"I'm so sorry, sister! I didn't see you! Are you hurt?!"
Serenya grit her teeth hard. She spun around and faced Elian. "Am I okay?! You nearly blinded me!"
He smiled sheepishly and hid the bow and arrow behind him. "I'm sorry…"
She exhaled, running her fingers through her hair. She was relieved at least, he didn't get eaten by night crawlers.
"By the way, where did you go?! You ran off without letting me know?!"
Elian swayed from side to side, his head tucked into his collar bond. He stared up at her with big innocent eyes. "But you let me go."
"I did?!"
"Yes. We were playing hide and seek, remember?"
Serenya groaned. "Hide and…"
"And I was only playing my part. I was hiding!" He sounded so happy, like she didn't just get chased down by monsters!
She crouched down to his eye level and placed her hands on his skinny shoulders. "Listen to me, little man. Once the sun goes down, all play stops. Nighttime isn't for games, alright? Especially not in Drestmere."
"But I didn't go far. I only—"
"Oh leave the boy alone," a slurred voice said. "Blaming him for your hic carelessness,"
Serenya inhaled deeply and said a silent prayer to the goddess for strength. She pulled herself up and tucked Elian behind her.
"Father," she said, part greeting and part acknowledgement.
Jonathan, her father, stumbled in with a bottle of beer in his hands. Serenya's nose wrinkled as the stench of stale sweat and alcohol hit her hard. As if life wasn't hard enough, her father had to be drunk.
"Leave the lad alone," he grumbled, waving a bony finger at her. His eyes were barely open, and his shirt was torn and dirty.
He dragged himself into the house, smashing into things on his way. Serenya's face remained blank, even as her heart churned inside her.
She wondered how he was able to get alcohol. The majority of the bars in Drestmere had permanently banned him due to all his debts. If it weren't for his wife, he would have long been beaten to death. She worked multiple jobs to keep them all fed, and sometimes spared a penny or two for his drinks.
Serenya had long given up on her father. His behaviour no longer bothered her. Not since her betrothed came back for her dowry. She had expected her father to stand up for her…but alas he would rather stand up for a bottle of cheap alcohol.
"Come on little man," Serenya took Elian's hand. "Go inside. I'll make dinner soon,"
"Okay!" Elian said and raced inside. Serenya's heart warmed. He was such a sweet child, he didn't deserve this harsh life.
She took some extra time, making sure the protective lamps and sigils were intact over the doors and windows of the small cottage. Using a carving knife, she carved deeper inscriptions on the walls. All these combined made sure no night crawler could snatch them out of their mats in the middle of the night.
Once she was done, she stared off in the direction leading to the main roads. She wondered if her mother was going to take another late night. And she prayed for her safety.
***
The next day came too quickly.
After her morning routines, Serenya headed to her workplace. The workplace made it sound fancy, for it was only a farmyard. Despite the invisible dirt that clung to her, making all the inhabitants of Drestmere turn her away each time she couldn't look for work, Peter Clement was the only wolf who offered her some worm.
He ran a large farm filled with other workers. Workers who loved to pick on Serenya as part of their daily routine. She did her best to ignore them, do her work and get her pay. But each day they found more creative ways of ridicule.
"Hey! Gwen! Did you hear what happened last night?"
"No, tell me! What is it?!"
Serenya's back straightened, making her almost drop the pick ax she was holding. She recognised the whispering voices, Stella and Gwen, the two champions of her ridicule. Serenya continued tilling the soil, telling herself that she didn't care whatever they chose to rant about today.
"I heard that Emilia was beaten last night by the lady of Erwin house. Yes, that Emilia." Gwen said in a whisper, but loud enough for Serenya to hear.
"Oh my! What did she do?!"
Serenya struck the ground hard, shockwaves shooting up her arm. Emilia was her mother's name.
"They said she slept with Lord Erwin!"
"She did what?! No way! What a shameless woman!"
"Right?! So disgusting . She deserved every bit of that beating. I bet she—"
Serenya threw the ax on the ground. It clattered loud enough that Gwen and Stella immediately shut up and turned to her.
"Hey! What's your fucking problem?!" Gwen spat, glaring at her.
Serenya's heart pounded with a mixture of fear and righteous anger. "you two…you must be mad"
"What?!" Stella screeched. "How dare you —"
"I wish you'd choke on your words. Going about spreading stupid rumours! How dare you insult my mother?!"
"Your mother is a sl—"
She picked the ax up and waved it in front of her. Her hands shook but she gripped the handle tightly. "Complete that sentence, and I'll gut you right here."
Fear flashed in Stella's eyes and she stepped back. "You crazy bitch! You're just like your mother!"
"Ladies! What's going on here?" A new voice spoke.
A man approached them. Serenya turned to him, and her sour mood turned even worse.
Danville, her betrothed, tall, highborn and a total bitch. His golden hair shone in the early morning sun. He looked at Gwen and Stella, before his blue gaze cut over to her. Seeing his handsome face made Serenya's stomach twist into knots.
To say she hated him would be a severe understatement. He was partly the reason her family was ruined. All because he was a highborn beta of the Erwin house. He decided their lives were toys.
Serenya wanted to gut him too. But doing so would only land her and her family in worse trouble.
"Lord Danville! She threatened to kill me!" Stella said and ran to his side.
"That's not true," Serenya shot back. "they both—"
"It's true!" Gwen added. "I was right here! She swung her ax at us!"
"Is that so?" Danville said to Serenya. He looked at the ax in her hands and nodded. "As if your list of crimes aren't enough, you want to add murder to it?"
Serenya dropped the ax. "I didn't —"
He snapped his fingers, cutting her off rudely. "Whatever. I have a task for you. It will serve as your punishment,"
Gwen and Stella grinned in satisfaction. Serenya straightened her back and met Danville's eyes.
"What is it?"
"Go and draw water from the well, the one in the southern walls. And bring it to me right now."
Serenya's blood chilled. "The southern wells?"
Danville cocked his head to the side and smiled sweetly. "Did I stutter?"
She swallowed thickly, her composure starting to crack. "but the southern wells are the reserves. I can't go there." Not only that, it was Sir Peter's personal well. For her as a mere worker to draw water from there would be a slap to his face. He was kind enough to give her work, and now this?
Serenya's heart pounded. She stared at Danville, hoping he would take it back.
His smile dropped. "You can't?"
"I didn't…what I mean is…" she struggled with what to say.
"You dare to disobey me?!" He shouted, his voice cutting through the peaceful morning air. It was so loud that it attracted other wolves in the vicinity. "how dare you?! Tell me that you can't?! You must have lost your mind!"
Serenya felt as if she had been stripped naked. The wolves began to whisper and snicker at her. Calling her names, telling each other how disgusted they were.
"She has no respect for her betrothed. What an uncouth girl." One said.
"Which wolf behaves in such a way? It's deplorable."
"No shame at all,"
Their states were heavy on her body, and their cutting remarks felt like jabs of ice over her skin. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and she bit her tongue hard.
She wanted to scream at them. Especially Danville. But he was a troublemaker. The moment he lashed out, he would seize the opportunity and make things worse for her. That much was evident by the glint in his eyes.
At this point all she could do was prepare for the worst.
"You all can see as well I do," Danville began in a diplomatic voice. "It would appear that my betrothed is starting to grow…wings."
The crowd gasped in horror.
Serenya gulped and wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt.
Danville walked up to her, smirking with mischief. "She must be punished. For the crime of treason against a highborn."
Serenya almost spat "you're not the king," but she held herself back in time.
The crowd began to all chant. "Treason. Treason. Treason."
Whichever way she chose to look at it, she was doomed.