The Hunt for the Archipelago

Chapter One - Sonya

Hey everyone! This is the first collaboration that we have done and I shall explain who is who and who wrote what. 

Sonya Adair: Ofeymofie1234567890

Mia Cohen: The Chosen Amy

Noah Cohen: DuCKmAn37

Konrad Beverly: Qwills

(Mia and Noah are twins but Mia is older by a few minutes)

BTW this is Ofeymofie talking to you now. The chapters won't be just one person writing as everyone adds bits and pieces here and there but the skeleton and the main idea will be the writers above. Please enjoy!!!

The metallic drone rang in my ears as I knelt over my pan, my bare hand pressed over my arm. Blood, a rich red, ran through my fingers, seeping and staining my too-short shredded rags. Mia cowered in the corner; a vicious, rebellious look in her piercing green eyes. Her delicate face was bloodied and bruised from the beatings. 

I grimaced, "Now isn't the time." I shook my head, ridding my mind from any thoughts of freedom. 

A jarring, red hot pain sliced through my back. I screamed, feeling skin tear from the flesh. A slap stung the raw wound, blood trickling down my back. I groaned and collapsed in agony, rivers of tears leaving ugly streaks down my cheeks.

The master had moved on to a different target, satisfied with the beatings he had given me and Mia. Noah huddled in the corner, clenching his teeth as he took the full force of the master's rage. He gasped for breath, covering his head with his arms as he tried to block the blows of the thick bamboo stick. 

Mia seethed, anger flaring in her eyes. She had to protect her twin from the master's cruelty. I held an arm in front of her. She would only make the situation worse.

Mercifully, Noah finally passed out. The anger resided and Mia sat down, seeing the logic in the situation, just as she always does. The pain was still evident in her eyes though. I couldn't look at her fully. The master stopped beating him, seeing no reaction from the limp body. 

He glared at us, livid, and I shrank back into the wall, as though these few centimetres could save me from what would happen next. Mia was not cowed by the glare. She glared back at him with equal, maybe more ferocity. He saw her vicious look and grunted, leaving us to tend to our wounds. 

Mia ran to Noah, flipping over his body to check for vital injuries. The results were disastrous. The injuries seemed to intensify with every beating. Noah had three cracked ribs and a fractured wrist. Dozens of cuts and bruises adorned his pale skin.

 Bruises were painted all over Mia's delicate body. I quietly padded over and smeared some ointment on their tender wounds. I gently rubbed it on Mia's face, her emerald eyes dulled and hollow.

"Hey." I grabbed her shoulders, ignoring the excruciating pain that coursed through my back and arm. "He'll be fine, come with me and we'll take him to our house." Mia nodded and sighed, refusing to part her lips. We heaved Noah to our house and set him on one of the grubby straw mattresses that we shared. His lips were bloody, his face bruised beyond recognition.

Mia sat beside him and took his hand, whispering and singing soothing words that outsiders would never understand. I cast my eyes down and quietly let myself out of the house. We had run out of herbs and I needed more. I groped around in the dark, fumbling with my lamp.

The woods were filled with black, inky patches of shadows as I stumbled about in the dark. The orange glow of the stolen lamp I had in my hand was illuminating strange creatures and plants I didn't recognise.

I spotted the herb bush, grabbed a handful, and sprinted back, doubling over and suppressing a scream. The dark scared me a little. Unknown shapes and beings resided in the dark. The tales the other servants tell when we're all on break don't sit well with me. Dragons, ghosts, magic. Unearthly beings, ew.

I hadn't treated my wounds. Stupid. Stumbling into the house, I carefully closed the door. An infection could very well happen now, the master doesn't care much about what weapon he uses, or when.

As I ground the herbs, Mia prepared the bandages and pulled herself together. Silently, I slathered the paste onto the wraps and we gently pressed them onto Noah's broken body. I tripped, hissing in pain. 

I didn't complain, even though I wanted to. I'm not here by choice, after all, someone has to be the one to rally the army.

Mia jerked her head and padded over me. She still isn't talking, staying mute as a way of pretending our predicament isn't real. But I didn't get to the way I am with ignorance. I gritted my teeth and rubbed my wound with the little ointment we had left. 

I glanced towards Noah, scanning his body again. He kept groaning and rolling around, it broke me a little to be so helpless in situations like these. I need to get my act together and help some people. 

Mia seemed to sense my frustration, she flinched as I glared at her. "Take the first watch. Wake me at first light please, I need to grind new medicine for tomorrow." She nodded and stretched out her hand, taking me and guiding my body to the bed.

Smiling feebly in wordless thanks, I lay down and slept. 

Mia kept guard that night as she had gotten off the lightest. I was thankful that tonight I could finally sleep, relieving the weariness that had made me clumsy and slow, the reason why the Master had beat me in the first place.