I sat weeping into the soft damp fabric; the smell of blood overwhelmed my senses. I heard some of the pebbles surrounding the area crunch under a heavy object, the crunch sounded a second later coming closer. I clenched hard onto the shirt, No, I thought, don’t take him away.

Tears flowed down my cheeks and poured into my gasping mouth, the footsteps finally stopped right next to his body, I didn’t look up. If I did it would be giving him the satisfaction of seeing my misery, the foot kicked the body, right in the ribs. It wasn’t a hard kick, more like a nudge, but it still almost shook me off, because I was so unstable.

I clenched harder, I glanced up only a fraction, there were the expensive designer shoes that I recognised immediately, two more people came strolling up towards us from behind. They were taking their time; they knew I wouldn’t run now, not now. I was about to look behind me, to see who was sent but the feet in front of me suddenly moved and headed towards my face, the last thing I remember is the strong taste of iron, and the red flash in my eyes, reacting to the pain.

My eyes snapped open; I lay there sprawled under the covers, my heart racing. Taking a slow deep breath, I let my muscles relax. I glanced around, the thin lace curtains were closed but the room was still full of rays of sunlight, the curtains were more of a decoration. I sat up slowly straightening my nightgown, the weariness finally caught up with me, I yawned loudly that would have gotten me some stares if I were in public. I rubbed my eyes and let the world blur for a moment, until it became stunningly clear. I glanced down at the spot I was sleeping on and saw the pillow covered in damp water marks, I wiped my mouth there was no crusting of dried spit on my chin or cheek. So I didn’t drool, I then wiped my whole face with my hands, and found my eyes damp and trails of salty tears on the side of my face.

I was crying? I was slightly stunned, I’ve had weird dreams before, but they fade away from my memories over a short time. But this dream was as clear as day, I can still remember feeling the blood slip between my fingers as I had clutched onto the soggy thin shirt, tinting red with blood. I looked down at my hands; they were tan, from riding Calastan hours on end almost every day.

They were covered in calluses and scars from years of climbing trees around the large stream near the paddock, were the cows grazed. I shook my head; it was just a dream, my head said that, but my arms were shaking slightly, as if I were in shock.

I tried to distract myself by thinking were Calastan and I might go today, maybe down to the willow trees, they were nice to have a picnic under on a hot day, the surrounding plants and wildlife seemed so alive on days of humidity.

I quickly dressed myself, in a thin long sleeved cream shirt, V-neck with a few buttons on the upper part of the shirt, and tight tan cow leather riding pants with the comfortable fabric on the thighs so there is no immediate chafing. I slipped on my high boots, they had a slight heel so they could easily catch onto the stirrups, they were also made out of cow leather but they were a darker tan colour. This was my usual attire; I only wore a skirt when officials came to the manor.

I sprang up with newfound energy, my mind concentrated on the picnic Calastan and I would have, I would have to bring extra apples no matter how much I refuse to give him more, he always stared at my with those big hazel eyes, and I always melted. When I didn’t he refused to let me ride him, it was a gruelling stalemate. I thought about this as I navigated around the labyrinth that was the manor, I bolted down the twisting hallways, passed through empty rooms mostly crowded with loveseats, lounges and coffee tables. Ignoring the wide elaborate stair case, I opened the door to the servant stairs, the small space would have given most people claustrophobia, but it comforted me, made me feel safe. I jumped down in two’s going as fast as I could, and having fun along the way, I reached the bottom and opened the swinging door into the kitchen.

The kitchen was made to serve a large crowd, almost like a restaurant kitchen, except there were only two people in here, Melissa, and her assistant Jesse. Jesse looked up from his work, but Melissa was concentrating hard so I though she didn’t notice, she was de-yoking an egg while it cooked, she effortlessly moved the pan to her right hand and hit Jesse over the head with her spoon, he jerked his head back down concentrating hard on toasting the bread in the frying pan.

I smiled, I knew Jesse was scared of Melissa, but also admired her. But because of her bad temper, it was hard to admire her at times, so mostly he was scared. I stepped forward toward the pantry seeing if I can find some breakfast, “Uh uh” Melissa tisked behind me, “who do you think this breakfast is for?”

I turned and shrugged, “Jesse?”                                                                                                                                       

Jesse looked up at the sound of his name, obviously confused, he had been looking at his toast with such concentration he even was making a face, I looked at Melissa, her hazel eyes were narrowed daring me to say that I didn’t want an egg. There was a piece of golden hair that had fallen out of her tight bun, seeing her hair less strict made her less scary. I glanced at Jessie; he was still looking between me and Melissa with confusion, his sapphire eyes darting between us like a fly.

 I looked away from her glare and focus on Jesse’s forehead; I could see the gleam of sweat there and his blond curls sticking to the clear perspiration. I glanced at her to see if she had gone back to work, she had but her eyes were still on me, I nervously started walking towards the door that led to the dining room, Melissa’s eyes followed me but her hands were still in action. I opened the double swinging doors into the elegant and bright dining room, complete with a mahogany table that expanded to each end of the room.

