Remi's Great Escape (Forestfolk Prequel)

Chapter 1a

Author's Note: If you haven't read Siena yet (Book 1 of this series) I highly recommend you do that before reading this story. Even though the events in this short story take place before Book 1, there are a lot of references that will fly over your head if you aren't familiar with the series already. It will be more satisfying if you read Siena first, because this story is meant as a bonus for my loyal fans who want more while they wait for the next book in the series.

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When I was a baby, I used to turn colors when I cried. Not just the normal pink wash of an unhappy infant. My pale skin would mottle with various shades of brown, green, and orange. What looked like bizarre rashes would clear up as soon as the tantrum passed. At least that's what Ma used to tell me. She doesn't talk as much anymore.

"Remi."

I jumped up at the sound of her feeble croak and fetched water from the bucket in the corner. She smiled at me when I pressed the wooden bowl into her hands.

"Such a good boy." She took a sip. "You deserve better than this life." She took a deep breath to say more, causing her lungs to rattle. A coughing fit racked her body.

"Shh, it's okay, Ma." I took the bowl from her. "I'm going to get you some food. You're too weak."

She shook her head and gripped my arm with bony fingers. "Don't waste food on me. I'm not hungry. I want you to grow up big and strong, so you can escape this place." She squeezed my arm. "You're twelve now. You're too skinny for a growing boy."

The walls of our tiny mud hut closed in on me. I was small for my age. I knew this. But I wasn't useless. My gut clenched at the thought that my own mother might think that I was.

I jerked my arm away. "I'm strong enough."

I would find her some food and prove myself. The tribe didn't allow people like me to have much, but I had my ways.

I scowled at our naked doorway as I passed through it. One day, when I was big and strong like my mother was hoping, I would hang a cloth over it like every other hut in this tribe.

"Aberrations don't get privacy," a warrior had sneered at me one day when I'd asked why we couldn't have one. "We need to see what you're up to." I'd wanted to smack the beard off his ugly face, but I couldn't reach his face at the time. I told myself that one day I would hang my door cover, and anyone who objected would get perforated with arrows.

I strode with determination to where the meals were prepared for the tribe. A man hacked at a meaty elk leg with a bone axe. A woman separated leaves from a bundle of herbs. Another woman chatted with her as she braided fibers into rope.

All chatter stopped when they saw me approach.

"What's an Aberration pup doing sniffing around before mealtime? Or did you forget the rules?" The man pointed his axe at me. "You lot eat last."

I ground my teeth to keep from flinging choice words at him. Pick your battles, my father had told me when he was alive. Win the important ones.

With reluctance, I dipped my head in deference and slunk away to the wood shed.

Time for crafty measures.

After a quick survey of my surroundings, I scampered to a nearby hut. The one near the chieftain's hut. The chief always kept the freshest fruit in his large dwelling. Fruit might help my mother recover some of her strength.

I pressed my bare back against the mud-encrusted wall and closed my eyes. It started as tingling in my skin, spreading from my back across my torso. The tingling intensified into a crawling sensation, as if thousands of spiders were skittering across my skin. I scratched at my arms, but it didn't help. I always hated this part.

When the feeling leveled out to a mild hum through my body, I looked at my hands. They shimmered with the texture of the mud wall behind me. So did my arms, legs, and everything else. Even the frayed loincloth around my hips faded.

I was completely camouflaged.

With a quick check for onlookers, I crept to the chieftain's hut, keeping myself close to walls as I went. A woman ambled past with a basket in her arms, completely oblivious to my presence. I smiled, and continued advancing on the big hut's entrance.

As in my other work, I will be breaking up longer chapters into smaller parts. This makes replying to comments more manageable for my browser. Please don't forget to vote!