Untitled #6 (lol)

[Clock]

Warning: This is not spell checked, so you probably find strange spelling anomalies. Especially in the parts in the Castle, those were written from three am to six am the night before my graduation ceremony.

Prologe:
The clouds moved slowly acros the blue sky. They were dark and shrouded the mountain in a shadow as they slid over it never quite crossing, only moving slowly back and forth.
Markena had been watching them with intrest for some times now. Since her parents died she’d stood on the hill and watched the clouds Move back and forth. But now her attention was devided by the soft thud of shoes on the grass.
“What are you doing?” Her six year old friend Saras asked. It was a stupid quetion to ask, but Markena answered anyway, though without taking her eyes off the clouds.
“I'm watching them.” she said, “if someone doesn't then they'll get over the mountain...” For a five year old girl Markena was very, very smart. She seemed to somehow understand that the clouds held so much rain that if they were aloud to cross over into the vally they would drown everyone in it. However, she didn't know that even if she watched the clouds, they would still come over the mountain. It was only a matter of time.
“Well...” Saras said sitting down, “I don't beleave your stuperstition.” But Saras looked up at the clouds with the faintest worry. No one wanted the clouds to come into the Vally. They were black and scary and they would block out the sun and everyone liked the sun, everyone with the exception of Markena.
She liked the Moon, but that didn't change much. If the clouds came into the Vally then the Moon would get blocked out too, since the two shared the same sky. Markena knew she would hate that, so she watched the clouds for the sake of her Moon, instead of for the sake of the sun.
“Oh!” Saras exclaimed, suddenly remembering why he'd come out here in the first place, “Danevick wanted to see you...” He trailed off as Markena frowned, her expression somewhere between annoyance and frustration.
“I can't leave my post.” she said unhappily, “Danevick knows that as well as anyone else does.” She crossed her arms and made no motion to move towards the town in the distance behind her.
“I'll watch your clouds for you.” Saras offered casualy, “Danevick really needs you to go see him.” Markena's head slowly turned to Saras, her eyes narrowed with sceptasism.
“The last time you promiced that you fell asleep,” she growled angerly, “Thank goodness I wasn't gone long. How do I know I can trust you this time?” Saras frowned at her and stood up, upset by her distrust in him.
“That was one time!” he insisted about to continue but Markena inturupted him.
“It was the only time.”
“I was tirde!”
“You're always tired.”
“Not today!”
“Proove it.”
“I can't do something like that! I don't know how!”
“Then I'll stay right here.” She said stubornly and turned back to the clouds. Saras looked at her with uneas. If she didn't go, Danevick would be mad, but not at her, at him. He'd given Saras the seemingly simple task of getting Markena to come down from the hills. If she didn't, he would have failed in such a seemingly simple task.
“Please Markena.” he pleaded, putting his hands together as though praying, “give me one more chance, how can I win your trust back if you don't give me a chance too?” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and then sighed and dropped her eyes, relaxing from her rigged stance.
“Fine,” she groaned turning towards the village then turning back sharply, “but if I get back and you are sleeping, you'll be in big trouble! Remember, Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.” Saras nodded and she turned and started walking again, finding confidence in the silence behind her.
Then that was squashed, “Markena, what's scorn?” She groaned and dropped her shoulders but continued to walk.
“Just, don't fall asleep Saras.” she called in a much louder groan.
Danevick, the village leader was waiting for her in the big building made of long vertical logs jammed into the ground, ceiled with dried clay and a straw roof. The building had been there for longer than Markena could remember, which was to be expected. The logs were far to large to be moved by the children inhabitants of the Village.
She ran up to the door and, without knocking, ran right inside. Danevick must have been expecting her, unless Saras was playing another trick on her, though she highly doubted it. He knew that she would ignor him for a week if he did.
“I'm sorry I took so long.” She said closing the door behind her. Danevick, the only adult in the village (and only by a year as he was ninteen years old) looked up seemingly serprised by her presence. Perhaps Saras was playing another trick on her; or another kid was playing a trick on both of them.
It was then that Markena noticed the other man, looking about twenty, standing in front of Danevick's desk. He had turned as she had entered and was now looking strait at Markena. She didn't like strange men, but she forced herself not to turn and run away. She was a big girl, she could take care of herself.
Danevick seemed to gathered his sences then, “ah, ehem, yes. Markena! Why are you late? I sent Saras to fetch you no less than forty minutes ago.”
Markena didn't take her eyes off the strange man as she spoke, “I had to find someone to watch the clouds for me, and Saras was the colsest person. But you know him, he always falls asleep.”
“Well try to be more punctual in the future.” He grumbled, there was no way he could argue with what Markena had said. Not because it made perfect sence, no one in the town understoon why she stood and stared at clouds all night and day, and many- Danevick included- had argued with her over it.
No, he couldn't say anything because he had a guest who didn't understand. An outsider who didn't know the workings of the comunity, that not even a single child could spend time on simple childish fancies.
“Who is this girl?” the new man asked, turning to look back at Danevick.
Danevick soudenly looked nervous, “just a messanger I use to relay mesages back to her parents.” He spoke quickly, and with uncertanty. It made Markena uneasy, something was not quite right. He was lying to this man, he had never used her as a messanger, and she didn't have any parents. What was going on?
The man looked at Markena with a sneer, “well then, go tell your parents I want to see them not some stupid little girl.” Markena's face redened slightly. Such rudness could only come from someone atached to the royal family. No matter how faint the atachment, once exposed to the nobility, people often became rude, thinking themselves better than country folk.
Danevick, knowing full well Markena's bad temper, looked back and forth from the two faces worredly. But Markena only turned around and slammed the door behind her. She stommed around outside the building, far enough away from the door so the people inside couldn't hear her angry grumbling.
When her anger had faded she stepped up to the door and opened it again. The two men looked up expectantly as she walked into the room.
“My parents,” Markena said crossing her arms and trying not to sound too rude, “say that you can send them a messag through me.”
“Why can they not come theirselves? This is a matter for adults only, not for the ears of children.” Markena shrugged and looked away from the sneer on his face, one which made Markena want to run over and hit him.
“They're buisy,” she said simply, “way too buisy to talk to someone as rude as you are.”
The man frowned now, “to buisy to come when somoned by their Village leader?”Markena looked back at him now, right in they eyes, her's hard and angry.
“Do you doubt my words?” she asked in a low tone, “do you really think I would lie?”
They stared at eachother for a long moment, leaving Danevick looking very nervous between them. Finally the sneer slid back across the man's face and he shrugged.
“I am serprised by the shortage of adults in this village, but I have been ausured it's only because the adults are to buisy to come out of their homes today. So I do not “doubt your words”, young lady.” he said with a chuckle at the word Young Lady, as though it were a sort of inside joke or something.
Markena smiled in responce. She smiled as sweetly as she possebly could, but her eyes were bitter and as hard as before.
“Technecaly,” she said trying to make her voice sound as bitter sweet as her expression, “I am not a young lady. To be a young lady I would first have to be lady like. And then there's the quetion of age groop. Children under the age of seven can not be a young lady because- as branded by sosiety- we are small vulgare and quite uncempt.”
The man sighed and turned to Danevick, “Dan why must I deal with such a rude child?” Danevick laughed nervosly and crossed his arms as though unbothered.
“I'm terribly sorry, Markena is a little to smart for her own good.” He turned to Markena, “Please, would you ask Sendra to come see me.” Markena's eyes widened.
“Sendra!” she gasped, “why does sendra get to take the message to my parents?!”
Danevick sighed, “just go get her for me... don't you need to get back to your clouds?”
Markena glared at him, he knew how to manipulate her all to well. The moment he said the word clouds, fears of Saras sleeping in the long grass of the hill crept into her mind and she slowly turned and left the room, keeping her gaze on Danevick for as long as possible.
The moment the door was closed she ran, headed strate for the top of the hill. Luckily She passed Sendra, the villages pride and joy with her long curly blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.
“Danwantstoseeyou.” she said quickly as she ran past her and Sendra rolled her eyes and sighed with frustration.
“Pissed him off again, didn't you Dreamer.” She said loud enough for Markena to hear her, “Can't you do anything right?” Markena stopped short and turned around to confront Sendra, but the incarnation of nastiness, was already at Danevick's door. Markena glared and stuck her tung out at the back of Sendra's head, then turned and continued to run.
Markena kicked Saras hard when she got back. He jolted from the deep sleep she had discovered him in and groaned, “what was that for?” Marken glared down at him, hands on her hips. He was about to find out what scorn ment.
“I told you not too fall asleep!” she scolded loudly, bending down and putting her face right up to his, “I thought you wanted to win back my trust! Is this how you plan to do it?!” Saras leaned away with allarm and started stutering, trying to form a sentence.
After about ten minutes of his stutering and incomprehencible responces, to which she listened with quiet fury, Markena sighed and sat down next to him, “just don't do it again, okay?” Saras stopped short in another one of his stories and let out a strangled afermative.
Silence followed as the both stared at the clouds. Markena watched because it was her personaly asigned job, and Saras watched because there was nothing else to do when sitting ontop of a hill. Eventualy his gaze straied to his silent companion.
“When do you sleep Mark?” he asked quietly, he had asked this before, and Markena had never given him the answer. The other kids in the village hadn't found out that she didn't need to sleep, she could if she wanted to, but she didn't need to, just like they didn't need to know.
It was the same with eating. It was something she injoyed but she just didn't seem to need it like others did. Saras, somehow hadn't found out, eventhough no one brought her food, and no one saw her come in at night. Markena supposed they all thought that another person was bringing her food, and that she came in late at night. It was easier this way, so she wanted it to stay like that.
Markena and Saras had been nearly inseperable since they were little. Saras was a year older than Markena, but she had always felt that Saras was like her older brother. He protected her from the bullies and teased her like she felt an older brother should. Still, when the sun went down, Saras went home to his nice warm bed and Markena stayed out and watched the black clouds which grew darker with each pasing day.
Saras Finaly fell asleep and Markena felt somewhat lonely. But that only lasted a moment, the loneliness always came and then went almost emedatly every night. At least she was getting it over with early.
When the sun began to set she nudged Saras awake.
“It's time to go.” she said softly in his ear. Saras rubbed his eyes and sat up. He sat for another moment, gathering his thoughts, then he stood and waved.
“See you tomorrow.” he said smiling sleepily and Markena waved to him over her sholder, smiling to herself as she thought about how dence he was.

Saras was woken by the loud barking of many dogs in the streat. He stumbled to the window and pulled the shutters back to investigate. It couldn't posebly have been morning yet, he hadn't been asleep long enough. Yet the dogs, who always barked at the erlie risers passing through the streets, were barking at something.
Saras went to the door with a frustrated groan and opened the door. He stepped out into the road and discovered he wasn't the only one. It seemed as though all of the town had apeared in the street, even those who didn't live on it.
Karra, a girl who lived on the other side of Markena’s house and who normaly played with them, came to stand next to Saras. She didn't look as though she'd just woken up. In fact, she looked distressed as she watched the sun rising on the other side of the town.
“What's going on?” Saras asked without looking at her, but following her gaze. She didn't have to say anything. The moment Saras looked to the rising sun, he saw four men on horse back, siloweted against the eirly morning light.
They rode down the dirt road towards the village and Seven more horsemen apeared over the horison behind them. Danevick walked out of his house still in his pajamas, his hand clutched firmly in a little girl’s as she pointed at the disterbance. When he saw the horsemen his eyes widened with fear. He turned to the girl, telling her to stay put, and ran up to them and they stopped. Saras and Karra and the rest of the childern watched tentativly as Danevick exchanged hushed words with the man in the lead, though none of them were close enough to hear. Then Danevick's expression changed to outrage and he stepped back.
“You do not have that right!” The man in the lead said something quietly and held out a piece of paper. Danevick pushed it aside and glared at him.
“You can not take Markena! She is a crushal part of this comunity!” he yelled and a cascade of hushed murmers broke out throughout the town. Saras became tence as he looked over his shoulder towards the hill. Could she possebly be there this earily? The lights were out in her home, and she hadn't come into the street yet.
“Really?” the man said with a sneer, no longer bothering with quiet voices, “a crushall part? I was under the impretion that all she did was watched clouds.” This was true, and it seemed like something that wasn't very important. But Danevick's expression remained untouched.
“The strom clouds are a great threat to our Village.” he explained in a harsh voice, “Their pressence has given rise to a superstition that has been in this village since they appeared on the horizon. If Markena wasn't there watching the clouds, peopel would fear, and it would disrupt our every day life. But of course an Outsider wouldn't understand this!” His words were followed by many calls of approovall. But the men only laughed
“Search her home.” The leader said as his laughter died away and several of the seven following horsemen dismounted and walked to the house near where Karra was standing with Saras.
Saras couldn't stay put anymore, now was his chance. Several of the braver children, including Karra- determind to protect her childhood friend- had stepped forward to bar the way and created a commotion.
Saras turned, knowing the commotion wouldn't last long, and ran as fast as he could towards the hill. Danevick watched him out of the corner of his eye and attemted to conseal the running boy with his body as the men serched the houes that had been emty since all the parents died and the dark clouds apeared.
The men came back out of her houes within moments and one spoke qietly to the leader. He turned angerly on Danevick.
“Where is she!” he yelled grabbing Danevick by the colar and lifting the thin village leader into the air.
“I haven't the fogiest.” Danevick said determindly grabbing onto the man's arm to try and take some of the pressure off the back of his neck. The man grouled and threw him to the side. He skidded and slammed into the wall of his own home.
Several of the children ran over to him, but the rest ran at the men, determined that there was something they could do. They knew they couldn't stop the men who were so much bigger than them, and so trained in fighting. But maybe they could give Saras and Markena time to get away.
Saras reached the top of the hill and almost fell over with the power of the relief he felt when he saw Markena standing with her hands claspt inosently behind her back and her head raised towards the sky.
“Markena!” he yelled with such a desperat tone that Markena had to turn around. Then she remembered what she was doing and gasped and quickly spun back around. Saras ran around in front of her taking her shoulders.
“Mark!” he panted desperatly, “you've got to get out of here! Now!” Markena shook her head still staring at the clouds, though she did ware a confused expresion.
“I can't play now Saras.” she mumbled, “the clouds have been moving a lot since midnight. If I don't watch them closly they may just sneak over to quickly for me to see.” she seemed to be trapped in a trance, staring into space, not really seeing the clouds, probably from staring at the sky for so long. Saras shook her with frustration.
“It's not a game!” he yelled, “Listen to me! Some men came to the village! They're here to take you away!” Markena's eyes flicked to his face, focusing emedatly.
“What?” she asked in a small voice, “Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No one knows why,” Saras said looking at her confusion with pitty, “but they want to take you somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here. You'll never be able to watch the clouds again!”
Markena stared at him for a moment then stubornly shook her head, “I will not abandon my post. Not for something as... triveal as this.” Saras, knew she was only putting on a brave face. He saw her fists clench, she was terrofied. But he knew her well enough to know, she wasn't leaving without a fight.
The men came then, Saras hear the horses first. Saras ran around to the other side of Markena and stood between her and the danger.
“Stay away from her!” he yelled trying to sound as brave as he could. The men laughed, like they had in the street. They found all this terrible funny somehow. Children fighting against terrible odds, for the sake of someone they cared for, seemed to tickle their funny bone.
“Get out of our way boy.” the leader said leaning forward in his saddle. Saras slowly shook his head and put one arm out protectivly, pushing Markena, who had turned around, safely behind him. She reached up with and clutched the cloth on his shoulder with both hands, pearing over his shoulder with worry.
The leader sighed with annoyance and motioned with his head to one of the men who rode next to him. He drew his sword and rode towards them. Saras didn't flinch once as the man rode towards them, stopping just in front of them, close enough that Saras could have licked the horse without moving.
He glared at Saras who glared back at him as the horse back up. Then he looked back at his leader, who shrugged. Then in one unexpected movment, he lashed out with his sword. Saras yelled and was nocked over with the power of the blow.
“Saras!” Markena screamed with pure horror, falling onto her knees beside him. The man dismounted and grabbed her, pulling her off the ground and back towards his horse.
“No!” She screamed kicking and bit his arm. He yelled and dropped her, she ran back to Saras’ side and leaned down, hugging him around the shoulders. Sobbing patheticly, as tears streamed down her cheaks.
The man grabbed her again, this time by the arm, trying to drag her off of Saras. But Marken wouldn’t have any of that. She slipped her thin arm out of his hand and turned back to Saras before he could pull her to his feet.
Another man came over to help, and together, they somehow managed to pull her off of Saras as he struggled to move. He had to do something, he couldn't just let them take her away. He managed to push himself up onto one elbow. Barly able to see through the blood pouring into his eyes from the deep gash above his left eyes, he reached out, trying to grab her before they took her too far. He couldn't reach her, but he could feel her there.
“Markena...” he rasped through the pain he'd never known before. Soudenly she was there, holding his hand calling his name and telling him he'd be fine. She had escaped the two men with much difficuly, but now three men were pulling at her.
One of them grabbed Saras and pulled him the oposite direction as they dragged Markena from his grasp. She screamed and he heard the men grunting with the effort of hauling her away. Her voice was getting farther as the man holding Saras dropped him, he could hear the sound of retreating hoofsteps.
“Pathetick...” The man who'd pulled him away from Markena said from above. Then kicked him as hard as he could. Saras felt blood fly from his mouth as he bent painfully around the man's foot. Markena screeched from where every she was as Saras lay still on the ground.
“SARAS!” she screached, “GET UP! PLEASE GET UP!” But no matter how many times she screamed, or how loud, he didn't move, and eventualy he faded from sight and Markena was alone.

