Hells Gate

Red Light

Ravenna stared after Clare long after the darkness had swallowed her. She would miss her friend but at the same time she understood why Clare needed to make this journey. Clare had always been the most adventurous of the three girls. Unlike her Ravenna just wanted to stay in the growing town and live a somewhat quiet life.

Ravenna grabbed the lantern from the ground and resumed her walk. She walked slowly, made each step with caution. She didn't want to fall with no one around to help her if she hurt herself.

She left the cobblestone streets and walked on the dirt. The houses were immediately smaller and the smell of urine was strong. The cleaning workers wouldn't be out for a few more hours so she needed to watch every step so that she wouldn't step in any puddles of urine or piles of poo.

The houses became familiar and she looked upon the houses of her childhood. She remembered playing hide and seek with her siblings and other kids. The sight of her parents house filled her with sadness, the memory of her last attempt to contact her family were still fresh. The well known door and glass less windows opened the wound inside her that just closed. She stopped herself from knocking on the door, she needed to leave her old family and appreciate the new one she had.

She stared into the window to her siblings room. The light from the lantern made it possible to see a silhouette in the windows opening. Afraid that it would be her father she backed away until the silhouette said, "Ravenna?" The voice belonged to her younger brother Caesar. Ravenna smiled and raised her hand to wave at her brother. Another silhouette appeared behind Caesar and dragged him away from the window and spat on the street in front of Ravenna's feet. Her smile faded away and she turned around to Lionel's house.

She raised her hand to knock on the door but before she could it swung open revealing Lionel in his sleeping wear. He looked tired and he yawned several times. "Come on in," he said with a sweeping gesture telling Ravenna to get inside. She placed the lantern in front of the door before she entered. The red light would tell the other citizens not to interfere until it was gone.

She entered a small room in the middle of the house. To her left she could see a narrow staircase that led to the attic where Lionel slept. The room was lit up by a small candle in Lionel's hands. Ravenna didn't know how to tell him that his daughter no longer walked on this earth. Multiple ways to say it flew through her head but she didn't seem to find the right one. She opened and closed her mouth several times, creating clicking noises formed from saliva.

"I don't know how to say this. It's a really hard thing for me to do and it pains me," Ravenna said with a hint of sorrow in her voice. She tried to control her voice. She needed to stay calm for Lionel's sake but mostly her own. She would have never admitted it a few weeks ago but during these last days she had felt at home in the temple. She had gotten a new family, a better family and Hedda felt like a sister to her. Lionel smiled and said, "You don't have to say anything else. I know what you are here to tell me and I saw the lantern." Tears started to form in his eyes and they soon fell down his cheeks. Ravenna's eyes started to water but she constantly brushed them away.

***

Clare stared at her childhood friend and dropped the dagger on the floor. The sound of the dagger hitting the floor sent a wave of noise through the stable. She laughed a short laugh and threw herself into his arms. "George!"

George dropped the lantern and caught the happy Clare. "What are you doing here, Clare?" He said with laughter in his voice. He smelled Clare's hair and remembered it from their childhood. All those times when they had played hide and seek and hid in the same bush.

"I'm leaving the temple and I need a horse," Clare said with a shrug.

"Where are you going?" George asked with a hint of concern in his voice. This was one of the best things with George, he never tried to talk Clare out of things. He only asked her about the details and sometimes she understood how stupid her ideas were or it made her even more determined to carry out her plans.