Remembering Darkness

Bound

ICA'S POV

I woke up as someone shook my shoulder. I groaned and rolled over.

When the person did it again, I filled the room with light to see who it was.

The answer was, a temporarily blinded, Mov.

"Mo-v." I groaned.

"Li-t." He mimicked.

Gently, I pushed him away. "What's the rush? I was having a really nice dream-"

"About rainbows and ponies and sparkles?" He teased.

I shoved him, harder this time. "Shut up."

He grinned. "You're gonna have to be slightly nicer to me if we're bound, you know."

I came to my senses. "Bou- You mean, we are actually getting bound like Eci and Kra?"

"Yep."

"And the ceremony's today?"

"Yep."

"Which is why we're getting up at midnight because we need to be ready at dawn?"

"Yep."

"Dang it." I leapt out of bed and let the fur I was sleeping under fall in a heap on the floor.

"Kra was up a-ges ago." He pointed to her empty bed. "She and Eci have probably been snogging into the sunset for hours." He clicked his fingers, and he was gone.

Our shelter was circular, and consisted of a large frame made of branches filled in with twigs, leaves, moss, mud and dung. There was a small hole in the roof to release smoke from the large fire in the centre and an archway in one wall so we could actually get in (helps hugley). Around the hearth three chambers were sectioned off with furs hung from the ceiling for privacy. One for me and my sister Kra, one for Mov and his brother Eci, and another for Mov and Eci's parents.

I don't know where me and Kra's parents are.

Years ago, at the Winter Solstice, our priest was performing a ceremony to balance out White and Black energies. For some reason, Black energies have been getting stronger recently, and White energies weaker.

This is kinda bad, as I am a White Witch and Kra is a Black. Some people think that it's because a Black Warlock somewhere in the barbaric lands is growing stronger and stronger, until he will basically kill everything in his path.

Let's hope that won't happen for another fifteen years. Then I will have lived to the ripe old age of thirty, died peacfully, and then it's doomsday time.

Anyway, the priest was half way through the ceremony, when a baby me- (so all cute with blonde curly hair and smiling) and a baby Kra- (red faced, screaming everywhere, you get the picture) appeared in the centre of the henge.

Yeah just like that.

Our local henge is the best henge everywhere. It's made of bluestone, imported by boat from Cunedda, another ring of dolmens, a few more odd dolmens and an altar in the centre. It's by far the most powerful henge plus it concentrates both energies, so it's pretty much the strongest henge EVER.

Which is why we're totally awesome to suddenly appear in the middle of it as infants.

A family with two boys basically our age took us in. We were named by them alongside the boys, taught to fight alongside them... so treated as part of the family.