When the dance came to an end, the first day of the festival was over.
I looked at Krys and the children. They had very happy faces.
We took the kids and walked back to the orphanage.
"So, do you like er'?"
One of the kids was still not done agitating me.
I glared at her. Before I could start another game of cat and mouse, Krys joined the kids in their mischief.
"Yeah, she is very nice and pretty right?"
I was left speechless. The kids started cheering me on. I pulled the ear of that runt to scare off the others.
We were not far from the orphanage when Krys stopped in his tracks.
We looked at him and he had a serious expression on his face.
"Take the kids into the orphanage."
He ran off without saying anything else.
"Wait-"
He ran so fast he disappeared in an instant. I felt scared with the way he reacted.
I rushed to the orphanage with the kids.
I saw the door to Martha's room open, but she wasn't present there.
The kids and I searched the house for her. But she was nowhere to be found.
I got a bad premonition. I rushed out of the house alone to search for her.
There was an unusual silence and cold air in the surroundings.
I had been wandering for 5 minutes when I heard a woman's scream.
I felt like I should run away, but it was Martha's voice.
I knew her screams very well, since I heard them all the time.
I saw people come out of their houses to check up on the screams.
Something compelled me to run towards the source of it.
We all looked towards each other, but nobody stepped forward.
Everyone thought that the guards would do their job, but I didn't feel satisfied just doing nothing.
I ran towards the square, the source of the scream.
The place where Krys and I just shared our dance.
A few minutes ago, there was a romantic and cheerful mood in this place.
Now it has been replaced with a disgusting stench and emptiness.
It felt like the Village was holding its breath, but I still continued my search.
I looked towards the stalls. Some of them were mysteriously broken. Some were missing altogether.
There wasn't a single light around the area. The lamps were all broken.
I took a step back, and heard the growling of a beast from behind me.
A large shadow was cast over me, it looked like a giant hounds figure.
I turned slowly, goosebumps appeared all over my body.
Looming over my head was a giant wolf, taller than 2 meters.
His mouth was cut open around his cheeks and several sets of teeth grew from those wounds.
It smiled as our gazes met. I saw my reflection in its deep red eyes in the night.
Its disgusting saliva fell out of his mouth when it saw my face.
Before I was aware of what was happening, it raised its right arm and captured me.
I tried fighting his grasp, but was left powerless.
It took me and moved at a surprisingly fast pace. Its hand moved so much that I got dizzy.
In a matter of seconds, we were out of the Village and near the forests.
It threw me to the ground. From my view, the sky and ground were shifted.
Around me were several other Villagefolk.
After my head started working again, I identified a few of them.
Martha was one of them, she had hit her head on a rock and was bleeding lightly.
His son, the mayor and his wife were tending to her.
Several other families were also present there.
Nobody was dead, but some of them were injured like Martha.
I looked towards the monster, he had a satisfied grin on his face.
His red eyes were filled with madness.
He took a few steps in our direction. I instinctively got between Martha's family and the monster.
My legs were shaking and my throat was dry. I was pretty sure I felt nothing below my neck.
The wolf looked angry. It retracted one of its claws.
Then he hit me with that finger. It was so quick that I didn't see him move.
I was thrown towards the direction of my favourite broken tree.
I was shaken and my vision was bloody. My eyes were struggling to keep themselves open.
I kept hearing this ringing noise. It was very loud and it hurt my head more than any headache.
The wolf walked toward me, angrily. He seemed to be speaking in an unknown language. I didn't know the words but the malice was clear.
He extended his claw again and got ready to attack.
Memories of the kid-like demon retraced themselves in my mind.
It seems, I was given an opportunity to live another day, but now my time has come again.
I was completely helpless, but this time I didn't want to freeze from fear.
Painstakingly, I raised my hands to try to defend myself.
The wolf looked like he chuckled at me before raising his hand.
It was about to swipe in my direction when I saw a man jump on top of its shoulders.
He landed without making a sound. He looked into the empty sky with his eyes open.
Time had frozen at that instant. Even the air stood still.
They had a red glow in them. Different from the monster's. They were beautiful.
He held a broken cane in his hands, as long as his forearm.
He closed his eyes and moved the cane in a gentle swipe. It didn't make a noise either.
The giant monster's eyes became lifeless.
The monster slowly fell to his knees. He sat in a prostrated manner, bowing his head to me.
The man got off his shoulders and came to me.
Behind him, I saw the monster's head fall off.
Time started moving for us again. But only for the two of us. It was as if the rest of the world was still frozen. I could feel the night breeze again.
I finally saw the figure's face under the moonlight.
That man was Krys, he had saved me once again. He smiled at me.
He also said something that didn't reach my ears as he walked towards me.
I slowly got my hearing back. But I didn't want to listen to any of his words.
At that time, many emotions were boiling inside of me.
Relief and jealousy. Joy and misery. Happiness and helplessness.
I was grateful to Krys, I really was. He has saved me twice now. There was nothing I could do to repay him.
But more than anything, there was frustration boiling inside of me. Why was I so weak compared to him?
I was not questioning his strength but I was angry at myself for lacking any strength in the face of these monsters.
My throat seems to be blocked. I wanted to thank him. Call him names like my hero as I had read in stories.
I wanted to cry but tears wouldn't flow. I wanted to be him.
I asked him that question without realising it.
"How do I become strong like you?"
He seemed to be taken aback by this. He paused for a moment and then laughed.
There was no malice in his laugh, he wasn't mocking me.
He turned to me and replied.
"You can be even stronger than me. I saw you protecting people while being scared yourself. That alone proves your strength."
That is not the strength I am looking for. He continued without looking at me.
"But even if you want physical power, you can still surpass me. I am much weaker than I was in my past."
"... I… I want to become a hero… that is my goal… please… please teach me."
He looked kind of shocked when I said that.
"A… hero huh… that is a very difficult dream."
He scratched his chin as he was thinking about something.
I bowed my head without understanding anything that was going around me.
When my head was down, I could see my blood fall down my hair clearly.
"I will do anything, please teach me."
I kept my head on the ground. He remained silent for a while.
"Do you really think you could do that? A hero's life is not like you'd imagine. There is only death and loneliness waiting at the end."
"You will be responsible for multiple lives. People will love you, hate you, revere you and blame you. That is not even the end of it. You will be a symbol of hope and fear."
I didn't raise my head. My thoughts were getting sluggish and my body had almost stopped moving.
By sheer willpower I kept myself awake. I was prepared to beg for as long as it would take.
He hummed in thought for a moment and then sighed.
"Alright."
After that I opened my eyes on the bed with bandages over my body.