Edrei (AC)

[jesusfreak10537]

((Well, everyone, this is my long awaited story for the Alegory Contest in the Writer's Guild. I'm going to start with my main character's profile.

Name: Katharine
Nickname: Katie
Gender: Female
Race: Human

Age: 20
Height: 5'9
Weight: 116 lbs

Appearance: Katharine has long, shimmering auburn hair, which compliments her deep blue eyes. She is tall, lithe, and slender, not beautiful enough to turn heads but still lovely in her own way.

Personality: Katharine's temper often gives one the feeling that she is wild, but that is not so. She loves nature, and animals, and spends days romping about in the woods. She is loving and kind, loves to cook, and likes archery, but if her temper flares all traces of the loving person she is disappears.
Clothing: Red wool dress over black shirt
Weapons: She is skilled with a bow, and somewhat with a sword.

Well, I hope this works...and now here goes the story!))

Edrei​

Prologue:

Amid the chaos, one woman slipping up the wide stairwell went unnoticed. Gathering her skirts, she rushed up the ancient stairs, pausing outside of a roughly hewn doorway. She turned the knob quietly, and then entered the room. Padding across the cold stone floor, the woman approached a tiny cradle that had been lovingly carved out of a chunk of heartwood. The infant nestled inside cooed, kicking her tiny feet in sleepless protest.
“Shh, hush. Be still now, my little one.” The woman reached her hand into the cradle, and the baby curled her tiny fingers over her mother’s large ones. A single tear snaked down the woman’s face. “I resolved not to cry!” she whispered, wiping the tear away with vehement force. Her shoulders shaking with suppressed sorrow, she lifted the infant from the heartwood cradle. The baby yawned and burped, oblivious to the emotional struggle her mother was battling.
“We have no time to lose.” The woman said to the child, then bustled around the cold room. The fire had long since extinguished, for all the able-bodied servants had left to fight in the hopeless war. Wrapping the baby against the chill, she ran out into the corridor, slamming into a man dressed in chain mail. “Sorry, Will. I have our child.” She lifted the baby to his arms, and he cradled the infant, making baby noises.
“We may never see her again, love. You are sure you want to do this?”
The woman lifted her chin with as much courage as she could muster. “I know, Will. But at least we will save her from death! I want my only daughter to live and see a land of peace!” Will gave the baby back to his wife. Cupping her head in his battle-calloused hands, he looked into her eyes, and wiped away another tear with his finger.

“You are brave, Elli. I saw that from the day I met you.” He smiled. “Now come. If the child is to escape alive, the time is now.” He led her down the stairs, then across a broad walkway high above the city. A gasp from Elli made him turn.
“The citadel is…burning!” Elli gasped, eyes wide. “I did not think…” she trailed off, sorrow overburdening her, and abruptly continued across the walkway. Descending down another stairway, she ran onto the stone paved road, soon passing from Will’s sight amid the panicked soldiers. She weaved her way through the armor clad men, who barely noticed her over their terror. A chill wind rustled Elli’s hair, carrying on it the wails of the doomed and dying soldiers.
She reached a high wall, a lone standing sentinel that stood stonily in its watch of the untouched western valley. She searched the wall’s weathered exterior, her eyes scanning every smooth stone. “Where is it?” she murmured, shifting the child to her other arm. With no small amount of satisfaction, she finally spotted what she was looking for: the sign of the five-pronged star carved in an ancient black stone. Pressing the middle of the star, she stood back and watched as a portion of the wall slid away. Slipping in the small opening, Elli ran down the smooth steps that had been carved out of the side of the hill in some forgotten time long past. The sounds of her harried footsteps echoed eerily against the stone walls. Reaching the end, she again pressed another star, and the wall slid away. She ran out onto the golden plain, seeing her destination. Above her, the sun rose mockingly, almost teasing the mind into thinking it was a normal day in the battered city of Parnassian.

The golden wheat danced and swayed in the expansive field as Elli sprinted toward a caravan of wagons on the last safe road leading out of Parnassian.

The trading caravan had provided supplies for the unprovisioned army, but the wagon master had sensed that the Golden City would fall ere the day drew to a close, and had ordered the wagons to safety. After the caravan passed safely into the eastern regions, the route would be closed against the enemy. The wagons had halted for some unknown reason, and Elli breathed a prayer of gratitude as she reached the caravan. Slipping undetected behind the last wagon, she crept forward until she was standing next to it. She untied a piece of the canvas cover and slipped underneath it. Hugging her daughter to her chest for the last time, she set the little wrapped bundle down amidst jingling trinkets. The baby looked at her mother unconcernedly, but began to flail with panic as Elli turned away.

