Cursed: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It is midday, and I lay on my grey, tattered bed. I don't know what I am waiting for. My sister? The people who run our orphanage to tell us to clean the spotless building again? To wait for a sale on goods? I'm not to sure, but sitting down, not having anything to do, stresses me out.

I fumble with my brown leather jacket that I had recently bought with my savings. I don't get much since I am an orphan, but in a year, I will be considered grown, and my sister can be a licensed healer.

Speaking of my sister, she pokes me in the neck (hard. It never tickles) as I was taking off my jacket. She annoys me sometimes, but I can never be mad at her. She is much stronger, wiser, and more experienced than I am, even though we are twins. She can't have learned years of lessons in the extra six minutes she was born before me, so her mental age often disorients me.

"What was that for?" I scold her.

"What do you have against me poking you?"

"Nothing. I didn't get enough sleep last night, I'm just angry at everything I guess."

"Cheers to that." She replies.

Awkward pause.

"Been a rough day, Nardo?" I ask to change the subject.

"As always, yes. Not many people were being cooperative." she said in a mellow and tired voice.

"So, do you want to start sweeping and cleaning the building so the caretakers don't make us do it?" she suggests. I recognize the dark circles under her eyes, which usually means that she was woken early to heal an extremely sick or injured person. Even though we are young, Nardo has the qualities of a grown adult. She has strength, the brains, and the perseverance.

"No, let them punish and yell at us if they want to. We will be fifteen next year anyway, so we can just leave this place behind."

"Yeah, that seems like a nice choice." She sighs.

"What's wrong, Nardo?"

"Just wish we were accepted and not trying so hard as to get a few Yondues." she says.

"Yeah, they take a lot of work to earn, but are worth a lot. Maybe Quinlocks would be a better option. They are a lot easier to get. But then again, Yondues give us more status."

"Stop talking Leo, my head hurts. Come on, let's go outside. It reeks of grey and ugly people in here." She cracks a smile.

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do." I answer.

She leans off my bed and smooths out her big, baby blue dress that women are required to wear. Her small white apron is stained with green. Probably the residue of the herbs she used to heal the sick today.

We walk the narrow, winding dirt road to a large cave that only the two of us have been to. It looks like part of the mountainside, but is very large on the interior. We sweep aside the rough vines, and go inside the familiar cave that we usually call home. I spot the small, freshwater lake, which is my small main source of money, since it is so hard to come by drinking water. We keep this place a secret, because the Wise Ones would command it to be used, drained of the small, steady lake, or have it as a luxurious shelter for themselves, or maybe even a network of prison cells. Sure, we would make a little money off it, but this is supposed to be our safe place, a place where we can share our deepest secrets, our happiest memories.

Nardo's rose red eyes shine through the sunlight escaping through the vines. She pulls out her small thin backpack, which is very well concealed under the poofy fabric of her dress. Speaking of which, when she sits down beside me, she can't sit on her knees or squat, because it will just spring up everywhere. She often complains of this, because she isn't the "maiden" type, even though she is expected to be.

When she opens her backpack, she pulls out a small bag of raspberries from the bushes around our cave. I'm not extremely fond of them since she makes fun of me when they are sour, so it is a gamble every time I try them. Probably why she really likes them.

Nardo sets it in the middle of us so we can just freely eat it. It would have been pretty expensive if we would have bought it. I grab a handful, and become mesmerized in the delicious syrup that flows in my mouth. I close my eyes and just enjoy the taste of the berries.

They are sweet this time, so she can't make fun of me.

"Hey, can't we sell these? We would have a little extra money from them." I suggest.

"Nice idea, but let's think about that later. I want to enjoy the little part of the day I can spend with you."

These are the moments I cherish. I feel really happy inside, knowing that the most brave and tough person I know just wants to spend time with me. Nardo lies her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes as we both lean against the willow tree. Our willow tree, the grand tree that makes the cave smell like a small peaceful forest. She lets out a steady whisper.

"I haven't told the Wise Ones about the green fire springing up around the city, because those old gasbags would call me a liar and punish me, or freak out. It looks like the sky is trying to aim for something. Just thought I would let you know, since you seem insecure or whatever around it."

The Wise Ones. I remember the tales of how quickly established the city was, made from the stragglers of the last time the green fog swept the area. People thought it was such a great idea to have the eight oldest people of the village control it. At least one of them can't even talk, what with how old they are. Just a big group of crusty people (who are usually rich, the less fortunate often don't reach old age) who can do whatever they want with our small settlement. They insisted on being named the "Wise Ones," but they are not very wise, and the name is a cliche. Nardo and I often thought about escaping this town. There are many better, higher quality civilizations around, but the nearest one is so far away, it would take at least a month to reach the nearest one. Maybe someday.

Nardo falls asleep on me, her short, jet black hair twitching in the wind, wanting to fly like the birds that sing us awake and to sleep. We both have straight hair, but mine gets in my eyes and face all the time, because it is fluffier. Nardo's is flawless, never going in her face, kept nice and neat with her unusually even bangs. It looks like a black waterfall, dripping down her ears and scalp. Her face relaxes for the first time in a few days, and it makes me relax too. My eyelids start to feel heavy. And finally, all I see is black.

