Mina awakes in a forest with vague memories of the accident, only to confront two new faces curious about her.
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Mina gingerly touched her hand to her head. Her fingers came away red from her temple, and she winced at the scrapes on her arm. She sat up slowly, stiff with the morning dampness. The forest around her rose high overhead, flat-leafed trees in shades of green and bright ambers. She pulled her brown skirt over her knees better, frowning at the small rip at the hem and then at the skirt itself.
It certainly was not anything she recalled wearing before. She put a hand to the gathered collar of her peasant style blouse of muted green cotton, the strings tied in a loop at her chest. She stood slowly and brushed the grass from the full-cut, tiered sable skirt. She frowned, tying the olive-colored blouse tighter. Her head pulsed at her temples, her last thoughts of the truck bearing down on her and the shove that had come from behind.
That's what it was, she thought. A head injury. It didn't explain how she had gotten into the woods, but it did mean that she'd wake up from this concussion in a fog and be in her bedroom soon.
She spent a few moments breathing deeply despite the soreness at her side, and dusted herself off, wiping the dried blood from the side of her face. She followed the path her imagination had provided to where it branched out to meet another wider trail, and waited for herself to wake up.
It wasn't until she had counted to 500 three times that Mina realized she was awake and not dreaming. The dried streaks of blood on her hands were real enough, the throbbing pain at her head was definitely real, and the sharp rocks beneath her bare feet were genuine.
She wiped her temple again as it started to seep. She groaned and dabbed at it with her long blouse sleeve, grimacing at the tender area. She looked up quickly at the sound of voices and twigs snapping farther up the trail. She stood still as two horses with riders and a mule came into view.
The boy was a bit older than her and the girl with him was no more than ten years, Mina decided as they halted near her. She stepped back as the teen boy walked his horse closer, looking her over thoroughly.
Edvard dismounted. "You know you're bleeding?"
Mina nodded as he approached. He stopped, studying her, and then went back to his horse and took a handkerchief from his saddle pack.
He walked up to her. "Did you get robbed?"
She cleared her throat. "No. I, I got lost."
He glanced back at the younger girl on the pinto mare. "Lot of that going around." He looked closer at Mina's head where a trickle of blood had seeped. "What happened to you?"
She shook her head, accepting the cloth he gave her. "I fell."
"She looks different," the young girl on the mare said, sitting back in her saddle.
"So do you, Yuila." Edvard moved to push Mina's hair back from her face, then paused as a startled look came over her. He shook his head. "Did you fall off a horse?"
"No. I just..." She stepped away when he moved her hair to try seeing what was causing the bleeding. "I don't know."
He sighed, looking down the path behind her. "Who are you with?"
She debated telling him anything for a moment, then decided what she knew of the recent truth wouldn't hurt. "No one."
His gaze dropped to her bare feet. "You're traveling alone, without any shoes?"
"I got lost," she stammered, but it wasn't what she had meant to say.
He went back to the bay horse and got a canteen of water and handed it to her. "Where do you live?"
She took a drink of water, returning his careful attention. "I don't know. I mean, I don't remember." She looked to each of his eyes, estimating his reaction.
"Well, we can take you to the next village." He took the canteen she handed back. "Do you know anyone in Pantia?"
She shook her head, which only made the throbbing there worsen. She shrugged, a sudden weakness catching her legs. She put a hand to her head as her vision blurred and darkened, then collapsed in the path.
Mina wasn't sure how much later it was when she awoke. Her first sight was of the girl called Yuila, her face only inches from her own as she lay in the grass. Two setting suns were behind the girl, but all Mina could see was the vividly violet eyes, wide and curious.
"Get out of her face."
In response to Edvard's voice, Yuila backed away a few feet. "She's awake."
"Give her some room."
For the second time in a few short hours, Mina slowly rose to a sitting position. A dizziness swept through her as she leaned against the tree behind her, her vision struggling to sharpen to take in her surroundings. Edvard sat across a small campfire from her and Yuila kneeled nearby. Mina touched her temple, this time finding it dry and clean. The blood had been washed from her scraped arm, too, and the area still stung.
Edvard watched her movements. "Feeling any better?"
Mina nodded to him. "Thanks." She looked to Yuila still watching her.
He held a pointed stick of meat over the fire, turning it to brown the last side. "How long have you been traveling? Do you know that?"
She looked from Yuila back to Edvard. What was she supposed to tell them if she didn't know? "I don't remember."
He nodded and leaned forward, handing the stick to her. She took it and studied the thin strips of meat on the end.
"Hare," he said.
She nodded.
Yuila moved closer to her. "What makes your eyes like—?"
"Yuila," Edvard snapped. "Being a Crone, I don't think you should be asking questions about anyone's eyes."
