by A. D. Duling
“That will be all of the questioning, Private Donavan.” A voice spoke from behind him.
The man quickly turned around and gave a salute, “Yes sir, General!” And he returned back inside.
The General walked over to her and gave a slight bow, “Hello Anna, welcome to Tatania.”
She stood for a moment unsure how to respond, and then gave him an awkward curtsey.
He laughed, “A good try! Now my dear, please come with me.” He offered his arm to her and she grabbed it. He gave her a smile and patted her hand with his gloved one. “There are actually two people who would very much like to meet you, Anna Kippling.” and he led her inside.
On the other side, it was like stepping back in time; almost medieval, yet modern as well. He guided her down a cobblestone road that ran through the center of the city and then down a few side streets, until finally stopping in front of a house sitting on the corner.
He gently unlinked her arm from his and excused himself.
She nodded and watched him walk up the house and knock on its wooden door. The door opened quickly after and a very beautiful woman stepped out. The General said something to her and she glanced over at Anna. She stepped back and allowed him to enter; the door shut quickly behind them.
A few minutes later the door opened again and the General stepped back out.
“Please come in Anna!” He beckoned to her.
She walked over to him and followed him inside. A young man and the woman she had seen at the door earlier, stood just inside. The woman walked up and hugged her. “It is so wonderful to meet you Anna!”
The young man went over to the table and pulled a chair out for her, “Please come and have a seat; you must be very tired!”
She was very tired and when she sat down; only then did she realize how much her feet hurt! They sat down across from her; while the General walked over and leaned against the hearth behind her. They sat quietly for a moment smiling at each other.
“Are we related?” she asked them; to break the ice.
“Yes, we are your grandparents.” He answered her.
“But you both look too young to be my grandparents!” She exclaimed.
He laughed, “Yes probably… here in Tatania we age differently than where you come from.”
“Every ten years for you counts as one year for us.” The woman finished.
Anna frowned, “Well that sucks!”
They laughed, “If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can address us as Nathan and Karina.” He told her.
She smiled, “That would be great.”
Karina stood up, “Oh my dear, you must be starving! Let me get you something to eat.”
“Yes, thank you. I missed lunch and am very thirsty.”
“I’ll work on her thirst dear, while you work on her hunger.” Nathan announced and went over to the sink behind them and turned on the faucet.
“You have running water?” She asked surprised.
He filled a glass and turned around, “Why wouldn’t we?”
She pointed to a lamp on a nearby table, “Why is it you have plumbing, but no electricity?”
“What is electricity?” He asked and handed her the glass.
“Well… it is a current of power that gives you light.” She tried to explain, but knew she failed miserably.
He smiled, “We do not use electricity for lighting, what we use is this.” He walked over to the lamp and picked it up. He carried it back over to the table and sat it down in front of her. He lifted the lid, “What we use is this.”
She looked down inside; instead of oil and a wick there sat a tiny orb of light.
“It’s actually is a stone; when it becomes dark it glows.” He explained.
She grinned, “That is very neat! How does it do that?”
Karina walked over to the large fireplace and opened the door to the oven built inside of it. Using her apron, she reached in and pulled out a loaf of bread. She then closed the oven door and carried it over to the table.
“Tomorrow he can tell you all about it dear, but right now you must eat and then off to bed, it’s late and you need your rest.”
She grabbed a bowl from a shelf and walked back to the hearth where a stove sat and scooped out a large spoonful of the stew from the pot sitting on top; and poured it into her bowl.She carried it over and sat it down in front of Anna; the aroma made her stomach growl! Karina laughed!
“I see that you stomach is approving!” She went over to the hutch and opened a drawer to get out a spoon for her; she walked over and handed her the spoon.
“I will leave you now and shall return tomorrow.” The General spoke up behind her.
Anna had almost forgotten he was there and turned in her seat to acknowledge him. He gave her another polite bow and left them. She turned back and took a bite of the stew, it was delicious! It did not take her very long to eat; in fact she practically gobbled it up!
“Would you like some more Anna?” Nathan asked her.
She looked up at him, suddenly embarrassed by her messy eating. “I’m sorry! I must have looked like a beast, but it was so delicious and I was so hungry!” She apologized.
He laughed, “Don’t be, it is understandable!”
She yawned. Karina walked over and gently squeezed her shoulders, “Come Anna, let’s get you to bed.”
She said goodnight to Nathan and followed Karina upstairs. She was taken to a room at the end of the small hallway. Inside, Karina walked over to the wardrobe closet and pulled out a nightgown for her.Anna walked over to a small bookshelf against the wall and slid her fingers along the book binds.
“Your grandmother loved to read.” Karina spoke from behind her.
Anna looked at her, “Karina, about my grandmother…” she went to explain, but the woman interrupted her.
“I know… I think I knew when I saw you here instead of her.” She softly spoke and hugged her.
“Now get some rest! We have so much more to talk about tomorrow!” Karina kissed her cheek and handed her the nightgown. Anna changed; crawled into bed and sleep followed quickly after.
