Heart of a Monster

Fires continued to burn hot and bright all around. Both Vidor and Magdalene stood while surveying Aridean with concern and surprise in their respective expressions. Aridean, however, continued to hold firm her embrace on Vidor as she breathed in the smoke-choked air and awaited any sort of input from one of her two companions. Magdalene merely glanced up to Vidor as the male minotaur finally managed to collect himself.

“You’re going to find who killed your friend? What are you talking about? What are you thinking?” Vidor finally asked once he had processed Aridean’s statement. His voice was filled with apprehension and reluctance.

The couple were still standing in the middle of the road of the burning market. Behind Aridean were the many burnt bodies of the monsters that had just attempted to attack her, Vidor, and Magdalene. The road the creatures’ charred remains rested on was still red hot and scorched by Aridean’s magic. Thick, black smoke absolutely clouded the air overhead, entirely obscuring the view of the starry, night sky.

Aridean’s arms slowly fell from Vidor’s back as she looked over the body of Finn Watson again. Vidor noticed that she was looking at the man intently, yet expressionless eyes hid whatever she might be thinking. He cautiously released his gentle embrace of Aridean as he felt her shoulders moving slightly. Slowly, Aridean bent over to grab her axe from the ground by her hooves. She took a step closer to the body; apathy painted her fuzzy face as she no longer could continue to cry.

“Vidor… you found Mr. Watson before I did. Did you see who did this? Where did they go?” asked Aridean, her voice was almost robotic as she spoke. Vidor let out a long and stressful sigh as he began to scratch the back of his head.

“Aridean… I think you should--,” Vidor began to respond. It was at this point that Magdalene had approached the two minotaurs but remained quiet while Vidor and Aridean spoke.

“Vidor, please, tell me,” Aridean interjected. She turned back to Vidor with a deadly serious look. Vidor was left stunned by Aridean’s apparent conviction.

“I-I didn’t see their face… they… they walked off down that road,” Vidor answered hesitantly. Having given in, Vidor pointed in the direction of the road that Magdalene had previously been running along. Both Magdalene and Aridean turned toward the road that Vidor directed them to. Without a word, Aridean began walking past Vidor and Magdalene.

“Ari…?” Magdalene called out as the minotaur passed her.

“Aridean, wait,” Vidor pleaded as he grabbed Aridean by the hand. Aridean had halted her march forward, but refrained from looking at Vidor, “You’re not… you’re not going to fight them, are you? Aridean, whoever did this, they killed your friend! You can’t be running into this without a plan.”

Although she did not turn to look at Vidor, Aridean’s eyes slowly drifted downward. She took a deep breath before slowly and gently pulling her hand from Vidor’s grip. Vidor watched as her hand slipped from his own, unsure about trying to hold her back. Magdalene kept quiet but a distinct flicker of concern appeared on her face, if only for a moment. Aridean, now standing a few feet from Vidor, closed her eyes tight as she inhaled the smoky air around her. When she opened them again, she found that her gaze had fallen upon Finn’s body once more; sorrow and remorse immediately filled her expression.

Mr. Watson… you were so good to me. Why did this happen? One of the three people who showed me kindness over the years, gone and I don’t even know why. I’ll never forgive whoever did this, Aridean thought to herself as her grip on her weapon grew firmer. After a deep breath, she turned to look Vidor in the eyes with as much determination as she could muster.

“You’re… really going to find who did this? Ngh…” Vidor spoke with a worried grunt. After a few seconds of thinking, the minotaur shook his head, “Alright. But I won’t let you go by yourself.”

Aridean’s determined glare was instantly replaced with surprise. Vidor seemed to notice the sudden shock on Aridean’s face and responded with a friendly smile. Although Aridean expected him continue trying to dissuade her, she remembered just how like it was for Vidor to stand by a friend’s side during their time of need no matter how unreasonable the task at hand might be. Once her astonishment had subsided, Aridean returned a small, but sincere, smile of her own to Vidor.

“You two are going after someone who killed this man? We’ve already got our hands full with a burning village and the creepy monsters running amok! Are you two insane?!” Magdalene scolded while gesturing at the burning shops all around the group. Vidor began to laugh, to both the girl’s apparent confusion.

“Not to late to run away, Maggie. Aridean’s mind is made up and if I’ve learned anything about her in the past two years, her mind doesn’t change easily,” Vidor commented with a smile before turning back to Aridean. His smile faded and an uncharacteristically serious look was drawn upon the male minotaur’s muzzle, “But you’re going to promise me this: if anything happens, you’ll get away safely, okay?”

A glimmer of worry could be seen in Aridean’s eyes as they returned to Finn again. However, she turned her attention back to Vidor with the same determined look she had made previously and nodded. Seeing the two having committed themselves to the pursuit of Finn’s killer, Magdalene growled her frustration.

