Panic was raging over the town. The hunts were never coming back without a missing member or some dogs dead. Flocks were decimated when too far from the inhabited places. Dark powers were accused and the local witch was in great trouble, but some reasoned that she did nothing but help people since she was here. Everybody agreed on that and instead of burning her, they went to ask her for advice. The poor witch was hard put to answer them, not knowing what was happening in town. But they wanted answers, so she had to find a way to find answers.
Some hunters came back, claiming to have seen a huge terrifying monster; some said it was looking like a terrible bear. Others, scorning the first ones, said that the beast was a dragon. Legends were visited again but there was no trace of a dragon anywhere in them. Maybe was the monster a chimera? No, said firmly the ancient ones. No chimera had ever lived here. The hypothesis of the bear was envisaged again, but then the descriptions didn't fit. A girl offered to draw the beast from the description, so that everybody would have an idea of its look. Each and every one went to give his own description and at the end, the beast looked like nothing else existing, but everybody was saying:
"That's the beast! That's the monster I saw!"
The witch, called Oceane, looked at the girl who had done the drawing and they both sighed. They were sisters; Oceane was the eldest, then came Anilda, and finally Ivrian, the youngest. Oceane was the most beautiful - due to her witch powers, murmured some - Anilda was very clever with her hands, able to sew, draw or whatever she wanted to do. As for Ivrian, though she was not really built for such, she was doing the work a boy would have done, caring for the animals of the house, like the dogs, horses and cows. The two elder sisters were the most well known in town, for lots of people came to see Oceane for potions or advices, when women came to Anilda for ordering dresses. Nobody ever saw Ivrian except when her father went to the fair for selling a cow.
The ancient ones studied lengthily the drawing of the monster, looked in numerous old books where they would find the answers and gathered for weeks. During this time people were coming at Oceane to ask for charms susceptible to protect them from the monster. The young witch was very embarrassed, for she didn't want to trick them and she really had no idea of how to drive away the monster. But people didn't want to understand that. Finally the elders came with a solution.
"We must give the beast a sacrificial victim," they said.
Horror struck the town. But it was how the problem was solved, said the legends, so, in spite of the tears and protestations, the decision was taken. Only a pure maiden could be given to the monster, so the name of each and every eligible maiden was put in a big jar and one of the elders picked a name. He unrolled the little paper roll and read aloud:
"Oceane the Witch."
The young woman didn't even seem surprised when hearing her own name. She had a twisted smile, even when hearing some people murmuring that was her punishment for refusing to help them. Anilda was looking at her sister in shock.
"It can't be," she whispered. "It can't be you!"
"Of course it can be me," replied Oceane quietly. "I was among the eligible maidens."
"But you are the local witch!"
"Well, let's see it this way: I will be the only witch who will not be burnt - except if this monster is truly a dragon, of course."
"You can't be serious!" accused Anilda, tears threatening to invade her eyes.
"I'm deadly serious, Anilda. Say good-bye to father and Ivrian for me."
Without fear she walked to the elders and looked at them with her clear eyes, forcing them to look down to hide their shame. The hunters took her to the forest before the hour was over. In the deepest of the forest she was chained to a huge rock and left alone. She looked around while testing her chains and had to admit she was in a very bad position.
"Oceane, my girl, you thought you had been good all your life, you were wrong," she said to herself. "There is at least one time you have been very bad... but I can't remember which..."
She heard some noises near her and shivered.
"I didn't think of my last sentence," she whispered, still trying to remain calm. "Obviously that's too bad, because it seems I'm going to need it right now!"
A creature leaped from a tree in front of her and slowly straightened. She chocked back a cry; the creature was nothing like the drawing Anilda had made. This one was halfway between a bear and a lion or was it a griffon? It was impossible to say; the only thing Oceane could say was that this thing was ugly... and terrifying. She felt her last hopes die: if it truly had been the beast Anilda had drawn, she might have had a chance, because the beast had something human in it, but not this one...
