Chapter 80
Someone is trying to kill her with an arrow. The moment she realized it, her vision suddenly blurred. She had a strange feeling of déjà vu, as if something similar had happened to her before.
There’s no way a princess who has grown up protected in a royal palace would be chased by a stranger’s arrows.
But soon, the scene unfolded before her eyes. The acrid smoke rising from somewhere, the memory of holding someone’s hand and climbing an endless staircase. Her breath caught in her throat. Her legs gave out and she collapsed, and the man walking ahead of her picked her up, this time on his back. His back was already soaked with blood.
Why? What was I running from– no, who was I running from?
Bang!
The door flew open, dispelling the darkness and flooding the room with blinding sunlight. Stepping out, she was still frantically running for her life, when she saw someone pointing a bow at her. The pointed arrowhead was aimed at a large, golden bird that was just about to soar into the sky.
“Masha!”
Masha.
Why does that name come up here? Masha was the first name I ever gave to the horse I’m riding now.
Shoot!
The arrow flew again, and this time it struck the ground. Masha swerved sharply in response, and Rosetta’s body bucked violently.
She tried to hold on to her senses as her vision blurred between illusion and reality, but it was all she could do. Her eyes closed and all the strength drained from her body.
Her grip on the reins loosened. Rosetta’s body tilted sideways. She fell from the horse and landed in the bushes nearby.
[Uh, sister!]
Ethel’s piercing scream rang out. The horse sped away, leaving only Ethel on its back.
Grrrrrr.
The monsters no longer chased the horse and child. No, they didn’t need to. Now they could just gorge themselves on the food that fell in front of them.
Tick, tick, tick.
The raindrops began to trickle down onto the black soil and leaves, and one by one they landed on Rosetta’s tightly closed eyelids and cheeks.
Monsters swarmed around the unconscious Rosetta. Their gaping mouths snapped open and their sharp teeth bared at her in unison.
***
Rashid stared at the purple ribbon in his hand. He stroked it with two fingers, half disfigured by the fire.
From a very young age, whenever he saw this ribbon, he thought of his mother, and then his father. He thought of his mother, who had taken her own life while he was still a child, and he told himself that he shouldn’t do the same thing as his father.
But now, when I look at it, I don’t think of them anymore. All I can think about is the woman who put her hand in the fire to save it.
I don’t know since when, but she’s been in my mind.
At first, I thought the woman’s plight was pitiful, having been kidnapped in the middle of her marriage. But then I realized that I had to help her so that she wouldn’t suffer the consequences of her father’s sin, so I did what I could to make things easier for her. I gave her food, clothes, and medicine, thinking that when the time came, I would send her back to her hometown and that would be the end of it.
He never expected his feelings to run so deep.
Rashid bit the soft flesh of his mouth. So many memories and emotions had piled up in less than a month. The way she’d looked down at him from her horse and lectured him, the giddy drunkenness at the banquet, the way she’d held a child in her dirty clothes without hesitation.
And countless other memories and emotions flooded his mind, each one of them embedded so deeply in his heart that he could not move.
The sight of her smiling face had become endearing and sometimes maddeningly tempting. Little did she know, just the mere sight of her bare back and shoulders had caused him to fantasize about taking off all her clothes in his head every night since.
After the delegation left, he knew he wanted to make her his, body and soul, so she wouldn’t leave. So he pushed her into bed without giving her a chance to think about anything else.
But in the end, he couldn’t, even though he could fulfill all his desires if he wanted to. He didn’t want to see the woman he’d given everything to in the heat of the moment regret it in the slightest.
He realized that he couldn’t keep something he valued so much. And that bitterness can be a pain when it builds up and builds up.
As a noble of Lysa Kingdom, he knew it would be difficult, but still possible. He was confident that he could negotiate with the woman’s parents or threaten them and keep her by his side.
A princess, however, was a different story entirely. She was no ordinary royal family, she was Lysa’s royal family, the incarnation of God, and there was no way they would send their precious daughter to a place they considered barbaric.