“Rgh! Fine! Let’s just get going already,” exclaimed an annoyed Magdalene. Aridean looked to the girl in surprise while Vidor stared on with skepticism, “You two might need someone to heal you, you know. Unless Ari wants to burn her wounds closed again.”

Does she really have to bring that up again? Just thinking about it hurts… Aridean mentally complained to herself as Magdalene pushed past both her and Vidor. Having taken the lead, Magdalene did not see the exchange between Vidor and Aridean behind her. The two minotaurs looked to one another after a second of watching the girl march in the direction of their quarry whereupon Vidor then rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Having expressed his thoughts about Magdalene’s decision, Vidor began to follow the girl alongside Aridean. The trio began to march through the streets of the blazing village in pursuit of the person responsible for the death of Finn Watson, the captain of the town watch for Thellia. Only a moment after having taken up the chase, Vidor began to laugh which was met with a frustrated look from Magdalene.

“What’s so funny?” Magdalene snapped at Vidor. His laughter took a moment to quiet down.

“I was just thinking that we must look like the weirdest band of heroes to those villagers back at that store,” explained Vidor with a smile.

“Us? Heroes? Whatever,” Magdalene responded, her tone sounded agitated but her face slowly turned a light shade of red. Vidor let out another quiet chuckle as the group continued their march.

Aridean took the time to look to the buildings on either side of road. Although the smoke irritated her eyes, she could still look at the destroyed and charred wooden walls and collapsed roofs and perfectly recall what each pile of firewood was prior to the disaster. Aridean could remember her time in Thellia so vividly, the burning village she now stood within did nothing to impede her delving into memories.

The tailor’s that bought Simon’s sheep’s wool… the bakery Jean loved so much… Both burned to the ground. Who did this? Why did this happen? Aridean began to ponder to herself while reminiscing. Her trip down memory lane was cut short, however, as a loud and terrified scream could be heard somewhere just ahead of the group. Each of the three team members stopped in their tracks.

“It came from just up ahead! It could be someone else in trouble!” Exclaimed Vidor, notching an arrow in his bow. Without hesitation, the minotaur began to charge toward the origin of the most recent scream. Aridean and Magdalene were following closely behind.

“That came from… in front of the schoolhouse,” Aridean quietly said to herself as she and her friends rounded a corner and saw their destination.

The village schoolhouse had not changed in her absence; it was not an especially large building but had many small windows. The many windows had been installed in order to allow natural light into the building as there was no electricity within the small wooden structure. Originally, the schoolhouse had been the townhall of Thellia when it had been founded many years ago. For a while, the building was solely maintained as a historic site in the village. It was only two years prior to Aridean starting school that some roaming scholarly types came to the village and discussed with the mayor and his council about starting a proper school in Thellia.

Just outside of the schoolhouse, the group observed a peculiar sight. There were two humanoid figures engaged in an altercation of their own while they were surrounded by many of the impish monstrosities. One of the non-monsters was a young man, cowering at the base of the stairs that led to the front door of the schoolhouse. However, the sight of the other man prompted Aridean to stop instantaneously with an alarmed gasp. She felt her blood run ice cold in her veins just looking at the second man, clad in a familiar looking set of armor.

Aridean felt her entire body seize up as fear gripped her mind. The second man was covered head to toe in the shining suit of armor, the visor to his helm obscuring his face. His well-maintained and polished armor reflected the fires of the village. Aridean had seen this scene multiple times in her restless and fitful dreams. Her legs grew shaky as she realized that she was looking at the terror that had been plaguing her dreams for two years: the knight that slays minotaurs.

“H-he’s… real?” Aridean apprehensively commented out loud. Only about twenty meters from her stood a man that was wearing a suit of armor that she had become uncomfortably familiar with. Before Aridean stood the knight that had been haunting her dreams for two years now. Both Vidor and Magdalene looked to her in confusion.

“Real? What are you talking about?” Magdalene asked, still stumped by Aridean’s odd statement. However, Aridean did not get the chance to answer as she watched the knight raise an ornate looking sword over his head. She nervously swallowed as she watched the blade rise, just as she had so many times in her dreams.

“Answer me, scum! It was your doing, was it not?! Do you have any idea what you have done?!” shouted the knight as he lifted his blade in preparation for an attack. Aridean looked to the young man that was still cowering in front of the knight. Tears streamed down the man’s face and fear was clear as day in his expression. Aridean’s eyes widen as she instantly recognized the young man.

“I-I’m sorry! I-I never meant for it to--,” the young man began to apologize. His apology was cut short as the knight began to swing his blade downward to strike the man. While the knight roared, the young man screamed in fear of his life. However, what silenced the blended cries of anger and terror was the loud and unmistakable clang of metal against metal.

“A-ah… ah, ugh, h-huh?” the young man panted before looking up to see that Aridean was standing before him, having deflected the sword meant to strike him. Although it took a moment to register with the young man, his eyes went wide and mouth fell agape with a short gasp at the sight of Aridean, “N-no way… C-cowgirl?”