The creature was still looking at her, not moving. It cocked its head on the side, as if utterly perplexed; it saw the chains and reached for them. Oceane recoiled against her rock as if it could protect her. Terrible shiny sharp claws appeared next to her arm and the chains fell down, broken. She was free. Stupefied she looked at the creature; it was listening attentively and suddenly, in a huge leap, disappeared in the trees. A heavier pace was coming toward Oceane. The young witch was beginning to feel her self-control slowly fall apart.
The creature appearing in front of her was more looking like Anilda's drawing. Standing on its hinder paws like a human it had almost a regal air. It was wearing some clothes too. As for the look of it, it was nothing like Oceane had ever seen before and she had read all the legends books in town and knew all the illustrations by heart. She wondered if there wasn't something of an ape in it, but couldn't figure it out. The creature looked at the chains fallen at Oceane's feet.
"Who freed you?" it asked.
Oceane blinked. Had she dreamt or did she hear it speak? It was indeed a voice she would never have imagined by herself, she was sure of that. It was deep and low, very husky, and one could have been wondering if it had really be talking or roaring.
"A... a beast," she answered finally.
"Something between a bear and a lion?" inquired the creature.
"Yes. Well, I think so."
"That was the hound."
"The hound? It hardly looked like a hound to me!" protested Oceane, wondering how she had managed not to faint.
"That's how we called him."
"We? Him?" repeated Oceane weakly.
"Oh! Pardon my manners, my lady. My name is Fiercelion and just in case you were wondering, I am not going to eat you as you were probably told. Though my manners may be quite questionable I am not that badly educated."
"Oh, I see. Is the... hound yours?"
"No. He is wild and lives alone. Actually I think he fears me so he always runs away when he's feeling me coming. You are safe from him."
"Am I safe from you?" asked Oceane terrified at her own audacity.
"Certainly, my lady!" protested Fiercelion with indignation. "I am here to rescue you from your terrible fate. You were obviously here to be sacrificed to a dark deity!"
"Actually, Lord Fiercelion, I was... I am here to appease you so that you would stop killing the hunters of my town and their dogs and our flocks."
"Surely, my lady, you don't think I'm responsible for those crimes!"
"Who else?"
Fiercelion thought a moment.
"The hound," he said. "It must be the hound. That's why he runs away from me. He knows I would punish him for that."
"The hound?" repeated Oceane, thinking it was a bit easy to accuse someone else and that the portrait drawn was his not the hound's.
"Don't underestimate the hound, my lady! His strength is unbelievable! I'm not even sure I could defeat him."
"What am I going to do?" said Oceane. "My sacrifice was supposed to calm him. But you found me and he ran away! How am I to protect my town from him now?"
"Why do you care for people who sent you here to be given to a monster?"
"My family still lives there. I have to protect my sisters," replied Oceane, immediately regretting her words: what was happening to her to make her confide in a beast?
When Fiercelion heard the word 'sisters', his eyes shone of a strange light, but he didn't say a word about it.
"Come, my lady, I will lead you in a secure place and then I will see what I can do for you town."
"Thank you, Lord Fiercelion," said Oceane gratefully.
"May I inquire your name without being rude?"
"My name is Oceane. I am the local witch."
"Powers and courage," said Fiercelion, appreciative. "Don't be surprised, Lady Oceane, few have your courage. Most just faint when seeing me. Others are nicer and wait till I speak," he concluded quite bitterly.
Oceane didn't reply. There was nothing to be said.
Fiercelion led her to a small town hidden in the forest and Oceane wondered how the hunters could have missed it. But there was obviously magic protecting it since blue sparkles surrounded them when they approached the main gate. Fiercelion knocked at the door and a face appeared through the door viewer.
"Master," said the man respectfully.
"We have a young lady here," said soberly Fiercelion.
