a/n: hey, thanks for checking out Starry Veins! This is the novel I
wrote for Round V of LMS, and it's still a first draft! While I don't
discourage any feedback, I prefer not to receive feedback on grammar!
I'm not polishing this draft up yet, so I'm not as concerned about
editing. I am, of course, open to all feedback, but I ask that you keep
this in consideration! Thanks <3
*
[Ember]
Ember
gave a tug on the rope around her wrists. She was sick of being
dragged around like a horse on a lead, the sun was hot and there was
no breeze. They’d been walking for hours, and Alanna’s head was
drooping so much she looked like a wilted flower. The only
good thing that had come out of getting kidnapped was that they were
being fed now.
The
stranger glanced back as the rope was pulled in his hand. He gave a
tug back, harder, and it rubbed against her chafed wrists, jostling
her hands. She bared her teeth at him, but he only shook his head and
turned back around.
Her
hand brushed against her pocket, and that was when she realised she’d
completely forgotten about the letter her parents had instructed her
to grab.
Damn
this random dude.
She
leaned over to Rowan, who was closest to her right pocket, and
grabbed their hand. They gave her a questioning look, and she pulled
their hand to her pocket, eyeing the stranger all the while. Rowan
stayed quiet, not that they could say much now with a gag their
kidnapper had put on them.
Rowan
frowned as their fingers brushed the leather-bound scroll, and
carefully extracted it.
She
moved the scroll in their hands, so it wasn’t immediately in view,
then released them, and gave another tug on the rope.
“Who
are you anyway?” she asked, gesturing to Rowan. Alanna watched them
blearily, and Cassius was dredging beside Artemesa and staring off
into the distance until she spoke.
The
stranger didn’t look back, and Rowan began to unfurl the scroll.
“Are
you really in a position to be asking those questions?”
She
scoffed. “There’s no position I can be put in where I won’t ask
questions. Besides, you asked a question. You’re kidnapping
children,
why are you allowed to ask questions?” she shot back. Out of the
corner of her eye, she watched Rowan begin to read through the letter
quickly.
The
stranger didn’t answer. He tugged on the ropes again, and she grit
her teeth at the irritation. The skin was becoming raw now.
“I’m
going to keep talking until you answer,” she said, pointedly.
The
man sighed. “You’re going to keep talking even if I do.”
She
beamed, even though he was not watching her. “Yes! So, you may as
well tell me. What am I going to do with a name?”
“You
can do a lot with a name,” the stranger said, irritably, but he
didn’t turn around. “Enoch. Are you happy?”
“No,”
she replied. “I’m bound as a prisoner with my friends by a
strange, creepy man who means to sell us, and all I know is that his
name is Enoch.
Would you
be happy?”
There
was a stretch of silence. The meadow to their left, which eventually
turned into forest behind them and in the distance, swayed and
rumbled as if agreeing with Ember’s frustration. The tall grass
quivered and shook, flaxen and glistening fronds the sun ruthlessly
gazed upon.
She
looked down at the road for a stone to kick, but the industrial roads
were annoyingly flawless. There were no cracks in the polished,
shimmering bricks, nor loose bits of their bindings.
Cassius
was watching Enoch with a calculating sort of demeanour, eyes
scanning up and down as if searching for something.
Then
he tilted his head. “What’s a knight of Chromium doing all the
way this far northeast, and kidnapping kids at that? Knights are
supposed
to be honourable.”
Enoch
tripped, and then threw his head back to stare at Cassius. She
glanced towards Rowan to make sure they could hide the letter. Rowan
had it hidden against their wrist, and their face was startlingly
bloodless. They stared aimlessly at the ground, looked more
shellshocked then she’d ever seen them. Her heart skipped a beat.
“How
do you
know that?” Enoch demanded, his expression twisted into a
half-sneer.
Cassius
shrugged. “The crest on your sword,” he said. “It’s the royal
crest of Chromium. The only people who ever have royal insignia
emblazoned on their sword like that are sworn knights of their
respective kingdom. Either you stole the sword, which is a highly
punishable offence in itself, or it’s yours, and you’re a
knight.” He wrinkled his nose, giving Enoch an unimpressed, dirty
look. “I said I’m from the Chronicler’s Guild, didn’t I? It’s
a guild of scholars.”
For
a moment, Enoch scrutinised Cassius. Then, he turned around slowly.
She eyed Rowan, but they were as unresponsive and distant as they had
been moments before.
“Brilliant.
I’ve got one who thinks he has a smart mouth,” Enoch grumbled.
“Hey!”
she chirped. “Cassius is very
smart!”
Alanna
made a soft noise from her place on the other side of Rowan. “When?”
Cassius’
mouth and nose twitched, in an attempt to abort a smile. “Hey!”
The
fake indignance in Cassius’ voice made her smile. Alanna, too,
cracked a smile that she aimed towards the ground, the corners of her
eyes crinkling a little.
But
she had a point. Cassius had noticed the crest on his sword. “Knights
are supposed to do the right thing. That’s not kidnapping children
and— and their companions.” She shared a quick look with Cassius.
Everyone seemed of the silent, mutual agreement not to reveal
Artemesa’s true nature.
Enoch
made a noise that was almost a laugh, but without any of the humour.
“Did you read that in your books too?” he asked, and then shook
his head and threw a quick glance over his shoulder. “Knights are
just as bad as the rest of the sorry lot that trudge around this
forsaken, twisted earth. They just get praised for it.” He made a
low growling noise. “Bloody fucking annoying buggers,” he
muttered.
“Language!”
Alanna cried, and then immediately stumbled and held her hands up to
her mouth, eyes wide.
She
kept her eye on Enoch, who glanced in surprise over towards Alanna.
And then he glanced away.
But
not before she saw his mouth twitch. He
thought that was funny! He doesn’t have a heart of steel!
Storing
that mental note away for later, she gently bumped Rowan’s
shoulder. They blinked, and glanced towards her, not looking quite at
her. They held out the letter, rolled up once more, and stuffed it
back in her pocket. They looked incredibly troubled.
They
waved their hand in a dismissive gesture and glanced away again.
Later.
Her
stomach churned, although it could have also been hunger and not an
ominous sense of impending doom of whatever Rowan had read in that
letter.
But
it was from her parents. How bad could it be?
word count:
1,113
Points: 29825
Reviews: 465
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