The dagger landed on the unarmored flesh near the collarbone. Blood spilled from the blade. The soft skin rendered easily, like a hot knife through butter. Muscles tried to delay the inevitable, but the dagger was still digging through, still sinking and searching for the artery vein.

  Time slowed for the two, eyeing the blade with equal measure of desperation and hope. Elias tried to push back, but he was moving too slow. His mind, muddled from the exhaustion of physical and psychological trauma, could not tap into power in time to make any significant difference.

  Emma desperately tried to push the dagger deeper. Alas, her body could no longer keep up. The demand was too much. The momentum of the dagger was all she had, but it did not stop her from trying to push every pressure she could pour towards the hilt. It has to end here.

  Move, please move. Lucy begged.

  The dagger digs inch by inch with every second that passes. Drawing blood with every moment that passes. And then, they felt it.

  It's here! One more! Just one more! Emma willed her body to obey.

  One last push to end it all. Emma let out a desperate scream. Her voice echoed through the cold night. The soldiers, the knights, the people of the house finally noticed the tragedy before them as they ran, shouting in dismay, agonizingly slow to save Elias.

  The dagger inches closer. Victory was within reach… was within reach.

  Alas, the dagger failed to push through at that moment.

  Whether it is because of the lack of strength, the dulling of the blade, the muscles holding out long enough or the combination of it all and bad luck; it did not matter for Emma and Lucy as they watched victory stolen right before their eyes.

  Through panted breaths and bleeding wound, Elias endured.

  “NO!” The two cried out, attempting once more, but the moment had passed for Osmond pulled Elias back. Emma stumbled to the ground; disbelief consumed her body. She could only watch the menders quickly undoing everything she had paid. Mere paces away, and yet it felt so far.

  Move! We can still reach him! We-

  ‘We lost… Lucy… we lost.’ Emma numbly replied as the cobalt knights quickly surrounded her.

  No! I refuse! Move, damn you! Lucy screeched as shadows closed in.

  ‘We are all spent.’ Emma replied. ‘Our reserves are dry… its useless.’

  I don’t care! Move! Lucy tried to take control, but she had been running on fumes for so long.

  ‘…I’m sorry, Lucy.’ Tears welled in Emma’s eyes. ‘I-‘

  You promised… Lucy weakly whimpered. Emma shut her mouth tight. …You promised me… I did what you asked, didn’t I?

  “…I’m sorry.” Emma whispered.

  …I don’t want your sorry. Lucy sobbed. It was over. They are everywhere. Nowhere to run. They lost. I want him dead… dead… dead…

  “…I couldn’t do it… I’m so-“ A hail of golden arrows rained down around her. In that moment, she was in hell once more. Back to the day of betrayal. She closes her eyes, trying to ignore the screaming, the shouting. It all proves futile as it drowned all sense of sanity.

  Lucy gave up as well, for there was no plea that could be heard anymore. The two waited for death that should have claimed them so long ago… only this time, they couldn’t feel any pain. Emma snapped her eyes opened to see a nun desperately trying to wake her up.

  “…Sister Emma?” Spent and numb from the battle, Emma easily let go of control, allowing Lucy to take the lead. “W-what are you doing here-“

  “We have to go now!” Lucy blinked as sister Emma’s eyes trembled with fear. “S-Seth is holding them back. We have to move!” The scarred maiden blinked, turning and seeing the soldiers, the cobalt knights, and even Sir Dal taking cover from the hail of arrows.

  Lucy turned her sight to its source as she let sister Emma drag her along. Upon a cliff, standing on top of a tree, Seth rained down volley after volley. The speed was blurringly fast as he drew to no end. His face straining from the effort as blood seeps from his nose. Still, it did little to stop the young man as he held back the entire entourage on his own, buying time and space for Lucy to escape.

  “Seth…” Lucy whispered in shock before finally putting the effort to run. Still weakened from the exhaustion, Lucy allowed sister Emma to assist her, grinding her teeth through pain and fatigue. “S-sister Emma I-“

  “Save your breath. We have to keep moving.” Sister Emma panted as they ducked towards an alleyway. Screams echoed through the night as the two ran before Lucy stumbled. She would have fell were it not for sister Emma who caught her just in time. “Come on, sister Lucy. We are almost there now. Just a little more-“

  “I’m sorry.”

