Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

69

A little girl sobbed into her knees, curled up tight with her arms wrapped around her shins and her face buried. A little stream rippled and burbled at her feet, small minnows flitting about under the surface. She didn't care. Minnow-catching was one of her favorite things to do, but not today. Her mother yelled at her and her grandmother didn't stop it, breaking her promise to always be on her side and doing nothing but letting it happen. Liar. Liar. All of them liars and unfair and monsters and evil and—

"Sabrael, don't cry. Don't cry. If you're sad, I'm sad, too. Come here."

A young boy, only a little older, appeared at her side like a ghost, an ethereal vision of white and pale gold as he wrapped his arms around her. She hurled herself into him immediately, even falling into his lap and throwing her arms around his waist as she buried her face against his stomach. The billowing folds of his flowing white robes concealed the side of her head, a gentle covering that he pushed aside with a faint sigh.

"Sabrael? What happened? Did you get in trouble again?"

"Let's run away. Let's run away somewhere really far. And no one can find us. They're all bad. I hate them. I hate them!"

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay. What happened this time? Did your mother find you in your attic again?"

"She said I can't do magic. She said I can't try! And Grandma was on her side. She promised, but she was on her side! They're all lying. I want to be a witch, too. I want to go to school! But they always say no. I hate them. I don't have friends. I don't have anyone."

"I can't hear you clearly with your face all covered like that. Come here, Sabrael."

She shuffled her face about in his robes and sniffed back her tears. "... Maybe you shouldn't call me that anymore..."

"What, do you mean Sabrael? But it's your name."

"It's my secret name..."

"That's true, it should be a secret. But if I don't call you Sabrael, what should I call you?"

"My other name, silly. Sable! Like you used to call me... You promised, okay? You said you won't tell anyone. You promised."

"I did promise. It's just for you and me. I'll never let anyone know." The boy caressed her hair, a serene smile curving his mouth as he waited for her fidgeting to subside. "You really haven't told anyone else?"

"No! I told you before." The girl sat up, furiously rubbing her eyes with both fists before glaring at him. "Only you. And I won't tell anyone now. Not anymore."

"I thought you were going to tell your mother and grandmother soon? You didn't yet?"

"I was going to! But I hate Mommy now. I won't tell her. I won't!" She broke into another fit of angry sobs, face glowing crimson with unbridled, helpless, heartbroken fury. The long sleeves of her pastel blue shirt were already drenched, but she wiped her face with them anyway with fierce scrubs. "I'm going to run away. You can come. We can go somewhere like Shambala, or, or, Asgard! Like in Grandma's drawing books. Or we can look for Avalon, remember? Remember the story? With King Arthur and Merlin, remember? It's real, we can find it if we look."

He patted her head and smiled. "Yes, I remember. But it'll be a long trip, and you'll be hungry and tired if you don't eat and rest first. So let's talk about it tomorrow. It'll be good to plan when we're feeling better, right?"

She considered his proposal and came to a favorable conclusion. "Okay."

He smiled again and hugged her into his side, wrapping his arm firmly around her shoulders. Although he too was small, he was still bigger than she was, and she nestled into him as if he were the most secure fortress in all the world. And like that, two young children enjoyed the chatter of the stream as it splashed and swirled before them until the sun crept down and the sky lost its vibrant daylight hue.