Lilith:
I jolted awake as a sudden movement surged through me, The morning sun shining onto my face. I hauled myself up from my laying position, pain rocketing through me as I did as such. My limbs ached. From head to toe, I was filled with discomfort and my head was spinning. What had happened to me?
I scanned my eyes over my body, where the pain hurt the most. What I saw was more than I bargained for. For a twisting tattoo circled my arms, it's dark ink patterned like a vine reached from my shoulders to the ends of my wrists attached to a small circle on the back of my hand, images of fire, water and wind inked escaping the circle. A flash of memories filled my head. The bright light, the screams and the ashes that fell like snow.
No, no, no, no, no.
Had I done that? I looked to my palm, resting inside it I cupped a small flame. How was I doing that? I let a tear escape my eye, felt it's coldness as it rode down my face. So many people were dead.
Another jolt surged through me. I tore my eyes from my hands and examined my surroundings. I was on a wagon, how had I not noticed? It would explain a lot though, and the dizziness
"You're awake," I whipped my head around to the sound of a young but stern girl's voice "I didn't know if you would." Sitting at the front wagon the girl sat, holding the reins of the horse that dragged the wagon along.
I lifted my hands to my face. The flame had gone, as if they had died when my thoughts were trailed away from the flame and to the girl behind me.
"Where am I?" I asked out of curiosity and turned my position to face her back.
"We are on the lost trial." The lost trial, I'd heard that name before, "50 miles west of Quinten." Her voice was very calm.
"And… who are you," I asked, there were so many questions I wanted answered. Her golden locks covered her shoulders and she smelled of vanilla and pine.
She whipped her head behind her to look at me. Her eyes were a dark blue, that was what I noticed first. It was as if they were staring into my soul. Then there was her scar. It stretched from the top right corner of her forehead to the bottom left corner of her chin. But that couldn't be possible, it was her. The one in the crowd at my execution, I thought that had just been a dream.
"Where did you get that?" I asked uncomfortably,
"Sooooo many questions," she replied, "but I don't answer your questions until you answer mine." It was a demand and I wasn't Going to argue with her about it. I just nodded slightly for her to continue. She turned her head back to the road ahead. "Who are you? Where did you come from? And how did you do what you did?" her voice was almost trembling, there was fear in it.
"I'm Lilith Kingsly, I was born in Quinten and I don't know what you mean by the last question." Lie. I did know what she meant by the last question, I just didn't know the answer.
"I was standing in the crowd at your execution. I think you do know what I mean so I'm going to rephrase myself. How were you able to control the fire the way you did?" I stared blankly at her, I had thought no one survived.
"I don't know the answer." I came across harsh. "My turn. Who are you? How did you survive my execution?" She didn't respond. "How did you survive my execution?" I raised my voice.
"There is no need to scream," she sounded like my mother now, "My name is Luna. You will find out soon enough who I am and how I survived. For now you should just sleep, there is still a day's ride before we reach our destination."
"Our destination?" I questioned, "What destination?" There was a moments silence before she responded.
"Somewhere safe."
The girl with the scarred face:
The dark, night sky hung above me as I glued my eyes to the road ahead. It had been a long day and Lilith lay fast asleep in the back of my wagon, had been since this morning. There was something unusual about her though, besides her powers and all. Something different than any other gifted being I had crossed in my lifetime. When I saw her power at the execution it was different, stronger than any fire power I had seen before. Almost something more.
"Steady now, Makani," I leaned forward to pat the rear of my stead "almost there." I wouldn't be too much longer until we reached our destination. Somewhere safe where I could properly question Lilith and understand her without being overheard by Lanson spies.
"Neigh" Makani roared as she came to a sudden holt,
"What is it boy? What's wrong?" I gave him a shush as I hopped off the wagon. Leaves cracked behind me and I whipped around. There was silence. I could hear nothing but wind. The leaves cracked again in the opposite direction and I once again turned. I could feel a presence lurking all around me, I couldn't point to a specific spot to where that presence was, it was everywhere.
"Hahaha" laughter filled me head, "hahahahaha"
"Who are you?" I called. I felt dizzy, my head spinning, "who is out there?" Then, as if I was being snapped back into existence, it all stopped. The dizziness, the laughing stopped. And the presence disappeared. But I knew it was still out there watching.
Lilith:
"Wake up," I woke to a slap on my left arm, "where here." I fluttered open my eyes to the vision of a starlit sky, the stars scattered beautifully amongst the darkness blue. It was as if I was looking at it for the first time, I'd never seen the sky so beautiful.
I slowly sat up from laying in the wagon and stretched my arms, yawning so very loudly. I had slept like a baby, it was a long time since I had had a good night's rest, well overdue.
"Where exactly are we," I called to Luna, who was taking the reins of her horse. As I looked around my eyes were drawn to a large cottage. Large was an understatement. It was massive, I'd never seen a cottage so big before. Lit with lanterns hanging from the forest trees around us, I could also see the beauty of the cottage. A straw roof and beautiful flowers woven into the walls and the roof. I looked back to Luna who was pointing to a small wooden sign that hung from the straw roof just above the door. I lifted the lantern that hung beside me on the back of the wagon and squinted my eyes in an attempt to read it.
"The house of wind," Luna called out behind me and she pulled the harness from her horse. "Follow me." She took the mane of her horse and travelled round to the back of the cottage.
Lantern in one hand, I followed.
Behind the cottage there was a stable, beautiful lights of all different colours shone through the stalls. Then the world stopped, could this be a dream? Everything I was seeing was so beautiful and unbelievable. I'd never seen more beauty in my entire life. The cottage, the lights, the sky. It was almost. Magical.
I snapped back to reality and my eyes caught light of Luna and her horse in a stable shining in blue lights.
"Does he have a name?" I questioned, making my way to the shining stall, her scar almost disappearing in the blue light.
"Her, name is Makani. Named after the goddess of the wind and sky," Luna chuckled and grinned. "She was a gift from my mother on my 10th birthday. My silly little brain was obsessed with the stories of our history and gods at the time and named her after my ancestor," she shook her head in her laughter, smiling brightly now. Comforted by the memory of her past. "Come on, we best get inside."