  “…”

  The two turned to another alleyway as Lucy bit her lips in a desperate attempt to hold her voice in. “I-It’s… it is all my fault.” The failure threatened to consume her as they burst out of the alleyway and into the streets.

  “I should have listened to Emma when she warned me.” Her gripped tightened, her teeth gnashed. “If I had acted soon, I could have killed the young duke. Elias would have been dead. Sister Rose would have been still here if I had just-“

  “Stop.” Lucy flinched as sister Emma’s own voice wavered. “…S-sister Rose wouldn’t want to see you killing your own brother. It would break her heart.” Sister Emma said, but her voice contained a bite of steel that she tried to so hard to contain.

  Lucy blinked before shaking her head. “H-he isn’t my brother.” They turned to another alleyway as some knights managed to pass follow. “He is a murderer. A monster that only kills.” Lucy gritted her teeth harder as tears flowed. “It would have been better if he died-“

  “Don’t say that. P-please don’t say that.” Lucy blinked, trying to snap back when sister Emma continued. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

  “…W-what? L-lose me? But I-“

  “M-my sister Lucy is shy,” Sister Emma began as the volley slackens. “S-she is j-just an a-awkward, s-shy, but kind young lady.” She said as they turned to another corner. The gates are within sight now. “S-she helps and p-plays with the children. D-diligently doing her chores.” Sister Emma pauses as they stop and letting a patrol pass through.

  “M-my sister Lucy isn’t vengeful.” Sister Emma visibly trying to hold her tears. “S-she is not a monster. N-not a m-murderer…” The older sister clutched her shoulders. Her eyes stared back at Lucy, as if she was looking at someone else.

  Emma tried to hide from those desperate gazes, but she flinches nonetheless as the nun whimpered so frighteningly fragile. “P-please don’t take her away from me.” Emma blinked from within. “Please?” Sister Emma begged at the soldier within.

  Lucy was speechless. Emma did not know what to say. The two went silent as they were dragged along by sister Emma once more. The gate was there. Sister Emma and Lucy could see Iva and Seth waving for them from beyond the gate as they- their eyes widened in alarm. Seth was already aiming behind them, but he was drawing too slow.

  Lucy couldn’t help but follow his gaze. She turned her head, peaking from behind and trying to find what he was so afraid of. In an instant, her questions were answered to her horror. An archer, wearing clothes she did not recognize, was aiming right at her.

  Lucy instinctively tapped into her reserves, only to find them empty. Her body was so tired, sluggish from the constant battle with little to no rest. She couldn’t dodge it in time. Though Seth’s arrows had already been buried deep within the man’s trachea, the arrow was set free, screaming right at her.

  “Lucy!” The world seemed to shift as she was suddenly thrown to the ground. The arrow missed her. The tired maiden quickly tried to regain her balance, yelling for sister Emma for cover as she turned towards- she was not there.

  Lucy blinked, her head swerving back to where the archer had been, trying to find-

  Sister Emma was on the ground, the arrow embedded on her back.

  “…Huh?” The air suddenly abandoned her lungs. Lucy stared, blinking for a moment as if she was waking up.

  “S-sister Emma?” Lucy crawled to her side; her legs wouldn’t obey. “S-sister? Sister Emma?? Sister-“ A soft groan escaped on her lips as Lucy quickly snaps back into focus. “H-hold on!” Lucy’s quivering voice echoed through the streets as she pulled sister Emma to her shoulders.

  She was all spent. No more adrenaline to give, no more power to draw upon, but her desperation and panic fueled what little her body could give as she passed through the gate. Iva quickly rushes to their side. Seth curses and continues to fire regular arrows. His reserves must have run dry.

  The battle still rages on. Seth, even as his hands bled from the relentless use of the string of his bow, continued to fire. Elias and the others were screaming something, but Lucy could not hear it. Could not hear them.

  Only the shuddering breath of sister Emma. Each gasp brought an icy shiver down Lucy’s spine. Blood was slowly, but surely, bleeding out from the sister’s wound. Pulling the arrow out now was out of the question.

