She obeyed the strange voice inside of her head and grabbed the wet, jeweled hilt of the dagger. It took her a couple of tugs, but she pulled the dagger from her father’s belly and held it up. The warm blood dripped down her hand as she just watched it flow. She licked the dagger, tasting the rancid blood of her father. Her face was emotionless and did not change when she wiped her mouth. She knew she must’ve looked terrifying with smeared blood on her mouth and her dead parents lying around her. But she felt exhilarated…
But she knew her life was about to change when one of the clan members walked into the tent. A look of terror came over his face when he took in the scene before him. Just as quick as he popped in, he was gone. Lilith knew right then and there that she had to leave. She knew they were going to blame her for the death of her parents and were going to condemn her. They were going to punish her horribly. Her people weren’t kind and contained no feelings of remorse or sympathy within them. She knew there was no other way around her situation—so she ran. She left the camp quickly before her people could get to her, and just like that—she was gone forever from what she only knew. She never even looked back to see if her people were running after her.
When Lilith finally stopped running, she noticed that she was in a thin forest. She knew she was on the outer boundary of the kingdom of Minslethrate—so that was her destination. She began her trek across a field towards the kingdom, then stopped in the moonlight. The grasses were tall and swayed back and forth amongst the breezes. Something in her head influenced her to stop… It was that voice again… She looked around herself, realizing how alone she was—but it seemed not to bother her because she was always alone. The swaying grasses formed many dark shapes around her. She looked at her white hands in the bright moonlight and noticed that her hands were covered in dry blood. She stared at them for a while and then tightened her fists.
“Lilith…,” a low whisper said from the darkness.
It was the same heavy voice that she had heard in her head, but this time the voice seemed to be all around her now. She looked around again—then noticed a tall, dark figure standing a couple of yards away from her. She wasn’t frightened and seemed to be drawn to the quiet, dark figure. She knew the dark person was not one of the gypsies, because it was still and quiet like a shadow as it just watched her.
Lilith blinked her eyes, then strangely the shadow person was gone. It had vanished quickly…
All of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, something came flying down towards her. It was a massive white bird with a great wingspan. It was a majestic white owl. Lilith fell on her backside and just watched as the bird silently glided back up into the starlit sky and then back down to perch upon a nearby tree. The bird just sat on the branch of the tree and watched her. She slowly stood up, trying not to look at the massive bird. She began to feel nervous as she fixed her eyes on the darkness around her. Any normal person would’ve been in a state of wonder because of the beautiful appearance of the great bird. But Lilith wasn’t, and was in a state of panic. She thought the bird was ugly and threatening—and she didn’t like it one bit. She could feel something from the bird—something she had never felt before. She was repelled by it… It was something new, something strange to her—she didn’t understand it and she was frightened by that feeling…
She turned her gaze back towards the direction of Minslethrate. She quickly made her way across the field, running past the tree as fast as she could go. She didn’t look up at the bird as she flew past it and didn’t even turn around to see if it was still there when she got further away from it… She never wanted to see the great white owl again or feel the presence that came from it…
She made her way to the nearest manor on the outskirts of the kingdom. The lord of the manor welcomed her in his home and that is when she became a servant. But she was sold and traded off by three different aristocratic homes throughout that year because of her erratic and disturbing behavior. She was sold to the authorities of Minslethrate all together when the last family she worked for found their dead chickens beneath her bead—they were headless and their talons were cut off. Everyone was frightened by her and nobody wanted her…
†††
“I have my own daughter, she be bout your age I suppose,” the woman said as she continued to rant on. “She be in a good home now… You need to talk more deary—you be like a ghost... Ah! There be the castle now,” She said excitedly as they came upon the beautiful structure.
Lilith just continued to ignore her as she looked upon the exquisitely dressed noble people and courtiers of Minslethrate who walked about.
The people just glared at them with their awkward looking expressions, as if they were offended by the people in the carriage or by the carriage itself.
The horses pulled the cage-like carriage around the grand castle to the back of it. The area where they pulled up to looked to be the servant’s quarters. There was a woman and a man standing tall and quiet, waiting for their arrival.
“You all stay still!” the large coachman said in a rough voice, then hopped off his seat. “They might not want any of you.”
The coachman hobbled over to the man and woman. They were much taller than him and looked as if they were high-ranking servants. Their appearance made the coachman look like a dirty pile of trash. They looked too clean and proper to be any kind of servants. Their clothes weren’t even soiled. Lilith had never seen a castle servant before and thought they must’ve been like any other type of person that wasn’t a peasant in Minslethrate—arrogant.
Lilith watched as they talked amongst each other. The man was doing most of the talking while the woman just kept looking over at them. They were only a couple of feet away and Lilith heard every word they were saying.
“Are there any clean ones? They look as if they may carry diseases,” the man said as he looked over at them, having an unpleasant look on his face. “The king doesn’t need any filth in the castle.”
The man was older than the woman and looked very presumptuous and rude. He was obviously one of the head-servants of the castle. He stood with his back very strait and his nose up.
“There are some that have been servants in noble households—there are some youngins too,” the coachman said as he scratched his bald head. “The young usual ain’t diseased.”
