Drake Guard

Chapter Two

The man blinked a few times, not quite grasping the gravity of my words, but the woman grasped the man's arm and held it. Pure horror shone on her face, and when she tried to speak, no words escaped.

"What message?" he asked, still not getting to the point. He glanced at his wife, who slowly unwound her arms from him and held his hand with a firm grip.

"The Message, darling. They've finally sent for them," the woman explained, her soft voice full of defeat.
The man's eyes shot up to meet mine, and I looked away for I couldn't bear to see his despair. "Is this true?" I nodded, and he clutched the woman. "No, they're still too young! You can't-"

"I'm sorry, but this is what must be done for the good of the people," I broke in, gathering up enough courage to look him in the eyes. They were overflowing with tears, the tears of a heartbroken father. "You know that this is the way things must be."

He tried once again. "Please, you must understand, they are all we have," he gestured to the woman, "our world revolves around them. You musn't. Please," he whispered the last word, desperation filling the air.

I matched the strength of his voice, as I wished not to cause the poor man any more distress. "I must not go against the wishes of the others. There is little I can do. I am dearly sorry."

A mournful noise escaped his lips, and he fell to his knees. I'd never seen a man who had worn his emotions outward, but if ever there was one, it was surely him. He threw his hands onto the ground and shed tears, staining his face in little trails.

I forced my gaze elsewhere, as I couldn't bear to watch. His wife, I noticed, kept herself far more composed than he.  She had been able to compose herself, and she met my eyes with her resolute gaze. They told of previous hardship beyond thought and reason, of rising above, of pushing through and survival. This woman would either be a dangerous foe or a trusted ally.

She went to the man and hauled him to his feet. Tears still fell from his face, though exhaustion was beginning to set in. I was thankful that the people had gone past, for there would have been too many questions requiring answers, for which I had none.

The woman looked about us and gave a heavy sigh. "Gable, we best be retrieving the girls. The hour is late," she spoke toward the man, who still leaned against her.

He righted himself and trudged toward the celebration tent, and the woman and I followed in his wake. We passed a smaller opening between the rows of tents that was filled with animals of all sorts. Those beastly and wild, shy and kind, bold and brash. None were bound, yet they all remained as if it were their duty.

The wondrous view was obscured by another tent, and so I looked ahead and found I had fallen behind. I quickened my pace to catch up and arrived at our destinations just as they did.

I had more time to examine the fabric this time about. Marvelous tapestries were woven into it, swirling and shimmering with blinding pigments. The work certainly had to have been done by an artist, for it was not amateurish in the slightest.

Both the woman and the man Gable entered, so I did as well, but only to watch from the entrance. We had caught up to the group from the central fires, and boisterous laughter filled the air. Unfitting for what was about to happen.

This was when I realized that the entrance of the tent was raised enough to see all the events inside. I caught sight of the two pushing  through the twisting crowd to the grandmother, the one whom the whole celebration was for. They whirled around in what I could only assume to be their searching for their children. The woman locked onto a section in the far corner, one where I noticed Evre and Fyre talking to each other, also searching. They found the woman among the mass, and she beckoned the two over to her. They obeyed and my heart sunk with it, for I realized that this must have been the horrid feeling in the pit of my stomach from earlier. She collected her husband and started in my direction.