I could leave right now, Reil… Aridean thought to herself in annoyance. She focused her full attention on the knight in front of her as he quickly recovered from Aridean’s block. While the very sight of the man in armor shook her to her core, Aridean put on as strong a face as she could and raised her battle axe. However, what surprised her was the knight’s peculiar response to her sudden appearance. The armor-clad individual seemed to stop and keel over somewhat upon the appearance of the minotaur before him.

“W-what the hell is this? No, it simply can’t be…” spoke the knight, his voice full of disbelief and doubt. He held his head in his open hand and vigorously shook his head back and forth. “Gone… they’re all gone! You made sure of it! This isn’t possible… an illusion?! A phantom?! What the hell is the meaning of this?! Now you’ve played your true hand, is that it?!”

Aridean felt immeasurable confusion by the knight’s assessment of her being. She was not sure what the man before her was talking about but could almost feel as if the knight was speaking to someone else. A chill ran down her spine as the knight looked to the smoke-filled sky and began to laugh maniacally.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! So, this is your game, is it?! You find this funny, do you?! Very well, I’ll play your twisted game!” ranted the armored individual. The man raised his decorated blade in Aridean’s direction and spoke with authority in his voice, “But I will emerge victorious! I will make sure every last, miserable soul in this damned village knows what a real monster is!”

Without any hesitation, the knight lunged at Aridean. Aridean barely managed to sidestep out of the way as the knight thrust his blade in her direction. Just as she regained her footing, Aridean was forced to hop further back as the man’s sword was rushing toward her in a horizontal slash. In an attempt to retaliate, Aridean swung her axe toward the knight as he attempted another lunge in her direction.

“W-what?!” Aridean stuttered in surprised as her axe blade was stopped dead by the knight’s own blade. The loud clanging of the metal instruments clashing against one another rang out as they had when Aridean deflected the strike meant for Reil. But what was different, and confusing, was that Aridean’s strength was held at bay by the knight’s sword.

H-how is this guy so strong?! A normal human would still be thrown off their feet from a blow like that! Aridean wondered as the knight pushed against her axe. Aridean lost her balance for only a second from the force acting against her axe. Unfortunately, the knight only required that second to act.

“Such a disappointment,” commented the knight as his sword sliced into Aridean’s left leg.

“Augh!” Aridean cried in pain as her fresh wound began to ooze warm blood. With terror in her eyes, Aridean looked up at the knight standing over her. There was nothing but void to be seen through the visor that obscured the man’s face. Aridean watched in fear as the knight raised his sword over his head.

It felt as though time had stopped as Aridean was clutching her injured leg and looking at the knight in horror. The same scene had played out numerous times in her dreams but she had never once expected the nightmare to come to reality. Holding her breath, Aridean looked up to the blade raised over the knight’s head and noticed two things about the sword. Something about the sword was strangely familiar to her and, much more peculiar, it was trembling slightly in the knight’s hands.

W-what? That’s not like my dreams, Aridean mentally observed. Her analysis was cut short as the knight began to let loose a ferocious battle cry. Aridean closed her eyes shut tight, believing that might be the last time they were ever opened in this life.

“Aridean!” called Vidor as, yet again, the sound of metal hitting metal was heard. Aridean opened her eyes with a gasp to see the knight stumbling over as an arrow had just bounced off of the sturdy helmet over the knight’s head. Aridean glanced in Vidor’s direction to see him standing in front of Reil and Magdalene. Magdalene was ushering Reil into the schoolhouse building. Given her chance, Aridean got back to her hooves, leg still bleeding from the new gash.

“What did that one just…?” inquired the knight, standing stone-still after having regained his balance. He turned to face Vidor, his sheer malice could be felt radiating off of him just like the heat of the fires engulfing the village, “You dare?!”

In a fit of rage, the knight began to charge at Vidor who notched another arrow in his bow. Vidor only took a second to aim, pull his bowstring, and release the projectile. The arrow soared through the air in the direction of the charging knight but was quickly evaded as the knight simply sidestepped the attack. An annoyed grunt escaped Vidor’s throat.

Without hesitating, Vidor reached over his shoulder and pulled three arrows out of the quiver strapped to his back. Aridean watched as Vidor notched all three of the fresh arrows at once. Just the same as the first attempt, Vidor was able to aim and fire within the span of a single breath, sending each of his new projectiles hurtling toward his approaching enemy. The three arrows flying toward the knight ensured that he could not avoid the attack as he previously had. However, the knight had unexpectedly swung his blade.

“Whoa…” Vidor gawked in astonishment. Aridean’s eyes widened and she held her breath after the display. With one precise swing of his sword, the knight had successfully sliced through each of Vidor’s three arrows. The broken arrows fell to the ground and the knight resumed his advance on Vidor. Although the man was now mute, just being within ten meters of him caused one to almost feel the anger and rage the man silently exuded.