  Is she bleeding? N-no, that can’t be right. W-we were just talking just a second ago. How could- “Come on!” Lucy snapped out of her daze once more, blinking to find Seth carrying sister Emma on his back. “Iva, grab hold on to Lucy and follow me!” Seth yelled as he took the lead.

  Lucy blinked as the little girl grabbed her hand. They passed through the woods, never looking back in fear of finding a squadron of cobalt knights. Tired and confused, Lucy missed the roots, causing her to stumble and fall. Her body begged for rest. Even if it was just a minute of sleep was enough. Alas, her mind refuses to yield.

  “Come on, w-we have to go!” Iva pulled Lucy again as the scarred sister clumsily stood right up. Her sore muscles and aching bones screamed as they pushed onwards. Still, their progress was slow, more than enough for the knights to catch up. But they never did. It was a blessing Lucy could not appreciate nor care as her eyes remained fixed to sister Emma.

  Small droplets of blood ticked down from her clothes. The smell of iron wafted through Lucy’s nose, dragging her back to that betrayal once more. The world shifted back and forth from the cold forest to that burning battlefield. And yet, they didn’t feel different at all. It was still a nightmare.

  Lucy did not know how long they had run, could not count how many times she fell. An hour, a day, a year, it did not matter to her. Time felt like an eternity before they finally reached the abandoned house once more.

  When they finally had the chance to breathe, Lucy scrambled to sister Emma’s side as Seth put on her on an old table and began checking on her wound. “S-Seth is s-she…” …going to be all right? The words wouldn’t come out of her throat, terrified of what she would hear.

  “I‘m working on it.” Seth replied heavily as he pulled sister Emma’s clothes to check the wound.

  “S-Seth y-you have to save her.” Lucy tried to walk, but her legs crumbled to the floor. Her breathing grew erratic as she clung tightly into Seth’s clothes. “P-please S-Seth please s-s-save h-h-her-“ Seth snapped Lucy’s hands together as he stared deeply into her eyes.

  “I am trying. Please believe me, I am trying.” The young man spoke without missing a beat, but his hands were shaking. “I need you to hold her ok? I will pull the arrow out and try to stop the bleeding, but it would be painful, ok?” His emerald eyes trembled as Lucy paled.

  “O-ok. I-I c-can do that!” Lucy quickly went to sister Emma’s side, holding her hand as Seth steeled himself.

  “S-sorry for this sister Emma, but please endure it!” Seth said before pulling the arrow with all of his might in one ago. An agonized scream escaped sister Emma, clutching Lucy so hard that her skin bled. Seth quickly went to work as he began to clean the wound.

  Before Lucy could beg for more, a soft voice called for her. “L-Lucy…” Lucy quickly went back to sister Emma. She found the older sister giving her a tired, but warm smile.

  “S-sister Emma p-please save your strength. Seth i-is doing his b-best. H-he-“ Sister Emma slowly shook her head. Lucy felt her blood go cold. Her eyes widened as her pupils dilated.

  “T-the arrow d-did-“

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “No! Don’t! Save your strength!” Lucy demanded, but sister Emma simply shook her head once more.

  “L-Lucy I d-don’t-“

  “Seth can heal you! I-I am sure he can, right Seth?!” Lucy turned for any signs of hope.

  “L-Lucy, p-please, listen to-“

  “I told you to save your strength, damn you!” The young maiden could barely keep her voice from breaking as she turned to sister Emma with her eyes red from the tears. “W-we can fix this! W-we can h-heal you right back! Y-yes! Yes, of course we can! T-the two of us are c-champions after all! T-this is nothing!” The words rang empty within Lucy, but she had to say it. She has to believe it! If she doesn’t… then who would?

  “L-Lucy i-it’s no use.” Lucy’s eyes widened as sister Emma weakly, but calmly, continued. “T-the arrow c-cut too deep. I-“

  “W-we will fix it! W-we will fix it somehow!” Lucy shouted back. Pushing through the exhaustion, Lucy wracked her brain for any solution. Anything that would help sister Emma. Fortunately, there was one. For once, the war proved useful to her as memories of her healing her injured soldiers come to the forefront.