The man looked at Oceane and nodded. The door opened. Fiercelion took Oceane's hand and bent down till his brow touched it.
"Lady Oceane, may you be very happy here. Our paths go away from each other now."
"You are not living here?"
"Lady Oceane, you will see my place is not in this town. Fare you well, my lady."
"Fare you well, Lord Fiercelion," replied Oceane mechanically.
She passed the gate and the door closed behind her.
She understood quickly why Fiercelion said it was not his place. The town was populated by young maidens he had rescued from a fate probably as terrible as hers and by young men coming from very far sometimes, all called by townsmen to destroy a monster. The gatekeeper, who had grown fond of Oceane, told her that Fiercelion had made them come here, forcing them to follow his tracks. Each maiden had found her match in one of those young men and everybody was very happy, not even thinking of leaving.
Oceane was. She was wondering how things were going in her town, if Fiercelion could protect them from the hound. She wanted to tell her family she was safe. Since she was in this town, away from the hound, she could as well be back in her own town. But Morzel, the gatekeeper, told her this place was the only one where she would be safe, meaning safe from the hound. Morzel seemed to know much more about the hound than Fiercelion himself. But when he explained that Fiercelion had sent back to her home the first girl he saved and that her fellow citizens had tried to sacrifice her again, it sounded to Oceane like a doom: she would never pass the door again, she was stuck here for the rest of her life. Despair swept through her like a storm.
In town everybody was waiting for the results of Oceane's sacrifice, especially Anilda, who was ready to jump at anybody's throat. Ivrian, already silent usually, had not said a single word since her sister had been taken into the woods. The following day of Oceane's sacrifice, a sheep was declared missing. Anilda almost went berserk with rage, but then one week went by and nothing happened. They waited another week; still no problem. The monster was definitely tamed and Anilda, inwardly seething with rage, had to hide her pain and sorrow for having lost her sister.
As more time went by, people began to notice how much they missed their witch - and how dangerous it was to mention Oceane's name or the word 'witch' in front of Anilda. Ivrian seemed to be indifferent; Anilda said it was because she was still shocked; some murmured she had no feelings.
One year went by without changing anything and then the same problems happened again: the monster was back. The ancient ones, trying to calm everybody, claimed they now knew the solution. Anilda scorned them:
"One sacrifice per year! Is it your price?"
"That's tradition! That's the tribute to evil!"
"And what do you care? You don't have any daughter or sister susceptible to be the victim! That's easy for you to say!"
People knew deep inside that Anilda was right but they were cowards and they sighed of relief when the name read aloud by the elder ones was Anilda's. The girl, like her sister before her, didn't show any surprise. Refusing even to accuse them of having cheated, she left with the hunters... She never saw the hound, though she felt piercing eyes on her. She didn't scream nor faint when seeing Fiercelion.
"Is it you who took my sister one year ago?" she asked.
"My lady, your sister awaits you impatiently," he replied, bowing, before breaking her chains.
Anilda couldn't believe it and she wept when she saw Ocean standing next to Morzel. Oceane felt furious when hearing about the ancient ones' actions and she worried because of Ivrian closing herself up. She knew their father would be of no help for he was too preoccupied with his work.
"Why do you worry?" asked Anilda. "Ivrian will be here with us next year."
"Certainly they wouldn't dare!"
"What do you think? They are probably persuaded by now that our family is cursed. Two girls on three, well, as well send the last one too, who will care? Nobody cares for Ivrian but us."
Oceane knew her sister was right and she sighed before resigning herself.
Back in town Anilda's sacrifice hadn't given the expected result. The killings didn't stop. Some people said it was a punishment for having chosen a girl from a family already struck; others claimed that, on the contrary, it was because the family was cursed and had to disappear. Ivrian didn't hear any of this. People usually saw her standing on the hill, her long hair loose, watching out for her flock, with her two dogs at her feet. She remained there without moving, without talking, just being there, and her dogs were pressing themselves against her as to tell her they were still here for her.
