The night was cool and quiet the day it all fell apart. The moon hadn't dared show any of its faces a the heavens so usually failed to do when it came to Kotoha. Never any witnesses, never any intervention.

She'd stopped dreaming of such things long ago. All that mattered - all she could rely on - was the strength in her gait and the power of her lungs.

She was running, desperately. Her feet caught on fallen boughs and twisted tree roots and she did not pay any mind to the rocks she stumbled over. All that mattered was pressing onward - as fast as she could. Every now and again she'd gently breathe a begging 'shhhh', trying in vain to quiet the screaming child in her arms. Tears were streaming down her bruised face, one of her large emerald eyes was swelled almost completely shut which didn't help navigating the darkness.

It didn't matter. It couldn't matter

She could taste the alcohol - smell it on her still. His disgusting presence still dug its nails into her skin even with the distance between them. Familiar bruises ached more than the cuts from the brambles or the chafing. She could not stop - she would not stop. There'd be worse than hell to pay if she did.

She could hear his distant shouts pursuing her, or maybe screaming in frustration at the wood he'd lost her in. He'd always been quick to give up, but she knew better than to hope for the best. She was never so fortunate. Her son still wailed to the sky, betraying their location and she could not risk it. She stumbled through trees, tripping over roots and stones in the darkness of the moonless night. The baby, swaddled in blankets screeched louder, either affronted that he was so rudely ignored, or still in pain.

"Shh," Kotoha whispered to her son, holding him closer and ducking under a low-lying branch. "Shh... it's okay... it'll be okay."

She took a moment to listen. No more distant shouting, but that hardly meant anything. If that drunk was pursuing them, he was doing so quietly which only chilled her bones and forced her to take off again. It was too easy to imagine a familiar hand reaching for her in the dark.

The baby continued wailing and Kotoha continued running. It was too late, that moment of rest robbed her of the precious adrenaline that had kept her going. It drained out of her like lifeblood from a beast's neck and left her heaving as she forced herself to take another step.

Keep going. Keep moving.

The cold seeped in, no longer held at bay by the raging tide. It crept through her thin kimono, dotted with blood, and clung to her like a second skin. Oh gods, maybe Inosuke sobbed because he was freezing. Maybe they'd outrun one monster to die to a faceless one.

No, no. No, there had to be more. There had to be something. She pulled the baby closer, tightening the blankets that swaddled him as she tried to catch her breath. Her hands were beginning to tremble, and with the respite she'd been given she could see the blood under her chipped nails.

She hoped, at the very least the bastard hurt. She hoped her nails had dug deep enough, that she had swung hard enough, that something would ache in that monster. Then again, if that was true and he caught up -

She was running again. Directionless and foolishly she had no other choice, never did when it came to such things. She had to hope she was heading south. There were more towns to the south, miles away but towns all the same.

She would make it, she had to.

At the very least she'd try. Her foot caught on a well-hidden root and she slammed into the ground doing everything in her power to land on her side which jarred a new pain in her hip. Inosuke was screaming again: startled, but unharmed thanks to how she'd fallen.

Everything in her objected as she pushed herself up, soothing Inosuke with half-breaths. She winced to catch sight of her scraped knees, but was more concerned about the ache now radiating in her hip.

She could not stop. Forward. Move, Kotoha. Move.

She did. She pulled her child into her chest and tried to push herself further. It seemed the forest had gone silent in the wake of their misery, not a bug or a creature stirred. Then again, she could hardly hear her own son's wails over the rhythm of her panicked heart. Her run was more of a quickened job but even that was tearing her apart like a pack of wolves.

She needed to find shelter. She needed to get away. She had to keep moving until -

Light!

She let out a cry of relief and stumbled through the trees. It was distant, glimmering on a distant hill but it was there! Now she just had to hope whoever was home would let her in, everything else would be dealt with later.

