A Cruel Beast’s Leash

Perhaps the man was young, contrary to Emma’s thoughts.
He may even be around her age.
But then, how could such a young man be a cabin keeper? That thought was even stranger.

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She wondered if he was an orphan since he was living in this deep valley.
Perhaps the rest of his family was inside.
Maybe he was married.

Emma lost herself to her whirling thoughts at the man’s continued silence. 

The man hummed deep in this throat before he said, “I can’t believe this.” Then he fixed his gaze on her as if to gauge her reaction.
After that, he lapsed into silence.
Quite suddenly he said, “Aren’t you scared of your misfortunes?”

“Excuse me?” Emma said with a blink, even though she had heard him clearly.
She just didn’t know how to answer the question, but felt it rude to stay silent.

“Didn’t it occur to you that knocking on this door just might bring you more misfortune?” he said.

“In this predicament I’m already in?”

“Alright.
They say trouble doesn’t roam alone.
You’ve had a bad day, so something worse might be waiting for you,” he said, quoting an old idiom.
His words reminded her of a tutor who used to say the exact same thing.

“What if you run into more trouble trying to get away from the one you’re already in?”

“Not possible,” Emma said, raising her chin bravely and shaking her head.

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“Bad luck and unhappiness are usually followed by injustice and rebellion,” said the man, laughing faintly.

Emma closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again.
This was ridiculous.

If this man was planning on doing something worse than what she was experiencing now, that would only confirm she was cursed.
Unless the gods personally hated her and wanted to banish her from the world, there was no greater misfortune than the one that had already befallen her.

“It won’t.” That was easy enough to say when you were living in a nice, safe warm house on a stormy night.
But being out in the storm, being chased by monsters was an absolute hellscape on its own.

How much worse could her day get?

“I won’t be running into any more trouble.
This is already the worst-case scenario,” Emma said

“How bad is it?”

“Very bad.
It’s an ugly situation beyond my control,” Emma said in a pleading voice, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the painful thoughts of reality.
“If it’s not too much to ask, would you mind hiding me for a little while? It won’t be for long.
I just want to hide… I lost my way in the forest, and now I’m also being chased.”

“Chased?” the man said with great interest.
His ice-cold eyes speared into Emma intensely.
“By what?”

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The fact that he asked, ‘by what’ and not ‘by who’ made Emma realize he knew about the monsters roaming the Perrigans.

“By, uh…” She had a momentary struggle with herself over telling the truth, then quickly changed what she was about to say.

That would only bring on more suspicion.
Now wasn’t the time to back down like a weirdo or act shady.
This man was her last hope of salvation.
If he turned her away, she would be left clinging pathetically to the door as she waited for a miserable, horrible death.

After swallowing a stubborn wad of saliva, she said in a quivering voice, “I ran into some r-robbers.”

“Robbers?”

The interest in the man’s eyes vanished the moment she told him who was chasing her, even the enthusiasm in his voice was gone.
Was he disappointed that she was not being chased by monsters?

Emma dejectedly lowered her eyes to the ground and darted a glance around.
There was only darkness in all directions, and she couldn’t tell if the man had set traps around the cabin.
But hunting monsters was expensive.
Their by-products were said to be used in some alchemy practices.

If so, there were grounds for the man’s excessive suspicion.
He must have been suspicious of the lucky young lady who had arrived safely at his mansion and knocked on the door, having avoided all the traps he had so cleverly laid out.

“So, what now?” the man said looking down at her in disappointment. 

Emma took a breath and shot her last shot, “I am originally from Summerville.
I was in the middle of a trip in my carriage…”

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A wolf howled somewhere in the distance.

Emma stopped talking and flinched.

It was an ominous type of howl that shook the stormy black forest.
The howl probably came from the pack leader, judging from the several answering barks and howls that rose from various other places in the forest.

‘A werewolf.’

Dora and Otto had said they would call the wolves; maybe this was a sign of their attack.

Emma stiffened in fear and stared wide-eyed into the darkness.
She shifted uncomfortably as if she were getting ready to run. 

In a quiet, cool voice the man said, “Alright then.
Come in.”

Finally!

Emma couldn’t wait to get inside, but her body was frozen with fear.
She wanted to cheer with joy, but all she could do was clench her fists and to project her gratitude.
“Thank you…”

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“Hmmm, I injured my hand, so I can’t open the door; go over there,” the man said, gesturing over Emma’s shoulder with his eyes.

Emma turned around to see a stable.
‘Oh, is he going to let me stay in the stable?’

The momentary joy within her faded away, and dark despair hung over her once again.
She wouldn’t be safe from her pursuers if she hid in there.

When her expression changed, the look in the man’s eyes changed as if he had read her mind.

Or perhaps he hadn’t been motioning towards the stable?

She looked closer, following his line of sight to a place further away.
He had motioned to a remote shed next to the stables.

“Look closely.
There’s a key in there.
Look carefully and you’ll find it.
You can use that to get inside,” the man said.

“Oh,” Emma said in surprise, staring blankly at the shed swamped in darkness.
“Thank you so much, I’ll go get the key! You don’t know how much this means.
You just saved my life.
I will never forget your grace.”

“Be done with your formalities and come inside.”