“Vidor!” Aridean shouted at the stunned minotaur. Having heard his name, Vidor acted as quickly as he could. Vidor dropped his bow and reached for one of his daggers with his right hand while grabbing his crossbow with his left. He brought up both weapons just as the knight swung his blade. Steel clashed with steel as Vidor parried the attack with his dagger, he could feel the extraordinary strength of the knight pushing against his own blade. With a confident grin, Vidor pointed his crossbow at the knight and pulled the trigger.

Aridean gasped as the bolt fired at the knight flew right past her ear. Vidor’s eyes had gone wide and the smug grin he had was instantly replaced with shock. The knight had leaned so far back in such a short span of time that Aridean and Vidor both almost had not registered it.

“Begone from my sight!” exclaimed the knight, his tone serious and intolerant. He had pulled his blade back from Vidor’s dagger and spun about on his right heel.

“Gugh!” Vidor gasped. The knight had extended his left leg during his spin and hit Vidor in the side. Aridean gasped as she saw Vidor was sent flying from the unbelieveably powerful blow. The minotaur was sent sailing through the smoke-filled air and right into the wall of the schoolhouse. Broken wooden boards jumped from the point of impact and Vidor was left sore and dazed after the attack. Aridean watched Vidor struggle for only a second before her friend gave out entirely and fell limp on the ground.

“Pervert! C-c’mon! Get up,” Magdalene encouraged as she ran to Vidor’s side. The girl knelt down beside the minotaur and began to assess his injuries. Aridean was relieved to see that Magdalene was quick to call upon her magic to start aiding Vidor. Even so, the vicious attack had left Vidor unconscious as he lay on the ground covered in bits of broken wood, unresponsive. The knight took notice of Magdalene’s brightly glowing hands and began to growl angrily.

“Vile witch! While I am on my own crusade to punish this despicable village, I shall not allow such wicked sorcery! Come forth, soldiers,” exclaimed the knight as he waved his free hand. As though they were being summoned, the small and solid-black imp-like monsters emerged from various hiding places.

H-he can command those things?! What the hell is he?! Aridean screamed in her head. She watched, frightened by the size of the small army that now surrounded both Magdalene and Vidor. Magdalene herself seemed to be just as, if not more so, afraid of the sight that slowly approached with frightful hissing and unnerving growling.

“A-Ari! There’s too many! Help!” Magdalene cried out in alarm. Aridean hesitated for only a second before taking a deep breath. She hastily raised her axe over her head and began to focus.

As many of the small imp creatures closed in on Magdalene and Vidor, Magdalene let out a frightened yell. Hearing her friend’s cry of distress, Aridean brought down the axe from over her head with tremendous force. She had planted the axe head into the ground directly in front of her. Almost instantly, the ground began to glow a bright orange color and this color began to stretch from Aridean’s axe in the direction of Magdalene and Vidor. The orange coloration had drawn a line in the ground that separated the imps from their prey.

Even so, several of the creatures chose to ignore Aridean’s magic and lunged in Magdalene’s direction. The young girl screamed again as she turned her head with eyes shut tight. However, rather than feel the pain of being bitten or clawed or scratched by the monsters, Magdalene felt an intense heat coming from where her assailants had launched their attack. Magdalene quickly looked up to see that the magic line Aridean had drawn in the ground had erupted into a somewhat mesmerizing, blazing inferno. Pained screeching and disgusting gurgling noises came from the abominations that had leapt at Magdalene and been caught in the fires.

“W-well… I guess that is kinda cool,” Magdalene quietly commented to herself, still entranced by Aridean’s magic. Aridean pulled her weapon from where she had planted it into the ground. She watched as the flames conjured from her magic began to slowly die down. Both the knight and his imps looked on as the fires slowly dwindled down. While it was impossible to tell what the knight was thinking, his next action told Aridean everything she needed to hear.

“Take care of that apparition! I’ll handle this witch myself,” ordered the knight as he slowly turned from Aridean to Magdalene. Unexpectedly, he was instantly stopped as spears of light penetrated his monstrous minions. The knight looked around, confused by the sudden death of his remaining imps.

“But she’s not the only one with cool magic,” Magdalene whispered to herself with a smug grin upon her face. The knight looked to the girl to see that she had launched bolts of holy light from her glowing hands to decimate his remaining soldiers. In a manic fit of rage, the knight roared as he charged Magdalene.

As the knight began to rush her, Magdalene took aim and fired more of her magic bolts in her assailant’s direction. Unfortunately, Magdalene did not have as keen an eye as Vidor and her first two bolts missed their mark entirely. A third magic projectile was nimbly sidestepped by the charging knight.

“C-c’mon… just hit him once,” Magdalene quietly told herself while focusing her magic. The young girl took a deep breath and fired a fourth magic missile at the man threatening her.

Magdalene’s expression began to show fear and anxiety as the final bolt she fired would have been a direct hit. To her surprise, the knight had cut through her magic with his blade. She watched, both dumbfounded and amazed, as the holy energy she had sent out in defense quickly dissipated into the air around the knight’s sword. The knight now stood before Magdalene and raised his blade over his head again; his deep voice echoed, “Disappear.”

