Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 35: Because of Him

"My king, it's ahead. We've made it."

"What?" Erinne jerked her head up and her heart beat tripled in her chest. It was midday on the seventh day. They'd been riding all morning with no stops yet. She glanced around her, seeking out her husband, her moral support, and spotted him nearby. He rode aimably next to Lohke. They were good company, always had been together.

He caught her eye and he must've noticed the panic in her eyes because he came towards her immediately. Before he reached her, she faced forward, her breathing coming faster. She thought she was going to faint as she caught sight of it through the trees.

"Yes, that's it." Wren confirmed, but she already knew, her heart and soul recognized it. The house of her childhood loomed ahead of them and though there were some immediate differences, she knew this place well. It'd lived in her mind's eye for all these years. The field that stretched out in front of her family's home had thick, overgrown shrubs now and a few trees shading it, encroaching on the house. She no longer knew if her heart beat erratically or if it'd completely frozen in her chest.

"This is your childhood home?" Cold Hammer sounded strangely sick, his voice thick and she glanced at him. There was a strange horror in his eyes. The place was in shambles from years of misuse, not quite what she remembered, and not quite what anyone else was expecting she was sure.

She was going to answer him but her throat was so dry and then Wren was speaking, "Lady Erinne, I can lead you to their graves, if you wish?"

She stared ahead, unable to look away. "I uh," she paused, not quite sure how to answer and then she kicked Lothar's sides gently, urging him forward. No one said a word to her and after her horse took a few steps, it felt like something inside of her jump started, some strange urgency, and she kicked him into a gallop, rushing up the short hill leading up to the house.

Erinne pulled him to a stop and dismounted slowly, her heart racing. Nothing was left of what had happened that day. She found no bodies lying around, no blood staining the grass. There were also no livestock, no dogs guarding the flock, no horses, no life. The ruins of her past held little evidence of the horrors, but her memories did.

As she looked around she saw them in her mind, the people she'd known, running and screaming. She saw the blood on their shirts, she heard their voices panic stricken. It was like one of her nightmares except she was awake.

She swallowed again, trying to force those thoughts away and she shook her head, her hands trembling as she looked around. She had to fight to stay calm but she was shook. This was it, this was home.

"Milady?" Wren and Khash crept up behind her.

"I have something that can calm your nerves." Khash offered.

"No." She said quickly and realized she must've sounded harsh so she added, "No, thank you." She wouldn't face her past like a coward. She was terrified, but she was here and she would face it head on.

She looked sideways at where a door should have been on the front of the house, but it was long gone along with a lot of other decay. A wooden bench was a crumpled heap near the door, unrecognizable for what it used to be. She remembered sitting there with her mother while she read to her from a book. Many of the windows were broken or so grimy that she couldn't see through them and vines were suffocating the rest of the building.

She tried to keep in her tears as she looked at the side window, the window she'd clambered out of with her father. Then she gazed at the trees a fair distance away. "My father and I ran that way, he died right there." She pointed at a spot in the grass, so serene and undisturbed now. "He told me to keep running so I did, that way."