“I've never really been out of Valkenn. We're just going in circles.” Evard continued to grumble. The boy was so engrossed in the drawings on the map in his hands, he had not realised Serendipity had slipped off her horse and was on her knees on the grass.
“Serendipity?” Evard called out to her. He had to lean over his horse to see her better, crinkling the bottom of the map as he did.
The sun had already begun to rise and through the snow the green leaves of the floor glistened. Tangled vines hung low from the trees and it made it difficult to see anything up ahead clearly. Evard had suggested they were in Faradwyn Forest now, close to Bordennia. Frost clung dearly to the leaves of the trees, making both the weary travellers wonder if winter was ever going to end, and although the sun was out it was freezing.
Serendipity’s breath froze before her in heavy white clouds and despite the remnants of snow seeping through her breeches, she remained kneeling on the ground. She grasped the dirt and grass alike in her pale hands, taking in the wonderful feeling. After almost a year of being held captive in Valkenn, Serendipity had forgotten what freedom felt like. Tears ran down her face and she could not contain a sob. Despite the freedom she welcomed with open arms, Serendipity missed Valerius. She missed her home back in Anderaith. Serendipity’s thoughts were broken apart by the sound of Evard's voice.
“Hey,” the boy began. He had appeared by Serendipity’s side without her even knowing, and he placed a hand over her shoulder; giving her a comforting squeeze. “Come on. You’ll get a cold, you should get up. We’re going to get you home and you’ll finally be able to meet your family.” Evard said to her.
Serendipity looked over her shoulder slowly. “What if I don’t want to meet them? And what if they don’t want to meet me?” she was still crying but, it had turned from a sob into a silent, steady stream of tears.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Evard replied. He helped Serendipity find her feet and then back onto her horse. Once he had mounted his own, he retrieved his map and twisted it around into an awkward position, his head following his movement, until he was content with what he saw on the map.
Serendipity did not want to admit it but, after her suspicions had arisen about Evard’s true character, she could not help but think he was putting on an act – being clueless about where they were, his detachment from the Redbane family. There had to be a reason why he had grown attached to Serendipity so quickly in the first place. But the Princess was not willing to risk her friendship with the only person she could trust at the moment.
“Yes. Yes we should go north east, turn around Serendipity.” Evard turned his own horse around and beckoned for the Princess to follow.
“I need to rest, Evard.” Serendipity said quietly and yawned. She was exhausted and her body ached from having ridden for so long; Serendipity had only just gotten used to being on a saddle before escaping the castle so unexpectedly.
Evard too was tired, he yawned shortly afterwards and nodded. Purple shadows dominated his eyes underneath, and he rubbed at them in a stubborn attempt to clean the sleep dust from his eyes. “You're not the only one. Up there, in the trees, I think we should sleep there.” he pointed to the upper canopy of the forest and at a few sturdy branches. They were not too high up, yet not too low for predators to reach them either.
After having tied their horses to some lower branches, both the Princess and her companion climbed the trees and found comfortable positions on a branch each, thick enough to easily hold their weight. They wrapped themselves in their cloaks in preparation for the late night winds.
“Serendipity.” Evard's voice came from a branch in a tree just opposite to hers.
The Princess shifted her gaze to him and waited for him to continue.
“What are you going to do when you find your brothers and sister?” Evard asked her in a hushed voice.
Serendipity let out a quiet sigh and huddled deeper into her cape. She had not thought past the idea of the Redbane’s even accepting her into the family, let alone how she was going to react to meeting them after all these years. “I don't know. I’m not too sure if we'll even find them, not at this rate.” she stopped and let out another quiet sigh. “We should really get some rest, Evard. Good night.” Serendipity said and closed her eyes in a brave attempt to fall asleep, yet her fingers kept her from doing so. Serendipity ran them across the bottom of her stomach and then to her womb, where she was sure she had just felt a mild pain linger there. She noticed her stomach had gotten slightly bigger than before.