  “S-Seth, y-you have some lacrum r-right?” Her eyes lit up with relief. Though her power was not suited to that of a mender, she could still prevent lethality. “G-give me some! I can heal sister Emma whatever the arrow left behind! I just…” Lucy trailed off as Seth did not meet her eyes. “S-Seth? The lacrum. Where is it? I need it to-” And then she saw it, the cold blue liquid staining on his pants.

  “…It broke during the fight…” Seth weakly replied.

  “T-then what about reserves?! S-surely you have some-“

  “They were the reserves.” Seth bitterly replied. Disbelief washed over Lucy’s eyes. The chance, the flickering hope, she had slipped from her grasp. She had the power to save, but not the chance to save her. The injustice of it all made Lucy lash out.

  “Y-you idiot! H-how could you carelessly let it break?!” Lucy harshly snapped.

  “E-excuse me??” Seth looked back in disbelief. His eyes looked back as if he heard her wrong, but Lucy continued.

  “You should have kept it safe! W-what are w-we going to do now without power, you imbecile!” Seth looked back agape, before glaring right back.

  “H-how is it my fault?! I told you to wait, but you didn’t listen! We could have come up with a plan, but you dove right in!” Seth rebuked mercilessly.

  “Plan? Plan what exactly?? Plan until the entire orphanage burns down? Plan until the children are taken?? Plan until Elias kills everyone??? What could you have possibly planned, you cretin!”

  “You!-“

  “P-please stop.” The two champions flinched as Iva’s watery eyes looked back at the two of them. “P-please stop f-fighting a-and help s-s-sister Emma.” The little girl begged, holding sister Emma’s hand as the nun looked back forlornly.

  Seth looks back at Lucy for a moment, before cursing under his breath and going back to work. Lucy, gaining some semblance of clarity, paled at her words. “S-Seth, w-wait I-“

  “Not now.” Seth gruffly cut off, his eyes growing darker and teary the longer he works on the wound. He tried to hide it, but Lucy’s words, no matter how baseless they were, began to affect him. If he only did better in protecting the vials, he could have… Seth forces the thoughts out, focusing the work at hand.

  “Y-you shouldn’t h-have said that.” Lucy and Seth flinched at sister Emma’s struggling voice. “L-Lucy, y-you s-should know b-better than that…” Lucy bit her lip hard, eyes welling up as she nodded back heavily.

  “…L-Lucy, I need you to listen t-to me, ok?” Sister Emma whispered softly as Lucy struggled to reply. “I-I need you to be strong, ok?” Lucy’s eyes trembled as she shook her head.

  “D-don’t say that. Y-you are going to be fine. J-just like back then.” Lucy pleaded.

  “D-dear y-you have to accept it.” Sister Emma sorrowfully whispers.

  “N-no, n-no no no-o.” Lucy whimpered as Iva began to cry as well. Seth was holding it in, but even his shoulders quaked.

  “L-Lucy p-please-“

  “Don’t leave me!” Lucy broke down as she clung tightly to sister Emma. “P-please don’t leave me…” Lucy begged. No matter how far she ran, the nightmare followed her. It never left. It simply waited, biding its time to strike when it hurt her the most.

  So many lives have already been lost, just when will it be enough? Lucy was so sick and tired. She just wants to close her eyes and rest for eternity. “…D-don’t go…mom…” Lucy buried her face as the tears soaked into sister Emma’s clothes.

  She could not care less of her snot staining sister Emma’s clothes as a soft hand gently brushes on her hair. “M-mom huh? I g-guess sister Rose was right.” A soft chuckle escapes her lips. “S-sister Rose w-would have l-love to hear it.” She tried to smile, but her face only contorted in pain as she coughed out blood. Blood splattered across Lucy’s clothes.

  “M-mom?” Lucy paled in horror as sister Emma tried to hold back but continued to cough out more violently. “Mom! S-stay with me!”

  “S-sister Emma!” Iva wailed as she clung tighter to the nun’s clothes.

  “Kalva be damn.” Seth grimaces as he tries to stem the bleeding, to no avail. Despite his best efforts, the wound did not stop bleeding.

  “S-Seth! P-please do something! Mom is-“ Lucy found Seth shaking. His skin was so pale as he tried to push back the panic, but failing.

