"The Huntress"

[Fierna]

She was six, he was eleven. They sat high on a hill looking out over Vallaki in the early afternoon. Watching the locals bustle about trying to get their daily routine complete before the night jumped upon them. The small raven haired girl looked to the boy beside her. Her eyes the color of chestnut that could match his own hair. She smiles then lays her head on his shoulder watching the people once more

Tomas. She spoke softly in balok We'll be the best of friends forever right? Even when we get old and gray, we can sit on this hill and watch them run about like little ants?

He looked down at her and smiled. In the eyes of children, there was no hate, no separation between barovian and gundarakite. Just a boy looking at a girl who became his friend and playmate.

Of course you silly girl. Papu says one day I am going to marry you then we'll be best of friends and husband and wife. And when I'm old enough, I'm going to join the guard and I will protect you always from those crazy outlanders that keep running through Papu's crops.

Marry you? She said with that natural child-like puzzlement. Does that mean we have to kiss and hold hands and stuff? Couldn't we like, hunt bears and wild pigs like papu does? Kissing is so gross

He laughed at her, and nudged her before kissing her on the cheek. She squeeled and swatted at air as he jumped away from her flying hand and dashed back to their farm. She took chase, shouting after him with laughter in her voice

I'm gonna get you for that Tomas! Just you wait!

¤¤¤

Éva woke with a start. Sweat on her brow as she looked around the unfamiliar room. Then she remembered where she was as the aroma of fish hit her nose. She lurched slightly, disgusted by the smell and began packing up her things. She was troubled, the expression clear on her face as she dressed. She'd not dreamed of Tomescu for weeks, but with recent events, it seemed the only peaceful memory her mind could cling to in the moment. A tear she never shed for her lost friend fell onto the pillow as she made up the bed. She'd never cried, not even when she witnessed her parents and her betrothed be executed for crimes they did not commit. He made her cry though. He terrified her and broke her into a fit of sobs. Alson Talovich. It was a name she would not soon forget, nor the bite of his whip on her legs. He asked her forgiveness, she gave it to appease the barovian pig, but she knew, eventually pigs wind upon the dinner table. She wiped her face, straightened her shoulders and quickly made her way from the lodge picking up where she left off. Hunting game, and working hard to earn her keep in the lands she called home.

[Fierna]

Hope

It was a cold winters night in Zeidenburg. Many families locked away in their homes, throwing wood to the hearths for warmth. The Zrínyi household was in an uproar, mother pleading and father shouting.

Please my son, please don't do this. You are the only child we have, do not throw your life away for this foolish cause.

His mother pleaded, as tears streamed down her cheeks, clinging to him as he struggled to get out of her grasp. He spoke calmly, but firmly to them both

The Morninglord speaks of a brighter future, a better one for us. We have to do our part though. I have been called to a greater purpose, to stop these barovian pigs from terrorizing our people. These lands are ours, and its high time we took them back.

His father looked at him with disdain and disapproval. He stomped his foot, shaking his head and pointing at the floor with his finger

Nem! I won't allow this! I am the man of this house, and you will remain here, and help your family where you are needed.

The young man glared at his father, then promptly turned on his heel with only the blessings of the Morninglord to watch over them as he walked out of their home. His mother wept more, and his father could only try to comfort his dear wife as they dreaded the worst. Weeks had passed, and there had been no word of his whereabouts, or his health. Three months passed, and Terézia was once more with child. She sat sullenly in a rocking chair, working on some new hunting leathers for her husband, his others ruined from wear and tear. A soft knock at the door startled her. She pushed herself from her chair and began shuffling over to the door as her husband came from the kitchen. Slowly she opened it, to see a dishevelled man with a gurney behind him. Terézia began sobbing as her husband caught her before she could collapse. He carried her back to her chair then returned to the door. Their son had died, an bolt caught in his chest from a barovian scout.

The next day they saw to their sons burial then returned home to pack their things. Selling the house, they took only what they needed and travelled out of Zeidenburg. Their destination Vallaki of Barovia.

