Bloody Raven in the Shadow

Shadow in the snow

"ALICE" came the loud screaming of a girl. I was standing on a mountain, two girls in front of me. One, which was clearly Alice, lay motionless on the floor. A girl with short, tousled hair sat over her. I was sure it was Rin and she was crying. I just took a step forward to find out what happened as the environment changed. It was a small village with a few wooden houses nearby. There was a loud crack as I turned to see a woman standing over Rin. The girl sat on the floor, shaking. I could only guess what had just happened.

"I didn't want that, mother," the child whispered, raising its head. The woman resembled Alice in appearance, she was not very tall, had long brown hair with white highlights, green blue eyes and dark skin tone. Her eyes were full of anger, but she seemed exhausted. There were a few people in the background, I couldn't see their faces. It was probably Rin's memory and the girl had forgotten who was standing there.

"I never want to see you again!" the woman breathed softly, turned around and disappeared.

Shortly thereafter I was running through deep snow. We were somewhere deep in the mountains. Rin short hair was now shoulder length. How far was there from this memory to the last? The girl looked exhausted. A single dark dot, in the middle of the seemingly endless snow, slowly moving towards an unknown destination. I was still trying to understand what had happened. I walked closer to her, walking beside her. I knew it was just a memory, something she was thinking about and not a dream. I couldn't interact with her, even if I wished to. Suddenly she slipped and fell in the snow. I grabbed her collar to catch her, but my hand slipped through her. I sighed softly, just a memory. But I forgot anyway. Instead of getting up, Rin just lay there. Fear spread through me. She had to get up, she had to keep walking. She had to fight. But she did nothing. A shadow fell over me. Someone was standing there, but I couldn't make out who or what. Rin was picked up and then my vision cleared. It was the woman I had seen before in her memory. A slender woman with jet black hair and pale skin. She wore leather clothes and snow fox fur on her shoulders. A ring flashed on her hand, the ring Rin had worn. Suddenly the memory swam. It was like disturbing the reflection of the moon on a clear lake. Wave after wave it became more unclear and I woke up.

"Rin?" whispered Snow White softly after waking up. Harvey and Mary were now in Regina's possessions. The others slept soundly and the only sound of the night was the howling of an owl.

"Yes?" the girl answered quietly, her voice full of sadness.

"Who was she? The woman you remembered, tall, slim, with black hair?" she asked cautiously.

The apple was silent for a few seconds before an answer sounded like the breath of the wind.

Mai...her name is Maori, but I might call her Mai...she was a barbarian, as you would call it...sorry to disturb your sleep again...you actually shouldn't see that ."

Snow White wished that the girl wasn't cursed, she would love to hug Rin, tell her that it's okay and that she's there. But she had no choice but to look at the small apple in her hands.

"Please tell me what happened back then! Who was Mai? Why is Alice so angry?" Even though she knew that the younger one might not answer and she felt a sore point, she couldn't help but ask. So often she has caught part of the memories, but to this day she has missed the whole picture.

The wind rustled through the trees, it took some time for the witch to answer.

"Alice has the ability to heal, while I poison. Mother didn't seem to understand that, she avoided me, separated me from my sister. One day my sister fell victim to my ability, mother saved her, but it was the decisive one point to finally get rid of me. She banished me from the village. Mai, the woman you saw saved me. I don't even know how long I walked through the mountains there, one day this woman was there. She took me in and took care of me. For the first time I felt accepted. She was like a big sister, she taught me to control my powers. Taught me that I wasn't a demon, just a Witch with the ability to poison others and that wasn't bad, it was normal, a normal ability I should be proud of. So I stayed with Mai, she was sort of the leader of the group. They raided villages, plundered and murdered. I, taken in by them and belonging, did the same. We attacked the village that my mother owned. Alice was possibly the only one who survived it all. I have decided to leave the mountains with her. I don't know if Mai is still alive. I didn't see her again..." Rin's story left Snow White feeling nervous. On the one hand, she understood why Alice called her sister a murderer, on the other hand, killing people was not uncommon in this world, it wasn't anything special. Even Regina had killed people, she herself had taken people's lives, but no one had ever called her a murderer.