The Soul Coin

Chapter 6 - Willow

The night air was cooler in the sick shack that in the house. The thin walls a horrible barrier against the wind. As Willow had finished putting away the tools with Lupin and was making her way inside the estate Boshin pushed her back out off the stairs onto the ground, "You'll be out here tonight."

Willow had noticed the whip that was dandling in her hand, the worn leather that split into separate strands dangling down to Boshin's knees. It stood as a threat to Willow, a promise to be a reward if she defied Boshin, "I'm not sick."

The woman made hard steps down the stairs, "I think you are sick. I think you are very ill indeed, and whatever I say goes. Don't think for a second cuz you did something fancy that gets you off the hook here." Pointing the whip at her Boshin said, "I'll make an example out of you, you're all unclean, all soulless. You owe a debt, and that debt will be paid. You're lucky I'm not adding years to your ledger, lucky I don't tan you right now." Boshin didn't wait for Willow's response as she walked up the stairs slamming the front door closed.

Willow rose from the moldy mattress, shivering in the cold. She carried herself over to the wood burning stove. The cast iron was rusty and pocked, but if it could bring a bit of heat, it might save her from the cold. She was thankful at least that she no longer felt sick. Willow shoved some of the cut logs that surrounded the stove and looked for the lighter. There was none. Cursing Willow shivered and walked out to the estate up the stairs. She would grab the lighter by the cooking stove. Her hand rested on the knob a warning ringing out in her head. This is what Boshin would want. If Willow was caught inside, caught trying to take the lighter Boshin would whip her. Willow was unsure. What was worse is Willow knew. Knew that Boshin was the type of person to come up with something like this. Taking the lighter from the shake so she could have an excuse to whip Willow. She climbed back down the stairs throwing the tarp open to the shack sitting in front of the stove. It wasn't fair.

That wasn't a phrase that was tolerated at the estate. New kids got stuck with the hard jobs. Cleaning the rats out of the barn, bundling the stacks of hay, tossing bales up to the cart. Someone would always say, it's not fair. Willow would always retort back what she got told. Unfair, well of course its unfair, your soulless you deserve it. Willow ate it, ate what they gave her every day. The punishments for not meeting quota, the food that could be spoiled, the nights in the cold, the work in the heat. She took all of it bearing through it. This, this was unfair. In the shack, on this dirt, in the cold. It was enough, it was enough for her to be done, to be sick of Boshin, of the estate, of Parker and Sons.

"I just want some fire." Willow threw her hand at the stove slamming the door shut.

Fire burst from her finger tips consuming the stove. Willow backed away, but the fire kept coming from her hands, it began to engulf the shack. Flames stopped coming from her, but the entire shack was on fire. Willow's eyes went wide. She had seen brush fires before, helped to snuff them out, but this was huge. It consumed the building. Willow ran out of the shack into the night. Lupin was running up to her, "What happened,"

Willow looked at her hands expecting them to be brunt or scarred. Lupin said, "Willow, did you...did you do that?"

Tears were close to falling from Willow's eyes, "It's not fair, none of this is. It's not fair, I only wanted to get warm. She would've beat me, she would've again, and then added more time, all for a lighter."

They both turned as the flames caught the top of the estate on fire. The orange fire quickly consuming the dry building. Lupin pushed Willow back towards the road, "Go, run. Just run Willow. You can get away; you have to get away."

With tears coming down her face, she cried, "I can't Lupin."

Boshin was already out of the estate cursing, she saw the two of them, and began making her way towards them. Lupin pushed Willow again, "Make this worth it."

Lupin ran towards Boshin tackling her into the ground. There was confusion from the other caretakers as they tried to get the kids from the burning building. Willow turned and ran. Ran up the road jumping a fence she made for the tree line. All of the soulless agreed, if you were going to run, run for the trees.

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The moon hung in the sky now, the light of the fire long away. Willow was drained. Tired from the running, but it was more than that. The fire had drained her. This was the furthest she had ever been from the estate, likely the furthest she had ever been in her entire life. She had gone about three miles back into the tree line then started to follow the moons path overhead. Willow could tell directions, but only with the sun. She was turned around, but wanted so badly to go south. She wasn't certain if she should go to the church in Trivale, but decided against it. They had let her go with the estate, and what had actually changed in the last few hours? No, it was better to get as far as possible. To find a port, to lie aboard a ship and cross onto Highgarden. They couldn't reach her in another country, she could get by in Belon. There the talk of revolution had meant something.

It was a struggle walking through the wooded area. Her frock caught on the branches of fallen trees. She had to be mindful of each step or risk falling into a hole. The woods made her uneasy. Plenty of stories of things in the woods that up until yesterday she wouldn't believe existed. Now that she could create fire and was found in a tree Willow wasn't certain of anything. Her shin hit a root that was slightly above raised about the ground. She fell onto her hands that stopped her face from hitting the ground cutting herself up in the process. Willow cursed grabbing hold of the loose branches she tossed them around in frustration. She went up from her knees, and leaned against a tree.

She took a moment recalling the fire, how she simply said fire, and fire came. Carefully she stepped away from the tree holding out her hands. Willow yelled, "Fire." Nothing came, she tried throwing her hand out, "Fire." Still nothing produced, "Fire, Light, a freaking spark, anything!" Nothing came.

She fell back against the tree, it wasn't fair.

Willow didn't try to feel sorry for herself, at least tried not to make it a habit, well tried to push it down as much as possible. She felt hopeless, a sickness in her stomach. The inevitability of being caught. She didn't know a single person to actually escape from the estate, and stay away. She also didn't know of anyone setting it on fire, or tackling a caretaker. Willow recalled Lupin. His eyes full of rage as he took off right for Boshin. Willow owed him so much; would she see him again? What would they do to him? His debt would be increased certainly. He had done that for her.

After taking a moment Willow attempted again to navigate through the dense woods. Her mission to create as much distance as possible until the sun comes up, and then head south. She just hoped that she didn't have to double back past the estate. Ahead Willow observed light in the distance. She ducked down behind a tree believing it to be a lantern of a rider looking for her. The light didn't bob or shake. It took still in the distance. Willow crept up towards it. She was careful with her feet making sure to drag them on the forest floor to prevent snapping a branch. Another suggestion from another soulless during their nights plotting escape.

The closer she got, the more she could make out voices in the distance. The voices of yelling, laughter, and music. She moved tree to tree working her way closer. She was about fifty yards from the fire, and the encampment. Several wagons and tents were in a circle surrounding the fire as if they were actively trying to block its light. Willow didn't think that would matter much with out loud they were being, but noticed that she saw the light before she heard the voices. Willow could make out dishes of food being shared among the inhabitants, her own stomach lurched. She could wait, wait until these people fell asleep then get some food. Perhaps they had a lantern she could steal. She needed it more than them, and stealing wasn't the worst thing she had done this night.

Leaning down to the ground Willow took a seat against one of the trees making sure she was hidden, but could still see the fire. She could rest here, and if anyone were to be searching for her, these people would be found out long before she would. Giving her time to escape.

A snapping branch drew her attention to her right as she quickly stood up searching for the thing that made the noise. Had they found her so quickly? Willow didn't have time to register the hit against the back of her head, or feel the pain. She only noticed that her body had dropped onto the ground welcoming the forest floor with its many rocks and needles. Her last thought being I should put my hands out.