She slowed, finally, at the foot of the hill. It was a large building, far bigger than any home she expected to see. There was no clear path to it either, just a couple of worn foot-trails. Someone powerful lived here? Rich? She trudged up the hill, taking greedy deep breaths as her mind raced.

It would take an especially heartless person to turn away an injured mother and child - but it would take an average person to demand some payment for their kindness. What could she offer?

She held Inosuke closer as she paused, her body trembling for a different reason.

She had to go. She had to. They wouldn't make it in the cold. Tears slipped down her face as she gathered the remnants of her courage. Whatever they asked, whatever they needed, as long as they let her stay - just the night. All she needed was the night.

Someone was watching.

Her attention snapped up and she whirled around, everything in her body on high alert as familiar instincts screamed she wasn't alone. They were rarely wrong. She clutched Inosuke closer, backing away as her wild eyes studied the woodline.

Something was out there - she could feel it. Something... predatory.

A bear? Maybe...

The forest was silent, as it usually was when it came to dangerous things. Whatever it was - it was watching her. The hair on her arms stood on its end and her back was prickling with anxiety.

Paranoid. She was just paranoid. She had to be. And if she wasn't, few predators attacked when you looked at them. She kept her eyes everywhere, straining for a hint of movement as she backed further and further towards the house.

She felt exposed, isolated - the worst thing for a piece of meat to be. And maybe it wasn't a bear. Blessed adrenaline returned as the realization snapped through her.

Maybe it was him.

She turned and sprinted with a newfound energy. Make it to the door. Make it to the door - just make it to the door!

She did. She collided with the thing. It wouldn't budge. Inosuke was wailing again - he must sense the same thing. Something stalking closer, something wanting. She desperately began to pound on the door, looking behind her as if expecting to be pounced on at any moment.

Nothing in the wood stirred. Nothing approached. That didn't quell the terror rising in her throat because there was something out there! The forest was bare behind her, the shadows flickering in the glow of the monastery, but no monsters emerged from its depths, neither demon nor man. That did not quell her fear.

After an eternity, and yet only a minute, an older woman opened the door. They both paused in surprise at the visage of the other.

The woman was well-kept, despite the hour. It didn't seem as if she'd been sleeping at all, dressed for the day with her hair up in an intricate style. The building was bright, flooding Kotoha's senses with incense as its air drifted into the sky.

The stranger's eyes grew wide as they took in the tragic sight on their doorstep. Kotoha let out a shaky breath, knowing full well she did look a mess.

The bruises, the dirt - the eye. There was a bit of blood splattered on her kimono from her husband's broken nose. Leaves and twigs were caught in her messy dark hair, which was tangled beyond recognition at this point. Inosuke, ever the opinionated one, was wailing miserably and was flailing his small arms at the unfairness of it all.

The stranger hesitated and for a terrifying moment, Kotoha thought she was about to close the door.

"Please!" Kotoha cried falling to her knees. Anything, anything - she'd do anything. "Please offer me sanctuary! My husband! My husband is chasing me - He can't, please don't let him - Please help me!"

The words caught in her throat as desperation tore her raw. She'd stopped again - fallen to her knees. Nothing in her body wanted to stir now. Running? Her legs wailed against the idea.

Please. Please, please, please -

"Goodness, of course! Come here."

A warm hand gently took her free one, helping to pull her to her feet. The woman was not that much older than her, but she smelled like honey and her hand was remarkably smooth, not a callus on her palm.

Soft brown eyes led her in and held her up as Kotoha numbly removed her shoes. Her bare feet were blistered and battered much like the rest of her, and she tracked dirt on the wooden floor.

The stranger didn't seem to mind.

"Take a seat, rest a bit," she urged as she led Kotoha to a nearby cushion.

Rest. Kotoha leaned on the wall and slowly slid down until she was sitting. The adrenaline faded into a distant roar as her breaths finally slowed. Her senses returned to her, and only then did she realize how loud Inosuke truly was. She had to smile - she had to. Such spirit tied into her unbroken, wild son. Something her husband had never tamed. Would never now. She'd gotten away. She laughed so, so weakly and bounced the baby in her arms.