  “I-it’s not enough. I-I don’t have enough.” The wailing of Iva did little to warm the dreaded cold air. “I knew I should have learned more! I- fuck! Kalva be damn!” Seth swore to his inadequacy, trying and failing to stop the bleeding.

  “…n-no no no no, t-this isn’t happening. t-t-th-this is not happening. this iS NOT HAPPENING! I- NO!” Lucy clawed at her head, trying to find a miracle. It did not even matter where it came from. Anything would do if it meant to save her mother. Alas, there was simply only one. One she did not have the reserves to fulfill, but what choice does she have?

  “E-Emma! Emma p-please tell me w-we still have some! I n-need power!” Lucy shouted as she thrust her hand in front of sister Emma.

  ‘L-Lucy I-‘

  “Just a little! Please Emma, I just need a little! M-maybe there was some left that we don’t know about?” She began grasping at straws. Threads of hope that were never there.

  ‘But we are all out of-‘

  “I don’t care! Find a damn way! I am not asking for too much, am I?! Just a small fraction! I just need a small fraction, but I need it now!” Her body was so heavy, her mind so sluggish, but her desperation pushed on.

  ‘I can’t do it!’ Emma cried out. ‘I can’t perform miracles out of thin air! I am a soldier, not a saint!’

  “Soldier? Soldier?! You can’t even do that right!” Lucy felt the others looking back at her, but she ignored their stares. She continued screaming and lashing out at the older girl. “All that boasting, those promises you made, amounts to nothing!” Lucy felt Emma shrinking back, but she pushed on, uncaring to her pain. “Elias still walks because you hesitated for too long! You are no soldier, you are useless! Even lower than garbage!” She could feel Emma trying to hold back her sobs, but she was not done! She-

  Lucy blinked as a weak hand squeezed her outstretch hands. “A-ah…” Her voice failed as she looked back at sister Emma’s eyes watering in tears. P-please don’t take her away from me. Sister Emma’s words rang true in her head as Lucy sniffled.

  “I-I’m sorry. I-I d-didn’t mean it. I-I…P-please, j-just help me save mom.” She closes her eyes, hoping, even after all of her selfishness, she would still help.

  ‘…This is all I could make.’ Emma softly whispers. Lucy's eyes snapped open. The amount was so pitiful. Barely three drops. Only her left eye turned into gold, and even that was so diluted that it barely glowed. But she had power now. She could do it.

  “T-thank you.” She softly whispered as cast the only mending she could. “E-Erak.” A soft emerald light washed over sister Emma. It was the same spell sister Emma cast for her when she first found her. Lucy would have used a more potent kind, but she simply does not have the strength to do it anymore. Still, she pushed through.

  Lucy spared nothing. She squeezed what miniscule power she had been given to the spell. Everything disappeared, only healing sister Emma remained. M-more… I need more. Second felt like days, hours felt like years. Time had lost all meaning as she used every last drop.

  Her body felt stiff. Her bones and muscles ached. The allure of sleep was so tantalizing. All she needed to do was to let go. And yet, through it all, Lucy’s bloodshot eyes remained open. The young maiden poured everything for the spell. She had spent all that she could muster.

  But there was only so much she could do with three drops.

  The emerald light begins to flicker. “N-no, just a little more.” Lucy grinded her teeth, straining her tired body and mind even as the spell began to sputter. “Erak.” She strangled the word out with great difficulty.

  “S-sister Lucy,” Sister Emma weakly called out.

  “Erak. Erak. Erak.” Her eyes trembled, her hands shake. The light was so pale now.

  “P-please, d-dear. I-it is no use.” Sister Emma begged, but Lucy could not hear her- no, she chose to deny it.

  “Lucy…” Seth softly called out, reaching for her. “Please, you have to-“

  “Shut up, Seth!” Lucy shrugged off the caring hand. “Erak!” Her mind consumed for the singular task.

  “L-Lucy-“

  “Shut up! All of you just shut up! I can save her! I can! Erak! Erak! ERAK!” Lucy shouted through pain and terror. What once was a calm yet trembling voice morphed into a panic cacophony of despair.

