The sky was grey and cloudless and I could see how the branches of the dead trees reached out to the heavens as if they were trying to touch it, begged for a drop of life. I could hear the gentle sound of water as it gushed down and the distant calls of the birds in the far distance. With every step that I took, the woods grew thicker and thicker and the trail that I have been following seemed to get lost on the large roots of trees that entangled themselves together.
“Victoria,” a voice whispered right behind me. I looked back, startled. There was no one. I looked around hoping to catch a sight of anyone, anything. But there’s nothing, only the barren trees that thirsted for life.
I walked faster, forward towards an unknown direction. It was as if I was here before but I couldn’t remember. Only my feet to lead the way towards somewhere I hope I know. I dragged on my long dress that constantly gets stuck on the roots of the trees and the prickly bushes that had adorn
Hello, Thank you so much for still reading my book. I am still on a writer’s block but rest assured that I will do my best to still update and post chapters. I cant wait for all of you to read what’s about to come. Thank you for buying my chapters and hope you will continue doing so as a means to support me as a writer. Stay safe! xx weeping prophet
I woke up drenched in my sweat. It was as if I took a bath on a river, my clothes were soaked. My heart thumped against my chest, it felt like it wanted to break free from the cages of my ribs. I felt the dryness of my throat as I heaved for air, tried to calm myself down from the dream I just had. I slumped my back against the tree stump near me and caressed my chest as it painfully ached for my mother and the thought of drowning. The sun still wasn’t up and I could see the sliver of the dawning sky through the branches of the trees that crisscrossed above us. The wood fire became nothing but blocks of charcoal and cinder, it was a bit cold without its warmth. A lot of the captives were still fast asleep on the ground. Some of them were huddled together to stay warm and some preferred to sleep alone just like Sophie who laid alone near one of the trees. My eyes scanned the surroundings as my breathing finally went back to its normal state. My throat yearned
Ezekiel had stopped crying. He was just silent beside me as the water covered us from the chest down. The children were busy playing near us as they splashed water against each other. Their innocence made them see the fun in such cruel conditions. Petra would gently scold them whenever they would make too much noise, wary of how the blood drinkers might react. I couldn’t see any trace of Sebastien, he might have waded far from us. Sophie was in a group of women far from us but I could still see the way they talked to each other. She might have told them about our plans to escape tonight, I wish she wouldn’t. I hope she would understand us before it’s too late and change her mind. I still don’t want to leave her behind. I have thought about talking to Sebastien in trying to wait for one or two days before leaving. Make some time to try to persuade and convince Sophie to join our escape. But with what happened a while ago, with the plans of Rufus towards Ezekiel that loomed li
I wasn’t able to fall asleep after Petra read my palms. Her words echoed inside my head for hours, they were relentless and pervasive. They were drilled inside my head and no matter how much I tried to silence them they just become louder and louder. The light of the sun started to fade and the sky puked its bright oranges and yellows all over the horizon. Nighttime is coming, our escape is at hand’s reach. Petra and her children were fast asleep, huddled together beside Sebastien. I felt bad for Celeste, she was apologetic and got scared at how I got mad at what happened. She kept glancing at me during the first few minutes after the palm reading and I could see the shame in her eyes. She would immediately look away every time our eyes meet until she fell asleep beside her grandmother. Ezekiel was still silent as well as Sebastien. There seemed to be an awkward atmosphere and an air of tension that sat in the middle of our group. Everyone seemed too fragile th
It was a sudden turn of events. Something that we may have thought but never really expected to happen. It was something that we have doubted could happen but we never expected that she would do it. She betrayed us. Sophie made us believe that she was with us and we could trust her again but she decided in the end that she will be the one to hinder us from our escape. I couldn’t even feel my legs when we decided to stop for a bit. My thighs shook from running so fast and far too long. Petra was heaving so hard as well as Ezekiel, they ran to keep up with us whilst carrying the children. I pressed my back against the trunk of the tree as I tried to catch my breath. I am mad and hurt by the betrayal and the way Sophie jeopardized our silent escape. The least that she could do if she treated us as friends were to let us leave but she didn’t. She sabotaged it and now the small time that we have was getting smaller and smaller as the blood drinkers were coming after us as fast as
The rays of the sun entered my room in slivers of a thousand hues as they pierced through the stained glasses of my window. The room is empty, there were no maids that prepared for my dress or the servants that delivered me breakfast— I have woken up early. I stood up from the bed and sat down as I faced my vanity mirror. I brushed the locks from my snow-colored hair and detangled the strands that clung to each other. The palace was quiet at the moment, a rare thing to happen for the last 3 years. Since the death of my mother, the late Queen Eleanor, the King always found a way to distract himself from the lonely space my mother has left him with. He would hold banquets and balls, made festivities, and would go to war against the neighboring kingdoms for the sake of filling the gap my mother has left him. I lifted the hem of my dress as I made my way towards the window in my room that oversaw the garden the late Queen has spent her time decorating and filling up with flowers