“I may have to turn this plethora of vermin away,” the servant man said as he looked at the woman.
“Oh please, Alexander,” the woman finally spoke up,” calm yourself before you have another nose bleed. I see some that look promising.”
She made her way over to the carriage with her hands clasped in front of her. She slowly walked around them, eyeing everyone from head to toe. Every now and then she would keep glancing over at Lilith. She made her way right over to her and stood right in front of Lilith, and just stared her dark eyes into hers for a moment. After many seconds, a small smile crept over her face.
“Coachman,” the woman called out. “I want her…”
The short, round dirty man hobbled over to her, seeming to be somewhat excited. He noticed who she was talking about. A look of concern came over his face as his awkward smile faded away. He usually would care less about what servant he sold to the castle, but the young girl made him nervous. He knew something was not right with her because of the gossip that followed her…
“Well—madam—she ain’t a good one...,” he stuttered. “There be somethin wrong with that one…,” he said in a much lower tone, trying to hide his words from Lilith who just stared at him. “I have other young pretty girls…that one on the other side of the cage. Oh—and I have a young lad that looks strong and healthy…”
“What’s wrong with her?” she cut him off.
“Well—she be a little—sick in the head,” he said, almost whispering to the woman.
The woman didn’t look the least bit worried. She just kept staring at the young girl. She looked as if she knew something about the young girl that even the coachman did not�
��
“I want her…and the other two you’ve mentioned, sir. No one else—that will due,” she quickly said, then turned to walk over to the man named Alexander.
The coachman did what he was told without saying anything else.
“I’ve chosen, Alexander—I hope this pleases you,” she said.
“Yes—Moira,” he said, looking as if he didn’t really care. “I always did trust you with hiring our servants,” he said as the coachman pulled the children out of the carriage. “The two girls do look promising as you say. Our new Princess Marrisa will be well with them—with you there of course… The young boy will be fine for work around the castle.”
Alexander paid the coachman as the three children now stood before them.
“Are you sure you don’t need anymore?” the coachman quickly asked. “The rest will be auctioned off and the ones still lingerin will be sold to other kingdoms.
“That will due, sir,” Alexander said as he motioned for him to go away. “I don’t want to look at them anymore.”
The coachman just nodded his head, then hobbled over to his carriage. He got the horses going and left quickly down the dirt road.
“Young man—you come with me,” Alexander said, leaving without hesitating. “You two girls go with Moira.”
The boy left quickly, following behind Alexander like a lost puppy. The two girls just looked up at the tall, beautiful woman named Moira. Lilith just remained silent while the other girl began to cry.
“Oh come now—you are in good hands…,” Moira said to them, but was looking at Lilith while she said it...
†††
Over the duration of her living in the castle, Lilith learned many things. She learned everything from Moira—who seemed to be a kind person. She understood that Princess Marrisa was just a baby and that she was going to help take care of her. She learned that the princess had many servants but Moira was her head-servant and main care-giver. She also learned that the princess’ servants were called handmaidens, and that they seemed to be of a higher rank than any ordinary servant of a random household. Moira taught Lilith and the other young handmaiden she was chosen with, castle etiquette and how to behave and perform in front of royalty. Lilith learned that the other girl servant was a couple of years older than her and went by the name, Katrinka. She also learned that she was the youngest handmaiden out of all of Princess Marrisa’s servants. Moira had told her this, and also told her that she was a very special girl…
Lilith also learned many things about Moira. She figured out that Moira was a completely different person than she portrayed herself to be. She seemed to have two personalities and only showed her caring and loving personality towards the royal family. She learned that Moira kept many dark secrets—from everyone…
Moira was beautiful and would smile in the presence of other people, but when she was alone—she changed. Just as Lilith used to watch her parents from the shadows—she would watch Moira. Lilith saw that when Moira sat by herself in the quietness of her dark chamber—she would talk to someone… But she could never see who that someone was. Moira was always all alone when she talked to the person in the darkness. She would hear her say things like, “…I will do it...,” or, “…she will be perfect…” Lilith began to understand that the silent person who she talked to was called “father”… Lilith learned that Moira never slept. Moira would sometimes leave in the still darkness of the night, when everyone slept, and would come back till right before the sun came up. Sometimes she would go off into the forests at night—she knew this because she would follow her and watch her as she disappeared into the forest. But most of the nights she would creep down into the deep dark chambers of the castle…
On one particular night, Lilith followed Moira down to the darkest cavities of the castle—to the ones that seemed to take forever to get to. She silently followed her down many steps and through long halls to get to the deepest chamber of the castle. Lilith stood in the shadows as she watched Moira unlock a heavy-looking door that had a small barred window in it. The chamber must have been a place to keep the criminals contained. Moira closed the door behind her. Lilith quietly came to the door and looked through the barred window. She watched Moira light some candles with the torch she had been carrying.