Sitting at that table was a greying man, his grey eyes that almost seem white were scanning a piece of paper in his hand, his features were a disarray with a slightly broken nose, thick dark eyebrows, the only part of him that wasn’t streaked with white. His thin line of a mouth was pursed as he stared at the document he was holding, he had many more that were spread out in front of on the table; his already set cutlery was pushed out of the way of all of the documents.

He looked up and smiled, his wrinkles fading away, “Ah, there’s my Di Di, how’s my little acorn today?” He said this like any father would, with upmost attention; he had dropped his document and rested his chin on his palms acting like a five year old. I laughed as he batted his eyes, a guy this age should not be doing that, but he did it so often that it suited him.

I smiled and played with a strand a small strand of my hair that fell out of my elaborate knot, as I did whenever he called me ‘Acorn’  I had a habit of unconsciously  playing with it, dad called me that because my loose curled hair was the colour of an acorn, or auburn some people might call it.

I had my mother’s hair, or at least, that’s what I was told. Sometimes I play with it so I could have comfort that mum didn’t leave me completely, if only I also had her features, but I had dad’s eyes, and a face that matched my brother’s. Some of the staff says that I have a really pretty smile, a rare smile that always lights up the room and fills people with joy, not many people have it.

My brother didn’t have that smile; he had girly features, long eyelashes, red lips. They were thin like dads; he also had dad’s dark chocolate hair, his eyes the same colour as mine. He was like a miniature dad except with girly features, but he was stubborn and not gentle at all, except when it came to me, then his ever present grumpy face melted and turned into the sweet big brother I know.

Still fiddling and stoking my hair I said half in my reality and half off somewhere else, “Acorn’s good.”

I sat down glancing at the stacks of folders spread out on the table, the stacks looked feeble and could collapse any minute. “What’s with the towers?” I asked this trying to start conversation.

He looked up with strained eyes, he has been concentrating hard on these documents for a while, and from the bags under his eyes I can see he stayed up late again. He had only glanced in my direction and he was back to reading the never ending worded pages, “Oh I haven’t told you yet? I thought I did.” He drifted off for a bit, he had been a bit frazzled these past few days, working non-stop and determined.

I stopped stroking my hair and look at him with newfound interest, I’ve been unhealthily curious since I was little, dad new better than that to say that something important was going on and I didn’t know about it.

He looked up again and saw me staring at him intensely, “Oops.” He looked ashamed with himself; he had been dodging sentences like that when he learned of my obsession with finding out things that people didn’t want me to know.

“Alright I’ll tell you,” he looked back down at his documents, he was used to doing extreme multitasking, “the Longrock leader is bankrupt, even though I told Leo to be careful with his expenses he didn’t listen, of course, and out of the few options he had to try and get his money back, he chose to raid bordering villages. He’s already looted most of the Firerose clans bordering villages and I suspect we are next, so I’m dispatching a reasonable number of soldiers to protect the villages, I also suspect that because of our wealth that he wants to move in further and take more.” He sighed the last part; because of our reasonable weather our clan is rich with meats, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants that sustain our land’s wealth and prosperity.

I sat there considering the problem while he continued working, this was sudden news, all of the clan leaders knew each other personally, and because of that they usually don’t go invading other clans. But it isn’t unheard of; some leaders can become corrupt, blackmailed or desperate. My thoughts were scattered when the kitchen door swung open with a bang, Jesse had kicked the door open because he was loaded with a large platter with tons of food on it. Jesse winced at the loud noise; he shot an apologetic smile at us and continued walking forward to serve breakfast.

He stopped next to me at the edge of the table, his eyes darting around the table to try and find an area large enough for the platter, none in sight by his pained expression.

“Um sir?” Jesse asked this with a helpless look on his face. I smiled, he always looked helpless, I stood up and helped Jesse by clearing a space were the documents dad had already read were on the table, he set the platter down, gave me a quick smile, and set off in a pace that made him seem like a darting fly.

I grinned, it was always a pleasure being around Jesse, he was fun and outgoing, but nervous around people of authority, for example his boss. He was my age so we related well, people of seventeen only get along with other people around the same age, and everyone else in the house was at least ten years older than us, except when my brother was around, but he acted older than he is.

I blinked and tried to stay out of my fantasies or I would lose daylight I needed at least 8 hours with Calastan or it would not be an eventful afternoon, and Calastan loved exploring. I always let him free rein, he usually found a good picnic spot, I ate the now cooked de-yoked egg Melissa was working on, perfectly crisp toast, and some diced tomato and lettuce on the side, delicious, Melissa went all the way. I excused myself when I was finished, Dad looked up, “Be careful of the predators, Diara.”

I stopped, turned and made an over the top defiant pose, “You know I always am, not even a Morbus flower can get this super powered woman.”

I intended for it to be a joke but he sobered at that, my smile wavered and I was filled with dread as I watched him shrink from the most powerful man in our clan, to a man in unbearable pain. The Morbus flower was an enemy to this family and any mention of it immediately reminded us of why. I walked back over to dad, the reminder hit him the hardest, and it got worse every time, I bent down and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“It’s alright dad, we’re still here.” I said in the gentlest tone I had, my voice had no effect on him. His eyes were still cast down and glistening, I didn’t know what to do. Just like he tried to avoid unfinished sentences, everyone tried to avoid this subject it always ended in tears, not always his.

