Weaving in and out of consciousness, glimpses of Emily's life tried to awaken her.
She was laughing with Ryan as they sat in the open courtyard at school, eyes shining as they shared their secrets. Then blackness.
Another memory nudged her into semi-consciousness. She was a young girl, dressed in an expensive flower cover dress, hair ringleted down her back. She could hear her mother say, "You are my perfect girl. I will always guide you through every step. No one will ever hurt you."
Blackness.
A heavenly letter swam in her memory. Her helpful guide. Just like her mother.
Blackness.
Emily's eyes shot open. Then, not moving and trying to breathe softly, she allowed her eyes to take in her surroundings.
She was almost in pitch darkness. She could feel the body curled up, facing her. 'Roger! Was he dead? No.' She could feel his chest rising and falling.
A putrid smell attacked her nose. Her eyes stung as she slowly rolled them around, trying to catch a glimpse of something without letting her attackers know she was alive.
The last thing she remembered was the wolves dragging them off through the trees.
'The distress call! I sent it to Ryan, but…' Where is Ryan?
Emily looked around, genuinely confused.
'I must have been asleep for at least an hour. He should be here. He's always so quick.'
Emily abruptly paused her thoughts to question why she had so much faith in Ryan despite the heaven's letter telling her he was someone who secretly wanted to kill her family.
Emily furrowed her brow in thought, thinking over the two problems. She strained her mind to the limit for maybe the first time in her life.
She came to both conclusions at about the same time.
'The signal pinged my previous location. That's why my love, my light… my prince couldn't save me.'
Making sure to avoid making a rustle, Emily pulled up her heavenly screen and contacted Ryan. 'Need help. Urgent.' And she tagged the coordinates.
Around her, she could hear muffled whimpers and snores.
And the smell. 'What was that awful smell?'
Not hearing anything other than sleeping sounds, she raised her head a little to peer over Roger's curled body.
Even the act of lifting her head up an inch hurt. She saw Roger covered with scrapes, scratches, and blood. It even looked like his arm was bent at a weird angle. 'I probably look the same.'
As she peered above Roger's body, she could see the bloody carcass of some animal, partly eaten and dead. Maggots feasted on the open wounds, and large black flies swarmed the flesh. 'That must be the cause of the horrible smell. Maybe that beast was lunch, and we are supper. Gross.'
She laid her head back to contemplate the thoughts suddenly swarming her head.
===
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.588%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.589%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]
…
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.64%]
Outside, as Ryan was in the throws of madness and his soul was continuously being corroded, he received Emily's alert out of the blue.
Gasping for breath Ryan felt euphoric relief wash over his senses as he thought, 'She's alive! I haven't failed my oath yet!'
A huge grin sprouted on his face as his hands started to shake.
'Now, how do I get her out.'
The coordinates came from inside the cave, knowing Emily was probably injured. He didn't want to attack head-on. He needed a distraction.
Using Emily's saber, Ryan sliced through several trees, allowing the sap to flow freely from the trunks. Then, using tree branches that he cut, he smeared sap along the trees and down on the bones, heading to the cave entrance.
The last part of the plan was to light the sap, but to do so, he needed to create some sparks. He didn't want to make noise hitting the saber against a rock to create sparks, so he needed some hot energy to create flames. 'My stick!"
When he bought the stick, he received a prompt saying that due to its… exceptional build quality, it had the… feature of catching on fire if you exceeded the recommended speed limit.
Ryan decided to make use of this feature. Racing his stick up and down the mountain, creating a hot spot in the back of the stick, Ryan began to whip the stick through some dead trees, igniting flames as the hot end of the stick touched the brittle wood.
He sliced through one burning branch and, using its base, hurtled it to an area near the mouth of the cave where sap was covering the bones.
Flames and smoke were all around him as he heard the howls coming from the cave.
Emily could smell the smoke, trying desperately not to cough. She didn't want her captors to be alerted. Too late. She couldn't hold it.
But it didn't matter. Two wolves leaped over the carcass and, snapping their jaws on the back of Emily and Roger's necks dragged them out of the cave. The other wolves were bringing the babies and were herding them away from the cave.
Distracted, the wolves noticed the flying stick only when Ryan was near Emily, not seeing Ryan toss Emily her saber.
Grabbing the saber midair, Emily swung it in a clean arc, cutting the wolf's head clean off.
She clattered to the ground, shifting many of the bones that caught her fall. Then, desperately swinging again, she barely managed to slice the side of the wolf carrying Roger.
The wolf howled in pain, dropping the unconscious Roger to the ground.
Ryan flew by her, pulling her on the stick and yelling, "Grab his leg."
Emily caught Roger by the ankle as Ryan grabbed his wrist, and they flew up the mountain, Roger dangling at the side until Emily yelled, "He's slipping!"
Ryan landed the stick and said, "Get in front; I'll hold Roger."
Emily climbed in front, and Ryan put Roger in front of him, wrapped his arms around Roger, holding tightly to Emily's waistband, and yelled, "Let's go!"
Behind them, they could hear the howls and snarls from the wolves trying to catch up with them, their anger apparent in their vicious screaming cries.
Emily felt Ryan's hands tucked in her waistband. As soon as she heard him, she knew she would be safe. She would be secure.
She couldn't wait to tell her mother how Ryan saved her. Her mother would adore Ryan forever. Her mother would also be pleased that she was able to fight and defend herself. Then the memory that called to her in the cave appeared vividly. Her mother said she would always guide her.
That statement, for some reason, irked her, 'Why do I need her guidance? Am I not my own woman?'
Emily then realized that she wasn't.
She had deep feelings for Ryan, saying an oath of love to prove it.
Yet one letter was able to disrupt the feelings raging inside of her, and against her better judgment, she allowed the letter to affect her actions.
The heavens manipulated Emily, and she allowed it even though she didn't honestly believe in the words.
'Have I ever decided for myself?'
Emily thought back to her childhood. She wanted to play with her friends, but her mother told her it was too dangerous.
She had wanted to eat sweets, but her mother told her vegetables were better.
She wanted to visit her siblings, but her mother said she would rather stay home with her.
Similar memories flooded Emily like a title wave.
She realized how much the sentence, 'her own woman' didn't apply to her.
The last memory, however, gave her pause.
She was reading a letter similar to the one she had received that told her about Ryan's apparent heinous plans.
"Dear Emily, the heavens tell you to love your mother with all your heart and soul and to give her lots of kisses."
"P.S.: Mother loves you."
She nearly fell off the flying stick, Ryan having to tighten his grip as he swung to the left, trying to reset the balance of Emily's leaning.
'I've been a fool this whole time.'
'It's been her all along.'
[The Heavens Reward The Strong: +1 Common Sense (Attribute: -1 -> 0)]
'MOM!' she frustratingly screamed in her mind.
Her mother wrote the letters. Her mother was her guide, not the heavens.
'Wait till I get home, Mom!!'
Her head shaking, she blocked her mind from her frustration and concentrated on flying.
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