Chapter 4 – Exhausted
Annabell didn’t know where they were heading. Nor did she have any clue for how long they had been running already. She had attempted to take off in a different direction, but Joshua had planted a strong hand around her arm, dragging her with him. Now, her lungs felt as if they were about to burst.
Leaves covered the ground, shielding any roots. This caused her to stagger around on wobbly legs while Joshua pushed her harder.
Dude… slow down.
The tight grip hurt her already raw wrist, and the more she sagged behind, the more she felt his palm tearing at the sore skin. All of her body ached from a combination of the earlier torture, and the excruciating exercise she was currently doing. Normally, she would consider herself quite athletic, but as she looked towards Joshua, she felt ashamed over her own lack of skills.
With his jaw locked, he ran in a steady pace. Not a drop of sweat was visible, and he didn’t show any signs of wanting to slow down anytime soon. Deep in thought, Annabell didn’t see the massive rock on her path, and a loud whelp escaped from her lips as she stumbled over it.
She felt the grip tighten, and just moments before her face hit the ground, Joshua jerked her upright again.
“Be careful. We need to hurry, so don’t hurt yourself,” he said before turning away.
“I… can’t… more…” Annabell couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. Her heart knocked against her ribcage, and she struggled to breathe. Stumbling slightly, she could feel her knees ready to buckle under her.
Joshua gazed back at her, and she couldn’t help but to squirm a bit under his intense stare.
“Just a bit longer, come on,” he urged before pulling her along once more, this time in a slower pace than before.
Finally… Now I might be able to breathe. Annabell regretted the thought moments after, when Joshua led them uphill. The strain on her muscles intensified, and she felt herself grow more and more irritated with him.
If you wanted to kill me, you could have left me back there, she thought.
A howl sounded from somewhere far behind them and with a concerned look back, Joshua once again forced her to go faster. Curses formed inside her mind, and with her last ounces of strength, she tried to keep up the best she could manage. Just when she was about to give up, Joshua stopped.
“Solem. Thank you.” Annabell was about to curse him for his inconsiderate behavior, when a nasty coughing fit took over her whole body. Her knees buckled, and she fell down to her knees. She could feel her heart jump like crazy in an attempt to escape from her chest. Leaning back, she stared at the treetops, trying to steady her breathing once the coughing stopped. A tingling sensation spread through her, and she looked up to find Joshua staring at her. Meeting his gaze, she sneered.
“What are you staring at, freak?”
Joshua rolled his eyes in response, before gesturing to her hair.
“A bird is trying to build a nest in your hair.” Turning away, he squatted down and started to rummage through his blue backpack.
Frantically, Annabell started to run her hands through her hair, looking at the long brown strands of hair just to find twigs and leaves mixed in the tangled mess. It wasn’t until her eyes landed on Joshua that she stopped worrying about her looks.
He was staring at a bunch of different objects in front of him. Annabell flipped over, cautiously crawling over to peek. On the ground before him, he had placed two suspicious vials. Their content wasn’t visible to Annabell.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I need to mask our scent.”
“Are you implying that I smell? Jerk.” Annabell huffed. Blood rushed to her head as she rose from the ground. The world spun, and she had to steady herself by leaning against the trunk of the tree.
“You did bleed a lot, you know. Your scent is all over that basement. Trust me; they could pick you out of a crowd.” He didn’t turn around to look at her.
Annabell hoped that if she just focused on Joshua, then her head would clear up. She surveyed him as he removed two bottles. Double-checking the labels, he sat them down and pulled out what looked like an empty perfume bottle. He poured the contents of the first two bottles into it.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you spray me with something disgusting, you can think again.” Annabell took a step back and almost tripped over a root. Without taking an eye off what he was doing, Joshua reached a hand out and steadied her.
“Guess I can keep my original thought, then. It’s nothing disgusting.” He placed the two empty bottles back into the bag and removed a small pouch from his belt that Annabell hadn’t noticed.
Though it couldn’t hold much, the little bag looked quite full. He opened it and took a pinch of the contents. Annabell couldn’t get a good look, but she was certain that she saw something sparkling between Joshua’s fingers. She watched as he began to mutter words and rub his fingers together, sprinkling the dust into the perfume bottle. When he finished speaking, he recapped the bottle and shook it.