Had she gained weight? Serendipity wondered. But she had been training with Valerius for some time and he had told her that the beginning of any training was when Serendipity would notice the biggest difference. Serendipity was not too sure but, before she could even consider the reasons, her trail of thought was broken by her companion’s voice.
“Good night.” Evard replied after some time, in a voice which Serendipity had mistaken as a young child’s, and to Serendipity’s surprise she heard Evard begin to recite a prayer to gods before falling into a deep sleep of his own.
*****
“Get up.” Evard's voice hissed quietly in the Princess’ ear.
Serendipity immediately jerked awake and moaned as the morning sunlight caught in her eyes. Had they really managed to get that much sleep?
“Shush.” Evard hissed again, not meanly, and he covered Serendipity’s mouth quickly. Moving his hand away he pressed a finger to her lips instead and then a finger to his own. He pointed to the shrub layer of the forest and the Princess listened carefully.
A quiet mumbling of voices caught her attention and Serendipity jumped again, this time out of fear. “Aderico?” she whispered questioningly to Evard.
The boy shook his head.
“What time is it?” Serendipity asked him instead.
“We've over slept.” Evard simply replied and moved silently back to his own branch.
The voices came again and this time Serendipity moved into a crouch and scanned the ground. It was empty, the snow that had still lingered in the Bordennian Forest had already begun to melt, yet there were no footprints or hoof prints in the snow that remained.
Serendipity continued to listen, with a racing heart and sweaty palms.
“We should have taken another route, through Bordennia itself if we want to reach Anderaith safely.” a deep voice said.
“Aye. The forests of Iradas are all crawling with Barbarians, not the safest places to be travelling through.” another deep voice added in.
Serendipity shifted her gaze to Evard and found that he had also moved into a crouch. He was listening carefully too. Evard pointed down at the shrub layer again, towards their horses which remained silent also, and he trailed a hand down his face in frustration.
The voices from below stopped for a brief moment.
“Horses.” a female voice said and after a moment added in, “But no riders.”
The quiet sound of metal scraping made Serendipity jump. She looked to her side and found that Evard had drawn his sword, so she did the same and gripped the short sword Valerius had given her for some much needed comfort.
“Unless they're in the trees.” one of the deep voices suggested.
Evard jumped down from his branch, a loud thud came seconds later, and there came the sound of more swords being drawn.
“Evard.” Serendipity hissed quietly. Having been left with no choice, she jumped down after him. Landing on her feet, Serendipity looked up and found a young girl staring down at her from her horse.
The girl immediately drew her sword and swung down from her horse, to face the intruders.
A hooded figure lunged at Serendipity, so she turned and kicked him in the thigh. The man only grunted and lunged at Serendipity again, this time grabbing onto her arm. He twisted it behind Serendipity back and the Princess yelped in pain.
Turning, Serendipity went to raise her sword against the hooded man but, he only grabbed her again.
<
br /> “Drop the sword.” the man instructed.
Serendipity looked around and found that Evard had already surrendered and was now surrounded by four more riders, two of which were hooded and the other two were young men. Serendipity shifted her gaze to the young girl and then finally gave in and dropped her short sword to the floor.
The hooded figure behind Serendipity kicked it towards the young girl and she picked it up, swinging it around skilfully before smiling. “Nice sword.” the girl complimented.
The figure behind Serendipity pressed a blade to her throat and tightened his grip on her.
“What's your name?” the girl asked.
Serendipity licked her bottom lip in hesitation, carefully thinking through how she was going to tell the girl that she was a Redbane. She could be a Valenti for all Serendipity knew; telling the girl her name could just get her sent back to Valkenn in chains.
The man behind Serendipity grew impatient and he moved the blade closer to her throat in a threatening gesture.
“Serendipity Redbane.” the words tumbled out of Serendipity’s mouth before she had even realised and the girl’s eyes widened in shock. So Serendipity continued to speak. “I'm looking for my family.” she paused and licked her top lip in hesitation again. “Adelaide, Viktor and Saff-”
“I don’t believe it.” the girl breathed.
