Chapter 2

I awoke feeling sore, i remembered the trick my brother had pulled on me the day before and everything else that came after. I pulled her knees up to mu chest and tried to go back to sleep. It was nearly sunrise outside, i could see the early morning light trickle through the wooden beams that made up my family home. This place would have been beautiful if it wasn't falling apart. What a dump I thought, if the red legion hadn't come to our village then we could have had more than enough supplies to rebuild our house.

"The red legion" I gasped

They were coming today they alway came the day after a council meeting, probably to bleed us dry of our grain and wood again i thought.

Just then my door flew open, it was Elias. His face was crumpled and he held a parchment in his left hand and wooden bat in the other. He stood there breathless and sweating, I immediately noticed the bat had some dried blood and hair on it, the sight repulsed me but what was more frightening was the look on my brother face. He was afraid.

"Elias what h.." before I could finish my sentence he stumbled towards and fell at my feet.

"You've got to run, Amara, they will be looking for you now"

Elias handed me the crumpled paper and I opened it. At first I didn't understand but then as I read further I felt the pit in my stomach lurch.

The parchment read

BY IMMEDIATE ENFORCEMENT

ANY PERSON OF THE FOUR CLANS THAT DOES NOT PRESENT A ELEMENTAL SKILL SHALL BE TAKEN TO SERVE IN THE FIRE KINGS COURT WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.

ANYONE CAUGHT HARBOURING WILL BE PUNISHED AND SENT TO THE DEAD LANDS ON ORDER OF HIS SUPREME MAJESTY LORD ANVAR AND HIS RED LEGION.

I read the words and realised what this would mean. I would be taken from my family and my clan to serve the Fire King. I had heard some vile stories of what the depraved king would do to his young maids. I shuddered and leaned over the bed and immediately vomited.

As I lay on the floor next to Elias he looked at me and I at him.

"Where will I go brother?"

Tears formed in my eyes and Elias swiftly grasped my shoulders and said..

"Where will WE go sister?

If you haven't already noticed I might have killed one of the fire kings men tonight"

he motioned towards the bloodied bat next to us.

"What about mother?"

I realised as I looked opened eyed at Elias for answers, with a father dead and gone for many years now my mother had never really recovered from his loss. Many had said she had gone crazy as she used to walk the fields at night hoping he would come home one day. Elias had been the one who protected us from Gregory when he said that she was no longer working her fare share and she should be punished. Even though he was annoying and sometimes borderline aggravating at times he was still my big brother who watched out for us and I knew I could trust him. I asked him again, we just couldn't leave our mum. His head was down resting on his knee and he started to cry..

"Elias?..ELIAS!!" I shook his shoulders until he looked up at me.

"She was walking" he stopped between sobs.

"I went to get her to come back, she had wondered outside the village and into the forest straight into a red legion camp"

Elias looked at me in a way I had never seen him before. All I could do was listen it was like I was frozen in place.

"She saw them and tried to run, by the time I got to her they'd already hurt her"

I knew what he was trying to say the red brigade had a reputation for torturing and forcing themselves on the village women.

"She's dead Amara....and....i killed some of them"

Elias wiped his tears from his face and looked at me.

"We've got to go, NOW!" He shook me alert but I was numb inside. My mother was, gone.

He grabbed a few things, food, water and put them them in a satchel. I had barely had time to think and next thing I realised we were running through the corn fields up to the hill and highest point and border to our lands.

I stopped.

Elias spun round after he realised I was following him.

"Come on!"

He waved me forward but my feet were like stumps in the ground.

"This is the farthest I've ever gone. I'm scared Elias"

I noticed my hands were trembling. Elias grabbed my hand and yanked me foward. I suddenly felt a strange feeling all over my body as leapt forward. It was like I had an immense buzzing in my ears and my whole body was burning. A fire that I thought would burn me to my very core. Then next came the pain. Like lightning bolts shooting threw me all at once.

I screamed and felt my knees hit the cold hard ground and the last thing I saw was my brothers concerned face hovering above me before everything else went black.