I looked away from him, no matter how many times I’ve tried I couldn’t get him out of this, he’d stay like this for an hour then go immediately to the research laboratory. Stay locked down there for the rest of the day trying to look for a cure he’s been studying for decades now, Infirmitas Disease. Suspected to be caused by the Morbus flower, though the reason why he is obsessed with finding a cure happened years ago, and it hurt to think about it.

I stood up and briskly walked towards the doorway of the dining room, the room seemed darker now, as if the happiness and light was getting sucked out the room.

I walked through many other various rooms, until I found myself in the sunroom, the elaborate white metal furniture and walls covered in windows made it seem as if you were no longer inside. I opened the white wood door with elaborate glass shapes mixed into it, which was on the outside of the room, on the other side was a large meadow which Calastan roamed and lived in, the first few acres were neatly cut, but the rest was a flare of tall grass and various rocks, a large dam covered the corner of the fence line to the left and a small stable was a few metres away from the deep dark water.

Calastan stood in front of the stable, waiting for me in his usual attire, a dry mud coat wrapped around his body. He always loved having an early morning swim in the supposedly clean dam, with the water floor overwhelmed with mud and clay.

I grabbed the mud brush from inside the two roomed stable, and went to work on his matted dark fur. Calastan stayed perfectly still, except for the occasional tail flick to my face, to which I replied with a hit on the ass, that made him think twice.

When I finished shedded fur made a small pile in a circle around his body, it was coming to winter so I would have to take frequent showers. His black body gleamed while his brown feet stayed wet and dull, I didn’t have enough time to do his feet. I quickly grabbed his tack and saddled him with speed and accuracy, I knew were everything went without thinking about it.

I finished and hastily tied my hair back with a leather strip, hefting myself on the saddle I finally felt at home, I almost ushered Calastan to move forward when the door to the sunroom slammed open.

I turned as Jesse winced at the noise; he rushed towards me in a small trot, clutching a small basket to his chest. Calastan moved so we could face him, Jesse smiled nervously at Calastan and moved to hand me the small basket.

“You forgot to get your lunch.” He gave me a wide smile, I smiled back. Jesse was always considerate, even for the little things; he gave me a small quick wave and dashed off.

I stared at him while he hurried off, he certainly runs a lot, I wonder how he keeps so fit to do that much running, probably from all the running…

I shook my head violently, what on earth was I saying, I never drift off like that. Calastan moved impatiently, I rubbed his neck signalling that we can leave now; he gratefully bounded off in an instant.

He headed for our usual picnic spot, towards the small stream, there was a small opening close to the stream, the ground was covered in small smooth pebbles and willow trees shaded the area creating a cold spot on hot days. Realisation flashed, this was where I was in my dream, I looked around trying to seek answers for questions I don’t even know yet. There was no body or blood, or goons or the man with the expensive shoes, just dry pebbles and the sound of the trickling water.

I went towards my favourite spot, a large willow with vines encircling the trunk, I went through the thick curtain of foliage to set down my basket, I didn’t want to keep Calastan waiting, he was always skittish when it came to the curtain of the willows. As soon as I opened the curtain I was greeted with a young woman sitting at the base of the tree.

Emotions rippled through me in a flash, first there was surprise, then confusion, I finally settled on cautiousness, no one knew about my spot, it was mine and Calastan’s secret. So how did this woman get here, correction how did this strange woman get here, she seemed strange because she was wearing a handkerchief over her mouth and nose, and was staring at me with an evident mixture of pity and wonder.

“Hello, Diara.” She said in a muffled voice, she rose to stand, briskly wiping her blue skirt and blouse while she did. Her handkerchief was pink, her short light brown hair was tied back with a leather band, her bright hazel eyes stared at me intensely.

I assessed the situation, she didn’t seem dangerous, and she was hampered down by wearing a casual skirt on. But why did she have the handkerchief, did she not want me to know who she is? And how did she know where I would be today and what my name was?

The last question was obvious, everyone knew my name I’m the daughter of the clan leader.  But how did she know about my special spot?

The woman shifted uncomfortably, “I know you have many questions, I do to. I just want to ask you something, and then you can ask all the questions you want.” The woman paused thinking, “But it has to be in a limit, some answers you must find on your own.”

Cautious I nodded.

The woman’s uncomfortable demeanour left her, she sagged in relief. I wonder what she thought I would say.

“Ok here is my question, actually its two questions, this might sound a bit strange but what have your dreams been about lately?”

I stared at her confused, that was an odd question, my brain screamed to hop on Calastan and report of this trespasser, but a small nagging thought bumped into that one saying be curious it has never let you down before. The small thought was convincing, whereas my other thought was sensible, sensible can go to hell.