The killings still hadn't stopped, so the ancient ones decided another sacrifice was required. This time, no use to pick up a name: the land was almost shouting the name of the victim. When they presented themselves to the father, claiming Ivrian, the father tried to fight:
"She's my youngest daughter, just a child! What harm could she possibly do? She doesn't even talk! You already took the two eldest, leave my youngest alone!"
But no supplication, no threat could make them change their mind and Ivrian was dragged into the woods at her turn. Nothing was left to hazard: a hunter had found a place where the monster was often going, Ivrian was chained here and left alone as night was falling down. She looked around her, saw nothing interesting, so she closed the eyes and gently fell asleep.
When she awoke she was no more chained and was lying on the ground. The chains were near her, neatly cut. She slowly stood up and her eyes used to find the track of a lost sheep found a track that was not coming from a sheep. She followed it, easily, moving without any problem through the bushes and the trees, till she arrived to a sort a valley with steep rocky sides. Without any hesitation she went down the rocks: the track was going there too, leading her to a small round hole in a rock hill in the middle of the little valley. She slid into it, pushing on her elbows and knees to go faster. Soon she could stand up and a sort of unreal light was allowing her to see she was in what looked like... the main corridor of a house.
One by one she opened the doors after knocking. Nobody ever answered. There weren't that many doors, actually only three, and behind the second one, at the foot of a bed, she found a strange animal of the size of a big dog, undeniably very ugly, curled up on itself, moaning in pain, sometimes trying to lick a very bad wound on its vulnerable belly. Ivrian knew the animal had sensed her coming in, but she knew too it was far too much in pain to care - as long as she wasn't threatening it.
She slowly came toward it, uttering soft calming sounds, and put her hand on the beast's flank to see the wound. The animal looked at her; it eyes were intelligent, gentle, but filled with pain. Ivrian had the impression it was begging her to heal it. She didn't know what kind of animal it was, but she didn't care; she was used to spend more time with animals than with humans so she had gotten used to consider them as very good friends. She would not let this beast suffer if she could help it. She examined the wound carefully and then crawled out of the hole to fetch some herbs. Her sister was a witch, she had taught her the power of the plants and Ivrian had tested the powers of them on her father's flocks.
She had the impression it took her forever to find the plants. She needed water and she needed fire and a pot to boil the whole. She found the pot in the first room. As for water, she had looked around while gathering her plants and had found no trace whatsoever. She explored the rest of the hole and, at the deepest of it, she found a small source, which seemed to go nowhere, as if its only purpose was just to give water to whoever might happen to live in this hole. Ivrian didn't try to solve the mystery, she just filled her pot with water and hurried back to the second room.
The animal growled when seeing her back but once again her soothing humming calmed it down progressively. She crushed some plants between two rocks and put the powder into the boiling water. Ivrian knew how to make fire anytime, anywhere. While her preparation was boiling she took care of the other plants, ripping the hem of her dress so that she could clean the wound. Still humming, caressing the rough fur, she poured some sap from a plant on the wound; the animal winced, tried to bite her, then tried to escape her. She had to fight it back, pleading with her eyes, humming softly, till it accepted to lie down again, but only after leaving a bloody mark on her arm. She seemed not to care. She cleaned the wound again, with the decoction she had prepared and then she wrapped some plants on the wounds with the cloth coming from her dress. The beast, feeling the pain decrease, relaxed gradually and Ivrian, sitting on her heels, looked at it as if she was saying:
"So, it wasn't that terrible, was it?"
The animal turned the head away, as if disgusted. Ivrian smiled.
She would have wanted to explore the hole a bit more, but the beast was now trying to follow her each time she made a move toward the door, so she just sat next to it, her hand on its head - to its great contentment - and closed the eyes to relax. Progressively the beast's head moved to her lap and she circled its neck with her arms. Slowly she began to doze off, curled up on the ground, the beast snuggling against her. She opened an eye, saw the beast near her and had a sleepy smile.
