Scout Stories: Bruised Beginnings

Feathers and Flame

Entering the town, Faye noticed the broken windows and doors of the buildings and the burnt crops. She began to hear something loud and out of place. She could hear cheering, drums and singing. Faye buried the disgust she felt as the realization came, and fixed the smile on her face.

They walked through an empty village to a crowded square. There was a bonfire, made up of bits of houses and furniture. Many tables were pushed together to form a mockery of one long table. Like the kind they had in the meeting places and large Halls. These tables were heavy with food. The Hall loomed over it. Faye saw that the some frightened faces peering down at the crowd from the high, narrow windows.

Colm stopped walking when he saw the food that was on the table.

"They killed the cows," he said. Lorcan put a hand on his brother's shoulder and pushed him forward.

"We can get more cows," said Lorcan.

At the head of the tables sat a beast of a man, tall and bulky with short hair. Faye noticed the brand on his scalp before she took in the rest of him. He had scars, and showed them off. A former, disgraced, clan warrior was her immediate guess. The brand told her that he wasn't a coward. Shame about that. The man was someone the Council named a traitor and her enemy.

Apparently this traitor had decided to try his hand at being a slaver. Behind him, where it could in plain view of the people holding out in the Hall, was a cage full of people. Faye guessed that they hadn't been quick enough to get away. None of the food from the tables was offered to them.

Sitting on the floor next to the man, with a chain around her neck, was a young girl. Her arms were also tied to one of the table legs. She had a bad bruise on her neck, a split lip and a black eye. Faye dropped the smile. It wouldn't work anyway.

"Sorcha," said Colm, walking towards the girl on the floor.

Some men stood in his way and he stepped back. Lorcan stood in front of his little brother, and came close to the other men, his chin out and his chest high.

"It's okay," said the girl. "Don't fight."

Lorcan nodded to her and stepped back. The traitor at the head of the table leaned into the girl and asked, "Who the hell said you could talk?"

Faye noticed how the girl flinched at the sound of his voice, even though the way he spoke was far from harsh.

"Who the hell said you could hit our sister?" growled Colm.

"Try hit her again," said Lorcan, daring the man, "While I'm here."

He pulled Faye forward and held a knife to her gut. Faye was almost flattered. The traitor regarded her, curious and confused. No doubt wondering why the hell he should care if the boy stabbed her. Faye winked at him, which made him laugh.

"Who's that?" he asked Lorcan. "Calm down before you answer, yeah?"

"She's a witch, Boss" said Ger, walking up and nodded his head in respect to the 'Boss'. "We found her in the woods. She called out a Guardian."

"A Guardian?" asked the traitor, leaning forward. "How? What was it like?"

"She spoke from many places and it came. It was... it had... I can't remember. Lorcan?"

"I don't know," said Lorcan. "Except it was loud."

"And big," said Colm.

"Did you fools not think that it might have been a trick?" asked the traitor.

"Ah!" said Ger, and dumped the sack with the hawk on the table. The hawk squawked in outrage.

"It had a fight with the bird," said the nameless man. Ger nodded. The hawk struggled against the beads wrapped around it and screeched. The beads amplified the screech, and most people had to cover their ears. Faye grimaced.

The traitor leaned forward and poured the hawk out onto the table. When he tried to touch the beads, the hawk tried to eat his fingers. Faye tried to send some calm into the bird. It twirled around to stare at her with it's big, amber eyes. Then it threw the calm back at her. Faye was so surprised she couldn't help but laugh, and everyone looked at her.

"Shut up!" snapped Ger, raising his hand as if he would hit her again.

"She had this as well," said Lorcan, glaring at Ger and bringing out her fake ornate sword. The traitor whistled.

"So, what will this witch tell me?"

"Tadgh," said Ger, "It isn't the wisest thing to let a witch talk. Everyone knows that's how they curse people."

Faye smirked. So that was why the idiot was afraid of her.

The traitor, Tadgh, stood up and walked over to her. He caught her chin in his hand in an almost gentle kind of way. He smiled into her face.

"That's if she isn't just a fraud," he said, "Why don't you show me what you can do then, sweetheart?"

Faye shook free and held up her tied hands. Tadgh shook his hand.

"Do your best with them on."

Faye sighed and pouted dramatically, then lay her head on Ger's shoulder.

Then she gave pain.

There were certain limits on her abilities from a distance and Faye was much better at close range. However, if she was touching someone and knew their name, there was wasn't much that she couldn't do to them. Ger was screaming into her ear, but Faye kept her face in the dramatic pout. She locked up the muscles in his back and legs so he couldn't fall away from the touch of her cheek.

It was only when someone aimed an arrow at her that she lifted her head off his shoulder. She allowed him to fall, whimpering, to the floor. The pain had vanished the second she broke the touch, but Ger stayed on the floor. He was trembling out of shock. Faye bent down and caught his chin the way Tadgh had caught hers.

"Who the hell told you I had to say anything to hurt you?" she asked.