"You've got to be kidding me," Stans tone of disbelief cut through the air. Creak rolled her eyes, "You think I would joke about something like this? I'm serious, Stans, it's not safe and we have to go."
After waking up on the floor right where she had originally passed out, Creak had thought the elf, Bane, had just been in her head. If she hadn't found her wounds completely healed and her basket of breads right beside her; the warning still replaying in her mind, she would have thought it wasn't real. As it was she couldn't help but feel crazy, so on her walk back to the abandoned band she had decided to only tell Stans part of the truth.
"You got into a fight! With the Carsons!" Stans looked at her wide eyed, a slight trace of fear shown in his forest eyes.
"Yes," Creak said, her words heated with shame. "And now they'll be after us! We have to leave now, while we still have enough food for a journey."
"A journey! Where do you expect us to go?" Stans waited for an answer, but Creak didn't have one.
"Yeah, where do you expect to go? If the king is really on to us then nowhere will be safe. Will you really take your brother down with you? The king isn't after him, we're the one he wants." Gorgos brought the thoughts into her head. Thoughts that Creak could not ignore. Somewhere in the barn rats scurried through the old hay, waking the dust bunnies and sending shivers down her spine.
"You're right," she whispered running a hand through her hair, making her loose, wide curls tangle.
"What was that, Creak? Are you even listening to me?" Stans looked down at her in confusion.
Creak looked away from her brother and towards a broken window, the morning sun shining through and making the dusty air sparkle. The truth she was trying to hide in her eyes and worry that creased her brow; worry that she didn't want her brother to catch.
"No," her brother's eyes widened in realization. "She's back isn't she?"
Creak closed her eyes in frustration. She didn't have time for this; she didn't want Stans to worry about her. Trying her best to sound convincing she turned back to her brother, eyes shining with false honesty.
"Don't be ridiculous, I haven't heard her for years. Gorgos is long gone and you shouldn't worry."
In truth Gorgos, the depressing voice in her head, had never left. Stans had been freaking out when their parents had abandoned them and things had only gotten worse when he learned his baby sister was crazy. To keep him from losing it completely, Creak had told him Gogos had gone away. He had believed her and she had been careful to never talk to herself when he was around, until now.
Suspicion glistened in Stans's eyes and a slight frown caused lines to form on his brow, but he didn't question her any farther. "Okay. If you say she's gone than I'll trust you, but if anything comes up you have to tell me. Is that clear?"
Creak smiled, "Crystal clear."
"Good," Stans said wearily. "Now we have to discuss this journeying business. Where do you plan for us to go?"
Gorgos's comment stayed in Creak's head, warning her not to put her brother in any unnecessary danger. She needed a plan that didn't involve Stans being anywhere near her when these supposed royal guards came for her. She wouldn't put him in danger, even if it terrified her to be on her own and without him.
"Oh, that," she waved her hand as if in dismissal. "Now that I think about it... we should be fine. The Carsons won't trouble themselves with a young girl who's barely more five feet tall. They've probably forgotten about me already."
Stans studied her through squinted eyes, his brow creased in doubt. It was obvious he didn't believe her, so Creak decided to quickly change the subject.
"You know what's more important right now? Food. We need to find more food and prepare for the coming snowfall. I've heard from the farmers that it's going to be awful cold this year and you know how we barely made it through last time." She smiled and looked into the distance, as if she was already thinking about all the supplies that to be gathered and safely stored as soon as possible.
Stans watched her carefully as she ran a hand through her hair, sending the messy, golden brown waves everywhere. She shook her head and turned to him with glazed over eyes.
"Maybe you should go down to that other village, BristleRidge. You might have better luck finding a job there, Valen told me there was a miller there looking for some strong hands to help. The man won't have much to pay you, but it's probably better than what we have right now."
In truth Valen had never said anything about a miller in BristleRidge, but if it got Stans safely away from Riverfall... that's all that mattered. Sure Stans would be mad, but by the time he figured it out she would be long gone taking the king's knights with her.
Stans perked up at the mention of work. Creak knew he felt worthless when he couldn't find any food; people wouldn't just take pity on him as he was just over six feet and should have been old enough to make a living on his own. He always got frustrated when Creak would bring back food to feed both of them and he would have nothing to contribute.
His eyes sparkled with the thought of earning them something, helping in their constant fight for survival. "Really!" He rushed to her, grabbing her narrow shoulders.
"Yes, I'm being serious," Creak smiled up at Stans. "Would I lie about something like this?"
The words created a hole in her stomach. That's exactly what she was doing, lying to him. 'I'm going to be sick,' she thought to herself.
"Oh quit your complaining!" Gorgos spat in Creak's head, "it's for his own good. If you can't see that much, you must be blind."
Creak blinked. 'I'm not blind and you know that!'
She could practically feel Gorgos rolling her eyes at her, "I didn't mean it literally! You're so stupid sometimes... wait, no that's how you are all the time."
'I really hate you,' Creak hissed back in her head.
Gorgos laughed, a chilling cackle that sent shivers down Creak's spine. "You're essentially just saying you hate yourself."
Stans let go if Creak, the sudden lack of support jolting her out of her thoughts as she stumbled. Tripping over an uplifted floorboard, she tumbled face first into a pile of hay sending the dust bunnies running.
