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Ember's Tale - Part II
Ember had run out of food and she had no money left. She was alone and hungry now and she was close to the end of her rope. In her dreams she always saw herself, hanging onto the very end of a rope that was hung from the skies and she was over the dark nothingness the called the Pit at the End of the World. When you died, you went there for Judgment Day. Then the Fates would decide if you would climb the staircase into Heaven, or be pushed into the flaming hole called Hell. Always, right before she woke up, she would cry out and her hand would hold out no longer. She would fall into the pit. She almost always woke screaming.
Ember’s life was running short, she had to find help from someone, anyone. Be it a traveling priest, a shoemaker, a politician, just someone. But first, she had to get to a town, any town. Ember was about to lose hope when a caravan of merchants found her lying in the middle of the rode. The women panicked and thought her dead until the men tested her breathing.
The women nursed her as their own as they traveled to Nevago of the Mountain Domain. As they traveled they told her stories. One night in the women’s tent of the encampment they told her a story of an eight-year-old heiress who ran away from her home after her mother had committed suicide and the men of her family had been killed in a war. Ember had been surprised that someone’s story had been almost exactly the same as hers. Then she heard it, they said that the heiress was of a city called Cavlarock of the Seacoast Domain. Ember knew it was time she told them the truth about herself. She had lied to them about where she had come from, she had lied to them about her reason to be on the road, she had lied to them in return to their kindnesses.
“Dear Mothers, this story is exactly like mine. May I tell you of my life?” the women bid her to continue. “My mother, Lady Astina Fresda, married my father, Sir Gregory Mugara, who was the brother of Lord Ferdinand Mugara, Lord of Cavlarock of the Seacoast Domain,” - the women gasped sharply at her relationship to the Cavlarock Lord. The Cavlarock Lord was the closest thing you could get to the title ‘King’ - ”As I was saying, Lord Ferdinand, I called Him Uncle Fred, was the Cavlarock Lord and I grew up on his and my father’s knees. They were twins, my father the younger. My Aunt Fredrika whose maiden name was Razdal, and Uncle Ferdinand, also known as Aunt Fred and Uncle Fred, were as close to me as my own father and mother and their children like my own siblings. I had no sisters so my uncle’s daughters, Marya, Riani, Hishana, Sukati, and Tomya, became my very best friends. My uncle had only one son, Rayon. My father had me, and my four brothers, Rista, Torka, Fasat, and Hert. The Mugaras are the family of - different names.
“Anyway, the War of One Hundred Battles? Are you familiar with it?” all the ladies nodded their heads. “Good. I was eight when the offlanders attacked a nearby town. The Lord sent a small army of men to assist in driving the intruders away. They succeeded but they struck again. This time from within Cavlarock. They’d snuck in with the gigantic food caravan that came to Cavlarock once every year. The enemies inside the city broke our gates and the rest of them flooded in. We drove them out eventually, drove them all the was into the Field Domain, and held them there. That was where my father and my brothers were killed.” a shadow fell across Ember’s face, the white-haired woman, Sani, next to her had leaned forward and was patting her back gently, she smiled and Ember took it as a silent urge to continue, “My mother recieved news of my father’s and bother’s deaths and she killed herself. I myself was lucky, I resisted the urge to do the same.” all the woman gasped at this and whispered to each other.
“Dear, we all can see that it pains you to speak to us of your hardships. You may stop if you wish.” Sani’s face was lined with concern.
“I will continue. I wish not to keep secrets from you. Where was I, oh yes, my mother’s suicide. After she had killed herself I ran away. I just started walking along the Great Cavlarock Road and wound up in Hastana of the Forest Domain. I had lived there until a few weeks ago when my foster father, Elder Banter, and my foster mother, Lady Anta, were murdered. I am skilled in swordsmanship and the townspeople resented me because of it. My foster parents were killed by a swordsman, like me. The townspeople would’ve blamed me and would’ve put me in jail. I ran away. I ran out of money and food and no one would take me in for work. I thought I was going to die. Then you showed up.” Ember looked around at the faces of the women in the tent, they were staring at her. Ember squirmed uncomfortably. Sani picked up the feeling of discomfort and spoke.
“Dear, your story is he exact same as the 8-year-old heiress’s. Were you an heiress?” Sani stared at her with those big blue eyes that disarmed her opponent. There was no shielding information from Sani.
“Yes. I was an heiress. I would have inherited all my mother’s property except for her money. My mother left all the money and the things she knew I wouldn’t ever use to my Uncle and Aunt Fred. I would’ve inherited my mothers jewels, gowns, furniture, books, servants, everything. But I refused it by running away. Marya, Riani, Hishana, Sukati, and Tomya are probably have the best time of their lives with all of it.”
“But Dear, those things belong to you. We must get you to Cavlarock immediately!” many heads nodded in agreement.
Ember smiled. “I thank you. But we must reach your destination, Nevago of the Mountain Domain. I would hate to feel the guilt of making you alter your travelling plans.”
“Luckily, we are only a fortnight from Nevago. If we are lucky, we might be able to leave the city to go to Cavlarock within the month.”
“Wait, are you planning to go with me to Cavlarock?”
Sani tilted her head. “Of course, we aren’t letting you go alone or with strangers.”
Ember got to her knees and hugged Sani fiercely. “Thank you so much Sani. You dn’t know how happy this has made me.”
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