"I'm going to call you Lionheart," she said softly.
The beast blinked, as if surprised to hear her speak, and then snuggled a bit more against her with what sounded like a sigh. She closed her eyes and gently fell asleep. The beast looked at her an instant and then closed its own golden eyes.
Ivrian opened her eyes after something that appeared to be five seconds; she was lying on the bed instead on the ground and the beast was curled up near her feet. She straightened up slightly on one elbow and looked around her. The room was very dark and she was more feeling the beast near her than seeing it.
"Welcome in my home, my lady," said the softest masculine voice she had ever heard. "My name is... Horus and I am the master of this place."
She started and tried to get up immediately.
"No, my lady, please stay. You are my guest. Thank you for tending for my pet."
"That was my pleasure, my lord. Please forgive me, I didn't know the place was occupied. I thought... I thought Lionheart... I mean, your pet, was the only one living here," she explained, sitting up on the bed, her arms coming around her legs.
"May I know your name, my lady?"
"I'm called Ivrian, Lord Horus. I sincerely apologise again for my intrusion in your home."
"Lady Ivrian, I beg of you, don't apologise anymore. Seeing you here is a joy for my pet and me, for we are so often lonely. A new face is thus always welcome. My pet seems to like you."
"He's an affectionate and faithful pet, Lord Horus. Does he have a name?"
"I'm afraid not. I'm used to call him 'pet' and he seemed to be happy this way."
"I took the liberty of naming him, for I didn't know he was yours."
"That's very considerate from you, my lady. He is not really considered to be a pet for a lady."
Ivrian looked down at the beast curled up at her feet, held out her hand toward him, putting it on his head, and then looked up toward the direction where the voice gave the impression to be coming from.
"Then either the others are wrong or I am not a lady, Lord Horus," she said at least.
The voice laughed softly.
"Lady Ivrian, if you are not a lady, then I have been out of the world for too long."
Ivrian was glad for the darkness hiding her blushing.
"It's very kind of you to say this, Lady Horus," she said softly.
"I'm sorry if I have embarrassed you, my lady," the voice apologised immediately. "It wasn't my intention at all. It shows only I am still as clumsy as I was long ago."
"You didn't embarrass me... that is, I mean, I usually live alone and do not receive such compliments. I'm afraid I am clumsy at receiving them."
"Living alone? You? How can this be possible? I would have thought that you... never mind."
Ivrian smiled discreetly, guessing what he was going to say. He changed the subject, asking her what she was doing before she came here. And so the usually quiet Ivrian answered and each question led to an answer and to another question till the night went by without Ivrian noticing it. To the voice's surprise she never asked to see him, nor how it was that he hadn't said a word before nightfall. Suddenly the voice said:
"My lady, you are probably terribly tired and I have been rude to the point of keeping you awake during the whole night on your first day in my home. I apologise sincerely for that."
"Lord Horus, please don't apologise, it's normal you took time to speak with a stranger in your house."
"Please, consider this house like yours," said the voice. "And now take the rest you deserve."
"Thank you, my lord," said gratefully Ivrian whose eyes were closing despite herself.
"Sleep well, my lady," said softly the voice as Ivrian was lying down again.
He didn't get any answer: she was already asleep. Lionheart raised up the head to look at her as the first sunbeam was lightening up a bit the dark room and then put his head back on her ankle, closing his eyes.
Ivrian awake brutally around noon, panicked, wondering how her father could have let her sleep so long when she had to take care of the beasts. She didn't recognise the surroundings and it added to her panic. Then the events of the previous day came back to her mind and she remembered having fallen asleep very late - or very early - while talking to a masculine voice. She noticed then her hand was clutching a blanket covering her and she realised she was feeling warm and comfortable. She had no remembrance of having put a blanket on herself before lying on the bed. Blushing, she thought that, maybe, the owner of the voice had put it on her himself.