~ (<-Chapter change)

Chapter 1: The Stranger.
Markena stared out the window towards her home, and the mountains, still vivid in her mind's eye. She couldn't see the clouds but she knew they could see her. She hopped that if they could see she was still watching, even from so far away, they wouldn't dare enter her vally. Allegro, her fiance,walked up behind her.
“Markena...” he said hopping she would turn. But when she didn't he sighed, “Markena, you're always standing at that window. I'm not even sure if you're looking out anymore...” He sighed again, getting no respons from her. He walked up next to her and picked up her hand, held it for a moment and then he stepped in front of her.
“Markena please! It's been eleven years! And for those eleven years which we've been together, you haven't said a word to me, or anyone else!” Markena, being unhappy with the fact that she could no longer see the sky, turned from the window and walked farther into the room. Allegro walked after her, pleased that he had reseaved a sort of respons.
“I've never even heard your voice! Why wont you talk to me?” He quickly walked around her to block her path but she only turned from him again. Allegro sighed with frustration and turned his back on her.
Someone knocked on the door then and the pudgy man, as Markena had always called him pocked his puffy head into the room.
“Sire, you and your Princess are due in the great hall.” He said then pulled his head back out and the door closed.
Allegro sighed, “well... lets go try to make some people happy shall we?” he asked taking her hand again. She looked at him now and nodded. He loved her, there was no question of that. He had propossed to her over ten times before Markena had finally agreed to marry him reasently.
She flet bad for him, he was trapped in a single sidded love, for she could never return his feelings. Her heart had grown as cold as the walls, leaving her with no feelings but pitty. Pitty for herself, and for others who were trapped like her. Finaly the pitty for Allegro had grown over powering, and she had agreed.
The only good thing about the huge throne room, was that it had big windows. Markena was forced to sit beside her Fiance in a large uncomfortable chair for hours every day, but at least she could look out the large windows and pretend she was looking at the mountains of her home town.
As she sat and pictured these clouds, the loneliness sunk into her mind. It had always gone away because she knew that she would see those she cared about again. But now, she would never see them, unless they came to the Castle. But that was as unlikely as the sun exploding.
The day wore on, and Markena watched the sun move across the sky, and she found her thoughts wandering to Saras. If he was alive, if he was then what he had done with his life, if he had stayed in the village, if he still thought of her...
Suddenly, Markena was startled from her thoughts by the sound of her name. She looked to Allegro, but it hadn't been him who spoke, it had been the boy, standing before the throne. He stared at her with astonished golden eyes, almost hidden behind a messy tangle of sandy blond hair.
They stared at each other, as though both of them didn't recognise the other, but thought that they did. Markena felt something tugging at her memory trying to be seen, but she couldn't reach it. She could not see it any more than she could see the air.
“Do you know my Fiance?” Allegro asked, his voice strained as though he were trying to conseal an emotion. Markena turned to look at him and shook her head but he wasn't looking at her, he was glaring at the boy. Was Allegro jelious?
“Fiance?” the boy asked as though dazed and then looked Allegro and smiled, “I'm sorry your Highness,” he said bowing, “she closely resembles someone I knew before.” Allegro looked unconvinced but he sat back again.
“Yes,” he said thoughtfully, “the girl you were looking for... It is common to see those we miss in others. I will do my best to aid you in your search for this missing child.” The boy bowed then, took one last look at Markena.
It was a hard look, an extremely thoughtfull look. Their eyes met for a moment and the feeling Markena had felt before returned. Something wanted to be remembered, but even if her life had depended on it, she couldn't pull out. Why not? What was in the way, as far as she could tell there was a clear path between this memory and her consiousness. So why?
The boy turned, after what felt like an age, and left the hall. Allegro emedatly turned to Markena, declairing there would be no more audences today in what seemed like a frantick voice. He stared at her until she was forced to look at him or leave to escape the entensity of his stare.
“Did you recognise him?” he asked the moment their eyes met. His eyes were strange, Markena had never seen his gaze so intence before. Was he really all that threatened by some guy who walked into the Castle and thought she looked like someone he knew? She tried to smile, but she never really smiled anymore, and shook her head.
Relief flooded across his face and his shoulders sagged as though the weight of the world rested there, and it probably did. Allegro was after all- eventhough not yet king- running the kingdom. His parents had died about three years ago and since then he'd been in charge. He was more than ready, but too young, and others thought so as well. Still, there was nothing to be done, the Kingdom needed a ruler, even if it was only a Prince.
The first moment that Markena could find, she slipped away from Allegro. She wanted a moment alone with her thoughts to try and find this missing memory. It had been there before, she knew because it tugged shamlessly at her mind, begging for attention. Like a child tugging on her sleave and crying for something, but no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't turn her head. She could sooth the child with words, but the Child wanted her to see it. Even if she gave it all the attention in the world, she wouldn't be able to bring it into focus.
Before she knew where her feet were taking her, she was out in the large coart yard. It was serounded by high walls on all sides, but it was still the most open area around. She had spent a good portion of her life out on the hillside, out in the open air. Being outside was just a natural need felt by every mussle in my body.
Markena stood on the lawn, never caring much for the hard, unnatural stone paths, and stared up at the sky. A group of large dark storm clouds had blotted out the sun. They swelled with water, ready to drop at any moment, and she heard thunder off in the distance. A memory of something Allegro had said this morning floated into her mind.
“Looks like rain...” he'd muttered at breakfast four days ago. These couldn't possebly be the same storm clouds as then. Markena never looked at the sky, or at least never paied attention to the wheather. But she knew when it rained. The sound of falling water made her restless, and whenever it rained she was forbidden to go outside. Yet she'd been outside almost all day for the past four days.
“Markena?” asked a hesitant voice from behind her. She turned, expecting to see Allegro, standing tentativly on the stone path, waiting for her to look at him before beconing her inside. But instead, she saw the boy. She'd thought he'd left, what was he doing in the coart yard. She considered running for the guards, but stopped when she saw the desperat look in the boy's eyes.
He was waiting for her to say something, she wasn't going too, she didn't even know if her voice worked anymore. Instead she tipped her head to the side and looking at him with a curious gaze. So many questions in her mind that she wouldn't ask.
“Your name is Markena, isn't it?” he asked, his voice still hesitant. She nodded, still looking curious. How did he know her name, she didn't know him. His eyes lit just a little bit, but they still looked desperat.
“I thought so,” he said then looked curious, “can't you speak?” Markena thought about it for a moment. How was she to answer this, she was limated to yes, no, or a shrug. Finally she settled on both a nodded and a short shake of the head.
He looked confused and she rolled my eyes, crossing her arms in disaprooval. She would give him no more clues, he would have to figure it out on his own, and she would stand there waiting until he got it.
“oh...” he finaly said, “your choosing not to speak.”
Markena nodded with an look of approovall and uncrossed her arms.
“Is it just me?” He asked looking uncertain, as though he should leave. Once again, Markena got the feeling she should recognise him. As she shook her head she looked at him with confusion and something close to wonder.
The boy looked unsure now, as though he had made some sort of mistake. He looked her up and down, taking in her entire appearence. Markena felt selfconsious, she wore dresses in the past, but they were always short enough that she could be a tomboy at the same time.
This dress was long and trailed behind her slightly. It had taken her years to get used to this kind of dress. She'd fallen a lot and had gained a reputation as klumsy from those first fue years. She was really quite gracefull when not waring cloths designed to make one fall down.
“The resemblence is uncanny...” the boy mumbled shaking his head, “No,you must be her. It's to much of a cowincidence. A girl living at the Castle, who looks exactly the same- only older of course- and who answers to the same name.” he had started pacing but now he looked back at Markena, “but engaged to the Prince? It's so... Uncharacteristic...” he trailed off and Markena looked away, as though she was ashamed with herself. As if to explain she had little choice in the matter.
He knew her, there was no doubt in her mind anymore. This boy knew her, but how was still a mystery. She couldn't place his face or his voice, it was farmilure, if only slightly. But never-the-less, he knew her. A long silence passed between them, as the boy seemed to realise what was going through her mind.
“You don't remember me,” he said, the air around him becoming cold, “do you?” Markena turned to him with an appologetick look and shook her head. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
“Well that's OK.” he said with that same nervousness, “I'm sure you'll remember eventually.” Markena looked at him with uncertainty and shrugged hoplessly. But he only smiled and opened his mouth to speak. However, it wasn't his voice that came out.
“Princess?!” Shreeked a high pitched shrill voice from not very far away, “Princess Markena! Where in heavens name have you disapeared off to now!” She started and looked at the entrence to the coart yard with fright.
“Princess?” the boy asked looking at Markena with a raised eyebrow. She turned and ran over to him, pushing him towards a bunch of trees. She suspected he had come in there since that was the only place the trees were high enough to reach the top of the wall.
He let her push him over to the tree nearest the wall, and the only one that looked climable too. But then turned around, forcing Markena to step back. He reached out and claspt one of her hands tightly in both of his as she glared at him with urgencey.
“I'll come back tonight,” he whispered, “I promice. You're not alone, Markena.” She nodded hurredly shooing him and looking back over her shoulder as the shrill voice grew closer. She just wanted him to be safely back over the wall before her Attendant came.
But when she turned back, he was gone and a sighed of relief escaped her lips, the first sound she had made in a long time. She leaned heavily against the tree he'd disapeared up and waited for her Attendant to find her.
His face was farmilure, there was no doubt about that, and he knew her. These two facts could onll point to one thing. He was most deffanetly someone from her past. Someone she hadn't known very well obviously, since she'd forgotten his face, but someone from her past none-the-less.
This meant he was someone from her home town, someone who had answers to her questions. An ally.

