A MAZE OF GREED

Mrs Payne stopped, only after she reached home. As soon as Ruth opened the lock on the door, Mrs Payne rushed inside only to collapse on the bed.

Tears streamed down her eyes. Her fragile heart pained not only because of the insults by Theodora and Eloise but also because of Ruth's misfortune.

What wrong did that innocent woman do? Why it has to be her going through different ordeals every day?

Ruth fell at Mrs Payne's feet and started crying. The fact that Mrs Payne had to go through such humiliation broke Ruth's heart more than what Theodora said to her.

Ruth felt disgusted that the woman who could not respect others and was so wrong; was her mother. She was having a hard time believing she grew up in that woman's womb.

How Ruth wished that if that womb was of her mother Bertha or Mrs Payne! She would have felt proud of herself then. But, now she could not.

She felt embarrassed and humiliated. The contempt she held for Theodora was piling up with her every action. And today was the epitome of it. Ruth could live through any torture as long as she was the only target.

But when it came to her dear ones... she refused to let them suffer. Although, externally she looked like a timid flower shivering in the gust of wind, inside she was bubbling like lava that was ready to explode and burn everything.

Would Theodora have said those things to Ruth if she knew that Ruth was her daughter? Would she still have misbehaved with her like that? Would she have treated Mrs Payne in that way then?

Homewrecker!

Theodora once called Ruth a homewrecker of her best friends.

She had also called her an opportunist.

Was not Theodora more deserving of that title? Had not she married Lord Augustus because she saw an opportunity of living a lavish and respectable life as an O'Dell? Then who was the real opportunist?

-"You are trying to use my nephew's kindness for your own gains."- Theodora said that after throwing mud at Ruth's chastity.

How could a mother say such a thing to her own child irrespective of the child's identity?

Ruth's tears stopped not because her tear ducts were empty but because she wished for it. She should not feel this pain for a selfish woman. She did not deserve to go through such humiliation every time when she had not done anything wrong.

Neither Ruth nor Mrs Payne deserved any of what happened.

It should be Theodora crying in regret of how she destroyed Ruth's life. It should be her living in misery while wishing for an early death for what happened with Gerald because of her.

Ralph- Ruth's grandfather- did everything for his daughter. But he did not care about Gerald, Ruth and Bertha. He should be punished by the thing he feared the most- his daughter's pain.

Bertha... that selfless woman had to sacrifice her every happiness because of them. She did everything for Ruth that Theodora was supposed to do. Yet Theodora was downgrading her teachings.

No... Ruth could not take any of that more.

She recalled one saying by her mother Bertha- 'Do not ever suppress a person that one day he will rise up in a revolt.'

And that has already been done.

The fate, the past, the present, the people, the time and the circumstances had suppressed Ruth to the point that she was ready for the revolt.

"Mrs Payne... what were you doing in 'the great manor'?" She asked now with a composed voice.

She thought of apologising first but then was it really her fault? And would her apology had changed anything?

Mrs Payne wiped her tears. "Lady Eloise called me." She narrated to her everything that happened without leaving any details behind.

That only fueled the fire that had begun burning in Ruth.

"Okay. Give me that list and the descriptions of every ingredieant. I will get them." Ruth told determinedly.

"No Ruth. It is already evening time. The Sun will set soon. I am not letting you go alone. Not in the woods at least." Mrs Payne objected.

Ruth knew it was pointless to argue with her. So, got an idea.

"I will not go alone. I will ask Ida to come with me. Will you allow me then?"

Mrs Payne was hesitant. She knew the risks in the woods. But, she also knew how stubborn Ruth was. If she took Ida with her, then there would not be any problem, she hoped.

"Alright."

Mrs Payne gave her the list. She described the appearances, smells etc of the key ingredient to making its identification easy for Ruth.

"Do not get late Ruth. I am waiting for you." Mrs Payne said with concern.

And Ruth thought that God had compensated a loss of mother in her life with such an amazing woman.

"I know. Take care!"

Saying that Ruth left home with a clenched jaw, hot head and determined mind. It was time to fight back!

Little did she know what was served on her plate.

Ruth went to the market first. She found the shop Mrs Payne had told. Luckily the ingredients that Mrs Payne thought would be available there were indeed there. Ruth paid for them.

When she exited the shop, the Sun had already waved its goodbye. Soon the world would welcome the darkness. In fury, Ruth refused to take a ride from Henry or other coachmen even though she was running errands for an O'Dell family member.

She was at the centre of the town and now she needed to walk Northwards, till the end of the habitation, and the beginning of the woods.

She was still raging throughout the way. Her mind was running in different directions and, she was torn between what her heart desired and what her brain instructed.

This time Ruth did not try to shake off those thoughts. She welcomed them with open arms. She needed to think as much as she could, to get to the right conclusion. And then she needed to ponder some more to accept that conclusion.

By the time she reached the woods, the night had befallen. The memories of her last visits to the woods blew in her mind. And Mr Payne's image made her gut wrench in pain.

With a shaky breath, Ruth decided to enter the woods and get done with this job. She prayed to not face the murderer in there who had killed six people before, including Mr Payne.

Over time, Ruth had come to the conclusion that those deaths were murders and not animal attacks.

-"It is my word that I will bring the justice to these six innocent lives and their families. It is my promise to you!"-

The blue-eyed monster had once said that. She wondered if he even remembered his words because as far as she knew, the topic of those six deaths was long forgotten, and now nobody spoke about it.

It was a lie then!

-"I know you do not have a reason to trust me, because I have given you none."-

He was right! He failed to give her a reason to trust him yet again.

Ruth sighed. Clearing her head of all these thoughts, she opened the list where she had written the descriptions of the ingredients in short points.

After revising them once, she started looking for the specified plants. It was clever of her to bring a torch and a matchstick with her. She hung her bag on a branch of a nearby tree.

Taking out the torch, that was soaked in oil, she burnt it after two failed attempts. Suddenly the darkness was defeated by the spark of the yellowish-orange light of the torch.

Now she could see her surroundings clearly, and it would also help in case a wild animal crosses her path.

Ruth was strictly told by Mrs Payne to not go to the portion of the woods where the first five deaths happened. Mr Payne's body was found at some distance away from that area which puzzled everybody.

Taking the bag from the tree, Ruth hung it on her shoulder. With a torch in hand, she began her search.

Ten minutes later, her face brightened when she found the first plant mentioned in the list. She uprooted it with force. Shaking it little, she cleared its roots from the soil then put it inside her bag.

Now began the hunt for the next one.

Ruth was engrossed in her task. She was collecting the mentioned plants and herbs one by one. But she failed to realise that she had ventured deep into the woods, and the time was ticking faster than she anticipated.

She smiled when she found three of the mentioned plants in the same periphery. The bag was heavy with the weight, and her shoulders began aching. Ruth removed the bag and kept it at the foot of a tree.

With the torch in hand, she began collecting the first ingredient of the spot. She had to collect the red flowers that looked pretty. But she needed to be careful with them as if she accidentally touch her eyes with them, it might cause irritation and redness of eyes.

She plucked six-seven flowers and kept them in the bag. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief she carried in her uniform pocket, to be safe until the time she washed her hands with water.

Now was the time for collecting the herb that she had found nearby.

"Some more time and then it will be done!" Ruth reminded herself.

She was tired, hungry and emotionally drained out. She craved to run home and fill her stomach with food prepared by Mrs Payne's loving hands.

She walked on the bed of fallen leaves and grass, her attention trained ahead of her.. Suddenly her heart lurched in her throat as a ringing scream echoed in the silence of the woods.