"Is it blood? Are you hurt?" I asked as I got closer to him. Though the sun was setting, the lights from the lamps in my room allowed me to see his body clearly.
Though wary, the eagle did not fly when I approached. Just as I was about to reach out to him, he took small steps back but hesitantly stayed still when my finger touched his feathers. When I was sure he would not fly away, my hand lowered, and I observed that there was a tiny wound on his leg, at the outside of his claw fold.
"I have a magic medicine for you. If you take it, it will be healed in no time. Let me get it for you." I turned to go to the dresser inside my room as I continued to talk. "Martha gave me this magic medicine, but it's of no use for me." My voice lowered as I mumbled, "As if I can even go somewhere to hurt myself."
I pulled out a small silk pouch from one of my drawers and returned to the waiting eagle. There were small silver round pills inside, which shone, unlike normal medicine. I pulled out one pill and offered it on my palm to the eagle.
There was no movement from the eagle. The majestic bird didn't seem to trust me nor the medicine.
"It shines because it has a magic spell on it. Eat it," I cooed patiently and put that pouch in the pocket of my dress.
Slowly, the eagle picked it up with his beak. I smiled gently, wanting to pet it. "You still haven't told me if you are a male or female."
The moment I said those words, the eagle fled in a hurry again. I could only pout.
As usual, I ate the food he brought before resuming my boring studies. However, when the words started to blur together, and my eyes turned heavy, I knew it was time for me to rest. After changing into my nightgown and turning down the light from the lamps, I dove into my bed and fell asleep in no time.
Tung!
Tung!
The sound from the bell hung at my gate disturbed my sleep.
"Again?" I sighed.
Every night since Martha left, I had been hearing the sounds of a bell ringing, but I didn't dare step out of my bedchamber to go out of the tower and check who my visitor was.
Because of the countless experiences I had when I was a kid, I couldn't trust anyone. What if people were waiting for me to come out of the tower and try to harm me? Without Martha, how could I know it was safe to interact with people?
Pretending to be deaf once more, I ignored the sound and covered my entire body with the quilt.
However, unlike other nights, the bell rang without a stop.
"Ahh!"
"Did someone just scream?" My ears turned alert, and when I heard a scream again, I pulled the quilt away.
"Ahh!"
A line of sweat appeared on my forehead. "W-what is it?"
The scream seemed to be coming nearby, maybe just outside the walls of my place. Although it was terrifying, it worried me whatever or whoever was causing it. Someone might need my help.
Was it one of the guards manning the gate? Both? Were they hurt?
I took a deep breath as I steeled myself to check outside. A peek wouldn't hurt, right? After grabbing an outer robe to cover my nightgown, I took one of my lamps and exited my bedchamber. It was dark inside the tower as no one was there to lighten the fire torches. It was a relief that due to the moonlight coming inside the tower through those few windows on each floor, it didn't feel that scary.
When I reached the ground floor, there was no longer any sound of screaming.
'Was it my imagination?' I thought and looked at the tower's main entrance.. 'Perhaps they already received help?'
I wanted to check just to make sure. Holding my breath, I went ahead and finally stepped out of the tower. I looked around, and everything was calm as if nothing was different compared to all the other nights. Under the moonlight, my flower garden seemed ethereal.
From the corners of my eyes, I noticed a large yet weirdly-shaped shadow on the ground. I went closer, only to hear something like a liquid dripping on the ground. When I raised my head, I didn't realize I had already approached one of the large trees near the gate. My eyes widened as if they would pop out.
"AHH!!!"
I stepped back, only to stumble across a rock and fall on the ground. The lamp in my hand broke.
Smash!
Crack!
As I continued to scream, sounds of glass shattering enveloped not only my tower but also the entire royal palace.
"AHHH!!!"
Even when I saw all the windows of my tower break and the deafening sounds of glass breaking entered my ears, I could not help but scream some more.
Chaos. There was pure chaos outside the walls of my residence. But how could I pay attention to anything around me when all I wanted at this moment was to get away from this terrible, terrible sight?
"Martha!" I called helplessly. With tears in my eyes, I tried to crawl my way back towards the tower.
Behind me, there were mutilated bodies of two men hanging on the tree, fresh blood dripping out of their bodies.
As the lamp I brought with me was broken, I could only run in the dark inside the tower. My feet and knees were hurt as I stumbled, but it couldn't stop me from running towards the safety of my room.
All I could think was to hide myself.
The image of the mutilated bodies would not go away. It reminded me of those ghosts I saw when? I was younger, that time when I tried to escape and Martha saved me.
However, even though I hid myself under the cover of a thick quilt, unwanted memories continued to haunt me. I could only stay curled in bed, shivering in a cold sweat and choking in tears.
Soon, I heard the sound of rain and I knew my tears were the reason. My scream could destroy things, and my weeping could cause rain. These curses had long damned me to never allow myself to show my true feelings.
However, at this moment, my tears would not stop.
'Martha, where are you? Please come back. Please...'