“Hush, child.” Elli crooned softly. “May the Lord go with you, and surround you with His angels of protection.” She ran her hand over the tiny bald head one last time, watching as the infant yawned and went to sleep. She managed to keep the tears from her eyes as she turned away, and refastened the canvas. A shout behind her of, “Hey, you! Get away from there!” spurred her into action. She sprinted across the field, away from her daughter forever. When she reached the wall, she turned. “Farewell.” Elli allowed her tears to flow freely now, as she watched the wagons start forward again on the path to safety. “Goodbye, Katharine.”

 

[jesusfreak10537]

Still the prologue:



The caravan master leaned against the rough wooden seat and looked out over the backs of his two plodding mares. They had left the golden plains of Parnassian an hour ago; now the caravan was weaving its way through the sparsely wooded territory outside the trading village of Finulae. The wagon master would be glad to reach civilization and have a nice warm bed and actual food. The capital city Parnassian had little water and virtually no food and its citadels were swiftly burning. It was a shame to have the magnificent capital being defeated; it had provided one the caravan’s biggest profits. He remembered how magnificent the city had looked a short month ago, its banners flying high in salute to the celebration of the birth of the King’s daughter. A shout brought the master back to the present. “Captain! Sir!” A small, wiry man bounded over.

“What is it, Nigel?” the master turned to his assistant.

“Sir! We found something in one of the wagons!” Nigel saluted smartly.

The Captain raised a brow. “And what would that something be, Nigel?”

“Um, well, sir,” the small man shifted his weight nervously. “We found a…a baby. It was in the last wagon, wrapped in a blanket.”

“A baby! In one of my wagons! Bring it to me!” the master bellowed, fury turning his ears red. Nigel saluted again and sprinted off to obey the order.

The master sat back, wondering how in tarnation a little brat could have ended up on his caravan.

“Here she is, sir!” Nigel returned, huffing, with a little wrapped bundle in his arms. He plopped the infant in the Captain’s lap. The baby screwed her face up in a resounding wail and began to flail her arms. The master looked at her with obvious disgust.

“Get rid of it.” The Captain quickly handed the baby back.

Nigel widened his eyes. “Sir?”

“Drop it off at Finulae. I’ll not have a baby tagging along on my trading caravan.”

Nigel nodded quickly. “Yes, Captain.” The assistant turned and disappeared among the dust that the caravan kicked up. The caravan master settled back in his seat, satisfied that the infant was taken care of. He unsheathed his knife and began to clean it while he returned to his former thoughts. Yes, he decided, it was too bad about Parnassian ending up in the hands of the Abadonians.








The aromatic smell that rose from the bakery’s kitchen went unnoticed by Maggie, who was up to her elbows in dirty laundry. When she had given birth to three boys, she hadn’t expected they would dirty their clothes so quickly! Finally, the aromatic smell changed to the acrid odor of burning bread. “Oh, no! The bread!” Maggie stood, dried her hands on the apron that covered her matronly body, and sprinted for the kitchen.

Shooing Peter, her three year old boy, from the room, Maggie quickly retrieved the bread from the fireplace. It no longer had the appearance of bread, but the loaf looked rather like a charred, black rock. “I’m sure the Official won’t appreciate serving his guests a burnt lump!” Maggie groaned, quickly bustling around the small, but homely, kitchen to start another loaf of bread. She could hear her boys screeching in the garden out back, filled with excitement because of the approaching trading caravan. Shaking her head, she kneaded the dough, and then braided it.

“Mum, Mum! The caravan is here! And it brings news of the fall of Parnassian!” David, her six-year-old old burst, into the room, excitement glowing on his freckled face.

“The fall of the capital?!” Maggie widened her eyes, trying not to show her fear to her beaming son.

She covered the dough with a towel, and then grabbed her shawl to fend off the chill morning air. She followed David outside, looking around anxiously for Charles, her husband. The wagons had stopped in the middle of the village greenbelt, and now the traders were hawking what wares they had left from supplying Parnassian.

