Young Running

Chapter Two

As I awoke, I braced myself for the sunlight that always shined through my window directly into my eyes every morning only to realize that I couldn't see the brightness through my eyelids. I opened my eyes to see a bedroom that was very much not my own. The walls were stone rather than my own bland white paint. The bed was covered by a moss green canopy the matched the blanket I was currently tangled in. There was a window on the opposite wall, with a quick glance I realized it was barely dawn. I could hardly remember a time in my life where I had awoken before the sun, I had never been a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. On the wall to my left was a gleaming wooden door with a handle made of what looked like brass. It was like something out of a medieval castle. The dream, or at least what I had thought was a dream, abruptly clicked into place.

I sat up and was immediately greeted by a wave of dizziness followed by a dull ache in my temples. I brought my hands up to cradle my head and cursed quietly. I heard the quiet creak of a door and jerked my head up to see a young girl peek her head around the now open door.

"Daddy! She's awake!" she squealed, much to my displeasure. I quickly moved to stand on the opposite side of the bed from the door, I at least wasn't going to make it easy for my kidnapper. But what kidnapper would let a child that young in on such a thing? The little girl couldn't have been older than eight at the most.

A man nearly as tall as the door stepped up behind the little girl. I nearly pissed myself as I took in his features. Auburn hair that was pulled back into a low pony tail was quickly overlooked in favor of the large scar that started beneath his left eye and continued down his face and across his neck where it disappeared under his shirt.

How could anyone survive a wound like that?

The man held up his hands placatingly and grey eyes met blue as he said, " I swear, I know how bad this seems but I am not going to hurt you."

"Daddy wouldn't hurt a fly unless it's to protect someone!" Proclaimed the little girl that I assumed was his daughter, as she clung to his leg with the most adorable expression of earnestness. He looked down at her with fondness in his eyes as he ruffled her hair and picked her up, easily balancing her on his hip as if she weighed nothing. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on as they both turned to look at me once again.

I didn't know what to make of the situation I had found myself in. I had no idea who these people were and yet their behavior seemed almost familiar, as if I had witnessed this exact exchange countless times before.

"Who are you?" I asked, swallowing back my momentary feeling of nostalgic deja vu. Figuring out if I was about to be killed by a father-daughter duo was a bit more important to me right now.

The happiness faded from the tall man's eyes as he met my gaze head on. " My name is Roman. I knew your mother and she asked me a long time ago to look after you and keep you safe." He looked away and seemed to collect his thoughts for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "The place you lived was no longer safe, you were being watched by someone who wishes you harm while your father stood idly by. I couldn't let it continue."

I stood in shock as he talked, if he was being truthful then this man had known my mother, a woman who I couldn't find any information about even after years of searching. It had seemed that the only evidence of her existence at all was me and the details my father would divulge when I was young and asked about her. It had been quite some time since the last time we had spoken of her, more than seven years because I could see that speaking of my mother only upset him. But the red haired man, Roman, had said that I was in danger and my father had done nothing, what could he be talking about? My father may have grown a bit distant and strict in the last few years but he cared for me fiercely. He wouldn't let harm come to me knowingly.