The Silent Heir

Chapter 12

The sound of branches groaning out in pain resounded through the world as Lucy silently hunched over from one of the trees. It has been ten days since Lucy learned of the dire news. Ever since then, she had not slept for more than 2 hours at a time.

Several times did the darkness tempted her to its sweet embrace. Time and time again, Lucy could feel its touch gently pulling her soul into slumber, but the momentary moments of noise always broke its spell, replacing it with paranoia.

...Where are they? Lucy thought as power coursed through her senses. The taste of last meal's dinner, the strong scent of flowers several paces below her, the grains of wood in the handle of her ax, the eerie still silence abruptly being disturbed by animals, and the unnaturally bright in what was supposed to be a dark world.

Power enhances her senses to such an unnatural degree as her sapphire eyes pulsate with amber gold instead. Nothing escapes from her; she would have noticed it... but there was nothing. No matter how far and wide she searched, she found nothing.

There were traces of the guards left in the forest who investigated the woods several days ago. Some animal markings here and there, but there was nothing substantial. There were no markings of any monsters.

For others, it was a good sign. For Lucy, it disturbed her the most. Even with the grace of power, there was simply no clear sign that pointed to her worst fears. It did not deter her however as she continued her long vigil.

Lucy continued to wait for another hour until she suddenly felt something was burning her back. When she turned, the whole world was so bright it was as if it was set in flames. Lucy ducked behind the cover of the trees quickly as she feared she would burn as well.

The burning sensation continued however as the grain of wood from the tree roughly coursed through her skin. It was then Lucy realized what it was. Lucy slowly lets go of power, avoiding shocking her senses with the drastic change.

Slowly, the world was beginning to grow duller and duller by the minute. The sense of the wood begins to disappear as the light slowly returns back to normalcy. A few minutes later, Lucy blinked as if to reorientate herself once more from the dullness of the world before slowly looking back at the light.

The sun had already risen from the west as the crack of dawn broke the eternal night. Lucy frowned in disappointment as she spent another night with nothing to show for. The monsters did not show up this time either.

"This one too huh?" Lucy mumbled to herself as she jumped off from the branch. The bones in her body reared back in pain as Lucy winced. ...I'll get used to it. She thought in annoyance as she trudged back towards the orphanage, but not before taking a detour.

Lucy left the ax on the shack before making her way back. A small yawn escaped from her mouth as the fatigue slowly crept back in. Exhaustion brought her body so low that she did not notice Emma standing in front of the door. "Back at it again sister Lucy?" Emma asked as an obvious frown marked her face.

"Sister Emma..." Lucy whispered as Emma slowly walked towards her. "I thought I told you to let the guards do their job!" Emma finally erupted when she saw Lucy's tired eyes. "Look at yourself! There are bags under your eyes! How long has it been since you had a proper rest?" Emma said as Lucy could do nothing but listen.

"You have been doing this for three days now. You need to stop and let go of this already." Emma said as Lucy shook her head in disagreement. "The monsters will-" "There are no monsters!" Emma cut off, tired from hearing the same excuse over and over again.

"The guards have already swept the forest seven times now dear, but they have not found even a single trace. Lucy, you need to stop this now." Lucy blinked momentarily as if she was trying to comprehend any deeper meaning behind those words.