The Faerie Slayer

Prologue

The storm was brutal enough to make shake of my frangible home. As if the sky had mirrored my emotions, it thundered and roared with enragement. I had mere minutes, if even. My mind was a chaotic mess, scantly doing it's job of steering me in the right direction. I stumbled through the halls of the small bungalow, my vision often failing drastically and without warning. I had given much thought to the day that I would die, more times then I could ever count but in reality, there was nothing that could have prepared me. My heart had sank to my knees when I had caught sight of the papyrus scroll on my window sill. With smeared black ink were engraved the words ; they're coming.

In the background, I could hear the breathless grunts of panic from my husband, accompanied by the screeching sounds of a crying Aubrette. I reached into the crib and grasped hold of my squirming baby. The lights were now off, and all that lit the room was the occasional strike of lightning. I fled out the back, bare feet thudding against damp soil. The tears that streamed down my face in racing puddles were washed off with rainwater. I did not dare to spare a glance at my home behind me, I could not afford it. I knew that as long as Aubrette was with me, she was not safe. It was me that they wanted, not her. Helplessly, I wandered through the murky night, through the thick mist and shadows. In the distance I finally caught sight of a brick home bordering the forest. I felt the blisters on my feet and the cuts from the gravel road begin to ache and burn. I ran up the steps, wincing as the palm of my foot made contact with something hard and sharp. I kneeled to place my baby on the front porch and knew right then and there, that this would be the very last time that I would ever get to hold her. I did not feel heavy, nor mournful, I felt undone. I ripped sheer white cloth from my dress and suddenly wished I'd had worn something warmer. I wrapped Aubrette as best as I could and spared her one last kiss on her forehead. My fists pounded on the entrance door as hard as I could muster in an effort to compete with the deafening storm. Through the limpid curtains of the front windows I could see an approaching figure. With one last glance of goodbye, I left my baby forever, the haunting sounds of her screams forever echoing in my background.

I could have ran off as an attempt to spare myself momentarily, but a life without my husband or Aubrette was not one I was destined to live. I returned to my home that night to discover my husband slayed, a dagger through his head. Hovering over his body, match in hand was the ogre of my nightmares. I could not run, I could not hide, I could not fight. I was mortal and he was immortal. In every life, song, daydream and tale, I was fated to lose, this was my foreseen end. The creature raised clawed fingernails , bearing a wicked grin and aimed them for my chest. I sank to my knees and felt the life as it drained out of me and unlike my husband, I bled. My last thought; I pray that I chose a good home for my Aubrette.