Chapter 60: Little Wildflower



Fanmade cover by Shaina Mae Navarro

"I really don't want to go to the woods. Let's just stay in the castle."

Dorothy was playing with Roger by the balcony. She was caressing its soft, grey fur and the feline seemed to be enjoying the gesture as it closes its blue eyes whenever her palm touches its body. It was actually a lovely sight: an innocent girl and her cat.

And I almost wanted to keep it that way and believe that she didn't really want to go to the woods. But after what she told me the past night about always going to the place where she lost her family, I knew that she was lying. No matter how child-like and innocent she looked like, she was still a mean, little liar.

"It's tea time and they're having a meeting. It's our chance now –and this might be the only one we'll ever have."

She was silent and thoughtful for a moment; staring at the thick and dark woods beyond the castle. There were longing and sadness in her eyes and it almost broke my heart when she looked back at me and let Roger on the floor.

"There might be no turning back once we leave the castle gates," she said.

I smiled at her. "Whatever you say, I'll still go with you. Who knows? Someone might end up crying in the woods," I teased.

She didn't answer; which lead me into thinking that it might be her intention to cry in the woods after all. We moved quickly and rode on one of the horses that were grazing under a tree. We were able to pass the back gates of the castle without intervention and as we galloped to the entrance of the woods; I couldn't help but sense a familiarity on my surroundings. It was like the woods remembered me and it was welcoming me back. It was urging me to go deeper and deeper; inviting me to search for its heart.

Dorothy remained silent behind me. She was still deep in her thoughts. I decided to touch her hands that were holding my waist to assure her and she leaned her head on my back as her response.

When we were deep enough in the woods and found a clearing, we decided to stop. She hopped down and wandered around. She looked anxious as she eyed every dark part between the trees. It had been a long time since we both visited the woods and I knew that we're both remembering a certain incident we didn't want to happen again.

"It's alright, Dorothy. No one's coming for us today. You can cry if you want to or even leave a message just in case your parents come around here looking for you. I'll just wait here."

I was about to go a little to the other direction when she suddenly hug me from behind. I knew that she was already crying because she was sniffing against my clothes. I turned around and wrap my arms around her.

"What if they've forgotten about me? What if they didn't want me anymore and that was why they're not looking for me?" she cried.

So it was what she had been worried about all this time. Being forgotten was actually way worse than death; it would make you wonder whether the things you've done when you're alive are enough for someone to remember you when you're gone. However, she was too young to worry about that and too naïve to understand how deep the connection is that runs within the family. I wanted to assure her that her family would never give up on her, but then, I didn't really know how her childhood went that would result into her worrying about being forgotten.

"Whether we're going to find them or not, I want you to know that I'm always here for you. But right now, I think it's too early to give up on it, don't you think?"

She looked up at me and nodded. We stayed holding each other for a few more minutes when I caught a sight of wild flowers hanging like beautiful ornaments around a tree trunk.

"Beautiful," I whispered. Being enchanted, I let go of Dorothy and ran towards the wildflowers. The claw-shaped, blue-green flowers were blooming in pendent like they were jewelries treasured in the woods. "I've never seen anything like this. It's like from another world. Look, Dorothy–"

The young girl was nowhere in sight when I turned around. The place where I left her was empty.

"Dorothy?" I called but no one answered. It was like I had been here alone all this time.

But I knew that she was just with me and no one can disappear that fast without a trace. She must be somewhere around the clearing and suddenly found something that caught her attention. The horse was grazing on the bush showing no signs of unexpected intrusion. I shouldn't worry; those who attempted to assassinate me might have been trying to stay away from the brewing war. However, no matter how I tried to convince myself that things were just normal, something was still bothering me. My instinct was telling me that something was wrong.

I decided to pick a wildflower and wait for her when an unexpected thing happened. At first, I noticed the surroundings to be too quiet as if the trees were waiting for something to occur and then there was a slight gust of a cold wind. Before I realized it, an arrow had grazed my cheek and I gasped in horror as I watched it hit against the tree with the wild flowers. It cut through a few petals and caused a flower to fall on the ground.

I touched my cheek and felt dampness on it. When I withdrew my hand, I saw blood on my fingers. I turned around in fear; expecting to come face to face with my attacker.

"Who is it? What do you want?" I asked loudly when I saw no one.

I was about to run behind a tree for cover when another arrow hit my leg causing me to fall on the ground. That's when I realized that the first one was intended to just scrape my cheek; a warning that the next one, the attacker wouldn't missed.

I pushed myself up and even though I was trembling, I warned, "I have soldiers with me. I'll signal them and they'll find you!"

A familiar voice echoed through the clearing; it was giggling. And I felt goosebumps all over my body for it was strange – I've never heard the owner of the voice laugh that way before. I was struck with confusion and then betrayal. I searched towards where the voice was coming from and I couldn't believe myself when I saw who it was. My attacker was standing beside a tree with an arrow pointed at me.

"You won't be able to fool anyone this time. No one's really coming for you."

"Why?" It was all I could ever think of at the moment. I didn't think about defending myself from my attacker or escaping from that dangerous situation. All I thought was that why after everything that we've been through, it still resulted to this.

My attacker smiled. I couldn't recognize the slight curve of its lips or even the icy look on its eyes. No, I refused to see my attacker as someone I had been with. I refused to taint the innocence and youthfulness I remember so well from her.

"I told you I didn't want to go to the woods. Now, there's really no turning back." I couldn't even recognize the depth in her voice. It has the same face but the cold person standing before me was definitely a stranger.

