AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sand didn’t fall like it was supposed to. I felt my eyebrows knit together in confusion and shook the hourglass. The sand jostled around, hitting the tip where it should’ve slipped into the other section, but turning it over again showed me that it wasn’t falling.
“That’s so weird.” I showed the girls. “Is it broken?”
The two of them mimicked me and found that their hourglasses were identical. None slipped into the other side for a countdown. They shrugged, just as confused as I was.
“They’re pretty, though, and the sand changes color,” Mallory pointed out. “At least they’re pretty.”
I dropped mine back into place, confused as to why Mallory’s mother would give us defunct hourglass timers, but maybe she had just thought they were pretty necklaces for us. No, I didn’t think that was the big picture. Meredith didn’t just grab things that were pretty. As long as I had known her, I knew she didn’t do things on a whim. She’d given us the pendants for a reason; I just knew it. Exactly why, I wasn’t sure yet, but I was sure we’d figure it out. Sooner or later, we had to, didn’t we?
I looked down at the hourglass again and spun it between my fingers. The sand was shaken up, going in every direction except to the other end of the hourglass. It was like there was a barrier in there, though I didn’t understand why one would even be put there. To the naked eye, it didn’t even look like there was anything in the way.
I was floored, confused more than anything. There had to be a logical reason why she’d given these to us. I just couldn’t think of it at the moment.
I turned back to the front of the wagon and picked the reigns back up, tugging on them. Mallory slipped over and dropped back into the back of the wagon, shortly followed by Carli as she picked up all the boxes and tissue paper to do whatever it was with them. The clomping of hooves entered my ears as the horses started back up, taking their time to walk over the terrain, not that I cared. I knew we had to be to our destination at a specific time frame, but I wasn’t about to go galloping through the forest and alert anyone to what we were up to. Three witches on their own were going to stir up unwanted questions. Well, two full-blooded witches roaming out and about would be draw eyes without a doubt. As long as we kept our heads down and went along our day, nobody would have to even second glance in our direction.
“Are they going to accept us?” Carli’s question came out of the blue, ending the silence and the buzzing thoughts in my mind. “For the training, I mean. Will they accept us?”
I looked over my shoulder to catch both girls looking at me with big round eyes. They expected me to know because I was the one who had suggested and pushed this trip forward. I was the one jumping at this chance, just to squeeze my way into the army. I was the one making them give up everything for this. Well, I wasn’t exactly making them. They chose to follow me, but still, I was in the lead on this. I had to know the answers, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of either of them. However, I knew even giving a lame reply and possibly having it turn into a lie down the road was even worse. So, I didn’t say anything as I looked back at the horses, watching their tails swish as they batted off a few buzzing fliers.
Birds chirped somewhere above us, wings batted in the distance as some took flight. Not pressing it, the other two fell back into a quiet conversation that I didn’t even try to eavesdrop on. I didn’t have the feeling they were talking poorly about me. Carli, especially, wouldn’t do that to me. And for as long as I’d known Mallory, she was too much of a sweetheart to do such a thing. After a while, Mallory climbed up front, took the passenger seat, and settled in for the long haul of the ride. It would still be a while before we left the dense forest to get to the bigger city.
“Timothy is going to be mad,” she told me in a soft voice. “You know that, right? My mom probably got up early just to write him.”
I shrugged with a shake of my head. “He won’t get the letter for a while, at least. We’ll be on training grounds by then. He won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Carli leaned on the back of the seat between us, her chin on her folded arms. “Jasper and your dad too, you know. They’re all going to be mad. What do you think they’ll say?”
I shook my head, keeping my eyes forward. I had an idea of what could be said. All three were going to be seriously ticked off. Timothy alone would be furious I decided on this and then would explode when he found out I had dragged Mallory along for the adventure.Adventure.Yeah, that’s what they would all think I thought it was. Because according to them, every time I pulled a stunt to get out of the village in some way or another, it was just some silly adventure, and I needed to cool down and drink life the way it was. None of the three men seemed to realize, though, that I didn’t want to settle in one dang place for eternity.
I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, not wanting to fall prey to the tumbling thoughts. There was a small piece inside of me, a little voice in my head that wanted me to turn back and just be the good girl they all wanted me to be. Timothy always said he loved the adventurous heart inside of me, but I had a feeling that one day, it would be a factor if we ever broke up. I didn’t want to lose him, but I knew well enough exactly what Timothy wanted in life, and I also knew that I couldn’t and didn’t want to give that to him, not any time soon anyway. I knew that when he returned to the village, he'd want to start his dreams of a family and settle down, and I didn’t think I would be ready to do that any time soon. Soon. How long was soon, though? How long would they be gone? Six months, two years, ten years? No, I didn’t think it would be ten years. That just seemed a little too long. But I had heard about soldiers being held in war for up to five years before, so it was possible. I could only hope they weren’t gone for an entire decade.
