Legends of Heretrua: Children of Light

Chapter Eleven

Rosalie twirled a flower between her fingers, watching it spin back and forth. Well, her eyes were on it, but she wasn't really seeing it. Her body was simply occupied while her mind wandered.

"Rosalie?"

Genne's voice shook Rosalie from her daze. "Sorry. Yes?"

Genne held up the flower crown she had completed. "I'm done."

"It's beautiful Genne."

"Thanks." Genne wasn't smiling. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Rosalie went back to twirling the flower. Its delicate stem finally gave in and toppled over.

"Really? Because you just killed that flower and you've made no progress on your crown."

Rosalie threw the crumpled flower across the grass. "Aldyth won't tell me what's going on."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she's keeping a secret and I don't know what it could be. I feel like she wants to protect me from something, but she's just making me worried."

"What makes you think she's hiding something?"

"You remember she went to the castle, right?"

Genne nodded.

"And she talked to the prince?"

Genne grinned. "Of course I remember that."

"Well why was she at the castle? And what was she talking to the prince about?"

"She said she ran into him in the gardens."

"That doesn't answer why she was there when she should have been at work. And I think she's lying about running into the prince. I think she went there to talk to them."

"Them?"

"If she went to talk to the prince, surely she went to talk to the king, too."

"Oh." Genne looked down at the crown in her hands. "Do you have any idea what could be wrong?"

"No. But she's disappearing at odd times more often, with no explanation."

They sat there quietly, Genne watching her friend rip up grass. "What if she..."

Genne never got to finish. The girls threw their hands over their ears as a deafening noise filled the air. They looked towards the center of the village, where a cloud of black shot up out of the ground. Genne's mouth dropped open and she and Rosalie looked at each other at the same time.

"What was that?" Genne asked.

Rosalie jumped to her feet and Genne scrambled up after her. "Let's go find out."

"Are you sure?"

Rosalie had already started towards the village. "No. But our families are still over there."

The two girls ran through the grass and trees towards the village. They skidded to a stop at the edge. Several houses were on fire, and every so often a burst of black or flames would appear over the rooftops.

"What's the black stuff?" Genne asked.

Rosalie shook her head. "I don't know."

"It looks like magic."

As she said it another house took fire. People were running everywhere. Some were escaping the flames of the houses, others were going into them, pulling out people and valued items. Still others went in and didn't come out, as though they thought it was safer to hide inside. Most people were leaving the village, running for the cover of the forest.

"We have to find our families," Rosalie said.

"I'm going to find my mom."

"You can't go by yourself, it's not safe."

"Well I'm not going to find your family before I find my mom," Genne said defiantly. "And I'm pretty sure you want to find your family before you look for my mom, too."

Rosalie looked at her little friend. They didn't have time for this argument. Genne's eyes were filled with determination. There was no protection Rosalie could give her that she didn't have on her own. "Fine. Please be careful Genne. And get out of here as fast as you can."

Genne nodded. "I will." She took off in the direction of her home and Rosalie turned towards her own.