Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Three - Trail Walk

Sang took in a deep breath of the fresh air as she looked across the immense field, contemplating the setting the sun. The day had been laid back as she spent her time just wandering the small village that sat at the bottom of one of the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains and thinking about all that had occurred since leaving home.

The voice hadn't returned and she'd almost allowed herself to think that it had all been a mistake but she knew that her imagination wasn't good enough to make up someone in so much agony. She also knew from experience that abilities such as hers were rare, enough that speaking to him had seemed...fated.

Perhaps he had decided that he preferred his solitude and had taken extra precautions to ensure that she couldn't stumble across his private thoughts again or maybe...she shook her shoulders to rid herself of the silent debate. It wasn't any of her business why he had decided not to make any further contact and she would respect that, even though she was disappointed to not be able to talk at more length.

In her home town, she had had to censure herself absolutely so as not to alert anyone of what she could do. She would be labelled a freak! The size of Ancient guaranteed that the people saw anyone as different as a threat to their way of life, and she knew with certainty that if she ever revealed herself, she would be pushed out. Outcast.

The chill winds whipped harder against her hair as the sun crept further down and she finally had the thought that she should begin on her return journey back to the accommodations.

Before she had set out in the morning, Mrs Resita had invited her to join the other visitors on a moonlight stroll through the area and she didn't want to miss it.

"It is magical," the older lady had told her with a twinkle in her eye and Sang hadn't been able to resist.

She was away from home on an adventure and she planned to make the most of it since she expected that it would be the only one that she ever got the opportunity to experience. Being who she was and considering what she did there was no chance of acquiring wealth and she had no expectations of starting a relationship since the only single men in town were old enough to be her father or young enough to be her son.

Her feet found the beaten country path and she kept her gaze darting from place to place in an attempt to take in the full scope of scenery. She didn't want to miss a thing.

Time passed and she became acutely aware of the distance that she had truly travelled. She must have walked for miles with over an hour's walk still left until she would reach her bed. The sun was just a red haze on the horizon and the night sky had now become the light to which she travelled by.

By night, the land did look different, magical and almost threatening, as though it realised that it was being gazed upon by a stranger. Her hand moved to the necklace clasped around her slim neck, a last gift from her mother, a beloved lady who had settled in America from somewhere across the seas.

On her death bed, Amily Sorenson had pulled her daughter's ear to her mouth and whispered, "One day, my darling Sang, this necklace will return to its home and you will have found where you belong." The chain had been pushed into her shaking hands before her mother closed her eyes and left this world for the next on a sigh.

Wetness stained Sang's cheek and she released the pendent to touch at the tears, it had been years since she had thought of that day. Normally when she remembered her mother, it was with joy as she relived all the times that they had played hide and seek in the forests on the far edges of Ancient or spent evenings in front of the crackling fireplace.

Fingers of cold skimmed down the back of her neck and she shivered, looking around in sudden wariness. There was no movement, no sound and the moon shone with its full brightness. There was nowhere for anything with ill intent to hide.

"Are you so sure, little one?" A seductively male voice asked, silent and startling.

She came to an abrupt halt and whipped around once more to check that the intruder was physically removed from the area. The voice was the same as the one from the night before and she couldn't help the excitement that bubbled inside of her.

Never before had she been aware of herself as a woman and she found it disturbing to do so now since so many things about the stranger were still unknown. She'd never met him, had no idea what his purpose was or whether he meant her harm.

"I don't," It came again and this time she felt a trickle of fear. Talking to another with her talents was one thing but for him to be able to read her private thoughts, ones that she had made no effort to share, shook her.

She was suddenly aware what it would feel like for everyone else to know what she was capable of, how violated they would feel to know that everything about them was open for her to read. She knew all of their secrets.

"You came back," She finally answered him, walking faster along the path, determined that she would suround herself with the security of four walls.

A warm laugh filtered through and she felt his amusement, "You compelled me to seek you out. You cannot think to capture the attention of one such as me and then expect to be ignored later."

She gulped, "I only wanted to help you. You were in so much pain."

A pause and then the feeling of a caress over her lips, "I thank you for the concern, Sang. Now I must ask, why are you wandering unescorted in the dark?"

He did not seem pleased by the realisation.

Her voice was small and pathetic within her own mind, "I just went for a walk. I didn't know how far I'd wandered." Her anger flickered, what right did he have to question her choices?

"You gave me the right," He was amused, "Hurry back to your room now. Wolves lurk across this region."