While the children of Finulae were excited about the fall of Parnassian- it gave then something to talk about- the adults were nervous and fidgety. What if the Abadonians broke through and captured Finulae? Maggie kept her eyes peeled to the horizon, half-expecting to see the enemy’s army. She pulled aside a young man. “Nate, where is Charles?”

Nate pointed to the small armory that held the village’s few weapons.

“He’s in there. The Official is holding a council.”

Maggie thanked the boy and trudged through the muddy grass of the village green to the small thatched hut. Once inside the small armory, she found the men shouting at each other. She called, “Charles!” over the din, and her broad husband weaved his way through the crowd toward her. He took her by her arm and led her away from the chaos. “Charles, what in Edrei is going on? The Abadonians have taken Parnassian? What are we going to do?”

Maggie burst out, an anxious expression on her taut face.

“Calm down, Maggie. The capital city has not fallen yet. The remaining soldiers under the command of General Edward deFransico are holding strong for now. There is a gleam of hope for Parnassian, at least for this hour.” Charles smiled reassuringly, sounding more confident than he felt.

Maggie bit her lip. “But what if the enemy breaks through the citadel and comes here?”

“That is why I must go to Parnassian, to lend my sword to the battle.”

“Charles! What if…what if…” Maggie trailed off, horrified with the thought of her husband battling the fierce Abadonians.

“I’ll be fine, dear, and I’ll be home before you know it!” Charles asserted, hoping he was right. “Besides, won’t this be a grand story to tell our grandchildren?!”

Maggie rolled her eyes, a small smile spreading over her lips. “Just take care of yourself, okay? And don’t do anything rash.”

Charles nodded, pecked her on the cheek and then disappeared back into the armory.

Maggie couldn’t keep the awful feeling of worry and fear from welling up in the pit of her stomach. To get her mind off the once far-off war that now choked their lives, she hurried to the village greenbelt to see what wares the caravan had brought.

Later, after haggling over a length of blue cloth, she paid a few coins to an old wrinkled trader and turned away. A tug on her dress halted her movement.

Maggie looked over her shoulder impatiently, expecting to see the old trader demanding more money. Instead a small, wiry man stood there, clutching a small wrapped bundle.

“No, thank you, sir, I am not interested in buying more goods.” Maggie said firmly and began to walk away.

“No, no, wait, ma’am!” the man caught up to her quickly. “This is no ordinary trading good!” Maggie turned, frustrated now. “Well, what is it?”

The man cautiously turned the bundle over, revealing a pink-cheeked infant.

“A BABY!” Maggie breathed, quickly taking the infant from the man’s unskilled hands. “Where did you find her?” she asked, eyeing the man suspiciously.

“Well, that is just the problem, ma’am. She was found on one of the wagons. The only possible clue we have of her identity is this.” The man reached forward and pulled on one side of the blanket the baby was wrapped in. Maggie could see an emblem of a five-pronged star embroidered on the soft fabric. “What is that?” she murmured softly, fingering the cloth. Peering closer, beneath the emblem, she spotted a tiny word sewn onto the cloth: ‘Katharine.’

“I guess that’s her name.” Maggie smiled gently down at the infant. When she looked up again the man was gone. “What…where did he go?” she looked around anxiously. “That…that mongrel! Leaving me here with a baby!” Suddenly the truth dawned on her. She eyed the peacefully sleeping child. “Well, I guess Abba willed you to be mine, eh? Now you will be stuck with me as your mother your whole life.”

The infant yawned and clenched her tiny fists, then peacefully snuggled closer to Maggie and fell asleep.

“What will Charles think of this, eh, little one? He’ll be mighty surprised when he comes home to a new daughter.” With that she smiled at the sleeping Katharine and then marched purposefully back to the bakery.

 

[jesusfreak10537]

Finulae, Edrei. Chapter One

20 years later





The fawn nosed its way into the clearing, following its mother closely. The tiny, curious animal soon wandered to the edge of the forest clearing. A young woman, crouched in the tall brush, smiled as the fawn neared her.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you…” she crooned, her palm outstretched to the tiny fawn. The creature took a hesitant step forward to investigate the smiling human.

Suddenly, the mother bleated a warning. The fawn ran over to her and together they leaped out of the clearing as a horse and rider erupted through the brush. The rider reined in the horse, looking around.

The young woman stood up, her hands on her hips. “Duncan! The mother almost let me touch little Myrtle!”