Serendipity drew a deep breath and shuffled in the man's arms. “May I ask who you are?” she said.
The girl gave her a surprising smile and she tucked Serendipity’s sword under her arm. “Adelaide Redbane.” she replied and watched as Serendipity’s jaw went slack.
Adelaide
Adelaide stared at Serendipity, who stood silently before her, and they both stared each other down.
Serendipity had long black hair, her wild curls had been pulled back into a ponytail by a band and she had pale grey eyes to match. Her skin was light and, although she stood in front of Jasper, she looked tall. She was tall, around Adelaide’s height.
Adelaide, on the other hand, had pulled her wild brown curls into a ponytail and she had brown eyes to match. Her skin was pale, just like the young girl’s. “Serendipity…Redbane?” Adelaide asked.
The girl nodded shyly.
“What were your mother and father’s names?” Adelaide quizzed her, feeling it was more than necessary to do so. All the while, she slipped into her mind subtly; should Serendipity be able to feel her break past her defences.
“Damea and Hathor.” Serendipity replied confidently. “I've never met them, I've been living in Anderaith until-” she paused and closed her eyes, as if desperately attempting to stop tears from falling down her face.
“Until what?” Adelaide asked.
Serendipity struggled in Jasper’s arms again. “Until the Valentis attacked it, they killed my parents, burned down my house and took me as a prisoner. I stayed there for some time, I'm not sure how long exactly. Almost a year, I think.”
Adelaide raised her hand in the air and Serendipity stopped talking. The gesture had not been intended for her. “Jasper let her go.” she instructed.
The hooded figure, by the name of Jasper, loosened his grip and Serendipity ripped free from his grasp. Straightening out her tunic, Serendipity looked back at Adelaide and then around at the others. “Release Evard too.” she ordered.
Adelaide nodded and at once, the other men put their swords down.
“Care to introduce me to your friends?” Serendipity asked her supposed sister.
Adelaide gave her another smile. Already she was growing so excited to be able to meet her sister, after all these years. But she warned herself to stay calm until the much needed interrogation was over. “With pleasure. Jasper, Berethos and Myron - my Guardians.” Adelaide pointed to the three hooded men and Serendipity's gaze followed her finger.
“And over there is my Captain, Dallius, and Prince Nicademius Mouridieus of Bordennia.” she finished off, sounding proud of the little group of companions she had gathered together herself.
Serendipity's raised an amused brow at the Princess. “This is quite a group you have here.”
“What happened when you were in Valkenn?” Adelaide immediately asked. She cursed her excited mood, it was making her impatient.
Serendipity did not reply at first, she scratched the side of her face and shook her head. “I'd rather not-” she began.
“I need to know. What happened when you were in Valkenn?” Adelaide interrupted. Even though she did not sound it, Adelaide was beginning to think she was forgetting her manners.
Serendipity sighed and trailed a hand down her face. “I was surrounded by people I didn't know, including Lord Marcus who hated me and a Captain who wanted to kill me. A few days later I found that I had been betrothed to Lord Baleon's son Aderico and-” she paused to catch her breath.
Adelaide listened intently to what her ‘sister’ had to say next.
“Then I escaped. Valerius helped me-”
Adelaide stopped her. Shock over took her and her expression turned harsh, to her surprise. “Valerius helped you escape?” she could not help but ask.
Serendipity nodded. “Now I'm on the run from Aderico and Marcus and I've ended up here.” Serendipity replied. “B-but you can’t tell anyone what I’d just said, about Valerius. It’s too dangerous for him. Promise me.”
Adelaide poised the tip of her tongue against her top lip as she took in the new information she had just been given. Her gaze shifted to Evard and she watched as the boy seemed to stare at her wide eyed and in awe; as though he had been hoping to meet her again. But they had never met before, surely? Adelaide certainly would have remembered. “You seem very happy, Evard. What's your family name?” she asked him.
