Tessa could feel her heart beating rapidly as she ran through the crowd of the weekly market. Her angel necklace, hidden under her dress, also pulsed along in time with the beats, and grew warm on her neck. Around her, people bartered for goods, oblivious to her struggle. She nursed her arm which was dripping blood from a nasty sword cut, as she desperately pushed herself on. Her boots struck the cobblestone path in a fast rhythm, and she quickly risked a glance behind her. Sure enough, a melee of ten guards pushed through the crowd, not far behind her. They threatened, pushed and pulled people out of their path as they stormed after her. She was lucky that it was a market day, otherwise she surely would have been caught already. Many of the villagers here had little or no respect for the guards or the king they served, so the villagers hindered the soldiers as best they could. She just hoped desperately that no one got hurt because of her. She was also lucky that none of the soldiers were 'gifted' with tracking or fighting, because if they had those abilities, she would be done for.
Tessa had been running for four years, ever since she had turned thirteen, when her 'gift' had developed. It was then that her town found out she had shape shifting abilities, and the king became interested in her. Four years since her parents pushed her out the door and told her to run, before King Mortmain could get a hold of her. She missed them immensely, and didn't even know if they were dead or alive. There wasn't a day when she didn't think of them.
Tessa was so immersed in her thoughts that she was surprised when a hand appeared and pulled her through a dark doorway and into a small room. She struggled to break free and was about to scream when she realised her hand was released. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed two young men – boys really - staring at her with urgent expressions.
"Please be quiet, we're only trying to help you," a boy with curious silver hair and eyes begged her. His eyes were slanted, hinting at the fact that he was born in a neighbouring kingdom, most likely the kingdom of Asiana, she suspected. However, the unusual silver hair and eyes surprised her, she had never heard of anyone with such exotic features. The other boy had messy black hair piled on top of his head, and mesmerising blue eyes. As she looked into his eyes, she felt too tired to fight, she just wanted to go to sleep. Wait, what? She thought suddenly, she was on the run, why would she be feeling like this? She blinked rapidly, and shook herself out of her daze, asking them, "Why are you helping me?" although she couldn't keep the suspicion out of her voice. She knew there were wanted posters all around the kingdom, offering a hefty reward for her safe capture and delivery to the king. And she wondered if one or both of the boys were 'gifted', since she had felt so strongly influenced in that moment.
The boy with the black hair stared at her again, but before he could speak, the silver boy held out a hand to stop him. "Don't Will, you're scaring her." Will shrugged in response and let his friend answer instead.
"Tessa, we've heard all about you, and we're here to protect you. My name is James Carstairs, but you can call me Jem, and this is Will Herondale. We'll explain everything when we have time," the silver boy – Jem – said reassuringly. She relaxed slightly, her instincts were telling her to trust him. Will on the other hand, there was something strange about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Jem reached out his hand towards the wound on her arm, and she allowed him to see to the wound once he said he was a healer. She had been surprised to hear he was a healer - many thought that people with the 'gift' of healing were extinct. He touched her arm gently, and she watched in astonishment as the cut stitched together before her eyes, leaving only the remnants of blood behind. She felt the unbroken skin gingerly, and looked up at him to thank him. However, when she looked up, Jem was slouched in pain, clutching his arm as a jagged cut appeared and blood ran down his arm. Will crouched before him, looking concerned, and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Jem merely waved him away, and tried to stop the bleeding. "What happened?" Tessa asked worriedly, wondering if it was somehow her fault.
"It's ok," Jem replied, "people with the 'gift' of healing take other people's ailments onto themselves. Don't worry, though, I heal faster, so it will be gone by the end of the day. For you it would have taken a month to heal." Tessa tried to protest, but he waved her away too, claiming he would be fine after a few hours rest, and promptly fell asleep. She was touched and speechless, as no one had ever done something like that for her before. Most people avoided the 'gifted' like they were the plague, and regularly twisted the name, calling them 'cursed'. Even the 'gifted' were suspicious of each other, due to the wide range of abilities. Many could easily be misused when combined with a hunger for power.
Will spoke up after a while, surprising her after a period of silence. "The soldiers will have passed by now so we should be safe here for the night. You can clean up and get some rest," he told her gruffly. As he talked to the wall rather than to her, she could only assume he was speaking to her. Will then sat down by Jem's side, promptly ignoring her. So instead of standing around, she did as he said and walked down the corridor, finding the bathroom. She filled up the bath with warm water and sighed in contentment as she soaked her aching limbs. One thing she hated about being on the run was the infrequent times she could rid herself of the dirt from the streets. She then pulled out some more clothes from her pack – she had to carry her belongings with her everywhere – and put those on, leaving her previous clothes in soak. Pulling at her dark brown hair, she tried to get it to look a bit more presentable. She hadn't had much time to worry about it in the last few days, and it had been tangled into knots.
Once she emerged back in the main room of the house, her mouth salivated at the smell of a cooked meal. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten one of those. Will had put together some meat and vegetables, and cooked them over the fire. He shook Jem awake, and the three of them sat down at the wooden table to eat. As they ate in relative silence, she studied the two boys. Jem looked pale and ill, the cut on his arm healing slowly. He blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake. Out of all the 'gifts', healing was one she admired the most. It was all give and no receive, unlike many of the other 'gifts'. Will on the other hand, was certainly a puzzle, which she felt too tired to decipher. She decided it would be easier to ask Jem about him tomorrow. Will ate with a frown, and she wondered if he ever smiled, and if so, what it would look like. She also pondered why they were here to protect her. Of course, it was well known throughout the kingdom that King Mortmain was hunting her, and that she had great power, but she hadn't thought anyone knew more than that. Many would not risk the king's wrath to learn more. Normally she would never trust strangers like this, with the reward out, but after all Jem had done for her, she felt she could trust him enough to wait and find out. She would just have to keep her guard up.
After dinner, Jem went back to sleep, and Will showed her to a separate small room where she could sleep. It was modest, but it had a mattress on the floor, for which she was grateful.
"Where will you sleep?" She asked Will curiously.
"Just on the floor near Jem," Will answered, tiredly.
Tessa felt guilty that she was stealing his bed, and said, "If you want this mattress that's fine with me. I've slept on the floor many times before."
Will merely shook his head and echoed Jem's earlier words, "I'll be fine." He then promptly left the room and closed the door behind him.
A/N: Hi all, this is my first FanFiction so please review and let me know what you think! I'm really excited to share this story with you. Any guesses as to what Will's 'gift' could be?
~ SilverJem5
(Cover image courtesy of xedos4 at FreeDigitalPhotos website)