"But hers are like a cat," the girl continued despite his looks of warning. She pulled at the corners of her eyes to slant them. "I wish mine were like that."
Mina sampled the rabbit. "It's good. Thank you." She looked to where Yuila was still watching her closely. "I'm part Japanese."
"Japanese? Never heard of it." Edvard looked at her with puzzlement. "Is it a small village?"
"It's a country," Mina said without thinking.
"Well, I've never seen it on a map." He stuck a few more pieces of rabbit on another stick and handed it to Yuila. "Is it nearby?"
Mina sighed. What kind of a warped dream was this? Suddenly Japan didn't exist, but this purple-eyed girl did? "I don't think so."
Darkness fell soon after they ate and Edvard provided a blanket for Mina. She sat with Yuila against the large tree in the small clearing, pulling the blanket higher to her chin. Her head still ached and her feet were beginning to feel the damp chill in the night air. Yuila soon slumped over, sleeping in a matter of minutes. Mina watched Edvard tend the horses and mule a short distance away near another tree. He patted each animal's neck, speaking lowly to them, checking tethers.
As different as Yuila appeared, Edvard seemed normal. Twice already the young girl seemed to dissolve before her very eyes. Edvard had explained about Crones, but Mina still didn't completely understand. Invisibility? It wasn't possible. And the girl's eyes, deep violet, were unlike anything Mina had ever seen before.
Edvard sat across from her, one tree nearer than he had been previously. He looked like any teen boy she had seen before, she decided. Well, not every boy, but not unlike anyone else, not like Yuila did. His hair was a dark shade of brown, his eyes blue, if she remembered right. The light was poor and he was across from Yuila now, but she thought they were blue.
"What's your name?" he asked as Yuila stirred in her sleep.
"Misato. Just Mina is fine."
He repeated the name carefully, shaking his head. "I'm Edvard, of the house of Sammis." When she made no comment, he added: "The second son."
She nodded.
"You've heard of him?"
"No. Is he a politician?" As soon as she said it, Mina wished she could recall the words.
"No," he said slowly. "You've never heard of Elian of Sammis? He's been champion of the Sanvatir Tournament for two years in a row."
"I don't think I have."
He nodded. "So why are you traveling? Did you run away from your master?"
Master? she thought. "I don't have a master," she said pointedly.
"Well, if you did, it doesn't matter to me." He stretched his legs and leaned against the tree, sighing.
"I'll bet she's a run away slave," Yuila said, catching them both off-guard.
"I'm not a slave," Mina retorted, sending the girl a glare. "What would give you that idea?"
Edvard shrugged. "We wouldn't return you, Mina."
"Sapo," Yuila mispronounced. "I think she's a slave. That's a slave name."
"It's Misato," Mina corrected. "And I am not a slave."
He looked her over for a moment. "Those are very fine earrings. I've rarely seen such detailed metals, and certainly never on a servant."
Mina touched the small silver hoop earrings she wore.
"That's not something you'd give a slave," he said off-handedly.
"Maybe she's a different kind of servant," Yuila posed, giggling.
Mina's eyes narrowed at the girl. "Aren't you a little young for that line of thought? Do you even know what you're talking about?" She looked to where Edvard returned her stare. "I'm not any kind of servant."
"Check her feet."
Mina shot a glare at the girl. "Why don't you disappear?"
"I'll bet her head is tattooed," Yuila said, sitting up, warming to the topic. "They do that on the islands off the coast. Under her hair."
"Lie down and go to sleep," Edvard said to the Crone as Mina pulled her feet completely under the blanket. "Well?"
She frowned at him. "I don't have any tattoos."
He nodded. "You wouldn't have any objections to going to Pantia?"
"You don't have to take me anywhere." Mina sighed, letting the frown dissolve. "Thank you for your help, but I'll go by myself tomorrow."
"Why? Do you remember how to get home now?"
"No."
He shook his head. "You may as well come with us then. We'll take her home," he said, glancing at Yuila's form that was curling up beneath the blanket, "and then find out where you belong."
"I am not a slave," Mina said again. "I'm not running away from anyone."
"Then there'll be no problem staying with us. You might remember soon, and you'll be home in a few days."
She nodded, leaning back against the tree as her feet began to ache with the night air. She closed her eyes against the low fire and Edvard's questioning look. Maybe it really didn't matter to him whether she was an escaped slave or not.
But it mattered greatly to her that there were two moons in the sky.
PG13, saga; teen, fantasy, non-Sci-Fi world travel, teen romance, clean romance, realm, magical realism, shadow world, school/new school, high school. #ReadFree with free signup. ♫♪
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Thanks to P.G. Waters for the use of her story!