I left the table and I was on my way to my room after the King dismissed his constituents and ended the morning banquet. My father laughed at how I forgot to take a bath before I joined them at the feast. He bid farewell as he has a lot of work to do in regards to the preparation for any possible thing that might happen tomorrow. “Are you sure this is the right thing to do, father?” I asked him before he could leave. There was a moment of silence between us as we both stared at the large painting of our family which hung on the castle wall. “I see no other way, Victoria,” he replied and he released a heavy sigh, it showed how troubled he was with what was coming. “But it would be dangerous for us,” I countered, “for the kingdom, for our family,” I added. “For you,” I said in a pointed voice, I made sure he would understand the risks that he took by his decision. He stared at the face of my mother on the painting as if he begged her to come back and he
He sat on the couch right next to me with both of my hands in his palms. He gently rubbed his thumb on the back of my hand and smiled when he caught me staring at him. Sir William Ryder was the Knight Commander in our kingdom and one of the people the King trusted the most. He just turned 18 yet he was considered one of the noblest men in the kingdom. William lifted my hand and pressed it against his lips, gently made his way to my palm, and kissed his way to my fingers. I just watched him as the fear of the war tomorrow loomed at the back of my head. If things do not go according to the King’s plan, there will be bloodshed and killings tomorrow. The start of the war would happen deep inside the castle walls and at the heart of the kingdom. There will only be swords that clashed against each other, weapons that dismembered bodies, blood, violence, pain, death— the King may perish as well as William. I looked away and took my hand from him as the thought of their demise cloud
The moon pulled the blanket of stars over the bright sun as it shined its last rays of light. It spread across the sky like splattered paint on a canvas as the bright orange, yellow, and red blended in and out of each other. William already left after the moment we shared in the bath, he kissed my lips and bid me goodbye, he left me a promise of attending the ball tomorrow night. I felt the remnants of his touches and lips against mine, how his presence erased everything that I feared for tomorrow. I walked towards the large window as the light of the sun-washed my room in a golden hue. The sun bled through the peaks of the Dark Mountains and put up the Dark Woods in red color like they were blazed by fire. I still don’t believe the things that William told me in the fitting chamber a while ago. But there was still the feeling of uncertainty and fear that loomed in the back of my mind for such stories to be real. My mother told me a story about the blood drinkers when I was
It was a sudden turn of events. Something that we may have thought but never really expected to happen. It was something that we have doubted could happen but we never expected that she would do it. She betrayed us. Sophie made us believe that she was with us and we could trust her again but she decided in the end that she will be the one to hinder us from our escape. I couldn’t even feel my legs when we decided to stop for a bit. My thighs shook from running so fast and far too long. Petra was heaving so hard as well as Ezekiel, they ran to keep up with us whilst carrying the children. I pressed my back against the trunk of the tree as I tried to catch my breath. I am mad and hurt by the betrayal and the way Sophie jeopardized our silent escape. The least that she could do if she treated us as friends were to let us leave but she didn’t. She sabotaged it and now the small time that we have was getting smaller and smaller as the blood drinkers were coming after us as fast as
I wasn’t able to fall asleep after Petra read my palms. Her words echoed inside my head for hours, they were relentless and pervasive. They were drilled inside my head and no matter how much I tried to silence them they just become louder and louder. The light of the sun started to fade and the sky puked its bright oranges and yellows all over the horizon. Nighttime is coming, our escape is at hand’s reach. Petra and her children were fast asleep, huddled together beside Sebastien. I felt bad for Celeste, she was apologetic and got scared at how I got mad at what happened. She kept glancing at me during the first few minutes after the palm reading and I could see the shame in her eyes. She would immediately look away every time our eyes meet until she fell asleep beside her grandmother. Ezekiel was still silent as well as Sebastien. There seemed to be an awkward atmosphere and an air of tension that sat in the middle of our group. Everyone seemed too fragile th
Ezekiel had stopped crying. He was just silent beside me as the water covered us from the chest down. The children were busy playing near us as they splashed water against each other. Their innocence made them see the fun in such cruel conditions. Petra would gently scold them whenever they would make too much noise, wary of how the blood drinkers might react. I couldn’t see any trace of Sebastien, he might have waded far from us. Sophie was in a group of women far from us but I could still see the way they talked to each other. She might have told them about our plans to escape tonight, I wish she wouldn’t. I hope she would understand us before it’s too late and change her mind. I still don’t want to leave her behind. I have thought about talking to Sebastien in trying to wait for one or two days before leaving. Make some time to try to persuade and convince Sophie to join our escape. But with what happened a while ago, with the plans of Rufus towards Ezekiel that loomed li
