Fortune Falls

(N) Prologue: A Torn Family

 I remember the night we left clearly. I was only 4 years old, and Matt was still a newborn, but I can still see every detail. It was a dark, stormy night, with the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the distant castle. I stood with my hand in my aunt's, a carriage waiting behind us. My mom stood near me, holding Matt in her hands, her long, blond hair flowing in the winds. I knew it was stormy because Matt was thrashing in her arms. She knelt down and handed him to me.

"Take care of your brother, Noah. I wish I could explain everything and that you would understand, but I cannot." I took my brother and held him. He thrashed for a moment, then seemed to calm down, as if my presence was reassuring. My mother stood back up and whispered something to my aunt, who nodded and gestured for me to get into the carriage. I did, and she got in after me. We waited there for a moment in silence, the storm beginning to pick up around us. Eventually, we were joined by my uncle, who was carrying something on his back. I couldn't make it out clearly, but it seemed to be a sword.

The carriage moved with a lurch, but Matt stayed fast asleep. I looked down at him, confused as to what was happening. At the time, I didn't understand why our parents would send us away like this. We rode in the carriage for hours, and I eventually dozed off. When I woke up, I saw that we were in a small village. It was a far cry from where we grew up. My aunt and uncle got out of the carriage and gestured around.

"Welcome to Riverside. Your new home."

...

Matt laid back and looked up at the sky.

"So you still don't know why mom and dad sent us here?"

I shook my head. "No idea. I've tried to get Uncle Ryland to tell me, but he won't budge on it. He said we'll find out when the time is right, whenever that is." I looked across the silent rooftops of town, to the house where our aunt and uncle lived. There was no light coming from the windows, which made sense considering it was the middle of the night. "But I get the feeling that with the Exam coming up, we're gonna find out soon."