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The whispering of the trees grows louder, the darkness becomes more creeping, and the sunlight loses the war against the tree cover.
And all I can do is wonder about the necklace and the bracelet and the hold they have on me.
“I wonder what I’ll find next.”
4
BRIELLE
Lines of tents beckon me from the forest, the remainder of Oshta overlooking my field of vision.
Skye trails behind me, leaping around the dirt and grass and pecking at loose crumbs. I caress the bright green and blue zanthenite bound in the golden bracelet, unable to tear my eyes away from it. A nearby brook babbles. I sidestep Colson, who is carrying a large log toward Oshta with one weaker-looking man I don’t recognize.
“Why aren’t you back at the factory?” Colson asks nonchalantly as he struggles against the weight of the lumber. He’s heading down an incline now, and he looks up at me as he tries to plant himself against the natural trajectory of the slope.
Nearby, I see the twigs and debris we use to build our own little fire, around which several people are gathered, rubbing their hands together. The dormitories are frigid. Sometimes, the only way to stay warm is to gather down here, in our own little community area.
“They gave me the day off,” I reply.
He looks suspiciously down at the chain necklace around my neck, a single diamond hanging near my chest. But as he disappears down the hill, he says nothing else.
I move over to the fire and chat to pass the time, the smell of ash filling my nostrils as the flames feel like they’re burning my face. Everyone around the fire has elaborate and terrifying stories about their first encounters with the dark elves. They all speak about the first time they came to hate them and swore to free themselves of their rule.
But I’m second generation. I don’t remember my first encounter with the dark elves. They’ve just always been in my life.
So while Zion, Brantley, and Declan talk, all I can do is nod my head while Skye balances on my shoulder, cawing at nothing in particular.
“Swear by the Thirteen, Bri,” Zion says, annoyed at the constant chatter, “if we ever run out of food, I’m eating that bird.”
Brantley laughs. Declan casts him a disapproving side glance.
I know he’s joking, but I still huddle away, putting a hand on Skye and petting her. I try to maintain the conversation, but it’s awkward. I can never tell whether they pick on me because I’m an easy target or because they want to toughen me up.
I stand up, walk away from the campfire, and immediately feel the chill. It’s getting dark, and our mandated curfew is coming up. Soon, I’ll be returning home to my frigid bed, to hopefully get at least a little bit of sleep before my next day of work first thing in the morning.
“What by the gods are you wearing?” a familiar voice inquires.
I look up from the ground to see Riya, still as pale and freckled as ever. I smile somewhat sheepishly before clutching my necklace and feeling the texture of the metal in my hand.
“You’re not going to believe it, but I just found these,” I say.
I can tell that she doesn’t believe it. She’s going to tell me to return them and find out who they belong to. She’s going to ask me if I’m insane for even humoring the idea that –
“Nice,” she says, the light of her smile not quite meeting her eyes.
“Nice?”
She is stone-faced. Outwardly, she is happy for me. I never know what she’s thinking, though.
“Where’d you find them?” she asks. She’s resumed walking now, and I know that we’re walking back toward the dormitories. I gesture to Skye to follow, clicking my tongue against my teeth, and she jumps atop my shoulder.
Behind me, they’re extinguishing the fire, pouring nearly frozen water from the brook over it. The steam rises as Zion complains about another day of work, and Declan tells him to suck it up and keep perspective.
“I found them in the forest,” I say, looking toward the growing buildings of Lowtown.
I must have blanked it out, but here, in the comfort of Riya’s presence, I realize that my feet are throbbing in my sandals – the only disadvantage of walking the grounds of the forest rather than the hard factory floor. They pound in the chilly air.
“Watch it!” Riya says suddenly. I narrowly avoid a pile of equu droppings.
