Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 14)

Ch.33 Past guilt

(Flashback) By the time twilight began, everyone was still out in the woods in search of Cerise who had suddenly vanished as they followed the blood trail.

"The blood trail's starting to fade" Hunter noted while using his flashlight, "Everyone, keep your eyes and ears opened."

"Hey uh, correct me if I'm wrong" Daring spoke, "But has this ever happened to Cerise before? I mean, I know there were those times when part of her wolf side would show, but has it ever happened like this?"

"I don't think so," Brooke answered, "I know it's happened to Ramona, but I don't think to Cerise."

"But if it is happening to Cerise-" Ashlynn put in "Why now? Because if I can recall, most of the stuff that happened like this took place when we were still in high school."

"That's what we're gonna find out."

"Stop," Hunter suddenly ordered as they all stopped walking "The blood trail is gone."

"Oh great," Darling sighed, "Now how are gonna find her?"

"She went this way," Danny suddenly pointed to the side that showed broken twigs and footprints on the ground.

"You've got a keen eye" Hunter commented as they started down the new trail.

But as they went down the trail, they all heard a noise that caused them to stop.

"What's that noise?" Delilah asked as everyone listened carefully.

"It sounds like... someone crying" Brooke observed.

"This way," Hunter ordered as they followed him down the woods until they once again came to a stop.

There in front of them, sitting on the ground and leaning against the tree was Cerise with tears in her eyes and blood on her hands and her mouth.

"Cerise?" Brooke gasped.

"Go away!" she sobbed while hiding her face with her hood "I don't want to hurt you guys!"

"Hold on," Darling spoke calmly "What happened?"

"What does it look like?" she grunted while exposing her bloody hands "I killed something that's what happened! And I've never killed anything before!"

Everyone stood there in shock as she burst into tears while burying her face into her arms. But at that moment, Brooke spotted the wolf mask next to Cerise.

"Your wolf mask," she pointed.

"Get it away from me," Cerise sniffed "That thing ruined me."

Still avoiding eye contact, Cerise kept her eyes down as Brooke picked up the mask and noticed the blood stains on certain parts.

"Cerise," she spoke softly "Why don't you tell us everything that happened? Start at the beginning."

Once she managed to calm herself, Cerise still kept her head down as she forced her words out.

"I saw my wolf mask in Delilah's living room" she mumbled, "I don't know how she found it, but I never thought I would see it again. It brought back so many memories of my past."

She wiped a tear away as she continued "I suddenly felt myself putting the mask back on, and that's when it happened. My head became filled with all of my past memories. I tried to take the mask off, but it wouldn't come off. The last thing I remember was seeing my claws come out. And when I woke up, I found myself in front of a dead deer with its bloody meat in my hands."

More tears poured out as she sniffed while wiping them away.

"I still had the taste of its blood in my mouth" she quivered, "But what scares me the most was that I liked it. I've never tasted so much blood before, especially from something that I killed with my own hands and teeth. Why is this happening to me?! Why?! Why now?!"

She went back to bawling her eyes out as everyone stood there gloomy by her story.

"I might have a theory" Hunter suddenly spoke, "I think when you saw this mask, it triggered all of your past memories. And kind of like what happened with Ramona, when you think of your story in a really depressing way, your wolf side takes over. But unlike Ramona, your wolf side took over once you put the mask on. So I recommend you find a better way to dispose of that mask."

"I'll take care of it" Brooke offered when she turned to Cerise "It's okay now, Cerise. I don't think it'll happen again."

"Well, now thanks to that mask-" she grumbled, "All of my old memories are haunting me again, especially this one."

At that point, now curious, Brooke took a step forward and kneeled down next to her.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked quietly.

Cerise didn't say anything as she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

"Cerise," Darling said softly "It's okay, you don't have to hide from us anymore."

Cerise gave a hard sniff while wiping more of her tears away as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"When I was a kid," she began in a mumble "I was in the same class as Raven and Ginger. And um- I remember watching them getting bullied and ignored from the other kids. I felt so bad for them, I really wanted to say something and stand up to the bullies. But I couldn't do it, I was afraid if I did, they would find out about me and then they would bully me too."

And just like that, more of tears dripped down her cheeks as she felt her heart ache more.

"I could've helped them" she sobbed, "We all could've been friends, and we all wouldn't be alone. But I never said anything, I let our suffering continue all because I was afraid. And even though we managed to move on and accept ourselves, I still regret not saying anything to this day. If I had said something, then maybe I wouldn't have to wear my mask anymore. But I didn't, and I still haven't told them about that."

She buried her face into her arms as everyone listened to the sounds of her pain as they too felt her pain. But seeing the distress her friend was in, Brooke scooted closer to Cerise and wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in.

"I understand," she said softly "Fear keeps us from many opportunities. But it's not too late, you can still tell them the truth. What do you say? You wanna give Raven and Ginger a quick call?"

Cerise let out a sniff while nodding her head, "Please."

"Come on."

Brooke took hold of Cerise's bloodied hands and pulled her up, not caring of getting the blood on her hands as well. And once she was up, Brooke kept her grip on Cerise's hand as Darling took a hold of the other as they all strolled down the woods with their haft wolf friend who they never wanted to leave their side.