"Shhhh," she soothed lovingly, tears still streaming down her face, "Shhhh."

He stopped crying eventually, pulling his arms back to his chest and opening his large green eyes. Those eyes matched his mother's, and for that, she'd always be thankful. He gazed up at her and whimpered, as he tended to do when he was puzzled. Kotoha only smiled at the boy and bounced him.

It had been a confusing few hours for someone so little.

"It's okay now... It's going to be okay," Kotoha murmured, planting a kiss on the boy's forehead.

"Here's a blanket. Are you okay?" the woman was back, offering Kotoha a piece of fabric softer than anything she'd owned. She took it, gingerly and covered herself and Inosuke with it. His hands were cold to the touch, and she wasn't any better.

"I am okay," Kotoha nodded, her eyes glued on her child. Now. She was now.

The other did not respond, likely because she could clearly see the answer to her question. It was painted all over the newcomer, from the blood on her kimono to the bruises on her face. It stirred something self-conscious in Kotoha that died just as quickly.

She'd gotten away. She'd gotten away!

"I'm going to go get a doctor... and awaken the Gracious One to tell him you're here," the woman murmured.

"What?" Gracious One?

"You're in the Eternal Paradise Temple, don't worry. The Gracious One will not mind you being here, but he will want to know about this," the woman assured her, before running down the hall and vanishing from sight.

Kotoha only let out a small breath and slowly tried to slow her tears. The details were something to worry about another day. Gracious One aside, the temple was much warmer than the outside world and for that she was thankful. She began to relax and smiled in relief as the candlelight flickered over her wounds and her filthy kimono.

She was lucky, it seemed. These people seemed kind.

A coo directed her attention back to her child who was reaching for strands of her loose hair. She giggled and stroked her son's cheek with the back of one of her fingers.

"No one's going to hurt us anymore," Kotoha promised her son. "No one's going to yell at you anymore."

The baby looked up at his mother's face, his large emerald eyes settling on the large purple bruise on his mother's cheek. His lip trembled and he let out a whimper before crying again. This time, however, he was quieter.

Such a clever boy, her Inosuke. Always had been.

"No... no, it's alright," Kotoha soothed, "This isn't your fault."

The baby's large eyes looked up at his mother's matching ones which regarded him with nothing but love and adoration.

"Babies are supposed to cry. Every good parent knows that. It's not your fault that he got upset."

She could hear her husband's voice in her head, cursing her child, her son, for crying too much. He was raging against a baby for crying...

Fear died under a moment of rage, and then the cold steel of acceptance. She held her boy closer and wished, not for the first time, that she had been stronger. Faster... anything other than what she was.

"It's not your fault," she soothed weakly.

Inosuke let out a snotty babble.

She could almost see his huge hand being raised to strike her child as if it were happening again. Oh, she had wanted to kill him. Wanted to make it all stop. All she could do was grab the nearest thing she could and slam it into his face.

She remembered hurting. Everything hurt and she had begged it to stop. It didn't, he didn't. She remembered finding his hand in her mouth and biting. Biting his hand with all of the force she could give. She remembered him screaming and that had been the prettiest music she'd heard in a while.

Then he'd punched her.

She reached up and gingerly pressed at her swollen eye. Oh she must look quite the fright. But... remembering how he had looked with a twisted nose and blood running down is face. Gods, she wished she had been stronger.

The tears were coming fast now. The realization was setting in and she needed to calm down. She'd run. She'd run. There was no going back now. She'd taken Inosuke - there was no going back.

It had been so easy too. He'd punched her and then went to tend to his hand. He must've expected her to stay there, cradling her face. She hadn't. She'd thought - it was foolish now - but she'd hoped that even drunk and raging the man she'd married would never raise a hand to their boy.