“I’ve had a few weird ones; they all seem to fade away when I wake up.” The woman seemed to fall apart when I said that, but I continued, “Except the one I had last night, it’s clear in my mind, seemed as real as this moment, and it was here, where we are standing.” The thought seemed silly when I said it, but the woman didn’t think so, her bright eyes were so wide they almost seemed to pop out of her head.

I felt awkward just standing here doing a staring contest with a mysterious woman, moving into action I went to grab my blanket off Calastan. Calastan flicked me with his tail signalling it was treat time, I tisked at him but gave him an apple anyway.

I entered through the curtain again, hoping she hadn’t left. She hadn’t but she had moved she was now leaning against the trunk of the tree; she picked the only space free of the vines. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be dosing but the quick movement under her eyelids showed that she was thinking hard.

“I’m Ettie by the way, seeing you don’t know me.” Her voice held grief. The name was common so I wasn’t surprised when it sounded familiar.

Now that I had learned her name, I was becoming impatient, my curiosity measure was about to hit brain explosion. “You said you had two questions.” I said this with more annoyance than I actually meant, but she didn’t seem to mind. She just opened her eyes and stared at me again, no longer with pity or wonder, they were dead walls; I could no longer see the mixed emotion rippling through her like before, she was now serious and that scared me.

“What do you know of what’s happening in the outside world?” Her voice was grave; she now seemed less friendly, more like cold hard killer type. But her posture showed that I was no enemy to her.

That was so wrong, I didn’t know her, she acted like she knows me but the second she does something that even seems psychopathic, I’m signalling for Calastan to attack and retreat.

“I know Leo Longrock is raiding border towns, he’s seeking release from his debts and bankruptcy.”

Ettie looked confused and worried about that, “Let’s make a deal.”

I was suspicious at that, we had already made a deal, for her to ask her questions and go, now she wanted to add to it. What was she up to?

“What kind of deal?”

“That you go into town for at least one hour, if you do that, you’ll never see me again,” She paused, “unless you want to.”

I considered this deal, it seemed reasonable, plus my common sense had left me again and was replaced with my baffling persistent curiosity. I had always wanted to go outside the manor and paddocks, father always changed the subject whenever I mentioned it, but I don’t notice that he does until hours later. He was a professional at convincing people, it almost seemed hypnotic, I believed he could make someone even want to jump off a cliff if he said the right words.

“Fine I’ll do it, but will you really leave me alone.”

“I swear upon my brother’s life.” She said this softly, like she was afraid of saying it.

I stared at her, this woman was an anomaly. “Very well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Ettie stepped forward as I moved towards the vines, “Actually, I would suggest going today, your father is in an important meeting right now, so he won’t be able to catch you sneaking out.”

I stared at her again, except this time in shock horror, “How did you know that?”

Ettie shrugged as if unaware of my alarm, “I have my ways.” At that she left through the vines. I didn’t move to follow her for many reasons, the main was because my head was spinning so fast I was afraid of falling, who was this woman? How did she know all these things, it’s like she’s my own conscience, she knows all of my thoughts and feelings, yet cannot control them.

My dizziness passes, but I still didn’t move, why was this happening now of all times? It was like a bad omen. First was these weeks of dreams I can’t see or understand, combined with my thoughts and feelings going all over the place, almost as much as Ettie. Now the only dream that was ever clear won’t get out of my head, then she comes along and creates more chaos for this muddled up head of mine.

 I finally snapped out of my deranged thoughts, why was I over thinking this? Everything was fine, nothing out of the ordinary has happened lately, no stars falling out of the sky, or people mysteriously dying (if you don’t count the people with Morbus disease). The world was perfectly normal, the only thing out of the ordinary was my own little world working its way throughout my brain, making me think something was very wrong with the ‘ordinary real world’. Trying to get these crazy thoughts out of my head I slapped myself a few times, the first few stung but my cheeks numbed after the rest.

I was doing this for quite a while, it took me a while to realise there was a figure in front of my blurred vision, I stopped slapping myself, realising how ridiculous that sounded when I thought of it in my head.

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, the sudden clarity made me step back in surprise when Calastan’s head was two centimetres from my face. He probably heard the noise and was curious, I laughed and patted him on the neck, he nuzzled my cheek buttering me up for a treat. I smiled; even if he couldn’t talk he always seemed to make my problems melt away.

I frowned, thinking about the current problem, so I wouldn’t get caught up with it I pulled out an apple, let Calastan snatch it out of my palm I then hopped onto the saddle. Calastan knew the way back so all I had to do was hold on. But the town was in the opposite direction, through the rest of the forest, and then some more paddocks, until you reach the main road.

Calastan moved towards the pathway back home, the world was in slow motion, my head was spinning so fast at the possibilities I thought I was going to fall over again. Just as Calastan reached the edge of the clearing, I pulled the reins, glancing behind me I saw a thin recently used trail across the creek, leading the way towards the village. Ettie must have come and left through there, I sighed at my crazy decisions, leaning over Calastan’s neck I whispered, “Change of rout buddy, were going into town.” He nickered at that, I didn’t know if he understood so I turned him around and urged him towards the trail, as soon as we entered the narrow pathway we were encased in darkness.

