Let Me Tell You a Secret

Chapter Fifteen

She pulled back and smiled warmly at her son, her tears now free falling from her eyes, her son sobbed as she let him go and he tried to chase, to grab her and never let go. But a hand gripped onto his, holding him back, his mother running from the cave and he tried to shout after her but a grubby hand covered his mouth.
 
They ended up on the floor, the blonde having to use her entire body to restrain the brunette who struggled and fought with her.
 
"There! Chase after them!"
 
A loud, clear voice shouted just outside the cave. The men had spotted Arlene.
 
The pair in the cave continued to struggle, the brunette weeping and fighting with the blonde who showed no emotion at all. She concentrated her hearing outside the cave, gradually the noises of the four outside vanished.
 
The boy also picked up on this, his thrashing stopped and he lay limply on the floor.
 
"Lets go."
 
Paying no mind to the brunette sobbing silently on the hard rocky ground, the blonde tried to drag him to his feet, keen to get them both away from the dangers outside.
 
The brunette had no strength left to fight and let the girl pull him up. His eyes were blank and dark as he obediently followed the girl. 
 
Creeping out of the cave, Rachel peered around, confirming the men had disappeared. She then guided the boy through the dark forest, asking him every so often for direction.
 
The boy couldn't care less, but his mother had asked him to take the girl back to the city, so he would carelessly glance around and point in a direction. He planned to get the blonde home and then return to the forest to look for his mother.
 
After what felt like hours, the two children emerged from the forest.
 
The moon shone down on them, lighting their path to the city walls.
 
The brunette suddenly turned on his heels and tried to dart back into the forest. Now that he had brought the blonde back home, he could go look for his mother.
 
"Stop!"
 
Refusing to let go of the brunette's hand, Rachel held onto the boy for dear life, he struggled and whined in her hold. She tried to reason with him.
 
"Let's wait until it's light! We'll look for her during the day!"
 
The brunette didn't like that idea, continuing his struggle in the blondes hand.
 
"It will be better in the day! And what if she comes looking for us in the city soon!"
 
The boy paused. His mother had said she would come find them in the city. How upset would she be if they weren't there?
 
The argument was unfortunately reasonable.
 
Letting his body fall limp, the boy stared at the floor, glaring at the dusty path.
 
The scrawny blonde hissed out a breath between her lips, her little strength now completely sapped.
 
She held onto the boy's hand, every so often glancing at him over her shoulder as she led him to the city wall.
 
Due to the dark, there weren't any other signs of life in the area by the wall and the pair easily slipped through the secret entrance.
 
Neither of the two spoke a word to each other.
 
They crept out into the alleyway and Rachel pulled out the two blankets she kept hidden away in a dark corner. Handing one to the boy, she then covered herself and proceeded to doze off.
 
The boy felt a range of emotions. Incredulous that the blonde would be so calm in this situation. Sick with worry for his mother's safety. Lonely at being abandoned by the last family member he had left.
 
His eyes already red and raw, he wanted to cry but there were no tears left. So he stared at the bright, illuminescent light of the moon and wished for his mother to return.
 
It was a sleepless night for the brunette.
 
The sun had barely started to rise when the boy jumped to his feet, keen to start looking for his mother. Rachel's eyes shot open and she hopped up to join the brunette, hurriedly shoving the blankets back into a dark corner of the alleyway.
 
The pair looked at each other and nodded, both in agreement. They skulked behind the crate and carefully peeled back the flag, peering through a small gap to check their surroundings.
 
However, they were surprised and dismayed by what they saw.
 
Guards everywhere.
 
Walking on the dirty beaten path around the outskirts of the city.
 
Lining the edge of the forest.
 
They were everywhere.
 
Needless to say, the two children couldn't leave the city.
 
The brunette's distress grew each and every day his mother didn't come to find them. He and the blonde took it in turns to keep watch of the outside world, for any sign of Arlene or for the guards to disappear.
 
It was a difficult week.
 
They had no food or water.
 
Their living conditions were horrific.
 
Rachel was used to these circumstances, having lived like this for as long as she could remember, but it was new for the brunette. Not to mention his stress and worry over his mother's disappearance.
 
