Children Of Myths, Act One: Scotland

Fury of Winter

Both physical and mental exhaustion made Artica fall asleep next to her cousin.

In the darkness of her sleep, she thought she heard songs in the distance, she opened her eyes and found herself in a grove full of fireflies. One of these approached her and poked her antennae, that's when she realized it wasn't an insect, but bright little people giggling and dancing in the air.

She gazed around and saw a wall of ivy. It gave her a feeling of déjà vu, a distant and foggy memory she was sure was real. She reached out for the vines, but quickly pulled it back as soon as they yellowed and dried before her eyes.
Immediately after, she felt a discomfort inside her head that grew more and more until she fell to her knees, as if she were pierced by thousands of needles in her brain. She also felt suffocated and frozen to the bone, managing to see the shadow of a hooded person stabbing someone.

She woke up with a gasp and with hand on her chest. The pain was gone, Safie and Aunt Arianna were close to her and so were all the inhabitants, flanked by the Red Jackets.

"Everything okay?" The woman leaned over to check on her "You look pale..."

"It was a nightmare..."

She took a quick look around.

"Did we stop?"

"Yes, so the animals could drink"

To be honest, the place didn't look familiar "Am I wrong or are we off the main trail?"

Safie nodded, taking a sip of cider from their supplies "Evans said it would be easier to go unnoticed if we stayed off the trails"

Artica raised an eyebrow "It seems like a waste of time, but if the captain says so"

A couple of soldiers came to ask for their names so they could write up a list of displaced citizens who would soon be taken directly to Aberdeen or other nearby cities.

"Arianna Neivers. Neivers for the former Neaves and Mairs families who joined many years ago," the woman said, "This is my daughter, Safie Neivers."

"Sophie?" The guard asked her to repeat.

"No." Safie crossed her arms, "Safie, with an A and an F."

Arianna explained that they had intended to call her Sophie but had spelled the name wrong, but there was nothing they could do about it now and it sounded nice.

"This is my niece, Artica Neivers."

The two soldiers looked at the trio, puzzled

"Any particular reason to give such a... peculiar... name to this girl?"

Before Arianna could answer, her niece interrupted her "It means Northern She-Bear... My parents started with the name Artis and played with it."

The soldier raised an eyebrow and wrote the two names on the piece of paper, muttering something with a shake of his head. Then, they went off to another place to collect names.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Connor McFadden"

Artica exhaled in relief as she heard her fiancé's voice, whom she reached as soon as the two moved away.

"Thank goodness..."

"My father sent me away because he wanted me to live and follow you. He stayed in the city"

"My uncle too"

Connor ran a hand over his head and then leaned against his horse. Artica took his hand, wanting to be optimistic, at least trying to.

"They'll be fine, this time they'll catch them by surprise. Everything will be fine"

She invited him to sit down for a bite to eat, in silence. They had been thrown into a world of strangers where not everyone could be friendly, they might even try to kill her.