~

Chapter 2: Deseption.
Markena managed to shake her Attendant after a being found at the bace of the tree. She'd been scolded feircly about hidding from those who had her best intentions in mind, but she'd heard it all before. The sting had long since disapeared from the farmilure sharp words and movments, and any guilt she showed on her face now, was only an act to get her Attendant to leave her alone.
She'd been lucky this time, the Attendant had only wanted to get her inside before it started raining. So the moment Markena was safely inside and the large double doors closed behind her, the elderly Attendant bustled off down the hall towards her many other choars.
Markena watched her go, people here were so buisy all the time. It made her home sick. No one in the village had ever really been buisy. Whenever she came down from the hill to clean herself up and get a change of cloths, she'd always seen the children laughing and having a fun time.
She turned, walking in the oposite direction the Attendant had gone, and strolled aimlessly down the hall in thought. Everyone in the Village must have grown up by now, perhaps that was why she didn't recognise the boy. She had known him as a child, it stood to reason she wouldn't recognise him as a young-adult.
“I'm worried Borus...” Markena stopped short at the sound of Allegro's voice. She looked to her right at the small brown door, which hadn't been shut quite proporly. Allegro's study, what was he talking about? What was there to worry about? Everything was fine in his world, and why had he summoned Borus, the Coart Mage? We were in a time of peace, there was no need for magical tallents now.
“The Spell will hold Sire.” Borus said calmly, “there is no need to worry.”
“Still...” Allegro said sighing with frustration, “the way she... It just makes me nervous, that's all.” She? Was he talking about Markena? There were hundreds of girls in the Castle, so it wasn't right to jump to conclusions. But Markena couldn't help the feeling of deep forboding which settled into the pit in her stomach.
“There are only two weeks left, yes?” Borus asked and waited a moment in which Markena suspected Allegro nodded, “then there is nothing to worry about. Even if that boy was someone from her past, she would not have recognised him. There's a snowballs chance in hell of that.”
They were talking about her. Two weeks, there were only two weeks until the wedding, and they were obviously talking about the events eirlier today. But what was all this talk about a spell?
“But he said her name, Borus,” Allegro was saying in a whiry and worried voice, “he called her by her name. Surely that must have some effect on the spell's potensy.” Borus was quiet for a moment, and Markena leaned closer just in case he was whispering or something. She was very carfull not to make a sound, she couldn't blow it now. Something was wrong, and she needed to find out what it was.
“True...” Borus finally admited, “that will begin to ster up old memories priviously locked away. However, it wont come back quickly enough. There is absolutely nothing to worry about Sire. Princess Markena will not pull herself from the Spell before your wedding, it is imposible.”
Markena gasped, and then clasped a hand quickly over her mouth.
“What was that?!” Allegro asked in a harsh whisper and Markena backed away from the door. Luckily he didn't know the sound of her voice, so couldn't tell it was her. She quickly turned and ran away, headed for her room.
They'd put a Spell of Forgetting on her, that was why she couldn't remember who that boy was! They'd blocked out all the faces of those from her past, but not the memories themselves. A cleaver trick to keep her from noticing the spell.
Even now, she couldn't summon up Saras' face or the sound of his voice. Something she was sure she would never have forgotten vollentarily. She could never forget the sound he'd made when he fell. It'd torn her heart in two and something like that is simply unforgettable.
Markena went into her room, a room which she barely ever used anymore, since Allegro insisted she sleep in his room every night, and shut the door. She locked it securly and then turned. She hugged her arms and breathed heavily as she looked around the clean, yet unlived in environment.
She'd been gone for a months, and in those months the fireplace hadn't been lit, the bed hadn't been slept in, and the furniture hadn't been used. Although there wasn't any dust on anything, the room felt cold and unfriendly. But where else could she go to hide?
Her eyes zeroed in on a tapestry on the wall, behind which was a small door. Every Castle had secret passages, this was the entrence to one of them. Markena hurried over to it and looked around. At the foot of her bed was a heavy steamer trunk.
She ran over and threw everything out then dragged it laibourusly by one of the leather handels on the side, down the couple of steps leading up to the small alcove her bed had been placed in, and down in front of the small door. Then she ran back and forth, putting all the things back inside.
They wornt particularily presious things really, just toys she'd been given to play with as a child. Dolls and wooden horses and such, even a wooden carrage with working wheals that the Dolls fit into. There was a Doll house- sorry, Doll Castle over on the other side of the room. But Markena never played with it anymore, it just made her look more femanine to anyone who saw her room first.
Even with the heavy steamer trunk full of toys in front of the door, she wasn't sure it would hold. So she went over to the other side of the room and started to pull her Vanity towards the small door. The mirror on the back shook and made Markena worried it might fall off. The last thing she needed right then was seven years of bad luck.
That was when someone knocked on the door. When Markena didn't answer, they tried to open the door. Course it was locked, so they didn't sucseed in opening it. But one of the servants might have locked it, so whoever was on the other side had no way of knowing if she was actualy in there or not, since she didn't speak.
“Markena?” Allegro asked from the other side of the door. He'd obviously exosted every other hidding place if he'd come to look for her here, “are you in there? Knock on something if you are.”
She had absolutely no intention of letting him know she was there. She didn't want him to know where she was right now, she wanted to remain hidden as long as possible. Unforchanetly, she'd gone around to the other side of the Vanity as a procausion, in case the mirror came loose. So she didn't notice when the heavy mettal hair brush started to fall.
By the time she did see it, it was far to late. The brush his the carpet with a deffanet thud, alerting Allegro to her whereabouts. Markena froze and stared at the brush, like a child who's just snuck into her parents room while they're sleeping and dropped something and is waiting for her parents to wake up and catch her.
Then she began pushing the vanity furiously, not caring about the amount of noise she was making now. It wouldn't be long before he tried the secret passage.
“What are you doing in there?” he asked through the door, “why have you locked the door, and what's that sound?!” He knew she would answer, so he started trying the door again. Of course that wouldn't work, the ideot.
The Vanity was just high enough and, wide enough, that it slid easily over the steamer trunk. Then she ran back to the other side of the room and grabbed the stool, normally in front of the Vanity and ran back as Allegro began pounding franticly on the door.
She stacked the stool ontop of the vanity for extra weight and then stepped back, panting, to survay her work. She didn't quite feel safe yet, there were a lot of extreamly strong guards in the Castle who could probably bust through it. But the door was small and hard to get your shoulder against, and the coridore just before it much shorter than the rest of the tunnle. Markena had to crawle through it. On second though, she probably had to worry about the door the most.
Borus was here in the Castle, instead of in his home in the neighbouring city. There were many Spells which could be used to unlock a simple door, all of which Borus knew. Once the door was unlocked, there would be no hope for her.
Allegro was talking to someone now, they were probably going to try the small door. Eventhough it would be almost imposible just with the steamer trunk, to open the door, Markena didn't dare move the vanity. She still had a couple pieces of furniture left.
She took the largest one, the large cabennet and pushed hard against it's side. Eventualy, after much effort, it slid forward an inch. She placed her shoulder squarly against it and pushed again. This time it moved a little farther. Luckily it wasn't far from the door, but it still took a long enogh amount of time, for Allegro and whoever else was with him, to reach the small door and find it blocked.
Markena alowed herself a moment to lean against the wall next to the door and pant heavily. Then she rolled up her sleaves and went for the couch in front of the fireplace. She pushed the small table next to it out of the way, knocking it over noisily. She then went to the other end and pushed with all her might.
It didn't take this much effort this time, couches are much lighter than cabanets. She put the couch against the door with it's back to the Cabanet- which cuvored the whole thing. She stepped slowly back and looked at the door. The cabanet wasn't full anymore, since most of her clothing had been moved to Allegro's room. But she'd felt for herself how heavy it was. The wood was thick, it would hold.
Finally she let herself rest, sinking down on the rug in front of the empty fireplace with a heavy sigh. Allegro was back at the main door again, and he was yelling louder than ever. Ordering her to open the door, then pleading with her, then begging her. But she wouldn't, she didn't know what would happen if she did, but she wouldn't open the door.
Then a thought occured to her. How on earth was she to get out at nightfall? She had to go down to the coart yard to meet the boy she still didn't remember. She had to get out of here, and she didn't have anywhere to hide, her best bet was to go with him. He might be able to take her back to the Village.
“Send for Borus! Emedatly!” Allegro hollered in an extremely authoritative voice, and Markena heared many pares of heavy feet running off down the hall, “Markena! This is foolishness!” he yelled to her once they were gone, his voice cracking slightly, “please come out of there! Whatever is the matter, I'm sure we can work it out, please!”
The desperation in his voice made Markena's heart ache. She was making him worry but she couldn't open the door, she just couldn't, and she had to find another way out. She looked at the window and then hurried over. She opened it as quietly as she posebly could, the sound masked by the sound of returning feet.
She heard Allegro and Borus talking in quiet voices as she peared out. It was a long way to the ground, but there was a narrow ledge that she could sidle across till she reached a portion of the roof down to the right, from there she could climbe down to the next narrow ledge, and so on and so forth.
The lock clicked and Markena looked over her shoulder, her heart pounding in her chest. The door pressed against the cabanet, and then closed again and Markena sighed with relief. But that might not hold. She went over to the vanity and pulled if off the steamer trunk and towards the main door.
She was able to do this more quickly than before. The vanity was nothing next to the cabanet. She stacked it ontop of the couch along with the two small tables and then slid the love seat up against the couch. She stepped back panting for a moment, and looked at the pile of furniture. Then she jumped and almost screamed as something slammed against the door, and everything shook.
The two guards were trying to break through. She had to hurry, and leave no evidance that she'd gone through the window. But first, the dress. She couldn't do any climbing in this dress, it was to long. So she pulled a pare of shears which had fallen off her vanity, and started cutting the dress.
She cut it so the skirt stopped above her knees. Then she had an idea. She kept cutting the long skirt into tick strips. It was cold outside, autom, so the colths she was waring were thick, she was sure the cloth would hold her weight, simply from how hard it was to cut through the fabrick, even with sisores designed to do the job.
When she was done she knotted the strips together to create a long rope. She wound this around her torso so she wouldn't have to deal with it, and then went to the window. It was almost dark and she was on the east side of the building, no one would be able to see her from below. She turned back into the room, she could hear Borus and Allegro getting impaishent with the guards on the other side of the door.
Markena quickly kicked off her shose and went over to the steamer trunk. This just might work, but she couldn't be sure. She managed to wedge her shose between her toso and the makshift rope so they woudln't fall. Then she inhailed and exhailed, once she made her move, she would have to move fast.
She took one more breath and pulled the steamer trunk noisily away from the little door, opened it, and shut it. There was silence as she tiptoed over to the open window.
“Step aside!” Borus hollered and she heard the guards move. Markena hoisted herself out the window onto the narrow ledge and waited. She had to time this right, hopfully it would take more than one try for Borus to blast through.
There was a loud explosion and She snapped the window shut. The explosion masked the sound and she quickly checked the damage. She thanked heaven for thick cabenets. Everything else had been thrown away from the door, but the cabanet.
She didn't wait any longer, she stood up, and managed to swing herself around so she had her back against the wall. The ledge acomidated the whole of both her feet and without shose on, it wasn't hard for her to edge her way along the stone ledge. She stopped at every window and peared around the edge to make sure no one was looking out before she passed.
Passing by one window, she saw a pare of guards standing outside of a piece of wall Markena knew was an opening to the secret passages. It had worked! They thought she'd gone out that way! Markena took a moment to relesh in her cleverness, and then continued on.
Getting off the ledge to the roof wasn't as easy as she had hoped. After considering it for a moment, she decided there was no other way but to jump. She closed her eyes, to a deep breath and jumped to her right, throwing all her weight towards the roof. She hit the hard stone with a supressed grunt.
But she wasn't quiet safe. Enough of her body hadn't hit the rooftop that she slid over the edge. She supressed a scream of fear as her eyes popped open. As her torso started to go she bent her elbowes and managed to catch the edge of the rooftop. She hung for a moment, shaking with the adrenaline that ran through her body and then hoisted herself up again.
Now what? She could lower herself down onto the next ledge. The coart yard was below her, all she needed to do was get down there. But once she was on the next ledge, how would she get down? She was still three stories up, and her rope wasn't that long.
She sighed and got to her feet, noticing that her shoes had fallen off her back when she'd hit the roof. She went over and colected them and stored them again. That was when she spotted it, not far to her right, she spotted another roof top, one story down. She thanked her lucky stars and ran to the edge of the rooftop she was on.
She leaned down and peaked over the edge, there were windows in the wall she would come down in front of. She would have to lower herself between two of the windows. She didn't need to take a deep breath this time, she was getting used to the hights.
She turned around, making sure she was between two windows and extended one leg towards the next rooftop. Moving slowly and soundlessly, she extended the other. It took a great deal of effort to slowly lower the rest of her body towards the ground. But finaly she hung, her feet almost touching the next rooftop. She dropped the rest of the way and hit the strone roof with a soft thud.
From there it was a simple matter of propelling down the side of the building, her rope wouldn't go two stories, but it would leave her at a safe enough distance to jump from. She tided one end to a convinient hole in the rock which lined the window closest to the edge and then tugged on it, making sure it was secure. Then she planted her feet against the side of the roof, leaned back, holding securly onto the rope, and jumped.
She fell for a little bit, and then gripped the rope. Her hands exploded with pain and her feet slipped when they tried to grab the side of the building. She was left hanging by her hands, which were wet with sweet and slipping.
So propelling had been a bad idea. But she could still slide safely down the rope. She rapped her legs around the rope and let herself slowly fall. It wasn't as fast as propelling, but it would do. She reached the end of her rope a meeter or so before the bottom. She simpley let her legs dangle, and let go.
Her shoes were waiting for her on the ground where she'd dropped them and she quickly put them on then ran across the coartyard to the oposite wall. She stood with her back against it's cold surface, her palms pressed against the wall as well, and panted. She stood here for a long moment and looked at the large windows before her.
People ran back and forth, calling out to her. Guards, maids, survants, Markena even saw her Attendant at one point. But they hadn't started searching the coartyard yet. They must still be convinced by her trick, that she was still inside the castle. How could she have gotten past the guards standing outside every single exit from the secret passage?
She smiled, the first genuine smile she'd had in a long time, and turned to run with one hand on the outer wall. She'd be free soon, she'd finaly be able to go home.

[Clock]

Chapter 3: Escape.
Markena reached the trees up against the outer wall and was surprised to see two forms standing there. She stopped short, wondering if there had been guards posted here too, if her Attendant had told Allegro about the tree right up against the wall.
But apon closer inspection, she confirmed that one of them was the boy from erilier. She ran up to them, opening her mouth to give a quiet greeting, not wanting to startle them. But only a hoars breath came foarth. As she had expected, her voice didn't work proporly. But she just had to keep trying.
Thankfully they heard her from not far off, and they were startled. They turned, wipping out weapons, but put them away again when they saw Markena.
“What's going on?” The boy asked when she stopped in front of him, leaning on her knees to pant. She lifted a finger asking for a moment to catch her breath. Finally she stood up and opened her mouth. Another hoars sound came out and she scould looking down and shaking her head. She tried again a couple times until she could make an “a” sound.
“Giiiiive, me a.... mmmmoment. Hhhhaven't, spoken.... in a lllong, time.” Her voice was hoars, but she smiled, in spite of herself for getting that much out. The boy's companion, a tall girl with long blond hair looked at Markena with pitty.
“You pour thing...” she mumbled walking closer, “Garnet has filled me in, and I figure if you don't remember him, you don't remember me.” Markena looked at her, the girl did look familure, but she didn't recognise her.
“No.” she said shortly, “I can.... explain, that.”
“Well my name is Karra.” the girl said holding out a hand, “nice to re-meet you Markena.” she said with a giggle. Markena stared at her, eyes wide and wet with tears.
“Karra?” She repeted reaching out and taking her hand, then smiling, “yes, it is you!” Karra's eyes were wet too and she pulled Markena forward into a tight hug.
“I thought you didn't remember us?” Garnet said. Garnet had been one of the village children, never anyone Markena had been particularily close to, but someone she had known. Karra on the other hand, had been almost as close to her as Saras. She broke from the hug and looked at him with a frown.
“Borus, the Coart Mage, cast a Spell of Forgetting on me. Probably when I first came here.” Her voice was still hoars, but like riding a bycicle you never forget how to talk, “As a result, I can no longer attach the faces of the people from my past, with their names. But already the Spell is breaking. That's why I had to run away.” Karra and Garnet looked at eachother with uneasiness.
“What do you mean?” Karra asked, “run away?”
“They knew the Spell was waring off, I overheard them talking. They heard me. Borus is a powerfull Mage, he would have made me forget the Spell, and then renewed it. I had to get away or I wouldn't have remembered to come here. So I barakeded myself in my room and snuck out the window, climed down the building, and now here I am.”
Karra laughed alowd while Garnet looked at me with pure amasment, then he looked up at the building. He was looking to high, but it didn't matter.
“You never change,” Karra said squeazing me, “always ready to go the extra mile.”
“It's not like it was hard,” I lied with a casual shrug, “I'm a mountain brat, remember? A born climber.”
“Vally Brat.” Garnet corected and Markena swatted at his head.
“Over there!” Screeched a shrill voice from the doorway, “That Tree over there!”
“My Attendant!” Markena hissed as the sound of heavy footsteps came towards them. The three dark figures couldn't be seen in the thick shadows under the tree, but they would soon be found if they stayed put.
“Time to go now.” Garnet said pushing Karra and Markena towards the tall tree.
“Royalty first,” Karra hissed pushing Markena up to the first branch of the tree. She wrinkled her nose as she climbed.
“Don't call me royalty!” she whispered down to Karra just below, then she yelped and almost fell back as Garnet apeared in front of her, obviously the fastest climber of the bunch.
“But you are, aren't you, Princess Markena?” he sneered and she glaired at him. He laughed and reached for her, grabbing her and slinging her onto his back. She yelped as he did this and then yelped again as he started climbing.
Garnet was much faster than her, even with someone clinging to him, almost choaking him with the hold around his neck. Karra wasn't far behind them, but the guards had already reached the bace of the tree. Several had started to climb, others had gone for help. Markena's Attendant screamed at her from the bace of the tree.
No, not at her, at Karra and Garnet. Markena realised why Garnet had put her on his back now. Not because he was faster, the guards were five times slower a climber than her. He'd done it so it looked like they were kidnapping her. Did he not want her to be on bad terms with Allegro or something?
They reached the wall, and instead of putting her down, Garnet simply jumped down off the wall. Markena screamed as the wind rushed past her face, this was farther than she'd fallen all night and she didn't see how they was going to servive the fall, much less get up and keep running.
They hit the ground and Garnet fell to the side, Markena tumbling off his back and rolling to a stop not far away. To her surprise she seemed to be unharmed. She made sure as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Garnet groaned and rolled over next to her just before Karra hit the ground where he'd been.
She landed in a crouch and stood up easily then ran off into the night. Markena turned to Garnet and helped him into a sitting position. He groaned and sat against the wall with a greatfull sigh. She used what little she knew of first aid to make sure nothing was broken.
“Incredible...” she whispered, “not a single broken bone! That fall should have killed you!”
Garnet grunted and got to his feet, “what do you expect from a Vally Brat?” He chuckled and offored her a hand. Markena took it and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet as Karra returned on a small cream-coloured hourse, two more in towe.
“Hope you know how to ride.” she said as Garnet got on the back of a brown horse with a white main. Markena looked frowned at her and briscly walked to the last horse, a completely black mare except for a bit of white on her legs before her hooves. Her reply, was her effortless mounting of the horse and then turning her around and taking off before they had time to blink. Karra laughed and took off after her, Garnet close behind.
They were on a side road in the city that serounded the Castle. Markena remembered the city's name was Dustove from the lessons she'd had to take when she was younger. Karra came up next to Markena and took hold of the reighs, leading her horse as they turned onto the, now diserted, main street. Markena was forced to lean forward and hug the horses neck. She put her hands around and claspt her rists, making it look as though she were tided to the horse.
Markena looked back to see the gates of the Castle opening and several horses coming out, Allegro at the lead. But the horses the three of them Rode were much smaller than the large horses used by the guards. There was no doubt in Markena's mind that they would not be cot, already they were loosing their followers.
People jumped out of the way as we made our way towards the city gates. They loomed before them, threatening to trap them inside with an already closing portcullus.
“It's gonna be tight!” Garnet yelled through clenched teath.
“I can see that for myself thanks!” Karra yelled back, also through clenched teath. Markena shut her eyes tight as the other two leaned down the same way she was and the horses ducked their head. Then they were out, and the portcullus was far too low for the larger horses to pass through.
The other horses skidded to a stop and Allegro hollered for the to open the gate. But we all knew they couldn't do that until the gate had fully closed, and even then it would be a slow process. The three of them were as good as free.
Markena looked back at him over her shoulder. She could barely see him now in the darkness. He didn't bother yelling to her, he knew she wouldn't yell back. She wondered if he knew she had left voluntarily. He probably suspected, but her Attendant would clear it up with her report.
“I'm so sorry...” she whisper, eventhough he couldn't hear her, it made her feel less guilt if she appologised. She was sorry, she didn't like hurting people's feelings, she really didn't. But she couldn't merry him, she couldn't be locked in that Castle her whole life. She was a Vally Brat, and that was where she belonged, in the vally, with her mountains, and the storm clouds.
They rode all night and into the day. Karra gave Markena the reigns back once they were clear of Dustove, but none of them spoke. There was nothing to say yet, they were all still numb from the escape. Sometimes they rode on the roads, others they followed no path at all.
Around noon they found a river and rode in the water. They slowed to a trote, not wanting to make to much noise and when they'd gone rather far, they emerged on to the other bank, going through a thick boosh that would hide their tracks.
Finally they stopped. Exosted and hungry, Markena slid off her horse and stumbled to the riverbank. She sunk down on her knees and threw water over her face, they all knew they couldn't stop long enough to sleep. But the water truly helped, it was cold from the autom air, almost like ice, and it bit at Markena's skin. Waking her.
Karra joined her while Garnet brought the horses to the river to drink. Markena, haven fineshed drinking and washing, took off her shose again and put her feet into the cold water. She sucked in air through her teath as her soar feet conected with the icey cold, but didn't pull her feet back. The cold would help with the swelling.
“So how was life in the Castle anyway?” Karra asked with a sigh as she leaned back on the cool green grass, nurished by the sweet water of the stream.
“Boring,” I mumbled, “and restricting. I wasn't alowd to leave and when it rained I wasn't even alowd to go outside.”
“That's terrible!” Garnet said sinking down on his knees on my other side, “you can't just take a Vally Brat and stick 'em in a cage like that! No wonder you weren’t talking.”
“Silent protest.” Karra added drouzilly from her place on the grass.
“Hey!” Garnet yelled, “don't go fallen asleep on us!” he splashed some of the cold water on her and she shot up into a sitting position with a yelp and turned on him with a glare. Markena chuckled at their playfullness. She hadn't seen behaivior like this in a long time, it was something unique to Brats.
Vally Brats, Mountain Brats, Forest Brats, Street Brats, any kind of Brat you could name behaived like this most often until the day they died. But the Regall type, they didn't seem to know how to play. It was like the stone walls brought some sort of illness with them that destroied childhood. Markena would have been doomed if she hadn't been exposed to the life of a Vally Brat first.
“But I bet you got to do anything you wanted right?” Karra asked smiling at me, “it can't have been all bad. The Parties, expesive foods, mountains of toys!” She looked at the sky dreamily. This was the illness that came to Brat-kind. Rich-people-envey.
“No,” Markena siad looking down at her feet, she hated to burst Karra's bubble, but it was for the best, “I had responsibilities. Since I arived everyone expected me to merry Prince Allegro...” she trailed off, unable to speak for a moment, then shook her head and continued, “I had to learn how to be a proper lady, I studied geography, astronomy, History, poletics, mathamatics, liturature, and music. And when I wasn't doing that, I was learning to ride or shoot a bow, or 'how to be a lady'” she mimicked her Attendant with a high pitched voice and a roll of the eyes.
“The parties weren’t all that great either. It's true there were tuns of other kids there, but you couldn't run around and play tag or anything. All you could do was stand around and talk. And the girls gossiped! Oh hell how they enjoyed bringing each others selfesteam down! They're visious little bitches!”
The other two laughed at that. Everyone knew how snobby Noble children were, and how bitchy they could be to one another. A dog eat dog world. As their laughter died down Garnet reached over and slapped a hand on Markena's shoulder.
“Well you're comin' home now,” he said and Karra leaned over to take her hand and grinnned, squeazing it slightly.
“We promice we'll never let them take you, ever again.” she said with determination clear in her voice. Markena's eyes welled up with tears, she'd never thought she'd be able to go home again, and her feelings were overwhelming. In spite of herself she smiled. She snifffed, embaraced by her tears and whipped her arm furiously over her eyes. Karra and Garnet grinned at each other.
They had to get moving again. The stream probably wouldn't fool Allegro's hunters, who were all master hunters, for very long. But as they rode, Markena wondered if he'd even bother with tracking them. He might just go strait to the Vally in search of her.
But either way, it would take a while. The hunters and guards alike would both stop for the night, and the three of them didn't. They rode through the night and through another day and another night. Stopping at noon and midnight to give the horses a break.
Markena was extremely surprised by the amasing endurance of the Vally's horses. They ran, almost at full speed for the whole time, not wavoring once. She'd never seen horses running through the hills or in the Vally before. But then again, she'd never been looking.
It struck her just before dawn on the last day, and she wondered why it hadn't come to her before. She sped up to ride next to Karra, she needed to ask.
“Karra,” she said with urgency, “the clouds, the ones on the other side of the mountain!” Karra looked at her with a knowing look and then soudenly stopped. Markena mannaged to stop as well. Garnet stopped beside them.
“I was wondering when you'd ask,” Karra said then pointed towards the site before them. A lake, a huge lake, with moutains behind it, and a the twinkeling lights of a village just waking up on bank of the lake. Markena stared at it then looked at Garnet for answers.
He looked back at her and smiled sadly, “welcome home.”