My eyes pierce open, but I am still in darkness. I have never really been able to have my eyes adjust to the darkness like most people do, since my bottle green eyes miraculously glow in the dark, like Nardo's. We are often discriminated, because to them, we study witchcraft and dark things like that, because really weird, abnormal things happen to us. I press my palms on the hard dusty floor, and stand myself up. It feels like I am in a dark old maze, lonely and so far from anyone around me. It is so silent, I can hear my heart pump, my blood rushing through my veins.

I begin to feel claustrophobic, being trapped away from anything and any person. I start breathing heavily and quickly, but I only smell the thick, humid must of the rotting building. Place? Basement? Figment of my imagination? Probably.

I find a wall to feel, so I don't bump into any more surfaces or trip on a staircase. Even though I somewhat know how to navigate the place, I still get crazy anxiety and fear of the dark and tight places. My sister used to tease me about it, since a fear of the dark is something everyone grows out of. But with age, her heart softened when she was around me. I miss her already, even though this is a dream.

Is it me, or after what seems like hours do I hear a voice, a singing, feminine voice, coming from the hallway? It's probably is just me, since me is the only being here (hopefully).

It isn't my imagination! Or is it since it is a dream. I put that question on a pause when I see a green light coming from what seems like a room. Or is it red? No, it is changing from green to red, but since my eyes glow, I am already adjusted to the mysterious light.

The voice sounds familiar, like something that I once owned, then lost forever. I run towards it, my heart racing and jumping into my throat with fear and from the mini cardio workout I'm giving myself (I have so many dream related questions at this point. Can you exercise in your sleep?). I know it hasn't been long since I have seen Nardo and our cave, but I already miss her.

I extend my arms out in front of me as to prevent me from running into anything. This backfires, since I crash into a wall next to the entrance of the room harboring the light. My ears ring for a few moments after I stand up, but it eventually subsides.

I walk slowly towards the light, into the room. The voice sounds so fragile, so precious, but strained. I want to help whoever is singing. They sound like they are in pain, but are singing because it is their last hope. It sounds beautiful, but is painful to listen to.

I go towards the light, and I can hear it enough to make out what it is singing.

The voice of the fire

Your fierce battle cries

It linger in your eyes

It keeps you alive

I take my last steps towards the mysterious thing, voice, light? It confuses me, yet I keep walking. Finally, I see where it is coming from.

An old book.

A book with a symbol that is on the circular, silver locket my sister wears. It looks like a  teardrop in the middle, with a diagonal line going from the upper left corner to the lower right corner underneath. The light and singing are coming from the pages of the book, not the binding. My heart races and gets louder and louder, leaping into my throat and turning my stomach into a roller coaster, or whatever those things from a thousand or so years ago were called.

As my hands approach the book, it sings the same melody, but with different words.

It walks you to victory

You master the grave

It chants your name every day

My breathing and heart are swallowing my ears at this point. Drowning in fear and curiosity, I open the book.

But burns you away

Everything flashes into a pool of black. I hear a cold, metallic voice. Cackling. Laughing maniacally. I see a dark silhouette of a man with a crazy green hairstyle, wearing a gold lined green robe, but with nothing inside. No body. Nothing. All I see is the hair, robe, and a white, flame shaped scar for an eye. The same one I have on my right pupil. The cackling, my breathing, and pulse get out of hand. It fills me with anxiety and hopelessness.

"Leo?"

My eyes flash open, as if I were blinking. I hear the warm voice of my sister despite my vision being very blurry. I begin to relax.

"Leo! You're finally awake! You were mumbling things in your sleep and you started to look pale. You were drenched in sweat by the time I woke up!" Her voice is full of emotion, but she doesn't look like it.

"I'm - I'm okay." I manage to whisper. "How long was I out?"

"A day and a half." she responded sadly.

"A day and a half! Has it really been that long?"

"Yes," she whispers soothingly. "Now go to sleep or just rest. I'm going to make some food and medicine for you. Do you need anything else?"

"No, not really. I'm just boiling and drowning in my own sweat."

She scrunches her eyebrows, probably trying to think of a solution. I actually don't feel fine, I want nothing more then to stop feeling weak, nauseous, and light headed. I don't even feel hungry, I just want to sit there and suffer until I feel better. She then speaks to me as if she was reading my mind.

"You aren't okay. How about I just get you some broth instead, but still with the medicine? Maybe some snow too, winter started midday yesterday, and you are really warm."

"Yeah, sure, that sounds fine."

Nardo relaxes a little and clasps her hands together.

"Splendid. You still look really pale and sick, so I'll stay nearby if anything happens. Don't fall asleep yet, you need to eat something."

"I guess." I reply, even though I want nothing more than to fall asleep. Alas, she is the healer here.

But the moment she leaves, I black out again. I try to fight the fatigue, but it is as if something is trying to poison me and put me down, but Nardo is in the way.

Or am I in the way, a useless pawn that just needs to die off? I want to stay with Nardo, but something, something unnatural, does not want me to.