Annabell met Joshua’s eyes and shivered. There was no emotion in them. Just pools of green that betrayed no thought, almost trance-like. She was just thinking about nudging him when he blinked focus returned to his face, and he motioned her closer.
“Not until you tell me what’s in the bottle,” she crossed her arms. He rolled his eyes.
“This is going to save your life. Now we’re about out of time, so get over here.” Reluctantly, Annabell stepped forward. Joshua’s hand whipped out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her closer.
Without a word, he began spraying her. Small particles shimmered in the light and started to drift off in the air. Annabell had to admit that it didn’t smell badly. She watched fascinated as the mist dissipated into nothing. It only took a few moments to coat her and Joshua sprayed himself hastily before jamming the bottle back into his bag.
“Come, this way.” Joshua shook her out of her fascination with a little tug on her wrist. She complied with a confused mind.
He led them in another direction and finally came to a big tree. He went around and immediately gave out a wide smile.
“I knew it was here somewhere,” he said, mostly to himself. Annabell watched as he squatted down to pick up a few sticks, causing a root to whip up from the ground, revealing a small entry. He led her down, and darkness surrounded them as the root fell in to place again.
“Lucis,” he whispered. The tree started to glow slightly, they found a place to sit down, and as soon as they sat down, the glow disappeared. A little patch of sunlight from up above them was the only light in there.
“Can’t you get that light to come back?” Annabell shivered in the darkness of the tree, and an almost claustrophobic feeling spread inside her.
“No. I can’t.” His shoulder leaned against hers, and she felt uncomfortable by their proximity. Shifting around, she placed her hand on the ground. Leaning on it, she attempted to skid further away from him.
“Oy!”
“What?” she snapped back at him.
“Your hand… It’s between my legs. Get it away.”
“Well, obviously your thigh is a hand-magnet,” she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster as she removed her hand. Joshua sighed again.
“I can’t get the light back—the whole tree will glow if I do. It’ll reveal where we are,” he explained.
“How am I supposed to know how your witchcraft works?”
“It’s hardly witchcraft, Annabell.”
“How do you know my name?” She leaned further away from him, trying to put some distance between them.
“Relax. You’ll just hurt yourself if you try fighting me in here,” he said.
“Don’t tell me to relax!” Her voice raised an octave, the panic growing inside her.
“Would you please shut up? Even though, I’ve masked your scent, the guards can still hear you if you yell,” he whispered a small command.
“I’m not yelling. You can’t just expect me to quietly agree to everything your cryptic witchy mind set me up for.”
“I told you, I’m not a wizard.”
“Then who and what the hell are you?” she asked.
Solem, what’s his problem?
“Shut up.” He clamped a hand over her mouth. She could hear movement from outside the tree causing her heartbeat to increase.
Will they torture me again if they find me?
Beads of sweat coated her forehead as she heard a loud howl from the outside. The creatures were near the tree. Remaining quiet, she waited until she couldn’t hear them anymore.
Annabell tried to scramble out of Joshua’s grasp as soon as the sounds drowned altogether.
“Don’t let the silence fool you,” he whispered low in her ear.
Annabell wasn’t happy with their closeness. His hand felt heavy, and she struggled to breathe through her clogged nose. Her upper lip was coated in the damp heat from her own breath as it collided with his palm. Deciding against sticking her tongue out in hopes of him letting go, she tried to focus on the pain she would like for him to suffer.
I’m going to make you scream for mommy, I swear. I’ll tie you up and slowly cut a finger off using only a rusty teaspoon. You agonizing idiot, get your freaking gross hands away from me, or I’ll bite you. She felt the fear being replaced with anger and continued to think up ways to hurt him.
They sat there for a while with nothing happening, and Annabell felt herself become even more anxious. When she started sitting uneasily; Joshua noticed and held her in his other arm.
“It won’t be much longer, I promise,” he muttered into her ear, once again sending nauseating chills down her spine.
What felt like hours, but in reality probably were only a few minutes later, he finally took his hand away.
“They are far enough away. Now we can talk, quietly though. The wolves can hear us if we are too loud,” he said.
“Can you please take your arms away from me now?” she asked, her voice seeping with malice. Joshua did so and situated himself beside her.
“Start talking!” Annabell commanded.
“Like I said, my name is Joshua,” he began. “I’ve trained for this quest my whole life.”
“So you are some kind of psychic?” Annabell interrupted.