If any other person would have seen what Lilith saw, they would have uncontrollably screamed out and then ran away. But Lilith stood quiet, drawn to what Moira was doing. Lilith was intrigued by what she saw and began to understand Moira’s secrets… The chamber had not been used by the royal family in many years and stunk of rotting things. It was filled with dust and cobwebs and rats ran about the stone ground. There were many skeletons in the cold chamber and bones laid about piles of stone, mud and dead animals. Lilith even noticed a fleshy hand protruding from the pile of stones. Whoever the hand belonged to was dead… There were many black stains upon the stone ground, looking like old blood. There were many candles in the chamber sitting upon an old-looking table, and on wooden shelves that lined the walls. There was a large wooden vat that stood in the middle of the room that looked like one of the tubs in the castle. The vat contained a black liquid of some sort.
Lilith watched as Moira walked over to the corner of the now dim chamber. There was some kind of animal cowering in the corner—or at least she thought it was an animal. Lilith noticed that the animal was tied up with a rope and shook with fear. The animal began to whimper as she untied it. She now noticed that it wasn’t an animal at all—but a girl. She was wrapped in a wool mantle and looked to be sixteen or so. Lilith noticed her to be the same girl whom Moira had hired on recently, to help around the castle. The girl began to cry as Moira petted her head, as if she were an animal.
“Hush, my sweet pet,” Moira said with a tender voice as she walked the girl over to the vat. “The moon is new and the time has come for father to receive a much acceptable sacrifice...”
Moira pressed her up to the vat and pulled the wool mantle off of her. She was bare and trembled in the cold air. Moira just continued to softly hush her as she petted her long hair.
Then with a quick, startling motion, Moira sliced the girl’s throat with a dagger with one hand as she used her other arm to hold on tightly to the girl’s head. She leaned the girl over the vat to let her blood drain into it. After a few moments of holding onto the girl, Moira let her go. The girl’s arms fell limp as her head fell into the black fluid.
Moira unfastened the robe she was wearing then let it fall to the ground. She was naked and just stared into the tub of blood.
“Let this be acceptable to you, father. I have done what you have asked of me—I have continued the rituals of the ancient ways. Now fulfill your promise unto me, father. Show me eternal life—that I shall live forever and stay beautiful… I have done everything you have asked of me… ”
She then lowered herself into the tub. She reclined into the tub, laying down into the blood until her whole head was beneath it, and after a few moments, she slowly stood up. She appeared like a dark-red statue as the blood covered her whole entire body.
Lilith watched Moira’s whole ritual silently through the barred window of the door, never allowing herself to be seen. She continued to watch as Moira washed the blood off of her body in another vat, filled with cold-looking water. She got back into her long robe, then dragged the girl’s dead body over to the large pile of stone, mud and bones and pushed her over it onto the other side. Lilith understood everything now—Moira was a follower of this “father” and worshiped him, and the chamber was her temple. Lilith was exhilarated by the whole ritual and wanted to know more about it. She wanted to know all of the secrets Moira had known and wanted to know the relationship she had with “father”. The dagger Moira held and the blood that lay all around the chamber reminded her of her parents. She felt she never had a true father, and wanted to know Moira’s “father”…
Lilith continued to watch Moira. After Moira had fastened her robe, she walked over to a large ring of ca
ndles and sat in the center of it. She sat quietly for what seemed like hours. Lilith noticed that Moira was whispering amongst herself while she stared off into the shadows of the chamber. Lilith finally crept into the chamber, slowly making her way over to Moira. Moira seemed not to notice her as she stood right before her. Moira’s eyes were large and black like coal and looked glassy. She never blinked as she continued to whisper.
“Moira…,” Lilith finally said as she stood before her.
Moira stopped whispering, then slowly turned her head towards Lilith. Her eyes looked like glossy, black pools of frightening water.
“No... I am called Natas…”…
†††
After that night, Lilith had joined Moira for every ritual. Moira had revealed every dark secret to her and taught her the ways of “father”. She told Lilith to never tell anyone and that only a few chosen ones were allowed to know. Moira told her that they were the ways of the ancient times and were taught to her when she was young, by her mother. She revealed to her that her mother was the servant to Princess Marrisa’s grandmother—a woman by the name of Queen Karnidge. She said that the chamber they did the rituals in was the very chamber that Queen Karnidge used, to do the very same thing…
Lilith learned that Moira and Natas were completely two different beings. Moira was kind and a loving handmaiden—princess Marrisa’s caregiver. But Natas was the thing that lived inside of Moira, making her become cold and aloof. But Natas did not reveal itself all of the time. When Moira was doing the rituals, it was as if Natas came over her, making her forget about her life, and she wouldn’t even remember doing any of them when it was all done with. Lilith could always tell when Natas took over her body because her eyes would become large and totally black and shiny like glass.
Over the years Moira became colder as if Natas, who lived inside of her, was slowly changing her. Moira had told Lilith on one particular night that there were more beings like Natas—that Natas was one of many... She said that they wanted to meet Lilith… So on Lilith’s sixteenth birthday, she was given to “father”. During their ritual Moira had cut Lilith’s hand to drain some of her blood into the vat, then she dunked her whole body into it. Lilith was made new that night—and “father” revealed himself to her. She was awakened unto darkness. Lilith was received by father—and was lost in darkness forever…
The Last Legend: Awakened Page 42
