Chapter Text
You were never a particularly cowardly person. It wasn’t in your nature, not after the life you’d had. For twenty five years you resided in the village, you’d seen your friends be taken by lycans in the night due to their own carelessness. After that incident, after they ignored your warnings and went off into the night to get drunk, you pulled away from the majority of your peers. You weren’t up to the grief that came with losing them, and you found better comfort in the local drunks that kept residence in the village pub.
“Another?” The barkeep asked as you downed your third beer.
“You’re tryna kill me Roland.” You huffed before a loud burp escaped your mouth. “Hell like if I’m gonna try and stop you.” You raised your cup for a refill. You were young, yes, but you earned your living by traveling into the lycan infested woods for things villagers might request, sometimes it was as simple as a special type of mushroom. Though typically, it was requested that you kill a lycan for a specific part of it, for example the ears, or kidney. Different parts went for different prices but all were high enough to keep you afloat and not living at the side on the road.
“This one’s on the house,” Roland chuckled as the yellow liquid reached the brim of your glass. “Owe you for getting rid of the stray lycan the other day. I don’t understand how you do it,” he shook his head disbelievingly, eyeing you.
“Roland, my height has nothing to do with my abilities.” You took a large gulp.
“Oh come on, Zip,” he gestured to you, using a nickname earned from the sound your blade made as it cut through the air. “You’re what, five?”
“Five three, you spend so much of your time on that raised platform your hopes have melded into false truths.” Another swig. For a while, you’d been made fun of for your size. Though women were taller than average in the village from what you’ve seen, you somehow still fell short. Literally. But you’ve managed to make up for it with your expertise in combat. Your father was a woodsman, hunting, cutting down trees and everything that had to do with the forest was left to him. Your mother stayed at home to help raise you. In his spare time your dad would teach you how to use a multitude of weapons and how to carve wood from tree trunks. He was a very practical man and he passed that down to you.
But then your father was gone. Killed by what you’d assume were lycans if the gashes in his chest were anything to say of it, and your mother passed of heartbreak soon after. You were only fifteen when that occurred, but with the help of a family friend you managed to get on your feet and began working. Working was good, working kept your mind from straying far.
“Zip? Zip, you with me?” Roland was waving a hand in front of your face. “The Duke said he has business with you, and to meet him in the usual area.”
The Duke, the family friend who helped you into your feet. Almost everything you owed to him, he not only saved your life but provided you with at least a third of your jobs. Usually they were more dangerous ones, but they paid handsomely and you never refused.
“Ah, thanks Roland, see you around?” You chugged the last bit remaining and slammed it on the counter before shaking yourself and heading out into the cold. It was the beginning of winter and the air was crisp, perfect weather for a cup of tea and a nap, but duty calls, it always does.
You made your way to the spot the Duke always had you meet up, it was close to the outskirts of the village, and just on the borders of the forest.
“You made it.” The Duke clapped his hands together. “What are you doing tonight?”
“I’m….free…but I’m guessing I won’t be for long?” You chuckled slightly.
“Indeed my dear. I have an assignment for you.” The Duke shifted as he pulled a paper from his pocket and handed it to you. On the page was a single diagram of a yellow flower. “I’m not quite sure the name, but I’ve heard that it has amazing properties; allows you to see departed family and friends. Quite valuable. I’ve found a client who’s in need of it and I happen to know where to find some.”
“Let me guess, somewhere in the deep dark wood?” You smiled.
“Precisely, but my dear, the problem is, it seems to bloom exclusively around- well, in Lady Beneviento’s estate.” At that your grin faded. Lady Beneviento was one of the four lords who were directly connected to Mother Miranda. Where you weren’t particularly afraid of the cult you didn’t want bird bitch’s wrath on you, should you upset one of her lords. You were on good terms with Heisenberg, Moreau seemed to enjoy your company when you happened to drop off a parcel or two from the duke, but you’d never encountered either of the two ladies.
“Duke…”
“I know, I know. But I’m willing to pay you twice the amount of what I usually would for something like this.” That piqued your interest.
“How much?”
“Fifteen.”
“You were gonna pay me 75 hundred lei to go into the woods, by Lady Beneviento? I never thought you’d try to cheat me, Duke.” You crossed your arms, glaring expectantly at the overweight man. “Fifteen should’ve been the minimum.”
“Okay, twenty.”