“No, not in the strict sense at least. It’s a bit hard to explain, though I knew that I was to help you in my future as I grew up.”
“Did the magical sixth sense tell you then?” Annabell mocked him.
“No, my father did,” Joshua said. His voice was remarkably low.
“So your whole family has stalked me since I was little?” Annabell was appalled.
“What? No! My father was there when you were born!” This made Annabell stop in her tracks.
My mom. He knows something about my family. She hesitated a moment before asking.
“He knew… my mother?”
“It’s a long story. Your mother died, and my father made sure you came to the foster home.” He was breathing heavily.
“Can you take me to your father?”
“He died four years ago.” Sadness filled his voice.
“What? He told you about a quest when you were a baby?” she spat.
“Hey, I’m seventeen, stop being so rude.”
“Yeah well, so as a thirteen year old you got a quest and you started training. Good to know that I’m in good hands.” She rolled her eyes.
“You really make this difficult, you know. It’s not like I chose to be here with you.” He rose from the ground. “Lucis,” he mumbled, and Annabell could see him make his way out of the tree.
“Hey! Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’m getting some air—that is if you don’t mind,” he added the last part with scorn and continued.
As the tree opened, Annabell felt the fresh air flow through, and she took a deep breath. She needed air too. On the subject of her family, she hadn’t noticed how enclosed the tree had become. Rising from her spot, she walked after Joshua.
She took a long inhalation as she stepped out of the tree, and looked around. The trees grew close, and withered flora covered the ground, leaves and roots alike. With every step they took, a noise came from beneath their shoes. Her pants were dirty, and she had holes and blood where the guards had tortured her. As she looked up, she could only see a few bits of the blue sky. The light shone through in those places, and it gave the forest a beautiful glow.
“We should get going,” Joshua’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Where to?” she asked.
“I have to take you to Yildun, so I suggest that we take the coast line to get to the northern side of Astron.” He swung his bag on his shoulder, and began walking in his earlier pace.
“What do you mean orders?” she asked as she hurried to walk with him.
“I have my father’s journal,” Joshua said, in a monotone voice as he walked. Annabell had to spurt to catch up with his fast track.
“You’re saying that I have to follow you because a book told you? Perfect sense was made. Thanks dude.”
Joshua stopped abruptly and turned to face her. “Look. We don’t have to like each other. We don’t even have to talk.” He stepped closer with each word until they were standing nose to nose. “I just want to make one thing clear. I will fulfill this quest, whether you like it or not. My father believed it was of uttermost importance. And honestly I think you should take this more seriously since it concerns you.”
Annabell swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. He let go of her and turned to leave again. She quietly followed.
The only sound that was around them was the whistling wind that rustled the trees. If Annabell listened closely, she could hear birds chirping somewhere. Besides that, the silence was deafening. Her eyes kept wandering around and ended up on Joshua’s back.
Douche…
As they walked, she thought about his words.
Just because you seem to think you know everything about me, doesn’t mean you’re the gift to the world. You could just answer my damn questions, and this would be so much easier.
As she ranted in her mind, she wondered if following him was the right choice. Trust wasn’t something that came easy to her, and this guy surely didn’t do anything to deserve her trust.
He just expects me to swoon and praise his every move. Well, think again, buddy!
Being in the company of Joshua made her feel weird, she was used to driving solo. Moreover, there were so many unanswered questions running around in her mind, and she still doubted that he wasn’t some sort of evil sorcerer.
I mean, come on! He single-handed knocked out all of the guards back there. Not to forget the whole magical, bizarre thing he did back at the tree.
They weren’t running anymore, though Annabell wouldn’t exactly call their pace walking either. In a weird way, the way Joshua walked reminded her of a march. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice he had stopped until she almost walked straight into him. He took something out of the backpack, and as she walked around to see why, she saw him studying a large piece of paper.
“Do you have problems knowing where you are taking me?”
Joshua ignored her and used a finger to sweep over the map.
“I think the quickest way to reach Yildun is by the coastline. Hopefully the guards are looking near Pavo now, so we should be clear to walk without the protection of the forest.”
“How do you know they are looking there?” Annabell asked.
“I don’t know it for sure, but I heard them move east when they moved away from the tree. We are just going to be careful,” he said and started to walk.
Careful my ass! Who do you think you are?
