Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Now go! Before I taunt you a second time!
Sorceress Cassandra180: Thank you! I might read it. (smiles)
Roselynn: THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
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He crept through the scrub brush, having heard a nonsense song coming from nearby. There was also the sound of a stream coming from the same area. Carefully moving aside a branch, Memnon saw a young girl kneeling at the edge of the stream. It was she who was singing. She couldn't have been more than five or six. Stepping out of the cover, he took a few steps towards her, so he was standing at the edge of the stream.
"Hello." Her head jerked up, while her right hand shot to her left shoulder, and she tensed. "Do not be frightened, I will not harm you." She relaxed slightly, but kept her hand on her concealed dagger.
"What do you want?" She asked him.
"I was merely wondering why such a young girl would be allowed to be alone. I do not know of any villages nearby."
"I can take care of myself." She said proudly. "And I'm not far from home, my village is just over there." Turning, she pointed slightly behind her and to her left. Looking back to him, she said, "I'm an Akkah- Ahhai-"
"Akkadian?" She nodded eagerly. He contemplated this for a moment, then seemed satisfied. Stepping into the stream, he crossed and stood next to her. Again, she tensed and her hand moved to her shoulder as she looked up at him. "What is your name?"
"Alexandria." She replied cautiously, not comfortable as to how close he was to her.
"Stay close to your mother this night, Alexandria." His charming smile disarmed and relaxed her. "You are a very sweet girl." She watched as he turned and left the same way he came.
She should have told her parents about the man she met at the stream. She should have told one of her uncles, someone. Instead, she stayed silent and near her mother, as the man had advised.
Her parents thought it rather strange that she was so clingy to her mother, and that she hadn't taken off her sling-style pack from the trip to the stream, but said nothing.
Darkness fell, and with it came warcries from Memnon's invading army. They swept in like a plague, killing and burning everything in their path. In the confusion, Alex got separated from her mother.
She sat bolt upright in her bed, coming out of a nightmare plagued sleep. Drenched in sweat and shaking as with a fever, she buried her face in her hands and wept. It was the same nightmarish dream –nay, memory- every night, for the past ten years. Every night, it was the same thing that jerked her awake.
The screams of dying children.
Getting out of bed, she walked over to her table that held a large bowl and a pitcher full of water. Pouring the water into the bowl, her hands shook terribly. Setting it back down, she splashed her face with the cool water. It helped a little, less than the night before, like usual. At first, it had cleared her head and calmed her considerably. But now, it hardly did anything at all.
Once out on her balcony, she sat on the couch and hugged her knees. She had lost countless nights of sleep out of fear of the nightmare. When she did get to sleep, it was fitful and haunted by the screams. Sometimes she woke up with her father –step father, she considered him- sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her hand and petting her hair, having woken him up with her screaming. Other times, it was Cassandra.
She couldn't stand it anymore. The guilt for the death of her people, the long sleepless nights, and the screams. Those were the worst.
The sun rose, as it did every morning, and she watched it rise, as she did every morning. It seemed to help more than the water splashed on her face did.
"Alex?"Cassandra knocked on her door and opened it at the same time. "Alex, are you alright?" She saw her shaking on her balcony, and sighed. Walking over and around to look at her face to face, she knelt before her and took her hands in her's.
"The same dream." She whispered. "I have had the same dream for over ten years." The sound of her voice nearly brokeher heart.
"Come,"She stood, helping her up. "Take your bag, we will leave immediately. Memnon's orders."
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"By my father's head, I pledge my allegiance." She made a disgusted face as Takmet dropped his father's head to the ground.
"You have proven your loyalty, Takmet. Your reward shall be great." Memnon motioned for Alex. "My only daughter, Alexandria." He placed his hand on her back and gently pushed her towards Takmet. He, in turn, took her by the shoulder and brought her next to him.
She didn't hear them talking. She was too intent on the decapitated head on the ground and one of her uncles lying dead nearby.
"Come." Takmet laid his hand on her shoulder. "Alexandria?" She looked up at him, then back to her dead uncle and then to her other one, had been knocked out. They were alone. "Alexandria, are you alright?" She sighed.
"Yes, I'm fine." She turned away. "Let's go, the others must be waiting for us."
