The Oreans

Chapter 10

Chapter 10
Down the Memory Lane

Autumn nights in Rosienne were really very cold, especially towards the end of the eighth month. Snow was expected to fall in thirty days, and thirty days more the surface of LakeRoss would be frozen. That would last about another thirty more days before warmth would gradually creep in and bring everything back to life. A girl walking along the narrow path through the woods north of the city was unaffected by the chill however, for she was wearing an enormous cloak with the hood down on her face.

Anyone who chanced upon the girl that moonlit night would think she was a phantom of the woods, for she trod the path rather slowly and her countenance was very white against the blackness of her attire. Of course, no one would dare follow a phantom, except some fearless fools, but there were so many of them in the city the girl stopped every now and then to look around, particularly at the way she had come, to check if anyone was tailing her.

It seemed that no one was, for in less than half an hour she reached her destination without incident. The dark-blue waters of LakeRoss spread before her eyes. The moon was reflected on the surface with an odd slightly grayish glow. Far ahead a small island rose like a black mound over the water.

The girl proceeded to the sandy shore after a final look behind her and stared at the lake for a while. Then, taking a deep breath, she fixed her gaze on the towering edifice at the top of the hill to her right. Someone had said she had been born there and learned to walk and speak and play within its walls, but she could hardly remember it. She had a vague memory of enormous luxurious chambers, wide carpeted corridors and sweeping gardens, but that could as well be a memory of another place she had been to in her early years.

There was only one thing in it that had remained engraved in her mind despite the passing of years: a portrait—the portrait of her family. She could remember when it had been done: She had to remain still for hours with a smile fixed on her lips, her mother on her left, carrying her younger sister and her twin brother on her right with their father on his other side. It had been a very uncomfortable experience for her and she had felt very stiff afterwards, but she had not complained because she had promised her parents that she would behave. It had been all worth it, for when the portrait had been done she had thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. His father had had it hung in the main hall. This as much she could recall, for every time her parents had been away she would come there just to look up at their smiling faces.

She could hardly recall her parents' faces now—what with the years that had gone by, and the thought that she would never ever see them again saddened and angered her at the same time. Her protector had said she looked a lot like her mother, but whenever she studied herself in the mirror she found no semblance of her. She was sure that what she had gone through had transformed her somehow. Besides, the disguise she had taken was not likely what her mother would ever conceive of.

The only face that had left a mark on her mind was her brother's, but it was his face of ten years ago. If he were still alive—as she believed he was no matter what everyone believed to the contrary, he must have changed a lot so that, even if she met him in broad daylight, she was not likely to recognize him easily. That was why she kept herself on the lookout for him. She thought her neighbor looked much like him, but as the man introduced himself in another name he could not possibly be her brother. Even so, she had every intention to get to know him more. At the moment though she did not want to expect and be disappointed again.

As for her younger sister, she had only been three years old when she had last seen her. Talks had it that she was the unbeatable beauty in the kingdom, having a fair share of their father and mother's attributes, although only a few had really seen her in person. She was likely to meet her soon, for she would be in her service; and she could not wait any longer for that moment. Of course, her sister would not know who she was, but she would be able to watch over her and protect her from all the things she herself had suffered in the past.