In the brilliantly shining reflection of the sword, Magdalene could see her fearful face. Her eyes widened in horror as the knight’s shoulders began to lower. The girl turned away and raised her arms in an attempt to defend herself. She thought that time had stopped as her heart began racing faster and faster.

“Ugh!” gasped the knight that had just been threatening Magdalene’s life. Magdalene’s eyes first opened, first seeing Vidor slowly coming to. But she also saw something shining fall right in front of where Vidor was laying. The girl turned to see the knight was still standing over her. However, she could see that the man had lost his grip on this blade as it had fallen to the ground. Just behind the knight, Magdalene saw Aridean hunched over as her axe had been swung down into the ground again. She was surprised to see a great deal of blood coating Aridean’s weapon.

“I… I don’t believe this… I’ve lost… to you? What a shame…” the knight spoke in an almost calm tone of voice. He coughed and Magdalene noticed a small amount of blood seeping out from under the helmet’s visor. Slowly, the knight turned to look Aridean in the eye; the minotaur had a ferociously determined expression on her face, “To think… this is how it would end… How you would do away with me…”

Magdalene gasped at the sight of the knight’s back. Aridean had struck with such force that the armor he wore meant nothing. There was a large, crimson gash all along the back of the man who slumped down to his knees. Vidor and Magdalene held their breath as they watched the man fall onto his bloodied back.

“That was for Mr. Watson,” Aridean angrily declared. The knight took a deep breath from his place on the ground.

“Watson? I…” the knight began to speak. A short pause followed before the man finished with, “What have I…?”

“Vidor, Maggie, are you two okay?” Aridean asked as she moved in closer to help Vidor to his hooves. Without hesitation, she quickly slung Vidor’s arm over her shoulders and helped him stand again. Vidor winced in pain as his right leg felt immensely uncomfortable when he stood up.

“Ow… I’ll be fine, but I wouldn’t mind having Rana look at my leg,” Vidor responded as he and Aridean began to slowly and carefully walk away from the scene. Magdalene, however, took an extra moment before standing back up.

“I’m right here you know! Rana even said my holy magic can do better healing than her magic can,” Magdalene complained, much to Vidor’s apparent amusement. Vidor and Aridean shared a short and quiet laugh while Magdalene stopped in her tracks. Aridean looked back to see she was examining something in her hands. Vidor cautiously took his arm off of Aridean’s shoulders and tried walking by himself.

“Vidor don’t hurt yourse--,” Aridean began to advise before hearing a surprised gasp from Magdalene. Both Vidor and Aridean turned to look at the half-elven girl behind them. The expression on her face was one full of surprise.

“Ari?” Magdalene called out, “You… might wanna take a look at this.”

Aridean, confused, took a step toward Magdalene. As she drew near, Magdalene shifted the object she held into one hand and presented it to Aridean. In the first second, Aridean was all the more confused as the item she had procured was a small copper locket with a silver lining. The thin chain had been broken and dirt caked the front of the locket.

“What is--,” Aridean began to ask. Before letting her finish, Magdalene opened the locket to reveal two separate portraits within. In the door of the locket was a portrait of a woman and little girl, both of whom struck Aridean as being oddly familiar. She was certain she had never met the two in the image but still felt as though she had seen their faces before. However, what truly disturbed Aridean was the portrait in the body to the locket. The second portrait was a headshot of a young, female minotaur, an unmistakably familiar, female minotaur.

That isn’t—that can’t be! That’s not possible! W-where the hell did she get that from?! Aridean could hear herself internally panicking. Her entire body had seized up and she was unable to move. She felt as though she could not even breathe.

“W-what? Maggie, where… where did you find that?” Aridean hesitantly inquired, feeling her entire body grow cold. She could hear her heart racing and breathing quicken. For some reason, Aridean felt immense horror just looking at the locket that Magdalene held out to her.

“It fell off that guy,” answered Magdalene, pointing to the knight that now lay upon the ground. Aridean’s eyes widened and jaw fell open in shock and terror.

“No… no… that can’t be right,” Aridean slowly muttered aloud. The hand holding her axe opened wide and the weapon fell to the ground with a loud, metallic clang. She felt sheer terror swallow her very soul just looking at the knight, but this horror was different from all her nightmares. Aridean’s legs grew weak and shaky underneath her while her body felt extraordinarily heavy.

“Aridean? Is everything okay?” asked Vidor as he looked over the locket that Magdalene held. Vidor was still visibly experiencing pain as he held his side and was limping on his right leg. Aridean did not respond to her friend’s concern; she simply shook her head back and forth in disbelief.