“What exactly is your quest?” she finally asked when she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. It wasn’t as if she actually cared, she was just curious.
“I have to take you to Yildun. There, I have to get your sister, and bring you two together,” he answered.
“My sister? I don’t have a sister. You must be mistaking me for someone else,” she said as she stopped.
“Oh, trust me. I haven’t found the wrong person.” He gave out a mocking laughter. “I wish I had though.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked offended. He stopped and turned around to look at her.
“I already told you. I am going to fulfill this mission with or without you following me willingly, so start to walk or I’ll be forced to carry you.” His eyes scanned over her body. ”And trust me; no matter how pleasing you might be to the eyes. I would rather not delay us further by being forced to carry you, and let both of us endure each other’s company for longer than necessary.”
“Then answer my questions! You just popped out of nowhere commanding me to follow you, which I’d rather not, I might add. Tell me something!” Annabell exploded. “You just randomly said I have a sister on the other side of the country. How am I even supposed to react to that?”
Throwing her hands up in the air in frustration, she huffed and hurried past him.
He probably doesn’t even know what this actually entails. He’s probably a pervert who thought I’d be a breeze to abduct.
“It’s getting darker,” he said after a while. Annabell rolled her eyes.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. I hadn’t noticed how the dark tends to come as time passes.”
“I mean, we should probably think of finding a place to camp.” He fixed her with a glare.
“Why can’t we just continue until we can’t anymore?”
“Because it’s dangerous to walk in the woods at night: you can’t see if a root is in the way, and my sense of direction gets cut off at night,” he answered.
Not my fault you can’t see in the dark.
Annabell managed to keep her thoughts to herself, but as she watched him walk over to a tree, she wondered why she didn’t just leave. She wanted to, but something held her back.
I might have a sister…
Annabell continued to stare at him, waiting for him to open this tree.
No worries, take your precious time. It’s not as if we need sleep or anything…
“What?” he finally asked.
“Aren’t you going to magically open the tree again?”
“This is not a hiding tree. We’ll camp out here,” he said without looking at her as he took two thin blankets out of the bag. He handed one to her.
“You’ve got to be kidding. What if it starts to rain?” she said, refusing to accept the blanket.
“Then we’ll get wet, which will subside in the morning. Are you afraid of getting a little moist?” he asked with a wink.
Definitely a pervert…
“No. But won’t we get sick if we are in drenched clothes?” she snapped back at him.
“Well, I know for a fact that you won’t get sick. And I’m willing to take the chance with myself,” he said. Annabell sat down on the ground.
“How come you know so much about me?” she asked.
“It’s my duty to do so.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means; that in order to complete this quest and keep you safe, I’ve needed to obtain information about you. Also, I saw you in the basement,” he said and leaned back down on the ground.
“How did you get the information then?”
“My father wrote most of it down. It’s in his journal. Also, I was taught to read the stars at a young age,” he explained shifting slightly on the ground.
“No way! Are you a star reader?” Annabell couldn’t hide her surprise. Star reading was only for a select few. It was the ancient art of seeking help from the stars. It was rare that she met anyone who possessed the ability to answer any question they desired.
She saw Joshua shrug at her question.
“I have not fully mastered it. However, simple directions and additional knowledge about a subject I know most of, is available for me,” he explained. Annabell suddenly remembered what he had mentioned about a sister.
“Did the stars tell you I had a sister then?” she asked and averted her eyes to the small opening that revealed the stars above.
“No, I knew that from my father’s journal.” Silence stretched between them. “Annabell?”
“Yeah,” she answered and met his eyes.
“I need to tell you about something you aren’t going to like…"
She remained silent. Joshua gave out a sigh and ruffled the hair on the back of his head.
“I need to tell you about the night you were born,” he said and diverted his eyes. Annabell waited for him to continue. He seemed to struggle to find the words.
“What happened?” she finally asked, egging him on.
“Well. My father always kept journals, the one I have her, contain some loose papers from the night you were born. He was present,” he told her. The hint of sympathy in his voice didn’t go unnoticed.
“Get to it. Continue!” Annabell demanded when he didn’t continue.
“An ancient prophecy tells of the arrival of a Rising Star. I’m not sure what it entails, but in my father’s journal, he says that the Elders tried to stop it from happening. Elders were there the night you and your sister were born, and one of them wanted you both killed. My father was assigned to patrol that night. He was given an opportunity to save you, under the disguise of being your executioner. This—I believe—cost him his life.” Joshua inhaled deeply and Annabell that he fiddled nervously with the hem of his shirt.
