Chapter Text
Taryn watched as, in one second, her mother was running from a scary man. Huge and odd-looking, he seemed to take only a step before he reached her mother. The next thing she saw was a flash of a sword, and then her mother screaming as she hit the ground. Her body slumped lifeless as the floor started to stain red.
The sight froze something in young Taryn as she screamed. Vivi stood beside her as she dropped the blanket in her hand, letting out a choked sound. Taryn’s twin sister, Jude, eyes filled with tears as she let out her own little sob. Her small hands balled into fists as she ran at the scary man. Striking him in the shins and thighs. Hitting him wherever her hands could reach. As if fear had all but left her sister.
Taryn moved away from Vivi to their mother lying on the floor. She fell down beside her. Hot red liquid touches her feet and knees. It made her breath shudder as something tight squeezed in her chest, and fear filled her body. She started to cry more, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
“Mama…” she croaked. Her voice small and broken. “Mommy, get up!” She begged. Her hands were shaking, her shoulders. Her mother lay there unmoving. Her eyes half open. The walnut brown color seeming so dull now. There was a hole in the middle of her shirt, and the blood was spilling much more in that spot. It stained her mother’s white skin, even the ends of her long brown hair that had slipped free from her bun. The sight of her was a horror. The silence made her sob as she hugged her.
He could hear the big man who hurt her mother talk to Vivi. Stating that he was her father and how she was taken from him. How he was here to take her back. It made no sense to Taryn. How could that horrible man be her father? He was scary, frightening. And while her older sister looked different from her and Jude, she wasn’t anything like that man. But as Taryn raised her head, her blurry eyes analyzing the man, she could see similarities. His eyes were like Vivi’s and his ears. The thought was confusing and scary to her.
“No.” She could hear Vivi utter. Her voice sounded so much smaller and quieter than usual. “I’m never going anywhere with you.”
“I’m your father.” The man continued. His eyes narrowed, and his voice grew harsher. Taryn whimpered, hands clenching her mom’s soaked shirt as if that would calm her.
“You are my heir and my blood, and you will obey me in this as in all things.” The words were confusing to her. It all sounded like gibberish. She stared at Vivi. Her older sister was still standing there in anger and childlike fear.
“You’re not her father!” Jude shouted. Taryn watched the man stare down at Jude. For a moment, she thought he’d hurt her too, but he only held her arms down to her side to stop her from moving. His gaze then turned to Taryn. Taryn felt her breath hitch and a small sob escape her lips. She quickly stared back down at her hands, afraid to meet the man’s gaze.
“I hate you,” Vivi said, mustering up all the courage a scared child could in their voice. “I will always hate you. I vow it.” “Nonetheless, you will come with me. Ready these little humans. Pack light, we ride before dark.”
Vivienne moved closer to Taryn. Standing her ground and looking at the man bravely before she spoke. “Leave them alone. If you have to, take me, but not them”
They continued going back and forth. Taryn hardly understood anything but snippets. Taryn knew that Vivi was defending them. She always defended them against people. It was clear that the man was going to take them somewhere. Away from their home. Their parents, their parents who were now dead. And it was clear the girls could do nothing about it.
Vivi stared down the man with a glare before looking down at Taryn. “Come on, Taryn. Jude, let’s go.” She uttered in defeat. She walked over, watching the man cautiously as she took Jude’s hand, stopping by Taryn as she took hers and made their way up to Vivienne’s room. Vivienne’s room was painted yellow with posters, arts and crafts, and many other items that made her room messy. She was trudging around the room in anger, yanking a thick blue bag. Shoving clothes inside, along with her favorite toys and comics. Taryn noticed how she stopped on a picture of Vivienne and their mother. Vivi was eating ice cream that was all over her face, and their mom was holding her and laughing. She didn’t miss the tears welling in Vivienne’s eyes.
Taryn held Jude’s hand tight. Her hands were still bloody, along with her clothes. She cried, bringing her hand up to her cheek to wipe the tears, only managing to splatter blood on her face, which made her cry more. Jude squeezed her hand tight. Sniffling and trying to hold back her tears.
