The Shadows- *Started, but spots still open!*

Zanea

Everyone was tired and feeling crappy. Especially AnnaRose and Pierce. Crap, they looked terrible. As if someone had driven a knife through them. Well, with AnnaRose they practically had. With Pierce, it had mostly been a mental kind of issue. Poor Pierce. She had awoken to a ton of random people she didn't know, had to save them using powers that took a lot of exertion, and then had fainted. I didn't blame her if she had a bad opinion of us already.
I looked around. Poor Jacob looked exhausted as well. He was, what, 7? Usually seven year olds didn't have to go through this.
I wasn't as tired as anyone else, mostly because I can do a lot before getting tired, and because I hadn't even had to fight. That was why it was me who went hunting and cooked some food for us that night.

>>>>Okay...so I was planning on waiting for Han's reaction to everything, but I was grounded for a day. (A day for me is like a week -.- ) So I missed the SBs and I couldn't resist a post<<<<

ANNAROSE

Helen was giggling beside me and I managed another weak smile. "You should have known that a long time ago, Han," I muttered.

He sighed. "Of course." He walked with us to a tree with a thick base.

Zanea and Helen lowered me to the ground and I leaned against the trunk. I'd feel better on a branch, safer; and I could haul myself onto one with my arms. I stared at the branches above me. They were all out of reach and I couldn't jump. So much for that. Zanea left without explanation and I let her go.

I turned my attention towards the three. Jacob came bounding up to us. "Pierce is asleep!" he announced, sitting down beside me. "What happened to your leg?"

"She just got hurt Jakey. Go find Lex and Atashi while we talk to Rosey okay?" Helen answered for me. His bottom lip jutted out into a pout, but he obeyed.

"Han, could you go check on Pierce?" I asked. He stared at me for a moment, but eventually nodded and walked towards her. I turned my attention to Helen, who was suddenly sitting beside me. I breathed deeply, my leg was throbbing and burning immensly all at the same time. I tried to ignore it as best I could. "Helen, I'm sorry about being so...harsh on you earlier." I murmered.

She looked at me and smiled. "It's fine. I just want to know why though."

I stared at Han and Zanea. Good. They were well out of ear-shot by now. I shifted my gaze back to Helen. "Don't tell Han I said this, but...I was actually sort of jealous. It was stupid, I know. The second reason is even dumber."

"Second reason? Is it my sk-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"No, it's not that, I swear it. It's part of my reason for hating the prince..." my voice croaked and I hoped she'd pin it on my pain. Truth was, it was a bit of pain, but mostly because I was swarmed with memories.

"What do I have to do with the prince?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Absolutely nothing, Helen. Look, I can't explain right now; for my own reasons. I suppose that everybody should know, though. I'll explain tonight if I can. Right now we need to focus on finding water and food."

Helen sighed, but nodded and rose. I watched her go.

Helen

Poor Anna, thought Helen as she walked slowly away from the tree. I wonder what she was talking about… but I’m glad we’re friends now. She walked over to Han, who was looking up at the sleeping Peirce with a slightly amused expression on his face.

“Out like a light,” he said as Helen approached.

“Yup,” she said, looking up at the sleeping girl before turning back to Han. “Hey, back there, when we were being chased,” she said, plowing into the matter. “How did you know where to go?” he shrugged.

“I sometimes sense things. Why?” Helen nodded, grinning.

“Cool. But, can you tell where we should be now? I mean, there’s no way that we’re safe here.” Her eyes twinkled as a plan unfolded in her mind, and she waited for Han to reply.

Pierce
I only woke for a moment. My legs were tucked under me, losing feeling. The very second I shifted and let them dangle, I was out again.

Empress Carolina

Empress Carolina sat on her throne, restless. She had wreaked havoc in every way imaginable and ruined countless lives and yet she felt like there was something she hadn't done yet.

She tapped her index finger against temple. What could it be? A loud huff snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Bob, hovering as if she wanted something.

"What, Bob?" Empress Carolina asked impatiently. She loved Bob, but there was honestly no time for her antics. There was havoc to wreaked and precious little time. If she could only remember how exactly she was to go about it.

Bob stomped one of eight of her hairy legs. Carolina huffed. "I'm not going to guess, Bob. Either tell me or leave."

Bob growled softly, before marching out of the room. "Don't be such a baby, dear!" Carlina called after her man-eating spider. "It's not becoming for a spider of your stature or position!"

After thirty more minutes of intense thinking, Empress Carolina shrugged. "Eh, might as well have all the middle class give me their first born babies." She shook her head. This wasn't what she was supposed to be doing, but it would do for now.

"Scribes!" She called, a wicked smile on her lips. "I have a new decree."

Zanea

I was glad we were all kind of on the same page now. Helen was now friends with AnnaRose, but I wondered what was up. "Why don't you like Helen?" I asked. "What's the other reason?" I didn't know if she'd tell me but it was worth a shot.

