Roses and Thorns *EDITING IN PROGRESS*

Chapter 1

Kass

"Hold on tight, okay Kassie?" My brother said. We were walking through the crowded streets of Mojar, and at that time I thought it was the biggest city that had ever existed. He led me through the winding streets and to the back door of a pub. He knocked on the back door and we waited until a kindly old woman opened the door.

"Oh, hello dears."

"Kassie, this is Nana. She's our grandma on Mom's side of the family."

"Your parents and brother visited before you were you were born, but I haven't seen them since." Nana said, walking over to hug my brother. "Now why don't you both come in, Markus just put stew on the kettle." She led us into the cramped back room of the pub. It was dark and dingy, with little light coming in through the dirty windows and candle stubs. She sat us down at a table next to a stack of barrels. Nana put a loaf of bread out and a bowl of stew. "Eat up, dears, you've traveled a long distance today, and Markus and I will need your help in the pub tomorrow."

I dived straight for the food, but my brother went over to Nana and handed her a piece of rolled-up paper. She read it, a look of sorrow on her wrinkled face. "I understand dear, you can stay here for the night and head out tomorrow morning." When my brother nodded, she said "You'd better get over there and eat before little Kassie eats everything."

I tossed and turned that night, never able to sleep with the dread of the next morning crushing my chest like the weight of an anvil.

My brother left early the next morning. It was a brief goodbye, just a hug and a whisper. "I'll see you again, Kassie, I promise."

And then he was gone.

And I never saw him again.

"Kass," Nathaniel's voice shook me awake. "Kass you have to see this." I was lying on a bundle of hay in a silo. Nathaniel led me through the crowded safe house -- which had been converted into a secret safehouse for refugees fleeing invading warriors -- over to Meriweather, who was holding a spyglass.

"You'd better take a look at this." She handed me the spyglass and walked away. I heard a faint sob and saw her blinking away tears as she sat down next to her brother, Cadence. I put the spyglass up to my eye and watched what was happening in front of the inn across the street.

Two men - one old and one young - were being dragged out the front doors, the older man unconscious. I focused on the two men. I could see a flower pinned to each man's coat. Roses. Those men were Roses. The rose pinned to the younger man's coat was a pale baby blue. But something was wrong. Seeping up from the base of the flower were lines of crimson. The man was dying, but this was something else entirely. It seemed as if the flower itself was changing.

"Nathaniel," Then it happened. One of the warriors dragging the two men looked up at the silo, right where my spyglass was hanging out of the window.

"What?" Nathaniel asked, sounding annoyed. "If this is about another swarm of ducks outside the silo I'm gonna-"

"I think someone knows that there's people in here."

Nathaniel said nothing, but motioned for me to hand him the spyglass. "Oh."

"We need to evacuate this place. Now." Nathaniel nodded his head in agreement. I turned back towards the middle of the silo and cupped my hands around my mouth. "EVERYBODY GET READY! PACK UP YOUR THINGS AND BE READY TO LEAVE IN HALF AN HOUR!"

There was a rush of activity as people began to gather their things and find their wandering children. I turned to Nathaniel. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to go warn Nana and Papa." I swung a cloak over my shoulders and grabbed a fake set of keys as everyone scrambled to pack up. Nathaniel was behind me all the way to the bottom floor, where he helped me stomp on the secret trapdoor until it had opened.

"Take my pack," I said, handing him a small bag of my belongings. "And try and get as many people out as possible."

Nathaniel looked frightened. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine. The warriors won't see anything except a farm girl checking on crops in the silo. Once I get Nana and Papa, we'll use the tunnel in the cellar to get over to you in the other tunnel. Okay?" Without looking down, I slipped a glove off my hand and grabbed Nathaniel's. I could feel it, the warmth leaving my hand and filling up Nathaniel.

Nathaniel seemed shocked. "Kass," He hesitated. "Kass, since when did you have the touch of fire?"

"Not fire," I explained. "Life."

"Whaddaya mean, 'life'?"
I rolled my eyes. "You know, the force that lives inside everything, giving us strength and power?"

"So, what's up with the life-touchy thingy?"

"I have a more plentiful amount of life energy, enough that I can give some to other people."

"So you're a Rose."

"Yes."

"Then what would be the Tho-"

I cut him off. "Death. I wouldn't be able to touch anyone with my bare skin, even though I can barely do that now." I almost always wore gloves. It would be too suspicious if everyone that I touched suddenly perked up with new strength.

I took my hand off his arm and put my glove back on. "I've wasted too much time. See you later." Nathaniel kept his eyes on me. I could feel it as I walked to the door.

He grabbed my wrist as I made my way to the door. "Nathaniel."

"Yes?"

"You can let go of me now."

"No." He jerked his arm back and spun me around so that we were only inches apart. We were both breathing heavily. "No." He repeated. "I need you to promise me that you'll be alright. No more 'I'll be okay!' or 'I'm completely trustworthy!'. I need a firm, straight answer. Will you come back unharmed?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. It was like something was pushing me into the ground, forcing my mouth shut. Nathaniel was being like a dad, making me squeamish and uncomfortable with his staring. "Y-yes." I choked out.

Nathaniel let go of my arm. "Good." He said.

I started to walk over to the door. "And you better be back here by the hour,"

"Or what?" I call. "Are you gonna ground me or something?" That seemed to shut him up. Cautiously, I lifted the hood of my cloak over my hair. "Here goes nothing." I mutter.

There was little time to spare. I could see them approaching as I fumbled with the fake keys.

"Well, well. Looks like someone forgot about curfew." There were four of them, all heavily armed.

"My apologies," I mumble.

"At least you know your manners."

I dared a look up.

"Well, missy, would you like to tell us what you're doing here, after curfew?" The sun's gone down, and I can barely make out their face, let alone my own hands. "Well?"

"I-I was checking-g the s-stocks in th-the silo, and I-I got h-held up-p." I stutter, tears in my eyes. "We-e've had-d termites i-in the c-crops f-for age-s n-now, and-d Papi wanted m-me to ch-check on-n th-them."

"And he did not think of sending the platoon captain a message saying his daughter would be out past curfew?"

"No."

"No, sir."

"I don't know if you've figured this out yet, but I'm a girl."

The warrior says nothing, just turns back towards a big, muscly man. Before I know it, they're surrounding me, like a pack of wolves getting ready for the kill. The one who was speaking before spoke again, circling around me like a python constricting its victim. "I don't know if you've figured this out yet, Kass Rahin," The others move closer, binding my wrists together. "But no Rose can hide forever."

And before I knew it, someone had tied a blindfold around my eyes.

Then there was a sharp pain in the back of my head.

And everything went black.