All I have left

Hiding underground has never been one of my favorite experiences. The smell of wet earth and too many close bodies suffocates me. Nissa presses me to the back of the burrow and I can feel how skinny she's become in the last year. My heart hurts and I silently promise to bargain for more meat this week. We’d been placed in a hunting party. Nissa and I were tasked with foraging for roots, berries, and nuts and the two men are hunters. The wispy scarf I wore does nothing to keep the debris from scuttling down my back, feeling too much like spiders for my liking. Eventually, the footfalls fade and it is time to leave the den. Cameron is the younger of the hunters and his sandy blond curls do nothing to hide the malice in his eyes. He was all too excited when Nissa was placed on the foraging team and I don’t want to see what his attentions bring my sister. Nissa is both beautiful and innocent, which seems to get us into more trouble than one would think. Next to her, I am calloused and skeptical. My hair is course compared to her flowing locks and though I am older, I have always been shorter. My body was made for working while hers sings the song of motherhood and lovemaking. Grunting he motions towards the entryway pulling Nissa by the hand. My feet don’t want to work after sitting in that damn den for so long, but there is no time to let them re-acclimate to blood flow. Cameron and the second hunter, Tallon lead the way and are not looking for any input from the women. Which is fine by me, I prefer to hang back and keep our distance from the brutes.

It always takes a few weeks to settle into a new camp. Not that it matters much. The wind and trees whisper our secrets and they always lead them to her. The royal fae. It wasn’t enough to take our land and homes from us, they began kidnapping humans a few years back. People disappear and are never heard from again, and we continue to cower like the weaker species we are. After our parents were killed in the takeover, Nissa and I found our first settlement. We had been there almost six months when we went to the river for water to wash in. My skin prickled as if eyes were watching us from the trees and the hair on the back of my neck rose. The rushing water lapping at my feet seemed to urge me closer to whatever crouched in the thick underbrush. My mind scrambled as I tried to figure out this compulsion I felt to walk towards the darkness in the woods. My feet began to move, even as every cell in my body protested to run in the opposite direction. Nothing good pulls you in while triggering all your instincts to run. My body was moving of its own accord when thankfully, Nissa grabbed hold of my arm “Lina, help me with this bucket would you?” She hands me one side of the metal bucket we used for carrying water, oblivious to the tug of war happening within me. Whatever hold this thing had on my body is broken and a sense of reason comes rushing back in. There is still something in those woods and I need to get as far away as I can. We fill our bucket and begin to hobble towards the bank, sloshing water as our steps find a rhythm with one another. Looking back one last time I catch a glimpse of movement across the river and quicken our pace. We stumbled back to camp and had just set down our bucket, water still unsettled, when the hoof-beats started, followed by screaming from every direction. I knew in my heart that we were going to meet the thing in the woods if we didn’t move fast. I grabbed the two small packs that we kept at the foot of our shared bedroll and dragged Nissa out the back of the tent. What I saw stopped me in my tracks. Four royal faes galloping through camp. Their mounts appeared to be horses but their size suggested otherwise. Velvet-covered muscles rippled along their shoulders as they strode deeper into camp, their breath coming out in hot plumes around their gnashing muzzles. The first rider wore a white shirt unbuttoned at the top showing his expansive stature and bronzed skin. His face left no question that he was not human. Across his chest were a bandoleer and a brutal ax, its onyx blade sheathed in darkness as if it sucked the light from the world. Heart sinking, I grip Nissa's hand a little tighter. They had seen us at the river and followed us here and now people would die because of it. Their leader brought his horse to a swift stop, his mount rearing up at the sudden change in trajectory. “I am looking for the beautiful girl by the river” he boomed, and the throng of people halted in their tracks. Scanning the crowd, he met each stare with a cold, unrelenting dominance. “Where is she? I will not ask again!” He was looking for Nissa, the realization hit me somewhere deep in my bones. A shiver ran down my spine. Pulling Nissa to the ground we scuttle towards the outskirts of the camp. I can hear the fae bastard questioning the others about our whereabouts. He must be directed towards our tent because his voice is getting louder even as we slip into the surrounding woods. The last thing I hear is bloodcurdling screams that can only be associated with death and pain.

