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Chapter 2

A New Place

The week after her mother's death seemed to drift by Eirwyn in a sea of noise and color. Nothing mattered anymore except forone thing, and that was that her mother was gone. Sometimes, Eirwyn would imagine the woman walking into the small room that served as her temporary home at the group shelter, until someone could be found to take care of her, but then the image would disappear and Eirwyn would once again be alone.

The group home showed to be no different from Eirwyn's school. The children, though not quite as cruel, would still ignore Eirwyn; however, unlike before, Eirwyn no longer cared. Instead, she preferred to be alone, allowing her mind to wander and dream. Her mental world had also changed drastically, filling with darkness and sickness. Eirwyn could just not bring herself to care, even for that world.

Eirwyn could barely feel the rain drops hittingher head as she stood beside where she knew her mother now rested. The young girl was completely soaked from head to toe, hair sticking to her face, but she couldn't bring herself to care; though, in the back of her mind she found it comforting, as though the world itself was mourning along side her. Eirwyn's body had become numb over the past week, so she couldn't even feel the cold that was sure to be sinking into her bones, and the rain hid the tears that ran down her face.

"Mom, I miss you." Eirwyn whispered, even though she knew no one was around, "That man will pay for what he's done, don't you worry Mom." Eirwyn knelt down on the ground, feeling her dress become soaked with mud and water. She placed a hand on the freshly dug earth, "Rest in peace, Mom."

"I am so sorry, my lady." Eirwyn's head jerked up as she heard the voice of her friend Salus, but sheknew that it wasn't possible—Salus only existed in her head!

"Eirwyn, there you are!" This time the voice came from Mr. Bier, a young man who worked as an intern at the group home where Eirwyn was currently staying. He had been given the task of escorting the young blind girl to the funeral, before taking her back to the group home, "You're completely soaked! Let's get you inside, everyone's been looking for you." Eirwyn felt the rain stop, and guessed that Mr. Bier must have had an umbrella with him, which would make sense. Eirwyn allowed the man to help her off the ground, and lead her inside, away from her mother.

Eirwyn sat silently in the back of the car, allowing her head to rest against the cool glass. The gathering after the funeral had given the girl a huge headache, and all she wanted to do was to return to her small room and rest for a while, allowing her mind toforget everything, even if only for a little while. She herd the familiar crunch of gravel as they finally reached the driveway of the group home; it was really just alarge, mansion-like house from what Eirwyn could gather about it. Mr. Bier helped her out of the car, and the two walked up to the house.

When Eirwyn finally reached the safety of her room, she collapsed on her bed. She prepared to let her mind fade away, lessening the pain from her passing even if only a little; however, just as she was about to fall asleep, her door opened once again. From the smell of aftershave and cigarette smoke, Eirwyn knew it was Mr. Bier once again.

"Eirwyn there is someone here to see you." Eirwyn sighed and sat up on her bed, turning her face to look where the man was standing in her door way.

"Who is it?" Eirwyn asked her voice flat, and uncaring, which was an emotion many had gotten used to over the week from the girl. The man didn't reply as he walked over to Eirwyn and led the girl down into the main lobby of the group home. There, Eirwyn could hear two men talking to each other. One was a voice she recognized as the female officer who came to her house the night her mother died. The other belonged to a man Eirwyn didn't recognize. The man's voice was deep, signaling that it was more than likely someone of African descent, and there was a southern accent to the man's voice, so it was obvious that this man was from somewhere like Texas or Alabama.

"Ah Miss Fairfax there you are," Officer Campbell greeted as Eirwyn and Mr. Bier walked down the stairs, "How are you doing?"

"Okay I guess." Eirwyn mumbled, not really in the mood for talking. Detective Campbell didn't seem to take any mind to it however.

"Well there is someone I want you to meet," Eirwyn herd two sets of feet approach, stopping just in front of the two, "Eirwyn, this is Mr. Dominic James, he's your father."

"Hello," The man said. Eirwyn whole world stopped at that instant, just as it had when she learned of her mother dying. Why was that man here?

"What are you doing here?" Eirwyn growled stepping away from the two. How dare this…monster show up out of nowhere after abandoning Eirwyn and her mother. This man was the reason Eirwyn's mother had to work late all the time. This was the man that might as well have killed her mother himself!

"I've come to take you home with me," The man replied.

"Why? Only a week ago you wanted nothing to do with me or my mother," Eirwyn could feel tears prick at the back of her eyes. This wasn't fair, first she loses her mother, then the one person who had hurt her most by ignoring her suddenly wanted to step up and take care of her?

