Orange light flooded the room as torches passed by the window. Two figures were huddled in the corner, praying to the All-Seeing that the shadows would continue to conceal them. Screams pierced through the walls as hunters dragged women and children from their homes.
With each scream they held each other a little tighter. Waiting for the hunters to go further into the village felt like a lifetime.
Silence hung in the air. It had been quiet long enough, Sarah slowly pressed her index finger to her pale, chapped lips. Dorothy, Sarah's daughter, nodded, wiping tears from her face. Sarah slowly, quietly, made her way to the door. She cracked it open, just enough for her to peek through. Nothing. Taking a deep breath in, she motioned for Dorothy to join her. Sarah pulled off her fox pelt and placed it around Dorothy.
“Are you warm enough?”
Sarah's voice was calm and quiet. Dorothy nodded. Sarah grabbed Dorothy’s hand and began to tread through the deep snow. Much deeper than she thought.
She sighed, fog left her lips.
Screaming cut through the air, Sarah's head snapped towards the sound. An orange aura illuminated the roofs of the cottages. The cleansing has begun. She looked at Dorothy.
“Ignore the screaming, there will be more.”
Dorothy hesitated.
“Mom. Are they burning them?”
Sarah didn't respond. Turning back towards the forest, she continued her trek through the cold. Sarah winced at every scream, as another joined the choir of death. She had heard rumors of the cleansing from other villages, but never imagined it reaching hers.
She didn't realize how quiet it was until she reached the treeline. Looking back at the village, a tear fell down her cheek. She was glad the girls weren’t suffering anymore, but the silence and ominous glow that hung over the village haunted her. She prayed the twins would be at the spot. Sarah's gray, smokey eyes swirled and moved as the scanned the forest. A chill running down her spine.
There were stories about this place. Hunters and scavengers entering and never returning, or even worse. Some people who enter are found the next morning. Their mangled bodies hanging in front of their house.
Sarah squeezed Dorothy's hand and stepped into the treeline. As she was walking she began to hear a soft singing, each step causing it to grow louder. The path in front of her became more clear. The forest was calling her further in. She couldn't understand the words being sung. She wasn't sure if they were even singing words.
The snow fell slower than before, the moon was brighter than before.
Hearing giggling, Sarah looked up. Small colorful lights drifted, coming in and out of existence. Dorothy laughed.
"Mom, are those fairies?" She whispered.
Sarah didn't respond, continuing to walk.
The singing was loud at this point. It was a language Sarah had never heard before. Her legs moved on their own, she was no longer on the correct path.
The singing was deafening.
It felt like the trees were clearing a path for her as she walked.
The only thing she could hear was the singing.
She let go of Dorothy's hand.
The song was beautiful.
Enchanting.
All she could think about was the singing. All she cared about was the singing. She knew it was her fate to be here.
"Mom?"
The singing stopped and Sarah's knees gave out. Her eyes widened as she fell and the cold of the snow seeped through her dress. She looked around her as if waking from a dream. She no longer knew where she was. She paused. Dorothy was not there. The only footsteps behind her were her own. She called out for Dorothy but quickly stopped.
Not knowing who or what was near. She didn't want to lead anything to her or Dorothy.
She stood and began retracing her footsteps. The air felt colder than before.
It was quiet, so quiet she could hear her own heart beating.
Her steps lead her to four large stones, towering over her. Each had a unique carving of a symbol with a crying man in the center. Her eyes rested on the first one. A sword lay on either side of the crying man, a series of curved lines anf shapes surrounded the outside, making it a circle.
She heard the stone whispering to her, so quiet she could not hear what was being said. As she stepped closer it got louder. She couldn't understand it, as it spoke a different tongue. She reached her hand out towards it, and as her fingertips were about to touch it, one word stood out.
"Sacrifice"
It was the only word spoken in her language, and soon became the only word the stone spoke.
"Sacrifice"
Something warm and wet dripped on her forehead.
"Sacrifice"
"Sacrifice"
She placed a finger on her head, bringing it down to eye level.
"Sacrifice"
Her finger was covered in a red liquid. Horrified, she slowly lifted her head, hesitantly searching for the source.
Hung by her feet in the trees, was the headless body of Dorothy. Sarah could not scream, nor move.
"Mom?"
Sarah's head darted towards the sound.
The stone's words grew louder.
"Sacrifice"
The word sacrifice was being said over and over, louder than the one before.
"Mom?"
Dorothy's voice echoed through the trees. She thought she saw something behind the tree.
"Mom"
Something rolled out from behind the tree.
"Sacrifice"
Sarah stepped towards it and screamed.
"Mom, don't cry."
Laying in the snow was Dorothy's head. Her blood turning the snow as red as her hair.
"Mom"
Sarah looked at the tree.
"Don't cry mom"
A thin hand with long, pale fingers slowly creeped around the tree.
"Don't cry"
The scream that left her lips turned into the croaking sound of her choking on her own blood.
Everything became quiet as Sarah's head fell gently into the snow. No longer a part of her body.
The stone that had been whispering to her cracked, then crumbled. Speaking one last word as it lost the bind to this world.
"Sacrifice"
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