A/N: I wasn't planning on writing more, but here you go… hope you enjoy! YAY!!! Finally got the damn spacing fixed!!!!
"Runaway"
by: Lady Emmi (I changed it!)
Chapter 2 – the farmhouse
"Sortiur.. you? My brother?" The curved blade went through the king's chest, freezing his face in that state of shock forever. The dagger's owner pulled it out, letting the royal couple's blood drip on the floor..
"That, my dear king, is what happens to fools and idiots. And you were both." The duke's sneer was clear on his face.
Behind the curtain which separated the Throne Room from the Main Hall, a pair of eyes widened in shock.
"And now for their little girl…"
The girl behind the curtains gasped. They were coming for her!
Sortiur listened intently. "Right behind those curtains. Quickly now!" he told his servant in a low voice.
Run, she thought, RUN!!! But her legs would not move. They were coming… They opened the curtain…
"There she is!"
The girl flew off, legs pumping as fast as she could go. To the kitchens…
"Get her!" The dagger hit the wall next to her, cutting the inside of her arm as it flew. A voice swore behind her.
She was on the other side of the curtain now… But she could not go to the kitchens, what if the servants had turned on them as well? There was no way to know…
She made a turn, ran up a dark corridor, and hid behind a flight of stairs. Sortiur and his minion, ran right up them…
"I'd swear she went this way…" she heard him mutter.
Once he was out of sight, she ran out the other way. But where to go now?
She must get out.
She must run away.
She ran down to the castle gate… What if the guards were against her too? But no… they let her out, clearly puzzled where she was going. Well, they would find out soon enough…
She ran. She ran as fast as she could, toward the forest… She ran until…
She tripped out of the covers, falling out of bed.
"Angie? You all right?"
"Yes… I am… It was just a nightmare…" She looked at the scar on her arm, where the knife had hit her, and rubbed it nervously. It had seemed so real… just like she was reliving it…
"Maybe you want to tell me how you got that scar."
"Maybe I don't," she snapped back.
"Fine then, be that way." He walked out of the room.
Immediately, she regretted getting angry with him. Harry had always been her favorite of the Plowman's… ever since that night when she had come to their doorstep… hungry, weak, and at the end of her tether…
She thought about apologizing and decided against it. Harry would probably just laugh at her for the rest of the week, like he usually did when she apologized for for what he called "stupid things".
She sighed. Some times she loved Harry for the person he was, and other times hated him for being so exasperating. Somehow they managed to be best friends, an unusual feat for a young man and young woman of that day.
The sun was coming up and another day at the farm was about to begin. Seeing no reason to delay, she got dressed. Belatedly she realized that she had planned to wash her dirty clothes today and had left them in the main room of the house. Nevermind, she still had her…
At the the bottom of the small pile of her clothing lay the once-peach-colored tunic which brought back so many memories. She did not want to wear that, but…
She pulled out a threadbare white shift to wear underneath. Though it was spring the days were still a bit cold. Not that it ever got too cold in the town of Legann. Not like winters in Tusaine. She shivered involuntarily. Now that was cold…
She stepped outside and started her days chores. As she worked, Harry told her a funny story of the fish that they had almost bought yesterday which turned out to be more than two weeks old.
I'm so happy here, she thought to herself. I don't ever want to leave…
Suddenly, her dream came back to her. But I have runaway from them… for good… I don't have to worry about that anymore. At least I hope I don't have to worry about that anymore...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Night fell on the farmhouse. The Plowman family gathered in the main room of the small cottage.
There was Wat. He was the oldest, and the sole heir of Lynch Plowman. Next came Orim. Slow, but strong, Orim was not expected to do more in life than to perhaps help his brother out on the farm.
And now for Troy. Troy was the scholar, or so he considered himself. He was gifted, rather well so, and seemed to think this made him a step above everyone else. He was saving up his coppers and nobles, as he hoped to attend the University in Carthak in the coming years.
Teagan, the youngest, was not present. Perhaps watching the sheep, it was nearing birthing time…
And Harry. She smiled at him as he came through the door. Harry the odd one out. Nothing too special about him. He was not particularly smart, like Teagan, notable, like Wat, strong, like Orim, or handsome, like Teagan. But he was her best friend and that put him above the rest. Right now, he looked absolutely exhausted from the day in the fields…
Lastly, came Lynch Plowman, father and head of the house, and his wife, Evelyn. She owed much to them and was very grateful for all they had done to her.
Lynch bolted the door behind him, to protect them from attacks of bandits or animals, and the family assembled and started talking about their day.
"Three strips done, a good days work…"
She smiled. After living three years with them, she felt perfectly at home with this family, a feeling which she wanted to keep. She yawned…
"I'm going to bed now…" said Wat.
The rest of the family did the same, and she retired her small cot in the corner of the pantry. She fell asleep immediately.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She was in the same dream as the night before, except this time it seemed more vivid, more life-like… She watched Sortiur kill her parents, cut her with his dagger, and now she was running… again…
She woke up, breathing hard. Was this an omen?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The day was dreary and grey. It threatened to rain, but never did. Mostly she stayed inside, sewed, knitted, and churned butter. The work made her arms hurt. Fortunately, she could trade off with Evelyn every few minutes or so.
She felt like she spent the whole day glaring at the sky. Why couldn't the weather get good? When night fell, she greeted it with mixed feelings. She was tired, but she did not really want to face another nightmare. Still, it was the third night, and she had a feeling that something would finally come of it, whether for good or worse…
She fell asleep immediately and instantly the nightmare played before her…
She was running again, from the Duke, out of the castle now… The dream was almost over…
Then… time slowed… and came to a complete halt. A beautiful woman stood before her, so beautiful she did not seem quite real. She was tall, taller than most men. Her ebony hair fell down her back in perfect ringlets. Behind her sheer veil, she could see high cheekbones, and startling green eyes…
"Good day my daughter." Her voice was husky and soft, like wind blowing through the treetops, while still reminding her of dogs baying at the hunt. "We meet again."
A/N: Thanks to all the great ppl who reviewed! Because I absolutely love it when ppl reply to MY reviews, I am replying to yours! (*nudge nudge, wink wink*)
nikia-mysticQUEENofFIRE - Thank you, thank you! Request granted!
PsychoLioness 13- The story is set about 600 years before SOTL… A more interesting time, I think, and I also don't have to try to make it fit in with the books…. J
FortuneCookie- Why thank you!
Someone Else- erm… good point, but I don't want to be posting stuff up here if I might as well be talking to a brick wall…