DisPLACEd: Beginnings

Chapter Ten

The cold air hit Jake hard as he left the tavern. Day had turned into night. As soon as the door closed behind him and the light from inside the bar had vanished, Jake was left standing on the darkened street. Illumination came from above, and he looked up. The moon was almost full to bursting. He had never seen it so large before. He stared in awe, the stars twinkling in unfamiliar formations. The chill of the air pulled him out of his daze and back onto the cold dark street. He looked left, then right, and then left again, attempting to remember what way they had come. On a chance, he decided to go left. As he wandered through the streets he tried to find something that looked familiar to him. There were empty laneways and courtyards where people had earlier milled about, selling wares and excitedly discussing the approaching tournament. A few more turns and he finally came to the conclusion that he was definitely lost. He had wandered deep into the middle of the city, far away from the castle and the tavern. Old stone buildings surrounded a small courtyard. Jake could imagine troops of horses, servants, and dignitaries plodding through. As he stood in the middle of the town square, he noticed a light shining out one of the building's ajar front doors. The cold air radiated off the stone, chilling him to his bones. He ventured toward the building, desperate for some place warm. He knocked on the door. "Hello?" His voice echoed.

The warmth was inviting. He pushed the door open further. His jaw dropped and his feet took him inside. Stacked from wall to wall, were hundreds of new and old leather-bound books. Jake ran his hands over the spines of some interesting titles by philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato and poets; Marie de France being one among the many. In the middle of the library, sprawled out on a podium, was a large book that looked of great importance. His eyes wandered over the handwritten words on the fragile paper. On the left of the pages were dates - 1100, 1101, 1102 - and on the right were events outlined in incredible detail. Jake, intrigued by history, started to search through the book.

Reb and Aadita stormed out through the castle gates, undetected by the sleeping guard at his post. What would have been a grievous act of negligence at other times, was currently overlooked by the two women. The castle was filled with warriors from multiple kingdoms. If anyone was foolish enough to attack, they wouldn't last long. Reb was still fuming from the incident in the tavern.

"I just can't believe that happened!" Reb blurted out in disbelief for the fourth time.

Aadita murmured her agreeance. She was quieter than usual - forehead furrowed and eyes to the ground. She was also finding it difficult to process what had happened. That strange feeling kept coming back to her. She wasn't even listening to Reb's ramblings.

Aadita's shoe caught on some rough ground, snapping her out of her daze. She stopped, looking around them.

Reb turned to face her. "What are you doing?"

"Where are we?" Aadita asked.

Reb looked around the dark streets. In her frustrated ramble she hadn't notice them stray from the cobble path onto the muddy streets of the town outside the castle. At night, when the hustle and bustle of the market stalls were gone, the town painted a completely different picture. The few people who were out on the streets looked retched. They had dirty torn clothes, with no shoes, missing teeth, and body odour that could be smelt from around the corner. Reb went hot with fear from head to toe. She moved closer to Aadita and almost latched onto her arm.

"This isn't right," Aadita said softly. "Something is really wrong."

Reb nodded.

"I think we should go back now," Aadita suggested.

Reb nodded again. They turned to head back the way they had come, but were stopped by a woman.

"'Scuse me ma'am," the woman said. "Could ye spare a penny or some food?"