“Stormwood.” the boy replied.
Adelaide recited his name in her mind and then shook her head. “I've never heard of it.”
Evard snorted in amusement. “Well, I suppose it’s a name not many people would know, but that’s quite alright.” he replied with a smile. Oh, he definitely seemed overjoyed to see Adelaide. For one reason or another.
Dallius urged his horse forward until he faced Adelaide. “What are we to do with them, just leave them here?” he asked.
Adelaide looked back at Serendipity without replying, her jaw twitched with that same excitement. She remembered everything her father – their father – had said about Serendipity and she thought that the middle of a forest was not the place for further questions. Something about the girl made Adelaide believe she was her sister, even if she had found no memories of any Redbanes. Of course she would not have had any, she had been given away as a baby.
Even Daegar seemed interested in Serendipity and he flew from where he had been perched onto Adelaide’s shoulder towards the girl. Hovering over her, he thought for a moment. “She does look a lot like you Adelaide, in a way. If you look closely enough.” he began but, he was stopped by a loud and sudden gasp of pain.
Adelaide turned and found Serendipity on the floor, she held her hair tightly and she had her eyes shut, muttering something to herself and cursing uncontrollably.
“What's wrong with her?” Nicademius asked Adelaide.
Adelaide did not reply and simply watched her as Serendipity began to spasm.
Evard, however, leapt from his horse and knelt down beside her. He placed his hands onto her chest and stopped her from moving around too much. “Serendipity.” Evard began, his voice shook as he spoke.
The girl did not reply. She could not.
“Serendipity, look at me. Serendipity?” Evard tried again.
Adelaide’s eyes widened in shock, yet she still said nothing and just watched.
Serendipity sat upright and brought her knees to her chest, slowly rocking herself back and forth. “We need to go Evard, we need to go. Valerius said not to stop.” she began in a trembling voice.
“What did you see?” Evard asked again.
“He knows I'm gone, he's looking for me. Aderico's
back!” Serendipity wailed and jumped to her feet. Looking around the forest for a brief moment, she shrunk back in fear. “Valerius told us not to stop!” she cried again.
Adelaide rushed towards Serendipity and took her hand, hoping to help pull her to her feet. As their skin touched, Adelaide felt a sharp pain as both girls let out a sudden gasp. Two babies in a shared crib, arms wrapped around each other and cheeks pressed together. Sleeping peacefully. Before them both, Hathor and Dedric stood whispering to each other. Moments later, Dedric had one of the girls in his arms and was taking her away, sending the other baby into a fit – screaming hysterically and kicking her legs around as though in defiance. Both babies held each other by the hands until their strength left them. Then Dedric was gone. And only one baby remained in the crib. Adelaide stumbled back, sending Serendipity nearly falling onto the floor again. “Did you-,” she began.
Serendipity only nodded. “What was that?” she asked.
“Did you just have a vision?” Adelaide managed to ask. Serendipity nodded. She understood the Princess well and she guessed Adelaide also knew exactly what had happened to her before their hands touched. “And nightmares too?” Adelaide continued to ask. Serendipity only nodded once again. Adelaide thought hard for a moment, her gaze occasionally shifting from the shaking girl to her other companions.
“What is it?” Dallius asked her.
Adelaide looked to Serendipity again and took hold of her by the arms, shaking her gently, she spoke again. “Your visions and nightmares, how often do they occur?” Adelaide asked.
“Nightmares - every day, visions - I don't know, they just come whenever. They’re always unexpected.” Serendipity replied.
This time Adelaide shook her out of excitement and questioned her again. “Have you had one vision in particular, something about...about books? Six books-” she began and was cut off by a confused looking Serendipity.
“The Awakening books. One in each fort or castle of Iradas. I’ve only seen them in glimpses during my nightmares but I don’t know what they are.” she finished off for the Princess.
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