Duncan smiled apologetically and dismounted. “Myrtle? Is that what you are calling it now?” His smile faded at the woman’s angry expression. “C’mon, Katie, I didn’t mean to scare off Turtle…I mean, ah, Myrtle.”

“All right! You just knew that I would be here today and just happened to be galloping your horse through a treacherous stretch of forest?” Katie snorted indignantly and began to gather her supplies. “You know that Myrtle has an infected cut on her flank...which I am unable to treat because of you.” Her eyes flashing, she swung the pack over her shoulder and marched after the two deer.

“No! Wait! Katie!” Duncan ran after her, stepping in front of her to stop her from advancing down the trail. “Maggie sent me. She wants you. Something about a dinner.”

The color drained from Katie’s face. “Oh no! That was today! Oh, my goodness, I completely forgot!” She turned around and ran back down the trail. “Duncan, can you give me a lift?” She paused and looked back, apology in her eyes.

“Fine! Come on, then!” Duncan stormed past her and jumped onto the black mare, the helped Katie up. “Ride, Horizon! Ride!” He kicked the horse’s flanks gently and she galloped down the roughly packed forest trail.

*******​

“Of all the scatterbrained girls Abba could have sent me, you are the worst!” Maggie paced in front of Katie. “I cannot believe you were late…again!”

Katie sighed and looked out the window. Darkness was swiftly falling outside, cloaking the sleepy village of Finulae in a hazy sense of peace and security.

“The biggest dinner of the Official and I had no help! Thanks to you, I managed to burn the sweet rolls while I was basting the roast, and then I used a crabapple glaze on what was supposed to be cherry cheesecake!” She shook her head disgustedly. “I need your help, and that is that, Katie! You just had your twentieth birthday, and you are still cavorting about in the fields with that dimwitted boy Duncan.”

“Mother!” Katie cried. She was able to shoulder Maggie’s shouts, but when they turned to her childhood friend…that was another story altogether. “Duncan is not dimwitted! Just because he wants to raise horses instead of farming like everyone else…” she shouted, then stomped from the room. Ignoring her brothers’ and father’s curious stares, she ran up the stairs to her little loft above the kitchen. Hurling herself down on the bed, she sobbed silently, wishing that she could be the obedient daughter Maggie had always hoped for. But then again, she had always let her family down. She didn’t even look like them! She had thick, wavy auburn hair and blue-green eyes, while the rest of the family had brown hair and brown eyes. She had always been interested in animals and writing; her brothers cared for nothing but food, crops, and hunting. She wondered why she couldn’t just be normal and fit in like everyone else.

******​

Maggie sat heavily down in her worn rocking chair, too tired to even attempt to darn Charles’s socks. She wondered what she had done wrong in raising Katie. Then again, the girl had always been different. She had her nose stuck in a book while the rest of the Finulae girls were trained in the proper housewife manner. She sighed, jumping suddenly at Charles voice behind her.

“What happened now, Maggie?”

“She was late for the preparation of the Official’s dinner.” Maggie put her head in her hands. “When is she going to grow up, Charles?”

“Maybe it is time to tell her the truth.”

At that, Maggie looked up. “But Charles! She...She…oh, maybe you are right. She already can sense that she does not belong here. Perhaps we should tell her.”

Charles backed away. “Well, Maggie, I have some wagon axles that need repairing. I’ll just be, ah, out in the barn.” With that he turned and ran from the room.

With a resigned sigh, Maggie shook her head at her husband’s retreating form and eased her aching body out of the rocking chair. She told herself that she was doing the right thing as she slowly walked toward Katie’s room. The girl deserved to know that she had been, ah, adopted, as it were.

******​

Katie lifted her head slightly from the pillow at a soft rapping on the door.

“Who is it?” she sniffled, pushing a soggy strand of hair from her face.

Maggie pushed open the door softly. “It’s me. I thought you might like some tea.” She put a tray of herb tea down on a small table by Katie’s bed. Katie gratefully took the steaming mug and held it to her face, breathing in its aromatic smell.

“Why did you really come up here?” Katie smiled slightly at Maggie, who was fidgeting nervously.

“Well, Katie, I have something to tell you.”

Katie looked smug. “You are going to apologize about Duncan.”

“Well, it’s not exactly that.”

“Duncan isn’t dimwitted, Mother, just different. Like me.”

Maggie shifted her weight uncomfortably. “There is a reason you are different.” She took a deep breath, trying to sort through her buzzing thoughts.

