I was the only one awake. I was tossing and turning in the bed I had borrowed, trying not to wake the twins, who were sleeping together very close to me.
'We can be your family,' Russell said. He had been too nice since the beggining. I wasn't sure if he did it because he felt pity for me or if it was for something else.
It had been almost a week since my arrival, and I still didn't feel completely comfortable. Russell was great, all his family were great, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was an intruder in their house and in their lives.
After several conflicting thoughts, I decided to explore the house.
I carefully got up, without making any noise. All I could hear was the fabric of my nightgown against the wood. Cara had lent it to me, along with some other clothes.
When I got to the main room, I knew exactly what I wanted to see.
I had noticed something strange in the kitchen for a while and I truly wanted to see what it was.
There was something covered up hidden behind some boxes. I approached it carefully and removed the cloth.
It was a painting, or rather a portrait, of the family.
One detail made me see how silly I had been. In the painting there were eight people, the six children, Cara and a man next to her. I deduced that it was Russell's father.
I hadn't seen his father in a week.
Where was he? Why hadn't anyone mentioned him?
Maybe they didn't want to talk about it.
My mother had left many years ago and it was still difficult to talk about her.
I felt a slight movement and when I turned around, Fredrick was there, somewhat stunned to see me discover the painting for the first time.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake anyone up,' I whispered, 'I'm having a hard time adjusting to the new surroundings.'
Fredrick looked directly to the painting.
'Is that your father?'
When I saw that he was nodding his head, I continued.
'Where is he Fred?'
Confused and on the verge of tears, Fredrick said a few words before going back to his room.
'We don't know.'
I understood perfectly that something was wrong, but I felt that it was enough.
Every family is a world, and in this one there was a secret, which seemed to bring only sadness and regret. And even though they had invited me to be part of it, that wasn't something I couldn't know... not yet.
I returned to the room and, to my surprise, both girls were already awake. They had prepared several clothes for me. What filled me with joy was that they were not dresses with horrible corsets, but many shirts of different colors, with five pairs of pants, beautiful, the prettiest I have ever seen.
'That's for me?' I asked.
'Of course,' Annette answered. 'How did you plan to hunt in a dress?'
Listening to that was like music to my ears.
One of the conditions his brothers imposed on me to stay was that I continue to help Russell hunt. I struggled to agree, but I did. I wasn't really a hunter, I wasn't sure what I was. Maybe I was just a lucky charm.
I quickly changed and went to the big dining room, where everyone was waiting for me.
Russell's three brothers got up quickly and left without saying goodbye. Cara told the girls to get ready to leave, while she collected the leftovers.
Russell got up, silently, and went to his room. After a few minutes he came out, apparently ready to go hunting again. He placed a knife on the table.
'Good morning sunshine, let's go.'
I got up as soon as possible and beside him we left my ''new home''.
We walk through the whole town, each person was nicer than the other. Everyone greeted me, and some even hugged me.
Everywhere we went I was welcomed.
We waited until it was dark to go to the tree. We touched it and went through it again. I walked through it.
This time I was afraid not to go in but not to come back.
We found no surprise, other than my beloved woods, waiting for me like any other day.
As we went deeper into them, I noticed Russell was thinking about something, until he took my hand and dared to say it.
'I've been thinking about... Frederick said you saw the hidden painting,' he said and continued. 'Look, I'm not ready to talk about certain things. All I can say is that it's not your fault. Fredrick isn't well. My brothers and I don't know what to do with him anymore. We're so glad he didn't scare you off, he can be very hurtful when he sets his mind to it.'
'Scare me? Russell, you don't need to apologize. Fredrick doesn't bother me at all. He's done enough for me, well you all have, allowing me to stay with you. I'm just an intruder in your home.'
'An intruder? You are one of us. Remember that, okay?'
I could see Russell's expression change, he became calmer and smiled, he had a beautiful smile. When he smiled, his eyes shined the most.
We then continued our walk.
The wind was particularly stronger than on other days. With each gust, I could feel the animals moving around me.
I closed my eyes and just listened to them. Russell got ready to hunt whatever I find, when, in the distance, we heard some galloping.
We had stayed close to the Kingdom, we were supposed to be safe.
I looked at my partner and we both hid behind a tree, just like a few days ago, as if it was all happening again. Several riders passed right in front of us.