~

Chapter 4: Home.
“So they finaly came over the mountains...” Markena mumbled looking sadly at the peacfull secen that was not the right secen. Karra nodded.
“It rained for days and the Vally flooded with water.” she chuckled, “our original Village is at the bottom of the lake.”
“But don't worry,” Garnet said smiling now, “There was more than enough time to move everyone and all their posetions to higher ground.” he chuckled, “even your stuff was moved. We were all sure you'd come back some day.”
“Course after four years or so with no word,” Karra said shrugging, “we started looking for you. We asked Danevick where we should start, but he couldn't tell us anything we didn't already know.”
“After looking everywhere, we desided to ask Prince Allegro for the help of the Dustove Guard.” Garnet said with a chuckle, “we had no idea that those were his men that took you.”
Markena shook her head, unable to take her eyes of the lake which covered her original home, “they werern't his men, they were his Uncle's.” she chuckled darkly, “I was a birthday present...” Garnet and Karra looked at each other uneasily, then Karra tried to smile brightly.
“Well no one was expecting us to come home with you in towe.” she said with a giddy giggle, “so this should be fun.” She urged her horse forward and Garnet waited until Markena followed to follow as well.
The horses walked, heads held high now, this was deffanetly where they had come from. Even know Markena could see hurds of wild horses running through the plains serounding the lake. It really was beautifull, espasialy with in the morning light.
“It wasn't all bad,” Garnet said coming up next to Markena, “sure we had to rebuild everything, but soon after the lake formed, the horses came down from the mountains. Like they'd been waiting all this time.” He leaned down and pat his horses neck afectionetly. It whinnied and he laughed, “was easy to train 'em too. Almost like they wanted to help us out or something.”
“The lake filled with fish too,” Karra added, “see, the rain made a stream too, it comes down from the mountains and feeds the lake. We think that's where all the fish came from. The grounds more fertile too, we've never had healthier livestock.”
“So,” Markena mumbled, “as soon as I was gone, everything got better.”
“No!” They both yelled, emedatly, startling her out of her moping.
“The rain didn't come for three or four years after you left.” Karra said with a smile.
“Besides,” Garnet added with a wise nod, “we all knew that you really weren’t doing anything to stop the clouds anyway. They would come down from the mountains whether you were watching or not. It just made us all feel better to know you were watching.”
Markena smiled now, she'd know this for years too. But when she was a child, she'd truly believed that she was keeping the clouds at bay. She really thought she'd been making a difference. But how could a persons gaze, stop the spread of clouds?
They were close enough to see the Village now. It was really quite defferent from the original. A stream ran down from the mountain, then parted and entered the lake, encircling the village in a natural moat. As a result, the entrence to the vilage on either side was a flat wooden bridge.
The Village itself was composed of three dirt roads running parralel to eachother with short paths leading between them. Instead of huts, there were now many wooden cabins. They must have gone into the mountains to search for lumber. There was a solitary path which lead to a dock they had built over the lake. There were a few wooden cannos tied to the dock, but not many.
In the field just beond the moat were a couple farms and livestock were gazing happily. But there weren't any farm houses. The livestock were probably brought into the town at night. It would be much safer there. If horses and the goats that Markena could see amung the sheep, had come down from the Mountains, then Wolves had probably followed.
At the very center of the town, in what looked like a sort of town square, was a high wooden watch tower, and the person sitting up there had just spotted them. There was no bell, or even a piece of mettal that was hit with a stick. He just banged a large stick against the side of the tower, and yelled. It was loud enough.
“THREE RIDERS!” he hollered through the town, “THREE RIDERES THROUGH THE NOTH GATE!” Karra and Garnet came to ride in front of Markena.
“Keep your head down.” Garnet said with a wicked grin, “lets surprise 'em.”
Markena smiled and nodded as they crossed the bridge, letting her hair fall into her face, doing little to really hide her identity. But she was older now, they probably wouldn't recognise her at first anyway. However, Garnet had known her right away, who knew what the next few minuets would bring.
There were a lot of people in the Village center, all craining their necks to see who was coming. Markena peaked up to check if the Spell of Forgetting had worn off. It had, she saw the faces of the people she had grown up with, and she remembered all of their names. But most importantly, she recognised them, every single one, even the ones she hadn't known very well.
“Are you sure?!” Someone was yelling up from the bace of the watch tower. Markena looked in that direction and smiled when she saw Danevick, now close to thirty years old, but still looking as hansom and authoritative as ever.
“Posetive,” the watchman yelled down, “It's Karra and Garnet, but I don't know who the third is...” He trailed off as the three of them stopped at the edge of the croud. When the croud saw Garnet and Karra they rushed over to meet them and ask them all sorts of questions about their trip.
Danevick pushed through the croud, the third ridder forgotten. Markena's heart pounded, would they recognise her? Would they be happy to see her? Would Saras be amung them... She'd avoided thinking about him for the whole trip, avoided asking, and avoided hoping.
“Garnet, Karra,” Danevick said with a welcome smile, taking one of each of their hands in one of his, “did you have any luck? Will the Prince lend us a helping hand?” Karra had been holding back laughter with a hand over her mouth for a while now but she couldn't hold it in any more. Bits of her hystericaly happy laughter were slipping through her hand as Garnet grinned.
“You might say,” he said his voice shaking with the happiness of dilivering this news, “that we got, extremely lucky.” Everyone looked confused.
“What on earth do you mean?” Danevick asked and then his attention fell on Markena. Everyone followed his gaze. Heart still pounding, and in her throat, she lifted her head. Grinning in spite of her frozen heart.
“I'm home.” she managed to croaked in a shaking voice. ((I would like to stop at this point and tell you I actually cried! Probably because it was like... five in the morning, and I hadn't had any sleep for 24 hours, but still! Ok, back to the story)) Danevick was the first to move, of course he recognised her emedatly. He yelled with joy and ran towards her. Markena had just enough time to slide off her horse before her reached her and almost tackled her with the force of his hug.
It didn't take more than a second for the rest of the villagers to recognise her, and soon she was serounded by her childhood friends, all crouding around her, all trying to hug her and welcome her home. Most weeping and yelling. Markena wept too, she cried shamlessly as Danevick moved away and let others in. Finally Karra and Garnet stepped in apon seeing the overwhelmed expression on Markena's face.
“Alright, alright!” Karra yelled pushing herself between the croud and the pour Markena.
“Give 'er some space guys!” Garnet laughed pushing people away on the other side. People backed off willingly. They were overjoied to see her, and that made Markena's heart melt. She had dreamed of this day for elevin years. Now finally it was here. She tried to stop crying like a baby and wipped fuiously at her tears, but couldn't. This was her family, and it filled her heart with joy to see their faces.
“Where've you been Markena!” A girl named Marsy yelled from near the front.
“Yeah we looked everywhere for you!” A boy named Joshua yelled from right next to her. Markena tried to speak but her voice wouldn't come out. It stuck in her tear cloged throat.
“We found her at the Castle,” Garnet said leaning on Markena with an elbow casualy placed on her head. She was too happy to push it away.
“The Castle?!” Danevick asked urgently coming forward, “what was she doing there? Those weren't Dustove Guards that took her.”
“Yeah,” someone yelled, “they were more like Huntsmen if you ask me.”
“They were,” Karra said crossing her arms with displeasure, “they were the Duke's Huntsmen. He sent them to kidnap a wife for his nefue.” This was followed by a loud what from all the entire croud, followed by outraged yells from many.
“You're married?!” Danevick asked with wide eyes, “you?! Married!?”
“To a Prince no less!” Someone Markena recognised as Sendra yelled from the back. She was still just as beautifull as the she was in childhood. The Village's beauty queen.
Markena managed to find her voice and shook her head wildly, “no, no, no! Of course not!” she yelped waving her hands in front of her extatickly, “I'm only engaged to Prince Allegro. The wedding was actualy supost to take place two weeks from three days ago!” There was a loud audible sigh.
“That's a relief!” Someone yelled.
“Yeah!” yelled someone else, “we were expecting you to be our Villages old maid!” The croud erupted in laughter and Markena laughed too, a strange disjointed laugh through the tears which still fell.
“Well,” Danevick called when the laughter had died down, “there's still work to be done today, and Markena must be tired, let's leave her alone for now.” The croud erupted in a corus of awes, and Markena laughed again. Danevick rolled his eyes, “alright,” he groaned, “we'll have a party tonight to selebrate, you can talk to her then.”
People started clearing off, each saying a greating to her before they left. Karra and Garnet stayed and Sendra apeared at Markena's side.
“I know we never got a long all that well...” she said looking down at her feet uneasily, “but... uh...” she looked away sheepishly. Markena laughed and hugged her emedatly.
“I missed you too Sendra.” she said and Sendra squeazed her back. Then she took Markena's hand and started dragging her off.
“Come on!” she said excitedly, “you're house is this way!”
“my house?!” Markena asked confused.
“I told you didn't I?” Karra asked walking next to her, “we even moved your stuff up from the lake. We knew you had to come back some day.”
“Wait hold on a second!” Markena said pulling back. The two girls stopped and looked at her with confusion. Garnet had gone off, probably to sleep.
“I...” Markena looked down, afrade to ask. If she left it alone, she wouldn't have to face reality. But what if he wasn't... what if he was just out in the field or something. She had to ask, “I didn't see Saras...”
Sendra grinned and Karra laughed. Sendra started pulling her again.
“Silly!” Sendra yelled, starteling Markena from her gloom.
“He's out looking for you dummy!” Karra said, flicking her on the nose. Markena breathed the heaviest sigh of relief she had ever breathed in her entire light, it shook her whole body and she fell to her knees.
He was alive, alive! After all these years of wondering, she finally knew, and it was the best news she could ever have heard. Saras was alive! He had survived, and not only that, he was looking for her. A true friend to the end.
Sendra pulled on her arm, trying to get her too her feet while Karra crouched in front of Markena scolding Sendra.
“Leave her be!” Karra yelled, “She's pobably been worrying for all these years, you know how close they were.”
“But I want her to see her house.” Sendra groaned like a small child who always gets what they want. Karra looked up at her sharply.
“You've waited this long you can wait a moment longer!” then she turned back to Markena with a hand on her shoulder, “Markena, are you alright?” Markena smiled and nodded.
“I'm fine,” she said getting to her feet with Karra and Sendra's help, “The relief of knowing Saras was alive hit me kinda suddenly. I wasn't ready for it, I'm sorry.”
“Don't apologise.” Karra said walking next to her again as Sendra dragged her on. Markena turned to her and nodded.
Her house was on one the farthes street. A pleasant looking one story log cabin with a small garden inside a wooden fence and it's back to the Mountains. In contrast to the Castle which had kept her captive for elevin years, this was heaven.
“That's my house there!” Sendra said bouncing with excitment, and pointing at a much larger cabin at the end of the streat. Karra pointed to the one on the right of Markena's.
“That's mine, and the one on the left is Saras', just like when we were kids...” she looked down thoughtfully and then chuckled, “though now he's the one who's never home.” Markena laughed and walked up the small path and too the door.
She reached out for the doorknob, hesitaited relishing in the happiness she felt. They'd been looking for her, they'd been waiting for her to come back, they'd built her a home. She could never repay them, not in all her life time.
Finaly she reached out and opened the door. It opened with a satisfying creak to reviel one room beond. Markena stepped inside and the others followed. The floor was made of wooden boards and the walls of logs. Most of the furniture was made of smaller logs and rope. The whole room smelt of sawdust and pine. It was wonderfull.
There was a small kitchen to the far right, consisting of a counter top, a table with four chairs, a stove- most likely salveged from the old town- and a sink. There was another door in the back wall, probably leading to a back yard of some kind. There was a small living room with a fireplace- this was made of stone- to the left closest to the door, and to the right was a large comfortable looking bed and a dresser. There was a desk near the door and bookshelfs pretty much everywhere else.
All her things had been brought here and placed in their corect spot. Things were covered in a layer of dust, but that was okay, Markena didn't mind, it was natural, dust was good.
“If we'd known you were coming, we'd have cleaned up a bit.” Sendra said with a giggle from behind her. Karra walked into the room and sunk down on a long couch in front of the fireplace which was cuvored with green and gold pillows, the ones from her living room before, only now they'd been embrodered with pictures of mountains and clouds in the thread of the oposite colour.
“It's no Castle,” Sendra went on with uncertanty, “but it's a roof over your head.” Markena turned to her with tears in her eyes. She was so happy to see all her comfortable old posetions. All the things she'd missed and cherished.
“It's wonderfull,” she whispered, unable to say anything else, “I couldn't be happier.” Sendra looked at her with confusion and tipped her head to the side. Then her eyes soffened and she smiled sadly.
“You were really unhappy in that place weren't you?” she asked taking one of Markena's hands and squeasing it gently. Markena nodded and Karra pipped up from her place in front of the fireplace.
“She was silently protesting.” she said crossing her arms with a frown on her face, “this is the most she's said in Eleven years.” Sendra turned from Karra to Markena with astonishment.
“She's kidding right?” Sendra gasped and Markena shook her head.
“I hadn't said a word until the night they came to get me.”
“Not a single word?” Sendra asked quietly.
“Not a single one.” Karra answered, “pour thing couldn't even form a sentence when we found her, couldn't even say her name.” Sendra smiled at Markena and lead her into the living room arear and sat her down on the couch next to Karra, then sat down on her other side.
“Well you can talk all you want now.” Sendra said determindly, “but I'm still gonna call you Dreamer.” Markena laughed away the tears that were burning in her eyes.
“I wouldn't have it any other way.” she said with a sniff.
“That isn't the worst part though.” Karra said leaning forward now, her elbose on her knees and her chin in her hands, “They were supressing her. Acroding to what Markena told us herself, they were hidding her memories from her.”
“No,” Markena said with a nervous laugh, “it wasn't quite that bad. It's called a Spell of Forgetting, and although it's true that the more powerfull ones can erais memories, this one wasn't designed to do that. All it did was hide your faces from me. I knew all your names and everything, but I coudn't place the name to the face anymore.”
“Never-the-less...” Karra said grimly, “it was still supression.”
“That's offle!” Sendra said, “so if one of us ran into you, you would even know us!”
“Exactly,” Karra said pointing at her and smiling grimly, “that's why when Garnet saw her in the throne room, she didn't recognise him at all. She didn't even recognise him when he came to her later, I mean she didn't even recognise me! But she knew me once I told her my name.” Karra rubbed Markena's head and she leaned against her shoulder.
Markena wasn't tired as in sleepy, she was never sleepy. She just had no energy, she couldn't move anymore, she was exausted. She just needed to lay down for a while, to not be moving. She could sleep, and she would, it was the best way not to move for a long period of time.
“But she regonised all of us.” Sendra pointed out with a thoughtfull look.
“The Spell started to ware off when she saw Garnet,” Karra explained, “that was spead up when we told her who we were. By the time we got home it had completely warn off.”
“oh...” Sendra said, “Can it- the Spell, be put back on her?”
“If I come into contact with Borus again,” Markena mumbled closing her eyes, “he might try too.”
“Borus?” Sendra asked and Karra looked up in thought for a moment.
“Wasn't he that Coart Mage guy?” she asked, looking down at Markena as she nodded slowely, “and Prince Allegro will send him after you? Not guards?” Markena sat up soudenly. She hadn't thought of it like that before. Now her mind worked furiously. If he came the Village would be in danger, she didn't know any Magic and couldn't fight him. She wouldn't be able to protect her friends from him, and Allegro would send him, he was the strongest fighter he had.
“Allegro will send Borus...” She said quietly, “Borus is the most likely person to bring me back. He has very strong magical talents. I've never seen them matched. It's why he's Coart Mage. Although... I've never seen him behaive violently. But I'm sure if he was ordered to bring me back using any means nessisary...” She trailed off with uncertanty. She knew Borus only through coart, where he was a quiet man who sat and listened, rarely giving his own oppinion, even when asked.
“Don't worry about us!” Sendra said jumping up and smiling with determination, “we can handle whatever that stupid Prince throws at us! We aren't going to loose you again Markena, that's for sure!”
“It's true,” Karra said from beside me, “while you were gone, we've all gotten stronger. We've had to fight of Bandits and Nomads who wanted our little peice of heaven, and we've seen through them all and learned as we went along.”
“Yeah,” Sendra said raising a fist in the air, “with Saras leading us into battle, there's nothing we can't do.” She dropped her hand and looked a little worried, “I hope he gets back soon. He's due home tonight, but you never know with him. Sometimes he wont come back for months...”
“Saras leading you into battle?” Markena asked with confusion. It sounded so unlike him to fight. So unlike the drouzy no-goodnick she'd befriended.
“He was pretty angery with himself,” Karra said gently, “angry that he couldn't protect you, keep you from being stolen. He left soon after you did, to get stronger, to learn to fight.”
“He came back a few months before the flood,” Sendra continued, “He'd trained with a master swordsman or something cheesey like that. But after the flood he was a big help. He was a lot stronger and it was his idea to go into the mountains to look for wood for houses.” She giggled, “he built this house himself.”
Markena looked at her with confusion, “he did what?”
“He said it was proof that you were coming back,” Karra explained, “that you still had a home here. Then latter it was motivation to get you home again. He really has done a lot for this Village. He tought the rest of us everything we know, how to protect ourselves, how to hunt. It wasn't until he started teaching us that we all realised how helpless we'd been for years. I couldn't believe it.”
Markena looked down at her lap and smiled. So the lazey boy had finally picked himself up and done something good with his life. He was probably just as tired all the time still. She giggled and Karra and Sendra looked at eachother and smiled too.