2: Chapter 2

That was the longest ride of my life. I groaned this in my head; I didn’t want to attract attention. From what I’ve learned from my first few minutes in the village is that, they don’t like rich people, at all, well except the first person I met when I emerged, my first impression of the completion of the pathway, was that I was at Ettie’s house, the cottage was secluded in the thinning tree line of the forest. It had a water wheel because it was positioned next to the stream, but the presence of a pregnant woman hanging dripping clothes on the clothesline a few meters in front of me made me rethink were I was.

I sat still for a moment feeling awkward, I just rode into this woman’s back yard, and she looked exceptionally close to her due date, so I couldn’t bring myself to startle her. I sat there for about a minute before the woman noticed me; she stopped for a moment looking at me with her small brown eyes, pushed her dark hair out of her face then continued with her work.

“Would you mind helping me with this, I’ve got a lot of clothes to finish; Joel goes through his clothes like he goes through his meat.” I smiled at that, she seemed friendly and generally motherly, but I was surprised how calm she was at finding a stranger on a horse in her yard.

I slid off Calastan, tying him to a branch; I gave him a quick pat and rushed over to help the woman hang soaking wet boots onto the line. When we finished she stretched her arms with a smile, “Ever since my stomach got as big as a boulder I’ve been feeling as useless as a Henin.”

I tried imagining her as one of the passive animals with the image of a sloth and ape mixed together, whom are frequently seen on the border of the Gemstone clan. I smiled at this thought, the woman seemed nice she had a caring motherly instinct, I wondered if this was her first child, but dismissed that thought, we didn’t hang up any children clothes, most of them were worn work clothes and a few boots and shoes.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the woman handed me the now empty wicker basket, she motioned me to follow her, she moved at a slow pace, she kept glancing down worryingly, it took me a few seconds to realise she couldn’t see where she was stepping over her swollen belly. I quickly tucked the basket under my arm sitting it on my hip, I used my free hand to help guild her by putting a gentle hand on her elbow, she looked up at me and smiled quickly in thanks, then continued concentrating on her stomach, trying to look at her hidden feet.

We travelled to the side entrance of the cottage that let into the main room which had the kitchen, dining room and sitting room all in one. I was told to make myself comfortable, while refreshments were made; I sat on one of the stuffed loveseats just as the front door opened.

“Hello? Lena?” The large man said as he walked into the small hallway, he closed the door and went straight to unlacing his shoes, slipping then off and putting them neatly to the side.

“I’m right here; open your eyes for once.” Lena said this with a smile touching her lips; this was a very old joke between them.

The man laughed, his small blue eyes crinkled with laugh lines and his sharp nose softened. Pushing his shaggy sandy coloured hair away from his face he looked up opening his mouth to say something but stopped suddenly when he saw me sitting on the loveseat.

His laughter left and was replaced with concern, “Lena, do you know who we have in our sitting room?”

Lena currently working on snacks in the kitchen replied in a matter of fact tone, “Of course I do, I’m not blind like you.”

Anger now replaced concern, “Well then can you tell me why she is in our sitting room?”

Lena came over and handed me a dish with a small amount of biscuits and cheese, I sat there quietly munching on a biscuit watching this argument escalate quickly.

“Because she wouldn’t be here without reason.”

“Reason? There could be many reasons why she’s here, but even if one of those reasons were dire, we were told to keep away from her for her own safety.” Joel was on the edge of screaming now, but even though all of his anger was being thrown at Lena, she remained still and calm.

“I know you’re worried and concerned, but we have to help her, otherwise she’ll never know the truth, and she’ll never see him again.”

Joel crumpled at that, his face melted from anger to weariness; his body fell onto the chair opposite to me, he seemed older now, more vulnerable.

“We owe them both.” Lena said gravely.

Joel closed his eyes, his body clenched as if going through a wave of pain, finally after what seemed like forever; he leaned forward clasping his hands so they rested on his chin.

 I stared at him, I had no idea what they were talking about but just from seeing Joel’s conflicting emotions roll across his face, I could tell that this subject was intensely conflicting and dear to both of them.

Joel finally glanced up, he stared at me gravely the intensity in his eyes created worry and unease in me, his eyes told me his answer would not help me in a reassuring way. His eyes moved over to look at Lena; she fiddled with the loose fabric over her bulging stomach. Finally he sighed, bowed his head and nodded.

Lena beamed and went straight into action, she quickly ran over kissed his bowed head, then hustled over to me pinching my hand from my lap, dragged me towards a door to the back of the kitchen.

The door opened to a small room there were only three pieces of furniture, a small double bed that was pushed to the side, a slight wardrobe was cramped at the foot of the bed. The third piece of furniture was in the centre of the room and took up most of the space, an incomplete crib sat there waiting to be finished, pieces of wood and cloth littered around the legs of the cradle.

Lena briskly walked over to the small wardrobe, sorted through the garnishes and apparel for a minute, then pulled out matching dark blue women’s dress set, though they were matching the skirt seemed drab in caparison to the blouse, the hems of the bodice was bordered with lace and frilled to place a gentle appeal, the sleeves ended at the elbows, it was most likely a summer garb.