Chapter 3
The sweet fragrance coming from downstairs woke Anna up. She sat up in bed and stretched; at the foot of her bed laid a dress and some undergarments with a note sitting on top. She picked it up and read it: The wash room is across the hall, there are fresh towels in there for you.
She grabbed the dress and headed over to it; she was relieved when she found a bath and even more relieved that there was a toilet! After a quick bath (who could soak with such a scrumptious fragrance teasing at you!) and an even quicker dressing; she went downstairs for breakfast!
She found Karina, Nathan and the General sitting at the table in deep conversation. Karina was the first to notice her and quickly stood up; ending the conversation.
“Good morning Anna, please join us for breakfast.” She invited.
Anna walked over to them; the General looked up at her and smiled. “Good morning Anna, I trust you had a restful sleep?”
She smiled and nodded. Karina sat down a plate of food in front of her as she sat down “It’s been a long time since I had eggs and bacon for breakfast!” She picked up her fork and took a bite of the eggs. “Delicious!” she praised after she swallowed.
Karina buttered a piece of toasted bread and put it on her plate, “Thank you! Would you like a glass of milk, Anna?” She asked. Anna nodded and she poured her some. She took another bite and Karina sat the glass of milk in front of her. She walked around the table and sat back down.
Anna finished chewing and took a drink of her milk; she noticed the uncomfortable exchange of looks between the General and Nathan.
“Is everything alright?” She asked.
Nathan smiled, “Yes, everything is just fine! He assured her. “It’s just that the General would like you to meet a friend of his after breakfast, is all.”
“Who…?” She looked to the General.
He smiled
, “It’s a very old friend of mine and he is very excited to meet you!”
She smiled back and finished her breakfast; Karina took her plate and carried it over to the sink.
The General stood up, “We really should get going; we are due there within the half hour.”
Nathan stood up and walked with him over to the front door. Anna stood up and took her glass over to the sink. “I will see you later then, Karina?” She asked the woman who still had her back to her.
Karina turned around and smiled, “Of course!” and gave Anna a hug. She returned the hug and then walked over to join the two men waiting at the door. The General opened it and stepped outside first; suddenly Nathan slammed the door and bolted it! The door handle jiggled and banging quickly followed on the other side.
Anna stood stunned; He grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the kitchen. Karina was already waiting by the hutch; she reached down and pushed aside the rug. Underneath was a door.
“You have to trust us Anna and do everything we tell you! This is a trap and we need to get you out of here!” He quickly explained.
The woman stuffed a letter in her pocket, “We are not who we say we are, but please understand we were forced to do this!”
Nathan lifted the door, “ This tunnel leads to the alley a few yards down; when you get out, there will be a man on a horse waiting there for you.” He instructed and helped her down the steps.
A loud thump came from the other side of the locked door.
Karina handed her down a bag, “Here take this, it has your things in it; give that letter to Harmon, it explains everything.” She pleaded. Anna nodded; the sound of splintering wood came from behind them.
“Go!” He yelled to her and slammed the door above her; leaving her in total darkness.
The door crashed down from above and footsteps followed. She heard Karina scream and quickly started crawling away down the tunnel. When the top of her head hit against the dirt wall she quickly started to feel around above her for a door. When she felt it, she pushed hard up on it and sent it flying open. The bright light above blinded her.
“Give me your hand!” A voice yelled from above.
She blindly reached up and a hand grab hers; pulling her up. She blinked her eyes until they adjusted and the man in front of her became visible. His face was partially covered with only his eyes showing. They were a deep shade of grey; she had never seen grey eyes before!
A horse snorted beside them and nudged the man’s shoulder. He quickly mounted the horse and reached his hand down to her. “Hurry climb on!” he yelled and she clumsily grabbed his hand allowing him to pull her up behind him.
“Put your arms around my waist and hold on tight!” He yelled back to her. She did as instructed and gripped tighter to his jacket when the horse jolted forward.
“Stop!” ordered a voice behind them. “By order of the Chancellor, I order you to stop!” A solider yelled after them.
The rider guided the horse towards the rear of the city and straight towards the city’s wall. He gave a light kick to the horse’s side and the animal picked up speed.
“There is no way this horse can jump that!” she yelled up to him.
“It’s an illusion; there is no wall!” He yelled back.
She looked over his shoulder, “It looks real to me!” she disagreed.
“Trust me!” he yelled.
So she shut her eyes and held on tight in anticipation; but when nothing happened, she opened them and found no wall! She laughed and looked behind them; the wall was still there, intact!
“That was amazing! How did you know?” she yelled to him, but he didn’t answer her. They raced into the forest ahead of them and he slowed down. He smoothly guided the horse around trees and over fallen trunks until he suddenly pulled the horse to a halt.
“Why did we stop?” She asked.
Again he didn’t answer; instead he climbed down and walked over to a nearby tree. He pressed his ear against its wide trunk and whispered something.