~

Chapter 5:
Karra went to talk with Danevick and Garnet, aparently he hadn't gone to sleep, and Sendra went to work on preperations for the party. As happy as Markena was to be home, she was not looking forward to the party. She just wanted to lay down in bed and never get up again. She'd been moving for three days, and she just wanted to stop.
She found some fresh linnens in a cabenit- she was now quite fond of cabenits- up against the same wall as the door, and spread them over her bed. There were a bunch of pillows stored in the cabenit as well. They were made from goose down and very soft. Markena sank down into the warm bed and pulled the green and gold Patch-work quilt Sendra had made her, up over her shoulders.
The windows were open, and let a cool breeze blow through the room, stering up the sent of pine and sawdust. Markena lay in bed with a smile on her face and sighed. This was heaven, there was no doubt in her mind. She would never let anyone harm this place, or the people who lived in it, and she would never leave here again. She'd stay in the Village until the day she died, protecting everything around her from the smallest ant to the fatest cow.
She let out a small chuckle at that idea. Then she wondered if this was how Saras felt. She opened her eyes and looked at the wall in front of her. Saras had made it, for her, knowing that some day she would come back. Some day they would bring her home. She smiled again. She missed Saras, but she would see him soon. That was something she could count on without a doubt for the first time in eleven years, she would see Saras soon.

Markena slept all day, she didn't dream, she was to exausted to dream, and when the sun began to set, Sendra came to get her. Knocking loudly on her door and calling through the thick wood. Markena groaned and rolled over.
“Come back in twenty years.” she said and Sendra laughed, opening the door and coming inside. She seemed to understand, but was determined to get Marchena out of bed.
“Come on, get up.” she said dumping a bag on one of the kitchen chairs and coming over to the bed. She grabbed the bottom of the quilt and pulled with all her might. It flew off, but still Markena didn't move. The evening sun fell across her and kept Markena warm enough.
Sendra frowned and walked over to the side of the bed pulling both of the pillows away from Markena. She groaned and rolled over again, but still didn't get up. Sendra groaned with exasperation.
“Gosh!” she yelled, “you're as lazey as Saras!” Markena sat up emedatly.
“That's going to far!” she growled, glairing at Sendra who laughed and walked over to the kitchen table.
“So comparing you to him is the way to get you out of bed.” she said with a giggle, “I'll have to remember that one for the future. Now come over here, I brought you some things.” She was unloading the bag onto the kitchen table. Markena got out of bed and went over curiously.
“All your old things like you hair brush and such are still here in that cabenit. But some things you can't use anymore, like your tooth brush and you didn't have any makeup, so I brought you some.” Sendra said holding up a small green felt cloth bag.
“For a reason.” Markena mumbled walking over and yawning, “I didn't ware makeup.”
“Key word being didn't.” Sendra said reaching into the bag and fishing around inside, “you wore makeup at the Castle right?”
“Because I was forced too.” She muttered, but Sendra didn't hear her. Markena didn't want to ware makeup anymore. It was thick and stick, it made her face feel heavy, and it was hard to get off. She prefered natural beauty, it was much less troublesome.
“Well at least ware it tonight. Ah! Here it is!” Sendra pulled out a bundle of white gausy cloth, “Me, Maureen, Kelly, and Andria worked all afternoon on these, and your pajamas of course.” She giggled and handded them to Markena, “go on change, I'll go get some water while you do.”
Sendra turned around and grabbed a bucket sitting by the back door and walked out again. Markena changed into the cloths, letting the torn dress fall to the ground, planning to burn it later. The outfit was deffanetly in her taist, straing that Sendra remembered.
It was a short flowing white dress, good for for running, it almost came right up to her wast when she spun. The top had one thick strap over her left shoulder, leaving the other free, and was also white and hung loosly around her. These were both silk, the gaus she'd seen was a see-through white poncho which went down to her rists. For footware she'd been given a pare of light brown traveling boots.
Moments after she'd fineshed changing Sendra walked back into the room. She almost dropped the water bucket when she squealed, scaring the living daylights out of Markena. She set the bucket down in the kitchen and went into the cupboards above the sink and counter, all the while looking over her shoulder.
“You look stunning Markena!” she said with delight, “Maureen was right about the white, I'll have to thank her later... ah! Here.” She pulled down a large tin bole and poured some water into it. Then she told Markena to sit down with her back to the table. She place the bole behind Markena's head and started washing her hair.
“I can do that myself...” Markena said uncomfortably. Sendra laughed and then made a sort of tisking sound.
“Not today.” she said jurking her hair slightly as punishment for the foolish sudgestion, “You're still a Princess, Markena. You're our Princess now, and today I wont let you lift a finger.” Markena sighed and didn't complain again. When Sendra was done she went to the cabenit, and got a towel then went and lit a fire in the fireplace, someone had come and left firewood some time while Markena had been sleeping.
She went over and sat in front of the fire and rubbed her hair furiously with the towel. She wanted this to be over as soon as posible, and the sooner her hair dried, the sooner Sendra could fuss over it, and the soon she'd be done.
Sendra was gathering suplies as Markena dried her hair. She found Markena's old hair brush and put the pillows and quilt back on the bed then made it. Then she walked over to Markena and sat down behind her, then began brushing her hair.
“What was life at the Castle like?” she asked hesitantly after a moment of comfortable silence. Markena sighed and slouched, closing her eyes.
“Boring,” she replied, “I had lessons almost all of the time, and when I didn't I had to sit in coart or entertain guests. Coart is boring, it's just a bunch of polotisions talking about taxes and such. Luckily the taxes don't reach out here on the outscirts, they raised it this year.”
“That would be a problem,” Sendra said calmly with a smile, “we don't have any money out here. Everyone gets rations, and whatever else you need you just go and get. Everyone works and everyone is fed. That's our motto.”
Markena smiled and sighed peacfully, “exactly how it should be.” she mumbled, “once you throw money into the mix, things just get complicated. Then some people can have more than others, and everyone wants more. Sure it adds insentive to work harder, but it also creates poverty, theft, and betrayall. There's none of that here...”
“You're right about that.” Sendra said with a pleasant sigh, “was there a lot of betrayal in the City?” She asked, keeping a convorsation going.
“Yes...” Markena said distantly, staring into the fire, “everyone betrayed one another. It was common place. From little girls, to elderly men... even Allegro betrayed me in the end...” Sendra stopped brushing Markena's hair suddenly.
“I'm so sorry...” She said quietly, “that's probably hurt a lot.”
“No,” Markena said with a sigh, “no matter how much he loved me, I never loved him. He was a friend yes, that's why it was betrayall. But it was what gave me the ensentive to leave, what pushed me over the edge. So I guess I should thank him...”
“Maybe...” Sendra mumbled, resuming brushing Markena's hair, “What were the parties like? There must have been a lot of parties!” She was chipper again, trying to change the mood. Markena let her and smiled bitterly.
“Also Boring,” she said with a chuckle, “We stood around and talk. Sure there was dancing and such, but that wasn't really fun. Everyone waltzed or stuff like that, nothing like the dancing here, not even close to as much fun. And there was so much gossip going around. With the girls that's all it was, gossip gossip gossip! God I got so tired of fricken gossip!”
Sendra giggled and put the brush down then started fidling with Markena's hair. She was probably braiding it. There was little you could do with Markena's short hair. She'd enraged her Attendant once by cutting it all off after it had gotten quite long.
Finally she sat back and said, “done,” in a chipper happy voice, “I wont make you ware any makeup. You're right, it's not like you.”
She lead Markena to a Town hall which had been built across from the watch tower in the Village Square. The doors were wide open and everyone filed in, everyone gave Markena welcoming hugs and words as they passed her on their way in. She felt extremely loved.
Inside was a large building open space with a fire pit in the senter. Nothing was roasting on a spit, which was nice to see, there was just a big fire, lighting up the whole room to the farthest corner. They had set up tables in a square around it, and people were taking seats on the far side of the tables, facing the fire.
“Markena!” she looked up to see Danevick waving at her from the far table, the one facing the door. She went over to him with a smile, it was good to be home. He was with Karra and Garnet already, but Sendra didn't join them. She went off to talk with Maureen and Andria and the rest.
“How are you feeling?” Danevick asked, motioning for her to sit next to him. She sat down, feeling strange about sitting at the head of the table. Karra to the seat next to her, touseling her well brushed hair as she pass. Markena heard Sendra's yell of disaprooval from across the hall.
“I'm feeling better now,” Markena said causiously, she felt uneasy not knowing when Allegro's men would come, or who he'd sent, “but I'm still a little tired.”
“I understand completely.” Garnet said with a groan, sinking into the chair on the other side of Danevick, “I didn't get to sleep yet. I was talking with this fool all day.” he said jabbing a thumb in Danevick's direction.
“Yes,” Danevick said with a disaprooving glance at Garnet, “he'd been filling me in, and Karra says that you think the Prince will send a Mage after you?”
“Not just any Mage,” Karra insisted, leaning around Markena, “the Coart Mage! That means he's the best!” Markena looked at her and nodded then looked back at Danevick.
“His name is Borus. He's very powerfull, but I don't know him very well, so I don't know what he will do...” She looked down in thought, “He's normally non-violent, so he will probably try to scare me out first with cheep tricks. But after that... I'm not sure what he will do.
“There is also the posibility that Prince Allegro will come himself, and it's quite a real one I'm afrade. I am his Fiance after all. If he comes there will be a lot of Dustove Guards with him, and I mean a lot! I'm afrade the Village might be over run...”
Garnet scoffed and rolled his eyes, “oh please, there's only two ways into this place and we have gates set up. We'll even burn the bridges if we have too. Besides, we can fight.”
“That's right,” Danevick said turning from him to Markena, “we aren't going to let them take you away again. We'll deffend you to the death Markena.” She sighed and looked down, frowning with worry.
“But why?” she asked quietly and they looked at her with confusion, “What is so important about me? You've spent years searching for me, and now you are prepared to die protecting me... It doesn't make sence.”
“We're a family.” Karra said placing a light hand on Markena's shoulder, “and when you're gone, we're missing a piece of that family.”
“That's right,” Danevick said smiling, “one big family, and like a family we stick up for each other.” Markena smiled and looked at them each in turn.
“You're right,” she said shaking her head and chuckeling nervously, “I'm sorry to be such a downer.” Karra scoffed at that.
The evening was interesing and fun enough. Over dinner Markena talked with her old friends, and they cot her up on life in the Vally, while she cot them up on life outside the Vally. After dinner she walked around and talked to everyone else, making sure she absolutly got to everyone.
Then Sendra dragged her into the senter for a dance. Then somehow she was roped in to playing a song. She was more than cappable of doing so after borowing someone's flute. But she felt nervous, playing in front of her friends. She'd been so uncultured before, now she was completely differnet.
She was knowledgable in pretty much every subject, and she'd been tought grace as she'd grown into her naturaly gracefull body. She felt a little out of place, yet, at the same time she knew this was where she belonged. The only place she could truly fit in and be happy.
She was talking with the girl she used to live across the street from, when she noticed Karra waving to her from the other side of the room. She excused herself and hurried over.
“What is it?” she asked stopping in front of her, Garnet and Sendra.
“Garnet and I are calling it a night,” Karra said stretching and yawning, “but Danevick said that he wanted to see you in his office.”
“It's over there.” Sendra said and turned Markena around then pushed her towards a door at the back of the room. She stumbled and then managed to get her balance and glaired over her shoulder at Sendra who grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
Danevick was looking out the window when Markena knocked softly and walked into the modest room beond. She closed the door and smiled, Danevick was without a doubt, the most important person in the Village, and still his office was so simple. A true testiment to the simple life-style Markena remembered.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Markena asked walking over the a shelf and picking up a small piece of drift wood, something that had been a very rare site before. But now there were several pieces on Danevick's shelf.
“Yes, I wanted to ask you if you were alright.” he said turning around. Markena looked at him curiously over her shoulder and tipped her head.
“Why?”
Danevick shrugged, “because no one's asked you that yet. They've asked you where you were, how life there was, how you escaped. But no one has asked you if you were actualy okay.”
Markena smiled and set the drift wood back on the shelf, “I've never been better, Danevick. But thanks for asking.” Danevick smiled now.
“That's good to hear.” he leaned against his desk and an auquard silence passed between the two of them. Markena got the feeling there was more he wanted to asked, but he wasn't sure if he should. Makrena also had a few questions of her own, but he looked tired, so she picked the most emedat one.
“Someone told me that Saras was coming back tonight...” she mumbled looking down. She wasn't quite sure how to word the question. But luckily Danevick seemed to understand what she was trying to ask.
He chuckled, “that's right, I almost forgot. It's imposible to predict when Saras will be back, since he often gets sidetracked. But he was scedualed to be back tonight, so that he would return on the same day as Karra and Garnet. But he still hasn't arived yet. Don't worry, he will get back soon.” Markena smiled.
“I'm not worried. I'm back now, I could wait as long as it takes.” She turned around and sighed with relief, “I was worried for so long though. It feels so good to get that off my shoulders.” She stretched happily.
“True,” Danevick said looking down thoughtfully and then smiled again, “maybe you should go get some rest. You must still be tired, Garnet said you didn't stop once to sleep on the way here.”
“We couldn't,” Markena said sighing and crossing her arms, “we had no way of knowing if we were still being chased.”
“Well there's a back door down the hallway next to this room. You can sneak out there.” Danevick said going to the door and walking out.

