Pain. Hot, searing pain. Ripping away at her body, tearing away at her flesh with its bare teeth. There was a scream. Such a scream that its echoes rippled through the newly deserted village.
Then nothing.
Silence
As if nothing had ever happened.
T...
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Everything had been wonderful. Maybe that should have been her first clue. A sign that things were too good to be true.
Her parents had lovingly kicked her out for the day so they could prepare her party. Her eighteenth. It was a big deal. She would now be of age and, after two years of courting, she had a feeling William Sweete would be proposing tonight. His younger sister Clara had told her that he'd been gifted their mother's ring the other day and that she had to: "Shhhh, and pretend to be surprised for Will. It's supposed to be a secret!"
She had wandered the beach for a while, looking out across the ocean and dreaming of what she'd find out there. It was all planned out. Once she and William were married, they'd travel the world together. She'd perform. It didn't matter where. In taverns, courtyards, or for Lords and Ladies. And William would join the Merchants Guild, selling the tools and trinkets he loved to make. Maybe they'd even have a child or two. William always talked about how much he wanted to be a father. And while Ariella didn't love him the way he loved her, nor did she particularly want a child of her own, she could see herself happy in that future.
When she was finally allowed to return to her house, she had been brought to tears by how happy she was. Everyone was there. Their village wasn't a large one, but it had been thinly spread across a large area of land. Even those from the top of the cliffs, who must have had to walk at least half a mile down the rocky pathways had come to congratulate her on her coming of age.
She had danced and sang and laughed and cried. All the while, she could see the adults (well, she supposed she was technically an adult now too) whispering to one another, knowing smiles on their faces as William fiddled with something in his pocket. Ariella had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was.
But just as the gift-giving ceremony began, a stranger approached the party. He wore the attire of a knight, bearing the cross of O'khasis. Ariella recognised the sigil from her parent's various maps and books.
The bustling atmosphere quietened as more people began to take note of the stranger. More in confusion than anything else. Large citadels such as O'khasis never had the need for small villages such as Sirensfell. They had their own mines and quarries, so Sirensfell's main export of ores and minerals was traded instead with other small villages like Meteli, whose swampy lands were perfect for agriculture.
Ariella stood from where she had been sitting and approached the stranger with a friendly smile.
"Good evening. Is there something we can help you with Sir Knight?" She asked. The knight nodded.
