Dissident

Chapter 1

The soft, silky sheets under my fingertips are the first thing I feel when I wake up. I then hear my mother walking in, and feel her gentle, cool hands on my back.

"It's time to get up, Emyrin."

I squint my eyes at her, and see her smiling face. The sun is shining through the silky curtains, the same material as the sheets I was currently laying under. My father steps into the room. As soon as his feet cross the entrance, the room is filled with a cold drift and screams. I recognize the screams as my own. My eyes start flashing, and my mothers' eyes turn a coal black and I hear radiating voices around me.

I bolt up. A fucking dream. Of my family. Again. I left my family 6 years ago. Why did I still dream of them? I should be able to forget. I know I would never be able to, but I know I don't try. My face is slightly sweaty.

Getting up, I get out of my makeshift bed. It's in a grassy spot, hidden by a few trees. I had to sleep in the woods, I was being chased again last night. Knights from my father. The thought of my father sends boiling hatred coursing through my body, like overwhelming waves at a beach. Rubbing the tiredness from my eyes, I get up. I can feel the consequences of sleeping on the ground already. Looking around, I decide which way I should set off towards the day. Eventually, I will need food. I can hunt for it.

4 hours later
I've been walking for hours. I have no sense of the true time, but from the suns' angle I assume its around 12:30PM. I need to eat soon, but I've only seen a few critters, never enough to last me the day. Snap. The crack of a branch brings me out of my thoughts. Looking around frantically, I see a rabbit scuttling along the ground. "Stupid shit," I mutter. Hearing my own voice is comforting, I miss the conversation of others. I haven't met anyone who isn't out to kill me since I ran away from my father. Looking away from the rabbit, I look ahead of me. I see a small amount of a building through a gap of trees. Knowing it would be risky, I start running towards it. I can look around and see what type of things I can get from it. I arrive at the entrance of the small village almost immediately. Pulling my hood over my head, I place my foot on a loop in the gate and heave myself over. Stumbling to the ground for a quick moment, I straighten up and look around. There are a few huts and small villages, all along a path. It gives off a very comfortable vibe. Slowly stepping forward, I make my way carefully to the hut nearest to me. It's empty. This whole village seems eerily empty.

After about 10 minutes of roaming through different huts and collecting supplies, I reach the last hut. Stepping in, the first things I see are a long shelf, full of clothing items and shoes, and a full length wooden mirror. Odd. All the other huts had hunting supplies and food. Walking infront of the mirror, I observe myself carefully. It's been a while since I have had the chance to look at myself. My dark brown hair is pulled up into a bun at the back of my head, with a few strands loose here and there. My skin is slightly pale, and my body is tall and slender. Bringing my eyes back to my own face, I see my muddy brown eyes connect with the eyes of mirror me. I haven't seen myself in so long, trying to be self-loving I attempt at convincing myself I am pretty looking. Turning away from the mirror, I look over to the fabrics and clothes upon the shelves, and walk away from my own reflection. I quickly snatch up most of it. There are rough, leather coats, loose shirts, tight pants with dozens of pockets, and a few silky, colorful dresses. I choose to leave behind the dresses. I would never need them, and I'm not much of a dress-girl. Deciding I have collected all the supplies I need, I walk out. I have officially raided the whole village -- the whole empty village. This makes me question where the habitants are, but then I remember.

A few weeks ago, my father decided to start removing people from their homes and moving them closer into the main kingdom. His reasoning for this was to find me. Pffft. As if I would be stupid enough to hide in a village, especially after I found out what he has been doing to them. The only way I have been finding out more about my father was stealing old bits of news papers from the empty villages I have been raiding recently.

Hearing a rustling breaks me from my thoughts. I assume it's another animal, but looking around I see the edge of a boot hide behind a nearby hut. Shit, shit, shit. Someones here. They'll recognize me. Backing away, I run behind the hut I was just in and peek at who might've seen me. He steps out from behind the hut. He must have not seen me, and it just seemed he "hid" from me. He's tall, and has a strong looking figure, yet not like a buff body builder. He has messy brown hair that sticks in multiple directions, and the same color of brown eyes as me. I notice he has deep eyebags beneath his muddy eyes. He hasn't slept, and it shows. He seems to be looking for food, he looks fatigue. For some sudden reason, I feel a surge of regret and sympathy from me taking all the supplies. I stripped the village down, there's practically nothing. Expect for those colorful silk dresses I think to myself.
I watch him enter another hut, and spontaneously decide to leave some of my items. I quickly half jog to the small centre of the village, and pull out some bread, a small cantine of water, and a thick, brown leather jacket and place it all in a bundle together. As I'm running back I hear him step out and sigh. He must be disappointed that the hut was empty. As I take a last glance at him before running off, I seem him gazing at me.

He saw me.