Guard and Scythe

Where Loyalties lie

"How often does the circus move locations?" I asked suddenly. Mickenna pulled my head to rest on her chest as she thinks about it for a moment.

"About twice a year, sometimes three," is all she said, not asking me for any reason for wanting to know. She took one of my hands and played with my fingers while I sat without thinking.

None of us really had much to talk about here. Talking about our pasts is painful. The present is horroble to live in, and none of us want to think about the future, because we might actually begin to have hopes of having a future. Or at least being alive.

"Reese, What's your favorite color?" I askedas if it were really important for me to know.

"Brown," he says without hesitation. When I asked him why he responded, "Because my Mother had the most pretty brown eyes. They always looked like sweet chocolate."

Mickenna told me she loved the color green. "It's so elegant, so majestic," she said dramatically.

"Arny, do you have a favorite color?" I asked him with tenency. I had to admit that I had always been a bit afraid of the bull boy.

Arny gave it a deep moments thought before answering, "Pink," he said blatantly.

I hadn't been expecting that. I heard Mickenna choking back a giggle.?"

"Why?" I asked, politely keeping my voice from becoming incredulous.

"I used to love to watch the sunsets. The sky would always turn different shades of pink that rose up into the clouds at dusk, and mixed together with all of the other colors at sunset. I just have always thought that the pinks were nice," he said.

I just nod in response to that. Afterwards we were all silent again. I rest my eyes shut and let Mickenna twirl my hair around again.

And just when everything seems quiet and peaceful for a while, Blane began to growel wildly, like a mad cat. He flung himself away from the door just as it came flying open, making the hinges squeal in protest.

One of Briscoe's men walks through the doorframe spotting me immediately. The man walks over before any of us could react and drags me up by the arm.

Ignoring the protests from me and the other children, the man shoves me along out the door and out into the long hallway, slamming the door shut behind and locking it.

In a matter of seconds the unfamiliar man's hands had wrapped themselves around my eyes, and my fet dragged out in front of me as he pulled us down the long narrow hallway, up some stairs and through many doors before we finally stopped. My lip was quivering the entire time, trying to hold back the bubbling screams threatening to burst from inside my head.

The man dropped me onto a the floor and I heard him back out of the room again before closing the door. I had felt the thin woolen carpet underneath my knees, before I opened my eyes, looking down at the plain brown and gray colors.

"Ah Trisnae, how kind of you to join me here."

I shuddered hearing that cold, familiar voice. I looked up from the ground, and stared back at Briscoe hardly as he smirked with his feet kicked up onto a big wooden desk.

He jestured for me to stand. I did so unwillingly and stood there waiting for him to speak. I could feel my blood flow slowly begin to freeze and stop, and my limbs began to shake uneasily.

Briscoe smiled seeing my fear. I looked away as his tongue flickered out and licked the side of his lip.

"I have a problem Trisnae. You see, while I am always busy during the day, I have the tendency to forget to clean my office," he says gesturing to the room around us. It was indeed messy, while piles of papers and books strewn across the room, old smelling socks and other garmets along with stained dinner plates and glasses that looked like they'd been left there for months. I noticed his room, like every other one I'd encountered here, did not have any windows, but he did have a few lights and lanterns hanging.