“Right then, you put this on and we’ll go into town to meet with Caleb,” I was about to interrupt her but she looked at me with sympathetic eyes, “I know you have questions, but please trust me and wait until we’re safe with Caleb.”

I paused looking into her eyes; there was nothing but trust and truth in them, they were a mother’s eyes. I nodded.

She beamed and hurried out for me so I could get changed, when she closed the door I heard hushed conversation, I quietly walked over to the door and opened it a crack, the hushed conversation was finished and they were embracing, Joel kissed Lena on the head and leaned into her, as if he was afraid of letting her go. I closed the door wondering what was going on; I had so many questions and each minute I’m here more pile on. This had escalated so quickly, one minute I was having a friendly conversation, now I’m going into town to meet a mysterious person by the name of Caleb, who supposedly had all of my answers.

I looked down at the garments spread on the bed, nothing fancy or elaborate about them, they were just simple clothes for an outing. Finally I moved into action to get changed, even though I was used to wearing skirts and blouses, in fact it was expected of me to look like the perfect little rich girl all the time, I hated wearing skirts and corsets.

I emerged from the room fully dressed, still jumping up and down excitedly she rushed over to bring my hair down from it elaborate knot, letting it flow down to my shoulders, she then tied back two strips above my ears so it would get in my face. She shot a smile at me before rushing into the bedroom, probably to get dressed herself.

I glanced around the room, Joel was nowhere to be seen, I stood there listening to the ticking of a grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Lena finally emerged wearing a pale yellow chemise; her dark hair was in an elaborate knot similar to my previous hair style, she looked irritated. She kept trying to push the small bits of her hair out her face, I smiled.

“Where has Joel disappeared to?” I asked

Lena gave up her efforts and replied now focusing on moving her feet forward, “He went to fetch the wagon, the travel to town takes too long on foot, and Joel is always harassing me about all time I am on my feet,” She shook her head as if in disgust, but a smile played on her lips, “but he has no need to worry so much, I can take care of myself.”

I smiled, she obviously didn’t realise that she could barely walk without help, I walked over to assist her again. The walk to the front gate took longer than anticipated, due to the unexpected stairs at the front door. Joel arrived as we reached the gate; he was in the driver’s position on an open wagon that would usually be used for moving goods around, it was pulled by a single cream horse peppered with light brown flecks on its coat.

I suddenly thought of Calastan, unsure of how long we would be in town, I worried.

“What about my horse, what are we going to do with him?” I asked, directing the question to Joel.

He thought for a moment then said, “Would it be alright if we tied him to the wagon with Percy?”

I nodded; he was trained as a dual horse, one used for personal riding and group travel. Joel hopped down then asked me to help Lena onto the wagon while he went to fetch Calastan. Joel returned back a few minutes later, we were already settled onto the wagon, tying Calastan next to Percy, Joel jumped up onto the driver’s bench, he flicked the reins and the wagon jerkily moved onto the main road towards the village.

I quickly snapped out of my memories, and continued quietly walking down the deserted streets. Traveling down the narrow cobblestone pathway, I noticed two things. One, the few people whom were wondering the streets kept their heads down, avoided eye contact, and walked in a hurried fashion. Two, the whole town was overrun by soldiers; from mere glance I could tell that the amount of soldiers overwhelmingly outnumbered the occupants.

I leaned over to Lena, “What’s going on here?”

“Just keep your head down, and try not to attract any attention.” She whispered back.

Rest of the walk through town was a long and nerve racking one, I was nervous because I didn’t have any so called papers. Lena explained the importance of papers in a whisper as we walked, “Papers allow you to walk freely around town after work hours, but you have to fill out specifically when you left and were you’re going you’re only aloud three hours of free walk a day, and you can only go to one place per trip, the rest of time you are restricted to your home.”

I looked at her, this seemed wrong everything was constricted, no one had any freedom.

“Why are there so many rules here? It’s like their confining everyone.”

Lena looked at me worried, “Don’t worry, all your questions will be answered when we get to Caleb.” She then continued looking around cautiously, unconsciously stroking her stomach.

Her unease made me even more nervous; she looked like she expected the town to erupt in chaos any minute. We continued walking keeping our heads down and eyes lowered, the only people in the town who seem at least a little comfortable were the many soldiers patrolling the streets. Joel finally changed rout, he turned us down a spacious alley walked to the middle, stopped in his tracks and knocked on the wall.

I followed him, why would he knock on the wall? The answer to my question was the sudden movement of the wall being opened, Joel then hustled us inside.

I stood there momentarily in darkness; I could feel my heart beating in my chest, the prospect of meeting the man who could answer all of my questions left me with shivers of adrenaline. The consuming darkness left the room, someone had lit a candle on the right side of the room, the weak light was set on a small table. Lena sat on one of the chairs whilst Joel stood over her in a protective gesture. They didn’t move they just looked at the empty space to the left of the room, there stares increased the speed of my heart, why were they just staring at a wall.

