''Who are they? Tell me.''
''Who are we? Tell us.''
''Who are you? Tell me.''
''Who am I? Tell us.''
…
The first sunbeams and the soft chirps of the birds woke Lorelei. It wasn't the first time she had spent the night on the ground, and she knew it certainly won't be the last. The blood, all around her, had already dried up, taking on a brown tone around the tall green herbs. She lay there, still, unmoving. Lorelei looked at her arm. She still couldn't believe that it was back again. She moved it left and right, even turning it around in circles. There was no way to say otherwise; her arm really did regenerate. She raised her arm towards the sun, seemingly trying to get a grasp of those warm sunbeams heating the ground beneath her. Her left arm, on the other hand, was still grasping onto the knife without Lorelei even realising it, but when she noticed, she didn't bother questioning it. She wouldn't deny it, she knew, both Maria and Silvia, she had killed them. With that same knife she was holding she murdered both mother and daughter, yet there she was lying down, bathing in the warm sun. She could recall every single instance of that night, from the feeling of piercing through the flesh to even getting stabbed herself, but it all didn't feel real. It's all as if she were watching it happen from a distance. None of it made sense to her, yet everything just seemed to be aligning perfectly.
''I did it…''
She heard a sound, a soft, gentle ring. It had exactly the same tune as the ticking noise that had been bothering her ever since she had fallen from the cliff, yet this time she found it rather appeasing. A yellow glow of particles filled the sky. They were weaving and spiraling in a circle above her. She got up to see what it was, only to realise that those particles were heading towards the same place. The pillar in the distance. She tried jumping to reach one of the particles, but they were too high in the air for her small body to reach. All she could do was stare at the gigantic pillar from afar. She noticed more of them coming from the house. In a hurry, Lorelei ran to see what was going on. On her way there, the particles came into contact with her body multiple times, yet it all seemed like they were right phasing through her. She felt ticklish every time the particles would go through her, but still decided to continue following the source. Even though there were no lights on, everything seemed to be lit up and sparkling. The house was ruined, nothing like what it was at first. Even though the place was brimming with light, it didn't take away the uneasy feeling surrounding the house. The table turned upside-down, chairs flipped, dried blood everywhere, whether on the wall or the floor. Lorelei walked towards the door handle. The more she walked, the more she felt the yellow particles flowing through her. She reached out her hand towards the handle and opened it. The particles came bursting out, filling the whole house, brightening it like never before. And right there, in front of her, was her very own crime. She had trespassed where she didn't belong, and for that, they had to pay the price with their own life.
''I did this…''
The origin of the particles, it was their body, emitting them. More than half of their body had already vanished into particles. She couldn't understand why her heart was tightening; it wasn't like yesterday at all. The guilt… She felt it. She crawled towards the bodies. Silvia's body had almost fully vanished in particles, while Maria's was only halfway there. She walked towards them and slowly lowered herself next to them. She tried touching Silvia, but as soon as her hand scraped her leg, the body glowed brightly, illuminating the room. It turned into some sort of crystal that broke into even more particles. Lorelei tried grabbing those particles, but the more she tried, the further they flew away. She kneeled back in front of Maria's body. Will she disappear too? she thought, raising her hand over her face. She breathed in and out, trying to reassure herself, and finally decided to touch Maria's body. Once again, the body took a crystal-like appearance and shattered into thousands of particles. The burst was so strong that it blew Lorelei's hair back as well as her half-ripped dress. There they were, gone. Leaving behind nothingness. Lorelei couldn't understand what was going on. She had too many questions, yet no answers.
''ArE you There?''
Nobody answered her. The particles had already all left, leaving Lorelei all alone in the storage room.
''Can You anSwer me, plEase.''
