In a world divided into three races since ancient times, there have been three kingdoms. The first kingdom is the kingdom of the gods and sits in the heavens ruling above the other two. The second is called Amaryllis and filled with the prosperous...
We pray to you We pray to you, oh, Balance Goddess We pray that you deliver us We pray that you save us They come in numbers so vast They hunt for our blood The same blood that now stains Their hands
~Song of the Woods
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"Fear can control anyone."
And it was out of fear that Honey tore through the woods, dragging Aldwin behind her, their fingers woven together as if Honey didn't want to ever let her brother go again. As they ran, tears spilled from Aldwin's dark blue eyes, knowing that Gwen's death should never have come to pass and that her blood was on his own trembling hands.
Yet Honey didn't dare to stop and comfort him, for that might just make the difference between life and death. Right now the god was keeping the Mutare soldiers busy, and the gods knew what the victor of the battle might think of the Lekki in the woods.
After all, a god might kill them for the same reasons as the Mutare.
It was for that reason that they kept running and only did stop when Aldwin tripped over a fallen tree limb that Honey had easily gotten over, even her sleep deprived state. It was when Aldwin didn't get up that Honey finally decided they deserved a short break, and her brother some time to mourn his fallen friend.
Hopefully, they had put enough room between them and their soon to be pursuers to enjoy this rest. She sat down next to Aldwin whose breathing was heavy and cheeks stained red from crying. Honey didn't blame him for crying. A friend had died today.
"It's all my fault," he whispered, his broken voice tearing at Honey's heart. She had never heard her brother like this. "She wouldn't have even been in the Wild Woods if it wasn't for me. Everything that happened today was my fault," he said, his body shaking in horror as he looked down at his hands. "I killed her."
"No, you didn't," Honey said, coaxing her brother, as she rested her head on his shoulder. "It was nobody's fault," she told him. "Not yours, not the god that threw the body in her direction, not even the Mutare who found you today," she told him, trying to stop him from blaming himself for what happened today. "It was an accident, do you hear me?" she asked, taking her brother by his shoulders. "Tell me that you hear me, Aldwin," she said, and the boy only nodded before starting to cry once more.
Honey wrapped her arms around her brother holding him there as tears spilled from his eyes. Honey knew, if they ever made it out alive, then Aldwin would never forgive himself for letting Gwen die. It was clear to Honey that Gwen was one of Aldwin's few friends, and he had always protected his friends, much like his sister.
Although Honey knew he was going to have to live with the guilt that was staining his hands red with blood, he was going to have to live. Once they escaped from the Wild Woods they'd find a place where they could live in peace far away from the war.