“This… this isn’t happening, is it? He’s… he’s the one that’s been haunting my nightmares? N-no… What have I done?!” Aridean panicked as her breathing became erratic and she could hear her heart racing. She quickly ran to the knight’s side, knelt down, and looked over the blood-covered armor. Her hands, hesitant and shaking, slowly reached for the helmet that the knight wore. Both Magdalene and Vidor watched in silence and surprise, stunned by Aridean’s sudden remorse.

“Even still… you continue to torment me?” asked the knight as he grabbed Aridean’s hands to stop her from touching the helmet.

“W-what? T-torment? I…” a confused Aridean hardly managed to squeak. She felt her heart aching and a flood of tears had begun to flow from her eyes. The knight pushed her hands away.

“You’re… you’re the reason I’ve lost everything. First… my family. Then my dear friend and sworn brother… and then her… now this? Does your cruelty know any limit, you monster?” the knight asserted through long breaths and coughs. As the man spoke, Aridean felt her shoulder fall slack.

“M-m-monster? M-me?” Aridean weakly responded as her hands fell to the dirt road. They were barely supporting her as she fell forward, eyes wide in astonishment, “E-even you think I’m—,”

“Go on… laugh… it won’t change what’s to come next. You are nothing without me…” claimed the knight through more labored breathing and coughs.

Aridean was barely breathing as she listened to the man’s dying words. Although, she was still hearing the word ‘monster’ in her mind. Nothing else seemed to register with her as she stared blankly at the knight with streams of tears from her eyes and mouth slightly agape. Her entire body felt ice cold, even through her fur coat and the raging fires that continued to scorch the village around her. She felt as though she were so still that the very thump of her heart slightly jostled her tense body.

“My regrets… innumerable. But the one that hurts the most… I failed her. I failed her… then you do this. It does make me regret… that she couldn’t take her vengeance herself,” the dying man continued with a pained cough. “My only salvation… she isn’t here to see… what I’ve done… what I’ve become without her.”

Monster… m-monster… I’ve only ever been… a monster, Aridean recited in her head.

“What is he… talking about? Take her vengeance? Hey, Aridean?” asked Vidor as he knelt down beside Aridean. The unresponsive minotaur continued to gaze into shining metal of the knight’s helmet that had not been covered by mud or blood. In the shiny, reflection of the armor, Aridean looked at her own reflection.

“A-Aridean? It’s been… so long. There… you are,” spoke the knight in a much kinder tone. The knight slowly lifted his right hand, as though reaching for something in the smoke-filled sky. Even through her distraught state, one of Aridean’s ears flicked at the mention of her name. Her eyes shifted to look at the visor covering the man’s eyes; she could just barely make out the dark blue eyes beneath the metal as they slowly closed shut.

“I’m home…” Aridean responded on sheer impulse and habit. Another rough cough from the man before her was heard before he took another deep breath.

“Aridean?” Vidor whispered, perplexed by Aridean’s response to the man who had previously been trying to kill them.

“Welcome… home. D-don’t cry… it’s just… a cold. I’ll make your favorite for dinner tonight,” continued the man, clearly delusional by this point. The man’s voice was growing progressively weaker by the second as he was succumbing to his wounds, “I’m… so glad to… see you again.”

G-go now… the real one’s waiting, Aridean depressingly thought to herself. Although she was hoping the idea would reassure her, Aridean felt nothing but pure gloom and agonizing despair.

“D-don’t worry… about tracking dirt in,” the man said slowly. Vidor’s face was scrunched up in confusion over what the man was talking about, “you can… wipe your hooves later. I’m just… so glad to see you.”

With that, the knight slowly released all the air in his lungs. His raised arm fell back to the ground, the metal of his armor clanging against the rough dirt. The man had become still; no raspy breathing or coughing was heard any longer. Aridean’s tear-filled eyes went wide and she found she was holding her breath. As much as she could not believe it, the knight laying on the ground in front of her had breathed his last. The very same knight who had plagued her dreams for two years and struck fear into her heart and soul now lay before her, still as stone. Yet, she felt no relief; Aridean was stricken with horror beyond anything her nightmares had ever instilled in her.

“Hooves? What was this guy--,” Vidor began to ponder aloud before being struck by an epiphany. “Wait, he knew your name, so that means… oh… oh, no…”

“He… saw me? He was… glad? B-but he just called me a monster…” Aridean whispered to herself. Her mind was racing as she was trying to process what she had heard. Not five minutes ago, the man had seemed to claim that she was his tormentor and a monster. Yet, with his last breath, the knight’s voice also sounded sincere and happy to have welcomed Aridean home. Nothing made sense as Aridean slipped between the hopeful and the doubtful.

“That’s… is that really…?” asked a familiar voice from behind Aridean and Vidor. Aridean was still trying to make sense of the man’s last words and focused intently on the bloodied helmet that hid her nightmare’s face. Vidor turned to see the young man who Aridean had swooped in to save from the knight’s attack earlier.

“He… wanted to see me? But… I only caused his grief… I… I don’t understand,” Aridean spoke to herself in a trance as she continued to contemplate the knight’s final words.