She climbed down off of the horse and walked over to him, “What are you doing?”
His eyes shot to her and he held his finger up to quiet her. She crossed her arms and quietly watched him; offended. He whispered something more to the tree and then stepped back.
“Now can you answer me?!”
He looked at her, “Just wait.” He told her.
Suddenly a door appeared on the trunk, her mouth dropped in astonishment. He opened the door, “Hurry, inside!” he ushered her in.
She looked over at him, still dumbfounded and he grabbed her arm and pushed her inside. The room inside was very large; surprisingly since the trunk was only about four feet in diameter! The rider guided his horse through the door; amazing her once again since from the outside, the door was barely taller than her and the width was certainly not wide enough to pass a horse through!
“How did you do that?” she asked him.
He quickly shut the door and it disappeared. He then pressed his ear against the trunk and listened.
“Will we be able to get out?” She asked.
He held his hand up to quiet her, outside they could hear horses running past. The rider pulled his head away and walked over to his horse.
“Good boy, Thunder.” he soothed him and patted his side. He reached inside the saddle bag and pulled out what looked like jerky and fed some to the horse.
“Who are you? “She asked him.
He pulled the cover down from over his face, revealing a young man not much older than her. His handsome features caused her to blush and she quickly looked away pretending to brush some dirt from her dress.
After a quick recovery she looked back up at him; “Who are you?” she asked again.
“You already asked me that.” He answered with a grin.
She crossed her arms; “Yes… you’re right, but you still have not answered me.”
His grin grew wider and he gave her a polite bow; “My name is Hayden.” He reached up and rubbed the horse’s head. “Word has spread about your arrival here, Anna.”
“Why?” she questioned him.
“What you have just experienced was courtesy of the Chancellor….” He answered. “That was not Tatania, there is nothing there; all of it was an illusion.”
“Who is this “Chancellor” and what does he want from me?” she asked.
“He wants to kill you.” He solemnly responded; sending a chill down her spine.
“How do I get out?” She instantly asked.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why Anna?”
She shook her head,” I don’t want to know; I just want to go home!” She whined and walked over to where the door was and started feel around for it. He sat down and leaned back against the wall.
“I’ve only just arrived and now I’m told someone wants to kill me!” she babbled on, “I don’t need to ask… what I need to do is get out of here!”
Her panic was increasing by the moment as she frantically felt up and down along the walls hoping to feel a knob. When she made her way back around to him, she stopped and peered down at him.
“Are you just going to keep staring at me or can you at least help me get out of here!” she yelled at him.
He stood up between her arms; their faces only inches from each other. “I know your scared Anna, but we need to stay here.” He leaned in and whispered into her ear; “We also need to remain quiet, those men will back track.”
His hot breath tickled her ear; “I promise Anna… I will get you safely to Tatania and you will get your answers there.”
She gasped, realizing she had been holding her breath. She took slow deep breaths, but they did nothing to calm her. Hot tears wielded up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. He reached up and gently wiped them away; outside the sound of returning horse hooves echoed inside their hidden room. He leaned in and whispered again in her ear; “Shh… just relax, we are safe here as long as we remain quiet.”
He reached up an
d gently rubbed her arm, she whimpered; unsure if it was out of fear or because of his touch. He lifted his head back to look at her; they could hear the men circling their area.
She went to speak, but his kiss halted her. Heat quickly rose up in her chest and into her cheeks! All of the strength in her legs suddenly disappeared and trembled. Sensing this he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her up. If the soldiers had already left, she was not aware!
Finally he broke the kiss and she opened her eyes. She looked up at him; both were breathing heavily. He let go of her waist and leaned back against the wall. He quietly stared at her; she grew embarrassed and walked back over to the spot where the door once was and pressed her ear against the wall.
“Are they gone?” She whispered.
He didn’t answer her and she looked back at him; he was still staring at her. She stared back uncomfortably, unsure what to do with herself.
What was up with the kiss? She thought to herself. Was this just a game to him? Maybe it was just to keep her mind off of the soldiers. He was still staring at her. Why is he just staring! She thought and looked away again. “They are obviously gone… so why are we still in here?” She looked back and came face to face with him.
She went to ask him again, but he interrupted her once again with another kiss. But she quickly reached up and pushed hard against his chest; breaking the kiss.
“Wait!” She managed to muster.
A playful grin teased across his face; “Don’t you like kissing me Anna?” She nodded, but then quickly shook her head no.
“You can’t just keep kissing me!” She stammered.
He leaned closer to her, “But we both like this, so why stop?” he pointed out.
She shook her head; “I’m only seventeen and I don’t think I am ready to be kissed like this! Especially with someone I’ve only just met!” She pleaded.
“Well… I am nineteen and I think we should!” He insisted and went to kiss her again, but she pressed her fingers against his lips.
“No we shouldn’t!” She stressed right back.
He laughed and backed away, “Alright, Anna.” He then reached around her and pressed his hand against the wall; the door reappeared.
