Hey Readers! Here is Chapter 7, I hope you enjoy it! This one isn't as long as my previous chapters.(: Chapter 8 will be up soon!
Chapter 7 Alden:
When I woke the next morning, the sky was blanketed by gray clouds, the signal that summer may be changing into fall. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold. I blinked sleep from my eyes, trying to wake up completely. To my left, I saw Trenton falling in and out of sleep. His eyes would close and his head would begin to bob back and forth. Then he would jerk back up, afraid he missed something that he should have spotted. I couldn’t help but giggle a little.
“You can sleep, if you want,” I offered, stretching out my arms.
Trenton didn’t realize I had woken, and forced himself to keep his eyes open. “No, I am fine.”
“Sleep. Just for a little bit. We have time,” I assured him.
Trenton sighed, “Fine. Wake me if needed.”
“I will,” I promised. Trenton gently lolled his head against the trunk, arms crossed around him, his legs gripping the large branch that kept him up here. In just a matter of time, he was asleep.
Boredom was slowly creeping up on me. I was itching to get away from here and to feel the relief of getting past the Capitol. We were getting closer, and I could sense that we were. This whole time, it hasn't really been the cities themselves, but the Capitol that held a constant fear over my head.
As my thoughts began jumping around from one to the other, I stumbled upon the one of Trenton earlier. The one when he asked me the real reason why I turned back instead of continuing on without him. I told Trenton the truth; it seemed wrong and that I was betraying him after all he did for me. That was it. He seemed sure there was another reason. I saw him as a friend, nothing more, nothing less. Did he think it was because of another reason? No, that’s impossible. It couldn’t be, could it?
I shook my head, trying to rid it of that thought. I began focusing on other things. Higher up the tree, a few birds began chirping, signaling the start of the day. The clouds were still covering the sun, looking as if they were staying there all day. Suddenly, I felt a sudden chill that crept up my spin, spreading through my veins.
“The Mover was here, sir,” a raspy, familiar voice echoed below. I remembered it when I hid in the bushes earlier. My eyes went big and I peeked through the needles and branches. It was the two servants who chased me. With them was a man who I was unfamiliar with. He wore a dark black cloak that draped over him. I was unable to see his face since his back was to me.
“We chased both of them down South,” the servant hesitated, “Then we lost them, sir.” I could see the servant shy away from the cloaked figure.
I reached my hand over to Trenton, shaking him awake. Under my hand, I could feel him jump, reaching for his bow. He noticed my gaze was down below and followed it to see the three men.
“You lost them?” the cloaked man hissed. Something about the cloaked man made me feel cold, dead, eerie.
The servants stepped further away from the cloaked man.
“How could you possibly lose them?” he growled at them.
“I’m sorry, sir. She was impossibly fast; it was nearly impossible to catch her without killing her,” the smaller servant explained. His voice shook.
The way the cloaked man stood, the way he talked down to the servants didn't seem that of a normal man. He held himself the way someone of great power would. Everything he said had an unnatural tone to it, giving his words a hiss.
“You could have informed me sooner! I could have had her!” the cloaked man yelled at the two servants as if they were children. “Worthless humans.”
What did he mean by worthless humans? Who was this man?
The servants cowered, not looking the cloaked man in the eye.
I tried to creep further out on the branch so I could hear better and my hand slipped, cracking the bark beneath it. I shuffled quickly back to the trunk of the tree. The servant’s eyes looked up, trying to spot what made the noise, their hands gripping their swords. Next to me, Trenton was frozen in the spot.
The cloaked man looked around, taking in his surroundings. He said something, something so quiet it was inaudible. Almost in a single motion, the cloaked man whipped around and began to make his way back to Alden. The servants followed behind.
Once they were out of sight, Trenton asked, “Who was that?”
I shook my head, still puzzled. “I don’t know.”
Trenton’s eyes began studying my expression and said, “What’s wrong?”
I knew that something was wrong, but I couldn’t seem to point it out. “There is something wrong. I don’t know what though.”
“Have you seen that man before?”
“No, but I feel like I have. I just can’t remember where.” I stared into nothing, trying to find a memory he might be in.
“Come on, we should leave this place.” Trenton rubbed my shoulder, trying to ease away my fright.
“Alright,” I muttered, preparing to jump off my branch. Below me, I formed a spiral of air to cushion my fall. Before I hit the ground, the air caught my weight, decreasing my velocity so I wouldn’t injure myself. Next, I ordered Trenton to follow.
“You will be fine; just jump in the middle!” I assured him.
Trenton reluctantly jumped, eyes closed, body tense for impact. As soon as he hit the spiral of air that I formed, I slowly released it, gently placing Trenton on the ground.
“See?” I bragged.
“Yeah, yeah,” Trenton huffed. “Now, make sure your hood is covering your face and hair.”
I pulled up my hood, pushing back my hair so it wasn’t visible.
Trenton looked me up and down, “Alright. You won’t be recognized easily.”
I nodded.
“Alden is crowded so it will be easy to part. If we do break apart, meet me at the south entrance. We will be traveling the alleyways so it will be less likely this will happen.” Trenton went through the pack, checking supplies. He hooked his bow around his shoulder.
