When Netra woke up, she was blind. A second later, she realized that the blackness was due do a blindfold tied around her head. She tried to move her hands to take it off, only to discover that her thumbs were cuffed together. Her ankles were also shackled together, and she was lying on the dusty, leaf-covered, forest ground. She struggled into a sitting position, finding that there was a tree next to her that she could lean against. After she started moving, she heard the dry crunch of compressed leaves and twigs as someone walked away from her, then the noise of someone else walking toward her.
"So. You're awake," a cold, low voice said. Netra winced. Her worst nightmare had just come true.
"Will, please, I-"
"I trusted you, Netra. I took you in and trained you, let you keep quiet about your past, because I thought you were a good person". Will's voice was still quiet, but it was harsh with disappoint and betrayal. Netra was momentarily grateful for the blindfold, because it prevented Will from being able to see the tears in her eyes as he continued.
"So now, I think it's time you tell me the truth about who you are. Not a sob story about how your past is too painful to think about, the truth. You owe me that much". She knew he was right. Will had taken her in, and treated her like any other apprentice. He deserved to know the truth.
"It's a bit of a long story," she warned.
"I have the time," he replied, without a trace of a grin in his voice. Though Netra knew she deserved it, his total disappointment in her still cut deeply. She pulled herself together, gathering her thoughts.
"I guess I should start at the beginning. I grew up in Norgate fief-well, you know that-with my mother and my sister, Ariel. Ariel and I were twins-identical twins. The only way to tell us apart was by our eyes-hers were pale blue, as opposed to the pale green of mine.
"Ariel and I, we've had our abilities for as long I can remember. I've always been able to manipulate people's bodies, and she's always been able to manipulate people's minds. We'd asked our mother again and again why we were like this, why we were different from other children. She never gave us an answer, just like she never gave us an answer when we asked about our father; neither Ariel nor I has ever known him; it's always just been the three of us. Once, we got angry with Mother and tried to bind her to answer our questions. It didn't work, and after that we never mentioned our abilities or our father again". She shook her head. "I still don't know why our binding didn't work on her".
"Our lives were turned upside down when we were ten. Thieves attacked our village and-" Netra broke off. The memories came rushing back to her all too fast, all at once. The band of thieves, bearing swords, axes, and knifes, crashing into their house. The broken door, smashed clay plates, the stink of alcohol from the men...and then the blood on the floor, and the world burning...
"S-sorry. It-it's not a particularly pleasant memory". She swallowed, and tried again.
"Our mother, she-she had this necklace. It was a ruby pendant, set in gold. She tried to take it off, thow it at the thieves, but she wasn't fast enough for them. They yanked it from her neck, from behind, breaking the chain. And while she was on her knees, gasping for breath, they killed her". The words were tumbling out now, fast and frantic, almost nonsensical.
"They killed her, and laughed. Said she wasn't pretty enough to keep. Then, they set the house on fire-nothing else there of value, they said. Our whole lives, dismissed in an instant-nothing of value. We-Ariel and I-we were hiding in a cupboard the whole time, too scared to move, to do anything. Once the flames started to burn around us, though, we moved. We ran, and ran, and ran, until we couldn't any longer.
"And then we went back. What else could we do? We couldn't bear to go back to what had been our house, so we went to the other villagers for help. They turned us away". Now Netra's voice turned angry as she continued, lost in the past.
"They turned us away-two sad, terrified girls. Never mind that we'd just lost our mother, that we were now two orphans. No, we were the witch-girls, the devil-children, and we had to be cast out before we did something to them. They were scared of us, scared of our powers; most of them had been for years. Some of them even whispered that we had something to do with the attack, that we'd brought it on them.
"We were angry. Who wouldn't have been? But all that anger, and fear, and sorrow...all that pain just bundled up inside us and broke us, a little bit. We went a little crazy. We bound our neighbor Clara-the last person we begged to help us-to give us all the money she had on her, and then we made her forget that we had ever existed. Well, I say we, but I did the first part, and Ariel did the second. And then we left. We didn't want anything to do with the place we once had called home.
"We spent the night out in the open, under some trees off the road. We clung to each other and cried-can you blame us? Two children, now alone in the world, without family or friends or a home. All we had was each other. Our mother, the only person who had ever truly loved us, was dead, murdered right in front of us. We didn't know what to do". Netra's voice shook as she continued the story, as though she was ten again and the pain was still fresh in her mind. She had no idea how Will was reacting to any of her story; she obviously couldn't see him, and he had as of yet made no comments, allowing her to simply continue on.
"When we woke up in the morning, we just continued down the road, waiting to see where it would take us. We ended up in another village, the small town of Edgewell. We went to the inn there, to try to get a meal and a room. We hadn't eaten since the previous morning, so we were fairly hungry". That was an understatement. The two girls, used to three regular meals a day, had barely has the strength to make it in the inn.
"When we went inside, the innkeeper took one look at us-two young, filthy children covered in dust and soot and who knows what else-and ordered us out, telling us to clean up and come back with our parents. We were exhausted and starving, so can you really blame us for binding the woman to give us a room, and to bring us a meal up to the room? We spent the night. there, and then left in the morning, binding them to give us a few coins and forget us completely". Netra stopped for a moment; the part of her past that she was the least proud of was approaching. She knew, however, that she had to continue, that she had to tell Will the whole truth.
"And that wasn't the last time we did it. Over the next two years, that was our life. We moved around, forcing people to let us stay in their inns or houses. We stole food, money, goods-and then made them forget we had ever existed. Sometimes we'd stay for a night, or a week, and we'd just invade their lives, forcing them to cater to us. Some of the people we took from-they were poor. They probably couldn't afford our stay with them. But we didn't care-or at least, we refused to think about that fact. Maybe it's the same thing.
"I knew-we both knew-that it was wrong. We could have gone somewhere to stay and work. We could have gone to the castle and begged to stay at Norgate's Ward. But we didn't. I don't know why. It seemed easier, I guess. And, I don't know, it felt like life owed us, somehow, because it had taken our mother". Netra could imagine the look of disappointment that must be in Will's eyes right now as he looked at her. She ducked her head , trying to escape the gaze she perceived was pinning her down.
"As I said, we continued this for about two years. By that time, we were starting to feel invincible-like nothing and no one could ever stop us. What we didn't know, however, is that something was about to happen that would that would completely shake up our world for the second time in our short lives". Netra paused for a moment here.
"What happened?" Will asked. It was the first thing he'd said throughout the girl's whole story.
"Harrison caught us".
And so ends the first part of Netra's story! What do you guys think so far? Was the chapter ending okay, or was it too abrupt? I was going to put her whole story in one chapter, but it was getting long, and I wanted to get something posted for you guys. Sorry for leaving you all with that cliff hanger for so long! I had this chapter almost finished about two weeks ago, but then I realized that what I'd written had gotten away from what I was trying to do, was written terribly, and didn't make a ton of sense, so I had to rewrite most of it. Sorry guys! Anyway, reviews are appreciated! Thanks for sticking with me this far!
