Along came Ana

Chapter 1

"Ana. Ana...Wake up. ANA!!!"

My eyes fly open. I awake in a pool of sweat. I lunge forward gasping for breath. My chest heaving up and down desperately trying to find more air to fill my lungs. I can still taste the soot in my mouth. I can still smell the burning of flesh and bone.  My eyes meet two very familiar ones. "Ana. My dear. It's ok. Look at me. Ana, you're fine." My Uncle says as he places two big hands around my face. After what seems like an eternity my breathing starts to slow and my hands make there way up to meet his.

I pat them gently "I'm ok Uncle. I promise." Of course that was a lie. I'm never really ok after I have one of these dreams. The dreams that feel like something out of this world. Each one different yet so realistic. It had been so long since I had an episode like this. Although, I never had felt this type of feeling before. It was almost like I could still feel the surge in my body. "Do you want to talk about it?" My Uncle Mateo interrupts my thoughts. He knows me like the back of his hand and I know he's reading me like a book right now. "No. Not to tonight. Maybe in the morning? I promise I'm fine now I was just having one of my overly imaginative dreams" I give him a small eye roll. "I just really want to go back to bed." I smile innocently. Of course he knows I'm lying but chooses not to argue. "OK. If you need anything I'll be right outside". He places a kiss on my forehead and heads out the door.

I try hard not to replay the dream in my head but to no avail. What was it the woman had said? I try hard to think but only one word was recognizable. Medjai. The second the word enters my mind a strange kind of vibration runs through out my body. 

I rest my head back on my pillow. "Well...I'm not going back to sleep" I think to myself trying hard to forget what I'd seen. My head was flashing with a million questions that I new would never be answered. After what seemed like hours trying to analyze what it could mean, I feel myself slowly falling back into a dream like state. My eyes feel heavier and heavier. Like they're being held down by weight. I don't even notice I've fallen back to sleep.

When I open my eyes I see a man and a woman holding hands and looking at me. Almost like they'd been expecting me. The woman smiles then turns to run away. The man still staring waves at me to come join. He runs after her. I run after them both as we go farther and farther into a forest. This place feels strange. Almost like I'd been there before. As we make our way deeper into the forest we  come across an opening. There are small flowers everywhere of all kinds and one twisted oak tree in the center. He chases the woman and I around the tree and we all fall onto the blanket of flowers. The tree we lay under has an essence that is not of this world. It is almost mystical. It's branches held together with some kind of magic. I lay my head on the woman's lap and she begins to sing me a lullaby.

Eventually my eyes began to feel drowsy and instead of fighting exhaustion I began to drift away...

*******
3 months later

I don't remember what happened to them. My family. I can't remember their faces. I can't remember their smell. I'm not sure if they died or if they just left me too. Do I have siblings? Was I an only child? I don't know if I'll ever know. I don't think I even want to.

The truth is I can't remember a lot of my childhood and the memories I do have I try to forget.  Most people tell me to be thankful that I can't remember. They say it's a blessing. Better to not have memories of the people who abandoned me. I beg to differ. Still, I feel I should remember something. But no matter how hard I've tried to recollect anything, it's all a blank. It's like it was wiped away from my memory. Maybe it is for the best. I'd only wish I could believe it myself.

My name is Anastacia Katerina Cortez but most people call me Ana. I'm 16 years old with dark brown spring like curls, light green eyes, and a light honey glazed skin tone. I live under the roof of a tyrant who praises himself as like a king. King of the misfits. The outcasts. King of the ones who find themselves lost and alone. I still don't know how I found myself at his doorsteps. But, once you enter there is no getting out. Not unless it's granted by him. 

His name was Gabriel Amin Arantes Márquez. His followers called him "The Father" and we of course his "children". All I had known my whole life was to please the Father. Anything he said went. The ones that chose to follow were so dedicated that they'd easily die for him. The ones that did not did so in secret. If you chose not to bow to him you'd be punished. If you tried to escape you'd be killed. He was a disgustingly powerful man full on greed and hate. This was life day in and day out. 

It had been 6 years since I came to this place-The Sanctuary. I always wondered what was outside of the walls. What I would give to see an ocean or sand. Anything but this place. As children we were divided into social class: 

The Beggars- who would not be allowed a job or place to live. Sleeping on streets and eating  food from the trash like dogs.

The Commons-considered middle class. Were not allowed inside the castle but still lived on the grounds. As said before, nobody was allowed to leave the confinement of this place.

Handmaidens-catered to the Asherah. Only women. Almost like the mothers so to speak. Stayed in the castle but were not considered high class. Held the same title as the Commons to put it in better perspective. They were not to socialize to Prestige or Asherah unless they were alone. 

The Asherah-young girls who were taken from their families and raised  to serve the Father and Prestige. It was considered an honor to be chosen an Asherah. You were hand picked by the Father and allowed to live inside of his castle. 

The Prestige-this was made up of the Father's top military generals and his council. Only men were considered to be apart of the prestige. 

I was an Asherah. Bound for life. Being bound meant you had a certain Prestige you must obey and follow. You were a slave to a slave. Stuck forever.  Of course if the Father wanted he could do with you whatever he wished. Not all the men that resided in the Sanctuary were evil brutes. I was lucky enough to be bound to my Uncle Mateo. He was the one that found me on the doorsteps. He of course was not my real blood but always made sure to look after me. More than a father than an uncle he'd been the only loving man I'd known.  But there was only ONE Father. So, I called him Uncle Mateo. Most of the Asherah were not as lucky as I was.

I swore that if I were to ever escape , I'd bring an army to liberate this place.