Eclipse

Chapter 27

★Rya★

I can't stop thinking about it. How everything went wrong that day. I stare up at my ceiling, tears forming in my eyes. It was all my fault, and I never even had the chance to say sorry.

I close my eyes, the tears streaming down the sides of my face. I open them again, my eyes blurry from more tears that are forming. I take in a shaky breath, imagining the days before my mother died.

I remember her smile when I chopped my first tree down. I remember her laugh when I did something stupid. And I remember the way she would discipline us when we would do something bad. She was an amazing mother. And it's my fault that she's gone.

I close my door quietly, trying not to wake my mother before it is necessary. I walk quietly outside, adjusting my mask and hood as I go. Mother told me to take a trip into the town, but I knew that she would still be asleep at this time. I closed the front door quietly behind me and made my way to the kingdom.

The hole in the wall was unguarded as usual. Going through it so often made me wonder if it was actually as unguarded as we believed it to be. It was odd that the soldiers hadn't found it yet. Mother says that it was there since she was only a child. Once I pass the hole, I, again, make sure that my hood and mask are on correctly. I walk out of the alley, looking both ways for guards. I make my way down to Marel's stand.

Marel was a new Breadmaker. According to my mom, her mother taught her when she was young, but now that she is married, she's finally able to do it. I grip the silver coins in my hand, hoping I didn't drop them. That, or someone didn't steal them.

Except, just as I thought it, someone shoved past me, causing me to stumble before I catch myself. I look at the person and see them sprinting down the cobblestone street, my coins in hand. I gasp and begin chasing after them, yelling, "STOP!"

But they do not. I feel myself being watched from every angle, but no one intervenes. What hypocrites. If something like this happened to them, they would expect help. I would help them. But no. They just stand there and gawk at me like I am the vilest creature on the planet. Maybe I am, but due to the skin I must cover, they have no idea if it's true. Only that it is possible.

The thief keeps running, getting farther and farther, and I begin to lose hope of getting my coins back. I wonder if I am going to have to tell Mother that I lost her money. That she risked her life for nothing, just because I was too careless with it. The way I was holding it in the open, I was practically begging someone to take it. And they had.

All of a sudden, though, the thief is tackled by a boy with long black hair. I gasp as I come to a stop, not too far from the scene. My hand goes in front of my covered, dropped jaw.

The boy that had intervened looks up at me, the coins now in his hand. When his eyes meet mine, I feel something that I can't quite explain. Admiration? Appreciation? Relief? I can't tell.

The boy's eyes are a tan color, his hair is long, put in a high ponytail, and below one of his eyes is a horizontal scar. But the way he looks at me sends a shiver down my spine.

The boy shakes his head, as if impatiently urging me to take the coins. I break out of my train of thought and quickly accept the currency, thanking him profusely. He only nods and looks back at the thief. Seeing him closer, now, I see that he was actually a she. I guess I was too scared to notice anything. Her skin is a smooth, milky brown. Her eyes are a prominent green, and her hair is dark black and curly. I can only see her hair because her hood had been yanked down when she was tackled. Serves her right for trying to steal from me.