1 News of the Rebellion

The damp summer air held the loose ringlets of her hair tightly to the frame of her face and the nape of her neck. She breathed deeply. In, out. In, out. In. She held onto this breath, and released the arrow. Out. THUD. She had hit high to the right of the bullseye. She would have to do better than that. She adjusted her mark but over corrected, just breaking the outer edge of the red circle. It was hardly sufficient. She retrieved her arrows and shouldered her bow. It was well past time for her to prepare supper.

She headed back to the hut, bagging berries as she went. Hopefully they would somewhat pacify her hungry horde of brothers. She could see their silhouettes coming up over the edge of the hill as she hurried through the door to quickly clear the table of that morning's mess. She poured the sad amount of berries she collected into a small bowl and placed them on the table along with what was left of a hunk of cured meat and a hard slice of cheese.

Akin was the first one to duck through the door. She handed him a wet cloth to wipe the days work away from his hands and face. Following through behind him came Batsky and Iden. After Iden, she was surprised to find a man from town to be with them. She quickly wet an extra cloth and handed him one as well. He nodded to her in thanks. She hadn't heard that Blake was back in town, he must have only just arrived.

In his low commanding voice, Akin spoke to her. "Zinya, we have private matters to be discussed. Start your evening chores." She looked up at him, her lips tightening. "Now, Zinya." She glanced up at her other brothers, they all looked thoughtful and serious. She hated being swept aside in such a way, and without even a chance to eat! Blast them, she thought to herself.

"I'll just take these with me then." She grabbed the quaint bowl of berries in defiance and a faint scowl of disapproval flashed across Batsky's face. He loved berries. She hotly walked out the front door and located a bucket. She turned it over against the wall and sat down with the berries in her lap. Leaning her head against the thin mud and straw wall, she hoped to catch some snippets of their conversation. It was very muffled, and she felt she was going red in the face concentrating so hard.

"He's gone bloody mad!" She recognized Iden's voice. "How many more villages will he destroy to get what he wants!"

"What can we do about it now that we couldn't do then!" Batsky said. "We're just barely recovering now! Our parents and friends are gone. Who even knows what they've done with Tobin and Givon!"

Zinya's heart dropped at the thought of her parents, and she said a silent prayer for her brothers. Wherever they could be. Her ears perked at the sound of Blake's voice.

"I learned more of the uprising during my travels." He paused. "They say men have started preparing weapons. If there were enough of us....."

Akin had been silent till now. "How can we find them?"

"Brother! Think of Zinya! Who would defend her if we left!" Batsky flustered. "It wouldn't be right."

She rolled her eyes. If they left, she would go with them. She wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I know a man who has offered to take us with him. He says we won't wait for an answer. We would have to leave tonight." Blake answered Akin, ignoring Batsky's comments. "They've already taken everything from me. I will be going with him." Zinya thought of Blake's wife. She was so beautiful and they'd loved each other very much. It was the town's grandest wedding they'd ever had. The fall flowers were bigger and brighter than ever that year. It was that night that their collective world's went up in smoke.

She looked out at the bare horizon. There used to be a stretch of woods along the river. And a house. Her beautiful house. Now all that was left was a toppled stone chimney. Zinya took the bucket she sat on and walked to the river. It was dusk now, and the remaining orange in the sky flickered off the water. She watched her bucket create ripples as she filled it. She sat it at her feet and examined the cutout of the bank. She replayed that night in her mind.

She was twelve when they had come. She could hear their horses pounding the earth, and mingled shouts from invaders and the invaded. She remembered how her mother pulled her back from the window just as it broke, and how the flames engulfed the floor. They had fled down the stairs where they were met with more intense flames. She couldn't see a way out.

"Listen to me" Her mother had clutched one of Zinya's arms and pointed to the narrow painted glass window she had loved so much. "We have to break it. I'm going to push you out."

"I can't! I can't do it" Zinya coughed. The smoke was thick and the heat burned her throat.

"You don't have a choice!" Her mother had grabbed a large bowl and hit the window above her head till nothing but a hole to the outside remained. She then tore off her underskirts and wadded them up along the bottom edge. "Come here!" The flames grew closer by the second. Zinya's mother encouraged her to step up into her hands. Zinya had looked behind her at the flames, and quickly tried to climb up the wall with her mother's assistance. She had struggled a couple of times before finally toppling out onto the ground below. Shaken and bruised, she had scrambled to her feet and ran towards the river. She remembered glancing behind her. Why wasn't her mother there? Why hadn't she been right behind her? Why didn't she get out too?

"Mother!" She had screamed as she started to run back. She remembered an arm grabbing her around the waste so hard the air had been knocked out of her. She looked up and saw her older brother Iden dragging her away from the flaming house. A figure had shot past her, and she remembered freezing in horror as her father's massive form busted through the front door and into the burning building just as it began to crumble. She had felt him go limp, and suddenly she hadn't known who was holding up who anymore. The sound of men yelling had caught her attention and she looked up to see the men returning. She remembered grabbing Iden's hand and pulling him towards the river. She had led him down the edge along the bank until she came to her small hollowed out hiding spot in the side. They both squeezed in and had clung anxiously together till morning.

"You know, then." Zinya looked up, startled to see Iden looking in at her. She nodded.

"I'm going. They can't stop me." Zinya started her argument. "I can take care of myself. You know I can. Just don't leave me here alone." This time Iden nodded. He held out his hand, bracing her as she climbed out.