Unknown Title

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dark Secrets

“Kara, Aron is waiting for you,” came my mother, Lora’s voice from the next room.

“I know, I’m getting dressed. Tell her I’m almost ready,” I replied quickly.

Aron was my childhood friend, so close she could be considered a sister. She had my back and I had hers. She waited for me before school every morning so we could walk together. Our school wasn’t far, but it was far enough to make you bored and lonely.

“Hey sleepy! Ready to go to school and learn?” Aron asked me, a slight tone of sarcasm in her voice.

“Ready as ever! Let’s do this thing!” I replied with that same sarcasm she had used. We laughed for a minute then began walking the path to our school. We took an odd route occasionally, just to change it up a bit. Today we took our usual way, through Town Square and up the first street to the left. The cobblestone roads always caused our shoes to make noises, ensuring we could never be very stealthy. We always tried to sneak around the few boys that walked this way. Boys our age, 15, were usually good for nothing but being pesky, or so it seemed. We’d moved past cooties, but still kept our distance, attempting to avoid any gossip or rough housing. My mother always told us ‘Boys will be boys,’ but we still didn’t have an answer for their oddness. Aron and I would observe as a sort of science experiment.

Once we got to school, we continued to our lockers in the main hallway. Most of our classes were together, minus a few boring classes like geography and math. Aron grabbed her book bag from her locker and we headed for our first class. The whole day was surprisingly uneventful except for a few projects and assignments from our teachers. We walked home together and said our goodbyes once we reached our destinations. Our typical day never was very much fun apart from a few moments.

After I got home, I headed for the market and Town Square, favorite places of mine. They were always bustling with townspeople full of gossip and unexpected events. At the moment, I could not see anything odd, but knowing this town, anything unexpected could happen. I bought some snacks and fruit, as usual and headed for Town Square with my bag of goodies. Children were playing as usual. I watched them for a few minutes, wishing I were still as young as them. That was when it happened. A woman in a red and black cloak pushed past me. I thought nothing of it, but only for a quick moment of bliss. Reality quickly rushed back to me as the woman beckoned to me.

“Adveho per Kara,” she called. The only word I grasped was Kara, the other phrase was lost to me. I stood there for a moment, wondering what to do.

Finally, after sighing, she called back to me, quieter this time through her teeth, a sound very close to a hiss or snarl, “Come along.” I assume this is what she meant by her previous phrase. It sounded to be an unknown language, one of another land and time. I followed her reluctantly, avoiding her at first but finally deciding I had nothing to lose by following. The woman’s face was covered by her small hooded cloak, but her chocolate brown hair, wavy and fine, escaped the cover of the hood. I walked alongside her until we reached a large plain warehouse. It had a small door in front and not much to look at. Most would pass it by, paying nothing more than a glance to it. It wasn’t dirty - no, it was very clean. No cracked windows, no grime on the walls. I wondered what its significance was.

“What is this?” I asked the hooded woman, but just then she opened the door to reveal what the building’s somber exterior had been hiding. We strode into the warehouse. The interior was very decorative and precise. I would call it cozy. Adorn with red and black banners, draperies, and more, it seemed a very welcoming place. It took me a moment to take in the full interior before I even began to notice all the people here, dressed similar to the woman next to me. Red and black seemed to be the color theme. All the cloaks and uniforms were red and black. I stood there for a bit, taking in the beauty while the woman swaggered towards a small black sofa - a waiting room. There was a glass wall above on the stairs that lead to the large glass hallway all the people were hurrying through. It seemed I had caused a bit of excitement in the area. I followed the woman to the sofa and sat.

“Hasn’t she taught you anything?” the woman muttered

“Huh?” I didn’t understand who she meant at all.

“Lora,” the woman replied. My mother’s name. What she was referring to, I had no clue. I had even less knowledge as to how she knew my mother in the first place.

“What do you mean ‘Lora’? That’s my mother’s name,” I told her quietly, slightly suspicious of all the people upstairs.

“Well, I suppose it’s only sensical not to tell your daughter something as crazy as this,” she whispered back, “after all, your mother was a killer.”