The Forgotten (The Lost Children Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Sivec

  They had waited patiently for this.

  THE BROTHERS

  The Governor’s House was strangely quiet as Jakob and Kell chased after each other, oblivious to the ominous mood settling over Tamaryn. They had a rare and unexpected run of the grounds and were taking full advantage of it.

  The boys and their sister were usually in lessons during this time of the morning, but without further instruction, Mama had kissed them all on the forehead and told them that to go play instead. They were caught off guard because they were never excused from lessons, but they dared not question the decision for fear she would change her mind.

  The boys took off running as fast as they could, full of excitement and exhilaration, happy just to be boys, leaving their sister far behind as they usually did. They didn’t even give her a second thought as they ran together, both boys accustomed to her disappearing on her own and leaving them alone.

  At twelve, Jakob was much faster than seven-year-old Kell, and loved to out run his brother. Kell was getting faster with each day, but still couldn’t keep up. “Jakob, wait for me!” he yelled, his voice deep for his age as he chased after Jakob. He was desperate to keep up and always did the best he could, but no matter how hard he tried, his legs could still not keep up. He wanted badly to win and beat Jakob, but that day was still to come.

  “Keep up!” Jakob yelled, urging him along. They were running down the main front steps of the house, their boots making a pleasant clacking sound on the stone. “Run faster!”

  Jakob was barely winded as Kell pushed himself hard. He didn’t have Jakob’s natural athleticism, but his competitiveness forced him to continue. Jakob loved Kell and never wanted him to feel bad, so he indulged his little brother every chance he got. He never let him get too far behind, always urging him forward as Kell refused to give in.

  Kell hated being the youngest and coming in last every time. It’s just not fair!

  When Kell finally crossed the imaginary finish line, the brothers sat down panting. They rested on the stone stairs leading up to the main entrance. Kell loved sitting on the stairs and looking up at their house. He thought their house was the biggest house he had ever seen, and he loved it. He imagined that his was the biggest house in the whole world, even though Jakob told him that he was silly to believe that.

  “Why do you think we didn’t have to do our lessons Jakob?” asked Kell once he caught his breath.

  “I don’t know.” Jakob said. He was looking forward to lessons today and was a little disappointed they were cancelled. He had studied hard and was prepared, but Jakob admitted to himself that he enjoyed running around with Kell and allowed himself to have fun. Jakob didn’t get to have as much fun now that they were getting older, and more was expected of him. As sons of the Governor, there was a great deal expected of them, and Jakob knew there would be even more expected as they got older.

  “What do you want to do now?” Kell asked, anxious to keep playing. He didn’t want to waste a moment of the unexpected free time they had been given. Suddenly they heard footsteps and voices coming down the stairs from the main entrance. They quickly looked at each other and, without words, they took off quietly and hid under the stairwell, where nobody could see or hear them.

  A deep male voice came from above them. “What do you suppose the Governor will want to do?” Jakob recognized the voice as Father’s most trusted advisor and childhood friend, Milo.

  “I don’t know. The People are afraid, but there is no real threat that we can tell. We have been at peace for so long and there doesn’t seem to be any obvious enemy.” The voice belonged to the Captain of the Governor’s Guard, Aldo.

  Both men sounded worried, and Jakob couldn’t recall ever hearing such deep concern in their voices ever before.

  “We need to keep everyone within the House walls until we figure out what is going on. Where are Kell and Jakob? We need to keep them safe.” Jakob could tell that Milo was concerned for them. Milo was like an uncle to them and had been a part of their lives for as long as he could remember. With Milo he always felt safe.

  “Do you think that someone is after them?” Aldo asked, his voice rising angrily.

  “Until we know what the threat is, we can’t be too sure. We need to find them and keep them protected.” Milo’s voice was trailing off as they walked away quickly.

