"There you are.... Durst... Faux... my sons... I knew you were here all along... you were here the whole time."
Bella stared maliciously at the wagon where the two boys were sitting in the back. She could not see their faces, but she knew they were hiding behind the flaps.
They had heard their father shouting, and out of fear hid inside the wagon.
"Ah... I'm sure this man scared you two... what a bad man.... I had better get rid of him so that you won't have to see him anymore."
Bella began dragging the corpse of the fully grown man across the floor with ease. Blood covered both the floor and the walls, and Bella was covered in head to toe in the red viscous fluid.
After bringing the two bodies to the back room, she then threw both of them into metal tubs for butchering, and closed the door to the kitchen as she exited the room.
Bella started to scrub the blood from the wooden floors. She removed the carpet and tossed it into the back room, and then grabbed a bucket of soap and water, along with a brush. She started painting the blood around the boards in order to make an even coating of blood so that it would not be perceived as a blood stain, but rather as the natural coloring of the planks. She painted not only the floor, but the walls as well.
The mahogany colored wooden planks became a shade redder that day.
Bella then opened the door to make sure that the wagon was still there.
After checking to make sure nothing had changed, she closed the door and went inside to change her clothes quickly before coming out in a clean set of overalls and a pure white shirt.
Walking over to the carriage, she peeked inside to see the two boys sitting there with their legs huddled up in their arms, facing each other, surrounded by sheafs of wheat.
"Hm? What's going on? Where is dad?", the older son asked.
"Dad has gone somewhere else... Durst, Faux. Come here. Come inside now... Mama is going to make you both some dessert. If you're good boys, then I will give you an extra serving."
"My name isn't Durst. I'm-"
"No."
"I'm not-"
"You are Durst. And you are Faux. Now be good boys and come inside. NOW."
The two were frightened, and they obediently walked inside.
They sat at the table once more, and Bella closed the door, locking it so that the two boys wouldn't get out.
"Now mama's gonna go and cook something real good up.... ok? Just wait there like good little boys."
The two were terrified, and they both nodded their heads while holding in their tears. They wanted their parents, however they were too scared to cry out for them. The older brother took the hand of the younger to try and comfort him.
Bella closed the door of the kitchen, leaving the two alone- too scared to even let out a whimper.
----
On entering the kitchen, Bella took out her butchering set and began to slice up the pieces of the livestock that she had recently slaughtered.
The calves were juicy and provided the most amount of meat. The intestines provided a unique flavoring that wasn't found anywhere else.
But her secret ingredient was the brains.
She used a saw to slice right through the skulls, and a pick to pluck out the two meaty brains of the livestock. After placing the extracted brains on the cutting board, she began to chop them up into thin slices. She then chopped the slices up further until they were well ground, and formed patties out of the mix.
She stuck the patties into a tray and placed them above the firepit to roast.
Meanwhile, she continued plucking off the bits and pieces of the specimens. She couldn't allow such a rare breed to go to waste.
The eyeballs were a delicacy of their own, and they could be used to form a pasty soup.
The tendons, ligaments, and fingers could be dried and eaten like a crunchy jerky. The nails would have to be plucked first of course.
The bones could be used as a supplemental flavoring when soaked in a soup, and if the marrow was scooped out it would form an appetizing condiment.
The tongues were one of the most extravagant pieces of the meat which could be used as a dish fit for nobles if cooked like a steak.
Bella began a cooking fest, ensuring not to allow even a single portion of the precious livestock that she had gone through hard labors to slaughter go to waste.
After creating a variety of meals and dishes, she stored most of them for refrigeration and brought out the patties on some buns to serve to the children.
"Here you go, boys. Now, I know it isn't sweet... shhh... don't complain. Be good little boys and eat up. That's right. It's good, isn't it? I know. I know. If you two eat the rest of it, then I suppose we can go into town tomorrow and use your portions of the money we earned today to purchase some sweets. That's what you both want, right?"
The two boys sat silently as they ate the pinkish-white hamburgers while Bella continued speaking as if they were replying to her conversation.
"This... this food is very good.", the older one stated.
"Mm...", the other one whimpered, finally getting over the urge to cry.
They were finally getting over the fact that their parents weren't here. At least they had this woman here to look after them, so they were no longer as scared.
"I wonder when dad is gonna come back...", Durst stated.
"I'm sure he will come back someday.", Bella replied, sighing. Bella sat down and took part in the meal, eating her own hamburger.
"Mhm...", Faux whimpered.
----
Bella was married at 15- the legal age for marriage- to Klyde, who was 20 at the time.. Klyde was a good man who cared for his wife, and they both worked hard to take care of the farm that they owned together.
Eventually Bella had two children- Durst and Faux. They would have been 5 and 3 years old, respectively at this time, if they were still alive.
Klyde went off when Bella was 18, in order to enlist in the military. He did so because living in the Empire- which was a military state, he would be able to raise the family status through success in that field. He would also prevent his sons from having to be drafted at any point from volunteering himself.
However, his first year in the military, Klyde was sent on a dangerous mission to explore the monster realm, and after coming into contact with a group of snakemen was poisoned and died in battle.
When the news reached Bella, she refused to accept it.
"My husband isn't dead. He went off to the military to raise our family status. I'm sure that he will come walking in these doors one of these days... with a fancy helmet and a number of badges on his chest. There's no way he's dead.. he's still alive. He couldn't have just left me alone with two children to take care of... there's no way.", she said while trembling, holding her hands to her face and forcing back tears.