  “E-ERAK! ERAK! ERAK!” The once composed chant morphed into a horrible desperate scream. A scream for anyone who could save sister Emma. Alas, no one would answer her plea as the light continued to dwindle, on the verge of dying.

  Lucy’s eyes widened, the tremors on her hand became ever more visible, ever more painful to watch. “NO! OH, GODS NO! PLEASE! JUST THIS ONCE PLEASE! URUM, TORVAS, LOYEN, GOD, GODDESS, WHOEVER YOU ARE, PLEASE! I’LL PRAY TO YOU! I’LL WORHSIP YOU! I WILL DO ANYTHING, SO PLEASE! DON’T DO THIS!” Lucy begged as she poured the last of her strength.

  “PLEASE! ALL I ASK IS FOR THIS CHANCE! PLEASE, GIVE ME A CHANCE!” The scarred maiden stared at the ceiling as if God was there. Desperation filled her eyes as she continued to shout.

  But even through all that, her strength still failed. The light dies. Lucy stared at her hands in disbelief before the rage took place. “F-fuck! FUCK!! FUCK!!! DAMN YOU ALL! DAMN YOU! YOU WORTHLESS PIECES OF SHIT! FAKES! I DON’T NEED YOU! I’LL SAVE HER ON MY OWN!” Lucy rages against the world as she tries mending once more. Seth, however, could not bear it. The sight of Lucy so desperate… it breaks his heart. He just can’t. “ERAK-“ Seth suddenly hugged her from behind. “W-what are you doing?! Let me go Seth! I need to-“

  “I-I’m sorry, Lucy.” Seth cried, his voice trembling like a leaf. “I’m so sorry.”

  “W-what?? No! NO! I CAN STILL SAVE HER! NO, I WILL SAVE HER! LET ME GO DAMN YOU!” Lucy tried to wrestle free from his grasp, but she was already too weak. Too tired to even put up a fight. Yet she never stopped for a second, trying to reach for sister Emma.

  “I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry…”

  “I SAID LET ME GO SETH! FUCKING MOVE! I NEED TO-“ Lucy froze mid shout as Iva hugged her. “I-Iva? W-what are you doing?? Let-“

  “S-sorry…. S-sorry.” Her trembling voice echoed like the death bell to Lucy as reality finally catch up to her.

  “N-no, I s-still have… I-I c-can… still have… I-I…” But even still, Lucy whispers in denial. Even at her spent body, even through the pain and exhaustion, she still denies the most horrific truth. She failed.

  “…I-Iva, c-come here dear.” Sister Emma softly called out; Lucy remained stunned. Her eyes refusing to move from sister Emma’s figure as Iva slowly and hesitantly moves forward.

  The little girl tried to hold back her tears, to no avail, as sister Emma gently brushes her hair. “L-Lucy m-may have done… m-many bad things, but s-she is a good girl, ok?” Iva sobbed as she nodded back. “S-she keeps t-trying to be b-better, s-so please h-help her, s-she needs it j-just as you do, ok?” Sister Emma could only smile as the little girl cried, embracing her all the while.

  “S-Seth.” The young man flinched as he turns his gaze to sister Emma. Try as he might, he was still a child in her eyes. Tears can be seen tracing down from his cheek to his chin. “…K-keep them safe for me, w-will you?” Sister Emma’s voice was beginning to wane. Seth tried to fight back the tears, but his efforts would be in vain.

  “I-I will. I promise,” Seth softly whispered as sister Emma gave a sad smile.

  “L-love them, o-ok? N-not just one.” Seth’s eyes widened before smiling weakly and nodding back.

  “I-I will… I-I promise… I-I will.” Sister Emma smiled before looking back at Lucy. It breaks her heart to see the young lady struggling so hard. Despite her efforts, she would be broken again. Sister Emma lamented that it had to be her to do it.

  “L-Lucy…” Sister Emma softly called out, but Lucy suddenly refuses to meet her in the eyes. “L-Lucy…” She called out again, but the scarred maiden still did not move, her shoulders begin to tremble.

  “…My child…” Lucy stiffened before slowly looking up, tears marring her face. “…C-come here… please?” Sister Emma softly smiled as Lucy stumbled towards her. Seth reluctantly let her go as she slowly limped her way.

