Chapter Two

My return home was uneventful. Grandpa asked me for the money I had received for the plates, and then served an uncharacteristically quiet dinner. I could tell him and Grandma had been arguing, because they weren’t talking to each other directly, only to me. Well, it was most Grandma talking to me. Grandpa was quiet.

Grandma got up to serve herself seconds as she spoke to me.

“So your mother wants you to visit later this week? That seems lovely, doesn’t it Michael?”

Grandpa looked at her, and then looked back into his bowl

“Sarah, the equinox is in a few weeks, do you have a prayer thought up for The Rake?”

Truth be told, I didn’t really pray to The Ten. I would say things, but I know I didn’t mean them, and I know The Ten couldn’t hear me. They didn’t want anything to do with me. That had been very clear since I was young, when my prayers to live like others went unanswered.

“Not yet Grandma. I’ll probably just pray for what I usually pray for. Your health, Grandpa’s health, Benevolence’s health, Mom’s health, and some good clay.”

I had stopped wishing for a normal life years ago.

She sat back down with a fresh bowl of mushroom stew, and looked at Grandpa with a look that could kill.

“What will you be praying for Michael?”

“Family.” He mumbled, looking up briefly at Grandma, who looked way from Grandpa and at me.

“Sarah, would you like to give the familial offering this year? You’re going to be a woman soon, and you’ll have to eventually”

I did not want to. It would bring bad luck. Maybe the creek would dry up. The Rake never answered my personal prayer, and an offering I made would be no different. I looked for an excuse before Grandma spoke up.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do the offering this year. I know it’s a lot to ask of you. You will have to eventually, before you move out on your own.”

Grandpa stood up, leaving his bowl at the table, and walked off to his and Grandma’s room. Grandma looked exasperated.

“Goodnight Michael.” She said.

Grandma and I finished dinner and washed the dishes together.

Grandpa was still asleep in the morning when I left for the village, so only Grandma saw me off. She gave me a pear for the trip, and a kiss on the cheek before I put my scarf and hood on.

“Stay safe sweetie” she told me.

The fall morning was sunny, without a cloud in the sky. It was shaping up to be one of the hotter days of fall, so I decided to go towards the creek and walk without the scarf. It was nice to feel the sun on my hair. I had gone a couple of hours, when I heard the sound of kids playing in the distance getting closer. I ran behind a tree and wrapped the scarf around my face, and threw the hood over my head quickly, and then continued walking in the sun.

The girl with black hair, and the four other kids were running around in my direction when I heard her shout.

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“Oh look it’s the Dewsworn kid! Hi Sarah!” she waved and ran over to me.

“Hello!” I said back, trying to be friendly.

“So, are you going to play with us this time, like you promised?” She asked.

I had forgotten I had said “next time” until now.

Should I lie? I wondered. I don’t have Umo with me, so that might now work.

I thought of my conversation with Mom the other day, that talking too much was a bad idea. It seemed like an eternity of thinking. I really wanted to, just like last time.

Alright, as long as they agree to not touch the scarf and hood it should be fine.

“I have some free time, so why not?” I said

“Excellent.” she said

“By the way, please don’t take my scarf and hood off, I don’t want the pain of that. Also, what are you names? I’m sorry to ask, I’m really bad at names.”

The girl pointed around, first to herself.

“I’m Michaela, this is Joseph”

“Hi”

“This is Vincent and Esther”

“Hello”

“And this is my brother, Max.” Michaela finished, pointing at the boy with the bright blonde hair, who was staring at my scarf and hood.

She grabbed a large stick from the ground, and pointed it upwards.

“Alright so the roles are that of bandit lord, bandit, and farmer. Since Max had to be a normal person twice in a row, he gets to be a wanderer of the platinum dragon. The townspeople have to defend their town with the help of the wanderer to stop their treasure-” She waved the stick around for dramatic effect, “-from being stolen by the bandit lord. Now, since she’s new, Sarah can choose her role.”

Bandit lord sounded up my alley. Not having to answer to anyone. Doing what I wanted, without rules.

“What does the bandit lord do?” I asked

“Well that’s easy! They steal stuff, and with the help of their shadow powers can easily escape capture! The bandits are less powerful…”

She continued on to explain how to play. Basically, me and the bandits had to grab the stick from the townsfolk. The townsfolk and the wanderer had to stop us. The wanderer had special powers to send a bandit back to where we started if he touched. If we touched townsfolk they had to stop for 10 seconds, and if they touched us first we would have to stop for 10 seconds. Because I was the bandit lord, only the wanderer could stop me, and it took all of the townsfolk touching me to send me back. The game ended when the bandits were sent back 5 times each, or the stick was stolen.

It took me a couple of times being stopped and sent back before I really got the hang of it. Max was small, so my best idea to win was to run right by him, because the townsfolk were off dealing with the other bandits. When Max did tag me he had to make the decision: to hold me in place forever, or to send the other bandits back. When he made the decision to send the other bandits back, it was my time to shine! So I grabbed the stick, and started running up the creek!

Immediately the townsfolk were on my trail! I ran as fast as I ever have, they could barely catch up. I was almost to base, when I looked back to see Max, hot on my trail as well as Michaela, both of them trying hard to catch up.

“Fools! You cannot catch Sarah! The great bandit queen!” I laughed, still looking backwards as I ran. This was my mistake. Immediately I felt a smack on my head, and I went tumbling down towards the creek. I could feel the air on my face as my scarf began to unravel, having been caught on the branch right before I landed face-first in the creek. I raised my head to gasp for air, and threw my wet hair out of my eyes. I could hear Michaela’s voice.

“Sarah are you oka-”

“Monster!” Max screamed.

I heard more screams. Not of joy. I heard pure terror. I looked up to where I had heard Michaelah talking from. She was frozen. He eyes were wide. I shielded my face and turned away. I heard her footsteps as she ran. Faster than when she had been chasing me.

In the creek I could see my reflection. My brown hair, and brown eyes. My short nose, and my wide face. My red skin, and my curled horns. Muddied. I didn’t know what to do. So I cried. The screams disappeared in the distance. I wished my Mom was here. I wished my father never left. I wished I avoided them. Grandpa was right, Mom was right. I was an omen.

“Damn you!” I screamed into the ground at The Ten. Not that they would hear. I got up, still crying. I wrapped the ripped scarf around my face, and pulled the damp hood over my hood. The pear Grandma had given me was okay, at least. I cried for a few more minutes. I hopped on the path, away from the creek, and headed towards town.