The young man's body tensed up, and a sharp cry of pain escaped his lips. Adelyn opened her eyes in surprise to see the man clutching his hand, which was previously raised to strike at her, his face twisted in agony.
"ARGH…!"
She stepped back, unsure of what was happening, as the young man's face twisted in pain.
Adelyn stood there, stunned, as the man writhed in pain.
The relief she had felt only moments after she realized the young man HAD failed to strike her before was quickly replaced by fear and confusion. What was going on? Is he pretending to be hurt? But the man's eyes were wet with unshed tears; no amount of acting skill would make a young man like him, who could even sell his deceased mother's things, could possibly make him pretend so realistically like this.
"What did you do to me?" the young man cried out, his face contorted in agony. "Fuck! Did you do this to me? Are you a witch?"
As soon as his words spilled out of his mouth, Adelyn shook her head.
But the man didn't believe her. Even the old man, who had kindly let her ride on his cart, looked at her with horror in his eyes.
"Ugh! Someone, come! There's a witch who came to harm me!" The young man was in too much pain. The sensation he felt from his hand made him think that his hand was rotting away bit by bit. Flesh by flesh.
Adelyn's heart raced as she looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She knew she had nothing to do with the man's injury, but she also knew that being accused of witchcraft was serious. She had heard stories of people being accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. No one was going to believe her, no matter how much she denied his accusations.
It was still early in the morning, and the market was near the entrance where Adelyn and the pair of father and son were standing. As she stood there, a small crowd from behind and around them began to gather.
People whispered and pointed, some of them were curious to find out what had happened and looked at Adelyn with suspicion.
Adelyn knew she needed to get out of there. She was innocent. But would these people think the same when she's unharmed, and the young man is still in extreme pain without shedding blood? They would naturally side with him as he was the victim.
Her heart started to race as she thought of these people grabbing her and throwing her in a cage where everyone would call her a witch. She'd heard stories about witches, humans who learned how to use magic by signing a deal with the devil and using their witchcraft to harm people. They were said to live in secrecy, hiding their identities to escape persecution.
There was one time in the palace when a witch was captured. The witch was tortured, and her screams rang throughout the entire palace. Adelyn couldn't sleep the whole night after hearing it.
"Wait, don't get near her!" Someone yelled atop their lungs. "What if she curses us with her magic?"
At this, the people, who intended to grab Adelyn, stopped in their steps and even stepped back a few steps away from her.
"What if she's someone the Blood King sent to our town to have all of us killed?"
"Are you saying the witches are now on their side?"
"Impossible. But she might be the king's witch."
Great. Now, she was associated with the Blood King as his witch.
The more she stayed there, the more the details became gruesomely worse for her. But how will she return to her house, which was not just a few walks away from here? No one would be willing to offer their carts or carriages to her even if she gave them the rest of her money hidden in the small purse tied to her waist.
Seeing that she had no way of escape, Adelyn regretted she even got involved with the old man and his son. Perhaps, if she only minded her own business and ignored the unpleasant remarks of the old man's son, this might not have happened.
But thinking carefully about it, the real reason behind her current situation had something to do with what happened to the old man's son.
Could he be acting?
Adelyn glanced over at the young man, but he was bending over on the ground, still screaming atop his lungs, and his face distorted in pain as his sweat poured down.
Adelyn pondered whether to reveal her identity to them. But will they trust her words? The former ruling royal family had already fallen in the hands of the Blood King. Even if they believed her, her royal status, or lack thereof, after being exiled and having the kingdom ruined, did not matter. And the young man was still suffering in pain, after all.
As Adelyn's mind raced with fear and uncertainty, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure in the back of the crowd out of the corners of her eyes. It was a tall and broad-shouldered man, who looked remarkably similar to the man she had spent the night with. But she could be wrong. Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned to get a better look. But before she could focus on him, he vanished into the sea of people, leaving Adelyn wondering if it was really him or just her imagination.
"Someone get the town elder. We need to know what must be done with this!"
More and more people started to gather at the entrance of the town. When Adelyn heard someone deciding what to do, she knew she couldn't stay there anymore.
Without a second thought, Adelyn turned on her heels and began to run as fast as she could. She could hear the commotion behind her as the men in the crowd started shouting and running after her, but she didn't dare to look back.
Adelyn's heart pounded in her chest as she raced through the narrow streets of the town. She dodged around people and carts, trying to put as much distance between herself and the crowd as possible.
Finally, Adelyn found herself at the edge of town, where the buildings gave way to open fields. She paused momentarily to catch her breath, looking back to ensure no one was following her. As she stood there, panting and sweating, Adelyn couldn't help but feel a sense of despair wash over her.
She had no idea where to go or what to do next. All she knew was that she needed to find her way back to her house now.
Adelyn couldn't tell how long she had been running when she stumbled upon a tree and sat under its shade.
The once bright and sunny sky had turned gloomy and dark as the clouds began to gather. Soon enough, a gentle drizzle began to fall, casting a serene atmosphere over the surroundings.
Adelyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts. Just as she thought she was no longer being pursued and was about to sigh in relief, she heard footsteps from behind her.
When she turned around, a tall young boy with long curly hair struck her with a hard wooden object. Her body slumped to the ground with a thud, and everything went dark.
The sound of raindrops hitting the ground slowly faded, and the world became silent.