Disclaimer: I do not own Thom, or any members of his family, or Pirate's Swoop, or any other things that you can remember from the stories that are in my story but I forgot to put in the disclaimer. Everything else belongs to me!
Lady Arabian Knight and Charmgirl: You two are so wonderful!! I love ya! *hugs* I hope that you like this chapter!
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"Run, Aliah!" Screams of terror filled the dark night.
"No Papa! No!" Strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her up. She felt something warm underneath her; a horse. "Papa!" she cried, clinging to his hand.
His dark eyes held hers for a moment longer. "You must go, my child. You are our last hope."
"Papa!" Her shout echoed throughout the room. Breathing heavily, Aliah sat up in a cold sweat, surprised to find herself in a large, fluffy bed. Where was she? Tamo Delvin, she thought immediately, but she quickly dismissed that idea. If Delvin had her, she would be dead, not sleeping comfortably in a cotton nightgown. Aliah paused for a moment in her thoughts and frowned at her change of clothes, but soon dismissed that as unimportant information. She had to find out where she was. There were no lights in the room, but the moon provided enough light to distinguish a few pieces of furniture. And a door.
Biting her lip, Aliah pushed aside her blankets and slowly climbed out of bed. First priority: her clothes. Tiptoeing quietly, she walked around the bed, searching for the familiar garments.
"They're in the wardrobe."
Aliah shrieked at the sudden sound and spun around as a tall, lithe figure rose from the shadows. He stepped in front of the window, the moonlight revealing his face. Aliah scrunched up her nose in puzzlement; he looked very familiar.
"Sorry about the lack of candles," the boy said, moving over to what Aliah guessed to be the fireplace and kneeling down before it. In a matter of seconds, a bright, cheerful flame lit the room. The boy straightened and turned to face her.
Why did he look so familiar?
Aliah stared intently, trying to call up a name or a place, any reason why she would know him. He certainly didn't remind her of anyone from home, for they were all dark haired, dark-eyed, and dark-skinned. This boy, man, she told herself, was tan, but not dark, and his hair seemed to have a reddish tint to it, though that might have just been the firelight.
"Ahem." Apparently her scrutiny made him nervous, for he was shifting about uncomfortably. "Can you understand what I'm saying?" His voice was gentle and yet commanding.
Aliah opened her mouth to respond, then hesitated. "Ani razumieć," she breathed finally.
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Thom stared in consternation. Great, he thought wryly, she speaks another language. Of course, it shouldn't have been too surprising, but still, it made for a lot of difficulties.
"You don't understand me, do you?" he asked with a sigh.
The girl blinked.
"Um…my name…" he placed his hand on his chest, "is Thom." He patted his chest again. "Thom."
The girl smiled, her large brown eyes sparkling with amusement. "Aliah," she said clearly, pointing to herself.
Thom grinned foolishly. "Aliah."
"Ah-lee-ah," the girl said, nodding.
"Aliah."
They stared at each other for a moment before Thom realized how foolish he must look, standing there with a goofy grin on his face, and cleared his throat.
"Um, stay here, alright?" he said, pointing to her and then to an empty chair. "Just…stay here." Again, he indicated the room, hoping that she would get the message. "I'll be right back."
Another blink.
"Yeah. Alright." With a final look at the pretty girl, Thom ran out of the room in search of his family. Maybe someone else would know what language she was speaking.
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"Urgh," Aliah moaned, falling back onto the bed. "Why did I do that?" Pretending that she didn't speak his language was like lying, and she wasn't accustomed to lying. It was just…some part of her knew that if they thought that she couldn't understand them, they would be more open around her; she would be more protected somehow.
Bouncing back up onto her feet, she recalled that Thom had said that her clothes were in the wardrobe. Quickly, she walked over to the piece of furniture and threw open the doors.
They were there, all right, and clean, too. With a happy sigh, Aliah pulled them out and began to dress. Her blouse, white with big sleeves, went on first, then her leggings, which were black and snug. Over these two pieces of clothing went a dark brown, knee-length tunic that laced up in the front and had slits in side to her waist to permit movement. Finally, she tightened her wide black belt around her waist and tugged on her tall black boots to complete the ensemble.
Catching sight of herself in a small, wall-hanging mirror, Aliah frowned and tried to smooth out her mussled hair, but to no avail. Her long black locks, naturally thick and wavy, hadn't been combed or washed in days and were a frightful mess. After a few more half-hearted tugs, she abandoned her hair and went over to the window to wait for Thom's return.
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AHH!!! *runs around crazily* This is so BAD! I don't even know why I put this chapter up, you guys; I'm afraid that it's horribly….horrible. I think that my plot has run away! Please review! *runs after disappearing plot plan*