Anna and the Bonding

Chapter 5

The tree was smaller than I had hoped, and Ardin didn't quite know how to squeeze his body together, so it took up less space. I was beginning to wonder if he even had a childhood, "Wasn't there a princess? N- something, and I'm sure they had many courtyards to play in so why doesn't he seem to be able to recall simple activity that savannah kids would play day after day?" I think to myself. The thick rhythm of pounding of footsteps once again calls a screeching stop to my thoughts as I peek my head through the maze of ivy and leaves to attempt and catch a glimpse of the approaching troops.

"Those aren't soldiers" Ardin says over shoulder, as the first few arrive within our line of sight, and I nearly fall from fright.

"By Eshe's horned head would you please stop doing that!" I yelp in harsh whisper, nearly falling out of the tree in fright, before my mind catches up with his words "wait what?" I ask in a quieter voice.

"Those aren't soldiers." He repeats and pushes himself closer to the edge to get a better view. "Look at their tattoos, they-" His body freezes up when my hand grasps for his and I can vaguely hear him calling my name in confusion, but my mind refuses to focus in on anything. The trees blur in and out. My head is spinning and spinning when I see him. Scar littered body, harsh brown eyes, big ugly nose, bald head and lime green crocodile tail, and suddenly I'm 14 years old again. Hiding behind a market cart, clenching my necklace and hoping for the protection it was said to bring. Watching dad fall to the ground over and over again, each time the thud of his body gets louder and each time his eyes connect to mine as he falls, blaming me. My hand being squeezed by Ardin's is what brings me back to the real world, he looks scared, I give a silent nod to tell him I'm ok and gesture for him to continue. He waits a minute in concern, funny how running away with a person can bring you so close to them, before continuing.

"Those aren't soldiers." Ardin repeats for the third time.

"Then what are they?"

"Look closer at them." He answers me, and I do. 18 men, 15 women, 3 that I can't quite see with Storm's bad eyesight passing over in our bond. Most of them look somewhere between 19 and 40. They are all wearing the same bland clothing, a baggy linen shirt and pants which was probably white at some point in time. With only three exceptions, a woman with a dusty light brown complexation. She has the same rabbit ears that Storm and I saw peering over the edge of the trail back when we were staying in that cave, Cassava, I think that was her name, is wearing a light pink dress with a halter top that has sand colored swirl-like marks decorating the sides. Cassava had dirty blond hair which stood out compared to her darker completion, it been put in a loose braid that hung over her left shoulder. The man next to her stood proud, he looked stuck up if you ask me. He probably never worked a day in his life, he stood about a hand above Cassava, his suit was black with a purple shirt underneath, and he had on matching black dress pants with purple cuffs at the bottom. The man's shoes were also black and shiny enough to allow the man to blend into the royal advisor who visited the Academy on occasion. The last person was an older woman, she looked like someone I would have seem rocking on her porch or telling stories to kids, back when I visited Gran in Elephant Town. She wore green-grey robes and a shawl over her hair.

"Ardin, please tell me those aren't criminals?!"

"Not all of the are, The man at the front, that's High Noble Criz. And the woman next to-"

"Wait." I interrupt. "Isn't he that prejudice guy who believes that bonds should only benefit the human? The one who tells everyone to treat their bonds like slaves not equals? My cousin hates him! He's still on the council?!"

"Yeah, some of the other nobles agree with him. Dad is terrified that he's going to start an uprising looks like for once his paranoia was right. He's the reason my sister is rarely seen in public."