Hells Gate

Star tree

Clare and George continued through the night in silence. No one said a word, the tension between them after Clare's accusation still hung in the air. Even though the two humans were quiet, the night wasn't. A cacophony of sounds surrounded the stone road they traveled on. They could even hear the Lamoa bird in the far distance, its high and pitchy scream found the ears of all creatures in a miles distance. The Lamoa bird was heavily hunted for its beautiful pink colored feathers and its smooth, black beak. The birds was smaller than a flamingo,  it was about the size of a big parrot. As the sun rose in the sky the animals that had been heard during the night grew quiet.

The sun had left its morning position on the sky and entered the early day position. The day was warm and they both sweated under their clothes. The days only got warmer and plants withered in the unforgiving sun. They turned brown from the lack of water and slowly died, leaving empty shells of themselves.

"Where are we going, George?" The first words had been spoken and they seemed to hang in the air, waiting before they entered the males ears. George slowed down his horse and fell in beside Clare and said, "We are going to your sisters farm."

"What? Why there? We need to get away from here before they start searching for us."

"We don't have any food, clothes or other necessities and your sister will most likely help us, after all she's your sister and I know how nice you are," George said and winked at Clare. A faint shade of red appeared on Clare's cheeks and she nodded. Now when the silence had been broken the two friends spent hours of chatting on the horse back.

They stopped and dismounted their horses when the sun stood at the top of the sky. The day had gotten warmer and sweat dripped from their foreheads. They found a big tree and sat down beneath it and let the horses walk freely to rest. The shade from the tree felt like a gift from the gods and Clare sighed happily. She hadn't slept for a long time and it was finally catching up with her. She yawned several times and she found a comfortable spot against the big tree.

"It's okay if you want to sleep, Clare."

Clare yawned once more and murmured a silent "okay." She heard the wind rustling the big leaves high above hair and she felt the soft green grass beneath her and slowly fell into sleep. As soon as Clare fell asleep George stood up with careful movements to make sure not to wake Clare up. George looked around to make sure no one was around. He tied the horses to a low branch and with a small pat on the horse he rode, he quickly left the shadow and the tree.

***

A drop of blood slowly fell to the stone floor and it burst the moment it made contact with the stone. "What did you say she was going to do?" Olanda said with gritted teeth. She was furious and couldn't believe that Clare, the girl that never broke any rules had broken the most important of them all, don't leave the temple. Olanda could clearly remember what happened the last time a priestess left the temple. After several days search they found the body of the poor girl. She had been killed by a bear and never stood a chance.

"She was going to the eastern temple to learn magic," Ravenna repeated, her voice becoming more silent as she spoke. She was already worried for her friend and Olanda's reaction didn't make it any better.

"Did she knock you to the ground before escaping?"

"No," Ravenna said and stared into the floor, knowing what Olanda meant. She should've stopped Clare from running away no matter how hard it would be.

"Then why did you let her go?" Olanda felt like she was winning this argument. Ravenna stared into the floor and barely answered her questions.

"Because she had a dream during her initiation that told her to go there and I won't stop a friend who's trying to help us all. That's why and if you want to punish me, do it."