“Alright.”
“Okay. If anyone asks you who you are and your name, say it’s Willow. Ready?”
“Yes.” I felt eager to get this over with. Trenton seemed hesitant, but led me to Alden.
The walls surrounding Alden were large in size adorned with gold and silver that were encrusted in the stone. Above the North entrance, the symbol of the King was molded in. Servants guarded this entrance, making my feet feel heavy with refusal to pass through.
“It’s alright. Act normal,” Trenton whispered in my ear.
“Good morning, sir. Ma’am,” The servant greeted. I nodded my head at him, accepting his greeting. Inside Alden was chaos. Men and women bustled through the streets. Some were dressed in fancy clothing while others were wearing rags. Children ran across the street in madness while their parents were no where to be seen. It almost disgusted me. Servants occupied every street corner, watching intently.
“Over here.” Trenton tugged on my arm to follow.
We began walking through the muck covered alleyways. Puddles of filth were splattered throughout the alley. Citizens hid behind walls, skittish at seeing someone new.
“Near the South entrance, there is a bakery. We will stop there and purchase some more bread,” Trenton informed me.
At every abnormal sound, Trenton would get tense, preparing to push me in a different alley. I kept my back hunched over so that my face wasn’t clearly visible. Behind me, I heard a woman’s scream. I instinctively tried to turn and see where it was coming from, but Trenton stopped me, hurrying me. Even in the alleyways, there were many people occupying them, even servants. The servants were the ones that gave me a twisted feeling in my stomach. I felt like they knew who I was.
My feet began to ache from the hard stone alley. I wasn’t used to walking on something so flat, so hard. I was accustomed to soft soil and grass. The clouds were still hovering high up in the sky, keeping the sun behind them.
Trenton kept a protective arm around me, keeping me near him so I wouldn’t wander off. I couldn’t stop myself from shivering; the feeling that I may be caught still loomed over me. Something that wouldn’t leave me until I reached safety. I suppose it was better that Trenton was with me, but by little.
The sound of a blade slipping out of a sheath radiated through my ears, making me look at where it was coming from. Trenton loomed over me. I could hear the sound of my heart starting to beat faster and faster. Every movement seemed to slow. My breath caught in my throat. The fear that had died down to a mere spark had exploded into a large, uncontrolled, fire. I saw Trenton gazing down the alley and I followed it to a man hunched in a old, wooden chair scrapping his dagger on a stone wall. He was looking at us, smiling. I froze, every muscle in me was ready to defend myself.
Trenton pushed me out to the main street, avoiding the suspicious man with the dagger. As soon as we walked onto the street, we were carried away with the rest of the crowd, almost like a wave. In the center Alden, a fountain spewed surprisingly clean water. People orbited around the fountain, some collecting water from it while others passed by. I couldn't stop thinking about the man with the dagger.
It seemed that everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere, I didn't know how someone could live in a condition like so. Structures towered high up, shadowing the street from the little light that shone through the clouds. A small crumple sound caused me to look down at my feet. Beneath my leather clad shoe was a flyer of some sort. I picked it up and flipped it over. In the center was my face with the word WANTED above it. Under my picture was a description of my appearance and crimes. Trenton tugged it out of my hands and threw it on the ground.
Trenton dragged me along, keeping me from gazing at the buildings that were constructed for living or the wanted posters. I have been unable to really see how magnificent the structures are from keeping my head down. Soon, the fountain was behind me, and the homes and shops were growing smaller in size. On every post or on shop wall was a wanted poster for me.
Trenton led me to a small bakery, pastries inhabiting the front window. I stood on the far wall, head down while Trenton payed for the bread he would be purchasing. There weren’t many people here, only a couple. Both were sitting reading some parchment that was in their hands. The counter where Trenton was purchasing his bread was a pile of the wanted posters. I felt sick. Those are for me, I thought.
“Come on.” Trenton urged me out. He stuffed the purchased bread into his pack and flung it over his shoulder. We continued walking through, passing through mass crowds which were slowly decreasing into small groups. The South entrance was in sight, the sign that we were getting closer to safety.
At the entrance, servants hovered near it, watching people passing through. I felt the urge to just run out, thinking that maybe it would be safer than strolling by. We came to the entrance, and the servants nodded, smiling. It didn’t seem right. I couldn’t dismiss the feeling that maybe, just maybe, they were up to something. Servants wouldn’t be smiling like that, or what I have known of them. In the past town, they didn’t acknowledge you, let alone smile.
“Let’s get out of here,” Trenton whispered into my ear.
To my relief, the trees began growing thicker, shielding me from any danger. I pulled my hood off. My hair began flitting around from the breeze that passed through. All around me, small signs of fall began sprouting around. The yellowing of leaves started to occupy some trees, while others still were fully green.
Through the trees, I could see the walls of the Capitol, dark and cold, taunting.
Good luck with the rest of your writing and if you need anything send me a P.M. Also, could you send me a P.M. when you post Chapter Eight. Thanks~bluewaterlily.