"I know I made some mistakes, but I want to fix them now," No, Eirwyn thought to herself, No you don't get to come in here now, after abandoning us, and play the father role, it's too late for that! On the outside however Eirwyn remind calm, she knew better than to argue with the adults, and she was too exhausted from the emotional stress of the past week to really put up much of an argument. Instead she remained silent as Mr. Bier once again took her up to her room, this time to pack her belongings.

Fortunately for Eirwyn, she had never really unpacked from when she was moved out of her apartment to the group home, so it was easy getting everything together and into the suit case that served as her only remaining belongings. Once everything was packed away, Eirwyn was taken down to the office where her so-called 'father' was doing the paperwork needed to take her home with him. Inside, Eirwyn could hear the two men were talking about her being blind as well as her albinism, and what needed to be done to make sure Eirwyn received proper treatment. Eirwyn snorted silently at that, she had never received any 'treatment' while with her mother! As long as she kept her skin covered on sunny days, and didn't stand outside for too long, then she was completely fine.

"So the almighty sorceress has been reduced to this," Eirwyn jumped out of her chair at the sound of the familiar voice of Sadie. How was that girl here? Eirwyn hadn't seen any of the kids from her school since the last time she saw her mother alive. Then Eirwyn realized that the voice had called her sorceress, so there was no way that it could have been the real Sadie, who knew nothing of her fantasy world. In fact, no one knew except her mother, because she knew that she would only be seen as being crazy.

"Where are you traitor," Eirwyn whispered loudly, "I know you're here!"

"Miss Fairfax are you okay?" asked the head of the group home as the two men walked out of the office.

"Huh, oh sorry," Eirwyn mumbled embarrassed that the two men had seen her jump, "Just thought I saw a bug." The man didn't reply, and Eirwyn internally groaned. Great, now the men thought she was crazy!

"Alright," The man said, turning back to Eirwyn's father, "Everything is all set, you two can head home now." Eirwyn again resisted the urge to snort. Home disappeared the instant her mother did. Once again, Eirwyn's father grabbed Eirwyn's arms, and led her out to his car.

The tension between Eirwyn and her father was thick enough to cut with a knife, though Eirwyn didn't really care. Instead, she stared out the window, listening to the wind rush by the car. After a few minute, Eirwyn herd her father turn the radio down, and she could already tell where this was going to go.

"Eirwyn,we need to talk," James said, "I know you must be angry, and upset with everything that's—." Eirwyn mumbled 'you think' under her breath loud enough for the older man to hear, but he ignored her, "—Been going on recently, but knowI never meant to hurt you."

"Then why did you leave?" Eirwyn asked, "Why did you leave mom to take care of me all by herself, when you knew I had special needs that had to be taken care of?"

"I was young," Eirwyn rolled her eyes, "It was a mistake. I spent years looking for the two of you when I finally realized my mistake, but by the time I finally found anything, your mother…well she was—."

"Already gone," Eirwyn murmured, "Yeah,I know." The two lapsed into silence, as Eirwyn thought on what the man next to her had told her. Was she really supposed to be that naive? Was she supposed to believe that her father left the woman he supposedly loved, and it was just a mistake? This is too much, Eirwyn thought to herself, resting her head against the window as the little pitter patter of rain hitting the window began. The sound seemed to sooth the girl's frantic mind, and lulled her into a semi-peaceful and dreamless sleep.

"Eirwyn, it is time to wake up," Her father said as he gently shook her shoulder. Eirwyn yawned, and stretched; before she realized that the car was stopped, meaning that they were wherever it was her father lived. Eirwyn got out of the car; hanging on the door, and the first thing she noticed was that it was unusually cold, wherever they were, especially for March, "Don't worry,you'll get use to the cold, it doesn't usually start warming up 'till April or May." Eirwyn's father said, as if reading the girl's mind.

"Where are we?"

"Burgess, Virginia." The man helped Eirwyn out of the car.

The two walked into the house, and Eirwyn was lead to somewhere at the back of the house. As her father sat her down on a bed she could practically feel her father's nervousness, "I'm sorry it's not much." The man finally mumbled after a moment, "But it was kind of put together at the last moment." Eirwyn nodded her head, and she could hear the man shift nervously, from where he stood by the door, "Well, I'll just go ahead and get the rest of your stuff while you get comfortable."

As the man left the room, Eirwyn slowly stood up, and, using the bed, felt her way around the room. The bed itself was pretty big, definitely bigger than the one she had back at her mother's house. There was a homemade quilt resting on top of the bed, made of different kinds of fabric, and at the end closest to the wall where a couple of pillows. The surface beneath Eirwyn's hand suddenly changed to a blank wall, and she continued her movement around the room, discovering a dresser with a TV sitting on top of it, and a mirror, which slightly amused Eirwyn. She finally made it to her closet, which was a double door, much like the one she had back home.

