Spear Of Retribution

Holding an arrow in hand, Geraldine stretches the string upon seeing a deer meters away from her. The deer are eating leaves peacefully and minding its own business. 

Silently taking a step forward, Geraldine aimed the arrow towards the deer and release it with force, hitting the deer on the thigh. It tried to run away but Geraldine hit the deer's thigh twice before it completely laid on the ground, scared for its life.

"I'm sorry, I just need food for my pets," she whispered while caressing the head of the frightened deer, it tried to run away but failed and could only accept its given faith.

Geraldine raised her hand and all her butterflies appear from above, "My Paru-paru's, feast on the meal I give you."

As soon as she said those sentences, the butterflies instantly flocked towards the deer and tear down its flesh. Geraldine could only sit in the log as she stares at the butterflies.

She finds it funny as some animals nearby run away from the location as if they felt a predator's presence, "Funny, how a butterfly that seemed harmless can tear down the flesh by mere seconds."

Geraldine hunted two more animals for her butterflies to feel full and satisfied and slowly they vanished into thin air.

Going back to the house, Geraldine started planting the harmful and poisonous seeds in her basement. She doesn't know how many hours she spent there but when she came out, it's already night time and Aurelie and Alexjin are already in the house.

"Master," Alexjin greeted her then takes out something from his pocket, "I've seen this posted everywhere."

Geraldine unfolds the two posters. One is about finding Alexjin as some nobles wanted to hire him as a knight and the other one is about Geraldine. Macum, the leader and headteacher of the knights, is searching for her and the reasons are unknown.

"Wow, I never thought that they will move that fast," Geraldine chuckled while folding back the poster and gives it to Alexjin, "Are you interested to become a knight?"

Alexjin looked at her in the eyes, "Master, I don't have any interest in being someone else knight if that means that I no longer serve you."

Geraldine chuckled and turned around to leave, but Alexjin held her back.

"Master, I'm worried about you. They might be looking for me but they won't find me since my hair is originally silver, but they saw your real face and can easily find you when you went out from the house," Alexjin pressed his lips in a thin line as he waited for his master's response.

"I'll think about it," smiling at him, Geraldine walked away.

***

One month has passed since then, Geraldine has been keeping her identity discreet and made sure that nobody would know where they lived. She has been wearing a black wig if she went out to go to the market.

The search for Alexjin has died down and he is seen as the winner that vanished with nowhere to be seen as if he didn't exist at all.

As for Geraldine, Macum stopped posting posters about the search for her which is a relief but then she heard gossips from the town that the Gauthier family will be visiting Bagyoo town for business matters.

Hearing this makes her blood pressure increased as she became suspicious. Bagyoo town is at the far end of the South and it's only a small town that contains few nobles living around.

After a few days, news spread that a fancy carriage arrived and the 2nd son of the Gauthier family came only by himself, that's how Geraldine conclude that he came there, not because for any business matters with the other nobles but to find her and make her life miserable like always.

"Gawd, now I forget if I told them that I'm living in Bagyoo town or not," Geraldine wracks her brain to remember if she has ever mentioned the name of the town but no matter how she thinks about it. She can't remember any.

"Ah, I think, I shall stay in the house as long as he is here," Geraldine nibbled on her nails as she watered her plants that have been growing healthily now.

Geraldine also discovered that one of the seeds is a plant that can erase any levels of pain a person is feeling and she planned on using it for Aurelie.

Base on the past, Aurelie died while screaming in pain that got Alexjin traumatized as well. She has been screaming and feeling extreme pain for five days before she died. Alexjin was going crazy about how he can make the pain stop, but no matter how he finds a solution, it bears nothing as he watches his mother died in front of him with a letter in hand.

Now, Geraldine wanted to make it grow healthier and used it by the time Aurelie will take her last breath.

"Master."

Hearing Alexjin's voice, Geraldine looked up to see a man holding a glass of juice and handed it to her.

"Master, you've been working in the garden for a while now," He said and grabbed the bucket from her hand and water the plants instead.

"I have nothing else to do," Geraldine sits on the grass while looking at the leaves fluttering in the wind.

"Well, you can train me in other things aside from using a sword-like book stuff," Alexjin suggested, as he's eager to know more about the Empire and its system.

Geraldine looked at him for a while and sighs loudly. She has been drained and loses interest in life. If Alexjin didn't offer another training to her, she'll just let him be, as she has other stuff to think of.

"I'll tell you a story instead," Geraldine puts down the glass as her mind wandered.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman who was adored by all, not because of her beauty but also for her magic. She's a fire element user and was held as the best on it and one day, the Emperor took interest in her and she became one of the concubines. She was hated by the other wives of the Emperor and treated like a stranger. She was all alone, the Emperor gives her attention for a bit but time passes by, she became a piece of old news as the Emperor finds another beauty," Geraldine paused and looked at him and seeing that he's listening well, she continued.

"The palace life becomes a prison to her with no escape so she did something that wasn't supposed to be practiced. She learned the 'black magic' and you know that it's a taboo in the Empire and if someone will know that you're learning it. You are done for life!" She continued.

"That woman is strong enough to learn the spells and enchantments of the black magic secretly but because the wives of the Emperor are jealous and hate her. They would plant spies among the servants to report everything she's doing every day."

"Not all secrets will remain secrets and one day that woman was caught doing black magic by a servant and reported it to their master. Then, the wives set up a plan and tell the Emperor about her beloved wife became a black magic user and wanting to curse the palace."

"The Emperor believed them without looking much deeper and sentenced his ex-wife to exilation from the main city where the heart of the Empire is located. She was supposed to be beheaded as it's the rule of the Empire but she still has noble blood, that is why they choose to let her live."

"That woman is from a higher nobility and her family could at least aid her financially, but they choose to disown her and take away her last name. That woman lived in a faraway land as a commoner but they didn't know that she's carrying the child of the Emperor. Nobody knew about it but as the saying goes, 'no secrets can remain hidden forever' and one day, the Emperor knew he has a son from his ex-wife and force him to live in the palace with him and trained him to become a prince."

"The End."

Geraldine smiled at him after she finished the story, which left Alexjin confused.

"Master, I don't understand. Where is the mother when the son was taken to the palace?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowing together.

She could only look at him with pity and kept her mouth close that the reason why the mother wasn't there is that she's died and she doesn't want Alexjin to know about it. Geraldine knows that he's clever and someday, he would know that the story she's telling today is the story of Aurelie and him.

"Well, I don't know Alexjin. She might be in a better place. Away from this wretched world, she used to live in."