In my head, my dream, something was happening. My powers wouldn't work. Someone had a sword, and I leaped out of the way, falling as soon as I hit the ground. I slid a bit to the side...and awoke.

Oh, crap. moving in my dream, I ended up too far toward the end of the branch. Suddenly I was wide awake, but not suddenly enough. Snapping...the rush of wind and branches whipping my back...I twisted and tried to grab hold of something to no avail. A surprised "Oof!" told me I had landed on someone. Oops. I was definitely not off to a good start.

I rolled off my human cushion, and looked over to see Han and Helen.

ANNAROSE

I sighed. "Reason number one. Before I let you know, you have to promise me you won't tell Han. It'll creep him out," I said to Zanea, looking her straight in the eye.

"Promise." She held out her hands to show no crossed fingers.

"Reason number one was that I was jealous. Stupid reason, but very true." I sighed. "Reason number two... is difficult to explain." I bit my lip. I had to come clean eventually. "Go gather up the others. They should probably hear this, too. Especially Han."

"I swear I won't tell him. I don't see what harm it would do though. Where are the others?"

I shrugged. "Oh, before you go...did you catch anything to eat?"

She nodded and smiled. "A dear!" she announced proudly.

"Impressive! Been a while since I've actually had some decent meat. I think Han is with Atashi and the boys. Not so sure where Helen scampered off to though, and Parker's just...I have no clue actually."

"Okay." Zanea was practically skipping. I watched her go and tears threatened to run down my cheeks. I swallowed and blinked them back. I hoped I would be able to tell them.

Helen

Han had just opened his mouth to reply when a flailing Peirce fell on Helen.

“Oof!” Helen grunted from the ground. She could feel right away that the girl was just barely too heavy for her to lift. Luckily, though, Peirce quickly rolled off her.
Helen looked up to see Han chuckling. She rolled her eyes, and Peirce gave her a hand up.

“Sorry,” she said, looking winded.

“’S okay…” Helen said, a slightly amused smile creeping across her face as she brushed herself off. Just then, Zanea bounced up to them.

“AnnaRose wants to talk to us,” she said. “We should find the others and get back to her.” Helen nodded, and headed off to help her find the others.


In time, they managed to round everyone up and bring them back to the tree under which Anna was resting.

“What’s up?” asked Helen, worried. Anna just looked so sad.

>>>Warning! Long post ahead! <<<<

ANNAROSE

"What's up?" Helen asked me. So she had managed to find everybody.

"Sit down, it's a long story," I muttered. They all sat down in a circle and waited for me to compose myself. Where did I start? I took a deep breath. I still didn't have much of an opening sentence thought up, so I just started talking.

"It was the night I was on my way to plan a farm raid. I was walking in the little strip of forest beside the road when I met up with a woman who was probably about fourty. She stared at me for what seemed like ever and I started noticing how much she resembled me." I paused for a moment to consider what to say next. "She had the same jet black, straight hair, same nose...One of the only differences was that her eyes were dark brown rather than blue. Anyways, that's besides the point. She looked so happy, so excited to see me-" I chocked up a little.

Everybody stared at me, waiting for me to go on. "I asked her if she was going to turn me in and she told me that that was something she could never do. She smiled and wished me good luck and then walked away." I paused, letting them soak that all in.

"Who was she?" Jacob asked me, blinking in confusion.

"You'll find out Jake," Han whispered.

I smiled weakly. "That was around two or three weeks ago now. One week later, I woke up and found a small note tied to the handle of my sword. I can't remember it word for word, but it's in my cloak. I'll show you all later. Anyways, it told me that the woman I had met was my mother."

"She was your mother? Why didn't you tell me you had met your mother?" Han asked, eyes wide.

I sighed. "I just wanted to be sure." He nodded, so I carried on. "She was the leader of a village of rebels who try to save villages of people like Helen." I paused for another moment, trying to compose myself enough for telling what came next. "It also told me how to get to her village and to meet her there that night."

"The night you blew off that shop raid, right?" Han asked.

"Yeah, that was the night. When she answered the door she hugged me so tightly I thought I would choke. She cried and kissed my forehead and apologized. She also swore that after I told her about how I had been doing that she would tell me why she abandoned me. She never got the chance-" Tears sprung to my eyes and I blinked them back. "I was in the middle of telling her about Han when we heard screams and horses outside. We ran to the door to see what was going on. The soldiers were ransacking the town, killing off everybody in it. My mother rushed me to the back door and yelled at me to run. I can't believe I was actually stupid enough to listen...I look back on it now and I feel like a five year old. Anyways, I did run. Not far though, and I scampered up a tree. I watched the prince slit my mother's throat-"

"He what?!" Helen squeaked in horror.