"Lord Horus," she murmured to herself.
At those words an ugly head appeared near her feet and she recognised Lionheart. She smiled.
"You recognise the name of your master, don't you, Lionheart?" she said. "Alright, let's see that wound of yours..."
One could see she was still tired, and maybe hungry, for her hands were shaking ever so slightly, but she cared for Lionheart's wound first. This time he didn't fight her and though he was in pain, he didn't try to bite her again; he even licked gently the wound on her arm, as to apologise. His wound was very clean and didn't look half as bad as it was looking only the previous day.
"You are a fast healer, Lionheart," she commented while wrapping carefully the wound.
He put his head on her lap, begging for some caresses, which she gave him very willingly.
"Now, my friend," she whispered, "you will have to let me go, for I have to find someone... or something. I'm glad I could help you. Good-bye, Lionheart."
She stood up and walked toward the door. Lionheart followed her, half-crawling, half-walking, his faithful eyes never leaving her.
"No, Lionheart! You stay here. You are in no condition to follow me."
But he was obstinate and was trying desperately to straighten up so he could come with her. At the end, seeing him struggling so much, Ivrian helped him on his feet and he thanked her by licking her hand.
"You are not reasonable, Lionheart," she scolded him. "You should stay here, resting. I may encounter some dangers and you could get hurt again."
But she could read the answer in his golden eyes: he would be there for her if anything was threatening her, he would protect her at his life's cost.
"You are Lord Horus' pet, Lionheart, not mine. He is your master, he is the one you should protect. Not me."
He rubbed his head against her hand as if to say she could tell him everything she wanted, he wouldn't change his mind.
"Lionheart. The Gods inspired me when I named you," she said finally, giving up.
Her hand was already on the handle of the door when Lionheart uttered like a growl. She looked at him, surprised, waiting for him to explain his intervention. He delicately seized the hem of her dress - in a pitiful state since she was using it for bandaging him - and forced her to come back in the middle of the room. Then he turned his ugly nose toward a small table she hadn't even noticed and she understood his behaviour: a breakfast was waiting on the table. She looked back at Lionheart who wagged his lion-like tail, as to confirm her thoughts.
"Surely it's for Lord Horus," she protested weakly as her stomach growled loudly, reminding her painfully that she hadn't eaten the previous day already.
Lionheart slapped the ground with his tail, like in an angry gesture, and she got the meaning quickly.
"Alright, alright, I'm going to eat it..." she murmured.
She sat on the ground, making no manners, and ate the buttered bread and drank the whole cup of milk. She had the painful impression Lionheart wouldn't have let her get up if she hadn't finished what was on the table. He was seated next to her, but, as soon as she swallowed the last mouthful, he stood up, his tail wagging vigorously, showing clearly it was time to go out. Ivrian shook mentally the head, wondering when the things did get out of control.
She crawled out of the hole, followed by Lionheart. The bright light of the sun half-blinded her as she stood outside; in the hole, she could differentiate day from night, but that was all. She shielded her eyes from the sun with her hands and smiled to Lionheart who seems indifferent. Then Ivrian remembered why exactly she was outside: she wanted to find the monster she was supposed to have been given to. She wondered if her 'sacrifice' had brought peace to her town like they were hoping and if they had sacrificed someone else in case it hadn't. She sadly thought of Oceane, whose sacrifice had seemed to calm down the monster; obviously it had been a hazard.
She was wandering in the little valley around the rock hill. No other tracks than the ones she had already followed and which were obviously Lionheart's. Then she had to go back to the place where she had been chained. She briefly wondered who had cut her chains. While heading over there she said softy to Lionheart:
"Who cut my chains? Is it you? Your claws are certainly powerful enough, but your wound should have prevented you to. Could it be Lord Horus? Then why would he leave me there, instead of waking me up? And why didn't I find other tracks than yours?"