That was the first of many experiences that were much the same. We run, we hide, we bargain for entrance into a camp until we are found. Then we do it all over again. Sometimes I can feel his presence clawing after us and I know it’s time to move on.

I am pulled from my thoughts as we get to the first outpost of our new camp. Cameron and Tallon frantically search for the man who is supposed to be stationed here. It’s silent in a way that I’ve come to acknowledge as the calm before the storm. My instincts are telling me it's time to run. We have some provisions with us and could easily slip into the woods from here. We nearly do, but there is a commotion ahead of us as two familiar beasts step out from the trees. Cameron curses and reaches for his bow, though It won't be much assistance against what's ahead of us. Nissa and I turn to run and catch sight of two more fae males behind us who are already leaping off their beast horses. “Put down your bow and step out of the way human, no need for your blood to spill today.” The leader says with a calmness that makes the pit of my stomach clench painfully. To my horror, both Cameron and Tallon follow the faes gaze toward us and step aside, still clutching their weapons wearily. Loyalties are hard to come by when you’re a vagabond. Trembling I step in front of Nissa as the horses inch closer with their riders from hell. I will not let them take her, not without a fight they’ll remember. I crouch in a stance I've seen many others take before a fight, not knowing what I'll do when they reach me. The leader with his cursed black blade laughs at my feeble attempt at bravery. “Did you really think after all this time I was after her?” My breath hitches and I am left trying to piece together what he just revealed. In that moment of confusion, he strikes. In less than a breath, he has covered the distance between us. Suddenly he has me in his arms. The last thing I remember is that familiar feeling of something crawling over my skin, only this time it doesn't stop at my skin. The world goes dark as his magic sweeps into my mind and sends me to oblivion.

I wake to silk sheets and a room that smells faintly of pine and berries. I can feel his eyes on me. The same feeling I always get right before we make a run for it. “you're awake, I'll leave you to dress... I expect you in the dining room in thirty minutes.” He reaches for the door and calls over his shoulder “Your sister escaped during your capture, thought you'd want to know.” And then he was gone. Cocky fae brute expects I will oblige to his wishes. Thirty minutes later and I am still in the clothes I came in with, sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for someone to come back so I can tell them where to shove it. I am leaving. I'll find Nissa and be done with whatever is going on here. Somewhere deep inside I know that’s not how it will go but I shove that aside. I clench my fists to keep from trembling as a knock on the door sends my heart into a wild gallop. The door opens and my captor leans on the door frame. Arms crossed and face unreadable, he takes in my unchanged clothes and nervous energy. Before I can say anything he tosses me a small black leather-bound book. It lands unceremoniously on the bed and I make no move to reach for it. “You live with me and you will need to dress as such. Every merchant in town will accept my credit and are expecting you to call on them for whatever it is you need.” I look at him with utter confusion and he clarifies “take the book with you to keep track of your expenses... you can’t traipse around here looking like a heathen from the woods.” I am so lost as to how this has come to happen that I can barely form a sentence. “You expect me to go shopping?” My stomach churns at the familiarity with which he speaks to me. This swine captured me and separated me from my only family to keep me as a gods damned pet! His eyes soften slightly and he drops his chin the slightest bit “What is your name?” I am so exceedingly angry that it takes several deep breaths before I can respond “And what the hell does it matter what my name is? You fae never give a shit about whose lives you ruin, why start now?” My anger is a sentient being pounding in my head to be released. He turns to leave and I catch a fleeting glimpse of some softer emotion, sadness maybe. “You will have everything you need here, just keep track of what you spend in the book and do not try to run. I will find you.” And with that, he closes the door. What the actual hell was that? I snatch the book off the bed and examine the leather binding. The craftsmanship is perfect and the leather is exquisitely soft. I unravel the cording to look at the pages which I'm sure are also beautiful. Inside I find the beginnings of a ledger. There are places for merchant names and a separate column for expenses owed. There is a total column with the final total already written in as twenty thousand! I am seething at the audacity of this creature to think this would somehow appease all that's happened. Flipping to the front of the book I find a single sentence written in neat whimsical handwriting “All debts will be promptly paid by Kaine Brussoh.” followed by his signature. So that’s one mystery solved. His name is Kaine. Now to figure out how to use this new development to escape and find my sister.