"Climbing trees like we did when we were children
Scaling walls; the walls that took us years to build"
9:16 Dragon
"No, no. It's all wrong. You're supposed to be the evil wizard who takes the princess." Eshne put her hands on her hips, her gingery hair flying all about in the sweet breeze.
She stomped over to put the flower crown upon the head of a shorter girl with black hair, peppered with spots of white.
"But why is Melia the princess?" Tamlen frowned, crossing his arms.
"Because I said so." Eshne put out her tongue.
"Lame…" Tamlen muttered to himself, the fake nose Eshne had attached to his face twitching every now and again.
Eshne put her arm around Melia, who was also frowning, "You're supposed to be the halla princess, and halla princesses are happy."
"This is trivial, Eshne." Melia said, "Why do we have to do these games?"
"Because there's more to life than aspiring to be a hunter." Eshne rolled her violet eyes, "Now where is our halla?"
She looked around for Melia's cousin Thackery. Not finding him, she looked to Merrill.
"You're the stand in."
"Me?" Merrill said sheepishly, "But I'm not a good halla, Eshne, I threw up last time."
"You'll be fine." Eshne assured her, setting the halla horns she make from sticks on top of Merrill's head, "Now go."
Merrill pranced next to Melia, who was swatting away Tamlen for messing with the flowers on her crown.
"Go!" Eshne shouted, sitting in the grass to watch her friends.
Tamlen rolled his eyes and sighed, "Oh, come now, sweet halla princess, to my castle of doom." He said in a monotone voice.
Melia blushed, flustered with her part, "I do not want to say my line."
"Just do it." Eshne urged her.
Melia felt sick, "You foul wizard, though your...loins may ache f...no no, Eshne, I already said it and it made Thackery pee his smallclothes."
"We shouldn't even know these words." Merrill pointed out.
"You'll be fine." Eshne sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"Say loins again!" A voice called from the trees.
"Oh, Thackery!" Melia stomped her foot.
A slender boy, not 6-years-old landed on his feet after falling from his branch. His mop of black hair nearly covering his wide green eyes.
"But it's so great when you say it!" Thackery ducked from Melia trying to hit him.
"I'll have no fighting among the actors!" Eshne broke them apart.
A voice called above the squabble.
"Eshne!"
Tamlen and Thackery started laughing, "You're in trouble, Esh."
"Shut up." Eshne waved them off, running back towards their camp.
She could see her mother, dark red hair held back in a braid, rubbing her pregnant belly. She stood with the Keeper. Marethari's face turned grey when she saw Eshne burst through the trees.
Eshne's mother bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead, then she asked.
"Da'len, can you show the keeper what you showed babae this morning?"
Eshne furrowed her brow, wondering why the Keeper would be interested in the lights that came from her fingers. Shrugging, Eshne held out her fingers, cracks of red and orange flowing through the creases in her palms. Bright embers burst up from her hand, Eshne smiled, thinking that she was something special.
Her expression changed when she saw the worry in the keepers face.
"Danyla," She said, "I must speak to you and your husband in my aravel." She turned away.
Eshne sat down in the grass, twirling it within her small fingers. Thackery came running over, sitting down next to her.
"What did your mamae want?"
Eshne shrugged, "She had me show Marethari the lights."
"Why?"
"I don't know, Thackery." Eshne fell into the grass.
Thackery thought for a moment, then he smiled, some of his teeth missing, "Mel would know, she's smart!"
"I wouldn't worry about it," Eshne said, "It's probably because I'm awesome."
"Don't lie to yourself." Thackery laughed, pushing slightly on Eshne's knee.
The two sat quietly for a moment, Thackery perked up.
"Let's go throw mud on Mel. She's with the others by the river."
Eshne thought for a moment, "Well I don't know my mammae said-of course I'll go." Eshne got up and started running for the river.
The two of them came upon Tamlen and Fenarel swinging from the vines on the trees, falling into the river with a great splash. Melia sat on the banks, letting Merrill braid her hair.
Eshne and Thackery snuck into the bushes, waiting for Tamlen and Fenarel to climb out of the water. They rushed forward, clumps of warm mud in their small hands. They pelted Melia and Tamlen with mud, Merrill getting some on her face, and Fenarel just barely getting mud on his chest.
"Thackery!" Melia screamed.
Tamlen ran for Thackery, chasing him into the river. Eshne sat and laughed, watching Melia wash the mud off of her face and hair, grumbling to herself.
