Evergreen [Book 1 of the Hierarchy Series]-Revising

Chapter 9

Chapter 5

            "So, how've you been," I asked Liebei as we walked through the woods.  We were walking back to the wreckage just in case the thieves left something.  I needed to find some of my luggage, and I needed to find my necklace.  It dropped at some point in the night, and I couldn't find it.

            "Um, alright I guess," she replied.  She looked at the ground, trying to retrace our steps, "where do you think you dropped it?"

            "I think it dropped into the fire," I replied, "but I'm not really sure."

            "Well, we have to find it," she said, "something bad will happen if we don't."

            "What do you mean," I asked, unsure why she said that about a necklace.

            "That necklace is the time keeper," she said, "open it, and you'll see your past, the past of the person with you, and the light shows how much time is left."

            "How do I not know this," I shouted, angry at my father for not telling me anything.

            "You forgot everything before your mother died.  Your general memory was swiped clean from your mind," Taluntain said.

            "So, is that why I don't remember anything from my childhood?  Is that why I don't remember the hierarchy, or even my mom," I asked.

            "Probably," Liebei said for Taluntain.  Taluntain crawled back into my purse, not wanting to say anything else, "Cassia, we're here."

            I looked out to the opening in the forest.  I could see the charred black carriage now spread out all over the road.  Smoke still floated over the wood, but I couldn't see any flames.  I walked over to the heaping pile where Liebei found me and examined the rubble, but didn't find anything.  My suitcase lay a few feet away from the pile, black and still in flames.  The dresses weren't useful anymore.

            "What am I to do, I don't have any clothes, and my necklace is gone," I complained.  I pressed my face into my hands in defeat.

            "We have to look for the necklace," Taluntain said.  "We have no choice."

            "I can use your smell to find it, but I would have to go into my regular wolf form," Liebei said, "it's easier to pick up a scent on the ground that way."

            "Alright," I said, calming down a little.  I wiped a tear away from my cheek.  I watched her morph into a wolf, her bones stretching and cracking as her body slithered closer to the ground.  It looked painful, stretching in awkward positions and shrinking.  Her joints bent the opposite ways, but she didn't cringe in pain.  She just let it happen; yawning after the transition was done.  Now she just looked like a wild dog.

            "Cool," I said.  She ignored it and started sniffing the air.  Then she sniffed the ground, using all of her concentration.  She let her nose lead her back into the forest.  I followed her, trusting that she knew what she was doing.

            We walked silently for an hour.  There was nothing to talk about, and Liebei was so concentrated that she didn't even look to see if I was following.  I watched her as she walked this way and that, caught on a scent that I hoped was mine.  When she finally looked up, she stared at something in the distance.  I walked up to her until we were side by side, and looked in the same direction.  A man stared at us, but I couldn't see his face.

            "Dan, I found her," he said, looking back at the other.  He appeared next to him, and they walked cautiously toward us, spotting Liebei.  She growled at them, and they stopped short.  I walked up to her, and pressed my palm against the top of her head to reassure her.  She calmed down, and they started approaching again.  When they came closer, I realized the one who spotted me was the blue eyed one, so the green eyed twin was Dan.

            "You own a wolf," the blue eyed one almost scowled.  I believe his name was Stephen.

            "As a pet," I replied, covering up for Liebei, "she doesn't talk."

            "Why," Stephen asked, looking at me intently.

            "I don't know, she just doesn't," I replied.  They both looked at me for a long time, probably studying me to see if I lied.  "Where did you guys go anyways?"

            "Um, we went after the thieves," Daniel said, unsure of his words.  "They took something and we needed to get it back.  I told Stephen to stay with you, but he came after me."

            I just rolled my eyes and started walking away.  I didn't want to listen to them anymore, and Liebei was walking away anyways.  I followed her past them and deeper into the woods.

            "Wait, you still have to come with us.  We promised your father we would keep you safe," Dan said.  I stopped short, taking in a deep breath.  That was the truth after all.

            "Alright then, come on," I said.  I turned back to Liebei, who quietly barked something I couldn't understand.  What? I mouthed, but she turned away and started sniffing the ground.  I didn't watch to see if they followed.

            "She said that she caught a scent on Faeconi," Taluntain's voice came from my purse, "We're going to find her."

            Faeconi, I hadn't seen her in years.  Her father saved me once, or so my brother said.  Even my memory after my mother's death was starting to fade.  At least I remembered them.  He said that he found us when we got lost in the woods.  We journeyed to an elvish country, but we never knew where we needed to go.  I believe his name was Delsaran, and he was a retired stable master.   He would be able to help us get back to the palace.

            "Excuse me my lady," I heard a voice from behind me.  I turned around to look at Dan, but Stephen walked far behind us.

            "Yes," I said, waiting for him to say something. 

            I could hear him take in a breath and try to say something, but he didn't.  He opened his mouth to try again and his voice came out scratchy. "Um, I think you left something by the carriage when you disappeared.  I found a necklace there.  I was surprised the thieves didn't take it."

            "A necklace," I said, "can I see which one."  I tried to sound like the necklace meant nothing to me, but it was more than that.  Liebei looked up to us as he took out my sliver moon locket.  He placed it in my open hands and stuffed his hands back into his pockets.  I looked at it, studying it to see if it was the real one.  Luckily it was.  I looked at Liebei, reassuring her, and she went back to following the scent.

            "Where did you find it," I asked, looking him in the eyes.  His gaze left mine shyly.  He moved around uncomfortably, fidgeting.

            "On the edge of the forest near the wreckage," he replied, his voice shaky.  I looked at him curiously, trying to understand why he was so nervous.  I looked at his blood read ears and his pink, blushed cheeks.  I didn't understand these twins, they were so unusual.  For someone who worked for Adresin, he was nice.

            "Hey you," Stephen shouted from behind us, "where is your dog taking us."

            "Home," I replied bitterly.  He scowled back, but I let it go.  He wasn't worth it.