I ignored her and continued. "That was the night I went back to the palace and waited for Han. I told him that I wanted to raid the prince's room. He agreed. That's what it started as. I was just going to do a raid. No murder, just a raid. Two nights later, we were in the prince's room. I saw a belt on his dresser-the same belt my mother had been wearing the night he slit her throat. I lost it. I grabbed his hair and jerked him awake, holding my sword to his throat. That's when the guard walked in."

A tear snaked down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly. "Anna, why didn't you tell me that before?" Han croaked.

"Because I was stupid. I couldn't bring myself to talk about it-" I was getting choked up. For the second time since my mother's death I was actually crying. I wanted them to leave.

"Come on Jakey, Lex. Let's go make supper." Helen murmered. I smiled at her weakly for understanding.

Atashi and Zanea stood, shakily. "We'll help," Atashi murmered.

Erika and Pierce both wandered off with Parker. Han was the only one that didn't move. I sobbed quietly to myself.

I nodded. "Of course, I went. When my mother answered the door

Jacob

Helen gripped my hand and led me over to the fire. I didn't argue. I could see that Rosey needed some time alone. I glanced over to what Zanea and Atashi were cooking.

"Ewww!" I shreiked and hid my eyes in Helens clothes. Helen prised my head away.

"What? What is it Jakey?" SHe asked anxiously. I pointed at the glassy eyed deer.

"Yuck! I won't eat it! I won't!"

"Well you will have to go hungry then and you won't be able to have any of the juicy berries we have for afters." Helen said going over to help Zanea and Atashi.

I followed her and poked the deer. Helen took pity on me and knelt down to my hieght.

"It won't look like that once we have cooked it, promise," she said smiling. I nodded uncertainly then smiled.

"Ok! Can I help you cook it?" I asked. Helen bit her bottom lip.

"Why don't you go around and ask everyone how hungry they are," she said smiling.

"Ok!" I said happy to help.

Pierce

When Anna mentioned her mother it reminded me of mine. Maybe I should tell her I saw my mother die too, only her case was different. She had someone to channel her anger towards while I couldn't blame anything but the sickness. A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away, blinking back more.

I rested my cheek in my hand and my elbow on my knee as I sat down on a log in front of the fire. This was the first meal in years that I hadn't caught myself, and it felt...weird. A small tug on my shirt pulled my attention away from the dead deer. "What is it, Jake?" I asked, putting on a smile.

"How hungry are you?" he asked. Huh. Odd question.

"On a scale of one to ten? I'd say...," I thought for a moment, "...about four," I finished. He looked wide eyed and confused.

"Really? I'm starving. When's the last time you ate?" I thought for another moment.

"Yesterday." I'm sure most people would be pretty hungry by now, but I've lived like this my whole life. So the ache in my gut isn't too strong to handle yet. That's usually when I eat.

Jacob nodded, but I could still see the confusion in his eyes. He turned and walked towards Erika and I heard a faint, "How hungry are you?"

Zanea

I looked at AnnaRose. I hadn't known. Poor Anna. I felt so bad. I put my arm around her shoulders and said, "I'm sorry."

The tears in her eyes were still there. "It's- it's okay. I'm fine... now. I just wish..." Anna left the words trailing off.

I knew what unspoken words she had. I knew what I had felt when I had left my village behind. When my Father had died. Maybe I of all people understood Anna more than anyone right now. Both of us had lost our families.

These people... these rebels...

They were our family now.

ANNAROSE

So it was out. Sure, I had said I was okay; but in all honesty I was more sad, afraid and furious that I ever had been in my whole life. I glanced at Han, but he just sat there, staring at nothing. I wondered if he was mad at me for not telling him.

I moved my gaze to the ground, then to my leg. As soon as it healed I swore I would go after the prince. Alone if I could help it; though that hadn't been succesful the first time around. My anger seemed to fuel my ego about my fighting skills. A bunch of trained soldiers, no problem. The prince and a couple trained soldiers...problem. Of course I wouldn't admit it to myself.

Jacob approached hesitantly. He looked unsure and confused. "Umm..How hungry are you guys?" He asked, staring at me.

"Starving actually." I answered, trying to sound a little bit chearful for his sake.

Han and Zan nodded. "Same," they said at the same time. Nobody could hold back at least a slight giggle-not even me. The moment passed too soon though.

"Okay." Jacob plodded off back towards the fire.

I smiled, trying to lighten my mood a bit. "The look on my mother's face when she saw me...I don't think I've ever seen anybody as happy as she was then."

Han put an arm around my shoulders. "You should have told me sooner, Anna," he murmered.

"I know, but I was afraid of bursting out into tears if I did. I'm sorry."

Zanea sighed sadly. For some reason it made me want to end the prince's life even more. He would pay for this... I clutched my hands into fists at my sides.

Zanea

I sighed sadly, but inside I was fuming. The prince had caused all of this. Broken apart these lives, killed all these people.

He would pay.