As the thick fog of night settled in, three girls all trod back to the village. Coming back along the familiar rocky pathway, they all laugh and giggle together, remembering the sights they had seen moments ago.
"Tiaris! Tiaris! Did you see the part when they swooosh and wheew!" Lamb says as her arms mimic the blue lights they had seen. Tiaris giggles and Emerald laughs.
"Yeah! But did you see the part where the lights all mixed and swirled together?" Tiaris says as she steps over a larger rock.
"Oh come on! Did either of you even pay attention at the end when the lights all came together and burst out? The way they sparkled was so cool!" Emerald interjects. Lamb and Tiaris both look in disbelief for a second before bursting into laughter with Emerald.
After a moment of laughter, they reach their hideout. Emerald waves bye to the two sisters.
Tiaris gives an attempt at a bow, practiced from her mother's lessons. Lamb just enthusiastically waves and jumps around. Emerald laughs and starts to make her way home.
Emerald walks into the center of the village, where the roads are cobbled and the buildings no longer have miles of farm between them. She approaches her family's home. Glancing around, her body now cloaked in a dark fabric, she snuck up and entered through an open window.
She struggled over the wall, falling onto the ground before rubbing her sore head.
"Would you like us to install a ladder there, young madam?" A voice calls out elegantly. Emerald stands up and dusts herself off.
"Yes, that's a good idea-" she says before realizing her butler was standing in front of her. She jumps back in fear with a small yelp.
Hiii~!
"D-Do not scare me like that, Haligh." Emerald says with panting breath as she clenches her chest. Butler Haligh nods.
"Yes, young madam, my apologies." The butler says with a bow.
"A-And you are to address me as a boy when we are not in my room. My parents do not like hearing about a daughter." Emerald says as she glances around, glad neither one had been around to hear. "Go draw me a bath. I will need to wash away the smell of adventure before they find me."
"You are too late, young master." Haligh says. "The master and missus have been waiting for your arrival for many hours now. They instructed me to inform you to speak with them in their study when you return." The butler bows and turns to go prepare her bath. Emerald's eyes go wide before she nervously heads towards her parents' study. Emerald's steps are cautious but quick, as if any one of them could be her last.
Emerald's father was the lord of this village as well as an influential merchant in the nearby trade routes, so if he wished to get rid of her, it was only a wave of a hand. And her mother was nothing but loyal to her husband so no help can be expected from the woman who birthed her.
Emerald rested a hand on the door to the study before taking a deep breath and entering slowly. She pushed the door open and entered with her best princely bow.
"Hello, father-" she spoke in a lower more androgynous voice. Her mother raises her hand to tell her to stop.
"What have we told you about going out with the peasantry? You are a nobleman. A member of the Reiter family." Her father spoke without looking up from the document he was writing on. The only sound in the study was the crackling of the fireplace and the sritching of the ink-tipped feather in his hand. Outside, a light rain starts up, the droplets running down the paned windowsill.
"Father, I was told of a field that was growing poorly so I had went to investigate." Emerald said with one of her many fabricated excuses, all ready to cover her tracks.
"Pack your belongings. We have already found a buyer for you." The man says simply. Emerald freezes, her heart pumping in her chest.
"F-Father, this is unreasonable. Please reconsider. I will not mingle with them anymore." Emerald says, not realizing it would come to this. The lady of the house finally moves from beside her husband, walking up to Emerald and slapping her across the cheek.
Emerald is struck with the slap, her small body hitting the ground as she tears up. She reaches up to hold her reddened cheek then looks up at the lady of the house.
"You are no longer a child of the Rieter house. As such, you will address him as 'Lord Rieter' and me as 'Lady Reiter'." She says while looking down at the child with a cold glare, her eyes aglow with disgust.
The young girl whimpers and tears as she tries to hold back her cries. Lady Reiter scoffs in disgust before returning to her husband's side.
Lord Reiter finally looks up from his paperwork. His eyes no different from his wife's.
"As of now, you are a slave of the Rieter family until your buyer arrives at dawn." He says with a cold finality to his voice. Emerald shudders as a guardsman enters and drags her to her room, locking her inside. Emerald's tears finally burst out as she wails and cries, desperate for anyone to hear her. She collapses to her knees as tears gush from her eyes in droves. The young child wails and wails, but no parent comes. Nobody comes.
###
A man runs through the dead of night. The shadows restless in his wake. He pants and huffs as his muscles strain, his energy dipping lower and lower. Sweat burns his eyes but the sense of death following him never ceases.
Finally, the village comes into view. A glimmer of hope shines in his eyes as he scrambles into the village. His legs burn with every ragged step, but he must finish his job. He rounds a corner, leaning against the wall as he spots the Lord's manor. He laughs as he approaches. But part way there, an arrow through his skull marks the end of his life.
He gurgles and stumbles as his hand reaches out for the steps up to the door.
A figure cloaked in shadows comes out and rips the arrow from the corpse with no remorse. They wipe the blood from the dripping arrow then return the arrow to their quiver. They look down at the body for a moment before grabbing it by the leg.
The figure walks back towards the shadows, dragging the body with it.