The Last Evergreen

CHAPTER 4

I opened my shaking mouth and closed it again when I couldn’t find the courage to verbalize what was my hypothesis. I heaved a sigh—as if sucking the filthy air would give me clarity. Both my hands fisted Aric’s shirt in desperation to maintain my equilibrium.

“Did you think Seraphine had no family?” He chuckled against my neck. “Did you think that the only transgressions of the Evergreens were their superiority complex and major hate for the villains? Well, sorry to break your bubbles, Lorienne, but they’re not the hero they wanted to portray in the public. We—the descendants of Seraphine were being hunted and killed for centuries by the people who claimed they’re the fucking saints of literature.”

I already expected these words, but still it brought shock to me. Mom’s tale never revealed if Seraphine had relatives, even if she knew it. My mother was scared about my nature—asking and delving about the background information that made my young mind confused. Because if she told me she had, I was pretty sure I would ask what happened to them. Maybe my curiosity would make me eager to meet them, and that was the last thing my parents wanted.

“If you were hunted, why did my parents welcome your family with open arms?”

“Perhaps, my innate charm did the magic.”

“I’m not kidding, asshole.” I slapped his shoulder.

He caught my fist before I could land another slap on him. He tucked my left hand on my side, squeezing it a little like a warning, before his other hand intertwined its fingers to my right hand. Before I could react, he started walking and dragged me towards the open door.

“We should leave,” he said.

“Are you fucking kidding me, son of a witch?! After you kill my relatives and destroy our library, you’ll just drag me like a marionette? Let me go—”

“I’ll explain everything but not here.”

I stomped my feet harder against the floor—relying on the power of friction in my hope to gain momentum against my abductor. But Aric’s grip remained firm despite my attempt. I gritted my teeth—thrashing. But screw this man! My moves were futile.

He chuckled at my misery. It only infuriated me more. This asshole!

“You can never escape me, Lorienne...”

“Try me.” I scoffed.

He led me outside the library with ease. The more I struggled, the more he became amused. In order to stop fueling his twisted entertainment, I forced myself to calm down, which was easy considering my unfortunate predicament. I felt numb and exhausted. The tragedy today drained me. I looked back at the library, and the numbness intensified to the point that my knees gave up. Aric noticed it. I hope he will just leave me here, because I have no intention of going with him. He lifted me instead in his powerful arms and carried me.

“They might be monsters in your eyes, but they deserve a proper burial.”

I might hate them, and their sky-high pride, but they didn’t deserve it, no matter how Aric justified it. My father had broken my heart countless times for the expectations I would never have reached, but a stab in his heart was the last thing I wanted. I closed my eyes as my tears continued to pay a visit to my cheeks.

One day, I will give them the justice they deserve, not the vengeance their poor souls whispered to me. I have no intention to continue the bloody cycles of retribution that brought them death in the first place no matter how it pained me. Sometimes, I fucking hate my principle!

“Don’t worry, their bodies will not rot here.”

In the evening’s silence, I let myself wander back to the face of the cruel man while another heartless one carried me to whatever hell he prepared for me. I found comfort in the single tear he shed. The crack on his mask became my blanket as I nursed my bitter heart. When exhaustion won against me, I succumbed to my sleep, bits by bits. The last remnant of consciousness clung to me in the last seconds, like a lost soul who yearned to be seen. And at that moment, another image played in my head.