“Caused him grief? Cowgir—Aridean, that isn’t wha--,” Reil began to speak. His voice was drowned out by the sudden hissing of fires being put out nearby. Both Reil and Vidor turned to see Rana and several villagers working to extinguish the flames that engulfed most of the village. Rana’s hands were glowing their bright green color as forceful streams of water were conjured from her use of magic and directed into the burning buildings.

“There’s the rest of them. Hang on… is that--,” came one man’s voice amongst the villagers that followed Rana from Mutt’s Tavern. The man was seen pointing toward Aridean and Vidor.

“Good God, look what they’ve done! That’s an Empire knight! They’ve killed him!” shouted another voice. Rana’s magic stream quickly died down as she turned to see what the villager was shouting about. Her eyes went wide to see her brother and Aridean crouched down beside the body.

“What we’ve done? He was trying to kill us!” Vidor replied in a hushed and annoyed voice that only Aridean could hear. Aridean did not seem fazed by the villager’s comment, however her ear twitched after having heard Vidor speak. Rana quickly ran to Aridean and Vidor’s side, gasping as she observed Vidor’s injuries.

“What happened here?! Why are you so hurt?! Aridean, are you alright?” Rana began to question with increasing concern in her voice. Rana forced Vidor’s arm over her shoulder as she pulled him to his hooves.

“Did you hear that one? Wait, isn’t that—that is Gray’s minotaur!” came the first villager’s voice again from among the crowd. Non-subtle whispers and murmurs could be heard from the gathered villagers now glaring at the trio of minotaurs. What was most notably heard was the constantly repeated question ‘what is she doing back here?’

“What if they’re the cause of all this? What if there’s more of them? We need to get them out of here now!” cried a third villager with an increasingly aggressive tone. Vidor snorted at the accusation while Rana was too concerned with looking after her brother to think about what the villagers thought. Aridean was still locked in a bit of a trance where she shifted between slim hope and utter despair.

“Are you people serious?!” snapped Magdalene as she moved to stand in front of Rana and Vidor. The young girl had a particularly frustrated expression on her face as she faced the villagers, “These three come to your village, which is on fire and overrun with monsters, and save all your lives! Even after all that, you want to kick them out without evidence supporting they did this?”

“Maggie…” Rana quietly called out. Both Rana and Vidor looked to Magdalene in awe, mouths slightly agape in surprise. Although she had not turned, Aridean had at least raised her head as Magdalene shouted at the villagers.

“I don’t love minotaurs, but this village would be nothing but ash and nobody would have survived if it weren’t for them! You should be thanking them, not trying to run them off!” Magdalene proclaimed in defiance over the villager’s claims against the three minotaurs. Whispers from the villagers that Magdalene was lecturing could be heard as the girl finished and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Who is that?” one voice could be heard asking.

“I think she came in with those three,” replied a second villager.

“Does she own them? Is she a noble or something?” another villager inquired.

“I doubt it; it was that one that was barking orders in the tavern,” answered a fourth, pointing at Rana. Magdalene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her hesitation and reluctance were somewhat obvious on her face. However, the girl managed to put on a confident and determined mask as she attempted to act as dignified as possible.

“Rana may have been giving the orders, but I’m in charge here. My name is Lady Magdalene, a noble from the far east, and you lot will thank my servants for their bravery,” Magdalene began to bluff. Both Rana and Vidor’s eyes widened with disbelief. Although she had not moved an inch, Aridean could feel Reil’s skeptical eyes on her. More whispering among the villagers ensued as they discussed the authenticity behind Magdalene’s claim.

“That’s gotta be a lie! You’re no noble; you look like you just left church. Besides, that one use to live in this village,” asserted a woman in the crowd while pointing to Aridean. Magdalene barely managed to hold onto her confidence; she could feel her face warming up and heart beginning to race somewhat. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Magdalene felt a large hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, they can’t all be like you,” Vidor told Magdalene gently. Magdalene had turned to look Vidor in the eyes, her surprise apparent in her expression. The young girl hastily turned away from Vidor, her cheeks had begun to turn a bright red.

“W-who asked you, pervert? I was just trying to teach these people some manners,” Magdalene stated as she folded her arms over her chest. She huffed annoyedly, “Purebloods…”

“They must have burned down the village! They’ve even gone so far as to kill an Empire knight! They’re probably the ones that killed Watch Captain Watson! We gotta get them outta here,” shouted a man angrily. The unseen villager’s furious proclamation was enough to fire up others as some began to slowly approach with broken bits of wood pulled from burned rubble.

Aridean continued to sit still as a stone statue over the knight’s body. She had already felt that it would come to this; no matter how hard she tried, her hometown had never been lenient with her. Rana and Vidor looked at the villagers, both appalled and worried. Magdalene joined Rana and Vidor in taking slow and cautious steps backwards as the villagers advanced upon them all.

This treatment… so very like everyone in Thellia. It’s almost as though I never even left this damn village, Aridean depressingly thought to herself.

