Strange Beasts || Novella

I

For the most part of Raina's life, she often found herself in a situation where responsibility and problems that were of no concern to an ordinary eleven year old weighed heavily on her shoulders. Whilst other children her age worried about completing their homework in time to watch some telly, young Raina took care of her baby brother. Whether it was teaching him how to dress himself properly, reminding him to brush his teeth before bed or alternating between his best friend and motherly figure, Raina had mastered it all.

Now given such an unfortunate situation, a child of Raina's age would perhaps choose to focus on how unfair it all was; years meant for a carefree language that could only be understood by innocent minds were indeed stolen from her.

But Raina was no ordinary girl.

Faced with adversity, she would often recall the advice given by her late mother. Always focus on problems that can be controlled. Create a list of tasks to be completed and most importantly under no circumstances get distracted with the whispering fears in the back of her mind. Having built her life philosophy on this, it was no surprise that Raina favoured practicality over fairylike daydreams.

So when she received a letter from her father claiming that he had urgent business meetings to attend in some far away land, apologising as sincerely as a father could in written form, Raina chose not to get angry. Instead, she neatly folded the paper and tucked it away deep in her suitcase, hidden from prying eyes.

It was the final day of school. Everything was packed and ready to be transferred back home. With no formal lessons, Raina left to go to the common area hoping to find her brother. It was her duty to break the news to him about their father's absence, a fact that she prayed he stopped hoping would change.

This summer, like all the previous summers, they would be travelling to stay with their grandmother deep in the English countryside, in a house that belonged to the Stone Age considering how desolate it was.

She spotted the small boy easily. His dark curly hair stood out in the crowd, but it was the mischievous glint in his grey eyes that acted as a beacon to his location. The complete opposite of his older sister, Rami had an active imagination even for a seven year old.

He's playing another one of his games, Raina mused as she watched him crouch behind the sofa. Slowly, she crept up behind him, holding her breath as she neared him.

"What's the mission?" she whispered causing the poor boy to jump.

"We have to protect the stone. The Kingdom relies on it," said Rami recovering quickly; his eyes trained on far door.

"What about the Guardians?" asked Raina, maintaining her straight face with ease. She had played this particular game with her brother on multiple occasions and believed herself to be an expert in it. Rami shook his head sighing deeply, a strange sound to be heard from any child, let alone one his age.

"They're compromised. It's just us left now," said Rami. He gave the door one last look before turning to face his sister for the first time, his expression grim. "Here, you can take over guard duty," he said, carefully taking Raina's hand in his own smaller ones and placing a small stone in them. Raina was certain that he had picked it up from the last time they went on a walk, but there was no scenario where she planned on bursting his bubble.

"I'll guard it with my life," she promised solemnly. "What about the King?"

Rami scowled, small frown lines etching his boyish face to which her lips twitched, threatening to give herself away. Her favourite pastime involved hearing her brother's fairytales. Each one would be intricately thought out with details like the shade of blue in the evening sky to the sound of chirping birds coming naturally to the boy. But he never got a chance to explain what happened to the King in his imagined kingdom as a familiar stern voice demanded their attention.