"Do you like it?" Eirwyn's father asked suddenly, making the pour girl jump and spin around, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"That's alright," Eirwyn mumbled, something she found she had been doing quite often recently, "And yes, I like the room, thank you." The two stood in silence for a moment.

"Well,do you need any help getting everything put away?" Eirwyn shook her head, "Alright,well,if you need anything, I'll be in the living room." Eirwyn listened to the sound of her father's footsteps leaving the room, and somewhere inside, Eirwyn grudgingly admitted that her father was at least trying to be pleasant. Shaking her head, she made her way over to her suit case next to the door, and began putting her clothing away.

The table was quiet, as its two occupants sat across from each other, each trying very hard to ignore the awkwardness as they ate their Chinese take-out. Eirwyn didn't mind the silence all that much, preferring to keep to her own thoughts for just a little while longer; though, she did feel as though she should at least say something to the man that was now letting her stay with him. Even if it was out of guilt more than anything else. Eirwyn was about to open her mouth to say something, however, her father beat her to the punch.

"Oh Evie, I just wanted to let you know I have to be back at work early tomorrow morning, do you think you will be okay by yourself for a few hours?"

"Yeah," Eirwyn mumbled, "Mom use to leave me alone for a couple of hours, on days when Sarah couldn't come and stay with me."

"Alright if you're sure," Eirwyn's father didn't sound convinced, "I'll have the neighbor's girl come by tomorrow when she get home from school to check on you."

"Alright, though it's not like I can really go anywhere anyway." Eirwyn's father stood up and walked over to the sink, placing his dishes inside.

"Well,I am going to head off to bed, see you in the morning." Eirwyn listened to the sound of her father's footsteps as they faded towards the opposite end of the house. She sat at the table for another moment in silence, simply staring at the table in front of her. With an exasperated sigh, Eirwyn stood up and made her way over to the sink, sitting the plate down and going back to her bedroom.

"I can't stand this," Eirwyn muttered, flopping down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling tears begin to prick at her eyes, "I miss you mom." Shutting her eyes, Eirwyn allowedherself to drift away from reality.

Everything was silent as Eirwyn rode through the village towards the apothecary, with only a lone guard by her side. Even without seeing it, Eirwyn knew that the skies above the village where grey and bleak, matching the mood of its citizens. So much had gone wrong in such a short period of time, and Eirwyn couldn't help but wonder if the village would ever recover. First, the village was affected by a strange illness which had made many sick, and even killed some. Then, the queen was killed by some unknown intruder. Despite all of this,however, Eirwyn knew there wasn't time to rest. Sadie was still out there, probably still poisoning the village's water. The guards could handle the Queen's death, which was still too painful for the girl to even think about.

"Ah, Lady Eirwyn, you have returned." The apothecary said, making Eirwyn smile.

"Salus, it is good to see you, have you discovered anything new?" The man was quietfor a moment, before placing an arm around Eirwyn's and leading her into his shop. Sitting her down in a chair, the older man shuffled around the room, surely messing with the books Eirwyn knew lined the walls of the apothecary's shop. After a moment the shuffling stopped, and Salus sat down in a chair across from her.

"To answer your question, my lady, I have found something quite interesting indeed," Salus paused for only a moment, and Eirwyn heard the ruffling of papers, "You were correct about the poison in the water; however it is the kind of poison which I think you will find interesting. Itcomes from a rare planet which can only be found in the Gunda region." Eirwyn was silent for a moment; Gunda was a neighboring country, whom her own country, Arvid, had many problems with since her earliestknown memories. If Gunda was involved, then the poisoning could have only been done by one person.

"So I was right," Eirwyn said, "It has to be Sadie, since she is the only one who has connections with both Gunda and Arvid. Is there a cure for the poison?"

"Yes, but I am afraid it is not something that is easy to get a hold of, for just as the poison itself comes from Gunda, so does the cure."

"Then we don't have much of a choice," Eirwyn stood, and walked over to door, "I will go to Gunda at once and retrieve whatever it is that can cure this curse upon the land."

"My lady, wait!" Salus said standing up and walking over to where Eirwyn stood, "At least allow me to come with you. After all, I am the only one who knows what and where the plant is." Eirwyn blinked for a moment before smiling kindly at the man.

"Alright then," Eirwyn said, hopping on her horse, "I must go and inform the steward of our plans, we'll leave first thing in the morning." Eirwyn said goodbye to her friend before leaving the apothecary's shop, and heading back towards the palace with this new lead buzzing in her mind.

