CHAPTER 6: WHAT ROTTEN LUCK

 It was a very cloudy night; the clouds had gathered to form a gloomy atmosphere. The wind had gained momentum, and there was a low rumbling of thunder in the distance, with lightning flashing every now and then. Anyone could understand that it was about to rain.

 In a small house with barely enough lanterns to light up the surroundings, Ceryl, a young girl, hurried to the backyard to pack in the dried clothes before the rain made them wet again. She quickly packed the clothes and hurried inside, where the other girls lounged around unbothered. They didn't like Ceryl at all, driven by envy. Ever since their mother fell ill, everyone had fallen apart. She wasn't their biological mother, and the place was more like an orphanage, but Isolde, their mother, had taken care of these kids all by herself until they were grown up. They always hated Ceryl because she was loved by all; what was there not to love about her?

 There once was a girl in their midst named Venna. Ever since their mother fell ill, she had disappeared without a trace, to the rest of the girls' fury. Ceryl had been very close with Venna back then, which only sparked more hatred in the other girls.

 With their mother ill, everyone had to go out and work to earn money for themselves and for their sick mother's treatment. This had been their way of living for years now. For some reason, Ceryl always had the most money no matter how hard everyone else tried. This sparked another kind of envy in them, making her the outcast.

"Can you guys please help take the animals back to the shed? I need to check on Mother," Ceryl asked softly, even though she knew it was no use being nice. Everyone hated her for their own reasons.

"Do it yourself," one of them said with a glare.

"Come on, girls, let's go check on Mother." And like that, they walked away. One of them even knowingly bumped her shoulder while passing, a dirty smirk on her face.

'At least they will be with Mother while I check on the animals,' Ceryl thought to herself before running off to the backyard.

The rain had started to fall, and Ceryl came back in drenched. Before heading to her room, she noticed her window was open, which she had clearly locked before going out today. Ceryl knew there could only be one reason why her window was open.

"You came," she smiled softly before going toward the window. There she saw it: a small pouch was tucked in a not-quite-obvious corner. Ceryl rushed to open it and found what she had always seen there: gold. She knew exactly who had brought it today.

"When will you come back home? Mother misses you," Ceryl whispered into the wind, small drops of rain getting into the room. She didn't care and only began counting the gold. This time, it was a large amount, which would serve them for a long time. A smile bloomed on her face.

Shutting the window close, she went to boil water for her mother's tea.

"Mother, it's time for your meal," she waltzed in with a tray in hand, filled with food and medicine. Time passed, and Mother was left to rest again. Isolde, their mother, gently sat up, pushed the curtains aside, and stared at the rain pelting down on the window, a frown settling on her face.

"It is time, Ravenna. You have been dormant long enough," she spoke poetically, her face wearing an expression of worry.

"The wind carries bad news; the sky grieves for what is to come. There is no running from it, my child. It's your destiny," she kept murmuring before lying back in bed as gently as possible.

***

 Somewhere in Mythoria, Ryles sat facing a lady. Few knew she was a witch who worked for money.

"I need you to find someone," Ryles went straight to the point, a strange glint in his eyes.

"As always, no pleasantries," the witch, Serafina, glared at him, her magenta eyes a contrast to her skin.

"That will be thirty-five thousand pieces of gold," she smirked, waiting for his expression to falter, but instead, Ryles just dropped a pouch of money on the table without even glancing at her. Serafina was taken by surprise but hid it well.

"I need something of theirs or something they had come in contact with," she could do nothing but glare after not getting the desired reaction from him.

"Would a dagger do?" He finally glanced at her as he spoke, waiting for a response. She only nodded, and he gave her the dagger.

 Pulling out some strange objects, she began chanting and murmuring under her breath, running her hands up and down the globe before attaching the dagger to it. She carefully watched the globe glow while Ryles eagerly waited for her to speak.

"The person you are looking for is actually in this very land, somewhere close by," she stared at him with lifted brows, not expecting the person they were finding to be so close.

"Give me the exact location," Ryles leaned toward her in a very intimidating manner.

***

 Raven had settled in a small, quiet inn. The innkeeper didn't bother much with him, as he was accustomed to all kinds of strangers patronizing his inn.

His initial plan was to spend the night there before traveling to Eldoria until the next full moon, but unfortunately for him, fate had other plans.

 Reaching for his pouch, he brought out the oddly glowing ball he had seized from the captain and hidden from everyone. It was a destructive weapon that would be very useful for him in the future. Only he had seen how effective it had been in his visions, and he was definitely not going to share this with anyone. He carefully tucked it back into his pouch and got into position to meditate. Before he could register what was happening, Raven once again found himself in another vision. It was like a drop of ink being dropped into a bowl of water; the sight before him diluted before creating an image of the room he was currently in. Everywhere was quiet, but almost immediately, someone forcefully broke the glass on the window and jumped into his room. The next minute, the person was already behind him with a knife, stabbing him in the stomach...

With a gasp, he snapped back to reality, his heart beating crazily. Fear immediately consumed him as he packed every single item he had brought in a panicked rush before fleeing through the very same window.

He couldn't afford to die like this, not now, Raven shook his head.

 Unfortunately for Raven, fate wasn't too keen on letting him go scot-free as his killer had already spotted him from a distance up in a tree and saw him flee.

What rotten luck he had...