We cannot lose another child to this war. We will settle down in vallaki, build a life and raise our child to fit in as best they can among their betters. The wars of our past should not be passed down to our children. Come Terézia, let us begin our new life and hope it is a better one than this has been.

¤¤¤

Éva scrubbed hard with the tannin as the cultist left. She distrusted the relgious types. Those who always preached fancy words while cowering in their stone temples. She thought about her parents, and the stories they told her about her big brother Elfric. She never knew him, he died before she was born, but she missed him all the same. She remembered how her mother used to tell her about his love for music, and how papa would always tease him about being a fop in a gundarakites body. It was always in good fun among family. Eight months had passed since she lost hers, and she was still so angry inside. Angry at the cultists who preach of better days, while the days seemed to only grow worse with each attack from both sides.

She hated barovians, though there was a day when she didn't, but now when she looked at them she felt betrayal and distrust. She would relish her moments in the forest, enjoying the kill of fresh doe or boar. She smiled as she worked at the curing tub, thinking to herself how often she would imagine the kill being one of them, one of those who hurt her in all her innocence. A soft murmur escaped her as she finished up her work and packed her tools away.

"Eventually, pig winds up on the supper table"

[Fierna]

Éva ran down the hill laughing softly with Tomescu close behind her. She had just turned fourteen and had blossomed into a lovely young girl. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her stealing a kiss on her neck as she leaned against him with a gentle smile. She was breathless from the run, murmuring in the barovian language.

Tomas. You know how mama will scold us if we're caught. And out here in the open is less than discreet. You could always steal me away to that old orchard you know north of the farm, nu one would think to find us there.

Ah, my raven-haired beauty. I don't care who sees us. In a matter of weeks you'll be my wife and if I choose to kiss you in the streets, I shall do so and none can fault me. All will be the envy of me, to have such a beautiful wife at a mans side

Not all. I am sure there will be many a barovian women who will resent me, and men who will sneer down their noses at us for you bedding a Gundar Dog.

She frowned ever so lightly at her own reminder of who she was and where she came from. She was mud beneath a barovians boot, and knew her place well, but when she was in her betrotheds arms all of that seemed forgotten to her. She had half expected him to change how he felt about her as they grew up, but his heart never hardened like the rest of their childhood friends. For that she was grateful.

None of that now. Nevermind them, they just don't know you like I know you. You're not a rebel and you've done everything to fit in and adapt to life here in Barovia.

Fit in and adapt? Vallaki is my home, its the only home I've known. It won't change my love, they will always see me as nothing more than a gundar dog.

Then forget them, all that matters is what I think of you. And remember what I told you when we were little? That you will be my wife, and I will be a guard one day and protect you from all dangers.

She smiled lightly, though she knew they would endure hardships in their marriage, but she cast those worries aside, enjoying the moment she had in his arms as he leaned in and kissed her deeply

¤¤¤

She laid there quietly in the bed of her room. The smell of the fish making sleep troublesome for her at the lodge. She found herself thinking of her beloved Tomescu again, which brought tears to her eyes. She missed him terribly, but she thought on the words of the porcelin man, and Georgetta. Mixed blood is never accepted. So why, she wondered. Why would his father arrange a marriage between his son and her. It didn't make any sense. Then her thoughts drifted to Valko once more. At first when she saw him sitting there, she was worried for Georgetta thinking him some creature of the night, but as she sat with him she realized he was but a man cursed like the rest of them in these dark lands. He reminded her of a life-sized porcelin doll which made her smile. He was kind, and easy to talk to but she found herself questioning herself as she lay there thinking of him. She found it hard to trust anyone anymore, even her own people. A heavy sigh escaped her as she struggled to get some sleep despite the rancid smell of fish. Her thoughts lingering on the Porcelin man, but soon slipping into dreams of her lost love and what could have been.