There would be a war of epic proportions, far greater than the last, and the blood of countless people would once again be spilled on this land. Even if they miraculously won the war, it would be a fading glory built on death and sacrifice. Nothing can replace thousands and tens of thousands of lives.
Still, I was glad it was over before it got any deeper than it had to be. At least it allowed me to let her go.
Yes, I can let her go now. It’s going to be hard for a while, but I’ll get over it. Memories and emotions eventually dilute and fade over time.
When she returns to where she came from, she will quickly forget what happened here. She’ll think she had a bad dream. Back in the arms of her family, back in the arms of her fiancé.
Rashid let out a small sigh. Shaking his head, he put the ribbon back in the box where it belonged.
He’d told her once that if he really valued something, he’d keep it out of reach. And it was true. Perhaps this ribbon will now be kept in this box in that sense.
Rumble.
Just as he closed the lid of the box, thunder rumbled. Rashid’s gaze flicked to the window, a common occurrence this time of year. It’s sunny during the day, then it starts raining in the evening and stops as quickly as it came.
As he watched the raindrops fall, one by one, he thought to himself. I think I heard she was going to the river to wash the dyed fabric today, but she hasn’t returned yet. They must have left before it started to rain, because they don’t want to get the fabric wet after drying it in the sun.
Soon enough, the downpour intensified. Rashid pressed his lips together as he watched the downpour. Just as a sense of foreboding began to creep in, he saw the figure of a woman on horseback. A light brown horse. Rashid immediately recognized it as the horse he had given Rosetta, but the woman leaping from the horse had hair of a different color than blonde.
***
Benny rode the horse in the rain. It was the first time in her life that she’d ever had to drive a horse so wildly.
As she searched for the missing Ethel, some boys approached her, handing her Ethel’s teddy bear. Rigaina had gone into the monster forest alone to find its owner.
After a while, Masha appeared with Ethel on her back. When she asked Ethel what happened, the child cried. She said that Rigaina fell off her horse while they were riding out of the forest together.
It had already started to rain by then. Everyone said that they shouldn’t do this, that they should quickly inform the castle and bring soldiers.
From then on, Benny jumped on top of Masha and started riding straight to the castle. In what state of mind she was in, no one knows. All he could think of was that she had to tell Riga about this quickly.
Once through the gates, she saw a group of people standing inside the building. Benny burst into tears when she saw Thelma’s face. She knew Thelma would be waiting like this, for she was always the one who needed to know exactly what was going on in the castle.
[Benny?]
Sensing something was amiss, Thelma rushed out into the rainy garden. Benny jumped off the horse before it came to a complete stop. Her feet stumbled and she fell face-first to the ground. Thelma caught her and pulled her to her feet. Mud was already covering Benny’s body.
[Oh, my God! Benny, are you okay?]
Thelma soon realized that something was wrong with Benny riding Masha alone, and that her current condition must have something to do with Rigaina.
[Benny, where’s Rigaina? Why didn’t she come with you?]
Benny shook her head wildly. [I’m fine, just tell Riga sooner than later, Rigaina is in the monster forest alone right now.]
Hearing her sobbing voice, Thelma felt her brain shut down for a moment. Seeing that Thelma was uncharacteristically blank, Benny spoke again.
[Thelma, did you hear what I said?]
Only then did Thelma’s gaze snap back to Benny.
[The monster forest? Why would she be alone in such a place….]
[Please, I don’t have time to explain. You know what it’s like there. Hurry up, or Rigaina will die!]
If what Benny just said was true, there was no time to waste. It was already raining, and soon it would be dark. This means that Rigaina’s life is in great danger.
But Thelma knows very well what that also means. Going to the monster forest when it rains is suicide. There would be no chance of starting a fire, and monsters would be stronger than usual. Therefore, it is common knowledge that one should not enter the monster forest when it is raining.
What would happen if Riga found out about this?