“My father chose to apply for the Stars’ guidance as he was also taught the art of star reading. He was always so noble and courageous—devoted to the life and philosophy of the Stars. He disagreed strongly with the Elders decision to kill your mother…” He stopped speaking and cleared his throat. “The Journal explains in detail about what happened that night. Do you want me to read it out loud?”
Annabell shook her head.
“Just sum it up; it’s too dark to read now.” Her voice was hoarse.
“Okay. Cliff notes version: My father was one of the guards present that night. They expected a child to be born, but something went wrong and two children were born, a set of twins. The Elders panicked, they thought that they had the wrong person. Asking the stars repeatedly, they all pointed towards your mother being the vessel. That didn’t explain the two children though.” He took a deep breath. “They decided that they couldn’t have more deaths by their hand and commanded my father to execute you and your sister. As far as I think, the Elder that chose my father, knew that he wouldn’t do it.”
Annabell’s eyes were moist with unshed tears. She had always resented her family for abandoning her at the orphanage.
My mother is dead. It wasn’t because she didn’t like me. She just never got the chance.
Turning her back towards Joshua, she fought the urge to cry. Hugging herself under the blanket, she felt a slight gratitude towards Joshua, and the fact that he didn’t pursue talking about it.
I have a sister, she reminded herself. This was the only thought that kept resounding in her mind, and soon after, she had to give in to the tempting lure of sleep.
-
An aggravating beeping noise woke Annabell early the next morning. Dawn had barely passed, and as she opened her eyes, she could see that the morning dew still coveted the ground. Sitting up, she tried searching for the source of the sound. A groan escaped when the search led to Joshua’s bag.
“Hey, Meathead! Your bag is disturbing my sleep,” she said to him but got no response. She raised herself to her knees and attempted to throw a stick at him. Annabell let out a sigh in annoyance, when her lack of aiming skills threw the stick far off the target. Standing up and walking over to him, she nudged him in the side with her foot.
“Your bag is making irritating noises, Weirdo,” she said to him. Joshua opened his eyes suddenly and leaped to his feet.
“Crap! Quick, gather the things. We have to run again,” he commanded and took a small device out of the bag. As he studied it, he let out a grunt.
“What is that?” Annabell asked. He looked up at her.
“This means that the guards are back. I set the alarm for wolf search, and this means that they can’t be far away.” He quickly gathered the two blankets throwing them in the bag.
Joshua grabbed Annabell’s wrist and started pulling her along. Chills ran up her spine as she heard a faint wolf cry. Branches whipped against their bodies. Annabell was sure they added to her already many bruises.
Annabell could hear the faint sound of a water running. She hoped that Joshua knew what he was doing. It wouldn’t do them any good if they ran out in the open without the cover from the surrounding trees. Her lungs ached.
“Joshua… I can’t… run… further,” she managed to gasp out. He looked back at her and changed direction. As they broke free from the trees, the wind blew harder against their faces. Annabell struggled to see from her dark hair, which flew around her head.
“We’ll have to cross the river. Their wolves don’t like water, so we might have a chance of escaping there,” Joshua called to her.
Annabell didn’t think it was possible, but when she heard hooves from horses and the wolf cries nearing them, her heart began beating even faster. The yells from the guards reached her ears—they knew she was here. Joshua started zigzagging between the trees, and she tried her best to follow. The river sounded closer now.
She screamed as her foot was stuck in a root. Joshua caught her, and helped her foot free. They could see the river ahead of them. Annabell looked back, and similar to a deer caught in headlight, she froze as she saw the giant wolf from afar. Joshua pulled at her again. In a few strides, they were at the riverbank.
Angry yells erupted from the guards, though they were still too far for them to make them out. Joshua pulled her into the middle of the river, when the stream suddenly caught them. Annabell screamed and fought to hold tight to Joshua. Her head ducked under the water, and she swallowed vast amounts of water, coughing it up whenever she got a chance.
The flow was strong, and as she felt Joshua’s hand slip from hers, she noticed where they were heading.
Solem, have mercy.
She took a deep inhale, when she realized that Joshua had led them right into the river that ended in Astron’s biggest—and most dangerous—waterfall: The Astral Falls.