Her Last Day as a Village Girl II

She was awoken by noises outside her door in the middle of the night. This had never happened before, so as she got out of bed, the main feeling in Carolyn's chest was confusion. She waddled towards the door, but it was opened by her mother before she could reach it.

"Mom?"

"You're awake? Good. Quickly, change your clothes, Lyn."

Without waiting for a response, her mother entered her room and began taking out clothes and other items from her wardrobe and putting them in a small leather bag.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Please! We don't have much time."

Carolyn was still confused, but the tense expression on her mother's face pushed her into action. She swapped her nightgown for her training clothes since it was the closest, and her mother quickly made a ponytail out of her hair with Carolyn's hair tie.

"Are you ready?!" shouted Carolyn's father from outside the room.

"Just about!" her mother responded.

With the bag her mother had packed, along with her quiver of arrows and bow, Carolyn was rushed out of the room. Her father was already waiting for them, equipped in leather armour with his longsword at his side. He had two bags with him, one of which Carolyn assumed was for her mother. Her mind still hadn't caught up to the events happening before her eyes, but she could at least recognise that they were in trouble.

"Did something happen? Why are we running?"

"I'll explain while we move, so just follow me, okay."

Her mother took her hand and led her out of the house, while her father closed the door behind them. Without a chance to say goodbye to the other villagers, they dove onto one of the less-beaten paths in the forest.

"Lyn, do you remember those lessons I gave you when you were younger? About the history of the royal family?" Her mother began while leading the way.

"Yes. The current queen is Her Majesty Catherina III, and the queen before her was Queen Renalise II, right?"

"That's right. Now, I'm about to tell you a story. I hoped that there would never be a need to tell you or that our circumstances would be better before I did, but it can't be helped. There will come a day when you have to make a decision based on this story, and I pray that you won't regret that decision."

There was something ominous about her words, but Carolyn paid keen attention to her mother's story as they rushed through the forest. A couple times during the story, she heard loud rustling sounds coming from other sections of the forest, but neither of her parents paid them any mind. She wanted to ask, but she decided to wait until the story was over. The tale was that of a tragedy, but even at the end, she couldn't grasp how it related to her.

"Mom, what does this story-?"

Before she had a chance to ask, there was a whistling sound mere moments before an arrow sank into a nearby tree. Barely restraining her panic, Carolyn looked back at her father. His gaze was in the direction that the arrow came from.

"So, they've already spread the net this far? It still comes to this in the end."

"Father, what was that?"

"..."

"Father?"

"Rina, I leave her to you," her father said as he handed her mother one of his bags.

"Rick... Do not disappoint me, oh loyal knight."

"Naturally."

Their words seemed to come straight from a bedtime story, but Carolyn could sense the oppressive gravity in their tones. Their intentions were clear, but when she saw her father head into darkness, she had to ask.

"Father! Dad! Where are you-?"

"Lyn, we have to move."

With a tug, her mother pulled her farther from her father's fading back.

"But Mom, Dad, he's-!"

"Lyn. We have to move. Please."

Once she heard the shaking in her mother's voice, even as she pulled her hand, Carolyn could no longer protest. However, not once did the image of her father's back leave her mind.

They trekked without rest, ignoring the smoke rising behind them along with the increasing sounds of battle. It was now clear to Carolyn that some force had surrounded and attacked the village, yet her mother managed to slip through the gaps in their net while pulling her. Her father's actions were likely helping them, but she was still surprised by her mother's perceptiveness. Perhaps under less dire circumstances, she would have begged to learn this skill. Yes, it would have been a good lesson.

There hadn't been any more arrows flying at them, so though they were hardly safe, Carolyn maintained a level of calm. However, as the sound of moving water entered their ears, her mother suddenly stopped.

"Mom? Are you tired?"

Given how long they had been walking, it wouldn't be a surprise, but sweat wasn't the only fluid running down her mother's face. Tears also dropped from her eyes. It was a sight Carolyn had never witnessed before, and one that clawed at her heart.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

"Lyn."

"Yes, Mom. I'm here."

"There's a bridge up ahead. Cross it and follow the river downstream. You'll eventually find a village. Talk to the village chief there and tell him my name. He'll protect you."

"No! No, I won't abandon you too!"

"Lyn."

"No! We have to leave together."

As they faced each other with tears in their eyes, Carolyn's mother showed her a gentle smile.

"Okay. I'll be right behind you."

If only she had realised what a fake smile it was.

The two continued fleeing, now with Carolyn leading the way. They soon exited the forest and ran towards the rope bridge that spanned across a wide river. Making it across also wasn't much of a problem, at least not until they were almost on the opposite bank of the river. An arrow struck two steps ahead of Lyn, nearly paralyzing her in fear, but a push on the back from her mother kept her going.

"Hurry! We have to cut the ropes!"

"But Dad!"

"He'll take another route! Hurry!"

Following her mother's order, Carolyn took a dagger from her bag and started cutting off the rope bridge with her mother. More arrows came flying, but luckily, none of them hit. The ropes were surprisingly easy to cut, to the point that she was suspicious, so it didn't take long. Once the bridge fell into the water, they ran towards the forest that was on this side of the river. Just as they entered the forest, Carolyn heard her mother stumble behind her, but when she turned to look at her, her mother hurried her forward.

"Keep going! I'll be right behind you!"

Despite her urging, Carolyn maintained a slow pace to match her mother's speed. However, it wasn't long before her mother collapsed on a tree.

"Mom!"

"I told you to, keep going."

No longer capable of putting up a strong front, she could only weakly reprimand Carolyn, who rushed towards her. As she got closer to her mother, Carolyn noticed how pale her face was, and she felt her own face become pale in horror when she saw the object sticking out of her mother's back. It was an arrow, one with its head lodged in her flesh. Carolyn felt her knees become weak, so she leaned on the same tree as her mother as she took a closer look at the arrow.

"Mom, when..."

"It doesn't matter. It's poisoned, I can tell. I don't have, much time left."

"Mom..."

Knowing that she was telling the truth, to Carolyn, it was as if the sky was crashing down on her. Before she knew it, her knees were on the ground, and her head was on her mother's shoulder. Despite breathing alone bringing sharp pain, her mother raised her hand and gently placed it on Carolyn's head.

"Lyn, I'm sorry. I can't accompany you, any longer."

"No, then I'll-"

"You have to live, Lyn. That's my, no, our, last wish. Will you please grant it for us?"

"That's, not fair..."

Carolyn's shoulders quivered as tears ran down her face. If she had the choice, she would rather they die as a family, but against her kind mother's final wish, how could her selfish desire possibly compare? Even so, she wouldn't let her die here.

Once she made her resolve, Carolyn lifted her head and roughly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She then shifted her bag, quiver, and bow to her front and crouched with her back towards her mother.

"Get on."

"Lyn, you have to leave me."

"I won't die! But I won't leave you here either! Please, Mom. Spoil me one last time."

"And you said I wasn't fair."

Sensing Carolyn's determination, her mother slowly moved towards Carolyn and placed her hands over her shoulders. Carolyn then reached for the back of her knees and stood up. Despite the bag she was carrying, her mother felt strangely light. Even so, under these conditions, it was something to be grateful for.