Child of the Rift

Chapter Two

Silence engulfed the three of them as they slowly ate the broth, feeling the pressures of the dangers that surrounded them, weighing heavily on their shoulders. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on ends as she struggled to push past the thought of the wraiths she'd seen nearby, the knowledge of what they sought sending an icy shiver down her spine. Neither brother or sister dared to break the silence as they sat upon the cold stone floor in front of the fire as it spat small embers.

"Lady Ana," Dawn finally spoke with a gulp, "where is it we are to go?"

"We will follow the path of the forest to the town Riverstone, gather new supplies and continue onward from there,"

"What do we need?"

"Lavender and bread, maybe some others supplies. I can't be certain until we gather our things to leave," briefly she paused, "we may have to walk the paths of Ghostwood,"

"I hate that place," murmured Arthur, his voice quiet.

"Have you had any other visions?" Dawn continued as though her brother hadn't spoken.

"I have had many visions," said Lady Ana, "some that have haunted my dreams and others that have haunted my waking thoughts but it matters not, if we are to keep moving, we should remain safe,"

"Must we leave tonight?"

"Yes, we cannot waste time Dawn. Time is not our alley but our enemy and we cannot risk wasting it," again, silence engulfed them once Lady Ana had finished speaking, each of them ate, none looking upon one another. Gazing into the intense heat that was the centre of the flames as they danced beautifully with an elegance beyond anything a human could ever be capable off. Slowly, she took the final mouthful of the mostly flavourless broth and sighed, her mind elsewhere as she placed the bread bowl on her brother's lap and gathering her belongings. "Do not forget your cloak, you must hide your light"

"I won't, I never do,"

Carelessly, she threw her bag over her shoulder, the only noise in the small cottage being that of the fire spitting and the shuffling of her belongings as she packed all she needed into her bag. The most important of her belongings being the leather bound book, quill and ink for she couldn't risk forgetting all that she'd learnt throughout her life. Briefly glancing at her protector, she gripped the soft fabric of the black cloak and caressed it with her thumb, feeling the smooth velvet brush against her skin, releasing a sigh as she gazed down upon the cloth within her hand.

"Dawn, would you please?" asked Lady Ana as she approached with the white cloth laid across her open hand.

"Of course," she muttered, quickly taking the cloth from her hand, "why do you insist on hiding it, Lady Ana?"

"It is nicer for people to see the cloth over my eyes than to see this," she opened her eyes, revealing the dark, empty sockets that remained, "it is something that causes fear in most, especially children"

"We could always see to getting you glass eyes,"

"We do not have the money and I would never ask such of you. I am proud of my strength be it because my eyes are no longer there,"

"But..."

"Everyone is a victim of injustice but it takes true courage to become a survivor. My eyes are my courage," she interrupted before Dawn could say anything more on the subject and slowly, she tied the cloth around Lady Ana's head, hiding the eyes that had been missing ever since she could remember. Often, she had wondered as to what had happened to cause such tragedy to occur to her aunt but never once had she dared to ask.

Deep in thought, she threw the cloak over her body, allowing it to cover her as the soft material fell upon the bare skin of her arms before she lifted the hood above her head, hiding her powerful, fiery hair and the light paleness of her skin.

Time ticked by as the moon rose in the sky yet remained mostly hidden and cloaked by the darkness that had engulfed the world for over twenty years. They collected what remained of their belongings, packing them wherever they could in their bags whilst Arthur extinguished what remained of the flames and embers. The door creaked open and hesitantly, Dawn gazed out at the night and stepped out of the cottage along with her small family, the cold air brushing against her skin beneath her cloak and the comforting scent of moist dirt entered her nose as they began their journey once again.

Glancing up at the moon, mostly hidden by the darkness but some light still broke through, allowing all to know that it remained despite being barely visible in the sky.

"Arthur," said Dawn as she gazed at the beautiful night sky, following a few steps behind her brother and aunt.

"Yes"

"Tell me again what the night sky looked like before I was born... please..." she asked, her eyes twinkling with hope and her brother sighed.

"It was dark but twinkled like a thousand diamonds carefully placed upon black velvet and the moon shone brightly even when the clouds invaded the night, providing light to lead all weary travellers through the night," he said, "the night was never as dark as it is now," it was clear that he didn't like to recant what the world was like before the birth of his sister as with the memories of beauty and light, came the memories of death and sorrow, tainting the past and turning them into ghosts and demons to haunt him.

But even so, to her it was more a story of fiction than a memory for she had never bore witness to a world with such light, the darkness had consumed all of her life and though she tried to imagine her brother's memories, she doubted she could ever get it right. She had never gazed upon the stars though she wished that she had for they had sounded beyond beautiful to her.

She sighed as she remembered the stories she had once been told as to what the world was once like whilst leading her horse behind her. As she grew lost in thought, she lost her wariness as they walked the seemingly endless night. Paying little to no attention to what surrounded her as she followed her companions.

Tripping upon the tree root seemed to bring her thoughts back down from the clouds as her gaze grew wide with shock, struggling to believe how much time had already passed as the dawn had come. Her gaze fell upon the town, her legs suddenly feeling as though all of the bone had been removed and she'd been left with merely muscle and skin; she leant against her horse for support. She thought of the dangers that lurked within the streets and sighed, barely pulling herself together. Light emanated from the windows of the buildings that stood closely together with small streets between them, the citizens of the town rising from their slumber.

"You must be careful," said Lady Ana

"I know," muttered Dawn as she stood with her back straight, attempting to make herself appear confident, hiding her fear as best as she could.

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