Maybe (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Four

"Ash!" My voice broke from my attempt at screaming louder than the bustling crowd. "Ash!" 

Another voice echoed my words, Mekhi's voice. I feverishly glanced around me, trying to get a glimpse of any familiar face, but everyone was a stranger. People barged past me without a care in the world of my obvious distress. Ash was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Mekhi. I spun around twice more, straining my eyes against the crowd and the sun. A firm hand grasped my arm tightly. 

A seductive-looking woman appeared at my side and pressed her body against mine. "You look a bit lost, boy." She smiled sickly sweet. "Come," she leaned close to my ear, lowering her voice, "I'll take care of you, baby." Her grip on my bicep tightened and I felt her nails digging into my skin. 

"I-I'll be alright, thanks." I pulled away, my movements skittish and jumpy.  She tried to pull me in again, but I struggled against her grip. She was strong, and dragged me towards an alleyway. "No! Stop, I need to-" I glanced at a nearby face, a man, "Help!" I called, but he simply glanced away again. So many eyes watched the woman drag my away and simply ignored us. 

My heart beat hard in my chest, I could feel my body shaking and adrenaline running through my veins. When we were safely away from the crowd, but still visible, she shoved me against the brick wall. "You're not from here, are you, sweetie?" She murmured, tracing a finger against my cheek. "Come now, it's okay, little onama. Breathe, baby." 

"Help!" I screamed, and struggled against her again, but she would not let me, her grip tightened so much that her nails dug deep into my skin. 

"Stop it! People don't care about you around here, you're just a useless little onama!" I froze at her venomous tone. She spat on the ground in front of me. "Not good for anything but some fun. Hasn't anyone ever told you that?" 

I froze now. Staring at her in horror. Is that what people really thought? Is that way Mekhi hated me so much? 

"Look, baby, I don't mean to burst your bubble, I mean you really are quite pretty. But you're not a pure-blood. You're a bastard, a mongrel. A dirty, pathetic mixed-blood." Her eyes tore into me, tearing me apart and scattering me across the dirty ground of the alley. Where I belonged. "Well, I think that's enough talk, don't you?" She grinned, her teeth and eyes glowing. 

Fear erupted in me again as she pushed our bodies flush together and shoved her mouth to mine. A surge of strength suddenly ran through me as I pushed her away, a strange light flickering around her. I didn't stay to watch. I sprinted out to the crowd, pushing through the people. I decided now that I didn't care about them, seeing as they didn't care about me. Who would care even if I shoved them over?

I burst into a strange, huge yard. Tents and stalls littered the entire ground, and a strange memory flittered to mind. A dream. As I looked around, I saw that the scene before my was a mirror image of what I dreamed, only now there was hundreds of people busying the streets, calling and shouting and selling and buying and trading. 

I found myself tracing the path I walked in my dream, without even thinking, passing strange aromas, vibrant colours, odd voices and ignoring those who tried to sell me questionable weapons and tools and vials of liquids. Finding a path amidst the sea of people, I found myself outside a familiar tent. Layers of fabric surrounded it, creating a soft colourful wall. I dragged my hands across the fabrics, lingering on the soft texture of them. I circled the tent, waiting for that one slip of gold colour. 

There. 

The gold fabric rustled and slid silkily between my shaking fingers. I found myself holding the fabric gently between my fingers, debating whether or not to enter. Just as my curiosty got the better of me, and I decided to enter, I was pulled violently in to darkness.