Chapter 40 The Shrouded Bird
I spun around, my platinum blonde bangs flopped against my face as I looked around wildly, but saw no one was there.
Weird. I could’ve sworn I…
I looked down at my hands. Polished fingernails, creamy skin tone, and an ivory and gold dress replacing my armor. I was back in my original body. I brushed my long platinum blonde bangs to the side, looking around again.
With a deep breath, I called out in my soft voice, “Robin?”
No answer.
I’d only heard Robin’s gruff voice once, just barely, and I had a feeling that she wouldn’t speak to me again. At least not anytime soon. The mysterious woman was impossible to read.
My lips pursed in thought before I finally walked forward, looking around as my eyes adjusted to the dark, empty realm. I perked up when I saw familiar lights in the distance, and I hurried my pace. The clack from my glass heels echoed in the void, and I almost tripped in my haste.
My dainty body grew exhausted quickly, and I had to stop to catch my breath, hunching over as my chest heaved. I straightened when I finally spotted the familiar ginger-haired woman staring up at the lights.
“Robin…” I whispered and slowly approached her. Even now, I was still too nervous to get any closer than 10 feet near her.
C’mon, Liliana, say something!
I looked up at the lights, expecting to see the rippling vision of Drakeveil Kingdom again, but this time it wasn’t. My lips parted in awe. This time the vision took place in a log cabin, surrounded by people with a fireplace in the back.
“Mama!” one of the two children cheered, snuggling into the watcher’s chest.
“I’ve missed you so much, my love,” a man murmured, leaning down and kissing the person we were watching through.
I looked at Robin. “Is this your family?”
To my surprise, Robin watched the scene with an insipid, lazy gaze. She even yawned and glanced away boredly.
My brows knitted together in confusion. “I don’t understand…” I hesitated and glanced back up at the vision. Looking closer, I realized that the children looked nothing like Robin, but the vision’s hands were undoubtedly hers. I glimpsed a window and spotted a snowy mountain range outside.
“Who are these people?” I asked, turning to Robin.
Robin scratched behind her ear, turned her back to me, and walked away. My jaw dropped as I watched her go.
Did she just ignore me?!
“Wh—hey! Wait!” I stammered, giving chase. I blinked, and she was gone. Skidding to a stop, I nearly tripped again and looked around wildly.
Where did she go? She was just in front of me!
I spun around and spotted her staring up at the lights again. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets, leaning her weight on one leg. Eventually, Robin turned away from the flickering lights and walked off into the darkness.
“Hold on!” I shouted, chasing after her again until her silhouette was swallowed in the shadows. Even then, I still blindly followed. “Robin!” I bit my lip before yelling, “What is this place? Am I dreaming? Why do I keep coming back here?? Why does… I don’t understand! Is… is this really witchcraft? Have I been cursed? Answer me! PLEASE! Why ME?!”
For a split-second, I thought I saw Robin’s silhouette in the darkness. She stopped and glanced back at me.
Before I could speak again, the darkness flashed into a blinding light. I yelped, my eyes squeezed shut. The light dimmed into a soft glow from the flickering candles on a chandelier high above my head. I sat up with a start and a startled gasp.
“Whoa there!” Cedric grasped my shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re still at the tavern. There are no bandits, trust me.”
“O—oh,” I breathed, placing my hand on my pounding chest. “Sorry, just, uh… just had a strange dream is all.” I forced on my practiced, pretty smile. “I’m alright.”
Cedric’s worried gaze softened as a faint smile tugged at his lips. Before he could speak, Jackson and his scout stepped into the tavern.
“Saddle up, knights. We’ve got some bandits to catch,” our captain barked.
Everyone leapt to their feet. I followed while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Jackson looked at each one of us, making sure he had our attention before speaking again.
“The bandits have made their camp at the top of the dam. The perfect spot to watch what unfolds during the battle next to the village. I wouldn’t be surprised if they witnessed everything.”
“Will they know we’re coming then?” Russel asked.
“I’m doubtful,” Jackson said, glancing at me. “They may not have expected their right-hand to expose their location, let alone their plans.”
“How will we sneak up on them if they’ve got a bird’s eye view?"
“We’ll use the forest again. A steep climb, but it’s our only option for another sneak attack,” Jackson explained.
“Captain,” Cedric spoke up. “Do you think they’ll try to escape using the dam like a bridge?”
“It’s a possibility, but a risky one. That dam might as well be made of glass by now. It’d be suicide if they’re that desperate,” Jackson said. “Nevertheless, this will be a hairy fight on unstable terrain. I highly doubt their leader is alone, and I don’t know how wary he is—how many bandits he kept at his side. If he’s a clever man, he may have traps set up beforehand. So we’ll swoop in and kill him off fast along with his buddies. Leave no one alive.”
“Yes, sir!” the other knights barked. I winced at our captain’s cruel words. I understood his lust for vengeance. The horrifying memory of finding the corpses of the two captured knights, tortured and burned alive, was still fresh in my mind. Yet, the punishment of death still didn’t sit right with me.
Isn’t there another way?
“Let’s move out!” Jackson commanded, leading the way out of the tavern and back to the horses.
My heart warmed when I was finally reunited with my beautiful horse. His ears perked up when he saw me. Snowdrift galloped out of the shadows and pressed his snout against my cheek.
“Good boy,” I murmured, petting his forehead.
I tried to hop onto his saddle but tumbled down with an agonizing throb of pain shot through my abdomen. With a groan, I rubbed my bruised torso before taking a deep breath and struggling to climb onto Snowdrift’s saddle. Before I could slip off again, strong hands grabbed my waist and lifted me onto my horse’s saddle.
Startled, I glanced back at the person and my chest twisted. It was Jackson. I immediately looked away, finding it difficult to look him in the eye.
Jackson hesitated to speak before murmuring, “You’re hurt badly. I don’t need to look beneath your armor to tell. You may have broken ribs. Head back to base camp with Erik, we’ll regroup shortly.”