I turned to look at the wall, before I could register what they were staring at, an object slammed into me, the sudden impact made me lose my footing I would have fallen over if the object hadn’t steadied me and continued to crush me in its grip. I recovered from my daze and realised that I was looking over a person’s shoulder; my attempts to squirm out of his bear hug were meaningless his arms were like steel.

So I just stood there, I noticed that he had shoulder length hair, the colour was light brown with a tint of blond. Glancing over at Lena and Joel I saw no change in Joel’s expression, but Lena was smiling sweetly, like someone would when looking pictures of sweet memories.

3: Chapter 3

After that brief yet weird experience, no answers came to light, only more questions. The man had finally let me go, with his hands on my shoulders he studied me, and I studied him back taking in his features. His brown hair almost reached his shoulders, his angular face was tan. Eyes were a dark chocolate brown which flared intensely in the light, the most distracting feature of his profile was the long scar centimetres above his right eye, the scar moved diagonally through his eyebrow then stopped midway his forehead.

He finally let go and addressed Lena and Joel, “What is your reason for being here?” He said this in a gruff voice trying to sound important, but his voice quivered at the end, showing that his emotions were leaking out of his masked expression.

Lena glanced up at Joel, whom nodded encouragingly, “Ettie went to see Diara, and sent her to us. I believe she was hoping that she would remember.”

Caleb sighed, moving his hand through his hair, he gave the obvious sign of being stressed, “I’ve already got a ton of problems on my hands, and now Ettie goes ahead and does this.”

“You know Ettie worries too much, she was concerned about her. She’s always been the older sister to everyone.”

Caleb sobered at that, “I know, and she can’t help it, especially with Diara.” Caleb looked back at me with his intense eyes. He didn’t say a word for a whole minute, and I know because I counted the seconds, Lena and Joel didn’t provide any silence breakers they just looked at Caleb with worried expressions.

I began to feel uncomfortable at the 53 second mark, so I decided that I would be the silence breaker.

As casually as I could I interjected the peace, “Excuse me sir, but Lena and Joel claimed that you could answer some questions I have.” I looked at him expecting him to jump into action and apologise for being rude.

Instead he chuckled, and coolly walked over to Lena. He knelt down next to her and whispered something in her ear. Joel was leaning in to listen to the whisper; he then moved away his mouth set in a worried line. Caleb moved back to receive her answer, she simply nodded.

Caleb then turned to me, his expression identical to Joel’s, “Before I can answer your questions, you must answer a question for me.” His gaze did not move from my eyes, he looked like he was bracing for something.

I nodded, even more unnerved then before.

“Have you ever heard of a man named Derrick?”

“Derrick?”

“Derrick.” He said in conformation.

I paused not sure if I should tell them the constricted feeling I was starting to get in my chest, “Who’s Derrick?” I tried swallowing the tightness down, but it would not go away.

Caleb crossed his arms; he was in a position that said he could wait forever if he needed to, “You tell me.” He said this with eyebrows raised.

I hated that expression, my brother Nathaniel used that expression in every conversation he had with anyone, I should have gotten used to it years ago, but it just annoyed me more each time Nathaniel did it, or anyone in fact.

My chest constricted even more; his expression seemed to open a door in my head. Soon there was a young man standing before my eyes, staring at me with the same endless patience, but his dark eyes were lit up laughing with pure joy.

The young man then started to blur, my brain ached and heaved in my head. The blurred figure moved towards me, I tried to move to him but my feet refused to move with me, I fell into his warm embrace and was left to darkness.

The streets were cold and deserted, I began thinking that this was a bad idea; maybe I should have stayed at home with dad and Nathanial. They would be worried by now, but they would be mad if they found out that I lied about going for a ride with Calastan.

A strong wind caused my hood to blow off and my hair to go wild; I really did hate my hair. It was long, curly and stood out easily with its deep red brown colour. I continued walking, pulling my cloak close to keep the cold from making my shiver. As I walk down a bend, the town square came into view the same time I felt my throat constrict and dry unexpectedly.

I stopped, my body went numb. The wind continued to shove at me, trying to move me with cold and strong forces, I didn’t even notice. I stood there waiting for the inevitable, it did not disappoint. My throat began to tickle and scratch, I covered my mouth as I began hocking up thick amounts of liquid that left a metallic aftertaste, this went on for five minutes. With the constant feeling that I was choking on my own blood, I tried to clear the substances from my mouth before more came tumbling up, it seem useless until it finally stopped. I stood there shaking, staring at the small puddle I made, and the red stained hand in front of me.

I stood there wasting precious minutes, I didn’t have much time before it started, and I didn’t think to bring the anaesthetic.

I looked around at the surrounding buildings, maybe there’s a town doctor.

I held onto that small hope, and continued down the main road. I could hear the faint sound of running water that suggested a fountain was up ahead, which would mean I could be near the town square. But a strange ringing that came from ahead almost cancelled out the sound of the fountain; the scene finally developed in front of me and all I could do was stand there in shock and horror.

A full blown riot was taking place in the town square, the ground was littered in the remnants of market stands and peoples belongings. Civilians cowered in the alleys and far off walls of the square trying their best to keep out of the fray.