It was at that moment that I realized that they were not there for us, but for two men who also seemed to be hunting. The riders stopped and pointed their arrows at the men.
By my side, Russell seemed to be boiling with rage. I held him by the arm, anticipating what could be a life-threatening intervention. In silence, we listened.
'What are you doing hunting at night, is forbidden,' said one of the riders.
'Sorry, we were just, we were...' stammered one of the hunters.
'We were just leaving,' concluded the other hunter.
'That will not be possible, you know that a crime like this must be reported to His Majesty King Lucius, unless.' He watched them carefully. 'Unless you are rats from Crescendo'.
The expression of the hunters gave them away in a second.
'You,' he ordered the riders, 'imprison them'. And then he whispered, 'you know what to do if they try to escape.'
'Please sir, have mercy! I have a family!' Said one of the men.
The man tried to hit one of the riders.
Quickly the others drew their swords and it cost only a second for the man to be executed.
Russell and I did not know what to do.
Tears fell from my eyes as I told myself to be quiet.
The riders took the other man, who was lying next to his companion, crying uncontrollably. The horses began their gallop and escaped faster than they had arrived.
We came out of our hiding place and ran to the man's side.
The man, with difficulty, could still mumble a few words.
We knelt beside him and he took us by the hands.
'Please take care of them,' he said in a choppy voice.
His eyes were fixed on my face. He could barely speak, when he said to me:
'You are going to save them all,' his hands grew cold and the light in his eyes faded away.
Everything had happened so quickly.
'Albert', said Russell. 'His name was Albert, he sells vegetables and,' he stopped trying to hold back his tears, 'his kids are my friends, how am I going to tell them that their father will never come back? I should have done something...'
I couldn't help but hug him.
Carefully, he wrapped me in his strong arms.
I sank my face into his chest, and let him rest his head against mine.
'He will never leave them, he will always be with them and from somewhere, he will protect them. Love is stronger than death,' I told him.
'You are just... thank you.'
A few minutes later, a group of men from Crescendo surprised us.
Albert and Joe had not returned at time. When their children found out, they feared the worst. It seemed to be common that if someone didn't come back from the woods, Bieno had something to do with it. They found us next to Albert. Together, we carried him back to Crescendo.
Both families mourned the loss of their loved ones. I felt even more sorry for the family of the man they captured, Joe. They would never know what had become of him.
Cara, who had taken it upon herself to comfort Albert's wife, told us to return to the house, that it was no longer safe to hunt.
When we arrived at the yellow house, I sat down on one of the chairs at the table.
Everything was too much to process.
I closed my eyes, looking for the inner strength that always kept me going. Especially a voice, which always seemed to resonate within me when I needed it most.
'I'm sorry you had to see that,' Russell said as he sat down next to me. 'Everything has been a disaster since the war began 20 years ago. There is no mercy for anyone from our Kingdom. If they see you in the woods, they'll kill you or worse, take you away'.
'And that's worse right? If they take you?' I asked, reaffirming my earlier thought.
'In our reality, yes. When you die, your soul rests in peace, and your loved ones can visit your remains, knowing that you loved them until the last moment. If they take you... if they take you, no one has the slightest idea what they are putting you through. We don't know what they do to them, we don't know,' he reflected for a moment.
I remembered those words from before. I was starting to understand so much about this family.
'Russell.'
'Yes?'
'Someday, I don't know when, but someday they will pay for what they've done, I just know it,' I said, out of the blue.
He was silent for a minute and looked at me in surprise.
'It seems as if you want to lead an army against them.'
Something I would never have considered until I saw with my own eyes the cruelty of the Kingdom of Bieno.
'All that I ever believed to be true was a lie, they took everything from me, my freedom, the truth itself.'
'If it is any comfort to you,' he said, resting his hand on my shoulder, 'they have taken everything from me as well,' he concluded by rising quickly.
I got up right away and continued on to the room.
Sleeping was just what I needed to clear my mind and try to forget everything I had seen and heard. But before I continued, I couldn't stop the words coming out of my mouth.
'You mustn't lose hope, this cannot last forever, someone will save this Kingdom.'
He lowered his head with a smile.
'Tell that person to appear before dawn, otherwise it will be very difficult for them to find us.'
'Russell...'
'I truly hope you are right. We need someone to save us. We need...'
'You'll get it, I just know it, deep in my heart.'
'If my lucky charm says it... then it is real. Someone will save us.'