3. Rose

3

Rose

"Miss Trudeau?"

I snapped out of my reverie and looked up. "Yes, Emilie?"

"I was just asking when the writing test is."

"Oh, yes." I sat up straight and forced a smile. "Sorry. I, er… I was just a little lost in thought there. The test is next Tuesday, so you have plenty of time to study."

"Thank you, Miss Trudeau." Emilie smiled and turned to join the other students slowly trickling out of the classroom.

I sighed and returned my attention to the tall stack of slates on the side of my desk. For writing tests, the Alderwood schoolhouse used paper, but today's class for my students was arithmetic-focused, meaning their work was completed on slates that could easily be scrubbed off and reused.

I had to check everyone's work before I left the schoolhouse, and then I had to return home and bake four raspberry and blueberry pies for the feast tonight. No one had actually asked me to do it; I'd volunteered for the task. I'd done so because I knew community spirit was important, and someone with my status had to set an example.

I was wholly regretting that choice now.

I simply wouldn't have time to complete the marking, walk to the berry-picking spot, retrieve my basket from where I'd dropped it after yesterday's scare, walk back, bake the pies, and then get ready for the feast along with the evening's rituals.

Unless…

I tapped my finger on my chin, lips twisting in contemplation. If I left right now, I could hurry to retrieve my basket, go home and make the pies, and return to the schoolhouse to complete the marking while the pies were in the oven. Papa was home this afternoon, so he could take them out if I wasn't back in time. He'd always been a fantastic baker and knew exactly when things were perfectly cooked simply by judging the smell. No clock needed. Unfortunately, his position as Governor took up most of his time, so the cooking responsibilities fell to me now. But not today. Today, he could help his frazzled daughter.

Satisfied with the solution, I tucked a small twig protection charm into my dress pocket and left the schoolhouse through the back door so I wouldn't get caught up chatting to the parents of my students. I slipped down the cobbled alley behind the building and hurried to the main path leading to the woods.

As I made the familiar journey, I giggled to myself, feeling exceptionally stupid over yesterday's dramatic episode. The noises I heard obviously weren't a malevolent shade. It was just more deer, surely. I'd made myself nervous with all my thoughts of danger and darkness, and then I'd convinced myself that a real monster was lurking right there at the fence.

Ridiculous.

In the warm light of day, I could see exactly how silly those thoughts were. I truly had a wild imagination. Still, I was grateful for the protection charm in my pocket.

Just in case.

The path forked up ahead, leading off in three different directions. One way led to the Red Rocks—our village's most sacred ritual place—and the right-most way led up to the Forbidden Cave, where only the village elders, healers, and alchemists were allowed to venture. They were the only ones in our community who had studied and fully understood our doctrine's most sacred knowledge, and therefore the only ones who were equipped to handle the Darkness within.

The final path was the one I took to gather berries. It went past the eastern part of the valley farmstead first, overlooking the vast expanse of land with a breathtaking view before it meandered deeper into the woods. Eventually, it ended in a small clearing, and my berry spot was another ten minutes through the woods from there. I never got lost on the last leg of the journey, despite the lack of a path, because I'd been exploring this part of our land since I was a child. I knew every tree, every shrub, every log.

A chill shot down my spine as I cast my eyes over the path that led to the Forbidden Cave. I whispered a silent prayer for any elders or alchemists who were working there today, and then I turned and hurried down my own path.

Leaves rustled across the ground before me. I hummed softly to myself, lifting one arm to touch nearby branches as I passed them, and the sweet scent of wildflowers filled my nostrils, making my lips curve in a smile. Despite all the stress and urgency affecting me, the beauty and serenity of our land never failed to cheer me up.

When I reached my spot, I spotted my basket lying on the ground near the fence, partially tipped over. I ran over and knelt to inspect it. Most of the berries I'd gathered yesterday afternoon were inside it, and they were still perfectly fine for consumption, due to the drop in temperature we'd experienced last night. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and scooped the fallen berries back into the basket.

When I stood up straight, I came face-to-face with the Devil himself.

A tall, dark-haired man was standing on the other side of the fence, his presence both striking and terrifying. He was undeniably handsome with sharp features and a commanding presence, but one half of his face was grotesquely skeletal, as if death itself had reached out and claimed that part of him.

I held my hand over my mouth as the forest seemed to hum around me in a silent panic. My mind was racing, desperately trying to make sense of what I was seeing. This couldn't be real. The Devil had no reason to show himself to me. Not unless the Darkness within the caves had been released… but I knew that hadn't happened. My father and the elders worked to keep us safe from those terrors every day.

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose. I was daydreaming, wasn't I? Of course. I must have briefly fallen asleep due to exhaustion after the hurried journey through the woods. When I opened my eyes, the nightmarish vision would be gone.

I took a long, deep breath. Then I looked again.

The man was still there, staring at me through one beautiful green eye and one gaping black hole where the other eye used to be. His good eye seemed to glow as he watched me, emphasized by the small, malicious smile dancing across his cruel mouth. When he registered my wide-eyed gaze, the smile grew wider, and he lifted a hand, beckoning me to him.

Heat rushed up my body, and I felt my face flush with shame and confusion. Why did his gesture feel more like a predatory threat than a greeting? And why did my heart begin to race at the thought of being his prey?

I dropped my hand from my mouth. "Who… who are you?" I managed to croak, throat suddenly parched. "Are you real?"

The man's wicked smile faded, and his gaze went cold. It seemed to suck all the warmth from the air alongside it. "You'll find out one day, little girl," he said. His voice was low and menacing, dripping with icy malice.

I felt real fear then, cold as it crawled up the backs of my legs and settled in my guts. Panic surged through me, and a scream tore from my lips before I could stop it. The thick woods surrounding me seemed to swallow my cry, amplifying the terror that gripped me.

The handsome man grinned again and took a step forward.

Without thinking, I turned and ran, my heart pounding like a drum. The day was still bright but the darkness around me felt alive anyway, closing in as I fled, each rapid step fueled by sheer, unadulterated terror.

The truth was humming a haunting melody in the back of my mind. I knew why this was happening now. I knew why the Devil had shown himself to me at the fence. The Darkness was sending me a message.

Something is coming for you, Rose.