  “Jakob, something bad is happening I think,” Kell said poking his head out from their hiding place. Both boys stepped out from under the stairwell, prepared to jump back in at a moment’s notice. Kell was looking up at Brother with his dark brown eyes. At seven, he trusted Brother to answer most of his questions for him.

  “It will be okay.” Jakob said, trying to mask his worry. “Don’t worry Kell, I’ll take care of you and everything will be okay.” It had always been inherent within Jakob to take care of him. Five years older than Kell, they were as close as two brothers could be. Jakob was even trying to get Kell to slow down and speak a little clearer. When he was far younger, Kell had been slow to speak, making everyone wonder if he was ever going to, but when he finally started talking, it was almost as though he was always trying to make up for lost time.

  Sometimes the words came out so fast that they jumbled up and were hard to understand. Jakob always knew what he was saying and was often asked to interpret for Kell.

  The sky was getting darker and both boys looked up instinctively. There were no birds and the sky was silent. They noticed that the clouds were an odd color and they stood close to each other, neither wanting to say anything. Kell wanted Mama, but he knew that she must be busy or she would have already sought them out.

  They heard a female voice calling their names. “Kell! Jakob! Where are you?”

  Hadley! Kell thought her voice sounded frightened.

  “Come out boys! You’re Mama wants you!” She was running as quickly down the stairs as she could. Blossoming into young adulthood, Hadley was employed by the House to do whatever was required of her, and had been since she was a very young girl. She was an orphan who had been saved from starvation by the Governess, and she was forever indebted to her, often attending to her personally. Hadley had become more like family than a servant, and the family adored her, especially Kell who seemed to like being near her.

  “Here we are, Hadley!” Kell yelled out forgetting they were hiding. He thought Hadley was the prettiest female he had ever seen, aside from his Mama, with her golden hair and blue eyes that made him think of the sky. Kell knew he couldn’t hide from her even if he tried.

  Suddenly, there was a bright, white, blinding light and Kell and Jakob covered their eyes. Hadley screamed.

  Everything froze for an endless amount of time while the light radiated throughout the sky, making a deafening pulsing sound that made them drop to their knees.

  Mama! Jakob! Hadley! Kell thought as he sunk to the ground, and that is all he remembered.

  10

  THE PRISONER

  The woman opened her eyes but saw nothing in front her but blackness. Her head felt fuzzy, as though she had been asleep for an extremely long time, and her tongue and teeth felt slimy. She blinked her eyes several times trying to get the crustiness off of them, attempting to see something other than blackness. It frightened her that she couldn’t see, but she tried to suppress the panic.

  What has happened? Have I gone blind? Why can’t I see? Calm down. Calm down.

  Her muscles were sore and she felt as though she had been in the same cramped position for a very long time. Where am I?

  The last thing she remembered was looking for something … something very important, and she had been crying because she couldn’t find it. Her heart had been thumping in her chest and panic had been settling in. But there had been a loud sound, as though the earth were vibrating, and then … nothing. I wish I could remember what I was looking for?

  She was disoriented as she tried desperately to wake her senses up. The room smelled musty, and she imagined that she was in a wet, dank pla
ce, but it didn’t feel familiar. Nothing felt even remotely familiar.

  Where? Where could I be?

  She still couldn’t see and she was trying not to scream. She opened her eyes as wide as she could, thinking that perhaps she was dreaming, but she realized with horror that she was awake. If I stand up and walk around, maybe I can figure out where I am. She stood up slowly, gingerly. Her legs were very weak and her head was beginning to throb. She took a step, then a second step. With the third step her foot stopped, suddenly. She couldn’t move anymore.

  She realized that her foot was attached to something. Whatever it was prevented her from moving any further. She reached down and felt something cold, hard, and metallic around her ankle. She realized as she continued to feel around blindly that the thing on her ankle was attached to a big, thick chain, nearly as wide as her wrist, and tethered to the floor.

  She tried pushing down the terror deep down inside of her. She felt it growing, starting to overcome her.

