Young Writers Society

Carris slumped against the wall. It was cold and hard, and no matter which way she shifted some piece of stone seemed to lodge itself in her back. At last she stood with a grunt. The pain in her hip was beginning to come back, a dull throbbing pain. She grimaced as she paced to the other side of the cave. The whole thing was maybe thirty feet by twenty, just enough to give the townsfolk enough space, but not so much that anyone felt overly comfortable.

A hand on Carris's armed caused her to turn. Gwyn stood there, blanket outstretched across her arms.

"I found an extra one. Thought you deserved it."

Carris cocked her head to the side. "Deserved it? Why?"

"For saving us!" she blurted out, her voice echoing off the walls. A few murmurs from those trying to sleep on the miserably rough ground growled at her to be quiet.

She put both hands over her mouth, but Carris could see the corners of her mouth tugging upward.

Carris lowered her voice. "Are you smiling?"

Gwyn shrugged, pushing the blanket into Carris's arms. "Maybe a little. We could have died. Would have died!" she whispered hoarsely, eyes growing wider than a dinner plate it seemed.

Carris wrapped the blanket around herself, leaving one arm hanging out like a bird beckoning its chick for protection. Gwyn snuck underneath and Carris hugged her with the one hand.

"I just tried to do the right thing."

Gwyn smiled up at her. "I know. You always do."

"Not always, Blew my temper at Malcolm. And there was that time I knocked him into the creek."

Gwyn shrugged. "He is a mean boy though."

Carris couldn't help the smile that broke her stoic face. "Yes he is. But do you think he deserved that?" Carris hesitated. She could let Gwyn answer which she knew was bound to happen. But somehow she beat Gwyn to it.

"Do you think my mother deserved it?" Carris felt her chest tighten.

There was something in her that felt as if even asking the question proved how little good she possessed. .Obeying and honoring parents was a simple thing, something that every Astorian learned. And that obedience and honor led from parents to town marshals, to captains, all the way to the king himself!

There was silence for a moment. "Deserved what?" Gwyn asked softly.

She doesn't know. She didn't see.

Carris let the blanket slip off her back as she reached for the nearest wall and sank down to the frozen ground. She looked up into Gwyn's wide eyes, now mixed with a light of curiosity.

"My mother is dead." Carris choked a little bit on those words. Then smacked herself mentally. There was no need for emotion like that. Especially not for her mom.

Gwyn brought both hands to her mouth and sank down on her knees, taking Carris's hands in her own. "I'm so sorry!" Tears sprang to her eyes. "I didn't know. I should've realized she wasn't in the cave but I was helping with the blankets and this whole time you been dealing with that an-"

"Hey, hey, hey." Carris said, gripping Gwyn's hands firmly and then lifting her chin. "I'm alright." She faked her best smile. "There are bigger things going on right now. We need to help these people through the night, right?"

Maybe if I believe my own lies...

Gwyn shook her head. "But aren't you sad? You need a hug! Something." And Gwyn wrapped both arms around Carris who gently returned the favor. A knife twisted in her soul.

"Gwyn, it's going to be alright."

Why does she care more than I do?

There was silence for a moment. Usually Gwyn would already be replying. Perhaps the events had stayed her tongue for once. Finally, voice just above a whisper so that Carris had to lean in, she asked “what are we going to do?”

Carris sighed. Leave this place for good. “I don’t know. Devlin said we would try to wait it out in here. Perhaps that Sadorians will leave us alone.”

“What if they don’t?” Gwyn’s voice rose in pitch and volume, and she gripped Carris’s hand. “What if they find us?”

Carris thought she gave a weak smile, but in honesty it may have come out as more of a grimace. “That’s a good question. I’m sure we can figure something out.” She pointed to the back of the cave where a crevice loomed in the shadows. “Maybe go through there?”

Gwyn was already shaking her head sideways. “There’s a monster in there Carris!”

Carris tilted her head. “What do you mean? Those old bones?”

Gwyn nodded, eye flitting from the dark hole back to Carris. “Yes. Something ate those poor animals.”

Carris laughed, but her heart felt cold. “I’m sure they’re very old. Maybe We should take a look?”

“You go first,” Gwyn squeaked.

Carris stood. “I think I will. Monsters sound exciting.”

There was something about the beasts of Astoria that was quite majestic and awe-inspiring, from the rough sketches of deep sea creatures near the murky water by the Cliffs of Dalen, to the deep forests where supposed giant wolves hunted. Not to mention the snow dragons and night ghouls of Sadoria. Something about them always got to Carris.

“Why do you think monsters would be exciting?” Gwyn growled, standing beside Carris.

Carris smiled. As much as she may not want to go, Gwyn would follow Carris to the end of the earth in a heartbeat. Even if it meant facing scary monsters.

“There’s just something beautifully terrifying about them. The way the scales of a dragon interlock to form such beautiful tapestries or designs. Can you imagine a dragon-scale necklace? One of the snow dragons with white and blue interlocking scales?” Carris’s voice rose with excitement.. “Or how warm and yet light a wolfs fur can be inside a jacket? It would be perfect for the lower mountain regions where it’s not so cold as up here, and yet chilly enough.”

Gwyn wrinkled her nose. “But the problem is that you have to go get those from living animals. I’d rather be cold and alive then fancy and dead.”

Carris laughed, a warm, light laugh. “Perhaps I could just pay someone to get the items for me?”

Gwyn raised both shoulders.”What money?”

Carris narrowed her eyes in a tight smirk, pointing to where she had originally sank against the wall across the cave. Her jar leaned against the wall. “I saved my jar.”

“You mean you saved us and your money?” Gwyn’s voice exploded in the cave. Her eyes were wider than before. “You’re so fast Carris!”

Carris laughed, putting a finger to her lips, trying shush Gwyn between the giggles. “Not that fast.”

Gwyn shook her head. “No. Very fast. You saved us and got your money, and then still got to the cave. Very fast.”

Carris shrugged her shoulders, walking towards the dark hole in the back wall. “Try to keep up,” she winked. “They say I can be quite fast when I want to be.”

She was reached the dark hole, peering into a formless void. “Grab that torch,” she instructed Gwyn who returned in moments with the torch. “Let’s go find a monster.”