Then she noticed something strange: her chains were gone. It couldn't be Lionheart, since he had never left her since she had found him - or did he while she was asleep? No, certainly not, the poor beast had already enough trouble walking with her ready to help him without trying to escape in the morning to hide chains. Then it was the proof someone else had come here. Maybe it was someone from her town, who had retrieved the proof she was dead. Or maybe it was the monster she had been given to... Or, again, maybe it was Lord Horus. Nothing was making sense.
She studied carefully the ground again, while Lionheart was cocking his head in utter perplexity. She found no tracks whatsoever, except one, so light she almost didn't see it, which looked like Lionheart's paw, but twice bigger. That simply puzzled her. She compared it with an old mark from Lionheart and after some verification, she had to conclude it was indeed Lionheart's. But how did it reach that size? The beast whimpered next to her, as if he was unhappy because she was not caring for him. She absent-mindedly put her hand on his head, scratching behind his ears, but her eyes never left this single track.
She looked around, but didn't find any other. So she looked up, in the trees, and she was ready to climb into one when Lionheart stopped her, sinking his fangs in her dress, missing her leg from an inch.
"Lionheart, no! There is no danger, I'm used to climb in trees!"
But no matter what, no matter how she pleaded over and over, Lionheart refused to listen. He even growled at her quite viciously and she was reminding that even though he was hurt, his fangs were still as long as her fingers and that, well, he might be Lord Horus's pet, it didn't make him her pet and still she didn't know what kind of man Lord Horus was. For all she knew he might be a man who loved to have ferocious beasts for pets. After all, didn't he say that Lionheart was hardly a pet for a lady?
She thoughtfully looked down at Lionheart. There was no point denying he was ugly beyond imagination. Sometimes ladies had ugly beasts for pets, but usually they were fluffy, tiny things that the ladies could laugh at and pretend that they took the ugly beast only out of pity for its ugliness. Lionheart's head reached up past her hip and she knew that he could knock her on the ground without any problem and he wouldn't certainly like to be laughed at. She didn't think either he would let anybody choose him; he would choose himself someone.
Lionheart was still looking at her, defiance in his golden eyes, his white fangs bared. She shrugged and went away from the tree. Immediately he came trotting by her side, rubbing his head against her hip, the chops once again hiding the fangs. Ivrian mentally sighed. She wasn't freer now than when she was chained. She thought gloomily that Lionheart would make a wonderful gaoler. She wondered if in fact she had found the monster she had been given to and if Lionheart was watching over her for him.
She looked over and over, walked in the forest the whole day long, picking berries on her path when she got a bit hungry. No noise of the forest around her frightened her: she knew that nobody would dare to defy Lionheart, even if he was hurt. She was used to be outside, though she had never spent so long in the forest, but her feet used to climb the rocks where a sheep or a goat had gone found the paths of the forest quickly quite familiar.
She searched and searched, trying to find the lair of the monster she had been given to. She didn't really want to die but she thought he didn't matter anyway. Oceane and Anilda had died by that monster, she could die by it as well. She was exhausted but stubbornly she kept going. She didn't care anymore. As the day was almost over though, Lionheart began to become agitated and tried to lead her back to his own lair. She thought that probably his wound was hurting him and he wanted to rest but she wanted to find the monster and know at last what fate had in store for her.
At a crossing, one of the paths was leading back to Lord Horus's and the other was leading away from it. Almost absent-mindedly Ivrian took the second one; Lionheart stood in front of her and growled, baring his fangs again. Ivrian glared at him.
"Let me go, Lionheart!" she said fiercely. "My fate is none of your concern."
