The Desired Victim

Chapter 38: This Savage Wrath

"Eevee!! Come with me, I have something to show you!!"

My younger brother grabs me by the wrist and pulls me toward the large tree in our castle courtyard. I could barely keep up with him, he was practically overflowing with excitement. His curly blonde hair shone in the sun like gold, and his wide brown eyes kept looking back towards me to see if I was as eager and enthusiastic as he was. 

"Slow down, Leo," I say laughing. "What did you find this time?" 

"You gotta hurry Evelyn, it might already be gone!!"

I allow myself to be dragged by Leo until we arrive to the enormous trunk of the tree. It was a warm and sunny summer day, and I was relieved to be shaded by the tree's thick leaves and branches. I was holding a handful of pretty flowers, and a few of them were woven into my hair as well. I was looking forward to a cold bath once our playtime was over, though. Our parents allowed us three hours to play outside in the courtyard each day, and Leo never failed to find something new and interesting each time we went out. 

"What is it?" I asked, looking around. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. 

Leo grinned, and then pointed upwards. "You gotta climb." 

I look up at the height of the tree and immediately feel as if I were shrinking. I was a very small child, and naturally everything in the world made me feel even smaller. But the tree made me feel especially small in that moment, and it was overwhelming. I knew that Leo loved to climb trees, but they terrified me. The fear of falling was usually too much for me to handle, and I never climbed up too far. I would always watch my brother climb the branches with anxiety in my throat, praying that he wouldn't fall down. 

"Leonardo," I whine. "You know that Mother hates it when we climb the trees out here. It makes our clothes dirty, and you'll probably end up ruining your pants again. And then she'll punish us and tell Father that we can't play outside anymore. What if you fall and get hurt? I'll be the one that gets blamed for it. And besides, Father will be expecting us back soon." 

Leo started bouncing up and down impatiently. "It's not that far up, I promise!! Just a couple branches. And if you're really careful, you won't get dirty either. Come on Eevee, please??"

I raise my eyebrows. And then I couldn't help but smile at my younger brother. For a seven year-old, he was quite the adventurer. He was so outgoing and courageous, and he didn't seem to be scared of anything. Being three years older than him, it was somewhat strange to me that I admired and looked up to him in that sort of way. Not to mention the fact that he was almost already taller than I was. I was definitely the more reserved and shy child who was much too cautious and frightened of breaking the rules. However, Leo never failed to make me laugh or bring me along on one of his adventures, despite how much trouble we'd get into. I was constantly keeping him out of trouble, and he was constantly dragging me into it. But we were always together, and we never had to worry about anything happening to us. We were isolated, safe, and protected inside of our castle walls. That was just the way our lives were. 

"Oh alright," I finally agreed, setting down my little bouquet of garden flowers. "But you have to help me, and we must be quick. You know I can't climb well in a dress."