Bella never told her children that their father had died because she refused to believe it herself.
Bella had taken over the farmwork in the years that her husband had left for the military, and despite staying skinny she was able to handle all the labor that was associated with it, from butchering animals to harvesting bundles of wheat.
Her children were too young at that point to do any work, so she left them alone in the home whenever she went out to do her farmwork. The older one could barely walk, and the younger one was only a baby. She didn't have anything like a babysitter. She simply let her baby lie in the carriage all day long, and when she came home after a long day of work she would feed both of them.
The two didn't receive the proper care that they deserved, but it was hardly the fault of Bella. She didn't blame it on her husband either, because she understood that he was working hard to improve things for the family.
However, earlier this year- when Bella was 20, when her two sons were both old enough to walk about, however not old enough to help out with the work, an incident occurred.
Bella was on her way home one day from a long day of labor, when she saw in the distance a troop of soldiers passing by on the dirt path.
She saw her youngest son run out into the road- blocking the caravan of soldiers, googling in awe of the group. She saw the older one run after him, trying to get him out of the way.
The man in the front of the troop was wearing a helmet with a White mane and bronze armor. He held a long spear in his hand, and was stopped by the young child who ran out in front of him.
This caused the entire formation to halt.
The child sat there, wide eyed and amazed at the group of soldiers before saluting with his fist and barking out an order.
"Line up men!"
"Why you- disturbing our military procession and having the guts to bark out orders to an official unit of the military of the Empire? Even if you are a child, this treason and disruption cannot be ignored."
The Lieutenant was the one who said this.
The older son ran out to protect his younger brother.
"Wait! I am very sorry for my brother! He is too young to know what he can and cannot do! Please find it in your hearts to forgive him and overlook this!"
"Now we have two brats who dare speak like this to a Lieutenant?", one soldier commented.
"You will both pay for your transgressions with your lives."
Bella watched from a far distance as the spear was thrust through both of her sons- penetrating the chest of the older one who was defending the younger one, and then continuing to dig into the neck of the younger brother behind him.
Bella lost it at that point.
What did she lose?
Not her composure.
She lost her mind. She lost her grip on reality. She lost her sense of ethics.
The spear was pulled from the bodies of her sons, and blood sprayed across the dirt path.
"Get these two rugrats out of the way.", the Lieutenant barked out.
One of the soldiers went and moved the bodies, throwing them to the side of the road, as the troop began preparing to resume their procession.
Bella ran over to the soldiers as fast as she could to catch up to them before they left and bowed before them, anger and hatred filling her mind... however... she kept a calm and lovely face.
"Please forgive my sons, Lieutenant. I know they can be somewhat mischievous. I can assure you though... they are good boys... allow me to make up for their grave offense to your unit. Please, come in! Come into my home, and I will serve you all a meal as an apology for my sons' behavior."
The Lieutenant smiled. Bella was a young and beautiful woman, and he saw no reason to say no.
"We're setting up camp here for the night boys. Set up the tents."
----
The Lieutenant and two Sergeants were invited particularly into the home of Bella to be served a meal, however she offered to make enough food for everyone- an entire unit of 30 men if they gave her the time.
"Why don't you come back here for a minute, Lieutenant. There is something I would like to show you.", Bella said in a seductive tone as she led the Lieutenant through the kitchen and into the bedroom.
The Lieutenant followed her with a sneer. Without any suspicion, he entered the bedroom and started taking off his armor.
"Let me help you with that...", Bella said as she approached him from behind.
A butchers knife then found its way to the throat of the Lieutenant as she covered his mouth to keep him from screaming. She was strong enough to hold him down while blood sprayed from his neck until the body was limp, and she laid it under the bed.
She dimmed the lights and headed over to the next man, one of the sergeants.
"Your Lieutenant is asking for you. The one on the left. Yes you. Come here for a minute."
Slice.
Slice.
She then exited the house and entered the individual tents of each soldier.
By now she had perfected her ability to silently kill a man instantly from behind him. She hid the knife in her back pocket and entered the tents of each man, using her charms to get him to let his guard down.
"Why are you here so late at night?"
"I was lonely... do you think you could keep my some company?"
"Well.... if you insist... heh heh...."
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
This became known as the phantom troop incident.
A troop of 30 men led by a Lieutenant and 2 Sergeants, along with 2 more Corporals who were supposed to be making their way to the border randomly disappeared, as if they vanished into thin air. It was never found out what happened to these men. Not even the bodies were discovered.
When there was one man left, Bella approached him with a crazed look in her eyes.
"Ah... look at all these livestock that have been slaughtered tonight.... It would be such a shame if I were to allow any of them to go to waste... tell me, sir.... do you also think that that Lieutenant killed my children!?! My beautiful sons!?!?! You don't think that he did that too, do you!?!?! NOT YOU TOO!!! LOOK!!!! THEY'RE RIGHT HERE!!! THEY ARE RIGHT HERE WITH US!!!!! RIGHT HERE BY MY SIDE!!! Don't you think so!?! What do you think!?! Aren't my sons beautiful!?! Aren't they such good boys!?! Don't you think that they are going to grow up to be fine men!?!?! JUST LIKE THEIR FATHER!?!!"
"W- what are you talking about!?!? What are you-"
Slice.
"It really would be such a shame if I we're to let all this livestock rot here... I suppose it's time to get out the butchering tools.... yes... I cannot allow even a single piece go to waste... Look, Faux! Look, Durst! Look at all the food that your mama has found for you two!! Ya'll are gonna eat real good tonight!"