  Where is my William? Maybe he’s in here and I just can’t see him!

  She tested her voice. “Will …” she said, her voice sounding thin, weak. She tried again. “Will … are you here? Will?” Her throat was scratchy, dry.

  She listened hard for any sound. She heard water dripping in a slow, even rhythm. Drip, Drip, Drip. But she heard no breathing, and no voices. She only heard the dripping.

  “WILL!” she screamed loudly, hearing the panic rising in her voice, “WILLLLLLL!”

  She had been in terrible situations before, but this may be the worst. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she knew that once they started, they wouldn’t stop. Where is Will? Oh God, I pray he is safe. She took several deep breaths. “Oh, please keep my love safe. Please reunite us again.” She whispered her prayer over and over until she finally started to feel calm inside.

  But she knew that she was forgetting something. It was something very important and she felt the panic starting to set in again.

  She tugged hard at her ankle and heard the chain scrape on the floor holding her tight to her spot. She tried to move and realized that she couldn’t move more than six inches in any direction. If only I could see. If only I knew where I was.

  Just then she heard a loud sound, like the sound of doors slamming one by one. She heard the echo of footsteps getting louder and louder as they got closer. The sound of a key being fitted into a lock echoed throughout the room, a loud click resounded as it turned. Suddenly, there was a beam of light as the door in front of her flew open and she was blinded. Her eyes were burning and she shielded them, willing them to adjust faster. All she could see was a small, thin figure standing in front of her, flanked by two large shadows on either side.

  “Hello?” she croaked desperately, “Hello? Who’s there? I demand to be told where I am.”

  “You demand do you?” The voice was higher than she expected. A woman!

  The Prisoner thought for a moment that if she didn’t have this chain on her leg, she could easily charge the figure at the door and knock her over. The Prisoner knew that she was quick and could possibly outrun the Governor’s Guards. She grabbed in fury at the heavy chain and she flung it to the ground, making a dull clunking sound as it landed. “I want out of here. I’ve done nothing to you.”

  “You’ve done nothing to me but live.” The voice sounded amused, but with a dangerous edge. “Your life stands in the way of what I want.”

  “What do you want?” the Prisoner cried out in frustration.

  “You’ll soon find out,” the woman said stepping backwards, just out of the Prisoner’s reach. “I just wanted to see if you were still alive.”

  The Prisoner continued to squint, her eyes finally adjusting somewhat to the bright light. She could see a small woman, a little taller than she would be if she were standing upright. The dress the strange woman was wearing looked very familiar. That dress is mine! She is wearing my dress.

  “Let me out of here, now! I demand it!” The Prisoner was angry and was thinking about all of the ways she could hurt the woman if only she didn’t have this chain weighing her down. She had hurt People before in battle, but she would enjoy it this time.

  The woman laughed again.

  “You are in no position to make any kind of demand. And you never will be again.” She turned around and walked slowly out of the room, the large guards following her.

  The door to the room slammed, metal to metal, and the Prisoner fell to the floor, weeping inconsolably.

  11

  THE AWAKENING

  The silence was deafening.

  The light disappeared as quickly as it came, and the sky became still and quiet.

  The two boys awoke slowly, feeling drunk with sleep.

  They were lying under a tree side by side, and they sat up gingerly rubbing their eyes as they stretched their arms above their head. They felt as though they had been asleep for a very long time, but there was no sun or moon in the gray sky to give them any indication of the time of day. The air around them was thick and full of a soupy fog that made it even more difficult for them to awaken. There was no way to tell how long they had been asleep as they stood up in slow motion still feeling hazy, as though they were dreaming. Their limbs refused to cooperate as they stumbled awkwardly, trying to get their feet firmly planted on the ground.

  The older boy was up first, and then he helped the younger one to his feet, holding him with both hands to steady him. They looked at one another in confusion, not quite understanding what was happening.

