Once upon a deception

Those who make their fate

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I brought Ale." Clarisse told Lina who was vent down by the river banks, scrubbing the plates clean.

The girl turned back when her name was called upon and Clarisse noticed the redness of her eyes and the straight white lines that ran down her cheeks, a dead giveaway that she had been crying.

"Why the hell would you bring that? I do not drink. It's unladylike." Lina protested, wiping a wet hand down her nose as she stifled.

"Maybe you should see it as my apology," Clarisse replied, dropping the plates on her hands by the banks and retrieving the bottle of ale she had smuggled from atop the pile. "I am sure you will not be able to sleep. Not with everything plaguing you." Then Clarisse corked the bottle open and took a generous swig, coughing loudly as the content burned through her throat. She then offered the bottle to Lina in hope that she would drink. When she noticed the girl's hesitation, she chipped in a funny comment. "It does help the Lord get over his foul mood."

Lina gave a false smile, eventually taking the bottle and dunking down two full gulps.

"It tastes horrible if you ask me. How does Lord Vincent stomach this?"

"An acquired taste I suppose," Clarisse said. Her mind wandered on how she was going to bring up the topic of she was ever going to get the guilt out of her mind. Lina was doing her a favor drinking away her chance to be 'the Cause' prized lamb and that only left Clarisse with one option, Fulfill the girl's purpose. As the girl took more of the tainted ale, Clarisse finally dared to ask.

"Tell me about your sister?"

It was a dangerous gamble and Clarisse's only salvation resided in the fading hope that the girl's common sense had finally gone out the nest.

"Her name is-"

Then Clarisse's eyes flutter open. It was a nightmare. Not necessarily seeming like one but Clarisse knew what she had done. She had poisoned someone and it did not sit right. Her mind could not get over the fact that she had willingly risked someone's life for revenge. As beads of sweat trailed down to her musky hairline, Clarisse sat straight, stretching her strained back and considering the aftermath of her actions. She had done it in the spur of the moment, burning with resentment for those who hurt her. Those who took away everything she could have been twice and leaving her in the ashes. Here she was with a freedom that really did not feel like much. Not when she could not walk back to Wohar with her head held high. No, She would be captured and suffer the same fate as her mother: Be put as a glaring example to any who dared tried to follow the path of freedom. But despite all Clarisse had spew to her head to justify her actions, She knew she was wrong. She was not the only one who had suffered. She was being selfish and she knew it. But there was a silver line. She knew Lina's sister's name and where she was stationed. There was a chance she could be of help and maybe, just maybe she could get rid of the guilt pinching her soul.

Clarisse went over to her belongings. Spoils of old raids. Her fingers dug through the rags she had for clothes until she finally felt the leather hilt. She grasped unto the warm leather handle and pulled it out of the bundle. The dagger was the same. Again, Clarisse ran her finger through the initials like she always did when she was moody. But this time something was different. She ran her finger down the sharp edge and felt pain surge through her as the dagger sliced through her skin like tenderized meat. As blood seeped from the cut, Clarisse remembered her guardian and what he had been like. He was a good man who risked everything he had built to help her. His wife, although was always sketchy about Clarisse loved the girl too, even if she would not admit it and Clarisse remembered the little boy they had. She had never met him because he had been sent away to train as the King's legion. For a moment, Clarisse pondered what became of the boy. Did he die from heartbreak? or did he perhaps use his skills in a vain attempt to kill the King and suffered the same fate as his parents. By the time her chaotic thoughts had settled, the Eastern sky was filled with cotton pinks and golden yellow. A subtle way of the universe blooming anew. Clarisse stumbled outside, hiding the dagger in her pocket. Slowly the mighty sun clashed through the horizon and for a brief moment, The sky exploded in surreal colors. If her mother were alive Clarisse knew she would have been told it was a sign, a special day. As the sunlight kissed her face, Clarisse felt it was peace sent from her mother. She quickened her steps, not stopping until she was at the door of Lord Vincent. Just as she attempted to knock, Clarisse noticed something weird. Lord Vincent's devil of a horse was not tied to the stands. The peace and tranquility that once comforted her heart vanished and Clarisse's heartbeat rose steadily as she knocked on the Lord's door hard and fast. There was no answer. The door did not even budge. Clarisse was bent on proving the sad reality of her situation wrong so she kept knocking, praying to her fragile self that the Lord did not abandon her in his stupid attempt to protect her. Her knuckles got red but Clarisse could not stop. She had made morally questionable decisions and done terrible things just to secure her post. Was all of that for nothing? She fell to the cruel earth and thought to herself, "You have failed Clarisse, You have failed them all."

Suddenly, her ears pricked as swift powerful limbs hit the ground. She could not miss it. The signature thundering of midnight the nightmare. She turned behind her to see the hazy but recognizable figure. The wind wisped his mane into the air like he was an angel of mercy descending from the horizons. Never had Clarisse been happier to see the monster that made her regret having an organ of smell for years straight. Atop Midnight the nightmare horse was his master, The stuck-up Lord of the raids.

"It seems like it's your lucky day Clarisse. You got your wish. Lina is sick." He bellowed.

A sigh of relief left Clarisse. He said it casually which meant she had not overdone the horse chestnuts. That was one thing off her chest.

"It was not my wish for her to be sick." Clarisse retorted.

"Do not be coy Clarisse. I think you know very well what I planned to do."

And he was right. She knew exactly how the day would have turned out had Lina not fallen sick.

"You wanted to leave me and take Lina. Didn't you?"

"Unfortunately, I failed. Your good must hate you very much."

Filled with a strange comfort that her scheming had all been useful, Clarisse replied with a winning smile. " I make my own fate."

"I see. If you are still certain you want to follow me, You can. I won't stop you now but Lina wants to see you before we go."

That was the one thing she had not anticipated. Why would Lina want to see her at such an inconspicuous time? She knew very well that their relationship was on the road far from friendship so Clarisse found it very strange. Except... Did Lina know what she did?