As the days went by, his anger, hunger and mental stability began to waver and hinder him.
 
After two weeks of living on the street, eating the barest minimum of the scraps the blonde managed to salvage, the guards lining the forest vanished.
 
A light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
 
Yet it was only a small light.
 
The patrols at the city border were still increased and it would be difficult to slip out. But the two children were vigilant in their resolve. They waited patiently and worked out the rota for the guards.
 
Once they had watched for a few days, they confidently escaped the city walls and ran for the forest.
 
The blonde relied heavily on the brunette to guide their way. The boy's determination fiercely lit a fire in his golden eyes. They trawled through the trees being as quiet as they could.
 
When they eventually happened upon the boy's home, it was heavily guarded.
 
Was his mother inside?
 
He desperately wanted to run forward and fight his way inside, though he knew he would be powerless against the many guards staking out his home. 
 
Instead, he waited patiently. Listening to the various, loud conversations echoing through the forest. Until he heard a certain conversation.
 
The words burned their way into his skull leaving a heavy imprint on his heart.
 
His mother.
 
They were talking about his mother.
 
The words were loud and clear.
 
They had been looking for her.
 
The brunette felt his vision darken, his mind turn numb and the pounding of his heart in his chest threatened to break his rib cage.
 
Rachel held on to the brunette, the situation had changed with their new information.
 
Acknowledging the brunette would be out of action for a while, she quietly clung to the boy and hurriedly tried to get them away from the house.
 
Fortunately, the chatter of the guards was enough to distract them away from any sound the children happened to make.
 
After a difficult struggle back to the city, the blonde released the boy who finally crumpled to a heaped mess on the floor. Rachel didn't know what to say.
 
She didn't know this boy, she barely knew Arlene, but the woman had shown her kindness so she decided to repay it by helping her son.
 
A glance at the brunette laying perfectly still on the cold, hard ground and Rachel vanished into the busy city streets.
 
When she returned later, she offered some of her scraps to the brunette and tried to encourage him to eat.
 
He refused.
 
So Rachel ate them herself, not wanting to waste a single crumb of her hard earned sustenance. The boy was lucky she was offering to share them with him at all! There were many beggars scattered across the city and they all fought over the same thrown out garbage, who knows when they would next get a morsel to eat.
 
But the boy was grieving.
 
He was alone.
 
His mother wasn't coming back.
 
He had no appetite.
 
Another week passed and the boy no longer resembled the happy but shy child that clung to his parents. His skin pale and taught, sheek shallow and sunken, lips dry and cracked, dirt smeared across his face.
 
Rachel still shared her sacred alleyway with the boy, offering a few morsels of her scraps and dirty water. It took another week for the boy to finally give in.
 
His body failing on him and acting on its own, when the girl offered him a scrap, a light shone in his eyes and, before he knew it, before he could stop himself, his grubby hands had reached out and stuffed the half eaten garbage in his mouth.
 
However, the brunette hadn't eaten in weeks, his stomach was weak and the few scraps came right back out.
 
The boy stared at the mess on the floor, he was on his hands and knees retching as the blonde watched him from a distance.
 
Is this how his mother would want him to live?
 
Ever since her disappearance, the young boy had lost the will to live. He didn't want to eat, he didn't want to drink. He wanted to sleep and dream of his family, of his mother and return to them once more.
 
But that would never happen.
 
There was something inside him that finally stirred.
 
He was still young, his instincts screamed at him and took over before any mature emotion could grow.
 
A feral type of anger had grown within the boy over the weeks and with that one morsel of food that he had thrown back up, a small will to live on had sprouted.
 
His mother had wanted him to live on, after all.
 
After the seed had sprouted, the boy became more active, helping the blonde and learning the ropes from her. Running through the city, stealing from vendors, rummaging through bins.
 
All for the sake of survival.
 
Because that's what his mother would want.
 
Six months passed by and the young brunette firmly planted his feet on the ground. His robe now a tattered mess, face gaunt and hungry, hair still tied back with the precious golden ribbon from his parents. The only gift he had left from them. It was his most precious treasure. 
 
The boy stayed with the blonde. They helped each other out when they needed to, they used each other as scapegoats if the situation ever called for it, it was a silent agreement - help when you can, every man for themselves when needed.
 