[Clock]

Chapter 6:
Markena waited until everyone had gone home, not wanting to sleep again, but not wanting to get cot in the streats and forced to explain why she'd left the party early. Until then she amused herself with reading the books on her shelves again.
She hadn't had any of them in the Castle because they were all children's books. Fairy tales and Myths and made up stories. The only books like them she could find were Mythology books, and even those would proove the myth wrong all the way through, explaining why things wouldn't work out.
Finally she looked out the window and couldn't see anyone in the street. She sighed and set her book down and then headed towards the back door.
There were steps leading down to an open grassy space behind the house. There were no fences or anything, so there was no distinction between backyards. But there weren't paths leanding from one house to the next, it was just one long field, enclosed by the natural mote.
On the one side of the house, there was a ladder leaning against the house. Markena went over and climbed up onto the roof and sat down on one side of the slanted roof with her back against the clay brick chiminy. Smoke still billowed out of it, but the wind was blowing the smoke away from Markena.
She sat and watched the clouds, turned black against the navy sky. She wondered what had happened to her clouds, had they dropped all their water on the village and then disapeared? Or had they moved on?
She looked to her right, to the mountains, now with the moon behind them. Part of the Night had always been pitch black before, as the moon was hidden behind the dark clouds for a while. This should have stopped since the clouds were gone. But even now the mountains still cast a long shadow over the little village until the moon rose above them.
Markena watched the moon cross the sky, pondering the effects of the rain on the village. There was more to eat now, fish, and new kinds of livestock could be kept because of the abundance of water. Before, they had to go into the mountains to graze goats and sheep, forget cows.
They could also grow crops, since there was water close by, in stead of foraging in the mountain. But that was also due to the fact that everyone was older, and able to tend to crops.
They had also been forced to rebuild the village, and had made it to last, and so they could deffend themselves in case of an attack. Before, when danger came, they'd had to go into the mountains for protection.
Everything, all the improovments, meant that the only thing they needed the mountain for, was wood, and that was at the base of the mountain. Everyone had known their way around the mountain very well, and they were very agile and gracefull from learning to jump from rock to rock. If regular trips into the Mountain were no longer needed, how would that effect the people of the village down the road?
Would they forget their learned skills, or the secret trails made by old, dried up streams? There was a way to test this, Markena herself had been gone for elevin years. She could easily go up tomorrow and check it out, see if she'd forgotten.
The sky pailed, and Markena was startled by the sound of two pieces of wood slamming together. She turned, ready for anything, towards the watch tower. The night sentry was yawning and climbing down, while the morning sentry was banging a stick against the side of the tower.
She relaxed, it was just a wake up call, like the rooster crowing in the morning. Down below, people were coming out of their houses, eager to start a new day. Markena smiled, this really was the life for her. Life in the Castle started earily, but always without the royalty.
She hopped gracfully down onto the ladder and slid down.Then she headed back inside and got the bag that Sendra had left the day before. She pulled out all the things and put them in apropriat places, then she put some food in the bag, filled a metal cantine- probably traided for something some where- with water from the stream behind her house, and left from the front door.
Several people said hi to her on her way to the Main building. Only her second day back and everything had returned to normal. She walked into the main building- which had it's door's wide open- and dropped her bag by the door, where there was a pile of other things, like cloaks and other bags.
She walked into the big open area that last night had been filled with noise and people. Now it was quiet and open, as people quickly took down the decorations from the night before. She spotted Andria and called out to her. The tall girl turned with surprise on her face and then smiled and ran over.
“Morning Markena.” she said when she reached her, “What can I do for you?”
“Is Danevick around?” Markena asked taking a quick peak out of the corners of her eyes. Andria smiled and laughed then pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.
“He should be in his office. You picked a good time to come,” she said heading back towards her work, “he's not buisy yet.”
“Thanks.” Markena called with a chuckle of her own, heading back towards the room she'd spoken with him in the night before. She knocked lightly, and apon hearing an afermative grunt, opened the door.
Danevick was seated behind the desk, leaning over some papers and shaking his head. He was mumbling something about unfareness, and net value. Things Markena did understand, but didn't much think about.
“Something wrong?” she asked as she shut the door behind her. Danevick looked up at her through his eyelashes and then gave another afermative grunt, looking down at the paper.
“Stroud wants practacly a cartfull of wool, and are only propared to give us basic tools in return. A cart lode of wool is nearly fifty sheep! One, we don't have the much to give right now, and two, the price is way too low.” he sighed, “but Stroud's always been a lousey trading partner. Now Endall! They're a good trading partner. But you probably didn't come here too-”
“Why not try haggeling with them?” Markena asked walking briscly over to the desk and looking at the agreement over Danevick's shoulder, “Tell them you'll give them thirty sheep's worth of wool for their price and nothing more. If they really want it then they'll up their price, but if they want to go somewhere else, then offore them thirty five, then forty, and so on, but don't go over the original number.”
Markena looked up to see Danevick staring at her. She laughed nervously, “what?”
“Since when did you know about things like this?” He asked motioning to the papers on his desk. Markena shrugged off a slight blush on her cheaks.
“It's nothing,” she said walking away from the desk to the window, “remember where I came from? But I'm surprised you don't know how to do that yourself. Have you really gone all this time just paying what they asked?”
“No,” Danevick said standing quickly, obviously embaraced, “if what they offore isn't enough, we often just say no.” Markena shrugged and turned around to look out the window. A moment of strange silence passed between them, and Markena knew why. He was thinking about how she wasn't the same person he'd known.
“I’m going into the mountain.” She said, breaking the silence, “I haven’t been there in a long time, I miss it.” He grunted uneasily behind her and Markena turned around in confusion.
“The mountain has become a lot more dangerous these past years...” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, “If you got hurt... Maybe you shouldn’t go alone.” Markena laughed and walked up to him.
“I’ll be fine.” She osured him, “They don’t forget to teach the future Queen how to take care of herself.” He still looked uncertain, Markena sighed and rolled her eyes. He really didn’t believe her, did he?
“Even so, maybe you shouldn’t go alone.” He said, earing himself another eye roll, “I don’t think you realize exatly how dangerous the mountain as become! There are loose rocks from the rain, and a lot more dangerous animals than before!” Marken walked over to his desk and hoisted herself up on it, crossing her legs impaishently.
“Danevick,” she said, fixing him in a stern gaze, “If I say I’ll be fine, then I’ll be fine. I can weild a sword or fire an arrow as good as anyone else in this village, I’ll probably be better on my own. Only myself to worry about you know.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of, “stuborn as ever.” Then nodded and shooed Markena off his desk. She hopped down and skipped around to face him as he sat down again.
“But if you’re out one second after sunset,” He warned, “that search party will be up the mountain faster than you can say ‘Markena’s in so much trouble’.” Markena laughed leaning through the doorway.
“Ever the conserned parent you always were, Danevick.” She teased and he grunted angerly and threw a piece of drift wood. Markena cot it and threw it back with a laugh then turned and ran towards the front of the building. She snagged her bag on the way and continued on.
She stopped on the north bridge and looked over the edge into the water, standing on her tippy toes to see over the wooden railing. The water was clear and pure, Markena could see all the way to the soft looking sand at the bottom. She could see small fish swimming against the curent.
She smiled and continued on into the feilds beond. There was a dirt path, the one they’d come in the day before, and on either side were small farms, and people I knew working them. I waved, and a few even asked me where I was off too. I figured they would act the same way Danevick had if I told them I was going into the mountains, so I said I was just going for a walk.
Luckily the path leading to the mountain followed the moat, and so I was soon far enough from where anyone was that non one was around to ask about my chosen direction.
It took a while to get to the mountain, but not nearly as long as it had in the past. She ran most of the way, overjoyed that she could finally just run for the sake of running. She was out of shape, her trip over the rooftops of the castle had prooven that. But it wouldn’t be hard to get back the speed and agility she’d had as a child.
But even though her legs ached and her throat and lungs burned, she kept on running. Elevin years, and the only time she had run was that one time they had to evacuate the building because of a fire in the kitchen. Once she’d been cot running back and forth across the coart yard and had been scolded. She couldn’t get going very fast in those long dresses anyway.
She stopped at the bace of the mountain and sat down on a rock to catch her breath, laughing intermitenly through her panting. Each breath stung in her throat, but that was a good thing. It meant she’d run, for all she was worth. Finally she sighed and began looking for the first mountain path.
It wasn’t much, a dried up old stream that they’d used as a path. But it was hidden, hard to find if you didn’t know what to look for. It ocured to Markena, that since the rain had created streams, it might have filled the old ones. But she found the one she wanted a moment later, hidden by a fallen log, like always. It must have been too well troden to turn back into a stream.
She hopped over the log, pushing herself high enough with a firm hand on it, and set off into the mountain. This path had been used reasently enough, and so was only slightly grown over. But as she got farther and farther into the mountain, the path became more and more overgrown.
Finally, she was only left with a line of mos as her path. What had been hard packed pebbles, was now a soft bed of rich green moss. So it was true, no one had been here in a long time. But she was nearly as far into the mountains as they used to go.
There were no flat rocks to jump across, no caves to explore, and no small springs this close to the plains. For the real fun stuff you had to go farther into the mountain. So that was where Markena would go.
It was amazing, after all those years suffocated in hard leather, and forced to move over completely level terrain, her feet still knew their way over the rocky landscape. They curved easily over rocks, and found their way without hesitation to the places she could grip.
Finally she reached the fun part, an open area, filled with flat rocks. She could remember chasing Saras and Karra over these as a child. They would coaks her into coming into the mountains with them, then agitate her until she got angry enough to forget about the clouds and chase them.
Her anger would eventualy turn into playfullness, and they would play for hours, switching between the chasser and the chassies at random. Sometimes the entire day had passed before Markena would remember the clouds.
Now she hopped across the open plain on her own, slipping once or twice, but always catching herself before falling into the dark below. She stopped a moment, after one of these slips to catch her breath, and looked down into the dark.
She’d fallen once, below it was like standing in a mushroom patch and only being three inches tall. It had been dusty and shaidy, but not dark, not this dark. That had changed, maybe Danevick was right about the mountain being a lot more dangerous. If she fell down there she would be in the dark with no one to pull her up.
Markena stretched and reminded myself not to fall between the stones, then continued on. She didn’t slip again, making sure to judge the distances corectly, not pushing her limmites like before; just to be safe.
At the end of the feild of flat stones, was a stone starecase. They weren’t really stares, they just looked like stares, so that was what everyone had always thought of them as. Stares leading up to their favorite spot.
She climbed, using both my hands and feet, as the stares were steep, and at the stop she stopped and stood. Her grin slowly melted away as she looked out over what was streched before her. A waterfall, fed from somewhere under the rocks she stood on now, falling into a deep casm.
Before there had been a peacfull spring, serounded by high rock walls on all sides. The ground must have fallen away when the rain came, creating the deep casm. Not to say that the sight wasn’t beautiful, but Markena’s childhood hang out had been lost. You couldn’t blame her for being a little bumed out.
To the right side there was a narrow ledge, leading steadily downwards, a path through the mountain. Before now the rock wall had blocked the only way to the other side of the mountain. Not that anyone wanted to go over there, that was where the clouds were.
Now Markena couldn’t help but be curious. She made her way over to the ledge and started a long it. It was narrow, but wide enough for two of the Vally’s horses to walk side by side. She had no trouble walking along it, pearing into the casm below.
She couldn’t see where it ended. The water just seemed to fall away into darkness. Where had all this darkness come from anyway? The mountain used to be a fun, light, safe place. Now there were casms, and dark places where evil things could hide and wait for deffencless children to come along.
Just as she was thinking this, Markena passed a small cave carved out in the casm wall. She couldn’t have been ten feet past the cave- having not noticed it- when she heard a low growl.
She stopped short and slowly turned. From the darkness of the cave, she could hear something growling, and just make out a pare of yellow eyes, attached to a large kaynine form.
A wolf? No, wolves never attacked humans, and they didn’t live alone in caves on the sides of mountains. This wasn’t a wolf, it was something else. Whatever it was, it was big.
Markena stepped back, as a large grey paw, emerged from the darkness. She put her hand on the hilt of the short sword she’d found in her house and brought with her, though it was little comfort against something so big. Her best bet was to keep moving back, and try to stay on the creatures good side. She had probably just enetered into it’s territory or something.
She was carful not to look it in the eye either, even though that was all she could see of it. Looking it in the eye would chalange the creature, and the last thing Markena wanted was a fight.
The creature stepped farther into the light, and Markena realised the sound she heard wasn’t a growl; it was a quiet rawr. The creature before her was a Thunderga, or more commonly called Wolfcat, so named for it’s likness to both a wolf and a tigger.
But what was one doing way up here? Wolfcats lived in tropical forests where there was pray all year round, and were believed to be the cause of the large amounts of rain in rainforests.
This was a temperate zone, a place where pray was undoubtably scares. Wolfcats weren’t good with agillity either, they didn’t have the thick tails that mountain lions did to help keep their balance up here.
Of course, with a scarsity in easily captured pray, this made Markena pray herself. It didn’t matter if she chalanged the Wolfcat, or if she was in it’s territory, it was hungry, and she was top of the menue.
“I’m not all that taisty.” Markena mumbled, not ready to draw her sword just yet. Wolfcats were creatures under the mthical class, and so had a higher level of intelegance than most animals. It was possible to reason with them, and Markena knew people who had.
“I am sorry I bothered you, truely I am.” She said, trying to rais her voice and sound brave, “I was exploring the area, I was being thoughtless, please forgive me.”
The Wolfcat rawred quietly, threateningly again. Maybe it did just want her off it’s land. She looked over her shoulder, the only way behind her, was into the darkness of the casm. Markena didn’t think she would last long there if there were things like Thundergas up here.
“I cannot go that way.” She said turning back to the Wolfcat, “I am afrade my home is in the other direction. The way I came from. If you would alowe me to pass, I can return home and leave you to your business.”
It rawred more loudly this time, and Markena took a frightened step back. The ground shook slightly. That was why they were called Thundergas, not only did they have the ability to bring thunder storms, but the sound of a Thunderga’s rawr made the very earth shake.
“I must return the way I came.” Markena insisted trying to bring myself to her full hight, a wopping 5’8- not much against a Thunderga, “There are people waiting for me, counting on my return.”
It rawred again, much, much louder this time. The ground shook and a couple loose rocks tumbled across the ground and into the casm. Markena watched them, taking a couple steps back. With fright she looked back to the Thunderga, it was hunched down, readying itself to spring.
She took another few steps back, ready to run if she had too, but stopped when she noticed something glinting around the creatures neck. A chain? A thick silver chain was attached to the creaturs neck. It had no indication of ever being attached to something, it was a collar.
Markena pulled herself from thought just in time. The Thunderga sprang at her, and she lept back. She hit a bend in the path and her foot slipped off the edge. With a yell she fell forward, her right leg dangeling over the casm. She pulled herself to her feet and quickly drew her sword.
It hissed at her, lowering it’s body to the ground, as though to spring again. Markena braced herself, ready to move when it did. She would duck out of the way and if she was lucky it would go over. If it didn’t she would slice at it from behind. It wasn’t the ideal shot- the belly was the week spot, but it would have to be good enough.
The Thunderga rawred as it sprang, throwing Markena off blance. She couldn’t gett her footing, and she couldn’t duck out of the way. It was going to catch her! Would it push her over the edge? Would it grab her and pulled her back to it’s den?
She had no way of knowing, because seconds before the Thunderga hit her, a blur shot out from behind a rock, snagged Markena around the wast and pulled her out of the way.
The Thunderga went over, front first. It managed to swing itself around, yelping with fright, and claw desperatly at the rock. The figure who had grabbed Markena, walked to the edge and with a grunt, kicked the Thunderga hard in the chest. It rawred, shaking the whole clif side, as it plunged into the darkness.
Then everything was silent, and Markena was left alone with the stranger.
“What are you doing here!?” They asked in a hard angry voice, “Don’t you know the mountains dain-“ He turned and stopped, his eyes widened. Markena stared back, unable to speak as well.