“Thirty.”
“You run a tough business, Zip.”
“Supply and demand I suppose.” You grinned.
“Deal, thirty thousand lei to the negotiator. Though I’ll tell you a secret.” The duke paused for a moment of suspense. “I was willing to go up to fifty.”
“Dammit! I knew I should’ve pushed.” You groaned. “Alright, when do you need it for?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Fuck. Alright, I guess I better get going.” You sighed and adjusted the swords on your back, straightened your leather corset which sat atop your poet shirt and turned on your heel, heading into the forest.
“Be careful.” The Duke called after you.
“Where’s the fun in that?” You lifted your sword and gave it a swish before disappearing into the woods.
-
The path, the further you went in, became more and more overgrown and unused, almost as though the path was never, if only barely used, it was so scarce that the plants were given enough time to regrow. It had begun to drizzle but you sensed a heavy downpour was imminent, you needed to find the flower and leave.
Up till now, and you were quite certain you were nearing Lady Beneviento’s estate, if the hanging dolls were anything to go by, but there were none of the yellow flowers the Duke had ordered, not even a petal. This drove you to proceed further and further into the brush, searching diligently for your thirty thousand lei flower. Before long you stumbled upon a cave, and being unsure of the environment necessary for the flowers' growth, you wandered into it, hopeful. That was soon quelled as all you found was a rickety old elevator.
Strange.
You brushed off the warning you felt and pressed the button leading up, and the elevator jolted to life. It shook and creaked and groaned in protest for the first movement in what you’d guess was months but eventually it halted and the loud crashes of water falling caught your attention. You’d heard Lady Beneviento lived near a waterfall, but no one had ever come to see or visit, the few men that did wander up here usually returned maddened and crazy. You figured it was better than whatever happened to people when they went to the other lords. You followed the more cleared path and found yourself staring at the large waterfall, an old manor standing in-front of it.
It looked significantly worn down and abandoned, but you knew better, Lady Beneviento lived alone, it only made sense that the house wasn’t exactly kept up to standard, it was a lot for one person to do, you figured. Just as you predicted, a heavy downpour cascaded onto you, almost drenching your clothes.
You wanted to refrain from trespassing, though you felt as though it was beyond that now, when you spotted the yellow flowers at the gate to her house. Excitedly, you ran up to them and grabbed the stem, hoping to snatch a few and leave before you gained any unwanted attention.
Just as you prepped yourself to pull, a creaking caught your attention. You glanced up to see the front door of the house slightly ajar, the wind generated from the waterfall and the incoming storm pushing it further. Despite your better judgement you stepped onto the front porch and grabbed the handle to pull it closed. But it didn’t budge, in fact, it felt almost as though someone was pulling it open.
Fuck.
“Uh- good..night I’m sorry for trespassing I was looking for a flower and-“
The tension on the door was suddenly released and you fell back, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
Double fuck.
You creaked open the door once more, determined to apologise, the second time the door was opened there was no resistance. Yet there was no one there. It was almost as though you had imagined the tug of war with the door and your mind was playing tricks on you.
But that’s what she was known for, wasn’t it?
Triple fuck.
“Lady Beneviento, I apologise for trespassing, I merely wanted to find a flower when-“
“So you trespassed to steal? You stupid fuck you’re digging yourself deeper and deeper.” A shrill voice ran out from behind a nearby wall. It seemed to lead into a living room of sorts.
“I’m…sorry, excuse me?” You followed the sound but only found a rather still doll on a rocking chair. She seemed worn down and wore a white wedding dress with a veil that wasn’t pulled down. You looked around once more but there was no one to be found.
You turned back, heading to exit when-
“Yeah you fuckin heard me right. DonDon’s gonna kill ya.”
You whipped around again, yet there was only the doll.
“I-“ you checked left and right, but no one. No one but the doll. You turned again, counted three seconds and jumped around, and sure enough, the doll was gone.
Quadruple fuck.
“Shit- I- I haven’t taken anything, I’ll leave the same way I came-“ you turned to leave but there she was, standing right in front of you. The fucking doll. Lovely.
Breathe, this is fine, it’s been worse.
“BOO!” She shrieked, finally exposing herself, you merely stared right at her. “The fuck? Why aren’t you screaming?” She almost whined.
You took a breath. “Would you believe me if I said I’ve seen weirder?”