The Stolen Bride

2 - Trapped In Skies

Where am I?

Kira looked around her, not recognizing the room she had just woken up in. Where were her clothes and things? What was this place?

She blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings. She could hear voices outside the row of tiny windows, but they were not familiar to her.

She clutched her head, wading through the unsettling dreams she'd had, filled with vivid, disturbing pictures. Her father dead. Devils running through her village. A terrifying climb up the slopes. And a man with eyes like the sea.

It had all really happened. Kira wanted to cry, but she was too exhausted right now. She slipped off the great bed, cringing at every creak she made. She went over to the windows, but they were too high for her to look out. Or more like she was too damn short.

She grabbed a chair, hefting it and hauling it over to stand on. Balancing on its seat, she clutched the sill and peered out.

She was on the mountain terrace, surrounded by people she didn't recognize. Dressed in animal skins, everyone spoke loudly to each other here, roaring in laughter or yelling over petty arguments.

One face struck her as familiar, and she realized with a start that it was one of her friends, Derri. She was standing on the steps of the house across, glancing around anxiously. She looked terrible – worn and somehow aged years in one night. She looked like she didn't know what to do with herself, and it was the same way Kira felt.

Kira was startled when the bedroom door opened all of a sudden. She leapt off the chair, coming face-to-face with Drev's mother. The old woman stared at her suspiciously. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Get washed up and go find something to wear. I have things for you to do."

Kira was speechless as the woman shut the door again. She had things for Kira to do?

Kira hung her head, knowing what this meant. She had become a slave. Whatever these people wanted her to do, she would have to do it, otherwise who knew what they would do to her? Stay strong, Kira, she imagined her mother's voice telling her. You must live. You must survive until you can find a way to free yourself.

She crossed the room, cleaning herself off at the washbasin. Afterwards, she looked down at her sweat-soaked nightdress, wondering exactly what she should change into. 

She opened the closet door, and picked up a faint scent that she recognized immediately. That was the smell of Drev's skin. It reminded her of rain and earth. 

Tentatively, she touched a stack of shirts, then dug deeper, finding a long-sleeved deep blue tunic which might come to the length of a short dress on her tiny frame. She traded her clothes for it, kicking her nightdress away as if she hated it.

Smoothing down her new outfit and combing back her hair with her hands, she figured she was as ready as she would ever be.

Quietly, she opened the door, stepping outside. The hallway loomed before her, looking far less menacing by morning light. She walked slowly, barefoot, peeking around a corner. She could hear the old woman saying to someone, "Eat up, and you'll grow up big and strong like your brother."

Kira frowned, leaning over to get a better look, and was surprised when she felt a presence come up behind her. Someone pulled her backward, pressing her up against the wall. Her heart leapt into her throat as she found herself gazing right into Drev's dark blue eyes. He was standing so close to her, his breath warm on her cheek. She felt him wind his fingers around her arm, not painfully but firmly. "What is your name?"