Twisted Destiny

Part 3 - Odorata

It had been days since Lantana had run away. It was not fine. Everything was horrible. She had severely underprepared and was close to running out of supplies. She couldn't just go and stop in any village either because the guard would immediately be alerted and she would be sent back to Virago. For the past few days, she had been scavenging off berries. Thankfully, she learned about edible and toxic berries the first time she ran away, but there wasn't enough food to support her day to day. She knew the Royal Guard were on her tail, so she had to try to find her destination, and quickly. Currently though, she had to find shelter. She saw the storm clouds coming in and remembered when they had to stop when they saw clouds going back to Virago and Violet's story. She was in the woods and was hoping to find a cave. As Lantana continuously rode into the woods, the sky around her continued to darken. After a bit, Lantana felt the first few raindrops drop on her. Lantana panicked and spurred Ivrette on even faster. It didn't take long for her to find shelter. There was a house in the woods and Lantana didn't think much of it. It looked like it but all that mattered to her was that it looked stable and would be a shelter from the storm. She decided whoever was inside shouldn't say anything if she just gave them a tip. Lantana left Ivrette outside and frantically knocked on the door. A middle aged woman answered Lantana on the third knock.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing out here?" She questioned.

She didn't seem to recognize Lantana. She quickly lied

"I was... out collecting berries but I got lost, " she said, saying the first thing that came to her mind. "I need shelter because of the storm,"

The woman nodded and moved aside to let Lantana in.

"Oh, and there's a stable for your horse. Would you like me to escort her in?"

Lantana looked over her shoulder and indeed, there was a stable. She swore it wasn't there before but thought it was because she was in such a hurry. It was made of similar material that the house was made from, the sticks and vines.

"No no! It's fine! I'll escort her in!" Lantana quickly replied.

She stepped back outside to lead Ivrette into the stables. Once she went back into the house, she saw that the woman was making something.

"Would you like a bowl of soup dear?" She simply asked

Immediately, Lantana's stomach grumbled and she truly realized how little she had eaten in the past few days.

"Yes, please," she immediately replied.

The woman nodded sweetly and turned back to the stove.

"You can get yourself settled. I don't tend to get visitors around these parts. I'm quite far from the nearest village, Staggrasp, but that would be a witch village so I doubt you're from there. I'm assuming you're from Redminster,"

Lantana quickly nodded in agreement. The woman's name remained emotionless and she asked Lantana another question.

"What's your name?"

"Violet," Lantana replied, saying the first thing that came to her mind again.

The woman nodded and left Lantana alone. She then left to explore the small house. There was the kitchen which she was currently in. The room next to it seemed to be a small sitting room and there was a tiny bedroom beside that. Lantana just sat down and stared into space trying to gather her thoughts. There was still so much that she needed to do, but she would take the opportunity right now to gather herself together again. Soon, the woman called her and said the food was fine. Lantana hungrily gulped the soup down. It was delicious with savory vegetables from the forest. Once she was done, she thanked the woman. She looked out the window and saw that it was pouring out.