When A Life Is Lost (NaNoWriMo 2013)

Chapter 7

WARNING, the following chapters (and previous) are to be edited substantially over the course of the summer, so things may change. I know there are a lot of improvements to be made, and I would appreciate the feeback. This is no-where near the final version of the story, and I'm hoping to edit as I go along. I know some people were waiting for new chapters, so I thought I would post :)

I was holding out on posting due to the fact that I was going to get some books printed for them, and wanted some friends to read them in book form rather than online. However, as the deadline for the free prints (a NaNo winners prize!) grows closer, I decided that I would use the prints to display the unedited copies anyway, but I am no longer planning to give them as gifts to friends!

I'll be posting chapters everyday from now on, until the end of the story, but be warned - there may be horribly awkward conversations, cringey mistakes and strange behaviours, but it still remains my proudest work!

There is no grammar and spelling mistakes that I know of, so at least there is that >.>

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

The next day, Ania woke early, even before the sun rose in the sky. Her re-occurring nightmare seemed to haunt her even more than it did yesterday. Today was different though. This time, Malus was in it, smiling as the door closed in the cage.

She shook herself. No need to linger on the nightmare and its recent addition. As she dressed, she thought about Malus and what had happened yesterday.

It was strange; she felt that she had known Malus for years. There was something about the way he behaved, the way he spoke so casually to her made it seem as if they were best friends. When she had seen him in the street, he seemed so serious – she wasn’t exactly sure why she had gone up to him. Ever since she started to talk to him – ever since she met him – he seemed like the happiest man she had ever met.

It seemed odd; it was almost as if he knew her very well.

After dressing, Ania went downstairs for some breakfast. Looking around, she could see that there were no tables available – at least none in sight. Sighing, she made her way out of the door – she would have to wait to eat. It seemed pointless to spend her limited budget on food at the market, when breakfast was included in the room price. As she reached the entrance, she heard a shout from behind her.

“Aurelia!”

Ania turned at the sound of her fake name. It was the man from yesterday – Malus. He sat on a double table on one side of the room, with the seat opposite empty.

He waved his arm towards himself, beckoning her to come closer. As she did, he smiled.

“I have a seat free,” he said, gesturing to the seat in front of him.

She hesitated for a moment, before sitting down. Something made her want to trust him, even though she had only met him yesterday.

He smiled again.

“I haven’t ordered yet,” he said, calling for the waiter, “So you’re not too late to order.”