Abandon The Night

Chapter Five: The Beginning

Anca was barely out of her youth when she stumbled upon someone that took her breath away. She was fifteen, still mad about her duties as the royal handmaiden to a wench named Dacina.

They were currently in the bogs outside of the castle.

"Anca!" Dacina whined, lifting her skirts to her knees to wade into the marsh. Anca was too busy pulling stink weeds from the marsh to care about Dacina. "I am going to murder you while you sleep if you do not finish quicker."

Anca didn't bother looking up at the blonde-haired beauty; these death threats were common between the two. "Do ya think Posso will notice?" Anca asked, looking at a stink weed closely, a grin stretching across her grimy features.

"Anca!" Dacina whined again, trying to not get her skirts ruined with marsh water.

"Will ya stop it now, ya git?" Anca cried, sloshing the water toward Dacina, who scurried backwards. She slipped on a slime covered log and fell bottom first in the knee-high marsh.

"Now look what you did, Anca." She dismissed Anca's offer of a helping hand. "If my mother had not forced me to spend time with you, little peasant, I would not have ruined my best dress!"

Anca gave her master a toothy smile, two of her teeth slightly sharper than the rest. "If ya worked as hard as the rest of ya sista's, you wouldn't need lookin after, mi'lady git."

A twitch of annoyance was smothered by a grim expression. "You got your weed, let us go." Dacina wrung out her skirts the best she could, making her way to dry ground. "And if you wished to be with my family any longer, I do suggest you refrain from such words."

Anca smiled, the two teeth elongating slightly, barely noticeable but the effect was profound on Dacina, who took an involuntary step backwards. "If ya weren't such a lazy git, Daccy, I woulda be bothered." She admonished lightly, then snipped, "Use common, now."

Dacina hummphed and stomped off with a giggling Anca on her trail. Out of spite, Anca hollered "Do ya think he'll notice, then?" when out of nowhere a man appeared. He had blond hair so blond it was almost white. He had eyes so green, they were like jewels that Anca saw in the master's lock room. His skin was pale as the moon and his voice was rich. To be honest, the man was out of a dream.

"Whacha thin', ah?" Anca held the stink weeds before her, on dry land now. The smell of the marsh didn't bother her at the moment.

The man smiled. It was dark and dangerous and drew her in like flies to the dead. "Hello, what is your name?" The voice was rich and smooth and just as dark as his smile. Darker than the night.

"Anca."

"Well Anca, I have a most delightful treat for you . . ." He trailed off with a smile. She perked. It wasn't often she got treats. Then, "Are you not married young one?"

"I be fiff-teen past summer. I be a maiden to the daughter of his royal sire." She spat on the ground. "Dacina issa git alright."

"Is she now." He leaned down to her height. "And what about you?" He put his hand on her cheek and held it there for a moment too long. Anca should have been disgusted, but the look in his green eyes was enthralling.

"What ar' ye?"

"Hmm . . . what are you instead my darling?" He licked his lips. Standing back to an immaculate posture, he withdrew his hand. "Not the treat I was hoping for but much better." She pointed with her free hand to his mouth as he smiled again.