I ride through the dark trees. My eyes paint faces on their trunks, the face of the phoenix man, of Annalisa. Faces of monsters, fears, memories. The half moon shines in the black sky. The millions of small stars dissapear as I near the city.
I can not shake off the guilt of running away and think back to several hours ago:
I used Jacklen’s power of knowledge of healing against her. Her power allowed me to know what to use as an anesthetic. I sniffed the tubes Jacklen’s drawers of medical herbs until I found the tube of curare, a mixture of saps from jungle vines. A rag rubbed with this compound was pushed over Jacklen’s mouth and nose. I was careful to have her fall onto the medical bed. This rag was also used to do the same with the guards, but I was just a bit less gentle with them. I then threw some supplies into Jacklen’s spare pack. Down at the stables, I hopped onto Jade, my old friend's back and rode off towards the north star.
Betraying my motherly figure pains me greatly, but it is better this way. King Harold was gathering his finest troops, preparing for battle with the Raniums. I could not allow an unnecessary bloodbath. All Tuin wanted was me, and that is all I am allowing him to have. It is my fault in the first place that Annalisa was kidnapped. If only I had not been so ignorant, thinking that I was untouchable because I broke so many Benies out of the concentration camps.
The shadows begin to lighten. I realise that I had ridden all through the night and that the sun was rising. The north star is no longer visible so I decide to take a rest. My horse breaths heavily, he needs a break also. I spot a small hidden clearing within the foliage. Its ground is covered in grass with a small trickling stream running through the center. I set up camp and set rocks around a small fire. Jade drinks from the stream as I warm my hands over the fire. I cover the opening to the clearing with branches and camouflage it from a rider’s eye. I eat a small piece of bread; I have calculated rations for each day it should take to reach the palace. After eating, I unroll a sleep sack and crawl in. The last two nights I have not slept so as to be ready to sleep during the day.
Just as I start drifting off, I hear voices. Two boys talking to each other,
“-Jarken berries? Those are worth a fortune!”
“I know, right! We will be rich! I swear the entrance was right here,”
I hear the leaves crackle as the two teens searched the outskirts of the opening.
“Yeah right, you are just making this up. Just like when you said that Jane Klein gave you her number last month,”
“No, I’m not lying! And she did give me a number, just not hers...”
“There is nothing here!”
“No, look there it is. Some branches fell in front of the entrance.”
I jump out of my sleeping sack and get ready for a fistfight. The branches are pulled away.
“What the hell...”
I confront the boys. They are obviously twins because they look identical,
“You had better get out of here!”
They stare at my navy blue roots and immediately know I am a Beny. Instead of turning me in, they seem like they are just curious about me. Another reason why they are not intimidated is that my hands are shaking and on top of that I am thin and out of shape. As I attempt a kind of war face to scare them away, all of my emotions surface and I burst into tears.
“Are you alright? You seem really emotional.”
They forget about the valuable berries and crouch down next to me. I realize that I am acting like a wuss and straighten up.
“You look freezing! Have you been hiding here long? Were you one of the people that were saved from the concentration camps? Our brother was one of those Beni-”
“My brother is just trying to say that we are not a threat to you. We won’t turn you in,”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We ride side by side on our horses. Jeffrey, the talkative one, was the one who discovered the berries in the clearing. Eric, the rational one, just sits there and listens as Jeffrey explains everything to me,
“Mum needs every penny to feed us and our five brothers. We do the best we can with what we have. You will probably have to sleep on the floor, but at least it is heated and hidden from the authorities. They rarely check for Benies this far from the palace and...”
A badly stacked house appears in the distance. It creaks in the wind and threatens to collapse on itself. Every board is hand nailed to create this four story shack. Cracked windows line the makeshift walls and shutters hang from their hinges. I can't imagine seven boys and a mother living in this dump. A boy, about twenty eight years old, hammers a new piece of wood over a fist-sized hole in the rotten wall. This is going to be interesting...
YOU ARE READING
The Silver Fox
Fiksi RemajaA young girl's life is changed when she is discovered to be a Benizione, a race of people born from normal parents. These people have special powers and are looked down upon by others, especially by King Tuin. Benys also have brightly colored hair...