~

Chapter 7:
“Markena?” Saras asked, his voice cracking slightly. A grin spread across her face and she nodded. Saras grinned as well and the both laughed. Markena ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, her eyes full of tears.
“I can’t believe this!” Saras laughed, pushing her back to look at her with a hand on either of her shoulders. Markena looked at him too. He was much taller, at least six feet. His hair was cut unevenly, a self-cut with a knife most likely, and it hung over the place I knew he carried a scar from years ago.
“I’m the one who can’t belive my eyes!” She yelled shoving his hand off her shoulder with a punch in his direction, “I was sure you were dead, all these years!” He laughed and dodged her punch easily. Seemed she couldn’t beet him up anymore.
“What are you doing up here?” He asked, looking uneasily over his should at the edge of the cliff, “This isn’t where you’ve been for Elevin years is it? I can’t believe that you wouldn’t come down to the Vally in all those years.”
“Of course not!” Markena laughed, and shook her head, “I got home yesterday, with Karra and Garnet.” Saras looked startled and confused.
“Karra and Garent?” he mumbled, “Then that means...” He trailed off and Markena looked away nervously. She hadn’t thought much about what he would think of her in the Castle, and for some reason, she didn’t want to tell him about her engagment to Prince Allegro.
They both turned as a rawr errupted from the bottom of the casm, and the growned trembled. It was far down to the bottom, to far for the rawr to have it’s full effect. The Thunderga was alive, hurt, but still alive.
“We better get out of here.” Saras said turning back to Markena, “That thing will claw it’s way back up here, and I don’t think we want to be around when it does.” Markena nodded and ran past him, back the way she came.
Markena desended the stone steps backwards, moving quickly and easily the second time round. Saras waited till she was down before desending much faster than she had. Markena sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t have crazy skills now?” She asked sarcastickly, “you guys could form a circus. ‘Line up to see the supernatural tallents of the Vally freaks!’” She yelled turning to the empty space and raising her arms to an emaginary croud.
Saras laughed from behind her and she grinned at him over her shoulder. It was amazing how they just settled back into their old friendship again, like nothing had changed. It felt good, it felt right.
“So what’s down there anyway?” Markena asked as they moved over the stones, Saras helping her over the longer jumps she’d slipped on before, “In the darkness.”
“Snakes mostly.” Saras grunted, catching her and pulling her up onto the stone he was on, “couple lizards. When no ones around they come out onto the rocks to sunbathe. They’re afraid of humans for the most part, but you don’t want to fall down there.”
“And at the bottom of the casm?” Markena prompted, leaping to the next rock.
“I don’t really know.” Saras grunted, landing next to her with eas, “I’ve never been down there. But there are probably bigger snakes,” he turned and smirked at her, “bigger lizards.” He jumped to the next rock.
“You mean Dragons!?” Markena yelped with fright, remembering she’d almost fallen over the edge. She followed Saras then yelped again as she slipped. He cot her arm and pulled her up next to him.
“Maybe.” He shrugged, “I heard certain kinds like damp dark places.” He jumped ahead and Markena laughed, preparing to follow him.
“You’re just trying to impress me,” She jumped and this time landed squarly on her feet, “aren’t you?”
“Am not!” Saras protested, though he grinned and walked to the edge and lept to the last stone.
“Are too!” She yelled back following.
“Why would I want to immpress a pipsqueak like you?” He chuckled, flicking Markena on the fourhead as she landed. She flinched, and he laughed. When she opened her eyes again, he was running down the path.
“Hey!” She yelled, taking off after him, “I was taller than you once you know!”
They ran down the side of the mountain, over the path, racing- even though Markena knew he would win. They didn’t stop until they reached the log that marked the beginning of the trail.
Markena sank down on the log with a sigh and leaned back, breathing hard. Too much running for one day. If she kept this up she’d no doubt be back in shape by the end of the month.
“You OK?” Saras asked, panting as well, but not nearly as bad as Markena. She nodded and held up a finger, asking for a moment to catch her breath. She shrugged and crossed his arms, waiting.
“Sorry.” She said when her breath returned, “Runnings not alowed in the castle.” Saras’s face suddenly turned sirious.
“Yeah, about that.” He mumbled, “Why were you-“
“Markena!”
They turned to see Karra running towards them, Sendra in towe. Markena dropped her shoulders and groaned, turning and jumping over the log to meet them. They obviously hadn’t seen Saras yet.
“Oh come on!” She groaned, “It’s not even close to sun set!”
“Well when Danevick heard a Wolfcat’s cry from the top of the mountain,” Sendra scolded, running past Karra and stoping in front of Markena with crossed arms, “he just knew that you were somehow involved and sent us to find you.”
“Are you OK?” Karra asked, stopping next to Sendra, “You aren’t hurt are you?”
“Nah,” I said waving their worries away, “I did run into a Thunderga, but I got saved by this ideot.” I pointed at Saras over my shoulder as he climbed over the log. Sendra squealed with delight apon seeing him and ran over to attack him with a hug.
He yelled and fell back over the log, Sendra ontop of him, holding onto his collar and scolding him about being late. Karra and Markena could only laugh, Sendra had never been part of the original three, but she was part of the family either way.
“Sendra give him a rest.” Markena called over her yelling after he got a good long scolding.
“Yeah,” Karra chuckled, “Markena’s back now. You know she’s the only one who gets to scolde Saras.” Sendra popped up and jumped back over the log. Markena turned to Karra with a confused look.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked and Karra shruged and turned around, putting her hands behind her head. Saras pulled himself up and leaned on the log with a groan as Sendra walked over to us.
“I’ll go tell everyone’s Saras’s back.” She said skipping slightly and then running back towards the Village. Saras walked up behind us as she ran, rubbing the back of his head.
“Markena’s a lot more gentile in her scoldings,” he groaned, “plus I could take her any day.” He put bent his eldow and leaned on Markena’s head. She frowned and looked up as though she could see the top of her head.
With a humph, calsping her hands behind her back, she took a single step back. Saras yelled and fell forward. Karra errupted in a fit of laughter as he rolled over and glaired playfully up at Markena.
“Was that a challeng?” he asked in a low tone. She crossed her arms and leaned down towards him, glarring right back.
“Stop with the short jokes, freak.” she said smirking and standing up strait. Clasping her hands behind her back again, she meant to step over him and walk away, keeping her dignity completely in tackt. But of course he grabbed her leg and she screamed and fell forward.
She rolled over and looked back at him, her right leg still in his hand. He was looking back at her, and he raised an eyebrow. Markena frowned at him, but turned her attention to Karra, who was dying of laughter.
She looked back at Saras, and raised both eyebrows, motioning to Karra. He grinned and nodded. Markena’s hand shot out and snagged Karra’s right ankle. With a short tug, Karra lost her blanace and tumbled backwards.
She kept on tumbling, down the hill towards the vally. Screaming with laughter as she went. Markena laughed and yanked her ankle away from Saras, she scrambled to her feet and chaced after her friend.
This was too good to be true, everything back to the way it was before. Sure they were older, and the seanery looked a little differnt. But it was still the same. The three of them laughing and playing.
Markena slowed to a stop, looking out over her home. But it wasn’t the same, was it? Markena wasn’t just the Dreamer who watched the clouds anymore. She was the stolen Princess, engaged to the Prince- who would come for her sooner or later.
“What’s wrong?”
Markena looked over her shoulder at Saras, standing with a sirious face, just behind her. She smiled and looked back over the Village.
“Nothing,” She said with a reosuring giggle, “just lost in thought. Come on; let’s go see if Karra’s stopped rolling yet.”

They were waiting for them at the north bridge. Everyone who wasn’t buisy working had come to welcome Saras home, the family was complete once more. Everyone was home, safe and sound.
“You missed the party last night, Saras.” Danevick said coming through the croud with an amused look on his face when he saw Marekan and Saras standing together, “Markena even played a song for us.”
Saras turned to Markena with an amused look of his own and a raised eyebrow. She frowned at him and then at Danevick.
“What?” She asked with annoyance, “is it really so hard to believe I could learn to play an instrument?” Saras turned away, raising his hands in what would be a passive way, if it weren’t for the sarcasm in his face. Markena punched his shoulder and several people laughed.
“Well come on you two.” Danevick said with a sigh, waving them towards the main building, “we’ve got lots to talk about. Saras needs to be filled in on everything going on with Markena.”
Saras looked at her with surprise on his face, but Markena was already moving away from him towards the main building. Her hair fell over her eyes, so he couldn’t see the worried look on her face.
How would he react to the news that she was engaged? Markena had every intention of breaking off the engament. But for now she was still a run-away Princess, and she worried that would put a damper on their relationship.
Karra and Garnet were already waiting in Danevick office. Karra sat on Danevick’s desk with her legs crossed, grinning like there was no way she could ever be happier than she was now.
Markena moved off to sit on the window sill and tried to look in high spirits as she gazed distractedly out the window. She was home with her friends again after all, she should be happy. Though she wasn’t sure she was fooling anyone.
When Saras was leaning against the wall next to the shelf, fidling with the peice of driftwood that had been thrown at me earlier; Danevick walked in and closed the door. He walked over to his desk and shooed Garnet out of his chair to take a seat. Garnet reluctantly sat on the floor against the oposite wall.
“So,” Danevick grunted, leaning back, “Eventhough it’s wonderfull that Markena has returned, we are still faced with a problem.”
“Which is?” Saras asked, looking at Markena and raising an eyebrow.
“They want me back.” She mumbled, her smile fading, though she didn’t look away from the window.
“Corect.” Danevick said, “Karra and Garnet found her in the castle. It seems she’s been engaged to Prince Allegro.” And the ball had been dropped. There was silence for only a second, a stagger in Saras’s normally consostant responses.
“Engaged!?” he laughed after that one second, “Her!? A Princess!? You’ve got to be yanking my chain!” He pointed at Markena and she glaired at him. Then held her head high, straightened her back, and repositioned her legs to sit as she’d been taught. She looked back out the window, and her face ottomaticly fell to the distant look she’d always worn before.
His face fell, though it hadn’t exactly been chipper before. He sighed and rolled his eyes with an exagerated head movment.
“I see what you mean.” He mumbled, and Markena relaxed pulling one knee back up in front of her and rapping her arms around it. So his reaction hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. But she still felt a little seperationg between them, she hopped it was her emagination.
“So they want her back, so what?” Saras asked shrugging, “The river’s too deep, and anyone who does get into the village, we can take care of ourselves.”
“That’s not the point.” Karra shook her head, her face fallen as well, “Markena thinks that Allegro will send his best Mage after her. We still haven’t figured out how to fight magic.”
“I see what you mean...”
A silence followed in which Markena could feel Saras’ eyes on her. She couldn’t bring herself to be in high spirits, or even pretend to anymore. Why couldn’t Danevick have left at, “they want her back”? That would have made things so much easier.
Markena finally sighed, “you can’t fight magic.”
“We can sure as hell try!” Garnet said standing stubornly and Markena rolled her eyes with embarasment. She turned and fixed him in a hard stare.
“That isn’t what I meant.” She insisted, “Magic isn’t something fisicle, it’s a n ethirial pressence often comprised of petty elusions. The only thing that can keep it away, is an anti Elusion stone, and we’d need a pretty big one to protect the entire town.”
“Well where can we find one?” Danevick asked, “it sounds like a plan to me.”
“That’s the problem,” Markena groaned, shaking her head, “A while back, Allegro’s Uncle went out and commondiered every single Anti-Elusion stone there was. He was convinced that the people were going to revoult, and the stones would stop the Mages from dealing with them.”
“So there are none left?” Karra asked, standing up with worry.
“Not outside the Castle walls.” Markena answered.
“Do you know where they’re being kept?” Saras asked quietly. Markena looked up at him with allarm, completely aware of what he intended to do.
“No way!” She yelled leaning towards him and slicing her arm through the air, “you are not going to break into that Castle! You could get caught!”
“So what?” He asked shrugging and putting his hands in his pokets, “I’d like to have a chat with this Prince Allegro.” Markena was frozen momentarily by the angry flare in Saras’ eyes. But she quickly regained herself and shook her head.
“You would never see him.” She growled remembering the time a peasant had broken into the Castle, atempting to confront Allegro, “Allegro is just a Prince, meaning he doesn’t take care of all the duties yet. Interogating prisoners, is his Uncle’s job, and if his Uncle ever saw you again, he’d… kill you, for sure this time…”
Saras looked away, hidding the left side of his face from sight, as though he was ashamed of the scar. Markena sort of understood.
“So what should we do then?” Garnet asked with frustration, flicking a piece of fallen wood across the floor, “We can’t just do nothing.”
“I don’t know… M, maybe I could make one.” Markena said, almost desperatly, “But I know very little magic myself, and who knows if I could get the things I need. Even then, if I got that far, I couldn’t garenty it would actualy work. Anti-Elusion stones of that size are… Finnicky at best.”
“What do you mean, finnicky?” Danevick asked with a confused look.
“They will only work for certain people, or on certain tipes of magic.” Markena explained, “or some times they just wont work at all. It has to do with the energy inside the stone. It’s spread to thin for it to work proporly.”
“Then couldn’t we just use more energy?” Garnet asked flicking another piece of wood. Markena rolled her eyes.
“Oh jeese, why didn’t anyone else think of that before? You’re an absolut genious, egg head!” She exclaimed, pionting to her own head, “Think egg head! The person making the stone has to conect it to a power soarce, the thing with the highest energy soarce- apart from mythic class creatures- are humans.”
“But their energy still isn’t enough to power a stone of that size…” Saras mumbled in thought.
“Persisly.” Markena said sitting back with exosion, now she understood why her teachers hated it when she got things wrong. Explaining stuff took a load of energy, not to mention paishence she just didn’t have.
“But you could do it?” Danevick asked turning to her. Markena looked at him through her lashes. Then sighed and her whole body sagged around her.
“Theoretickly,” she said shaking her head, “but theories are often wrong. I just don’t want you to put your hopes in something I’m not sure I can do. I know how, but I have absolutly no practice.”
“Well it’s the best we’ve got for the moment.” Danevick said sitting up strait, all business again, “Markena, you can work on that. Saras, you help her gather martirials.”
“Shouldn’t I be helping with the planning?” He asked, looking a little confused. Danevick solumly shook his head and sighed.
“Or only soarce of suplies is the mountain.” He said, jurking his head in it’s general direction, “I heard a Wolfcat earilier today, that means the mountain is more dangerous than ever. Markena will have to go back there for suplies, and she’ll need someone to make sure she’s safe.”
“I can take care of myself.” Markena mumbled looking embaraced out the window. Saras smirked and chuckled.
“Oh, and I suppose that standing still in the face of danger is a way of keeping ones self safe?” He chuckled. I looked at him, not because I was offended, but because something was off. Normally he teased more elequently.
“I wasn’t standing still.” She said turning back to the window again, “I was waiting for the right moment. But I was knocked off balance and couldn’t move. If I had moved any earlier, then it would have easily followed my movments.”
Saras smiled at me and grunted with approoval.

