The Bloody Birds of Britain

Chapter 20

The moon was bright overhead, her bare body is illuminated by its enormous beam.

She feels the softness of clean sand between her toes and a wild, unruly wind through her fingers.

A bird flies high in the distance hanging over the incoming sea. She watches it as it hovers so gracefully over the rough sea.

Slowly the bird comes closer to shore, bobbing up and down on the wild winds. She watches it come closer with great expectation as if the bird is her guide.

The bird is a beautiful midnight blue with a small body but large wings. It hovers over her for a second before diving inland.

Hortense hurrys after it, feeling her heart beating loudly inside her chest... The feeling stops her dead in her tracks as its become so peculiar. Nevertheless she carries on after the bird, running through sand dunes until she reaches the edge of a wood.

Again she stops feeling as though shes been here before. Taking a step onto the grass, she expects to feel its coarseness between her toes but feels nothing. Glancing down at her feet she realizes she's now wearing clothes. Just a simple maroon dress and barely there shoes.

"This is the night before my wedding," she says aloud to herself attempting to recall the memory but alas there's only blankness, as if it's been wiped clean from her mind...

Courage prevails upon her, pushing her forward from the edge of the wood. Slowly she makes her way through the trees, her heart thudding at every step.

A loud groan, than a moan come deep from the wood followed by a rather unpleasant squeal. Something tells her to stay away and she tries to resist, but her former self needs to investigate desperately.

The scene she stumbles upon in a unwarranted clearing rips her heart from her chest.

There is a large rock formation, pressed naked against one of these rocks is her fiance. She places his face straight away despite it having being so long. He looks over his shoulder at another man, a man she'd rather not see here. Valentin, she'd know the small scar on his back from anywhere.

Slowly she falls to her knees. She watches as Valentin takes him from behind before gorging himself on his blood causing him to growl in lust.

Her hands instinctively touched the floor beside her, she felt a thick stick with a sharpened end. Tightening her grip she drew more courage from its presence in her hand, drawing strength from its solid form.

"Its your turn Marco," Valentin says laughing, removing himself from her fiance. His smile fades when he sees her.

"Hortense," the fiance calls to her falling to the ground.

Suddenly a twig snapped behind her, she turned around to find the Venetian standing behind her.

"Marco?" She whispers causing him to smile at her.

"Well your a beautiful creature aren't you?"

"I knew my father was a fool to make a match with you Jean," she shouted raising from the floor holding the stick. It was her former self now taking control Hortense merely watched. "Look at the state of you," she'd spat venomously at him while Valentin watched in delight, enjoying the spectacle.

"She is truly something else," Valentin smiled as he came closer to her, still fully naked.

"Stay away from me demon," she snarled pointing her stick at him; "I am not easy prey." Quickly she turned back to Jean but still she kept an eye on a prowling Valentin. "Consider this the end of our betrothal Jean Pierre, may we never meet again-" she went to turn but everything went black.