Vivienne zipped her bag up and looked at the two as she came over. “Stop crying, Taryn.” She tried to say softly, but it came out rough. The tone made Taryn hiccup and cry more. Vivi’s face fell a bit as she sighed. She took hers sisters hands, leading them to the bathroom in the hall. She grabbed the washcloth sitting on the rack, and she let the water run over it. She stood in front of Taryn, bringing her hand down to wipe her face of the tears and clean the blood and snot. “Don’t cry.” She said softly now. She looked to Jude, wiping her face as well. “We have to be brave. Just like dad said, remember.” Her voice wobbled a bit as she said that. Staring down before she cleaned their hands. “We’re going somewhere new, so we’ll have to rely on each other. We can’t be sad.”
“But what about Mom?”Taryn said, still teary-eyed. “And dad.” Jude quickly said next to her. Vivi let the washcloth fall. It was stained red now. She placed it in the sink. Quickly washing her hands. “They’re gone.” She said simply. “They can’t come with us. It’ll be just us three.” Her eyes grew teary again as she spoke. She roughly turned the faucet and dried her hands before turning back to Jude and Taryn. “We have to go with that man. I don’t want us to, but we have nowhere else to go.”
“I don’t want to go with him.” Taryn said. She held onto Jude’s arm. “Do we have to? I don’t want to leave Vivi. I’m scared.”
“We can’t go with him.” Jude stared at her older sister, surprised. “He hurt Mom, he hurt Dad! He’s a murderer. He’ll hurt us, too.”
Vivienne’s hands clenched into fists. “I won’t let him hurt us. We’ll be safe where we’re going.”
“You don’t know that.” Jude countered.
“Well, I’m your older sister. If I say we’ll be okay, we will!” Upon seeing her little sisters’ careworn faces, she sighed again, taking their hands. “Don’t be scared. W-We have each other. And that man says he’ll take care of us, then he has to. And if he doesn’t, we’ll run away. We’ll find help somewhere else.” She didn’t wait for their responses as she pulled them along to their room next.
The twins shared a room. The walls pink like at sunrise. Their beds were on opposite sides of the wall. Bookshelves filled with fairy tales and a chest of toys were in the room. They hadn’t gotten around to cleaning their room, leaving toys and clothing on the floor. Vivi moved, pulling two bags out of the closet. Going through their drawers and picking out clothing as she stuffed them inside. She looked up at them. “Grab your favorite toys and books. Anything you don’t want to leave behind”
“We’ll be coming back, though, right?” Jude asked hesitantly.
Vivi stared down at the floor. “I don’t know Jude. One day. Maybe one day, but right now I just don’t know.”
The twins didn’t question their sister anymore as they moved through the room. Studding toys, books, and trinkets into the bag. Once done, she picked them up, handing them off to Jude and Taryn. Carrying her own bag on her shoulders. The strange man wasn’t downstairs, but Taryn’s eyes drifted to the bodies of their parents. She felt the tears come again and the urge to sob. Vivienne quickly took their hands, causing Jude and Taryn to look at her. “Don’t look at them. Just watch me.”
She pulled them out of the house quickly, and the man was there with a huge black horse. His mane was so dark it was like night. He was bigger than any horse Taryn had ever seen; he looked so different as well. He had much more hair, and his mane was shaggy. His eyes were a deep green that seemed almost unnatural. It made her curious and a bit afraid.
“Are you ready?” The man questioned Vivi. She gave him a hand, stare frowning but nodded hesitantly.
The man took their bags, wrapping them on some saddle the pony had. Taryn felt her body freeze as the man came forward. She took a small step back, but he simply placed her on the horse, proceeding to do the same with Jude. At last, he sat Vivi behind him. On top of the horse, Taryn felt so very small. Her stomach was stirring with more fear as the man took hold of the reins. He gave a strop pull of them and off the Horse went, steering them away from the only home they ever knew and to the land they would know as Elfhame.