20

The sunset painted the sky an amazing blend of red, orange, and yellow as we walked out of the city. I couldn't enjoy it though, the only thing on my mind was home. I hadn't been back to the tiny village I grew up in in over 30 years. Every step I took presented me with a new possible scenario we might encounter upon our arrival.

"So, what do you think this mysterious creature will turn out to be?" Teresa asked.

"I hope it's a dragon. Then we can charge a lot for the kill, and we can sell its carcass for even more," Bella said.

"Ooo a dragon is always a good fight, but I'm really hoping for something I haven't slain before. Even though, these days there aren't many things left that I haven't already seen and killed," Teresa said.

I didn't join in the idle conversation, the reality of what was definitely going to be waiting for me had finally dawned on me. I didn't know if I was ready to face it. A long time had passed since I left home, but I wasn't foolish enough to believe that people wouldn't remember what happened.

"Love, what do you think the creature will be?" Teresa asked me.

"Oh, uh I don't know, maybe a troll or something," I stammered.

"Did they have trouble with trolls when you were there?" Bella asked.

I don't really remember, it was a long time ago," I said without looking at her.

"Love, you seem worried. Are you reconsidering this trip?" Teresa asked.

"No, I've been away from home for too long already. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we didn't do this," I said.

"Oh, I never asked you about your life before we met. What made you leave home and come to Elren's Rest?" Teresa asked. There was a genuine curiosity in her voice.

"It's a long story," I said and hoped she would leave it alone.

"Well, we have time love. So, start from the beginning, what was baby love like?" she said.

"I bet you cried a lot," Bella said.

"No, I think he was probably super cute," Teresa said.

"Honestly, I was quiet as a child. I basically just stayed to myself," I said.

"So, you were a friendless loser?" Bella asked and triggered me.

"You don't know what you're talking about, I had friends, I had plenty of friends until....." I yelled at Bella. The shocked look on her face stopped me before I went too far.

We walked in silence for over an hour as the sunset faded and darkness crept across the sky. Eventually the only light we had was coming from Bella's staff.

"I'm sorry for snapping like that," I said.

"What's goin on with you right now love?" Teresa asked.

"There are some things I never dealt with that I expect to hear about at some point," I said.

"Well, you better deal with your baggage better. The next time you yell at me, I'm gonna burn your tongue out, "Bella said. She was as angry as I expected her to be.

Silence fell over us again for a longer period of time. I didn't find it awkward; I was too busy having flashbacks. The last time I walked this path I was travelling in the opposite direction, running away from my old life, hoping to find a new one.

"What is that?" Bella asked suddenly. The urgency in her words grabbed my full attention.

There was an overturned cart in front of us. I was about to dismiss it as just another abandoned cart until I saw a person's arm.

"That's a person I said as we began running toward the cart.

The arm belonged to a man. His extremely thin, lifeless body was covered in black spots.

"He hasn't been dead that long, probably died earlier today," Bella said as we stared at the corpse.

"What about these 2?" Teresa called from the back of the cart.

I walked over to her and found the bodies of a woman and a young girl lying on the road. They were also malnourished and covered in black spots. Bella leaned in and examined them more closely.

"These black spots could be some kind of sickness, maybe it's what killed them. They clearly weren't in the best of health," Bella said and shook her head.

The woman was still holding onto the young girl. There was a small bag between the child's arms. I suddenly found myself wondering if that tiny bag held everything they owned. The thought broke my heart.

"We should bury them, it's not right to just leave them here like this," I said.

Teresa and Bella didn't fight me on that. Bella used a spell to make a hole large enough to hold the three of them and we laid the parents in. None of us spoke about it, but it felt so bad having to bury a child. When I finally picked her up, I felt her shiver. I ignored it. I told myself I imagined it, so I would get out of burying her. I carried her slowly toward the hole and handed her to Bella to lay in the hole. When she took her, I turned and walked away.

"She's still alive!" Bella yelled and lied her on the ground beside the grave.

Teresa and I both ran over and kneeled beside her as Bella rifled through her bag. She pulled out a tiny vial of red liquid and poured it into the girl's mouth.

"What is that?" I asked frantically.

"It's a potent health potion. I normally wouldn't give something this strong to a child, but whatever she has is gonna kill her if I don't," she said.

Teresa and I finished burying the parents while Bella sat with the shivering child. Without Bella's magic to assist us, burying them took hours. I didn't mind it though, I felt like I was doing the right thing and that kept me strong.

"How is she doing over there?" Teresa asked Bella.

The child was lying across Bella's lap. Bella whispered to her as she ran her fingers through the girl's long, pink hair.

"The potion is working, the spots are starting to fade," She called back to Teresa.

"That's good to hear, I'm glad we could help at least one of them," Teresa said and wiped some sweat from her brow.

When we were done with the grave we sat down beside Bella and watched the sunrise. As the pinks and purples brightened the world around us, we finally got to look into the young girl's eyes. She had gigantic blue eyes, she looked up groggily and immediately freaked out when she saw us.

"Who are you people and where are my parents," she yelled as she jumped out of Bella's arms.

"Calm down, we rescued you, I'm sorry to tell you this but we were too late to save your parents," Bella said in a soft voice.

"So, my parents are....," the girl's hoarse voice trailed off as tears rained from her eyes.

"Can you tell us what happened to you guys?" Teresa asked. She had her hands folded in front of herself.

"It was the curse, it's killing everyone," she said and continued bawling.