"Why?" I asked again. Tears were starting to brim my eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll make it quick. Just let me shoot you in your heart this time."

My attacker was clearly trying to evade my question using the deadly voice and offensive expression. And so, I screamed at her and with all the pain I felt from her betrayal, I asked, "Why? Tell me, Dorothy! Why are you doing this?"

There was silence. I guessed she was thinking for the right answer to justify what she did. Or maybe, she was wondering whether she would waste more time talking with me. I just didn't know her at all.

Finally, she decided to speak. Her eyes trained on me and for the first time ever since she attacked me, I saw a glimpse of the little girl who called me her sister. But that girl was now full of sadness; she didn't have the innocence and youthfulness I thought I always saw in her. She appeared to be a girl who carried lots of burdens on her head. And it was pitiful because there was no doubt that I was seeing the truth about her; no pretense or deception.

"I thought it would be easy. But you fooled me the first time I tried and got my curiosity. You looked so weak and fragile and I was so sure that I could take you out anytime. But you showed me another world; you introduced me to many books and somehow, it made me think that there's more beyond the darkness I know. I watched you in pain and sadness, and revel in the warmth of your smiles. And that's when I realized that I couldn't do it and so, when another chance came to get you, I asked the other assassins to do the job."

I didn't know that I was holding my breath. I just felt drops of tears falling continuously on my hand. It even surprised me that they came from my eyes for I didn't remember crying. But as I listened to her revelation, I knew that my heart was breaking.

"But they all failed," she continued and laughed humorlessly as if mocking how useless the assassins were. "That's when I thought that I'm the only one who can do it. But things had gotten more complicated. I met different people and listened to their fascinating stories. I started thinking that maybe, I could start a new life – that after the war, things will be different and I'll have a chance to make my own path."

"It's still not too late, Dorothy. It's never too late," I tried to tell her. But she seemed to be not listening anymore. She was just spilling her story like it would be the last time I would hear of it – the last time before she ends my life.

"I thought you're too weak but then I realized that you aren't. You're just soft. You're as soft as a thick cloud that no matter how sharp my knife is, I just couldn't cut you – I couldn't harm you."

I tried to crawl a little towards her but the moment I moved, she released her arrow and grazed my shoulder. I winced in pain as my hand covered the bleeding wound. I looked up at her and saw that she was pointing another arrow again at me. But this time, the girl was showing an expression that an assassin shouldn't wear. She was crying. Her lips were quivering and she was sniffling.

"Dorothy, please. Don't do this. We can start a new life together. We can make more friends and read more books. We can even put a bed in a library so that we wouldn't have to leave the place and stay there for most of the nights. I've already lost my father. I don't want to lose my sister this time."

It was my heart that was begging for her to stop. It was the future I wanted to give her that was crying for another chance. I didn't want her to drop the weapon so that I could live; I wanted to live so that she could finally drop the weapon.

"I was born in the dark; built to live in the cold. So when I came to kill the beautiful sun of the East Land, I didn't expect to enjoy its warmth. Until I was moved; and then I melted." She smiled through her tears and it was the saddest smile I had seen all my life. "But I was also blinded. And I realized that I just can't stay too long under the sun. I have to do it."

And as she pulled on her bow string, I knew that it was too late now to change her mind. She was consumed by the darkness she was made of. No one's coming for us. No one's going to save me; or save her from what she was about to do.

I had so many questions; I still had a lot of things to tell her. I wanted to show her how she could have dreams if she chose to. Or even the list of readings I had prepared once she reached a certain age. There was a part of me that regretted not paying enough attention at her. For if I did, there might be a chance that I could change her. But it was too late now to regret; she didn't want to take more chances. I prepared myself for the incoming death and faced my young slayer. Her sad eyes were replaced by cold, determined ones and I knew by then that my end was coming.

"Farewell, little fire of the East Land," she said and aimed at me.

We heard a faint rustling on the bushes and the wind blew coldly at us. But it didn't stop her. She was firm in executing her last mission. Just as she was about to release her arrow, another one came at her and before we even realized what was happening, its pointed end struck her at her back and pierced across her heart. Dorothy was able to let go of the arrow but it only landed clumsily on the ground beside me before she looked down at the one that was punctured at her own chest.

"Dorothy! No!" I screamed at her and gathered my strength so that I could limp towards where she was. I was able to catch her on my arms before she fell on the ground. She stared up at me and I watched as blood started oozing from her little mouth. I knew that she was already having trouble breathing.

"Maybe, it isn't the sun that blinds me but the darkness that resides within my heart. Too bad it's too late now to open my eyes and see the light," she whispered through her ragged breathing.

"No! We can fix you. I can take this arrow out and –"

But she wasn't listening anymore. She just stared up at the green canopy of the trees as if for the first time, she had finally found her peace. "Home..." was what I read from her lips before she finally let go of her last breath and closed her eyes.

And I cried so hard that I thought even the woods started weeping for what they had witnessed. I wrapped my arms around her body and it was only then that I noticed the wildflower I was holding tightly in my hand. I let go of it and saw that it was tainted by blood. Indeed, someone ended up crying in the woods.

I touched the arrow from her back and when I heard again the rustle of leaves from the bush, I decided to look up. And that was when I saw the person holding a bow and was staring silently at us. His eyes were red from tears and his grip on his weapon was too tight that his knuckles were turning white.

"Aiden," I whispered.

It seemed that the trees were not the only witness of my assassin's death for the first boy who kissed her lips had finally gotten her heart.