The Vampire & Her Witch-Chapter 740: The Earth Wept (Part One)

Cold rain poured down on Ashlynn, pattering off the wide brim of her sturdy War Hat before running down to splatter against the metal of her chain armor. The thick gambeson she wore underneath the coat of mail kept the water from reaching her skin, but even the layers of tightly woven fabric could do nothing to warm her shivering soul.

She didn’t know how long she’d been moving through the forest, only that the sun had set a number of hours ago and she had moved beyond the walls of the Vale of Mists as she headed in the direction of Lothian March, drawing closer to it than she had been in more than half a year since her infiltration of the Summer Villa.

Her eyes barely noticed the forest around her while her mind sank deep into contemplation, replaying years of conversations and shared moments with her sister as though they were the tails of an instrument of penance that she used to savagely beat her own soul.

"Father thinks I should marry into the Wayfinders Guild, but I hate the idea of turning into some kind of trophy for a wealthy trader..." -WHIP-

"I just got home from Lady Nessa’s birthday party, and I brought you a..." -WHIP-

"I overheard Mother and Father talking last night, and you have to promise not to tell them I told you, but..." -WHIP-

Each memory cut deeper and deeper until tears flowed down Ashlynn’s cheeks like rain, as if her wide-brimmed hat could do nothing to keep the storm from reaching her.

"Why?" Ashlynn sobbed as she staggered through the darkness, stumbling over loose stones and slipping on the damp earth as she pushed herself to move ever closer to Lothian territory. "Why couldn’t you just tell me that you wanted him? I would have stepped aside for you," she said, stumbling to the ground as tears blurred her vision.

She’d pleaded with her parents to stop trying to force Jocelynn into a marriage she didn’t want, but she’d never imagined her sister would decide that the marriage she truly wanted was the one that Ashlynn had only reluctantly accepted. Their father saw her marriage to Owain as the answer to their prayers, but in reality, Owain was the furthest thing from a blessing from the Heavenly Shores.

"You can’t even protect yourself from him," she said as she slumped to the earth, allowing the rain to pour over her as her head hung low. "I would have helped you to find someone better than Owain, someone like Ollie if you needed a brave and gentle knight, or someone like Thane if you wanted a real hero, or... Or anyone who would make you happy."

"It’s my fault," she said bitterly, slamming a hand covered by a metal gauntlet into the sodden earth. "It’s my fault for letting you think Owain was a good man. I shouldn’t have hidden so much. If I hadn’t put on such a brave face... if I’d let you know the kind of person he really was... would it have changed anything?"

"Or would you have thought I was lying to console you?" Ashlynn wondered aloud. "Would you even have believed me? Or would you have fallen all over him because he pretends so well until it’s too late to escape his clutches?"

"DAMN YOU OWAIN!" Ashlynn shouted, screaming so loudly her throat felt like it was tearing from the pain in her cry. "DAMN YOU FOR DOING THIS TO US!"

Just days ago, she’d wished her sister could have been there to see how happy she was dancing with Nyrielle at their betrothal celebration. She’d imagined her sister dancing with Ollie when the music started or laughing and giggling as Ashlynn introduced her to Georg’s delicate pastries and refined dishes. She’d thought about how much better it would have been to have Jocelynn at her side, where she could keep her safe from Owain...

"Damn you, Jocey, why? Why did you have to be the one to put a knife in my back?" Ashlynn sobbed as her right hand repeatedly struck the soft mud beside her. "I HATE YOU FOR THIS!" freeweɓnovel-cøm

She wanted to lash out. She wanted to take her armored fist and slam it into her sister’s body again and again and again until Jocelynn knew even a fraction of the helplessness and agony she’d felt when Owain discovered her secret. She wanted to break her sister’s beautiful face until the man she’d betrayed her sister for could only look at her with horror and revulsion, and she wanted to see the pain and hurt in her sister’s eyes when Owain turned on her because she wasn’t perfect anymore.

The storm around her grew fiercer, and thunder rippled through the clouds above as if the skies themselves could feel her pain. Bright white light flooded her vision, followed a moment later by a -CRACK- -BOOM- as a bolt of lightning split the sky less than a thousand paces away. Moments later, a soft, reddish glow could be seen through the trees as one of the silent sentinels of the forest cracked in two and burst into flames.

"I hate you," Ashlynn whispered in a tone that was dark and venomous. "I hate you and I hate that I still love you too," she said as sobs shook her body. "I hate that he did this to us but... But if it hadn’t been him, would you have betrayed me anyway?"

"Have I been lying to myself all these years?" Ashlynn asked, staring up at the sky and allowing the rain to wash over her face as her hat tumbled from her head to land beside her. "Were you lying to me all this time?"

"WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE COME WITH ISABELL?" Ashlynn shouted at the sky as anger overwhelmed the pain in her heart. "WHY COULDN’T YOU BE HERE NOW TO ANSWER ME?"

"And why.... Why do I still want to hear your answer so badly," she said, clutching at fistfuls of soft soil as tremors wracked her body. "Why do I even care why you did what you did?"

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