The Believer

Chapter One: The Ring

~Six Months Later~

Wilky lay in bed, surrounded by the steady breathing of her sisters around her. The tall windows on the opposite side of the room let silver moonlight spill across the room. It was the middle of the night, but Wilky couldn't sleep to save her life.

It all had to do with the shining golden ring that currently sat on the ring finger of her left hand. Earlier that evening, it had been presented to Wilky by Destin Cantari, with a proposal for her to marry him, and Wilky, giddy with joy, had accepted the offer.

The moment had ended too soon, however, and now Destin was back home, and Wilky was left alone to wait and attempt to sleep with the knowledge that soon, she and Destin would be married and living happily together.

She raised her hand over her head, allowing moonlight to glint off of the gold ring, turning it pure white. It was a simple ring, with no adorning jewels or complicated engravings, but Wilky only cared about the charming young man who had given it to her. She rolled over in bed, smiling to herself, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to overcome her.

Just as she was drifting off, however, a loud noise startled her from her sleep. It sounded like the clattering of pots and pans from the kitchen, but who would be cooking at this hour? Wilky glanced around the room and saw that all three of her sisters were also awake.

"What's that?" Winnie squeaked, pulling up the sheets to her chin.

"I'll bet Gladey tripped or something again," Wesley muttered. Wilky looked over at her older sister, who was sitting up in bed, looking like a ghost amidst the deep purple shadows.

"Are you positive?" Willow hissed, as Winnie reluctantly lay down to go back to bed. Wesley shrugged.

"I don't-" she was cut off by the sound of an ear splitting scream, followed by yelling and more clashing and clattering.

Winnie sat up again.

"That's not Gladey," she said. "Wesley..."

Wesley sprang out of bed,  snatching up her two swords from where they lay against the wardrobe.

"You three, stay there." Wesley crossed to the doors and nudged them gently open. She was swallowed up by the dark hallway. The three remaining sisters waited in tense silence, listening to the terrifying noises from below them, and hoping that any minute, Wesley would walk back in and tell them there was nothing to worry about.

But she didn't.

There were shouts and the sound of steel clashing, and then the noise of someone pounding up the stairs to the second floor. Wilky realized that with Wesley gone, it was up to her, as the eldest, to protect Winnie and Willow.

"Girls, come on," she whispered, sliding out of bed.

"What are we gonna do?" Winnie cried. She looked absolutely terrified. Willow was doing her best to look calm, but Wilky could tell she was also scared. She didn't blame them.

"We'll hide in the closet," Wilky decided, pulling open the wardrobe door. It creaked, painfully loud. Wilky winced. Willow raised an eyebrow.

"That'll keep us safe?" she asked skeptically.

"I don't know what else to do!" Wilky exclaimed, flat out panicking now. Just a few minutes ago, she had been so happy, and now, it had all gone right to Sackan. Wilky wished she could go back and stop time, so she never had to feel this scared. But there was no way to go back. "Come on, hiding is the best thing we can do!"

Winnie slid out of bed and ran across the room, climbing up into the closet and disappearing into the folds of colorful fabric. Willow followed her younger sister's lead, and Wilky climbed in after them, pulling the door shut behind her. She peered through the keyhole, and was able to see the doors to their room burst open, revealing two armed men who were so muscular, they looked like snowmen made of potato sacks. Unfortunately, they were far more intimidating than snowmen.

"What is it?" Winnie asked anxiously.

"Shhh!" Willow hissed. "Be quiet!"

One of the men said something in a sharp foreign language, his gaze sweeping over the room.

The two began moving about the room, overturning the beds and shoving aside tables and other furniture. Then one of the men wrenched open the wardrobe doors, and saw the three girls huddled there among the cotton and lace.

He called something to his buddy, in the same unknown language, then fixed his black eyes on the three girls. "Come now, and you will not get 'urt." he stood aside to let them come out. Willow stepped forward.

"Who are you, and where do you mean to take us?" she demanded.

The big man didn't even answer. He struck Willow across the face with his armored glove, and she toppled out of the closet, landing sprawled on the floor, her cheek scratched and bleeding.

"Willow!" Wilky exclaimed. Winnie whimpered and hugged Wilky around the middle.

Willow climbed to her feet and touched her cheek, her fingers coming away with blood on them. She glared at the big man, who raised his hand as if to strike her again, and she shrank away. The man grinned and lowered his hand.

"Any others to argue?" the smaller man asked. None of the girls said anything. "Good! Come."

Wilky stepped down from the closet and extended a hand to Winnie, who hopped down after her and nearly tripped before recovering her balance. She stared up at the men, terrified. The smaller of the two men led them from the room, while the bigger man brought up the rear. They were marched downstairs, where a slender man with long dark hair bound their wrists with rope. He reminded Wilky of a salamander.

The rest of their family was already there, looking just as confused and scared as they were, except for Wesley, who had clearly been willing to fight to the end, and was slumped, unconscious, on the floor. Even the servants and maids had been rounded up.

The three men began talking, and Wilky realized that the salamander man must be their leader. He was ordering them to do something, and a minute later, the other two began moving to each person and searching them thoroughly, taking anything they found that was valuable or could be used as a weapon.

Wilky panicked. If they found her ring from Destin, they would definitely take it. She struggled to maneuver her hands to slide the ring off her finger. Meanwhile, the men were working their way over to her. The ring finally slid off, and Wilky didn't know what to do with it. How could she hide it? If she dropped it, they might see it on the floor. Her nightdress didn't have any pockets, and they might find it if she kept it in her fist.

With no other ideas. Wilky popped the ring into her mouth, just as the bigger man began searching her. Wilky, wearing only her nightdress, felt very uncomfortable with this, but the man worked quickly and found nothing, and moved on to search Willow.

Wilky quickly spat out the ring and slipped it back onto her finger, covering it with her other hand. Her mouth tasted of warm metal. Hopefully the ring would be safe now. She couldn't stand the idea of losing the Destin's ring.

When the men finished searching, they had gathered a sack of valuables that must have included some other objects from the house as well. They ordered everyone to stand, follow them, and cause no trouble. Wesley was slung over one of the men's shoulders, and they led their new slaves out of the house.