I woke up drenched in my sweat. It was as if I took a bath on a river, my clothes were soaked. My heart thumped against my chest, it felt like it wanted to break free from the cages of my ribs. I felt the dryness of my throat as I heaved for air, tried to calm myself down from the dream I just had. I slumped my back against the tree stump near me and caressed my chest as it painfully ached for my mother and the thought of drowning. The sun still wasn’t up and I could see the sliver of the dawning sky through the branches of the trees that crisscrossed above us. The wood fire became nothing but blocks of charcoal and cinder, it was a bit cold without its warmth. A lot of the captives were still fast asleep on the ground. Some of them were huddled together to stay warm and some preferred to sleep alone just like Sophie who laid alone near one of the trees. My eyes scanned the surroundings as my breathing finally went back to its normal state. My throat yearned
The sky was grey and cloudless and I could see how the branches of the dead trees reached out to the heavens as if they were trying to touch it, begged for a drop of life. I could hear the gentle sound of water as it gushed down and the distant calls of the birds in the far distance. With every step that I took, the woods grew thicker and thicker and the trail that I have been following seemed to get lost on the large roots of trees that entangled themselves together. “Victoria,” a voice whispered right behind me. I looked back, startled. There was no one. I looked around hoping to catch a sight of anyone, anything. But there’s nothing, only the barren trees that thirsted for life. I walked faster, forward towards an unknown direction. It was as if I was here before but I couldn’t remember. Only my feet to lead the way towards somewhere I hope I know. I dragged on my long dress that constantly gets stuck on the roots of the trees and the prickly bushes that had adorn
The night stretched longer as things became heavier around us. It was filled with tension from the consecutive conflicts that rose around us. The air felt constricted as if everything was started to fall apart. The bonds we had started to severe and were barely holding together. Sophie left us and joined the rest of the captives that were huddled together. She had made her decision, the same way that we had made ours. “I hope she tells no one about our plan,” Sebastien said as she stared at Sophie from our place. “I think she won’t…I trust her.” I looked at her tiny body slumped against the tall tree. She had her back turned away from us. I wonder if she was crying, maybe she is. But maybe not because of us leaving but because of our selfish decision. “Do you think that is still important right now?” He turned to me with a concerned look, “whether you trust her or not?” I stayed quiet because I know it doesn’t change a thing. “You trust her bu
Sebastien further discussed the escape plan with us. He had expounded on how futile it is that we keep track of time and not waste any of it. Just like what he said, every second counts. We rely on it. We cling to the hope that we are midway to Fardojar when Matthias comes back with a dozen or more blood-drinkers tagged behind him. Sophie seemed to still be hesitant as she continued to go over and over each question. Meanwhile, Petra already placed the children on their makeshift bed, making sure that there weren’t any bugs to wake them from their slumber. “What about the others?” Sophie asked as she turned her gaze towards the other captives that were already asleep. I bit the insides of my cheek knowing that there’s only one way to escape, it is to leave them behind. Bringing them along would lessen our chance for survival, the blood drinkers could easily track us down. With these many captives to tag along, we surely cant hide. It hurts me to leave them, to abando
It was as if the puzzle pieces finally linked up and I could see their pieces slowly organizing together, making silhouettes out of a hazy picture. Ezekiel’s eyes just stared at me, the same way I stared at him— shocked but has a sense of clarity. His mother was the witch and whatever the thing that she had made under those 12 full moons, it is linked to my mother. I opened my mouth to talk to Ezekiel but before I could, Sebastien already started talking over us. “We have to escape,” he said his voice barely a whisper. I could see his eyes scan the surrounding, careful for watchful eyes and heedful ears. “We need to go.” Ezekiel shook his head from left to right and mouthed later as we both went back to face the rest of us in the circle. “We’ll be dead if they find out,” Sophie interjected. “We’ll be dead once we arrived at The Yonder,” Sebastien bit back, “It’s either we die trying to escape or just wait for our deaths.” “Besides...” Sebastie
The moon beamed against the starless sky, it had illuminated everyone in the clearing. The rest of the captives were fast asleep but there was us on the farther part of the clearing, huddled in a circle, eager to hear what Petra was going to tell us. The children were giddy to hear their grandma’s story, something that would tuck them in a makeshift bed out of things they had foraged. “Grandma,” Celeste impatiently said, beckoning her grandmother to start telling the story. Petra smiled at the little girl and looked around to see if we were already in our places. “Sit down first, Celeste, so we can start.” She took the child’s hand as she guided her to sit down beside her. Celeste carefully placed her head on the lap of his grandmother while Desmond huddled closely on Petra’s side. “I have lived a life long enough to know things that you children didn’t know,” Petra said calmly with a voice of a storyteller. “This wasn’t their first,” she added.