Katie tilted her head quizzically. “What?” She laughed. “Don’t tell me, I’m adopted.”

Maggie widened her eyes. “You knew! How did you ever guess you were adopted?”

Katie’s jaw dropped. “You mean…I’m adopted? Seriously?” With effort she clamped her jaw shut. Adopted? Her? David and Mark and Peter weren’t her brothers? She felt as if someone had dropped her life into a river, and she was slowly sinking to the bottom.

“We wanted to tell you sooner.” Maggie sighed. “But we’ve never found a chance.” She eyed Katie. The girl appeared to be dumbstruck. “We figured since you are older, now, that we would finally tell you.”

A heavy silence fell between them, and neither cared to break it. Katie was wrapped in thoughts of her own, and Maggie was inwardly debating her decision of telling Katie of her adoption.

***​

“I can’t believe it, Duncan, I just can’t believe it!” Katie sighed. “My own parents gave me up on a wagon train.”

Duncan looked up from the foal he was examining. “Have you ever considered the possibility, Katie,” He slapped the foal on its [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] and it ran back to the pasture, “that they put you on the trading caravan to save you from the Abadonians?”

“Well, yes, but the Abadonians never got farther than burning the citadel, thanks to the troops that came from Ahl.” Katie pointed out darkly.

“Your parents wouldn’t have known that!”

“But still…oh, Duncan, I don’t know what to think.”

Duncan patted her on the back reassuringly. “You’ll figure it out someday, Katharine. Now you’ll just have to put your trust in the Lord to sort everything out. As for me, well, the horses need to be fed.” He smiled apologetically, then grabbed his feed bucket and walked out into the pasture.

Katie sighed as she watched Duncan’s obvious joy and pride in his small horse herd. She leaned against the fence and closed her eyes, wondering why her parents had given her up. Maggie and Charles were wonderful parents, loving her as if she was their own, and she knew they always would. But she had the urge to know her birth parents, to see the ones who had once loved and cradled her. An annoying fly buzzed unmercifully around her head, causing her to shake her head indignantly.

“Can you not allow me a moment’s rest, Lord?” she sighed into the breeze. The cool wind seemed to encircle her, and for a second she could almost imagine herself as the carefree Katie, the barefoot, tanned girl who ran unhindered through flower strewn fields. Then the breeze dropped away, bringing back to her mind the new Katie: confused, bewildered, and wondering about her true identity.

*****​

The Captain took a deep breath, and then started up the rough-hewn staircase that was cut precariously in the side of a mountain. He could not figure out why he would be summoned, and could only hope that the Chancellor was in a good mood today. His temper was known to explode at anything and everything that caused his latest scheme to fail, regardless of age or gender. The Captain nodded at a sentinel who stood stiffly outside of an imposing door which loomed beside him. Easing the door open, the Captain softly walked inside, his soft footfalls echoing eerily off the stone walls.

“You called, my Lord?” He stiffened as a dark figure that stood at a tall window slowly turned.

“This time I will not fail.” Dark eyes flashed from beneath a hooded cloak. “I cannot fail. I will not let that pompous Royal family sitting high and mighty in Parnassian triumph over me again.” The Chancellor slowly circled the shaking Captain.

“O-of course not, my l-lord!” he stammered. “It w-will not f-fail!”

“Good.” The cloaked man visibly relaxed. “I believe you to be a reliable man, Captain Barahue. And for your sake, it had better be so.” With a flash the Chancellor drew his sword, and then sheathed it again. “You are to invade all the towns in a two-hundred mile radius around Parnassian. Take no man alive, but bring all the women of about age twenty directly to me. She must be among them, somewhere.”

“My most gracious Lord, who would ‘she’ be?” Captain Barahue ventured timidly.

“The princess!” The man growled, stalking back to the long window. “The princess, the hope of Triscolia!” The Chancellor stared out the window, wishing his gaze could pierce through the mountains and burn Parnassian. “Go! Take your bravest troops. You attack at nightfall.” His tone became low and menacing as the terrified Captain backed out the door.

“She will learn to fear the name of Scalon.”

*****​

Maggie drew the heavy draperies over the window in the parlor. Outside, dusk was swiftly falling, the heavy silence of night occasionally broken by an eerie howl of a dog. Even though the breeze that filtered through the window was rather warm for the springtime, she shivered suddenly, sensing that something was amiss. Turning from the window, she saw her family gathered in the parlor, laughing and talking about the day’s events. Nothing was wrong there, but she even as she sat in her rocking chair with Charles’s socks, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was not right.