"Creak!" Stans cried. "Are you okay? What happened?"
He grabbed her small frame and lifted her into his arms. It wasn't fair how much taller he was, how much stronger he was built. Her brother had gotten all of his features from their mom. Beautiful, green eyes, dark brown hair, with a tall, muscular build that allowed him to tower over everyone around him. It wasn't right that Creak had inherited nothing from her mother. She had been born a spitting image of her father, with brown eyes and golden brown curls. Oh and let's not forget her height, a whole five foot one.
"It's okay. I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just tripped over a loose board."
Stans shook his head, still holding her against him. "It's not okay, sis. You deserve better, I should be giving you something better than an old, rotting barn. You should live in a castle with servants to give you everything, but I can't even manage to get you enough food to live comfortably."
Creak saw tears glisten in his eyes, illuminating the slight blue in them. "No," she said, grabbing his chin to make him look at her. "You deserve just as much as I do. It's not our fault we were abandoned with nothing. Considering what we were left with I think we're living the only way we can and there's nothing wrong with that." She struggled with the next words knowing they wouldn't be true for long. "Stans... we have each other and that's all that matters."
"You're right," he smiled sadly down at her. "I just wish I could give you more." Creak didn't know how to respond, so she gently climbed out of his embrace.
"Well, I'd better be off to BristleRidge." He walked to the door, but hesitated before leaving. Turning to look back at her, Stans smiled a worried smile. "You'll be okay without me won't you?"
Creak grinned back, something breaking inside her at needing to say goodbye, but being unable to. "Yeah, I'll be good."
The guilt inside her was crushing, she couldn't look at him, so she looked at her bare feet instead. "I love you." She weakly said, not sure if he would hear her or not.
"I love you too." Then he was gone.
A sob escaped her. Knowing she would never see her brother again without putting him in danger, ripped a hole in her heart. A hole that was sure to haunt her for the rest of her life, however long that may be.
"Huf," Gorgos sighed in relief. "I was worried he'd never leave. Oh? You're not really crying, are you?"
Tears streamed down her face, as Creak stumbled to a pile of hay and let herself fall in self pity. "He's gone... I'll never see him again. I'm alone now and soon to be hunted down. Gorgos! We're going to die!"
Creak imagined an unconcerned shrug from her inner evil. "Yeah? So what? You can tell me you expected us to live forever. Everyone dies, our time will just come sooner than most."
Shivering, Creak curled in on herself hoping to escape the horror that had become her reality. "I'm not ready to die."
"Well, I guess that's too bad then because you will definitely not survive the night."
Creak shook her head in denial, "No, no ,no. You don't understand. I can't die, I'm too young for my life to be over."
The laughing started in her head again. It wouldn't go away, the airy chuckle of despair. She covered her ears, but it was already in her head. She wanted to scream and bang her head against the barn wall until she passed out. Maybe death would be a sweet release if only she could get away from the demon. She wanted it gone forever. Gorgos was right... death did sound nice.
"ŋơ, ɱყ ƈɧıƖɖ,ɬɧąɬ ıʂ ŋơɬ ɬɧɛ ῳąყ ყơų ʂɧơųƖɖ ცɛ ɬɧıŋƙıŋɠ." The voice was as sweet as honey. A lullaby it's words always seemed to sing.
"No," Creak whispered as realization dawned on her. "Not another one. Please... I don't want to be crazy."
"ŋơ, ŋơɬ ƈཞąʑყ. ʝųʂɬ ɖıʄʄɛཞɛŋɬ."
Excepting her own insanity, Creak talked to the new voice inside her head, a voice that seemed to be keeping Gorgos quite. "Who... who are you?"
"ყơų ʂąყ ყơų ɧą۷ɛ ą ɖɛɱơŋ ıŋ ყơų'ཞɛ ɧɛąɖ, ƈɧıƖɖ. ῳɧɛཞɛ ɬɧɛཞɛ ąཞɛ ɖɛɱơŋʂ ɬɧɛཞɛ ąཞɛ ąƖʂơ ąŋɠɛƖʂ."
Creak groaned, why was this happening? Why couldn't she just be normal?
"So what you're trying to tell me is that you are an angel? An angel sent to protect me from Gorgos, my demon?"
"ყơų ƈơųƖɖ ʂąყ ɬɧąɬ. ყɛʂ, ɱყ ƈɧıƖɖ, ı ąɱ ɧɛཞɛ ɬơ ƙɛɛ℘ ყơųཞ ɖɛɱơŋ ʄཞơɱ ƙıƖƖıŋɠ ყơų. ŋơῳ ῳɧąɬ ῳąʂ ąƖƖ ɬɧıʂ ąცơųɬ ɖɛąɬɧ ı ɧɛąɖ ʄཞơɱ ყơųཞ ʂƈཞɛąɱıŋɠ ɱıŋɖ? ąཞɛ ყơų ཞɛąƖƖყ ཞɛąɖყ ɬơ ɖıɛ?"
The voice while sweet and calm, had a power to it, so strong it spurred Creak to try. Encouraged her to fight for her life and not just let the knights come for her.
Courage coursing through her veins, Creak whispered to herself. "If they want me, they'll first have to catch me."