The steward was a man who had seen many battles, which made him a wise, but strict, ruler. Though Eirwyn could not actually see him, his aura alone was enough to tell the sorceress not to mess with him. It wasn't that the steward wasn't a bad person per say, but there was simply something about him in the way he quickly ascended to the throne, barely even taking the time to mourn the queen's death. While Eirwyn was aware of how the politics worked in Arvid, that did not mean Eirwyn had to like it.

"Lady Eirwyn, you have returned," There was something about the deep voice and strange accent which struck a chord of familiarity inside Eirwyn. She bowed her head, before straightening back up and looking right at the steward.

"I have my lord," Eirwyn replied, "and I come baring information for you; there has been a lead involving the poisoning of the people's water, and I leave tomorrow to the land of Gunda at dawn." The steward was silent a moment, and Eirwyn wondered what there could possibly be to ponder about. They had a lead to finally curing people. Shouldn't he be excited?

"Are you sure this is a wise idea, you going alone into enemy territory?" The steward asked, sounding genuine in his concern for the young sorceress, "And we still need to figure out exactly how the poison is getting into the water."

"It is believed that the traitor Sadie may have something to do with that, though I do not know exactly how she is managing it," Eirwyn paused, "And there is nothing to worry about, my lord; I will not be going alone. Salus, the medicine man, is going with me as well, to help locate the ingredient needed for the poison's cure. While we are away I will have Salus's apprentice looking into how exactly the water is getting poisoned."

"Then so be it. However, I will still have two guards accompany you, at least to the border," Eirwyn curtsied to the steward, before leaving to begin packing the items she would need for the next morning.

The sound of a blaring alarm clock startled Eirwyn awake and she sighed. She could only guess that the sound was coming from her father's room, so she continued to lay there for a while, before she realized that the blare of the alarm clock was still going. Getting up, Eirwyn slowly made her way towards the sound, feeling along the walls until she reached the door that lead to her father's room. Eirwyn pressed her ear against the door, waiting to see if she could hear anyone moving around. Hearing nothing, Eirwyn opened the door to the room and stepped inside. Once inside, it didn't take long for her to find the alarm clock and shut it off, holding back the urge to throw it against the wall.

"So much for sleeping in." Eirwyn muttered, sitting the alarm clock back on the table. She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she went. She slowly made her way to the kitchen, deciding since she was up to go ahead and get herself some breakfast. As she sat down to cereal and milk, she couldn't help but find herself swathed in a depression once more. Usually breakfast was the only time Eirwyn and her mother had to spend together, so they would always make the most of it by talking about anything and everything. Now, however, it was just her—all alone.

Before Eirwyn could become too lost in her own dark thoughts, there was a noise which came from the back of the house. Eirwyn stood and made her way towards the double glass door, which separated the inside from the backyard. Opening the door, Eirwyn shivered; it had to be really early, possibly even before the sun rose. Eirwyn stepped out onto the porch, trying to see if she could hear the noise again. Just before turning back to head inside Eirwyn heard a voice that made her blood run cold.

"Well, if it isn't the great and powerful sorceress," the voice of the traitor Sadie sneered. Eirwyn turned around, staring at where she had heard the voice as a cold shock shot through her body

"W-what are you doing here?" Eirwyn asked, her voice trembling.

"Don't tell me you're scared now," Sadie asked, and Eirwyn could hear the sound of her shoes as she walked closer, "What happened to the big bad Eirwyn who would defend her village no matter what?" Eirwyn said nothing, the cold having grip her body so hard that it made even the act of breathing difficult, "Not so powerful without your precious queen are you?

"Don't you dare even bring her into this." Eirwyn growled, a fiery heat beating away the cold. Sadie said nothing, but stopped moving forward. Eirwyn could feel the other girl's breath as it hit her cheek.

"What are you going to do about it?" Sadie taunted, "You'll have to catch me if you want to hurt me." Eirwyn lunged at the girl, miss-stepping and falling on the ground. Sadie's laughter rang in her ears as Eirwyn picked herself off the ground, "Come on, Evie, you're going to have to do better than that!"

Eirwyn chased after the voice; it was almost as if she could see Sadie's back in front of her. The enraged girl didn't know why or how she was able to see the other girl, only that she was determined to catch her at all costs and bring her back to the castle for judgment.

Eirwyn became so lost in her own thoughts of revenge that she forgot to take in her surroundings. She soon found herself falling through darkness, the wind rushing up as if trying to slow her descent and failing. She braced herself for impact, but was surprised when she didn't feel anything. Instead it was as if she was free falling through the sky, with no idea of how far down the ground truly was. There was a whisper in Eirwyn's ear that she couldn't make out due to the rushing wind around her, and before she even had time to think on it, Eirwyn was consumed by light.