the night of the honey queen pageant had been one of the best in lucy’s life. she had signed up for the annual honey queen pageant, and it had been an absolute sweep for the youngest grizzwald. look at her. she was honey queen material through and through. from her sweeping golden gown to the sparkly costume she wore for her musical theatre talent number, she awed the audience with her charm. it was no surprise to them when her name was called at the end and the large crown was placed atop her perfect blonde curls.
when she bounced backstage with excitement, she was ready to see her family. she was ready to see michael, who her gaze had sought out every time she made an appearance onstage that night. she was ready for what came next. she knew that honey queens left hatchetfield soon after their win, and honestly? that’s why she had signed up for the pageant in the first place. it had been part of a big plan with her and michael. wherever these honey queens ended up with their winnings, she wanted to bring michael with her. she wanted to start a life of her own with him, and what better excuse than to follow tradition? it was their out to start the next chapter, and it was her driving force to win the title. she wanted nothing more than to leave hatchetfield and the judgment of her parents behind in the horizon.
instead of being greeted by her family and michael, she was met with roman murray, one of the judges and the benefactor of the pageant. he had given her a smile that sent a shiver down her spine as he told her about a party that was set for her, one that her loved ones had already been informed about and where she would meet them. and lucy, naive as ever, followed him to the black suv. she figured that the party was somewhere downtown, but as the suv turned towards the witchwood, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“ mr. murray? where did you say the party was? ”
“ don’t fret, child. we will arrive at the party soon. ”
her stomach twisted within itself as the reality hit her that she didn’t have her belongings. that she had been immediately escorted without the bag she had arrived in. she didn’t have her phone. she didn’t have anything on her but the gown and the crown.
when they arrived at the witchwood, she wasn’t expecting the bonfire. she certainly wasn’t expected the hooded figures as roman escorted her towards the fire. fear sparked in lucy’s chest, and her fight or flight immediately started to kick in. her family wasn’t here. michael wasn’t here. something was terribly wrong. she immediately tried to turn her heel to move back towards the suv, but roman caught her with a chuckle.
“ now, now lucy. no need to be frightened. it’ll all be over soon . . . ”
dread filled lucy as tears stung in her eyes, but it was quickly turned to horror as the group began to summon what was the most horrific creature lucy had ever laid eyes on. she was stunned speechless at the sight of the large pig-like creature with teeth gnashing from multiple mouths all over its body. she didn’t know where to look. she was petrified. but suddenly, the creature lunged and a set of teeth sunk into lucy’s shoulder. lucy’s pained and fear filled shriek echoed amongst the trees as streams of blood stained her gold gown. she ripped back from the mouth when its jaws loosened and started to sprint for the treeline, her right hand clutching her left shoulder as warm blood seeped through her fingers. she was going to die here. the life she had with michael? it was never going to happen. this was what happened to the honey queens. they didn’t follow their dreams to new lives. they never got to see their dreams play out.
as she ran, the heels that she had been wearing slipped off of her feet, but it only provided her with more speed despite the way that the rough terrain scratched and cut her feet. she heard an animalistic shriek behind her and the sound of pounding hooves, but she kept running. she knew that if she stopped, she’d die in a horrific, painful manner, if that bite suggested anything.
the further she got from the bonfire and deeper into the witchwood, the darker it became. it was hard to see where her next step would land, and she released a yelp as her foot gave way to a clearing. her body was sent in a tumble down a large dip in the terrain before it came to a stop at the bottom. her head swam and body ached as she slowly moved, coughing and gasping for the air that was knocked from her lungs. but she quickly drew back to her senses when she heard the steps again, swallowing hard and pressing herself back against the lip she had fallen off of. she clutched her shoulder and curled into the little divet in the earth as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks.
even after the sniffing of the creature and its steps faded off in defeat, she stayed stone silent, too scared to move. she stayed in the little dip in the earth for hours. by the time the sun started to peek through the trees, the bleeding had slowed on her shoulder, but the throb was enough to knock the air back out of her lungs when she tried to use her arm to push herself out of the divet. covered in filth and dried blood, the honey queen limped with torn, bare feet in the only direction instinct could take her. forward.
she was lost in the witchwood for two days that followed. every turn seemed to only lead to more of the witchwood, and when the sun set, she froze in place. she’d find a place to hide in the darkness in case that creature came for her again. but just before sunset on the third day, she heard a voice calling her name. a man’s voice that she couldn’t place, but when she came across him, he was with two others, including her older brother, jacob. part of a search party that had split apart to comb the witchwood for the missing girl.
she was wrapped in a blanket and scooped up by her older brother, who carried her to a truck that took her to the hospital. she was shell shocked, fairly silent and numb as she was brought into the emergency room covered in caked filth. her curls were a tangled mess with dirt, leaves, and twigs. her perfect gown was ripped and caked in dirt and dried blood. her shoulder was an angry red around the mauled skin, and once it was cleaned and stitched, she was given a strong round of antibiotics with her fluids. she was first approached by two hatchetfield police officers, two cocky men, but she didn’t respond to their abrasiveness. it took detective shapiro sitting down with her in the room to coax information out of her. in a quiet voice, lucy had asked to see her family, to see michael, and the detective had promised that she could once she answered the questions. that they were all waiting just down the hall and she’d retrieve them immediately after they spoke.
the detective kept true to her word once she got lucy’s story. she was kept overnight to run the course of antibiotics and fluids before she was released in the morning. her parents had figured out michael’s involvement in lucy’s life from the waiting room alone, and though their lips were pursed, it was clear that lucy wasn’t letting him go any time soon. they allowed him to be present as she was released from the hospital and sent home. justine and her mother helped lucy bathe off the rest of the filth and change the bandage on her shoulder before she was dressed in a loose nightgown to rest, her left arm fixed in a sling to keep it immobile before she was helped into bed and left alone with michael, thanks to justine’s coaxing and much to her mother’s hesitation.
lucy was lost in her thoughts and worries, despite the exhausted numbness in her expression. her eyes lacked the light that normally burned bright in her eyes. she was exhausted. she was traumatized. she was terrified for what would come from this.
“ we need to leave town, ” she finally confessed to @hatchetswung with a quiet, fearful swallow. “ u-us . . and your dad . . . and my family. i - i’m afraid of what they might do if they know i’m alive. that i i - i made it and know what i know – “
