The air in the room hung heavy with disbelief, as the weight of the murder that had just

  transpired threatened to crush everything in its path. Alina, trembling and wide-eyed, looked at

  her sister—the sister she had always trusted, always looked up to. Now, her gaze was filled with

  something far darker: fear.

  "You—you killed her," Alina whispered, the words strangling her voice as tears began to spill

  from her eyes. "You killed Aunt Svetlana. How could you?"

  Vasilisa’s eyes darted to the lifeless body of their aunt, the woman who had once raised them. A

  part of her felt no remorse—only a cold, empty void where a mother's love should have been.

  But as Alina’s gaze burned with horror, the pain was something new. It twisted her heart, the

  way her sister looked at her now. Like a monster. A murderer.

  "I did it to protect you, Alina!" Vasilisa’s voice cracked, desperation creeping into her every

  word. "She was going to kill you! Don’t you understand? I couldn’t let her do that. I couldn’t let

  her—"

  But Alina didn’t seem to hear her. Her body was shaking, her breath quick and shallow. She

  backed away from her elder sister, unable to look at her the same way. There was a distance

  now, a gulf between them that hadn't existed before.

  "I—I don’t care!" Alina cried, her voice a frantic mix of pain and disbelief. "You’ve changed.

  You’re not the sister I knew anymore. You’re a murderer. A monster!"

  The words cut deep. Vasilisa staggered back, the knife still clutched tightly in her hand, her eyes

  wild with a desperation she couldn’t control. The reality of her actions hit her all at once—the

  way Alina saw her now, the fear in her eyes.

  "Please, Vasilisa… please, repent!" Alina begged, her voice breaking as she fell to her knees, her

  hands clasped together in desperation. "You have to make it right. Turn yourself in. It’s not too

  late. You can still change. Please, you’re still my sister. Please don’t go down this path."

  Vasilisa looked at her sister, her heart torn between the bond they shared and the dark road that

  lay ahead. But fear gripped her like a vice. The police would come. They would find them. They

  would see her as the murderer she was. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn’t let Alina suffer

  for her actions.

  "I won’t turn myself in," Vasilisa spat, her voice low and cold. "I’m not going back. I’ll never go

  back."

  Alina’s sobs filled the room, but Vasilisa turned away, her resolve hardening. There was no time

  to argue. The clock was ticking. The sirens were drawing nearer.

  Without another word, Vasilisa grabbed her aunt’s old car keys, feeling the cold metal against

  her skin like a lifeline. She pulled Alina from the floor, ignoring the look of betrayal in her

  sister’s eyes, and hurried them both to the car. The cat, silent and eerie as always, followed them

  in the back seat.

  Vasilisa’s hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel, but there was no turning back now.

  They had to run. There was nothing left for them here.

  "I don’t have money. I don’t have food," Vasilisa muttered under her breath, her thoughts racing.

  "I’ll have to rob someone. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep us safe. But I won’t let them take you,

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Alina. I won’t let them take you from me."

  The words barely left her lips before she realized the truth of them—what she was willing to

  become. A criminal. A fugitive. She had no choice now.

  As the miles passed and the world outside blurred into the night, Vasilisa’s mind spiraled into

  darker thoughts. Her desperation gave birth to an idea. They could hide for a while—maybe long

  enough to get out of the country, away from the police. But for that, she needed money. And she

  would do whatever it took to get it.

  It wasn’t long before she found a man—a man who was alone on the road at night. She had no

  choice. She robbed him. The fear in his eyes, the way he pleaded for his life—it all felt so

  distant, like something she had no connection to. But she couldn’t stop. Not now.

  The man fought back. And in the heat of the struggle, his life was taken. The cold finality of his

  death settled in her chest like a stone, heavy and unyielding.

  Alina screamed in the backseat when she realized what had happened. "Vasilisa! No! You—"

  "I had no choice!" Vasilisa shouted, the words raw, the panic clear in her voice. "I had no choice,

  Alina! I can’t let them catch us. I won’t let you die because of me!"

  But Alina only recoiled further into herself, her once-loving sister now a distant figure. Vasilisa

  saw it in her eyes—the fear, the horror. She had become the very thing Alina had begged her not

  to be.

  By the time the police caught up with them, the chase was over. The sirens were deafening, and

  Vasilisa’s heart raced as she pressed the gas pedal, trying to outrun the inevitable. But it was no

  use. The road ahead was blocked. The trap had closed in around them.

  And that’s when it happened.

  The cat, the strange, silent creature that had been with them from the beginning, began to speak.

  "Vasilisa," the cat’s voice was like a cold whisper in her ear. "I can save you."

  Vasilisa froze, her blood running cold at the sound of the cat’s voice. It was not the voice of a

  mere animal, but something far older, far darker.

  "What… what do you mean?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

  "I will save your sister," the cat continued, "but in return, you must make a vow. You will come

  to my kingdom, and you will bear the next king."

  Vasilisa turned to the cat, eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you talking about? What

  kingdom? What king?"

  The cat’s eyes gleamed, its voice dripping with dark promises. "You know what I mean. Your

  sister will live. But you will serve me. You will give me your oath, and in return, you will be the

  childbearer of the next ruler of my kingdom."

  Vasilisa’s mind swirled. She didn’t understand, but the desperation to save Alina, to protect her

  from the law, from everything that was chasing them, overwhelmed her. What else was there to

  do?

  "Yes," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I vow."

  The cat’s eyes gleamed with triumph.

  And just like that, the storm that had been raging inside Vasilisa’s heart—the fear, the guilt, the

  helplessness—seemed to settle. The road ahead had changed, and she had chosen her path. But

  what would it cost her?

  As the police closed in, the cat's promise lingered in the air, like an unspoken pact—dark,

  unbreakable, and full of consequences yet to unfold.