In tandem With The Huntsman

Three

I realized that the sounds would become louder during the night, and not simply due to the lack of villagers outside.

My sleep schedule was admittedly not the best. I would wake up during inconvenient times at night, unable to fall asleep until much later as my thoughts went towards gruesome conclusions. I often used my irregular sleep patterns to conveniently stay up and listen to whatever emitted from the forest, both curious and eager to confirm whether I'd been hallucinating or not. It became some sort of experiment of mine, one which I couldn't use for conclusive evidence-- since the result would always be me waking up again in the morning with seemingly no major change to my person.

It was maddening.

Every day, I would vividly recall waking up, going outside and getting close to the forest, only to blackout and find myself in bed once more-- the sun high up in the sky. Every day, I would question my sanity and wonder whether I was having extremely realistic dreams, or simply conveniently forgetting ever going back to bed.

Every day, I would ask myself the same questions over and over again, without a clear answer in sight.

It made me want to rip my hair out in frustration.

My parents and siblings noticed the not-so-subtle change in my behavior and inquired after my health. I would always say that I was fine, that it was just the change in weather that affected me. Everyone was so perceptive that I knew immediately that my excuses wouldn't stick. They figured out that something was weighing me down, and Faris was the first to accuse Emily.

"She's bad influence." He insisted before dinner, "All that talk about Hal, white wings, blessings and curses-- it could make even nuns go mad."

"You always bring her up, what has she ever done to you?" I snapped, unable to comprehend why my brother was so intent on burning our friendship to smithereens. I never heard her complain about our faith, it was only fair for us to do the same.

Faris crossed his arms while glaring at me, "Naouel, there's a difference between being pious and downright fanatical. Your friend's comments about Halism are too extreme to be considered normal. I feel like she is actively trying to convert you."

I decided to blatantly ignore that comment and continue with my chores. Endorsing such thoughts would lead me to nowhere and I had far greater issues to worry about.

Faris realized I was ignoring him and sighed while rolling his eyes, muttering something about me being unsalvageable. It didn't matter, I wanted an answer to my problems.

Around midday, my father came back home with rather surprising news.

"They want us to attend church." He explained while showing us a letter marked with Hal's wing. "It's an order from the hunters-- something about purification and whatnot."

My mother wiped her hands on her apron with a worried frown, "I don't understand. Are they aware that we are muslims?"

"I explained it to them." My father replied, exasperated. "They insisted that we attend either way, that we were to at least get purified for our protection. Ellias said it was fine so long as we didn't 'believe' in it, that we just had to follow along. I am still not sure what to respond to that."

Amir knit his brows together as he extended an arm towards father, "let me see this letter, please."

Father wordlessly gave him the letter, to which Amir carefully read. I saw his eyes move from left to right at record speed; scanning its contents quickly and efficiently. When he was done, he snorted in cynical amusement.

"This is a thinly veiled threat." Amir concluded while tearing the letter into pieces, shocking my mother into covering her mouth with a fist. "They want us there not by choice, but by force. If we do not get purified, they will use it as an excuse to cast us away and deem us as filthy."