Twin Destinies Chap.1 - Disturbance

Allara couldn’t remember there ever being a time that their sleepy little town of Emira was in a state of chaos. It wasn’t a big town; most of the families had been in the town for generations, well established as black smiths or butchers and so on. Life was simple for them. Everyone got a long, and when there was the occasional dispute between people it was usually resolved or forgotten within the week. There were only two seasons when outsiders came through Emira, and they were merely the traders who came to sell their wares. Emira was well hidden in a vale nestled between two monstrous mountains they affectionately called The Parents. To her knowledge, Emira was the northern most village in the land; Allara had never been anywhere but their little outpost. She had never really thought about going anywhere else. She had her family, so there was no need to leave. Alternately, no one else seemed to find their way into the small town either, save for the traders. They brought news of the rest of the world happenings.

         So it was with a small jolt of surprise that Allara stopped in the middle of baking a loaf of bread when Celessa raised her head and said matter of factly,  “Something is wrong in town.”

         Allara merely looked at her guardian, confused. Nothing was ever wrong in town, so what could she possibly mean? Subconsciously she glanced at her mother, who was taking her time to sew an inseam into a new shirt she had been making for Royce for the last few weeks.  Her guardian, who was in the form of a finch today, was perched calmly on her shoulder. She didn’t seem perturbed.

What do you mean something is wrong? She asked Celessa quietly, not wanting to alarm her mother

There are strange men in town. They’re asking questions, looking for someone.

Where’s Royce?

They’re in the garden. They’ll be here momentarily.

         Celessa had barely finished speaking when their front door was thrown open and her brother came in like a whirlwind.

“Something’s on fire!” Royce exclaimed, “In town. You can see the smoke from here!”

Celessa, can you go into town and figure out what is going on?

         Celessa changed instantly from the rabbit form she had taken earlier into that of a small robin and fluttered out through the window. Allara hurried to put the finishing touches on the loaf of bread but waited to start the baking process.

“What do you think it is?” Royce asked

“I don’t know,” She answered distractedly, “Maybe one of the blacksmith’s fires got out of control. It was pretty windy today.”

         Even as she said it she knew it wasn’t true. She couldn’t place why, or what it was that made her feel that way, but she was uneasy.

There are men. Several of them. I’ve never seen them before. They’ve got everyone huddled together. The butchers’ guardian says they are looking for someone, a woman. They don’t know her name, only what she looked like several years ago. I can’t be certain, but I think they’re looking for your mother.

         Allara couldn’t stop the widening of her eyes. Who would be looking for her mother? That was ridiculous. All they had was each other; there was no other family to speak of. Alethea was not of any importance to anyone but her kids.

Are we in danger? She asked Celessa

Hard to say. They set fire to the baker’s hut because he wouldn’t answer their questions, so I don’t think we should count on any kind of tolerance.

         Allara took a deep breath and thought about the information she had been given. Celessa thought they were looking for her mother, and they had already expressed their willingness to do whatever they needed to have their questions answered. In light of those facts, she had no choice. The safety of her family came above all else.

“Allara? I don’t like that look,” Royce said uneasily, “What is it?’

“You remember the plan we came up with, in case we were ever in danger?” She asked him, ignoring his question

“Well, yeah, but we haven’t talked about it in months. I thought that was just an afterthought, a failsafe. I didn’t think we’d ever need it.”

         He sounded alarmed, and she thought of how truly young her brother was. She was the main caregiver of the family now.

“Maybe nothing’s wrong,” She said as she started gathering food and supplies, “But I don’t want to take the chance. I want you to take mom and go to our spot. You know the one?”

“The cave up by the mouth of the lake, towards the top of the tree line.”

“I’m putting all the food we have in this bag,” She said, dropping it in there as she spoke, “Along with water, extra clothes and whatever else you think you need. Take enough to last several days, just in case.”

“You’re not coming with us?” He said, truly frightened now, “What are you doing? Where are you going to go?”

“I’m going to go into town and find out what’s going on. If they’re looking for someone, I want to know who it is. I need to be sure we’re not in any danger. If everything is okay, I’ll be up to get you myself by tomorrow, the next day at the latest.”

         Her mother was starting to notice the action now, putting down her sewing and looking from one child to the next. Allara was listing off everything to herself as she put it in the bag, which was ironically one of the things her mother had made to help them carry in the vegetables from the garden. She was moving quickly, trying to include something for every eventuality she could come up with. She was sure Royce was saying something to her, but she didn’t hear it was over the sound of her heart pounding its way out of her chest. Only when her mother’s soft voice uttered her name did she stop.

“Allara.”

         It wasn’t a question. When Allara raised her eyes to meet her mother’s, she saw in them something she hadn’t seen in a very long time: understanding.

“What’s wrong?” Alethea asked calmly

“I’m sure it’s nothing, mom,” She answered, dodging the question

“He’s come looking for me. I knew he would, that it was only a matter of time,” Alethea said almost to herself

         Allara couldn’t make any sense of what her mother was saying, so instead she shook it off and finished packing their bag. She would not allow herself to wonder what a fire in town could possibly mean, or what kind of trouble the unknown men were bringing with them. She needed to focus on getting her family away and into safety. She was all they had left; they were all she had left. She would not let any harm come to them.

“Here,” Allara said, handing the bag to her brother, “Go out the back door and straight into the forest. Move as fast as you can and stay low, try not to be seen. Most importantly, don’t get separated. You hear me? Don’t let her out of your sight.”

         Royce was looking at her with the most profound expression of fear and love that she was sure her heart was breaking a little. Neither one of them had any idea what was going on, or what could possibly happen from here. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

“C’mon, Mom, let’s go for a walk,” Royce said calmly, holding his hand out to her

         Alethea took it easily, never questioning where they were going or why Allara wasn’t coming with them. Just this once Allara was thankful for her mother’s condition, thankful that she couldn’t give her daughter a broken desperate stare that clearly said she didn’t understand what was going on. That one look from her brother had shaken her soul; she didn’t think she could go through with it if she had to face another one.

“Royce,” She called suddenly, just as they reached the door

         He glanced back at her, young face drawn and set with determination. Allara rushed forward and threw her arms around her brother, hugging him tightly to her like a lifeline. She pulled her mother toward her as well, embracing them both in the first family hug she could remember since being a young girl. She tried not to think that it might be their last.

         Finally, with a silent mental nudge from her guardian, she released them and shooed them out the door before she could think twice. She watched only briefly to make sure they were headed the right direction, then turned and closed the door. She glanced around their small home, checking for anything she could hide and use as a weapon. She was unsure what kind of scene would greet her when she reached the town, and she thought she had best prepare for any situation.

         She chose a small knife they had been using to cut vegetables and, wrapping it several times in a piece of cloth, tucked it inside her boot. Fearing that she might never see her home again, Allara took a deep breath and slipped stealthily out of her house.