Cosmic Twists 1 (Old Version)

Part Four - Eirah - Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

When I feel the air touch my fingertips, I leap up through the water weightlessly. It isn’t until I collapse onto the hard sandy bank to catch my breath that I realise the pain throbbing in my left wrist. I look down at it, but there is nothing but a healed scar.

In the corner of my eye I notice a pile of objects. I wield the small satchel and swing the bow over my shoulder, but the quiver is empty. I hear a crunch, causing me to look around and, as if on cue, a white horse comes galloping through the trees and stops just in front of me, lowering its head.

“Cosmo…” I whisper. He nuzzles my hand. I mount him and we step through the woods. I let him lead the way for I do not remember the way to Furdock. When we reach the meadow, Cosmo gallops freely and his mane dances in the wind as I let the sound of my heartbeat race through my veins. I feel the wind whistle through my hair as we gallop across the green landscape into the morning sun.

As we get closer and closer to the tall, towering hills, the anxiety and apprehension of what is to come starts to mess with my head. Ronan. His name echoes in my mind.

I see the tunnel entrance, and we gallop hard towards it, but when I get close enough, I realise the way in is defended by armed guards, blocking the way, dressed in black plated armour.

“It’s the girl!” one bellows. Before I have time to hide, several of them charge towards us, two on horseback and the rest on foot. They seize us, trapping us in. One of them attaches Cosmo’s bridle to one of the horse’s chains, and holds his reigns firmly on the other side so that I no longer have control over him. Something causes me not to struggle for freedom. Instead, we walk to the tunnel. Cosmo is hesistant, but I try to calm him. We’re going home. “Do you understand the laws that you have broken, on several counts? Your future ain’t looking too pleasant.” 

I remain silent, and continue looking ahead until we pass through the echoic darkness to the other side. There is ash everywhere, and smoke fills the air. Buildings crumble around us and the main street is filled with people standing in the doorways of their broken homes.

We continue up the street with the black armoured guards surrounding Cosmo and I. We head in the direction of the large fortress-like building that looms over the town. I feel everybody’s eyes stare at me, perhaps because my clothes seem so much cleaner than theirs.

We reach the tall, pointed gates, which are opened by elaborately dressed men. We enter the fortress grounds and wait at the bottom of the stone steps which lead up to the main entrance.

“Sir Stracken, we bring you the runaway girl.” I look up to who the guard was speaking to, and there at the top of the stairs stands the wiry haired man from the Council, the one who killed my mother.

“Ah yes,” he snarls, “Miss Flynn”. They don’t acknowledge a girl’s first name in Furdock, only their father’s. “We were expecting the search parties to find your mangled body in the mountains. ‘Tis good to see you looking so… well.” I grit my teeth, preventing myself from saying what I think. “Bring her to me,” he spits.

Before I can move myself, I am thrown off Cosmo’s back and I lurch forward, tumbling onto the bottom stair with a thud.

“Get up!” shouts one of the guards followed by a firm kick in my ribs, winding me. The skin on my chin splits as I hit the stone step. The guard reaches for the material at the back of my neck and begins to drag me carelessly up the steps. I try to pull myself to my feet as he pulls me, causing me to stumble continuously up the steps. My knees and shins clamber against the hard stone repeatedly.

We reach the top of the stairs where I am dropped into a heap as I try to catch my breath. I look up weakly to see Sir Stracken turn and walk ahead through the large wooden doors, with his cloak flailing out behind him. Tight pressure falls on my shoulders and I am seized by guards on either side; they drag me into the shade after Stracken. The doors slam loudly behind me.

They drop me, face down on the floor, and I expect the ground to be cold and hard, but I land on a soft red carpet that stretches across the floor, where I see several pairs of feet pointed in my direction. I look up painfully, and suddenly my heart is filled with an intense delight. It’s Ronan. I do not smile. I do not move. I wait for an order. I feel him watch me.

“We found her on the outskirts, sir. A runaway. Behaving like a convict,” muttered one of the guards. I try to heave myself up as he continues.

“That’s enough,” Ronan’s voice sounds, so calmly and mature. Ronan steps towards me and crouches with his hand outstretched to assist me, but I don’t take it. Instead, I heave myself up. Suddenly the guards move back at my sides and behind me. He retracts his hand and stands up, trying not to look offended. “We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

I hesitate. “Yes… We were young,” I say, the words trembling in my mind. I wish I could read his mind this very instant, to see the way he sees me.

“I do remember, you’ve barely changed,” he sighs, “in a good way,” he adds hastily. A wave of happiness flutters through me. I notice the disdain on the faces of the guards in response to his kindness.

“Pardon me, Miss Flynn, do remind me of your first name,” he looks at me intently, reaching his hand out again, but this time I take it. His formal words sound awkward coming from him, slightly pretentiously.

“My name is Eirah Flynn, sir,” I say definitely, and I am honestly, hopelessly in love with you.

“Please, Eirah. I am Ronan to you,” he says gently, and I feel myself smile. He holds my hand at chest height in the air between us, watching me with a small smile on his lips. For a moment I forget where we are.

“Sir, I assume this means the proposal is to go ahead?” Sir Stracken interrupts us; there is boredom on his face. A moment of silence passes as Ronan continues to smile at me, and it does not make me uneasy. I have longed for these moments for far too long.

“Um… well, perhaps we should let the girl rest first. She can stay here. Organise the kitchen staff. We shall have a feast tonight.” He eventually orders. He seems to play his new role well, although it seems so false in my eyes.