~

Chapter 7:
“Markena?” Saras asked, his voice cracking slightly. A grin spread across her face and she nodded. Saras grinned as well and the both laughed. Markena ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, her eyes full of tears.
“I can’t believe this!” Saras laughed, pushing her back to look at her with a hand on either of her shoulders. Markena looked at him too. He was much taller, at least six feet. His hair was cut unevenly, a self-cut with a knife most likely, and it hung over the place I knew he carried a scar from years ago.
“I’m the one who can’t belive my eyes!” She yelled shoving his hand off her shoulder with a punch in his direction, “I was sure you were dead, all these years!” He laughed and dodged her punch easily. Seemed she couldn’t beet him up anymore.
“What are you doing up here?” He asked, looking uneasily over his should at the edge of the cliff, “This isn’t where you’ve been for Elevin years is it? I can’t believe that you wouldn’t come down to the Vally in all those years.”
“Of course not!” Markena laughed, and shook her head, “I got home yesterday, with Karra and Garnet.” Saras looked startled and confused.
“Karra and Garent?” he mumbled, “Then that means...” He trailed off and Markena looked away nervously. She hadn’t thought much about what he would think of her in the Castle, and for some reason, she didn’t want to tell him about her engagment to Prince Allegro.
They both turned as a rawr errupted from the bottom of the casm, and the growned trembled. It was far down to the bottom, to far for the rawr to have it’s full effect. The Thunderga was alive, hurt, but still alive.
“We better get out of here.” Saras said turning back to Markena, “That thing will claw it’s way back up here, and I don’t think we want to be around when it does.” Markena nodded and ran past him, back the way she came.
Markena desended the stone steps backwards, moving quickly and easily the second time round. Saras waited till she was down before desending much faster than she had. Markena sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t have crazy skills now?” She asked sarcastickly, “you guys could form a circus. ‘Line up to see the supernatural tallents of the Vally freaks!’” She yelled turning to the empty space and raising her arms to an emaginary croud.
Saras laughed from behind her and she grinned at him over her shoulder. It was amazing how they just settled back into their old friendship again, like nothing had changed. It felt good, it felt right.
“So what’s down there anyway?” Markena asked as they moved over the stones, Saras helping her over the longer jumps she’d slipped on before, “In the darkness.”
“Snakes mostly.” Saras grunted, catching her and pulling her up onto the stone he was on, “couple lizards. When no ones around they come out onto the rocks to sunbathe. They’re afraid of humans for the most part, but you don’t want to fall down there.”
“And at the bottom of the casm?” Markena prompted, leaping to the next rock.
“I don’t really know.” Saras grunted, landing next to her with eas, “I’ve never been down there. But there are probably bigger snakes,” he turned and smirked at her, “bigger lizards.” He jumped to the next rock.
“You mean Dragons!?” Markena yelped with fright, remembering she’d almost fallen over the edge. She followed Saras then yelped again as she slipped. He cot her arm and pulled her up next to him.
“Maybe.” He shrugged, “I heard certain kinds like damp dark places.” He jumped ahead and Markena laughed, preparing to follow him.
“You’re just trying to impress me,” She jumped and this time landed squarly on her feet, “aren’t you?”
“Am not!” Saras protested, though he grinned and walked to the edge and lept to the last stone.
“Are too!” She yelled back following.
“Why would I want to immpress a pipsqueak like you?” He chuckled, flicking Markena on the fourhead as she landed. She flinched, and he laughed. When she opened her eyes again, he was running down the path.
“Hey!” She yelled, taking off after him, “I was taller than you once you know!”
They ran down the side of the mountain, over the path, racing- even though Markena knew he would win. They didn’t stop until they reached the log that marked the beginning of the trail.
Markena sank down on the log with a sigh and leaned back, breathing hard. Too much running for one day. If she kept this up she’d no doubt be back in shape by the end of the month.
“You OK?” Saras asked, panting as well, but not nearly as bad as Markena. She nodded and held up a finger, asking for a moment to catch her breath. She shrugged and crossed his arms, waiting.
“Sorry.” She said when her breath returned, “Runnings not alowed in the castle.” Saras’s face suddenly turned sirious.
“Yeah, about that.” He mumbled, “Why were you-“
“Markena!”
They turned to see Karra running towards them, Sendra in towe. Markena dropped her shoulders and groaned, turning and jumping over the log to meet them. They obviously hadn’t seen Saras yet.
“Oh come on!” She groaned, “It’s not even close to sun set!”
“Well when Danevick heard a Wolfcat’s cry from the top of the mountain,” Sendra scolded, running past Karra and stoping in front of Markena with crossed arms, “he just knew that you were somehow involved and sent us to find you.”
“Are you OK?” Karra asked, stopping next to Sendra, “You aren’t hurt are you?”
“Nah,” I said waving their worries away, “I did run into a Thunderga, but I got saved by this ideot.” I pointed at Saras over my shoulder as he climbed over the log. Sendra squealed with delight apon seeing him and ran over to attack him with a hug.
He yelled and fell back over the log, Sendra ontop of him, holding onto his collar and scolding him about being late. Karra and Markena could only laugh, Sendra had never been part of the original three, but she was part of the family either way.
“Sendra give him a rest.” Markena called over her yelling after he got a good long scolding.
“Yeah,” Karra chuckled, “Markena’s back now. You know she’s the only one who gets to scolde Saras.” Sendra popped up and jumped back over the log. Markena turned to Karra with a confused look.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked and Karra shruged and turned around, putting her hands behind her head. Saras pulled himself up and leaned on the log with a groan as Sendra walked over to us.
“I’ll go tell everyone’s Saras’s back.” She said skipping slightly and then running back towards the Village. Saras walked up behind us as she ran, rubbing the back of his head.
“Markena’s a lot more gentile in her scoldings,” he groaned, “plus I could take her any day.” He put bent his eldow and leaned on Markena’s head. She frowned and looked up as though she could see the top of her head.
With a humph, calsping her hands behind her back, she took a single step back. Saras yelled and fell forward. Karra errupted in a fit of laughter as he rolled over and glaired playfully up at Markena.
“Was that a challeng?” he asked in a low tone. She crossed her arms and leaned down towards him, glarring right back.
“Stop with the short jokes, freak.” she said smirking and standing up strait. Clasping her hands behind her back again, she meant to step over him and walk away, keeping her dignity completely in tackt. But of course he grabbed her leg and she screamed and fell forward.
She rolled over and looked back at him, her right leg still in his hand. He was looking back at her, and he raised an eyebrow. Markena frowned at him, but turned her attention to Karra, who was dying of laughter.
She looked back at Saras, and raised both eyebrows, motioning to Karra. He grinned and nodded. Markena’s hand shot out and snagged Karra’s right ankle. With a short tug, Karra lost her blanace and tumbled backwards.
She kept on tumbling, down the hill towards the vally. Screaming with laughter as she went. Markena laughed and yanked her ankle away from Saras, she scrambled to her feet and chaced after her friend.
This was too good to be true, everything back to the way it was before. Sure they were older, and the seanery looked a little differnt. But it was still the same. The three of them laughing and playing.
Markena slowed to a stop, looking out over her home. But it wasn’t the same, was it? Markena wasn’t just the Dreamer who watched the clouds anymore. She was the stolen Princess, engaged to the Prince- who would come for her sooner or later.
“What’s wrong?”
Markena looked over her shoulder at Saras, standing with a sirious face, just behind her. She smiled and looked back over the Village.
“Nothing,” She said with a reosuring giggle, “just lost in thought. Come on; let’s go see if Karra’s stopped rolling yet.”

They were waiting for them at the north bridge. Everyone who wasn’t buisy working had come to welcome Saras home, the family was complete once more. Everyone was home, safe and sound.
“You missed the party last night, Saras.” Danevick said coming through the croud with an amused look on his face when he saw Marekan and Saras standing together, “Markena even played a song for us.”
Saras turned to Markena with an amused look of his own and a raised eyebrow. She frowned at him and then at Danevick.
“What?” She asked with annoyance, “is it really so hard to believe I could learn to play an instrument?” Saras turned away, raising his hands in what would be a passive way, if it weren’t for the sarcasm in his face. Markena punched his shoulder and several people laughed.
“Well come on you two.” Danevick said with a sigh, waving them towards the main building, “we’ve got lots to talk about. Saras needs to be filled in on everything going on with Markena.”
Saras looked at her with surprise on his face, but Markena was already moving away from him towards the main building. Her hair fell over her eyes, so he couldn’t see the worried look on her face.
How would he react to the news that she was engaged? Markena had every intention of breaking off the engament. But for now she was still a run-away Princess, and she worried that would put a damper on their relationship.
Karra and Garnet were already waiting in Danevick office. Karra sat on Danevick’s desk with her legs crossed, grinning like there was no way she could ever be happier than she was now.
Markena moved off to sit on the window sill and tried to look in high spirits as she gazed distractedly out the window. She was home with her friends again after all, she should be happy. Though she wasn’t sure she was fooling anyone.
When Saras was leaning against the wall next to the shelf, fidling with the peice of driftwood that had been thrown at me earlier; Danevick walked in and closed the door. He walked over to his desk and shooed Garnet out of his chair to take a seat. Garnet reluctantly sat on the floor against the oposite wall.
“So,” Danevick grunted, leaning back, “Eventhough it’s wonderfull that Markena has returned, we are still faced with a problem.”
“Which is?” Saras asked, looking at Markena and raising an eyebrow.
“They want me back.” She mumbled, her smile fading, though she didn’t look away from the window.
“Corect.” Danevick said, “Karra and Garnet found her in the castle. It seems she’s been engaged to Prince Allegro.” And the ball had been dropped. There was silence for only a second, a stagger in Saras’s normally consostant responses.
“Engaged!?” he laughed after that one second, “Her!? A Princess!? You’ve got to be yanking my chain!” He pointed at Markena and she glaired at him. Then held her head high, straightened her back, and repositioned her legs to sit as she’d been taught. She looked back out the window, and her face ottomaticly fell to the distant look she’d always worn before.
His face fell, though it hadn’t exactly been chipper before. He sighed and rolled his eyes with an exagerated head movment.
“I see what you mean.” He mumbled, and Markena relaxed pulling one knee back up in front of her and rapping her arms around it. So his reaction hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. But she still felt a little seperationg between them, she hopped it was her emagination.
“So they want her back, so what?” Saras asked shrugging, “The river’s too deep, and anyone who does get into the village, we can take care of ourselves.”
“That’s not the point.” Karra shook her head, her face fallen as well, “Markena thinks that Allegro will send his best Mage after her. We still haven’t figured out how to fight magic.”
“I see what you mean...”
A silence followed in which Markena could feel Saras’ eyes on her. She couldn’t bring herself to be in high spirits, or even pretend to anymore. Why couldn’t Danevick have left at, “they want her back”? That would have made things so much easier.
Markena finally sighed, “you can’t fight magic.”
“We can sure as hell try!” Garnet said standing stubornly and Markena rolled her eyes with embarasment. She turned and fixed him in a hard stare.
“That isn’t what I meant.” She insisted, “Magic isn’t something fisicle, it’s a n ethirial pressence often comprised of petty elusions. The only thing that can keep it away, is an anti Elusion stone, and we’d need a pretty big one to protect the entire town.”
“Well where can we find one?” Danevick asked, “it sounds like a plan to me.”
“That’s the problem,” Markena groaned, shaking her head, “A while back, Allegro’s Uncle went out and commondiered every single Anti-Elusion stone there was. He was convinced that the people were going to revoult, and the stones would stop the Mages from dealing with them.”
“So there are none left?” Karra asked, standing up with worry.
“Not outside the Castle walls.” Markena answered.
“Do you know where they’re being kept?” Saras asked quietly. Markena looked up at him with allarm, completely aware of what he intended to do.
“No way!” She yelled leaning towards him and slicing her arm through the air, “you are not going to break into that Castle! You could get caught!”
“So what?” He asked shrugging and putting his hands in his pokets, “I’d like to have a chat with this Prince Allegro.” Markena was frozen momentarily by the angry flare in Saras’ eyes. But she quickly regained herself and shook her head.
“You would never see him.” She growled remembering the time a peasant had broken into the Castle, atempting to confront Allegro, “Allegro is just a Prince, meaning he doesn’t take care of all the duties yet. Interogating prisoners, is his Uncle’s job, and if his Uncle ever saw you again, he’d… kill you, for sure this time…”
Saras looked away, hidding the left side of his face from sight, as though he was ashamed of the scar. Markena sort of understood.
“So what should we do then?” Garnet asked with frustration, flicking a piece of fallen wood across the floor, “We can’t just do nothing.”
“I don’t know… M, maybe I could make one.” Markena said, almost desperatly, “But I know very little magic myself, and who knows if I could get the things I need. Even then, if I got that far, I couldn’t garenty it would actualy work. Anti-Elusion stones of that size are… Finnicky at best.”
“What do you mean, finnicky?” Danevick asked with a confused look.
“They will only work for certain people, or on certain tipes of magic.” Markena explained, “or some times they just wont work at all. It has to do with the energy inside the stone. It’s spread to thin for it to work proporly.”
“Then couldn’t we just use more energy?” Garnet asked flicking another piece of wood. Markena rolled her eyes.
“Oh jeese, why didn’t anyone else think of that before? You’re an absolut genious, egg head!” She exclaimed, pionting to her own head, “Think egg head! The person making the stone has to conect it to a power soarce, the thing with the highest energy soarce- apart from mythic class creatures- are humans.”
“But their energy still isn’t enough to power a stone of that size…” Saras mumbled in thought.
“Persisly.” Markena said sitting back with exosion, now she understood why her teachers hated it when she got things wrong. Explaining stuff took a load of energy, not to mention paishence she just didn’t have.
“But you could do it?” Danevick asked turning to her. Markena looked at him through her lashes. Then sighed and her whole body sagged around her.
“Theoretickly,” she said shaking her head, “but theories are often wrong. I just don’t want you to put your hopes in something I’m not sure I can do. I know how, but I have absolutly no practice.”
“Well it’s the best we’ve got for the moment.” Danevick said sitting up strait, all business again, “Markena, you can work on that. Saras, you help her gather martirials.”
“Shouldn’t I be helping with the planning?” He asked, looking a little confused. Danevick solumly shook his head and sighed.
“Or only soarce of suplies is the mountain.” He said, jurking his head in it’s general direction, “I heard a Wolfcat earilier today, that means the mountain is more dangerous than ever. Markena will have to go back there for suplies, and she’ll need someone to make sure she’s safe.”
“I can take care of myself.” Markena mumbled looking embaraced out the window. Saras smirked and chuckled.
“Oh, and I suppose that standing still in the face of danger is a way of keeping ones self safe?” He chuckled. I looked at him, not because I was offended, but because something was off. Normally he teased more elequently.
“I wasn’t standing still.” She said turning back to the window again, “I was waiting for the right moment. But I was knocked off balance and couldn’t move. If I had moved any earlier, then it would have easily followed my movments.”
Saras smiled at me and grunted with approoval.

[Gagtooth]

Wow! This is fantastic. Very descriptive, flowing and somewhat humourous!
I'm buried in homework right now so I won't read all of it until later, but I am quite impressed so far.

[Clock]

Thanks Sam! This is actually the second draft, the first one went down hill, but I rarely throw away a story, so I was able to come back to it. Thanks to Gryphon for asking about it so much that I kept over looking it every time my hard drive filled up. ;p