Sunlit Shadows

Chapter One

Sweat beaded down my face despite the freezing air as I delivered blows into the makeshift bag attached to the tree with nothing but an old rope. The memories of that winter day ten years ago were permanently ingrained into my brain, every detail etched on the back of my eyelids: the tranquility of her face, my screams, and the look of disgusting satisfaction on the King's face. Nine years ago, I wouldn't have dared enter the forest alone much rather train in it, so open and vulnerable. A wave of nausea hit me, forcing my stomach to empty what little contents it held as I continued to reflect on that day. The breeze swayed through the trees, the scent of pine and the promise of snow helping cool the fire in my belly as I packed up my things. I hissed, flexing my throbbing fingers, bruises and cuts decorated my hands, my knuckles begging not to be broken once again.

Shouting from across the clearing had startled me from my thoughts, sending shivers down my spine as I raced through the clearing. At that moment, I was sure of two things: First, the only thing that lay across the brush was my home. Second, I had spent the past decade protecting the holder of that voice from anything that posed even the slightest of threats. I pushed my limits, willing my arms and legs to move faster as my lands entered my eyesight.

"You can't just take that, my sister owns these lands, she isn't home yet." A high voice cries just as I round the corner into the main room, the sound of incoherent pleas followed suit as a man in gold armor pushed the girl to the ground.

A different man in much more plain clothing shoved the armored man out of the room. Guards, I realized as the guard almost ran into me.

"I'm sorry Ms. Thea, you know there is nothing I can do, we're debt collectors, I'm under the King's orders."

The plain man helped Thea to her feet as I watched the debt collectors haul our things onto carts, from furniture to food, taking everything we had. Filing out after the collectors was a squad of men plated in that sickening yellow color, some of their eyes locked with mine as they passed, full of hatred as that familiar taste of 'treason' fell from their tongues.

As my few possessions were wheeled, I turned to grab at the man's sleeve pathetically. "Mr. Kiran, please allow me one more month to get our affairs in order, we'll be able to pay everything."

"If I could help you anymore, I would." Mr. Kiran pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aelia, I'm a tax collector, I have kept you off the radar for as long as possible, but this is my job. This order came directly from the king. I'm sorry, there is no more I can do for you."

He squeezed my shoulder in a sympathetic consolation before disappearing down the road in the direction of the men and the cart. I focused my attention on the damage; what little furniture was left behind was tipped and scattered across the room, pictures and stories Thea had conjured up for me over the years were torn from the wall and ripped to shreds.

"They took mother's jewelry," my sister's words were hardly audible as she wiped her tears on the rag of a blanket she had wrapped herself in as if to keep herself together.

I pulled her into my arms. Thea had been so frail and thin, like a dainty porcelain doll that noble girls were gifted with, it pained me to even embrace my sister without feeling her ribs protruding. Whatever food I could scrape together or afford went to her; I was thankful that the only glimpses I ever caught of myself were in bodies of water.

"Don't worry, darling, I'll get it back." I breathed into her light hair, like a truthful promise rather than a dream. "I'll get it all back."

Thea kissed my cheek after getting herself ready for her lessons, squeezing my hand twice before leaving me in the wreckage of our home. Rather than letting my thoughts run, I began to tidy as best as I could. Jobs became scarce in Solaris, forcing families to choose between taking their chances crossing the Rift or turning to criminal deeds to survive, most didn't even get to make the decision before death knocked at their door. After what seemed like an eternity of cleaning, I washed the grime from my body and hair, tying the dark up and away from my face, before I left. Walking through the village, I watched children, some of them pulled me forward before getting distracted and chasing each other off, unaware of anything but their little game. A crowd gathering caught my attention as I pushed through to the front for a better view. A man stood on the platform, a noose lining his neck with a bag over his head, the bag trembled from the fear of the man underneath- a rule implemented directly after my mother's execution, the king never looked into the eyes of another person marked for death after her- not that it mattered because he hadn't attended a public execution since then.