Two Snakes (ON BREAK FOR A WHILE)

Chapter 1: Life in a kingdom's village

Lilah stared up at the ceiling in anticipation. One more hour until she'd have to go to the village plaza to listen to the ancestors and their stories they would tell. Often it would be something that correlated to the village itself, or just the kingdom in general. Knowing the kingdom of Zaroné, and the village of Chetleigh where she lived, it was honestly quite peaceful, and she wondered where the ancestors were able to create those stories from, if they were supposedly 'real'. Lilah often thought that they just meant ideas of hope and fear, and a simple message, carried from kingdom to village to village.

She got up from her stool in the small kitchen space her family owned. It was only her mother, father and herself who lived in the house. At the age of 15, she was often out with her friends or classmates, gallivanting out somewhere to often chat or play on the few mediocre parks the village owned, if you could call them parks. A few planks of wood with a couple of nails to form a seesaw, another old plank with even more ancient chains or rope, tied to a tree to make a swing, but it was fine for the people, as it had held up for a few years now. At least they had somewhere for the teens and younger kids to 'hang out'.

Lilah wandered over to her bedroom and pulled out a comb from one of the draws in her wardrobe, then started brushing her shoulder-length dark brown hair. Eventually she became satisfied with how long she'd brushed and put it up into a low ponytail. She sighed before hearing a knock at the door. 'Lilah!' Her mum shouted, 'Your friends are at the door!' Lilah rushed, slipping her shoes on her feet on the way. She arrived at the door happy to see her two best friends Cam and Ruby there. They were both the same age as her, as they were both attending the little school in the village too, and were in the same 'year'

Cam was quite tall in stature, though not too tall compared to others in his year group. He had messy, gingerly-blonde hair, mud-brown eyes and a couple of freckles  dotted all over his nose. He also wore a t-shirt that was that was a faded red colour, paired with a pair of grey shorts. He often always wore trainers too, giving him a constant casual appeal. Ruby, on the other hand, often looked rather cutesy with her golden-blonde hair strung up into a long plait, which went all the way down her back. She wore a pair of white leggings, and a pastel pink tee with a handmade white heart sewn on, which contrasted with her brilliant bright blue eyes. Even though she was shorter than the other two, she made up for it by wearing ballet-esc shoes with a slight wedge in the back. She also placed a few daisies in her bobble at the bottom of her plait to give it some design.

The three started walking towards the plaza, but not before saying goodbye to Lilah's mother, and closing her front door behind them. Lilah sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment, before passing the village clock and signalling her friends to stop. She quickly pointed at the clock and spoke to the other two. 'Come on! We've got twenty minutes, the village plaza is literally right here, and the market is just one street away! How 'bout we spend ten minutes finding something random? I do that sometimes, plus I have a little money with me just in case!'

The two nodded and agreed that going to the market would be the best thing to do at the time, and hastily made their way through the street now filled with stalls and market-goers. Ruby happily skipped to a stall of her choosing, the others quickly following behind, almost getting lost in the swarm of people around them, here for market day. Every Sunday, the special event brought hope and happiness to the people of the village, as shows were put on, goods and curiosities were sold, and it gave an opportunity for people both in and out of the village to mingle around and have fun.

'Ruby, wait!' Lilah shouted as she ran through the crowds toward her friend, tripping over someone's shoes. She landed on the floor as she used her hands to brace herself ,and twisted one of her wrists in the process. 'Oww...' she looked defeated for a moment, then tried to pick herself up using the hand she didn't twist. 'Why do I have to be so clumsy all the time...'