A small fire burned in the corner of the room doing absolutely nothing to dry the damp walls. Instead chilly drafts waft through the countless invisible cracks in the floor, the door and the single grimy window. At the center of the room sat a small cot. A woman with short dark brown hair and golden eyes sat beside the cot gazing down fondly at its inhabitant ; a little girl with round hazel coloured doe eyes. The girl though awake, was lying down peacefully, sucking on her thumb and staring intently at the cracked low ceiling. Every now and then she would break out into giggles as if something or someone was making her laugh and the corner of the mother's eyes would crinkle in faint amusement, a corner of her mouth lifting up into a smile.
A sharp rap at the weather beaten door startles the mother out of her trance. She scrambles out of her chair and throws a quick glance around the room to check that nothing seems out of the ordinary. Fixing a forced smile on her face she throws the door open. A woman stands on the other side. The woman is inside before the door is even fully opened and the mother's face expressions almost immediately relaxes as she takes in the woman who is dressed in rough tattered robes. A halo of golden hair escaping her head cover frame her face. Her eyes are identical to the mother's.
"Are you ready?" The woman asks. Her eyes twitch slightly as if she expects someone to jump at her. The mother just shakes her head in denial glancing worriedly at her daughters still form.
"She'll have to live her life running?" She asks. She knows but somehow she's wishing that the answer would change. That her daughter wouldn't have to run. The woman's expression softened.
"Don't worry about her Kulsoom",the woman, Sabine comforts her. Wrapping her in an embrace she continues, "Our people will always watch over her." Oddly enough, Kulsoom is comforted and nods at her sister. Together they wrap up some meagre belongings in a sheet. Sabine carries them out and kulsoom starts wrapping her daughter for the cold and then she too follows out after Sabine after wrapping her head with a scarf.
Outside it's drier than inside and also noticeably warmer. The house they camped at at was just a small rectangular room located in the middle of nowhere. The nearest settling was a weeks worth of riding away. A lone cart attached to an equally lone milk coloured horse stood a few yards away. Their belonging were already loaded and Sabine was perched at the front. Kulsoom set down her daughter in the cart then climbed in after her. The horse started its merry amble rocking and swaying as it runs on the uneven ground. An hour later the darkening sky lit's up with orange as the house, now a small speck in the distance erupts into fire and smoke, the flames licking the sky. The cart jerks violently as the horse spooks and the little girl starts crying. Kulsoom embraces her daughter to her chest as she soothes her. Stroking her face lovingly she whisperers softly into her ears, "Hush Alayna jan, hush."