She remembered scrambling over to her baby, her son, who was screaming and crying and wailing as he so often did when things got bad. She grabbed him and she ran.

She had run and she had gotten away.

She made it.

The baby in her arms babbled something unrecognizable and was able to grab a strand of his mother's hair. He tugged on it lightly and laughed when she bowed her head to his whims. In response, Kotoha smiled and pressed her forehead against her little one's.

"We're safe now Inosuke," Kotoha told the boy. "We never have to be afraid of him again, okay?"

Inosuke cooed and touched his mother's face, not understanding what she was saying but smiling regardless. It was so rare he got to see his mother so happy.

The doctor came within the next minute: an older gentleman. That same woman was back too. Amaie, she introduced herself as. She'd brought a fresh change of clothes for Kotoha and the baby.

"We have a room, and you're welcome to stay however long you need," Amaie vowed. "You and your little guy."

"I can't pay you -"

"My dear," the doctor chastised. "You are in the Eternal Paradise Temple! We charge nothing for those in need of our services, save respect and performance to our lord."

"Your... lord?" Kotoha echoed warily.

"Don't mind him, the Gracious One rarely demands anything of newcomers, and he certainly won't mind you taking your rest," Amaie soothed. "Come on, we'll take you to your room."

"I... When you say perform -"

"Nothing like that! No, some sing, some dance, some tell stories - it's to entertain our divine lord with mortal things. Don't - don't worry about any of it."

Kotoha likely should've worried about it, but the temple was warm, and Inosuke had stopped crying, and the Doctor was offering her food... cult or no, she'd take the rest. She could play along - and who would come looking for her here?

She followed the two deeper into the temple, relishing the kind lamp light and the rich smells. There were more people up than she'd expected, tending to the gardens or talking in the halls. They looked... alright. Healthy and unharmed. It didn't loosen her grip on Inosuke. A few glanced at her, a few stared, and one even gave Inosuke a little wave which uncoiled some of her anxieties. No one moved to intervene.

"Ah, our lord has returned from his evening walk," the doctor hummed, turning towards a window. Kotoha craned her neck to peer over the doctor's shoulders.

The window looked out to the entrance of a garden, a large wooden gate separating it from the outside world. A collection of people bowed as one man stood above them all. He was tall with platinum hair, but Kotoha couldn't tell much else about him. Something was tingling in the back of her neck, but it was likely just lingering paranoia.

"Come on," Amaie laughed. "You'll meet him soon enough. First, you should bathe and rest and eat -"

"Not in that order!" the doctor objected. "You should eat first, get some nutrients in you and the boy!"

Kotoha chuckled weakly as the two began arguing, but kept her eyes on the strange figure outside. He was greeting those who bowed to him, his back to Kotoha and she was content to try and pick him apart. He seemed human enough - exactly what she'd expect from a cult leader.

Because... well, this was definitely a cult. Or something adjacent to it. But... it was all she needed. She could run, again, if necessary, but she hadn't sensed any malevolence from the two she'd met so far.

The 'Gracious One' turned, and Kotoha felt her interest piqued.

He stared at her, through the window. They were too far away to make out any finer details, but his eyes seemed colorful. It was a momentary look - maybe he sensed someone staring at him as she could. He smiled; or did something similar, and then went back to talking with his devotees.

Kotoha was shaken out of her thoughts by the doctor: "Fine! We'll compromise. My dear you go to the baths with Amaie and I'll fetch you some food. What would you like?"

What would she like? She didn't think she could eat much of anything right now.

"Something... light? Please," she managed.

"Of course! And some mashed food for the little one!" She'd give it to the doctor, he was... something. The old man pressed on and Amaie shook her head with an exasperated smile.

"Don't mind him, he's noisy and opinionated - and very forgetful, but he means well."

"I don't mind him at all," Kotoha smiled.

"Good. Now, come with me. I think you've earned your rest."

(Rewriting the first few chapters because I started this sucker years ago and my writing style has definitely changed haha. )