Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Dream ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter ThreeDream

 

She watched her father from her spot on the floor as he grimaced and struggled to tie the bandage around the wound he had received from a recent spar. He glanced up at her and grinned a little, to which she smiled delightfully. He made a “come-here” gesture with his good hand and she stood, taking care not to trip over her own feet in her excitement to get to him.

 

When she reached his side he reached down and lifted her one handed into his lap and said, “I'm having a little trouble tying this-” he gestured at his left arm “-would you be so kind as to finish this for me, my lady?” His tone was light and playful and drew a delighted laugh from her as she reached for the bandage and finished tying it.

 

“Why don't you have the palace imagi look at that, dear?” came the soft, musical voice of her mother's twin. She glanced at her aunt and felt her joy wither at the dark look settling over the woman's features. “There's talk of a fight happening soon, so get the imagi to tend that before you come to harm.”

 

She turned her round silver eyes to her father's hard features. No protest fell past her lips as he lifted her from his lap and set her on the floor, then stood to face Kinnara. “We're leaving before it comes to a fight. Your parents have already granted us use of their carriage and agreed to help set us up with new identities so that we will be less noticeable among the peasants. The Riagenkai has also agreed to help us alter our appearances. Tara and Soren-”He stopped abruptly as something crucial snapped in Kinnara's eyes.

 

Soren shuddered as all the pretenses her aunt had ever held-mother, lover, wife-fell away to reveal the woman beneath to exterior, a woman barely clinging to sanity. Kinnara's once beautiful features twisted beyond recognition as she pulled at her hair and screamed, “You always choose her over me! You've never loved me, it's always been Tara and her daughter, never me!!!” Kinnara shuddered and began pacing in a lopsided circle, muttering to herself and occasionally throwing curses at the two of them.

 

“Soren,” he said softly, never taking his eyes off the deranged woman. “Go find Fayra and take care of her. Make sure the two of you are ready to go, but don't pack anything that would give us away as former nobles.”

 

“Fayra's just in the other room with mama,” Soren replied just as quietly, attaching herself to her father's leg and eyeing her aunt with seven years worth of mistrust.

 

As if to emphasize her words a sleepy voice asked, “Papa, where's mama?” Fayra stood in the doorway that connected the main bedroom to one of the many side suites knuckling sleep from her eyes.

 

Kinnara rounded on her daughter with surprising speed and screamed in fury before she pounced on the girl and started hitting her. Before Soren could even think to look to her father for help he was across the room wrestling the woman away from Fayra and back towards the bed.

 

“Soren,” he bellowed and she pelted across the room towards her dazed sister, dodged around the adults grabbed the younger girl, and began hauling her back into the other room. Her blood chilled as she heard her father give a startled gasp of pain. Time froze as she turned her head in time to see her father collapsing to his knees, clutching at his side as blood poured unheeded from his fresh wound.

 

Kinnara stood over him, a serenely triumphant look replacing her insanity of earlier. “You had your chance, dear. Now Tara can never have you to herself,” she said softly.

 

Two screams pierced the deathly stillness, one the disbelieving denial of a child and the other an agonized cry of a young woman.

 

Soren woke screaming and sat bolt upright in her straw bed, drenched in cold sweat. She threw the thin blanket to the side and made to stand, but collapsed to her hands and knees as tremors stole the strength from her legs. Pressing her clammy forehead against the rough dirt she drew in shaky breaths as she regained control of her small, fragile body. A burning sensation smoldered behind her frozen silver eyes, threatening to spill over onto the earth.

 

“Damn. Damn,” she whispered, clenching her fists in her long, crimson hair as she ruthlessly shoved her tears away. “It was just a dream. It can't affect me anymore. What's done is done and there's no changing the past.” Even as she said the words an unbidden tear escaped her and fell to mingle with the dirt.

 

She ignored the pain that twisted in her stomach and pushed herself into a kneeling position, staring out the window just above eye level. The moonlight washed over her, giving her light skin an ashen color, as she continued to inhale deeply. Closing her eyes, she emptied her mind and buried the dream as far from her consciousness as possible. The pain eased as the seconds ticked by and when she next opened her eyes to stare at the crescent moon her breathing had returned to normal.

 

As though rousing herself from a deep slumber she shook her head a little uncertainly and rose to her feet and turned to leave by way of the door. There were chores to do and Homuna to look after. Perhaps Sais would be by again today with more of the game she and her familiar had been hunting. Wherever the dragon was, she was doing more than hunting for game. She said very little of her activities when she left the Sanma, but Soren had the feeling that she was keeping an eye out for the last of Kinnara's men and other dragons, namely Farin.

 

The thought barely registered in her mind before her feet caught against something that felt oddly like a horsehair rope stretched across the crude doorway. For one sickening moment Soren hung in the air before the ground rushed up greet her face to face. She landed hard and broke the worst of her fall by throwing her hands out in front of her. Pain shot up through her hands and into her shoulders from the jarring impact.

 

Twisting her torso slightly she took a good look at the rope and cursed with all the creative violence and heat she could muster towards the idiotic girl that had set the ridiculous thing. “That's it,” she snarled finally as she pushed herself to her feet again and dusted the dirt off the knees of the breeches she had slept in. “Shandra isn't getting away with this again.” She ripped the wire from the doorway and then set off to find the younger girl.

