A Fyres Journey

Chapter 1: Beginning of the End

"When you garden you have to nurture your plants. Water them often and they will grow and flourish." Asteria explained to her daughter as they leaned over the planter box. "We cannot grow enough for everyone, as you know, so when you forage tonight grab as much as you can. Do not forget the book, you still need it in case you run into an unfamiliar plant."

"I will, mother," Rhianon said as she faced her mother in curiosity.

"Anything else?" Her mother asked.

"Um, why don't you ever teach Janus to do this, he's the same age that I was when I started," Rhianon said, dusting off her hands on the towel sat beside them. Her mother's face grew stern, and her body tense.

"He is a child, you were much too mature for your age. Allow him to be a child, it is your responsibility to handle these matters, are you saying you cannot?" She questioned as she threw the small shovel down, standing as she crossed her arms. "Well? Answer me, child!"

"No, wait- yes I can handle it. I was only curious, I'm sorry mother." She rushed out.

"Good, now we're done for today. Take the basket and go, forage. When you're done collecting the water. I'm going to head to Mrs. Wright's house, she needs help with the laundry. Don't bother me." Asteria listed as she made her way out of the gate.

"Yes mother," Rhianon whispered, taking a deep breath before walking into the kitchen door. "Janus? Are you here, love?"

"In the living room! I'm painting." Janus yelled back, Rhianon shaking her head as she made her way through the kitchen and into the living room. She stood and watched him paint, him sticking his tongue out as he focused on the artwork.

"Do you want to come with me to get some water, it would be nice to get out of the house, yeah?" She questioned.

"Really? Won't momma get mad, I don't want you to get in trouble." Janus.

"Don't worry about it, love, she doesn't need to know. She will be at Mrs. Wrights for most of the day." Rhianon.

"Does that mean I can go into the woods too?" Janus asked with a sneaky smile on his face. Laughing, Rhi nodded her head, that same smile making its way onto her face.

"I am going to change and then we will go." She said quickly making her way over to the ladder into her room. Slipping off her dirt-coated sundress and put on a tank top and a pair of old black jeans. Twisting her bright fire red hair up into a bun she made her way out of the room. She stood for a minute at the base of the ladder, wondering what would happen if her mother found out. Rhianon brushed it off, thinking that getting grounded was the worst thing her mother would ever do, especially after last time. She rushed to put her shoes on as Janus came running up behind her, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I have my shoes on and I grabbed my jacket and the basket to carry the food and the bags for the water. The book is here too, do we still need it?" Janus listed.

"Let's take the book, just in case." Rhianon replied, "Let's go."

The Fyre siblings made their way out of the house, doing their best to steer clear of the trash piles and potholes. They stuck to the alleys once they were off their street, there was a loud slap to their left but they didn't look up, especially as armor-covered guards quickly made their way over. The siblings continued to repeat 'Don't look up, speak when spoken to' quietly under their breath. As they made their way to the walls that separated them from the rest of the island on which their country resided, the people thinned and the noise had all but disappeared. Looking around, they quietly opened the rusted gate and crawled through the rampant tree limbs. They quickly started looking for berries and herbs, picking them and throwing them into the basket. Janus tries to resist the urge to question Rhianon, Rhianon waiting patiently for him to ask his question.

"Rhi? Can I ask you a question?" Janus mumbled as he fiddled with a leaf.

"You just did but you may ask another," Rhianon smirked as she nudged into his side.

"Not funny," Janus glared, without any real heat, before getting quiet, "Why is momma so mean to you? She piles chores on you and she is always angry with you. She isn't like that to me and I don't understand."

Rhianon thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to explain the relationship between her and her mother. They had never gotten along but it has gotten worse since their father had left, nothing was the same after he left. "She always said it was because I'm too much like dad, I don't remember much of what happened with dad. I think it's hard for her to be around me but I don't know, I'm just going to do my best to steer clear of her anger."

"That's not fair, you didn't do anything wrong." Janus

"I know it isn't but that's how life goes, love." Rhianon softly told him as they filled the rest of the basket with herbs. "Now, let's make our way to the well, yes? We should have enough for a few days."

"Yeah, okay but let's talk more about this later. Please Rhi?" Janus questioned as Rhianon lifted him over a fallen tree. She slowly nodded before making her way over the tree. They spent the walk in silence, occasionally kicking a rock or picking a flower. When they were going through the overgrown gate, Janus was sent first so he could make sure there were no guards. "We're good, c'mon."

The two of them rushed to get the water and make their way to their home before the curfew falls into effect. Most of Kalopsia had already gotten their water, so they were able to get through very quickly. Rhianon carried most of the water on their way back, they kept slipping out of Janus' hands. They sat everything inside the door but were stopped by a Guard coming up behind them and clearing their throat, they slowly turned around and made their way to them. "Is one of you Janus Fyre?"

"Yes," Janus mumbled quietly, Rhianon nudged him, "Yes sir."

"You need to come with me, Now." They commanded and roughly grabbed him.

"No, wait, you can't just take him! STOP!" Rhianon shouted as two guards came out of the guards' car and held her back. Her brother was quickly thrown into the large black SUV, the other guards threw her down and quickly hopped in the car. She laid there for a few minutes, then quickly got up using the wall as support. She tried to make her way to Mrs. Wright's house, but she kept stumbling. It took her a while before she could walk upright, but when she could she ran as fast as she could and burst into her house. "MOM!"

"What? I told you not to bother me, Do you ever listen?" Asteria yelled as she leaped up from the couch, setting her drink harshly on the table. Rhianon stood there shaking as her mother stomped toward her practically shaking with rage. Mrs. Wright slowly slid out of the room. "What is so important that you need to disobey a direct command? Well, answer me!"

"Janus was taken by guards, we had just gotten back and they came up behind us. They asked him his name and then they took him, I tried to stop them but they held me back. I couldn't get away from them, I'm sorry." She rushed out as her body shook with the effort to hold back her emotions. Asterias face became cold as she looked at her daughter, she stood there staring at Rhiannon for what seemed like hours before stiffly grabbing her arm and dragging her out the door and into their crumbling home.

"Why was he with you? I told you he was not to do your chores with you!" Asteria.

"He wanted to come, he thinks it's fun to go forage in the woods. You never let him go anywhere, he's trapped in this house all the time! He wanted to leave the house so I let him." Rhianon rambled as she paced back and forth, all of the emotions she had been holding in had finally burst out in a rush of anger.

"Don't you think there is a reason he doesn't leave the house, hm? He isn't safe out there, I protected him and all of that was for nothing because you only ever do what you want and life has to always go your way. I want you out, I never wanted you in the first place." Asteria screamed as she turned, making her way into her bedroom slamming the door.

"You don't mean that, mother? MOM?!" She spoke hysterically as she sank to the floor, feeling the sobs fight their way out of her throat. She stayed there until the house went dark, not crying but feeling everything that had just happened, then when the sun came up, she pushed it all down and started again.