[Fierna]

The executions were done as night was closing in. Some bodies of the executed gundarakites left on display as an example, others tossed for the beasts to devour. After all, why would a barovian care to bury the ones they killed in cold blood. The young raven-haired girl snuck out into the night, scared of what lurked beneath the moon, yet determined to pull her family from the pile that would no doubt be put to pyre come morning. She struggled as she shoved men, women and small children side to side until she found her mother and father. Curling her arms under her father she dragged him away into the night, and only an hour later returned for her mother.

The location she had chosen was quiet, undisturbed. The choice in which her parents were to be buried was in the Sullen woods. She dug into the night two holes near a shadow wood tree. The tree bore no leaves to grant the newly graves shade, and only a raven perched watching as the girl toiled to see her family buried proper. Carefully she placed them in their graves side by side. Her hands blistered from the digging, but that did not stop her from pushing the dirt over still bodies. The girl shed no tears, and as their faces were hidden by the dark soil, all emotion seemed to flood out of her. She felt nothing, no sorrow, no hate, no bitterness. She was empty within, a void that seemed to fill with empty shadow. She looked to the blood red moon through the break in the trees then rose leaving her parents to their graves.

¤¤¤

Nine months had passed since Éva had buried her parents. Nothing changed in the lands she was born to, yet even still as she lay there restless from the stink of fish, she considered many changes that would come in her life. A faint smile crept up as she thought about the barovian that defended the borcan poisoner. All it took, was the right moment, the right emotion for the fool to rise up in the cultists defense. And that moment was in front of the guards who had only the previous evening stopped her for a random inspection. It pleased her to see she need not lift a finger, to turn barovians against each other, it just took the right cause. Hate for cultists, for religions that bring their magics into a reclusive society.

She had learned well from her parents, to be the obedient, compliant little gundarakite girl but if they truly new what she was capable of, they'd not think so little of her. She toyed with a small blade as she lay there thinking of her last kill. The deer and boar were becoming less productive, and so she chose a new specimen. Man. Into the night, while Georgetta slept, she snuck out in her leathers and hood, finding her way into a den of bandits. There, she lured one away with an innocent smile and a come hither stare. He came at her, hunger in his eyes for her soft flesh and as she cornered him, her small blade thrust out to press deeply into the throat. She did not slice, yet impaled the larynx that he could not cry out to his merry band of thieves and cutthroats. His hands went to his throat to staunch the blood as his eyes went wide, but it was the fear that seemed to drive her as her own expression remained void. She laid him down as he grew weak from blood loss, then slowly began to experiment. She cut behind the knee, observing the amount of blood that would exit the wound. Satisfied when he could no longer move that limb, she rose and thrust her dagger into his chest, wiped her blade clean on his leathers and returned to her resting place in the lodge with none the wiser of her nightly jaunts.

[Fierna]

Within the house of Von Korzha the shouting continued behind closed doors between father and son.

"This is nu about love you daft boy! This marriage arrangement is solely a business and political matter. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to make this arrangement. Had I known she'd fill your head with foolish ideas!"

"Papu. It was nu her idea that I join the Guard. It was my own. And business or no, she is a good woman who I did come to love. That's something you'll have to accept."

"I don't have to accept anything. You are my son, and you will inherit the business one day. You're future is in investments, not waving a sword about risking your life against outlanders and their vraja. Its a death sentence! I forbid it."

"I am twenty-two winters Papu. You can nu forbid me anything. I will marry her as it has been arranged, and I will join the guard. That is my future, not the life of a suit stuck in paperwork. I want to make a difference, like those men do every day in our city."

"Do you really think she loves you? You are barovian, you will always be nothing more than her oppressor she was forced to wed to keep her parents well provided for. Only way to bleed a gundarakite out boy, is to breed them out. You'll learn that one day when she looks at you with resentment for the life you'll put her through."

"Your wars are not ours Papu. We will not let your bitterness and hate rule our lives. Find another pawn in your political plans. I'm done."