 

Soren didn't have to go far, just outside of the sleeping wing of the Sanma, or home to the village orphans, lay the schoolyard where they spent most of their lessons when the weather permitted. Right now, though, most of the girl's from the Sanma and even a few of the younger boys were gathered near the only bench where Shandra sat, talking and gesturing to illustrate her point.

 

As she approached the group her angry gait slowed. The air rippled and bent slightly around her as she stopped a few feet from the others. Why do you hesitate? a soft feminine voice questioned her. Will you continue to endure her endless pranks or will you put a stop to them once and for all?

 

You know how to herd people without hurting them, don't you, Chimadori? Soren asked her familiar, her eyes lingering on Homuna's glistening black scales.

 

Mostly, Chimadori agreed.

 

Good, then I want you to materialize and clear a path through these people for me. I don't want her using them as a shield when I go for her.

 

A soft chuckle was her only response before the white snow leopard rippled into existence and leapt forward, her teeth bared in a feral snarl though her claws remained sheathed as she swatted playfully at the other children. They scattered, knowing better than to mess with an apparently wild animal. Then Soren was through them and Chimadori had turned her head in time to see her master's fist connect solidly with Shandra's jaw with a satisfying crack.

 

Shandra toppled over the bench and crashed into the tall oak that had been sheltering them from the rising sun. the tree shook from the force of the impact and loosed a shower of gold and red leaves in a shower over all their heads. Soren ignored the leaves and stepped over the bench where she almost casually stooped and grabbed a fistful of the younger girl's shirt and hauled her up until they were almost nose to nose.

 

“Listen well, chit, because I'll say this only once,” Soren said softly, her silver eyes flashing dangerously. “Next time you screw with me make sure it's closer to my bed. If Homuna gets hurt by one of your or your friends' stupid stunts I will find the longest stick there is in the village and shove it so far up your ass it comes out your throat.”

 

Then Soren released Shandra and allowed the girl to step shakily away. Shandra wiped the back of her hand over her mouth and flicked her black hair almost lazily from her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment and the younger girl visibly regained her composure.

 

“I've always wondered about the color of your eyes,” Shandra said, too calmly for Soren's liking. “They are much too light to be blue, but neither are they bleached entirely of color. I've noticed that when you get angry they go all cold, like you're freezing inside. Is that some sort of magic trick that you learned? Because I've only ever heard of one family whose child had silver eyes, the next in line as head of the disgraced Kiragashi clan.”

 

Soren's fingers twitched a little at the mention of her family. How long ago had it been since she had even heard from them? Nine, ten years at least from the main family and nearly two full years since she had heard any news on her mother and sister.

 

A look of triumph flashed across her features as Shandra took Soren's silence as confirmation. “So it's true then. You are the missing Kiragashi heir. Is it also true that your mother killed your father because he was in love with your aunt and not her?” she asked too eagerly.

 

Her eyes lost their usual lively color as they went dead and a strangely blank look crossed Soren's face. She sank her fist into Shandra's stomach with enough force to make the younger girl cough up blood. Bending her knees she went down with Shandra as Soren caught her weight against her shoulder. Lowering her lips to Shandra's ear so only she could hear she said, “The one that killed my father was my insane aunt and until two years ago my sister and I lived with my mother when her twin showed up with several men. Kinnara came close to killing her own daughter and sister so she could kidnap and torture me. If she weren't already dead I'd be out there hunting her right now, just like I'll hunt you if you ever speak of my family again.”

 

Shoving Shandra's shaking frame against the tree she rose with a grace that befitted her noble blood. She ignored the frightened way that the other children scrambled out of her way and the quizzical look that Homuna gave her as he trailed after her.

 

Quite the act there, Chimadori said lazily as she fell in step with her master. Do you think that it will indeed keep the other children away?

 

“It doesn't matter,” Soren answered, tilting her head back to look at the sky. “Homuna what would you say to leaving this place behind and traveling with Sais for a while? I think six months is more than enough time in one place and we would get to see more places than this town and the Sanma.”

 

Homuna chirped his agreement, his form twisting from that of a black dragon to a small child that could have been close to six years old. “Where do we head from here, Sor?” he asked, trotting to her side and taking her hand in both of his. “Will we head to the capital? I heard that the Riagenkai has been searching these last two years, circling in his dragon form and searching by hand in the cities where he can. Do you think he's looking for you?”

 

Soren seriously considered it for a moment. “No,” she said. “If he wants to find us then he'll have to do it the old fashion way. I won't make it any easier than I have to. We'll wait to see if Sais shows up today, but if she doesn't then I'll leave a message for her with the caretaker and we'll head out in the morning. For now I'll take Chimadori and go hunting so we can have at least some food.”

 

“I go?” Homuna asked eagerly, brightening suddenly.

 

Any remnants of her foul mood were broken at the sight of her young charge's bright expression. She laughed and ruffled his hair. “Yes, Homuna, I think that Chimadori and I can teach your Kingen how to track.” She smiled at Homuna as he gave her a shy grin and she led him towards the forest off the Sanma grounds.