  Jakob was the first to speak as he looked his brother over from head to toe. “Are you okay, Kell? Are you hurt?” Jakob continued turning him around, first one way and then the other to make sure that he was still intact. When he was satisfied, he gave him one more spin and touched the top of his head as though he wanted to make sure he was really there.

  “I’m okay, I think.” Kell wasn’t sure. His head hurt, and he was thirsty. He wanted Mama.

  “I’m okay too.” Jakob said, not quite sure if he was. “Do you remember what happened?”

  “No. Do you Jakob?” Kell looked frightened and cold, his little face ashen.

  “No. I just remember a bright, white light and a strange sound, and that’s it.” Jakob looked around surveying their surroundings. They were clearly in a forest, which seemed familiar yet strange at the same time. He had no recollection of where they had been before that. He didn’t know where they came from and no matter how hard he tried, the only thing he could remember was Kell. He instinctively put his hand to his hip and was relieved to feel the leather casing attached to his belt. My scabbard!

  “I’m cold and so thirsty, Jakob,” Kell was starting to shiver. It was quickly getting colder and darker by the minute. Kell looked around for something to wrap himself in and realized there was nothing. They were in the middle of nowhere with nothing familiar in sight. Jakob looked at Kell’s big eyes and knew he needed to act quickly.

  “I’ll start a fire. Let’s get some kindling.” Jakob grabbed Brother by the hand and pulled him along, trying to ignore the dryness in his own mouth. “You have to be strong Kell. I need your help.”

  Kell nodded obediently, his dark eyes bigger than usual.

  After stumbling around for a long while, they finally found a good amount of kindling and several large pieces of wood and Jakob quickly set to work. Instinctively he knew how to build a fire, which seemed like a strange thing to know how to do. Soon the kindling and logs were ablaze, the flames cutting through the thickness of the air and creating light so they could see. Kell shivered less as he began to warm up, standing as close as possible to the flames. Despite the murkiness in their memories, neither boy seemed surprised that Jakob could build a fire so quickly and didn’t question it.

  Who are we and what are we doing here? Jakob was afraid to ask any questions out loud for fear he would upset Kell further. He knew that Kell wouldn’t have the answers, and he certainly didn’t.

  Jakob s
earched close by and found enough wood to last them through the night. He knew they would have to settle in and try to get some rest in order to face the next day, but he didn’t see how he was going to sleep with all of the questions racing through his head.

  “Jakob, I’m scared. Where are we?” Kell finally asked after they warmed up a bit. “How did we get here?”

  “The question is, where did we come from?” Jakob said, trying to keep his tone low and calm, although he felt anything but calm inside. Jakob knew by the feel of his soft linen shirt and his cotton beige pants that his clothes were of a fine material. His leather belt and supple boots were evident that he was someone important, and Kell’s clothes and boots mirrored Jakob’s. But despite their clothing, Kell looked simply like a lost child, and Jakob felt bad for him.

  “I can’t remember anything!” Kell said, giant tears welling in his big, brown eyes. “Nothing! My head is a big blank!”

  “Me neither.” Jakob admitted quietly. “We will though. We have to!”

  They sat on the cold ground in silence, and Jakob realized the night was uncomfortably quiet. There were none of the usual creature sounds or sounds of the earth; there was nothing. Jakob could feel that something was not right, but the only explanation he could give himself was that it was too quiet.

  Suddenly, they heard the sound of a twig snapping and both boys jumped up and looked at one other with the same frightened expression. The brothers had the same large, expressive eyes, though they were different shades; dark eyebrows and thick dark hair that turned nearly black in the winter and various shades of brown in the summer with the heat of the sun. Their eyes were wider than usual as they stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Kell grabbed Jakob’s hand instinctively and held tight. They heard another twig snap and Kell scooted as close to Jakob as he could.

  He hid his face in his brother’s chest until he heard Jakob laughing, sudden and deep laughter that startled Kell more than it comforted him. Laughing!