While they cowered the men fighting surged onto each other, using weapons, made of metal, wood or sometimes just objects they pick up off of the floor. Half of the men in the onslaught were dressed in a dark red and black outfit; I could tell that they were the town guards. The other half wore mostly tan brown working clothes; the occasional man wore a piece of armour.

I stood their dumbstruck unable to move or think, only able to watch the men effortlessly trying to best their opponent. One of the worker men in a close by scuffle noticed me standing at the edge of the battle, panting for breath he shouted over the sound of clashing swords, “Get out of the way miss, and find a place to hide.”

I jerked into movement at the sound of his voice, looking for anything to provide cover I ran to a stall that had not been knocked to the ground, fruit had spilled off it and now littered the ground.  I felt my heart begin to ache. “Not now,” I thought, “Why does this have to happen now?” 

Two men with swords came close to the fruit stand, not taking notice of me, their focus and intent to kill was clear on their faces, perspiration from their efforts beaded down their faces, neither of the men was going to back down. I covered my ears in terror, trying to block out the noise of clashing metal, they finally moved away from the fruit stand leaving me and my pounding heart to calm for a moment.

Taking a chance I popped my head up over the stand. The archers on the roof were no longer raining death onto the riot. Several of them had been knocked off their roofs by fighters who had made their way up, and the remaining ones were currently distracted by still more fighters trying to knock them off. I saw a small alleyway about fifty meters away, and decided to take my chance. I hobbled along the cobblestone path, during my time with my condition I had learned to always be cautious, if I was caught off guard then the pain would be even more severe.

I got about halfway, when the spasms started. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, my lungs emptied themselves. I bent over, and started coughing, and as I did I heard the whistle of something large and metal swinging through the air above me. I guessed that my spasm had just saved me from being decapitated.

I stood up once again, and tried to continue walking, which, between the spasms and the coughing, was proving nearly impossible.

I had another spasm, just as I reached the safety of a group of barrels. The spasm was so violent that it caused me to fall, which may have saved my life, as I heard another whistling noise above my head as I fell. I crawled over to a point where I could see my attacker. One of the archers had managed to throw off his assailant, and was now firing arrows onto the battlefield again.

I rolled over, and tried to sit up, but the spasms started up again, and I fell back, hitting my head against the cobblestone. Dazed, I tried again to sit up. I tried to scream, but it came out as more of a choked gasp. There was a town guard, with a large sword, advancing on me menacingly. He raised the sword above his head, ready to strike me down, when suddenly; I saw his head fly apart from his body. A man, one of the rebels, stepped over his corpse, and extended a hand to help me up. Movement caused me to want to scream again, with each spasm I had the pain became even worse, I had managed to push myself onto my elbows, my arms shaking with exhaustion. Another coughing fit hit me; it was thick and throaty so of course blood managed to drip down my chin.

My vision was beginning to become blurry, but I could still see the man’s eyes widen in worry. He quickly spurred into action scoping me into his arms, he jogged in the direction of the alley I had targeted. The darkness quickly enveloped my vision, I noticed before I fell under that he was wearing a leather chest plate, which I considered odd seeing that I only saw a couple of the working men in armour.

I awoke to a breath of stale thick air, a stone wall greeted my eyes and the small flicker of a candle illuminated the room. Glancing around I noticed that the room was compact and the ground and walls were carved stone, almost like a cave. I also noticed that I was lying on a narrow wooden bed.

I felt lightheaded and dizzy, when I moved my limps they felt as if they weighed nothing, carefully moving my arms to prop me up onto my elbows, I got a twinge of déjà vu. An image of an extended hand flashed before my eyes, my instincts shouted to grab it, but my heart and head ached at the idea.

I slowly sat up, unsure of whether my head would allow me to do fast movements. I was still in my skirt and blouse, but my boots had been removed. I twisted to the side moving my feet over the edge of the bed; they tingled at the touch of the cold stone floor. My head throbbed in pain as I made an effort to stand, my legs were unsure and unsteady, but I managed to stand without my legs falling beneath me.

With my goal achieved I examined the room further, the end table that held the candle that illuminated the room, also held a pitcher of water and two wooden bowls. One of the bowls held a damp cloth, and the other was full of a red substance that I had no interest in find out what it was.

Grabbing the candle I moved to the door, hoping to find someone on the other side that would have answers. I didn’t. What greeted me was a thin dimly lit hallway, which was also made of stone that looked to be carved.

The room from which I came from was at the end of the hallway, I stared at the seemingly endless hallway that’s consumed in darkness. I glanced back at the compact room, thinking if someone would maybe come to see me sooner or later, I dismissed that idea. I didn’t even know why they brought me here, for all I knew that room could be my prison.

I looked down the gloomy hallway trying to find any sign of other doors or an intersection, the shadows had created a wall or darkness, which no perceiving eye could see through. I contemplated my options, wait for someone to come for me, or walk out there and try and find someone. Contemplating my options caused a nagging thought to stir in my head, my Achilles heel urged me to walk into the darkness and find anyone to answer the questions that need answering.

Cursing my curiosity, I stepped forward and began travelling down the hallway.