I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

The carriage rushed along the uneven road, bouncing on every oncoming bump. Even though I said to get ready faster, but when everything was ready, the sun had already set.

And the deeper the night was, the more dangerous it was to rush through this wilderness. The inevitable way out was to pick up speed.

I held Carlisle's head firmly against me in case we did roll over.

"Mom, when will we arrive?"

Carlisle naturally remarked that this wasn’t a fun excursion.

"Not much is left."

As soon as I said this, the carriage suddenly slowed down.

"Have we arrived?” Jed said in bewilderment.

"Don't go further. We'll have to do it on our own two feet."

Is the road blocked?

"Nothing to do."

I handed Carlisle to Jed and went out.

Around only dense forest.

"Jed, are we on the right way at all?"

I saw only a dark road through the woods.

"That's right… it's on the map."

Is it because darkness has descended? The road looks extremely confusing. It seems that soon there will be something.

Jed was also on the alert.

We looked at each other in silence for a while.

This is Jeremy's hideout, but why does the place look so much like an ambush?

Should we go there?

A man from the escort looked into our carriage and said cautiously:

"We need to get to the shelter before the night gets deeper. There are wolves in these places."

And the knight was right about that. Whether we return to the mansion or move towards Jeremy, we need to run somewhere one way or another.

It was dangerous to spend the night in the forest.

"Jeremy himself found this refuge, so we have nothing to fear. Rather, it’s even better. Nobody would think that there is someone's house in such a hole."

Jed tried to give me hope.

I hesitated.

Yes, this secret place was prepared by Jeremy, not anyone else.

I trusted him.

I took Carlisle from Jed and wrapped him in a robe in case anyone saw him.

"Lead us."

After the convoy lined up around me, we stepped into a dense forest.

A two-story mansion appeared in front of us.

"I think we have come," shouted the knight from the escort. We stopped near the mansion.

The knights scurried about. Jed got off his horse and came up to me.

"Ellie, come on, let's go there."

He held out his hand to me.

"Carlisle, we've arrived."

Did you fall asleep there?

Carlisle was silent and didn’t move. When I looked under the robes, his glassy eyes were wide open.

He was so scared in an unusual atmosphere.

Throwing his robes back, Carlisle gently lifted his head.

"Mom. Have we arrived?"

"Sorry. But we needed it."

I gently took hold of the frightened child's shoulder. Only then did Carlisle's numb body relax.

"I want to sleep."

"We'll be sleeping soon."

"Carlisle, come here."

Jed hugged Carlisle.

At that time, the knights returned to us after examination.

"Well, the mansion is something… something strange about it."

"What?"

"Strange?"

I turned to the mansion.

It was difficult to see anything through the pitch darkness. Even by the light of the lamp.

Then I made out a house among the undergrowth.

The fact that people hadn’t stepped into this place for a long time came to me at once. The vines were entangled around the walls and the windows were smoked.

As in the knight's uncomplicated report, there was a strange, gloomy atmosphere here.

"What a muddy crap…"

Jed's deep voice rang out.

He tensed at the sight of a landscape that didn’t at all resemble an organized hideout.

And there was one more thing that immediately brushed aside other thoughts.

"Where is Jeremy?"

No matter how much I peered into the mansion, I didn’t see that there was at least one soul in it.

The letter said that he would be waiting at the mansion.

Jeremy would come out and greet us.

At that moment, my head was baked from terrible anxiety.

"Ellie, something's here… I think it's a trap."

He’s right.

This is not our place.

The ominous premonition was no longer even a premonition.

‘You must run.'

Instinct screamed at me. In a hurry, I grabbed Carlisle and briefly tossed to Jed:

"Let's get out."

The door of the mansion opened, shadows rushing out.

There was a confident voice from the escort, and the knights turned around us. But people in black masks appeared even from the bushes, which we had passed before.

The assassins in black masks immediately surrounded us.

Yes, it was a trap.

