Winter #2

The distance between him and Albert was only about two hundred meters and there was no other way but to run away leaving his horse neighing in pain.

"Joe, I'm sorry, darling. We have to part ways here," Emily said softly, resting her forehead against the horse's forehead.

The storm of feelings was perhaps more difficult for Emily to handle than the snowstorm. The girl had never expected to go through two breakups at once. Amy and Joe were not trivial matters, and leaving them in such a difficult time was never easy for her. However, her soul is forced to deal with this situation, any sentimentality must be thrown away for her safety.

After crossing the river in water that nearly froze her bones, Emily treaded heavily through the deep snow in front of her. The trees were thicker and taller on the other side of the river and the situation was slightly favorable for Emily's position. The girl thought of hiding behind the trees as it seemed impossible to outrun those pursuing her.

Albert and his men's cries were clearly heard when they found Emily's horse on the riverbank. One of the spears they had brought with them was used to kill the poor horse and the whinnying as the horse died sent all the animals in the forest into a frenzy. Emily leaned her limp body against a large tree.

"I'm sorry, Joe, I'm sorry." The girl whispered with a great sense of guilt. She was determined to avenge all the pain she had received today at any cost.

"Sir, our target is over there!" exclaimed one of Albert's men who noticed Emily's presence.

The girl didn't know what to do, a sudden sense of despair overcame her and perhaps her life should end here. Emily is no longer running away, it seems useless, she thought. The horsemen had surrounded her from all sides, the pointed tips of their spears seemingly impatient to pierce Emily's now pounding heart.

"There's no need for Amy and your favorite horse to die, you fool. You just need to surrender to me and everything will be easier, but you're more stubborn than I thought," Albert said coldly as he dismounted from his horse.

As the distance between her and the demon man grew closer, Emily felt fear like never before.

"Now you can't deny that you're jinxed, can you? Those who died because of you had to pay dearly with their own lives, Emily. You are a curse!" Albert moved closer to the girl and kicked Emily's leg, causing her to fall down and bleed.

"Shut up, you bastard!" cried the girl trembling. "You don't know anything about me," he said coldly as he endured the pain.

"I know a lot about you, Emily! Your real parents threw you away because of the curse you carried, and stupidly, Amy your nanny adopted you as a child. And look what happened now?" A sly smile appeared on Albert's face. His eyes implied absolute victory over Emily's control.

The girl was still digesting all of Albert's words before he spoke again.

"Your parents made the right decision to give their daughter to a nanny. They know their lives are too precious to die just because they're saddled with an unlucky child like you!"

Emily felt a chill rising around her.

"Oh God, if it's true that people say I'm a bad luck charm, well, I accept it." Emily muttered. "Apparently, talking the wind into entering your lungs and rewarding the plague there is quite exciting! I need to prove that all your accusations are true, you shouldn't go near me if you don't want to die like Amy."

Albert was visibly angered by the words of the pale-faced girl in front of him. The man zipped up his coat as the cold became more piercing and made his body shiver.

"Erick, kill her!"

Albert gave the code to his men to get ready with spears. The man was thoroughly irritated by what the girl had said to him.

Meanwhile among the gaps in the trees, a young man was watching the tense situation intently. When Albert's men raised their spears to kill Emily, at the same time the young man raised his bow and gently a pointed frozen arrow pierced the man's chest.

"Erick! Damn it, who's there?" Albert's shout echoed throughout the forest that was becoming increasingly blurry due to the heavy snowstorm.

Emily scanned her surroundings carefully, wondering where the help was coming from. More arrows followed from the young man, giving Emily a chance to escape. Albert was busy with great panic as one by one his men fell from their horses.

The arrows saved Emily and led her on a long walk until she found a cave for temporary shelter.

The sound of a twig snapping as if someone had stepped on it from outside made Emily sharpen her sense of hearing. Her eyes alert, she grabbed a piece of rock just in case.

"Stop right there or I'll blow your head off with this!" shouted Emily in panic when a young man appeared at the lip of the cave.

The young man gave Emily a cold stare and entered the cave without a word.

"I said stop!" cried Emily again.

"You'd better stop being stupid, Miss," the young man replied coldly.

Emily let go of the stone when the young man approached her and locked it to the damp cave wall.

"I'm giving you a chance to escape the men because you smell so appealing," whispered the cold-eyed youth.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily in surprise.

The young man released his hand lock so that they could keep their distance.

"Forget about that, we should treat your wound first." The young man put his bow on the ground which made Emily realize one thing.

"Are you the one who saved me with those arrows?" Emily asked the man with his back to her. There was no sign that he would answer after such a long silence.

"Do you live here?" Emily asked again.

"Only in the winter. I travel, I don't stay in one place," he replied indifferently.

The young man carried a small container with a strong smell of spices.

"What are you going to do to my wound!" she demanded as he was about to apply the herb to her temple.

"Shut up! The smell of blood coming out of your body could attract other creatures, I'll stop the bleeding!" The young man did what he wanted without waiting for Emily's approval.

"You know a lot about medicine it seems," Emily said.

"I'm just finding out, my wandering life forced me to master this," the young man replied flatly.

"Do you know a cure for curses?"