“W-wait a minute! They really didn’t do any of this! In fact, it was Aridean who saved my life,” Reil cried out, moving out in front of Aridean and her friends. The young man stood between the team and the mob, hands outstretched in defense of his saviors. Aridean’s eyes widened slightly and her ear twitched having heard Reil Long, her long-time childhood bully, speak in her defense.

What? He’s… telling them the truth? But he can’t tell them who really did this. He was a hero in this village, Aridean began to think in a slight panic.

“If they didn’t do this, who did?!” asked one of the angry mob members.

No… you can’t do this to him! Maybe he only ever thought of me as a monster, but still he--! I-I won’t let you tarnish his name like this, Aridean mentally resolved.

“The culprit… the culprit is--,” Reil began to hesitantly reveal. He turned and began to point in Aridean’s direction. Reil immediately stopped seeing that Aridean had finally moved.

Aridean lifted her head to the smoke-filled sky with eyes gently closed shut. She took a deep breath as she extended her right arm, holding her massive battle axe for all to see. More whispering could be heard coming from the crowd as Aridean held her free hand just in front of her.

I’m so, so sorry… so sorry for everything I’ve done to you. Let this be my way of apology, please… Aridean pleaded in her mind. Gasps of awe could be heard behind her as a bright and burning hot ball of flame appeared in her hand. Vidor looked to Aridean in confusion, uncertain as to what she was thinking. His confusion only grew as Aridean began to giggle.

“Aha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Oh, how I’ve dreamt of this day for so, so very damn long,” Aridean announced as she turned to face the villagers. Even more gasps from the mob before her could be heard as they now saw Aridean’s face. She had a wicked grin across her face and fury in her eyes. Reil took a step back from Aridean with a nervous breath.

“C-cowgirl?” Reil called out, his tone filled with anxiety. Aridean’s eyes shifted to gaze upon her childhood bully, she could see Reil was growing ever anxious. Aridean, focused and determined, let out a short but evil laugh.

“To think, I spent nearly seventeen years in this damn village with all these weak, filthy humans! Burning this disgusting village to the ground is a gift to the world itself! Oh, how gifted I felt the day I found I could use magic to eradicate this horrid eyesore that you wretches call a home!” Aridean exclaimed with manic enthusiasm before arching her back and howling with devilish laughter to the smoke-filled sky. Her expression softened somewhat as she turned her head toward the body that lay behind her, “They did warn you about me… didn’t they, father?”

Aridean felt her heart break having mentioned the word ‘father,’ yet she persisted with another devilish cackle. Gasps and sounds of astonishment rang out from the mob. Reil’s mouth had fallen agape in fear and shock; Magdalene’s face showed she was just as confused, if not more so.

“Aridean? What are you--,” Vidor began to ask before being hushed by Rana. The minotaur looked to his older sister with worry in his eyes. Rana kept quiet, focused on Aridean with a solemn look on her face.

“She… she came back to burn down our home!” cried one of the villagers, both afraid and anxious.

“She called that knight father… She killed Gray!” shouted another voice.

I… killed Simon… I killed him… I’m a monster, just like they’ve always told me. Even he knew it. I’m just a monster, to be hated and reviled, Aridean told herself. She took another deep breath before looking to the villagers that rallied against her with as much determination as she could muster.

“Get her!” ordered one of the mob members. With that, the small platoon of villagers, armed with little more than sticks, charged at Aridean. Aridean heard the yelling, the cursing, and the roaring of anger and hatred. She closed her eyes for only a second.

It’s like I never even left… Aridean thought as she opened her eyes again. Without hesitation, Aridean brought back her hand that still held a hot ball of burning, magical flame. Her motion immediately impeded the charging villagers. With force and precision, Aridean slung her arm around, releasing the fireball.

Her magic attack flew through the air and landed several meters away from the angry mob. As the fireball made contact with the ground in front of the hostile villagers, it immediately caused a massive eruption of superheated earth, stone, and dirt. The villagers all retreated in a panic as the explosive burst of magical energy continued to burn the ground between them and Aridean. Fearful screams could be heard as most of the mob ran from the scene.

Reil stood just a meter from where Aridean’s fireball landed. He had raised his arm to shield his eyes from the bright flames. Reil felt the heat radiating off of the flames that danced before him, but he did not feel any burns or injury. Squinting his eyes to focus his sight past the fires, Reil could just barely make out Aridean leaving the scene.

“Cowgirl…” Reil whispered to himself as Aridean and her companions left the area. Slowly, the flames began to die down and Reil lowered his arm as the intensity of the fire weakened. A cool night breeze whipped up the flames that burned just in front of Reil. Crackling of other fires that continued to rage in nearby buildings and the sounds of hissing flames being extinguished elsewhere could be heard. Although Aridean had left, Reil noticed something else was missing. The young man took a deep breath, “I can’t believe they actually fell for that… you always were bad at lying…”