Melia looked up, watching tamlen laugh and splash Thackery before he turned back for the banks.
"Thackery!" She called, "You're going too far. Mamae said not to go past the big rocks."
Thackery rolled his eyes, "Stop being such a nag M-"
Melia screamed, watching her cousin disappear under the water. Eshne stopped laughing, looking on in horror. She got up and ran as fast as she could to try and get someone, Merrill following behind her.
Melia jumped into the water, Tamlen trying to pull her back. She swam as fast as she could, taking a deep breath before submerging herself into the water, Tamlens cries drowned out as she searched for her cousin.
She saw a mess of black hair, Thackery was struggling to get his leg unstuck from between a few rocks, bubbles flying up from his mouth. Melia went over, trying to pull him free, her heart racing.
Thackery soon became heavier and heavier, Melia went into a panic, pulling as hard as she could.
Suddenly, she was pulled from the water, and Thackery with her. She felt Ashalle's bear-like arms around her. They were pulled to the shore. The keeper stood with Hahren Paivel, waiting for Thackery. Marethari held her hand over Thackery's mouth, pulling the water from his lungs with a wave of her hand.
When he spit up the water, Melia rushed to him, hugging him with all of her strength.
Ashalle wrapped them both up in her arms, kissing their foreheads.
"What were you two thinking?" Ashalle asked them, tears streaming down her face, "Dirthara-ma…"
The crowd finally settled and dispersed, Thackery went away from the river as soon as he could, never wanting to go back.
It was close to noon when the Keeper came to Athras and Danyla's tent the next day. Eshne was listening to the baby in her mother's stomach when the Keeper went to speak to her babae. He was incredibly angry, his red face matching his hair. He went over and kissed Eshne on the forehead.
He picked her up and held her close to him, she felt the heat from his red face as he spoke, his voice cracked and shaky, "Ir abelas, da'len."
Eshne didn't understand, her father repeating his words over and over. She saw her mother, pale faced, but stoic as she left the tent. She noticed tears coming from her large violet eyes.
"Mamae?" Eshne began, starting to cry out of confusion.
"Da'len," Danyla looked at Eshne, "Emma ir abelas, Eshne." She stroked the wavy red hair from her daughter's freckled face, "You...you have to…" Her words were choked back.
Athras pulled away from his daughter, Eshne saw that his eyes were red from crying.
"We're going to have to take you away, da'len." His words were chilled.
Eshne's heart quickened, she wanted to think they were all going, but somehow she knew it was only going to be her.
"Iras?" She asked her parents.
"Away, Eshne." Danyla spoke quietly, "To a place where there's other children like you."
"Keeper is like me."
"Oh, da'len, we know. But the keeper has already chosen her second. No other clan can take us in either." Danyla hid her face.
Athras set Eshne back on the ground, standing up, his eyes spoke the intense anger he held inside.
"Da'len. Emm'asha. No matter what, your father and I will always love you." She spoke softly, squeezing her daughter's fingers between hers.
It didn't take long for Eshne to gather her things. The Circle, so her mother called it, didn't allow certain things, so all Eshne took was her favorite dress and her birthday deer, Asha, a patchwork brown fawn her mother had hand stitched.
The sun was almost gone from the sky when a group of men and women dressed in bright silver armor came to the camp.
Keeper Marethari spoke to them, Eshne didn't want to hear what she said. The keeper was probably telling them how bad she had been, because the orange and pink lights came from her hands.
Eshne saw from the crowd of her clan that her friends were there, saying goodbye for the last time. She waved to them sadly, then looking away so she didn't have to cry. She saw Tamlen, and Melia. Thackery, with his lip trembling, Ashalle holding onto him. Even Fenarel looked sad to see her leave. She saw Merrill. The one that took Eshne's place as second. She wasn't sure if she hated the girl just yet, she felt like she did, but wasn't entirely sure.
Eshne took the hand of one of the men in armor, his kind eyes made her feel better, but not wholly.
She heard someone running to her.
"Don't go Eshne!" Melia hugged her from behind, her wild black and white hair whipping Eshne's face.
Ashalle ran over to bring Melia away from the Templars, glaring at them as she did. Melia stretched out her hands for Eshne, tears falling down her face.
Eshne wiped the tears from her face, taking the hand of a Templar. She looked back one last time to see her father on his knees, holding her mother's belly and crying.