Kidnapped - Again

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Needless to say, I've been with Mr. Plumber for 3 months, and I have not seen one dishonest bone in him. He seems like a wonderful, kind, nice old man.

He's just like Grandpa. I caught myself thinking, and I pinched myself violently. We don't talk nor think about our family. They're gone and nothing will change that. Focus on the present.

Life with Mr. Plumber was peaceful. It had been a while since I had felt such peace. Then, one night, as we sat by his cozy fire, I asked him, "Why did that boy bring me here? Who was he?"

Mr. Plumber continued to stroke the fire, obviously deep in thought. "You'll find out soon enough," he answered annoyingly. I inwardly groaned and headed off to bed soon after. Even though my frustration seemed like such a huge problem, something quite worse was about to happen.

The next morning, I woke up early, got ready for the day, and headed out to the barn to milk the cows. The rooster was still asleep, so I was spared of his loud crowing.

It was so beautiful outside, with the morning dew on the grass, and the soft moos of the cows. I gently milked my favorite cow, Beauty, as I examined the familiar scenery, thanking Adonai for His creation. The sun had just risen above the eastern bluff. There were still a few clouds in the sky. The old barn smelled of old musty hay and a woodfire.

CRACK!

I heard a window break and in horror, I saw through the barn doorway, the roof of the cottage being devoured by flames. Several other loud cracks followed, and the foundations of our cozy cottage started to waver, surrounded by blazing flames. I stood up quickly, overturning the milk bucket, and ran towards the house.

"Who on earth?!" I asked desperately as I ran with all my might. Soon enough, I got my answer as I saw several men, clothed in all black, throwing flaming objects into Mr. Plumber's home.

I looked behind them and saw a carriage. A shaking man was being roughly pushed into it. Mr. Plumber! I mentally screamed.

I quickened my pace and was about to shout when I was tackled from behind and forcibly pushed behind a wooden crate. I quickly punched my aggressor in the nose, and twisted to escape. However, he or she drugged me back down again behind the rough wood.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, and I turned to see the same boy who brought me here. To my delight, his nose was bleeding.

"Let me go!" I shouted, and he quickly covered my mouth. I elbowed him in the stomach, as he doubled over. I tried to run again, but he was too quick for me. He grabbed my ankle pulling me back towards him.

"No!" he whispered with enough force to actually make me pause. "We've come too far for you to be captured. You believe in Adonai , and you want to see Aesterin at rest, don't you? Unfortunately, we need your help." He gave me a look of absolute disgust.

"But, Mr. Plumber..." I started to argue.

"He did his job, now you have to do yours. If you don't, more events like this will happen, do you understand?"

I fell silent. He gave me a look that I didn't quite understand. Is that pity on his face? Whatever it was, it faded away as he asked again, "Do you understand?"

I looked straight into his eyes, causing him to shrink away slightly. I took a deep breath and answered, "Yes."

"Good. I need you to come with me," the mysterious boy said as he got up. "First," I said, crossing my arms, "Could you at least tell me your name?" I added sarcastically.

He surveyed me closely and scowled. "Fine. The name's Ezra Killian. Now, come on."

"Where are we going?" I whispered as we snuck across the property.

Ezra turned to me and smiled slightly.

"The base of The Adrielan's Guard."

I had so many questions. However, I forced myself to shut up and follow Ezra.

Ezra Killian. A peculiar name for someone around these parts... it sounded almost Zyanyan! But that couldn't be right . . . I continued on, thinking of possible explanations of Ezra's past. Appearance wasn't always determined by ethnicity. Perhaps his parents were travelers. I looked up from the path realizing that my pace had slowed and a large gap had formed between me and Ezra. I quickened my steps, nearly running after him in an attempt to catch up.

Due to how fast he was walking, or running, depending on how you look at it, I had a rather difficult time catching him.

I must regretfully admit that during the last few months I had been rather idle, and seemed to have lost my touch. While I used to be nimble and fast, I was now tripping over every root in the forest and hardly able to breathe properly after less than a mile of running. Mr. Plumber had been very kind; he had kept me well fed and rested.

I paused for a second, resting my palms on my knees and trying to catch my breath. "Ezra, wait!" I called in a hoarse voice.

He paused. "What? Did something happen?" he called without even turning around.

I coughed and said, "No... I-I just need a second to breathe." He finally stopped and turned around, confused. When he saw my disheveled appearance and my beet red face, his own face quickly reddened in an attempt to hold back a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. "What did you expect! You had me sitting around gardening for 3 months. It's not like I'd be in peak physical form!"

Ezra's laugh finally escaped his control, bursting forth from his mouth in a wave of sound that tickled my ears and threatened to drag a smile onto my lips.

I glared at Ezra, which only made him laugh harder. After several minutes, he finally composed himself.

"You'll need to work on that stamina." He said jokingly.

"It's your fault I'm like this," I said with mock bitterness. He just laughed again and started walking in the same direction we had been going before.

"What is the base of the Adrielan's Guard like? In fact, where is it!?"

"You'll see," he replied.

"Why did you choose me?"

"You'll see," he said again, rather rudely.

"Why can't you give me a straight answer?" I complained in an exasperated tone.

He glanced back at me, gave a smirk and said, "You'll see."

I groaned and then we lapsed back into silence. 

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