¤¤¤

Éva had slept well for the first time in days. The risk was well worth the night without smelling fish. She had dozed off while waiting for the recipient of her letter, and managed a good few hours before she woke again and made her way to the table. She poured herself a glass of whiskey, looking to the door with a sly grin. Everything was working out for her thus far, though there were still thorns in her sides, she would soon deal with them as well. The door opened, and her companion entered. They spent hours talking, and she smiled that coy smile, flattering him with words that would soften him towards her. He was older than her, but she could sense a loneliness behind the cruel and gruesome face he'd been dealt. He spoke of his life before his scars and she knew then the way to him. While his wounds were great, she had seen far uglier things in her life that looking at him was the least offenses.

As he departed, she thought back on the possibilities of winning him over. He was older, but that mattered little. The risk was high though, and it had its advantages and disadvantages. The rebels might find an advantage at her relations with him, while others might view it as betrayal keeping her at arms length. She furrowed her brow, walking to the mirror, staring at her reflection. She dug deep, searching for any feelings, any emotions for him, for them yet still felt nothing more than an empty void.

"All that's left is survival and the hunt now. Everything else is irrelevant. The hunt, the kill. That is all that remains. Stay focused, play your part."

And so she crawled back into the bed, stealing a few hours of sleep in the warm broken bell bed before she was due back at the lodge.

[Fierna]

Anton struck hard across the ten year olds cheek. The force left a welt, and brought tears to the small girls eyes as she begged his forgiveness.

"I'm sorry Domn Khorza. I Nu meant to leave him in the corral overnight. I lost track of time, and rushed home. I forgot I hadn't put him in the barn yet, but I nu mean to forget. I'm so, so sorry. I'll w-work hard and try pa-"

He struck her again to silence her. The tears now fell down her cheeks as he shouted at her lack of responsibility. How her mistake would come out of her parents wages, and how she'll never make a suitable wife if she can't even tend a goat. His words were like thunder in a storm, deafening and terrifying. She yearned to run away, but knew it would only bring more trouble for her family so she stood and endured her punishment. She cringed as he rose his arm again for a third strike when a woman approached and took his hand. Her voice was calm, gentle

"Anton, my husband. She is but a child, but I believe she has learned her lesson. Strike her much more and she might not remember the lesson you are striving to teach her. Garnish her fathers wages for the cost of the goat, and we'll find a new chore for the girl on the Morrow."

He stormed off in a rage, but Alexandra remained. She kneeled before the girl and looked at the welt that was already darkening. A soft sigh, and a click of the tongue she shook her head at the girl

"I know, you enjoy playing with our son, as he does you, but you are both growing up now. Childhood fun must come to an end, you must learn the importance of priorities. And now, maintaining livestock and keeping them safe from the wolves is a priority. Our son will inherit the business this is true, but our place is in the home where we care for the lands that will provide the food for our table. Do you understand?"

The small girl nodded, wiping her tears. Alexandra sent her home. There she curled up in her bed made of straw and pelts and cried herself to sleep

¤¤¤

The Broken Bell was quiet. Éva slid down into the tub, letting out a quiet groan as her muscles began to loosen. She stared at the ceiling, thinking back on the past. She wondered where the wealthy Korhza family was these days. Anton always hated her, which made it all the more puzzling why he would betroth his only son to a girl he hated so venomously. Still, it mattered little now. He taught her a hard lesson that day she lost her goat but another lesson she learned as she grew up stuck with her that made her smile for a brief moment.

"The wolf may eat the goat, but eventually the hunter will trap the wolf. I am the huntress, and be it goat or wolf, I will survive."

She thought back on all those she'd met in the last few weeks. To barovians the gundarakites were dogs. To the Gundarakites, the barovians were pigs. Eventually, they all end up as boots or supper. They saw with such bitterness and hate. Revenge pushing them, yet Eva saw through different eyes. She had no fight with those who did not wrong her, be they barovian or gundarakite. She saw only prey, that might one day end up at the end of her knife. No attachments, no emotions. The void within had been consuming her, yet she found herself thinking of one man. Perhaps he understood, perhaps she was just a tool for his agendas. It mattered little if they used each other, the results were what counted in the end.