Chapter 3
Anna quickly dashed out into the hallway and tapped Mr. Carson on the shoulder. "Mr. Carson can you spare Thomas for a few minutes?" asked Anna. "I suppose he can be spared for a few minutes." said Carson. Thomas you may go with Anna, she wants to speak to you." stated Carson. Thomas turned on his heel and quickly stepped toward Anna. Carson gave on final look at the pair of them and turned the corner of the hallway. "What is it you wanted?" asked Thomas impatiently, even though he was happy to have a break from work even if it was for a short time. "Well it's not me that wants speak to you. Here come in." said Anna walking through the bedroom door. Thomas followed straight after her.
When he saw the delicate slender face, the short dark hair that was disheveled and a bit spikey at the ends, he was taken aback because he knew that face from somewhere. "Thomas, is that you, do you remember me?" Ember asked inquisitively in a high slightly raspy voice. Suddenly everything snapped into place in Thomas mind. The trenches every night a young boy named Steven would come and sit with him and sometimes they would talk about things, he knew that voice, and the part of her face that wasn't covered up by the bandages over her eyes. And yet it was all wrong. "But how" asked Thomas. "Would you like me to leave you to alone" asked Anna not wanting to intrude on their personal lives. "Yes please." said Ember quietly. Anna took her leave of the room. Thomas stepped closer to the bed, rather uncharacteristically, because he actually cared about what she had to say. "You see I ran away, I just had to get away. Perhaps I'll tell you why I ran away later. The office started recruiting and I cut my hair short and dressed as a boy would. I faked my age; the war office didn't care how old I was because they needed recruits. I ended up in your quadrant. When I heard you were hurt I tried to write to you, but none the letters got through. I thought of the things you said though. When the war ended they found out who I really was and they sent me home, to my dad." Ember added the last statement and the room was silent for a few moments. If Ember could see the concentration on Thomas face as she told her story she would know how much he cared about what she had to say. "Well you're here know, and we will be spending some time together because there are guest's coming to visit the family and I'm afraid you will be moved to a room much closer to the servants hall." said Thomas with a tone of hope in his voice. A knock in the door and Mrs. Hughes telling Thomas he was need downstairs ended their conversation.
As Thomas was walking down the hall his mind reeled back to some of the worst years of his life, when he fought in the war. Almost every night that young girl would come and sit by him. They didn't always talk, in fact they talked very little. But she was there and when they did talk all the horrors seemed to fade a little, they could act civilized in a place were being civilized didn't mean a damn to anyone else. She had been so innocent in such a horrid place and it gave him some hope.
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