The Solomon Chronicle

Chapter 2: Questions

This girl was going to be the death of me and we didn't even get the chance to be formally introduced yet. Hopefully we get the chance!

Before I could think, I was running after her. I had stayed out of trouble for so long, but now I was in the thick of it. If my mentor found out about this, I would be punished for sure. "Well, well! Look at this pretty, young thing." One of the men said as he stepped forward to stop the girl. "What are you doing?" She cried. "He worked for the devil. He deserved to die. Evil magic wielder!" He spit as he kicked the corpse. It made me sick to watch. Suddenly, a man stepped behind the girl and pushed her into her knees. "She's must be a magic user too, to come to the aid of this man!" He growled. "N-no! I'm not! I swear, I don't know him, but I live in this building! This is my home!!" She wept. Oh no, not good! "This house was filled to the brim with potions and devil trickery. If you live here than you must be one of them!" "No! I swear! I don't know anything about magic."

At this point the men seemed to be too drunk to even think properly as one grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the fire. "Please!! Stop!! No!!" She cried as she thrashed around. The other men began to laugh as the one holding her stopped just short of the flame. "Maybe a pretty little thing like you should be punished in other ways." He grabbed her dress and ripped it down the front. Before I could even think there was a blinding light near the heathens and then I heard them cursing. "Begone, you scum!" I heard a deep voice boom. Uh-oh... My mentor stepped out into the clearing in his sorcerer's uniform. It was an older style so he could be distinguished in the ranks. The men seemed to freeze up and I caught a glimpse of the girl trying to cover up. She was frightened by the tall, salt and pepper haired man that seemed to appeared out of no where.

I skirted around the buildings so I could get to her. Once I got there I reached out to her, making her jump. She was going to scream but I quickly covered her mouth. "Its okay! Its just me! You're safe." I assured her as I wrapped my cloak around her. She clung to me for safety and buried her body into mine for warmth. She was so small and she was shivering from the cold as well as fear. Her home was gone, she had been attacked, and this man lay dead in the snow. I knew I needed to get her somewhere safe.

I looked over to my mentor, who seemed to be handling the situation quite well. He looked my way and nodded toward the direction of our lodge. I acknowledged his gesture and whispered to the girl. "Come with me! It will be alright. Arthur will handle things from here." There was no hesitation. The girl stood up with me and we got away from that disaster.

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Back at the lodge, the girl didn't make a sound. She was wrapped in a blanket I had given her and sat in silence by the window and watched the smoke in the distance. "My name is Solomon." I said, trying to break the silence. "Caroleen." She spoke softly. She was still shivering and her face was stained with tears. "Caroleen. What a pretty name." I smiled. "Merci" she sniffed. I couldn't help but sit next to her and comfort her. "Everything will be okay. You're safe now and no one can hurt you." She just looked at me with so much hurt in her eyes, she really went through something and now she was sitting her with a complete stranger, watching her home burn in the distance.

Caroleen moved from the window, closer to the fireplace. I brought her second blanket and sat on the floor across from her. She seemed to want to have someone close by and I didn't mind. "That sound I heard earlier? It was from that man wasn't it?" She finally spoke. "Yes. He was the Sorcerer that sent it out. You said you didn't know him, yet you loved in that home?" I decided to ask. "Yes. I don't know. I feel like I'm missing things. Like, my mind is blocked." She frowned. "That's because it is, child!" My mentor explained coming into the room. He had soot all over him and it made him look quite frightening. Caroleen jumped into my lap when he entered. He always had to make a dramatic entrance, even if it wasn't the proper time. "Its okay Caroleen. This is my mentor, Arthur." I said softly. "He's a bit... overdramatic." I rolled my eyes and chuckled. She seemed to ease up on the grip she had on my thighs but didn't leave the comfort of my lap. Again, I didn't mind. She could be as handsy as she wanted, for all I cared.

"What do you mean her memory is blocked? How?" I asked. "The man they killed tonight was Monsieur Philippe Renault. He was one of the finest sorcerers in all of France and this beautiful young woman was his apprentice, Mademoiselle Caroleen Delarosiere." I looked to Caroleen for some kind of answers but she looked just as confused as I did. "There must be some mistake. I don't know any magic." She said. "Of course not. We've just established that your mind is block. Not too bright are we?" Arthur scoffed as he strode into the washroom. I could see Caroleen's cheeks flush red with embarrassment. Sometimes Arthur was an asshole. Actually, that was most of the time. He was an arrogant asshole!

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"So, tell me. Is there anything you remember? Anything at all that can help us figure out what happened to you?" Arthur asked Caroleen. It was late, or early technically. I was getting pretty frustrated because I could tell she was tired. She had been through a lot and then she found out her memory was wiped. She needed to rest. I tried to get Arthur to see this, but he was more concerned with finding answers quickly.

"I don't remember anything!" I didn't even know about magic until Solomon told me." Caroleen shared. She looked like she was about to cry so I cut in again. "Arthur! She's tired. She's scared. Let her rest. We can ask questions later. She isn't going anywhere." It was true. She made herself quite comfortable in my bed. I would have to sleep on the floor, if she ever decided to let me go. Like always... I still didn't mind, I've slept in worse places.

We slept until noon the next day. Arthur and I decided to let Caroleen get cleaned up and comfortable so we could try to get more information out of her. After her bath, Caroleen seemed to feel better so I grabbed some bread and cheese for her and we all sat at the table. "I apologize for being so brash last night, my dear. Philippe was a dear friend of mine and I am just confused as to what happened to him and to you as well." Arthur explained. "I will try to help however I can, but I can't promise anything." She sighed. "It's alright. Solomon and I can do some investigating in the town and see what we can find out. Right now, I think it'd be best if you stayed here for the time being."

"I don't think so." I chimed in. "I think taking Caroleen would be beneficial. People are bound to recognize her, right?" Arthur considered my proposal and nodded. "Very well. The two of you shall go to the east of the city. I shall start west and we can meet in the middle. Just be careful. We don't know who to trust." With that, we set off.