The Hanes Enigma

Chapter One - Three Thoughts

Nova Theasphreyei

Every night, after Euclea has left me to sleep, I climb out of my window. Some nights I fly to the top of the building, making stories out of stars and standing at the highest point I can reach with my arms stretched out until they hurt. Other nights I walk by the stream, toes dipping gently into the cold water when I hop from one side to the other, using the brook as my own personal tightrope.

Today, though, I think I'll walk by the sea. I don't know why, exactly. I just feel like it. The sound of ocean waves, the cold pebbles on my feet.

"I'll be back in... An hour or two? I love you, Ash." I blow my sandy-brown bunny a kiss and swing my legs over the window-ledge. I watch the night for a second. It's still and quiet, but I feel it moving and calling out to me. It appears the same as every other night.

I push myself from the ledge and my wings catch onto the wind. They lift me higher and higher as I face the moon. Sometimes, it feels as though I could reach out and touch it.

The clouds glow in the white moonlight and I wonder if anyone else is as restless as me, right now.

A colony of bats flutter past me and I laugh as their tiny wings send small breezes onto snippets of my skin. The squeak at each other to keep up, only going as fast as the slowest member. I often feel like I'm the one dragging my family behind. But I never quite understand why when I do everything they ask of me.

The sound of reaching waves filters into my awareness and I begin my descent. My hair flicks behind me, keeping my body streamlined. At the very last second, I pull up and miss the ground by inches. I laugh and look around for no one in particular. This is the issue with not telling your bodyguard that you're out of your room... No one's there to laugh with you.

The waves stretch, trying to lengthen themselves to their utmost extent, before giving in and snapping back like elastic bands. I slump onto the hard pebbles and immediately regret that decision, rubbing my bum apologetically. I lie back and use my arms as a pillow. It's dangerous, coming out by myself every night. Of course, it is. But it's the only time I ever feel as though I'm being honest with myself. I can be blunt here, with no one to distract me or lead my mind astray. I am very strict. I use this invaluable time by myself to allow myself exactly three things to worry about every night.

On today's list: Euclea and Hollis. My dear friend Euclea is horrendously socially awkward - and we're talking even worse than me, which is saying something. And while she is inspired with a sword and greatly enjoys answering back and defying authority, she greatly struggles when it comes to communication. Hollis, on the other hand, who detests all forms of violence and is the most obedient dryad I have ever met, believes that words are the most important aspect of personality. This would be fine if Euclea wasn't completely and utterly smitten with Hollis. And that's before the whole Canescens situation. As the closest friend, it's my obligation to solve this conundrum. But my mind is drawing blanks. Try as I might, I think I may be the wrong person for the job. I may not be quite as socially inept as Euclea, but I'm not far off...

Secondly, I worry about my mother. She has been getting more and more stressed every day and never tells anyone why. My father doesn't like to pry and so I can practically see the built up tension between them. I worry how long she will last before breaking down, and whether he will be able to pick up the pieces this time. I wish she could just talk to us, but she never does. She takes it upon herself to fix everybody's issues. She needs a rule like mine: only three things.

The last is always the hardest to choose. Only space for one more, so what should I allow my mind to drift to. I can't waste it on something not worth my time.

What are my options: Orin, and his apparent personal vendetta against Euclea and I; the new chef starting tomorrow, who may forget my stupendous sticker book of allergies which I seem to be slowly but surely filling up; the rumours I've overheard of wolf howls beginning to get nearer, and the extra patrols adding flame to that idea's fire. The last seems to be the most urgent of the three.

I am about to allow myself to think on that when I notice something out of the corner of my eye. It could be nothing. But when is it ever?

Some object floats in the water, bobbing up and down. This is relatively normal, of course. It is the sea, after all. But the bobbing is somewhat irregular. And the object has perfectly right-angled corners, unusual for the normal driftwood you see around the area.

Before I know it, this object becomes my third thought of the night. Intrigued, I fly over the ocean, wanting a closer look.

It's not driftwood, that's for sure. It's a wooden crate, only the tiniest corner poking up above the splashes of waves. I swoop in closer, captivated by its abnormality.

I want to find out what's inside.