Once again, nobody answered. She wasn't even sure of whether the figure was really her ally or was using her, but it didn't matter. They both needed each other for a purpose that aligned. The only difference is that, in this contract, the figure had the upper hand. She knew everything about Lorelei, yet refused to answer any questions clearly. Lorelei knew from the start that she couldn't depend on the figure for anything. She needed to take matters into her own hands if she wanted those questions to be answered. She got off the ground and walked towards what used to be the dinner table. If she stayed here any longer, she knew she was going to be at risk. Especially with the knights that come around here. They personally knew Silvia; she saw that herself. She went upstairs and searched for whatever could be of use to her, a bag big enough to fit some clothes, money, and food. She went back to the bathroom, hoping she could see the figure appear, but once again, no luck. The only reflection she saw in the mirror was her pitiful self. What stood out even more to her was her eye, the number one inscribed in it. Out of rage, she punched the mirror, which shattered into pieces, each reflecting her own image. She didn't understand why this all happened, where it had gone wrong, where it was that she had failed. Nothing made sense to her, nothing. Lorelei fell to the ground right on the shards. She picked up one and held it towards her eye, her hands trembling.
''I wouldn't advise you do that.''
''THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO, TELL ME!''
…
Nobody answered…
Lorelei decided to get up, tears rushing through her eyes, but she managed to hold them back; she needed to leave today. She went to what used to be her room and searched under the pillow for her glove. Lorelei wore the glove on her right hand. She ripped a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the hand that had been wounded by the mirror's fragments. With another piece that she ripped, she wrapped the cloth around the knife. She stood there with another piece of cloth in hand and realised that if she was to meet people, her eye would definitely stand out, so she decided to cover it with the cloth. Lorelei went around the wardrobe and took from it a pair of pants and the cloak Silvia had given her. She placed the knife on the side of her right arm and went downstairs to the door. She took one last look behind her at the house. A house that had accepted a devil, and for that, had paid the severe price.
''I neeD to Go…''
Lorelei had already gone through her options. She knew that if she went to the capital, it wouldn't be safe for her at all, but she also knew that it was there that she would be able to find people capable of answering her questions. Going back to the village was also out of the picture since she didn't even know how far she was from it. The only option she had left was to walk along the path and hope to find a place to rest before nightfall. She knew she wanted those knights dead. She wanted to find out the truth about the man. The truth about herself and the reason why he took her in. Lorelei knew that to find answers to her questions, she needed to be stronger, strong enough to force out the truth.
''Quite a spirit you've got there.''
''YoU. WhY Aren't you ansWering me?''
Lorelei was getting annoyed at the figure's free spirit. She knew the figure was provoking her on purpose, so she decided to ignore it. She placed her hood on and set forth on the path. Step after step steadily. She kept telling herself that she would get there, and nothing would stop her. She started counting seconds after seconds, and before she knew it, hours had already passed, and she hadn't seen a single soul around. The sun was getting lower and lower, and so was her energy. The never-ending fields of dandelions had turned into bushes and trees. She couldn't see past the first few bushes since everything after became too dark. She knew for sure it wasn't a place where she wanted to be. She felt uneasy even though the path in front of her was clear. There was something off about this forest, so she started running, hoping she would soon find her way out. It wasn't long after that she started hearing footsteps from the forest, someone was getting close to her, or rather something was getting closer. She stopped and crouched down, reaching out to the knife's handle. The steps were growing louder than before; she knew it was right there. It poked its head out of the bushes and stared right at Lorelei. She lost hold of the knife's handle, paralysed by fear. The beast's head was at least thrice the size of Lorelei's entire body. She felt like just his simple gaze was piercing holes through her body. His eyes were of a brightening yellow, its pupils as thin as one's could be. He finally revealed his entire body out of the bushes and was slowly walking towards Lorelei. She forced her body to move, but it wouldn't obey her; she was overcome by the deepest fear. The beast parted its mouth, stretching the saliva dripping from within its jaw. She saw the beast's breath steaming out of his mouth while he slowly walked towards her. It's as if the beast knew that she couldn't do anything to it and took its time savouring her fear. Lorelei heard from behind her a click, and a blue light pierced a clean hole through the beast's body shifting the way of the wind around her. A black-looking carriage without any horse moving it flashed past her, and a hand grabbed her from it. She was now facing two men sitting in front of her.
''Name's Brant.''
It was the last words she heard before passing out.