*****​

 

[jesusfreak10537]

Chapter Two​

Katie sat in a chair in the corner, feeling very disconnected from the happy chatter of her family. She felt drowned in her confusion, her wondering of why her family had given her up. A faint smile played at the corners of her lips as she wondered if she had any sisters. She had always longed for a sister, a playmate who would join her on her long tramps through the woods.

“Katharine?” Katie jumped slightly when Maggie put her hand on her shoulder.

“You look tired, Katie. You should go to bed.”

Katie nodded wearily. “Okay. Goodnight, Moth-um, Maggie.” She awkwardly rose from her chair and padded through the kitchen to her loft. Slipping into her nightgown, she breathed a quick prayer and slid in between her cool sheets.

The wind whistled through the eaves eerily, carrying on it the sound of mournful dog howls. The little house trembled in the wind, and Katie drew her quilt up over her head.

“I just need some sleep, that’s all.” She whispered, rolling over and trying to drown out the resonant howling.

*****​

Captain Avery Gritamer plodded through the sparsely forested area on the outskirts of Finulae.

“Why can’t that crazed Scalon carry out his own harebrained scheme?” he muttered darkly, shaking a blob of mud off his jacket. He wished he were back home in Clandestine, listening to his children’s chatter, instead of slogging through mud in the middle of the night to kill and capture.

“Almost there, men!” he called softly over his shoulder to the ragtag group of dimwitted men who had been assigned to him. They may have never had an original thought, but they could fight, and that was all Scalon cared about.

*****​

Katie woke with a start. Had she heard a faint rustle downstairs, or was it her imagination? Climbing out of her bed softly, she crept down the ladder that led to her loft. Peeking her head into the kitchen, Katie relaxed slightly when she didn’t see anyone. She turned back to her ladder and had to stifle a scream.

“Maggie! What are you doing here? You almost scared me out of my wits!” Katie blubbered, putting her hands on her hips.

“Sorry, Katharine. I thought I heard something.” Maggie whispered, motioning for Kate to be quiet. Together, the two stood shivering in the kitchen, listening intently for some unknown sound. The air was still, and almost too quiet. The silence seemed to grow until even the creaking of the old house sounded like the clang of sword fighting.

Suddenly, a far-off scream pierced the night. It was followed by another, then a clamor of shouts and yells sounded on the outskirts of Finulae. Maggie and Katie glanced at each other in unspeakable horror, and then Maggie shouted, “Charles!”

Charles came bounding out of the back bedroom, looking sleepy and very unsure of what was going on. He immediately sprang to action when the roar of flames and the screams of women pierced his mind. “Katie!” he shouted, grabbing his sword. “Get yourself and Maggie to the cellar!” He ran out of the kitchen, followed by David, Mark and Peter.

Katie grabbed Maggie by the sleeve. “Hurry!” she gasped, lifting a rug by the fireplace and prying open a small trapdoor. “Get in!” she urged Maggie, jumping into the small, dank cellar below.

“The Abadonians must be attacking!” Maggie gasped, sneezing as a cloud of dust rose up around them. “Why would they attack Finulae, and not one of the larger cities?”

Katie shook her head grimly. “I have no idea.” She pushed aside some barrels and bolts of old fabric. “Hide here, Maggie. They won’t be able to see you.”

Maggie nodded, terror etched on her face. She crawled under the fabric and crouched under a low-hanging shelf. Katie draped the cloth over her and then hid behind a few barrels. For a few moments, the cellar was cloaked in silence that was pierced only when a fearsome Abadonian war call echoed outside.





Captain Avery jumped behind the cover of a wagon, easily dodging the sword of a farmer. Sneaking in the shadows, he came to the last house on the outskirts of Finulae. He motioned one of his men, one of the dumber ones by the name of Bart, to join him.

“Kill all that moves, except the women. Bring them to me.” he whispered, softly kicking open the back kitchen door.

The kitchen was dark. The fire had long since extinguished but a few embers glowed in the hearth.

“I don’t see no one!” Bart exclaimed, looking around. “Most likely the men folk ‘ave left and the women are hidin’!”

Avery took out his dagger. “Well, we’ll just have to find them, won’t we?”