  “M-mom…” Lucy whimpered; tear drops fell across sister Emma’s cheeks as her own tears intermingled with Lucy.

  “D-don’t skip b-breakfast, o-ok?” Lucy held sister Emma’s remaining hand; it was getting colder. “B-brush your teeth b-before bed.” The dying nun struggled through bated breath, her voice growing weaker and weaker. “A-and… a-and… and d-don’t fight w-with y-your sister, ok?” A soft cry escaped Lucy as all she could do was nod.

  Emma could only look back in silence, terrified to acknowledge those soft, warm eyes. “I-I know it is s-scary. T-trust me, I-I know it is, b-but it’s going to be all right, ok? S-Seth and l-little Iva are with you. Y-you won’t be alone.” Sister Emma hoped it would calm her down, but it only made it worse as she broke down completely and clung into her arms.

  “D-don’t go. P-please d-don’t g-g-go, m-mom. D-don’t leave me here.” Lucy begged, clinging to her arms as if it were her lifeline. The once distant and cold lady she had first found was nowhere to be found, only a scared child shivering in her arms.

  “S-shh, I am not going anywhere. I-I will always be by your side, o-ok? Me and your sister Rose and the others.” Sister Emma tried from breaking down as well, but it was no use. The future they could have had. Days spent taking care of the little ones, festivals they could have afford thanks to Seth… love she could have watch bloom between the two… it was gone… gone. But sister Emma remained strong. She had to. Not only for her, but for everyone.

  “Y-you have to s-stay strong, ok? I-it will hurt, but it will come to p-pass.” Lucy held sister Emma closer as if it would keep her from leaving. Sister Emma tried to speak once more, but her breath was getting shorter. Every gasp was a struggle now. And the more she struggled, the louder their cry became.

  “W-what else? W-what else?” Sister Emma’s eyes trembled in panic for the first time. Death was so close, and yet there was so much more she needed to say. So much that she could have said. But she needs to say the most important one now.

  What is it? What is it?? Her world begins to brighten, the light calls for her. U-Urum please, tell me, what s-should I say? Sister Emma silently prayed to her goddess for help.

  Death didn’t frighten her as much as leaving everyone in sorrow. Her thoughts raced for any answer, and as if her prayers were heard, an idea came. Ahh… I remember now. Her breathing was so weak now, so fragile, but it did little to hinder sister Emma as she smiled. Lucy gazed in confusion and terror as sister Emma simply looked back, eyes full of love.

  “I love you, dear.” For the first time and the last, her voice rang clear.

  Lucy blinked back, her tears marring the older sister’s face, before she tried to smile back. Her lips trembled, barely holding back her scream as it tried to rise. She did her best, but her smile was a broken thing. A shadow of what it could have been. It hurts to see her like this; the arrow felt nothing compared to the ache of her heart. How sister Emma lamented-

  “…I-I love you too, m-mom.” Sister Emma’s eyes widened. For a moment, she could see it. The will to move on, to go forward. But it was quickly buried in sorrow once more. But it was enough. It would come back, one day. Sister Emma’s once terrified eyes gently fell back in relief.

  With a herculean effort, the dying nun moved her free hand closer towards Lucy, gently caressing her cheek. “T-take care my child… take c-care… a-and remember….. I- n-no… we… will always… b-be...there… for……. you……..” Sister Emma’s hands went limp, breathing her last as a soft, peaceful smile etched across her lips. Her eyes remained open, but the light was gone.

  Lucy blinked once. “Sister Emma?” Then twice. “Sister Emma??” Lucy tried to shake her, but there was no response. When it became the tenth, it finally occurred to her. The nightmare didn’t disappear. It was here… it was still here. Her legs finally failed her as she collapsed into sister Emma’s peaceful passing.

  Lucy opened her mouth. At first, there was no voice to be heard, no sound to listen. And then a cough. Then a whimper. It was not long before a sob could be heard. And a few seconds later, it began.

  The first snow gently falls across the land. The stars glittered brilliantly across the night, dancing with the brilliant moon as a tortured howl soon echoed across the night.

  Not long after, two more joined in its wretched melody.