The sun was setting, night falling brutally, and it seemed to her that the glowing golden eyes had become fiercer and brighter. The darkness surrounding her almost frightened her for the first time ever. It was as if an unknown danger was threatening her. She thought that maybe the monster was here, waiting for her, and a strange relief swept through her. She stepped forward. Lionheart's shadow seemed to grow excessively and he jumped on her. She uttered a small cry when seeing the shining fangs only inches from her face, stepped back and stumbled on a root. She fell, her head hitting hard the ground, and she lost conscience.
She opened her eyes and didn't know where she was. She straightened up brutally, not liking this feeling of being lost. She looked around her; it was dark but her eyes quickly got used to the darkness and she recognised the room at Lord Horus's. Somehow Lionheart had brought her back here. He moaned gently at the foot of her bed and she couldn't decide if she was angry with him or not. She stood up and Lionheart led her to the table where she had found the breakfast in the morning. This time there was a dinner there and it was still warm. Ivrian, too tired to ask questions, ate the food and then lay again on the bed, curled up under the blanket.
"Good evening, Lady Ivrian," the soft voice greeted her.
"Good evening, Lord Horus," she replied.
There wasn't much warmth in her voice but then she had gotten used to sound indifferent.
"I have to apologise for my... err... Lionheart's behaviour. He somehow got very concerned with your security at night and you would oblige both him and me if you would be kind enough to be back here before sunset."
"Am I your prisoner then, Lord Horus?"
The voice sounded chagrined.
"Ah, my lady! There isn't any door here to keep you locked up but the forest isn't safe at night."
"Are you speaking of the monster?" Ivrian asked bluntly.
"The monster?" said the voice, surprised.
"The one I was sacrificed to."
"I am afraid I do not understand, my lady. You were looking for the monster? You thus wish to die?"
"I don't care, my lord. My sisters died by it, I can as well. My death is supposed to appease the monster and thus it will stop to attack people of my town."
"My lady, please believe me when I say that no death whatsoever could appease the monster and certainly not the one of such an innocent young maiden like you."
"Do you know the monster then, my lord?"
"If I could, my lady, I would have put it out of harm."
Ivrian forgot her righteous anger at the thought she was sort of prisoner of Lord Horus as the night was going by; she talked with Lord Horus - or rather, listened to him, for she was of a silent nature - and his soft voice could be by turns amusing or very serious. Once again she fell asleep only at dawn, exhausted by her day of fruitless search and by the night spent talking.
The following days were on the same pattern. She would awake around noon, still a little panicked, wondering how she could have slept so late, and then, recognising where she was, she would go out to look for the monster. Lionheart's wound healed nicely and he was even more protective than ever. At nightfall, no matter her protestations, she would have to go back to Lord Horus's and Lionheart didn't hesitate to force her to go back. It happened sometimes that his behaviour really angered them but each time, Lord Horus's sad voice made her anger vanish like snow under the sun.
She explained that sometimes she would like to see the moon and the stars and Lord Horus replied he understood perfectly but that Lionheart's behaviour by night was not to be trusted. Lionheart was sort of cursed and night could make him very dangerous. Ivrian's presence calmed him but it was safer still for them to be both back inside rather than outside. Lionheart knew how to behave inside. Other than that, he was as gentle as a lamb.
Except for this problem with Lionheart at nightfall, Ivrian quite enjoyed her life at Lord Horus's. Implicitly she knew she couldn't return home but she didn't know why she was staying. Lord Horus seemed to enjoy her presence and their conversations at night were always interesting. It was obvious that Lord Horus led quite a secluded life for there were several things that surprised him when they shouldn't have. But he was always trying to be courteous and his conversations were interesting. Ivrian couldn't forget the monster that she should have been given to but somehow she managed to think of it less and less often.
After a while Oceane had had enough. Anilda was with her but she couldn't resolve herself to wait for Ivrian. Too many things could happen and she knew her little sister enough to know Ivrian wouldn't fight. She would rather present her neck to the executioner. Oceane begged Morzel over and over and he finally surrendered to her - maybe because during the year Oceane had spent in his town he hadn't been indifferent to her.
To be continued...
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