Dust

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Ellie’s wings fluttered as she fantasized about what might be the source of that change. Her anxious wings managed to raise her from her seat and lean her up against the window of the hut. Only a single candle beside her lit the entire space. It wasn’t nearly enough light but it was all they had.

Days had passed since then. The warm summer breeze blew through the folds in her dress. The fireflies danced across the sky and the crickets kept tempo. Anyone else would have appreciated its beauty, but Ellie’s eyes were stuck on that cabin.

“Don’t even think about it,” her father ordered. “Last thing we need is to clean up another one of your messes.”

“I wasn’t going to—”

“Yes. You were.” His next words came as a warning, “I’m out of favors, my dear.”

“Haven’t you ever wondered, Papa? About the lives of the tall ones?” she asked, but her father paid her no mind. She moved across him so she'd be within view where he sharpened his blade. “I know you can hear me!”

He said nothing as he stood out of his chair. Its legs screeched over the floor, the hut was otherwise silent. Ellie’s father lunged at her, pinning her against the dirt wall, and pierced the blade within an inch from her ear. Ellie studied the crossed hem of the handle and the clear gem at the end. “I heard you.” He glared into her eyes for what Ellie felt to be hours. Another warning. And with nothing else, he walked off, “Night has come, let’s get to work.”

***

They’d been gone for several hours. The sun crept its way back up, above the horizon. When they returned, Ellie’s father slammed the front door so hard that it immediately recoiled and he had to force it away once more, stomping through the space of their tiny hut. He dropped the bloodied dagger onto the table and removed all his blood-soiled clothing. “I’ll be washing in the lake. Clean up this mess,” he gestured to the general area. Ellie limped into the chair just in time as her ankle gave out. Her father stared at her for a moment then gestured a finger into his face and neck as he left, “You’ve got some blood.”

By the time her father had returned, it was early morning and Ellie had made it as though their crimes had never happened. “Dinner is nearly ready,” Ellie announced.

“Don’t think you’re eating tonight.”

“You think it was my fault things didn’t go exactly to plan?” She turned slightly, but enough to trigger her ankle’s injury.

“Did I say that?”

Ellie pouted her lips over the stew. She knew better than to add anything to the conversation. She served her father's stew and they went to bed.

***

Ellie blinked open her eyes to find it was already noon the next day. The curtains were drawn to prevent light from coming inside, so they could sleep until dark, but Ellie had woken anyway from the pain in her leg. She massaged it with light pressured fingers, being sure to avoid pushing against the swollen injury directly. It didn’t help with the pain but it made her feel better nonetheless. Her father was completely still beside her. Nothing moving but the breath in his lungs. Completely unaware that she was watching him. This was it. She slipped her arm under the bed and returned with her father’s dagger in hand. Planted there by her when she had cleaned earlier.

This man sleeping beside her, she would never be free until she was free of him. Every night they wake to find a pixie noble to kill. Papa said killing a noble with this dagger he got from the pixie witch would give him some special power. But the nobles were too powerful, every night they’d come back bruised and bloodied with nothing to show. The nobles even put up a bounty to take them out, dead or alive. The reward for their capture was 2o,000 gringles. Ellie couldn't even imagine what to do with so much money. She wouldn’t be able to claim the reward, anyway. She couldn’t risk them recognizing her. But it wasn’t about the gringles. It was about her freedom. Severing the metaphorical chains that tied her to this place. It had to be done.

She raised her arm slowly, careful not to make a sudden sound. She leaned forward an inch, and then another, for the weight she’d need to pierce the dagger all the way through to his heart. She went to strike when she heard the crackle of twigs coming from outside. She stared at it a few moments, and then came two knocks. And then one. And then three. She limped over on her toes to open the curtain when a black figure lunged at her. She slashed the knife in awkward movements before surrendering a step back to see the tail of a raven flying away from her.

Ellie let out a shaky breath, adrenaline still heavy in her veins, “Damn bird.”

“What are you doing with that?” A deep hushed voice spoke against the nape of her neck.

Ellie filled her shock into a tight clasp around the dagger. “I heard something outside.”

“You are not ever to wield this dagger.” He forced the blade out of Ellie’s hand, slicing her palm. She bit her lip to numb the pain, too terrified to move. She only stood there listening to her blood hit the floor.

***

Nightfall came soon enough and it was time to go out again. The crickets chirped against the black sky again, but the breeze was colder tonight. It sent a chill down Ellie’s spine. She rubbed her shoulders trying to warm herself, but she couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling she was getting in her gut.

They traveled farther this time. Ellie’s father had caught word of a noble in the Cassava region, nearly a two-hour walk from their charred sycamore tree hut. That’s where the renegades of the Sycamore region were condemned to live. In ashes and dust. These Cassava roots were smaller than their trees by far. Ellie wondered how they could manage to live under these. Or maybe things were different here.

