"It will hurt."

"Huh?"

Emily stared at the masked man in total confusion as she could not understand exactly what was going to hurt.

"Hurt?" She asked as her eyes turned to look at the stream that was flowing at a little distance from her.

That stream was probably the most beautiful sight of the entire forest and as the silvery moonlight fell on the running water, a spectacular sight was created that could lure anyone into its depths.

"The moment you will step away from me, the pain will return. And it's going to hurt too much."

Emily kept staring at the masked man as his explanation to her confusion made a realization dawned on her.

She had no idea exactly how and when it happened but somehow, all the pain that she was feeling because of the injuries that she had received thanks to her attackers, had disappeared at some point.

Her body was still covered in blood and scratches, but there was no pain.

She rubbed her index finger on the huge cut on her left wrist and immediately a sharp pain made her hiss.

She looked back at the masked man whose icy blue eyes were looking at her with a lot of warmth and worry.

"W-why...I m-mean how...."

Emily could not find the right words to express her questions or confusions.

How did the pain disappear like that when she still was injured? Nothing was making sense.

"Don't be too worried about how it's happening. We don't have much time left." The masked man said as he nodded towards the stream.

"Are you sure this is exactly what you want in return? I mean...what will you g....."

"I'm sure."

Emily quieted down as soon as she heard the confirmation from the masked man.

When he first talked about wanting a return favor from her, she was worried about what his condition was going to be.

However, when she finally got to know his condition all that she could think was exactly how confusing and stupid it was.

"Alright! I'll do it. But then you have to help..." She once again did not get the chance to complete her sentence as a long slender finger appeared on her lips and she was hushed down into quietness.

"I'll make sure that you find your brothers. I promise."

And due to a completely stupid and unknown reason, she believed him.

After giving a last look to those beautiful blue eyes, she turned towards the stream to complete her side of the promise.

But before she could take more than two steps, she found herself embraced in a tight hug that left her breathless.

It was like a feeling mixed with warmth, care, worry, affection, and tenderness, that enveloped her in a cocoon.

All that she could do was to stan there with her hands hanging beside her ss she let the man hug her, not knowing what was wrong with either him or her.

She just let her body and soul enjoy that weird feeling which was filling her with calmness and an unrecognizable warmth.

The masked man finally let her go after a few minutes but then he took hold of her small hands in his large ones which were covered in leather gloves.

He looked right into her eyes as he said in his soft spring-like voice, "It's okay to be scared."

Emily felt her hands starting to shake as she realized that after a very long time, her facade had failed in hiding her true emotions.

The realization made her pull her hand out of the grasp of the masked man but his hands only tightened around hers to keep her from fleeing.

"Trust me. It's really okay. It's okay to be scared, to be sad. Because being scared means that you are about to do something really really brave."

His words were probably meant to soothe her and make her realize that her reactions were normal, but it only made her scoff as she laughed at her situation.

"It's okay to be scared for once or twice and even for a short period, but it's definitely not okay to make that fear a habit of yours. Because once it becomes a habit, no matter how much you try to get rid of it, it's gonna stick to you and make you realize exactly how pathetic you have become."

Emily finished and looked directly at those blue shining eyes and if her words surprised him, he did not show it even for a second on his face.

He just turned to look at the stream, giving her the time to pull herself together before completing her side of the bargain.

She remembered his words about the pain returning to her and that was exactly what happened as soon as she set her first step on the flat rock that was sitting at the edge of the stream.

At least it did not return in full force, rather it started with her feet, and as she continued to walk further, it kept rising.

By the time she crossed a little more than half of the stream and was only a few rocks away from the opposite end of the stream, her entire body was engulfed in pain.

Her feet, her legs, her stomach, her arms, and chest, and even her head, there was barely any part left of her body that was not under the attack of the unbearable pain that made darkness appear in front of her eyes.

She could barely keep her eyes open and it was like the world around her had started spinning.

But she did not have the choice of quitting. She needed to complete her promise. That was the only way she would be able to find her brothers.

Even though she did not hear a single sound from behind her all this time, she knew that the masked man was still there.

She could feel his eyes on herself and it was probably the fear of failing her promise that made her strive to reach the other part of the stream.

Only if she knew that she was walking towards her doom!