That wasn’t going to happen, though, not now. Becoming a medic witch meant I would access the soldiers, patch them up, and get them back on the field. That was what happened, wasn’t it? We would be put into the combat zone to help keep them alive. So, there would have to be a point where I crossed paths with Timothy, Jasper, or even my father. Maybe even all three, at different intervals. I wanted that, needed that. If I was going to survive, I needed to see at least one of the three of them. I had a feeling that communication with them would be cut once we arrived at the training. I didn’t mind that, of course, but that didn’t mean it would be easy.
My heart wrenched, and I remembered the bracelet that Timothy had given me. It was in my bag, unworn. I didn’t want to wear it, though I probably should’ve been. He’d given it special to me, showing me that he wanted me to stick by his side for life. Putting it on, however, was accepting that. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to say yes.
ChapterSeventeen
Icouldn’t shake the shadowy figure. We didn’t talk about it. Carli barely knew anything from the hit she had taken. I was pretty sure Mallory didn’t get what had happened but didn’t question it. I followed suit and just filed it away in the back of my mind for the moments I was alone and could sort through it.
The entrance of the city was guarded. Every wagon checked for stragglers that weren’t allowed, such as dark witches or banned creatures. I knew that dragons were banned. They were rare these days, almost extinct from being hunted for sport and fun, but they were still watched out for. Anyone caught with a dragon in their possession would be turned away. Dragons were dangerous and could burn down an entire city.
It was only natural that we were pulled to a stop at the entrance. The guards had horns sprouting from their foreheads and swords clasped upon their backs. Their paws had long, black claws extending out. They were gnarled and in clear view, obviously done to make sure we knew that any funny business wouldn’t be tolerated. I’d been here a few times before. I knew the drill well.
Mallory squirmed, excitement oozing from her. I remembered Timothy once telling me that besides his parents, he was the only other one in the family who had ever left the village. This was Mallory’s first time; no surprise, she was brewing in excitement over the whole thing. I couldn’t blame her. The first time I had ever gotten to join my brother and father on a trip to the city was after my mother had been taken, and it had been the most exciting thing in the world. I hadn’t thought about what had happened for just a few days. These days, I couldn’t help but wonder if that had been my father’s plan; to take mine and Jasper’s minds off what had happened. The man had never talked about what had happened. I was pretty sure it was because it hurt too much. I knew that my parents were meant for one another. Even though the memories were vague at best, I could recall that they adored and doted on each other. The way my father would get sad when the subject of my mother was brought up only made that thought heightened. I wanted that love, so if anything ever happened to me, I would know that at least the man who had promised his life to me would never give up on me.
We were let through the arched entrance, untouched by the guards yet scrutinized because they were nosy, beady-eyed, horned creatures. The gate only closed at night when they were off duty, preventing anyone or anything from entering unless they wanted to risk climbing up and over.
Inside the city, life bustled. Every time I visited, I was amazed by how many people were smashed inside the walls. Even at night, it was full of life. The chatter didn’t stop, but the people milling changed. I wanted to live here. I wanted to be part of life. I wanted more than the crummy little village I felt so stuck in. I knew Timothy wouldn’t be up for that, though. If we ever decided to officially get married, I knew he would want to stay. He wanted to be close to his family, and I couldn’t really blame him. I wanted to be close to my family too, but I also wanted to be where life happened.
Frustration curled through me as a group of young faeries skipped past us just feet up ahead, their wings sparkling in the sun that shone down on all of us. They couldn’t be any older than ten, yet their wings were in clear view. Their giggles reached my ears as they walked across the dirt road to the field on the side of us, completely ignoring us.
Carli leaned forward on my left side, watching the girls intently. I knew that she was desperate to learn who she really was. There were no other faeries in our village, and being the only one, and a half one at that, had always made her an outcast against the rest of the community. She wasn’t the only halfling, of course, but she was the only one with faerie blood in her. Halflings weren’t really cast out, but they were watched warily and kept at arm’s length. Carli had made her place in the village and had made sure everyone knew how talented she could be for the community gardens, and they all appreciated that, but still, they scrutinized her.
Carli only knew her grandmother. There were no other family members as her father was an only child, and any family that her mother may’ve had, was completely unknown. She didn’t even know if any possible family members even knew of her existence.
Looking at her, I saw the longing in her eyes as they followed the girls until they were nothing but specks upon the horizon. I knew she was desperate to learn about her lineage. It had been her dream for as long as I had known her. Maybe even longer. I nudged Carli gently and drew her back to the moment, giving her a small, encouraging smile. If things went according to plan, maybe there would be faeries in training with us, and she could soak in everything her heart desired.
I felt her pain, though.