“Quiet!” Her father stopped her in her tracks. A Cassavan Pixie was close and by the looks of their armor, they were a Noble. He walked slowly with his chest to the sky. His face hadn't known laughter in years. And he was twice Ellie’s size. “These nobles are stronger than the other enemies we’ve faced. They’re known for their resilience so don’t expect them to go down easy.”

“Then why are we here?” For sure her father was losing his mind, it didn’t make any sense. “What makes you think we can take them on? We haven't even managed to beat any of the other—”

“Quiet,” he said as loud as he could in a whisper, and tightened a grip around Ellie’s throat quicker than she could dodge it. “Do not question your father.”

This was the last straw, at this rate he would get them killed. She threw out her miniature dagger and slashed his arm. The blade was no longer than her hand but the blow hit deep enough to make him squawk.

“You little shit! You wanna end up like your mother, then fine.” He raised the dagger at Ellie but before he could take a swing, the noble from earlier had pulled up behind him and grabbed his wrist. Clenching tighter, Ellie heard a loud crack and the dagger fell to the floor at her feet. Her father screamed words in agony that she didn't understand before the Cassavan pinned him to the floor, covering his face in mud.

Ellie grabbed the dagger and made a run for it. Immediately a second, taller Cassavan grabbed her from her shirt growling in her face. His beady yellow eyes stared deep into hers before head budding her to the ground. Her head flushed and rang with pain. She could feel her forehead swelling. When she opened her eyes, she was on the floor and the taller Cassavan was picking up her father's dagger. She looked around for her father, but all she found was a bloodied corpse in his place. His lifeless eyes were still open staring at her, telling her to get away. There was still blood running down from his mouth. “We’ll take this one alive,” The taller one said in her direction, “We’re not in the business of killing women or children.”

The way he said that made Ellie feel a thousand times smaller, “I’m not a child!” She rebutted, but to no avail. No one was listening.

***

That night they had tied Ellie’s wrists behind her back and taken some more rope to pin her to the ground so she faced the sky. Despite her pathetic state, she found herself appreciating the bright stars as they flickered, each in their own time.

Moments had passed when the bushes to her right waved at her, slowly at first, then more violent before the taller Cassavan jumped out at them. She tried to get up but she was still pinned to the floor. She looked at him and he stared at her. Neither of them said anything. He continued to stand there breathing heavily, his eyes studied her up and down and Ellie lost her patience. “What!”

“Shhh!” He got on his knees and came up to her face. “We don’t want them to hear us.”

Maybe he was letting her go, Ellie thought. “What are you doing,” Whispering to him this time.

“I was glad to hear you’re not a child,” the Cassavan grinned.

“Why do you care?” Ellie still struggled against her binds.

“I have my reasons.”

Changing the subject, “Listen to me, they have the wrong Sycama Pixie. I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

“Oh? Who says we’re looking for any pixie? Perhaps we’re just defending our land.”

“What threat am I to you?” She argued.

“Then explain the dagger we found,” he tested her.

“I didn’t know that man. I was just passing through your region back home to the Sycamore region. We just happened to meet. You saw me, didn’t you? He would’ve killed me if you hadn’t come to my rescue.” He flicked his finger against a tight measure of rope and said nothing. Ellie watched trying to read his ques. “Are you gonna let me go or not?” She snapped.

He scoffed, “Why would I do that?” He came closer again so that his body was fully on top of her, planting a knee on either side of her. He caressed Ellie’s neck and his hot breath sunk deep into her as he whispered into her ear. “You scream, I kill you.” She whimpered softly trying not to scream, but he forced her mouth shut anyway with his hand. He made no attempt to be gentle. Only glared deep into her with those beady yellow eyes, that she found herself stuck staring back at him. It made her skin crawl.

He left her there once finished, still pinned to the ground unable to move, stuck staring at that black sky, which appeared much darker than before. Her chest tightened and she cried for the first time in years that night.

***

At first light, they were on the road back to the Sycamore region where they would collect their reward. They were nearly there. Ellie picked up her feet just enough to keep up with the Cassavans. Her legs struggled to function as they should, still feeling that Cassavan noble’s arms all over her. His eyes flashed in her mind and her legs gave out for a moment before she could recollect them.

“Don’t go feeling so sorry for yourself.” The shorter of the two Cassavans poked. “You brought this on yourself. What did you expect, living the life you chose?”

He was talking about the bounty, “I didn’t choose it.”

“Then why were you living it?”

Ellie didn’t have an answer she looked at the floor and the Cassavan saw this to be answer enough.

As he walked away Ellie spotted the dagger strapped to his side.