It wasn't a pleasant existence.
 
And one day, after another 6 months had flown by, the brunette was sneaking around the market. He was now taller, dirtier, yet the golden light in his eyes still aflame.
 
He skulked around the market stalls, his tattered hood full of holes, pulled over his face to obscure his features. He glanced at Rachel on the other side of the market.
 
She was watching him, on her guard as they agreed to steal together that day, hoping for a large haul.
 
The brunette casually walked past a stall and grabbed a couple of apples.
 
"Hey!"
 
No good.
 
He was spotted immediately, the merchant already suspicious of his hooded character.
 
The brunette tried to run, he pushed through the crowds, the apples in his hand, and he ignored the cries of the merchant calling out for help from the city guards.
 
A hand suddenly grabbed his arm and twisted the boy around. He felt his hood fall back as he came face to face with a guard.
 
"You!"
 
The guards eyes widened in shock and he started to exclaim. But the brunette didn't have time to think about the guards' strange reaction to his face. His eyes glinted as he spotted a flash of blonde.
 
A quick flick of his free wrist and the two apples were flung in the air. The guard, caught by surprise, loosened his grip on the boy's wrist and the brunette took advantage, ripping himself away from the man and disappearing into the crowd.
 
Rachel tried to catch the two apples however, her wrists were caught instead by another guard who had come to offer his aid.
 
The man who had once been gripping onto the brunette scurried over, shouting as he ran.
 
"I think I found him!"
 
"Found who?"
 
The guard holding Rachel as she struggled wrinkled his brow.
 
"Gold eyes with brown hair and a golden ribbon!"
 
His grip tightened on the blondes wrists before flinging her to the floor.
 
Rachel scrambled to pick up the apple nearest to her but the guard stamped on it whilst reaching out for the other apple.
 
He stared down at the blonde, dusting the apple off on his clothing and took a big bite out of it.
 
"Well, here we have his accomplice. So, little girl, tell us where your friend is."
 
Interrogating the blonde in front of the crowd, he took another bite from the apple.
 
Rachel stared at the delicious red fruit in his hand, unable to tear her eyes from it. It had been days since she had last eaten a single crumb.
 
"Hmmm?"
 
The guard noticed her interest and he waved the apple in the air.
 
"You want this? Tell you what, I'll give it to you if you tell me where the boy is."
 
Her mouth salivated and she swallowed hard, her eyes fixated on the half eaten fruit. Her mind repeating the silent rules of the streets.
 
Help when you can, every man for themselves when needed.
 
Glancing behind her, the crowds had already dispersed thanks to the other guard shooing them away. Her gaze landed on the dark alleyway not far down the street.
 
The guard followed her gaze.
 
"He's down there?"
 
He whispered quietly, aware that the girl was trying not to gain attention.
 
Rachel gulped again, and returned her stare to the apple.
 
She nodded.
 
The guard smirked and tossed the apple in the air. It fell to the ground, landing in the dust and grime of the street, rolling into a dirty, muddy puddle of rainwater.
 
She scrambled for it, grabbing it and immediately chomping down on the filthy fruit now in her hands.
 
The guards didn't spare her a second glance as they silently approached the alleyway and Rachel didn't dare look behind her, sneakily running away with her precious scrap of food.
 
Sticking to the wall's edge, the two guards braced themselves as they crept into the dark alleyway.
 
It was difficult to see and, at first, they thought they had been fooled. But just as they were about to lose it and storm after the blonde, a movement behind a large crate caught their attention.
 
There he was.
 
They ran to the crate but the boy was quicker, slipping out of the secret entrance.
 
There was no time for him to check his surroundings though and he ran straight into a guard, strolling the city's perimeter. The two fell to the floor.
 
In a panic, the brunette attempted to scramble to his feet, unfortunately the guards had spotted the hole in the wall and were quickly climbing through.
 
"Stop him!"
 
They called out to their fellow guard. 
 
Grasping the situation, he grabbed the boy and flipped him over, shoving his face into the dirt.
 
The other two guards came running over, crouching down as they inspected the boy's face, his fierce glare fixated on them.
 
"Gold eyes, brown hair with a gold ribbon. I think we got him!"