and a few cans of food.
I pushed myself against the wall and hugged my knees close to my chest. The whole village was murdered, I was now an orphan, that murderer had kidnapped me and locked me inside an abandoned place that was almost inhabitable and I was unaware of what the future held for me.
Tears made their way in my eyes as I covered my face and sobbed helplessly, knowing that there was no hope for me. "M-Mom... D-Dad.... I-I miss you.... A-And I'm scared..... P-Please, somebody.... H-help me...."
I gasped when I heard a door open, before it closed and someone locked it. I ran to my bed and hid myself behind the covers, trembling in fear. The woman made her way to my room and was not very pleased to see me in that position. She let out a sigh and slowly approached me. She sat down next to me as I did not move my eyes away from her.
She smiled and put her hand on her chest. "Я Анна." (Ya Anna/I'm Anna.) Then, she put her hand on my chest. "Ты Y/n." (Ti Y/n/You're Y/n) My eyes widen, "H-How did you know?" "From village... Humans." She tried to explain. She must have wanted to say "I heard this from the villagers.". "Don't be afraid.... I won't harm you." She continued as she moved closer to me, but stopped when she saw me pull back. "B-But why? Why did you have to kill everyone?" "They were keeping you unhappy.... You are good and I want a...." She pointed at me with a smile, "Daughter. You will be my daughter. Keep me company and I protect you." Tears formed in my eyes, "Y-You killed my family.... Why? You-You could have just.... Come with us.... Why did you-Why did you kill them?!" I asked angrily. Her smile was replaced with a frown. "I had to. Because I want you and need you.... This is home, not village. Understand, Y/n, this is home now! Not there! Forget village... You're mine now!" She argued back. "NO!" I yelled and pushed her to the ground, seeing that she had let her guard down. She let out a huff as she collided with the wooden floor. I made a run to the door, but she grabbed my foot and shoved me to the floor with her as she dragged me towards her. However, I made a strong kick to her face. She groaned and let go off me. That kick could have done that damage, if it weren't for the bunny mask.
Before she could get up, I ran to the door, thanking heavens that the keys were there and unlocked the door before running away.
"NO! COME BACK HERE!!" I heard Anna yell. Her voice told me that if I dared disobey, the consequences would have been ten times worse than just going back to her, but, I was not stupid enough to avoid the, possibly, last chance of escape.
Everything hurt, my whole body, arms, legs and my lungs were burning. I couldn't stop, though. I wouldn't just give up. I ran inside the forest and started hiding behind trees and doing some tricks in order for her to lose me. I then decided to climb a big tree, onto a branch. There was absolute silence, the only thing that could be heard was the Huntress's humming, which wasn't gentle and kind, but lower, meaner and forced. As if she was losing her patience. Or sanity.
I kept my mouth shut and tried to relax, thinking that I wouldn't be so easy for her to find me there, in a huge forest. But on the other hand, she didn't seem like the type of person, or monster, to miss.
I was hidden in the trees for a few minutes and I felt like I was safe, but my peace was interrupted when the branches started to crack. Before I could react, some branches broke, including mine and I started falling. I yelped and when I collided with the ground, I let out an ear piercing scream at the pain my body felt, but mostly my right thigh, which had something pierced through it. The pain was unbearable, I couldn't keep silent. Everything started to seem blurry and I could hear buzzing noises in my ears. I caught the familiar mask of Anna making her way towards me. Her face had the look of concern. She took a look at my thigh, before picking me up, while I was still yelling and crying in pain.
"Моя девочка, почему? You could have died.... Please, do not do this ever again...." (My girl, Why?) She hugged me close to her. "Do not be afraid.... For I will care for you. I will make sure you don't escape or hurt again."
"Ты моя." (You are mine.)
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I do not remember how much time it has been. A few days? A few... weeks? Or perhaps a month? I do not even know myself.
Anna would constantly be with me, hug me and care for me as if I was her kid. She would brush my hair with her fingers, sing me that damned lullaby and tell me how much she loves me. The food she would give me was mostly meat. Rabbit meat, deer meat.... Any type of meat. Sometimes, I fear that she fed me human meat. I hate the thought of eating something of hers, but starvation is worse than eating the meat..... I think.
Whenever I would disobey or try to escape, she would yell at me and lock me inside my room for days and not feed and give me water for more than once a day as a punishment. Being locked inside a room for days as punishment is not as bad as it sounds. The worst thing would be when she would tie my whole body against the bed or wall for hours, making me unable to move. She would let me suffer, but she never dared lay a finger on me. Her strength is so powerful than could kill someone with her pinky finger only. Whenever she would yell at me, I would shake in fear, thinking that she would hurt me..... But she never did hurt me. Not like that, at least...
Whenever I would obey, she would treat me by taking me outside in the woods for walk -tied by a chain, of course-, show me how to hunt, become physically stronger, teach me how to cook, teach me Russian, but also, let me eat as much as I wished, and whatever I wished for.
You may think that obeying would be the best option and that I would make it out alive and happy this way, correct?
Wrong.
The lack of human communication would drive me insane. The worst thing, however, is that, no matter how much Anna cared for me and treated my wounds, she was unable to provide me the medication I needed. I wasn't used to living this way, so I would constantly get sick for a long time and most of my wounds had already gone infected, just like the wound on my thigh.
What am I doing now, you ask? I am laying on my cold bed, as Anna is stroking my cheek while humming the lullaby. I am currently, very seriously sick and my whole body and infected wounds are in pain. I start to grow weaker and weaker over the time. I don't have the courage to talk or walk. Or even drink or eat. The only thing I can do is just wait.
Wait for my death.
There is no escape from Anna and I know it. I am hers. Hers forever, as she would always say. I am patiently just laying in this bed , which I have been doing for a few days now, and wait for death to finally come embrace me.
It is time for me to see my parents again. I have been waiting for this moment for so long. This is the only escape.
Or is it?
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This was a long oneshot! Phew, I am so glad that it is over, and quite happy with the results, too!
What do you think? I apologize if the end was disappointing to you. I bet you wanted to see the two of them living happily, right? Well, I wanted to make this a bit realistic.
Unlikely other one shots with the Huntress, this one does not have a happy ending for either of the two. Y/n, just like all of Anna's previous kidnapped girls ends up dying in the end, as Anna's love for the girls is not strong enough to save them and in the end, Anna loses yet another child, has to continue on her own and find more girls to kidnap.
Sorry if it was depressing or disappointing, but I really wanted to make something different and give the message that not every story has a happy ending. (╯︵╰,)
I hope you enjoyed it, though! :'D.