Elora Van Eck | Kaz Brekker

Prologue 2/2

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FOR THE FIRST TIME in long, Elora felt free. She was a child, eager to experience life, but that had been taken from her by no other than her father. It would have been a lie to say that she had noticed because she had not. She was used to being locked away from the world outside. And until she had met Kaz she thought it to be normal.

Once they reached the fence, Elora elongated a carful hand through the wooden slaps, and the two sheep nearest trotted over. Elora had seen sheep before, of course. She had seen a lot in her short life due to the constant travels. But she was never allowed to touch anything. To her father, even a simple tissue seemed dangerous. But Elora figured that he was simply scared of his reputation being scratched by his children doing anything wrongly.

Elora was not only the fragile and obedient little girl people saw her as. She was intelligent; logical. Even at eight years old she had managed to puzzle the pieces of her fathers' words together. She understood that she was raised in safety, to one day take over what her father had built. But what child would she be if she did not wish for simple things like this - going to a farm or a playground; petting sheep and horses; making friends and tolling around. She had no other choice than to be disobedient if she did not want the few years left of her childhood to go to waste because of the man who raised her to be his puppet.

Kaz gave her arm a nudge to get her attention. She turned, her smile mirroring his. "Do you want to see Mama Sheep?"

"Mama Sheep?"

"Mama Sheep, Queen of the farm, the lender of her loins. She is inside, kept from the others while she is carrying," he babbled excitedly, "She is by far the most beautiful of them all; her wool is bright white, despite her age and her steps are slow and graceful. You would notice her midst herd of a hundred - a thousand." Curiosity rose within the girl, her ears wide as she listened to Kaz speak as if he were telling the story of a hero. "Not only is she the most beautiful, but strongest too. I mean, try birthing twenty baby sheep. Admirable."

Elora jittered in place. The word wow could have easily been tattooed onto her forehead. "I want to see her," Elora squealed, "Where is the entrance?"

Kaz turned, his eyes searching for a tiny hole on the outer wall of the wooden barn. "There," he raised his arm to point forward. The hole was only big enough to fit children their seize. If one of them had only been a few inches taller, the broken wood would have proven useless.

Elora's eyes went wide, "There?" She squinted to follow where Kaz's arm pointed, hoping that her sight was only a few feet off and the entrance was right next to the hole, "Can't we just use the front door?"

A malicious grin spread across Kaz's face as he started moving towards the barn. "Kaz!" Elora's legs started pacing after the boy. With every step she took, her head turned for anyone who could notice their intrusion. "Kaz!" she tried once more and the boy stopped, turning to meet her unsure gaze. "What?"

"I do not want to get in trouble."

Kaz sighed, "Do you want to see Mama Sheep or not?"

Elora seemed to be pondering. She feared to disobey the most powerful man she knew - her father. And no matter how much she knew of his immoral intentions for her, she dreaded disappointing him. Her wool is bright white, despite her age and her steps are slow and graceful. But she only had oh so much time to live and Mama Sheep seemed worth the risk.

"I want to see Mama Sheep," the girl slurred. "You have to speak up, Elora," Kaz giggled as he moved to face her fully, his arms crossing in front of his chest. So, she repeated, her voice now slightly raised to make sure her friend could hear every single letter perfectly. The malicious smile turned into a truly happy one and he excitedly waved for her to follow him.