Erisa

Chapter 1

23 years later...

Chapter 1

"Get out!!!!! Get Miryssa and get out of here!!!!" Tyrez shouted to his older sister as he ran outside to help his father. He slammed and locked the door behind him, knowing he would never return.

Erisa woke up, startled. Her baby step-sister Miryssa wailed from the crib that was situated in the corner of the room. Her home was burning. And her father and step-brother were gone. Erisa knew -and had been warned-that this day would come. Still, she wasn't quite sure what was going on. The king's knights, who were also called the Red Hands, were forcing their way into her home. They were destroying the city she had been raised in, and taking the inhabitants as slaves. Anasia was one of the last cities brave enough to oppose the evil king who had stolen the throne. Now, it seemed that the whole world would soon be overcome by the darkness that was engulfing them.

Grabbing her little sister and her cloak, Erisa looked around, searching for her step-brother; she knew he was gone, but didn't want to believe it. Coughing because of the smoke, she ran out the back door to try to escape, but the Red Hands were waiting. She looked around, only able to see because of the flames, which illuminated everything with an eerie, orange glow. The women and children were already in chains, and her father and the other men lay together in a lifeless, bloodstained mound. Erisa gasped in horror as she saw her thirteen-year-old step-brother dragged over by a huge Red Hand and placed among the dead. She was appalled at the thought of her father and her brother not having a proper burial. Everyone knew that if the dead weren't placed in the river, they wouldn't find their way to freedom across the sea.

She struggled to get free, but with ten huge Red Hands all around her, it wasn't long before Erisa's hands were bound. Her younger step-sister was shoved into a wagon filled with screaming babies and toddlers. Erisa was led forcefully to the group of her friends and neighbors, who had been free people yesterday. She walked over to her friend, Samanthia, and they stared together in silent disbelief at the evil of the king. A man on a brown horse shouted for their attention. He was in full armor, but Erisa did not know why. Anasia was a peaceful town, with hardly any weapons or warriors. The print on his helmet was too familiar. A blood red hand. He must be a captain; only they're important enough to have a horse and a helmet, Erisa thought.

"Listen up, yeh!" he yelled, "Yeh are now pris'neers of the king! While yer under my command, yeh will not speak, but ye'll march. We take breaks when I say, march fast when I say, eat when I say, and drink-"

"-When you say, we get it!" shouted a brave woman from somewhere at the back of the group. The captain nodded to a soldier, who grabbed the woman's arm and dragged her to a mound of rubble so everyone could see her.

"I've told yeh, no talking unless I say," said the captain in a sickly sweet voice, "Yeh will obey my orders," His tone now changed to a threat, "Next time, your punishment may be far worse." He nodded again, and the soldier slapped her cheek. She was led back to the group as the captain continued to shout accented orders in the Western Tongue.

"A'right yeh! Start marchin'!" the captain yelled as soon as he was sure they understood. Erisa and Samanthia looked at each other, and began to march with the group.

All that night, Erisa, Samanthia, and the Anasians stumbled through the darkness, spurred on by fear. The Red Hands were cruel, punishing anyone, if only because they felt like it. They all knew where they were going, because travelers had often come to Anasia, telling stories of the horrors of slavery. Many had warned the Anasians, but their advice had seemed far-fetched. Erisa had known the Red Hands would come, but had done nothing, along with the rest of her townspeople. And now they were paying the price.