She walked up behind him, only measuring up half his height, and kicked him right behind the knee. As he went down she lunged for the dagger. Finally, she turned around and cut herself free from the rope, but before she could get a grasp of the dagger, the taller Cassavan went for her. “Don’t touch me!” She screamed, but he didn't listen. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” she screamed again. She pulled into him and took out a chuck of his neck with her teeth. Her mouth was small but it managed to create enough damage to send his blood flowing out like a stream of piss.

Finally, she had the dagger in hand. The shorter Cassavan regained his balance but when he lunged for her she was ready this time, piercing right under his ribs turning up with all her strength, “Gaaahh!”

He fell clumsily to the floor. His knee broke his fall first, then his elbow, before he finished his fall with his head. Ellie could hear his lungs filling with blood. She watched him drown.

As he struggled to move for her she remembered what her father said: Killing a noble with this dagger will give the wielder great power.

She wondered if her father was just a senile old man with wishful thoughts or if there was some truth to what he said. As she watched the gargling Cassavan take his last breaths, the gem of the dagger filled red. Ellie looked down at herself. Still had her arms and legs, still felt as small and fragile as ever. So then, her father was crazy after all. But she couldn't stop to think about that. The local Sycamas heard the commotion and they were on their way.

Ellie struggled to pick up her feet. They were like iron under her skin. She ran as fast as she could but she was moving in slow motion. She looked at the dagger and noticed her arm was leaving a haze of color as a trail. The sky darkened into black, she could hardly see six feet in front of her. Her surroundings had changed as well. The green shrubs and sycamore tree roots had disappeared and in their place were charred oak trees still smoking from the fire that burned them. A raven sat on one of the branches beside her, staring down in judgment.

Ellie backed away slowly, she turned around a Cassavan pixie stood his belly two inches from her nose, “Ahh!” She fell back to the floor, quickly reclaiming the dagger and pointing it at him. It was that same one she had killed. The raven cawed behind her twice, then once, then three times. A swarm of ravens quickly ascended above her out of nowhere, they circled her from above waiting. “What! What do you want?” Her heart raced in her chest and her adrenaline shot through her veins. She steadied her shaky arms as best as she could to hold up the dagger, but they continued their violent shake.

The Ravens began to descend toward her, “Ahh!” She screamed. They pecked at her from all sides, taking bits and pieces of her flesh. Her body was on fire. She swung her arm at them, taking out a few at a time. As they fell, they turned to dust. After a few slashes, they broke away from her, leaving her in her broken state. A quarter of her face was gone. The birds had taken bites from all around. Even with her mouth closed, her teeth and jaw remained exposed, along with a portion of her eye, ribs, and thigh. All exposed.

“GAAAAAAA!” Ellie screamed out again in unspeakable pain. Her salty tears and attempted nursing stung her dirty wounds.

Did you think this power would come free? A voice spoke out. It came from no particular direction. Until next time…

And immediately she was back in the light. Her missing body portions had turned into stone. She only had a few seconds before the villagers were on top of her. They tried to restrain her and call for help, but a single slash of the dagger took out three pixies immediately. She slashed at her right, her left, then behind her. It wasn’t long before they were all still corpses around her. It had all happened so fast she didn't have time to think.

She felt the heavy weight in her legs once again. She looked at her arms to find the colored haze and then she was in the dark. The birds pecked at her repeatedly, taking more bits out of her than the last time. And again she was back in front of the corpses she had left behind. This time the stone took the place of her face and most of her body, leaving only a slit of her mouth, two out of her four wings, and half her arms and legs. The only thing Ellie could think to do was run.

***

She couldn’t go back to the hut, they’d find her there in no time at all. Ellie moved her wings as fast and hard as she could up the roots of the sycamore tree. But it wasn’t long before her strength left her.

“Ahh!” she cried. The nerves in her back tightened with her wings. She continued to flutter them but it was no use. Their strength had gone and she was falling. She reached out, skinning what was left of her body, trying to get a grasp of the bark, until finally, she caught herself on a splinter. She would have to climb from here.

She climbed until she found refuge on a low branch sticking out of the tree. She laid there, weak and shaky, trying to catch her breath. Her lungs had grown sore from all the running. Ellie looked over to her left where the sun was setting. The candle burned in the window of that cabin and as Ellie struggled to keep her eyes open, the light went out. She looked into the leaves of the sycamore for some kind of guidance, but she found nothing.

As night fell, Ellie turned the dagger to herself. Her breath shook heavily. She breathed as deep as she could with stone lungs and pierced herself through. The gem at the end returned to its original clear color as the stone took over the remainder of Ellie’s body spreading like a virus.

The night was quiet at that moment, only a single breeze blew a few leaves past Ellie’s stone remains. A raven flew down and parked itself on what used to be Ellie’s thigh and began pecking away at her until she crumbled into dust.