"Oh shit."

The letter wasn’t from Jeremy.

The clank of metal broke the silence of the night. And I saw people falling one by one.

"Mom!"

At this time, one of the best knights fell.

And one more.

The number of raiders was no less than twenty, but on our side there were only five knights.

This is because we heeded the advice in the letter, which was told to move imperceptibly and in small numbers.

As great as the best knights are, they can’t handle twenty assassins.

In the end, there was only one left to stand.

Someone came up behind me.

“Throw your swords!”

I felt the coldness of the blade on my neck. Seeing this, Jed and the knight gritted their teeth and dropped their weapons.

This one was wearing a half mask, but when I saw his shining eyes and his sword stance, he gave a different sensation, different from the others.

"Who ordered it?"

"Aren't there many questions for the captive? If you don't want to die, walk into the house without stupid things."

He pointed with his sword, and another assassin grabbed Carlisle.

"You dare?!"

"If you don't want his head to be cut off from his neck, then move your legs in an amicable way."

How badly I want to thrust a sharpened piece of metal into you right now.

My heart is about to break, but now I’m powerless to do anything.

I walked slowly, step by step.

One step, two…

In the end, as soon as I entered the mansion, the assassin took the sword from his neck.

"You don’t need to look at me like that, young lady. We only carry out the order of His Excellency."

As soon as he threw his line, the assassins threw the four of us into the mansion and slammed the door.

"Mom…"

"Everything will be fine. Carlisle, it's okay."

The moment I rushed to my child, a flame burst out of the window.

"Oh no…"

The fire spread quickly.

Perhaps they had added oil beforehand, and the flames quickly consumed the mansion. The whole room was already clouded with smoke.

"Fire!"

I hastily tore the sleeves of the dress, doused with water from a bottle and covered Carlisle's nose and mouth.

"Don’t remove the cloth from your face. You understood me?"

The child stared at me with tear-stained eyes. I hugged Carlisle tightly by the shoulder and looked around.

It was necessary to find a way out before the smoke here became more than air. Or otherwise, only the death of a dog remains.

And when I turned my head, I found a cracked window in the smoke.

"Jed! There! Break the window! "

When I shouted insistently and pointed with my finger, Jed and the knight got down to business.

The two men went to the window and began to punch with all their might.

Breaking that window with bare hands, however, wasn’t easy.

I looked around, but there wasn’t even a stone in the room. Looks like part of their plan too.

"Look!"

At that moment, a beam fell from the ceiling, engulfed in flames.

Jed dodged, but was knocked down by the knight.

A flaming piece of wood blocked the window, and it was impossible to reach it.

"Shit!"

"Oh no."

The exit, which was the only hope…

If it stays that way, everyone will die. Carlisle will die.

Running to the door of the mansion, I grabbed the handle and shook the door like a madman. The door was hot, but the pain didn't matter now.

Because I have to save Carlisle no matter what the cost.

"Get away!"

At this time, Jed grabbed me from behind. Looking up, I saw the door completely engulfed in flames.

If it had been a moment later, I would have been engulfed in flames.

"Let go! Let go!"

"I'm sorry. It's because of me. Sorry, Ellie."

In despair, Jed lowered his head.

At this time, I heard Carlisle's powerless voice.

"It's hot, mom! So hot!"

"Carlisle!"

When I saw how the body of the coughing child sagged, I ran to him.

His face glowed like a ball of fire.

He wouldn’t last even a few minutes.

I looked around and looked at the window again.

If it worked, I'd just crash against the wall and punch a hole.

I couldn't have survived, but Carlisle will at least live.

I can't lose my child again like this.

Before I took such a ridiculous step, my vision was blurred. Symptoms of suffocation arrived in time due to constant inhalation of smoke.

As consciousness escaped from me, I hugged Carlisle tightly.

"No…"

Carlisle, please.

God please.

I've been protecting him all my life, will it end like this?