1It was getting dark as George and Allanna came out of the woods and saw a little town sitting a little ways from a castle.
"Lets rest here dear, its getting late and we need to find shelter" George said to his wife.
"Ok, but we are getting a very early start tomorrow do you know where EXACTLY she is?" replied Allanna, clearly almost asleep on her feet.
"Yes, my men have reported that she is in this small region. We will go to the castle tomorrow and ask if they have seen her" said George, though he knew it was pointless, Allanna was pretty much already asleep. He dropped her support and picked her up and made his way to the little town.
When they got there, they were surrounded by curious eyes and people going home from work. One man said to them "Hello, you don't seem to be from around here. If I was you, I would move on and not sleep here unless you sleep with one eye open, not to be rude or anything. But these people are spirited luarin haters and you don't want to get on there bad side."
"I know what you mean but my wife is already asleep and I need a place to stay. Do you know if there is a sheltered place around here then?" asked George, as innocently as possible.
The man looked around then whispered to him "Come with me, you can stay with me and my family for the night but you will have to go early in the morning and try to evade the others, if you know what I mean."
"Of course" whispered George back "and thank you ever so much."
The man led them past many houses until they came to a hut with candlelight flickering through the cracks, a few shrieks of joy cut the air as kids ran out of the house and hugged the old man. A woman came to the door and stood there watching as the man went up and hugged her.
He then turned around and said "Martha, this is ... ummm ..."
"John" George answered for him "and my wife Clara."
"Yes, John and Clara. I found him on the streets and he needs a place to stay for the night, is it alright if they stay here? I just couldn't bear to leave them." he asked his wife sympathetically.
"Oh alright, how could I refuse?" she replied in a high, grand motherly voice.
"Oh and by the way, I am George, this is my wife Martha and my two kids, George and Mary." said old man George.
"How can I ever repay you?" sighed George as his back started to hurt.
"Well first of all you can come inside and get something to eat. Im afraid we don't have much but I can still get a bed for you and your wife to get your energy stored up until tomorrow." said Martha kindly. They then went into the house and got Allanna a bed. After that they went into the main room and sat around a fire.
"So, what are you doing, traveling through a Raka village? Being a luarin and all no offense." said old man George as he lit a pipe and started to smoke it.
He then offered George a pipe and as George accepted it, he replied "we are searching for our daughter who was taken from us in our sleep. We are now searching for her and asking the people we meet if they have seen her. We plan to go up to the castle tomorrow morning and ask them if they have seen our daughter."
"You know, we have seen one of there slaves, a luarin like you, herding sheep. But she was taken off of that job and rumor has it put to work serving the daughters of the Duke." said old man George thoughtfully.
"Really?" replied George clearly perking up at the news "what does she look like?"
"She is a skinny little thing, reddish blonde hair about 5 inches long like it was shaved and is now growing back. She has very green hazel eyes, small nose, and some people say that they can see daggers on her person under her clothes, but only if you look real close." said old man George, not really thinking about it. George could have jumped with joy but experience kept him quiet.
"That sounds a little bit like her but I never thought that she would carry daggers!" said George, lying through his teeth "well, I think its time I turned in, thank you very much." George put down his pipe and went to bed.
In the morning old man George woke George up, signaling for him to wake Allanna up. "Clara dear, wake up. Clara" whispered George gently so that Allanna would know what her name was supposed to be. Once Allanna was up and they had thanked their hosts, they were on there way to the castle, but when they got there a sight that startled even George awaited them. Guards, men-at arms, and soldiers littered the ground. The gate had been broken and the wood was still burning slightly. This made George and Allanna quicken their pace. They got up to the door leading into the hall and opened it slowly, afraid of what they would find. Creaking, the door finished opening and the sight that followed shocked them out of breath. At the same moment they both yelled "ALY!!!" and ran into the room.
A/N my friend told me to make the chapters longer so I did. Hope you like it. I only have about 2 or 3 more chapters if I write them like this so enjoy!