Katie crouched below the men’s feet in the cellar, trying not to make a noise. She closed her eyes and silently prayed that they would not be detected. Behind her, she heard Maggie shift her weight quietly under the bolts of fabric. The next second, a large crash that resounded loudly in the cellar made her jump. Looking back in the dim light, Katie could make out a shelf that had come crashing down when Maggie had moved.

“What was that?” one of the men’s voices echoed above her.

“I dunno. It sounds like it was a-comin’ from the floor!”

Katie heard footsteps tromp across the floor until they were directly above her.

“I should have known. A hidden cellar!” Katie heard scratching noises as someone pulled up the trapdoor. She trembled with fear, but she knew she couldn’t let Maggie be found. Gathering her courage, she pushed aside the barrels and met the two men at the top of the cellar steps.

“What are you doing here, traitors?” she spat, trying to keep her voice steady.

One of the men grabbed her roughly. “You are in no position to be speaking like that.” he said coolly while binding her hands. “I would stay silent if I were you.” He turned to the other man. “Bart, go see if there are any others in here.” He pushed Katie toward the door as Bart walked up the stairs.

Thinking quickly, Katie kicked backwards, her foot hitting the man’s leg. He howled in pain and she ran for the door.

“Get back here, wench!” the man growled, leaping after her. Katie sprinted out the door and through Maggie’s garden. She paused behind a row of bean stalks, breathing heavily. She relaxed slightly, hearing nothing. Maybe he had lost her trail in the darkness. A cracking stick made her jump and spin around.

“You’re not about to escape from Avery Gritamer that easily!” the man snarled, grabbing her arm and putting his sword at her throat. Katie trembled with terror, not saying anything. Suddenly a dark shape loomed behind Avery, and Katie’s eyes widened.

“What is it?” Avery kept his sword at her throat as he turned around, only to meet the fist of Duncan. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

“And stay down there!” Duncan growled, stepping over Avery and grabbing Katie. “Come on. There’s no time to talk. I met your father on the road and he asked me to check on you. Good thing I did, too.”

“Maggie is safe in the cellar.” Katie gasped. “There is another man…in the house.”

Duncan nodded quickly and led her behind a tree where Horizon was patiently waiting. Unsheathing the dagger that was always belted at his waist, he sliced the ropes that held Katie's hands. She wrung her wrists, grimacing at the tingling that came as the blood began to circle through them.
He jumped onto his horse and helped her up behind him. With a quick kick, Horizon darted from behind the tree and galloped into the sparse forest behind Katie’s house.
“I know of a cave where you can hide.” Duncan yelled back to her. “You are to stay there, and don’t try anything dangerous, like you are so apt to do.”

Katie would have slapped him if she hadn’t seen the smile on his face. She relaxed, hoping that now everything would be safe.

Duncan’s smile faded as an arrow whizzed past his face an embedded itself in a tree beside them as Horizon raced by.

“Stay low!” he yelled tersely, ducking close to Horizon’s mane. Katie squeezed her eyes shut as the horse picked up speed, pounding past trees and large rock outcropping that no doubt sheltered the Abadonian archers that aimed at them.

A wild neigh of terror from Horizon made her eyes fly open. The horse reared in pain, and Katie guessed that an arrow had hit the animal. Duncan was trying to get Horizon under control. Even he was having trouble staying on the bucking horse. Katie screamed as she felt herself slip off Horizon’s back. She desperately tried to grab something, but ended up hitting the ground anyway. She heard the terrified whinnies of Horizon, and then everything went black.



Bart helped his captain off the ground, and then stood back worriedly. Avery was red in the face and his temper was on its very edge.

“If I find that country bumpkin,” he snarled, “he will regret the day he was born.”

“Uh, boss? Don’t ya think we’d best be rejoinin’ the others in the forest?” Bart interjected timidly.

Avery nodded, picked up his dagger, and stalked away from the garden, soon disappearing into the thin trees. Bart scampered after him, watching for any signs of movement.

Soon the motley pair arrived at a large rock outcropping in the woods. A group of men stood huddled around a still form on the ground, while a few others stood gazing into the trees.

“What happened?” Avery shouted, stomping over to the men. He turned white, then purple, then a curious shade of red. “Bind her arms!” he ordered sharply, glaring daggers at the unconscious Katie. “As soon as the others arrive with the women, we march for the safety of Diab.”

******​

 

[jesusfreak10537]

((*bump* I don't want this thing to disappear...))