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Aqua Wings and Storm Clouds
Chapter One
It was a typical mid-week afternoon in the city of Medea. The narrow lined streets were filled with small stalls, selling anything that one could possibly need - from vegetables to silk shawls to jewelled daggers. In-between and around the stalls, people from many different parts of the city gathered, gossiping and trying to make themselves heard over the shouts of the sellers. Above the stalls, vivid purple flags hardly moved in the still air, bearing the royal emblem of a pure black wolf. A young woman stood amidst the crowd of people, surveying the scene in front of her with a mixture of fascination and fear plain on her face. The power of these crushing bodies never ceased to amaze young Amy Lloyd. Instinctively, and remembering where she was, she held tightly onto her handmade basket which, at the moment, contained only a loaf of bread and a few silver coins. She’d come to the market with the intention of gathering food for her family, but had yet to begin that daunting task. She had only bought the bread because its enticing smell had tempted her to an old woman’s stall. She was beginning to regret giving in to the temptation – she knew her father would disapprove of the purchase… and yet, the way Hope’s face lit up whenever she could smell fresh bread… they couldn’t afford many luxuries, but this was one risk Amy was willing to take for her younger siblings.
A pained expression was quickly hidden by the young woman as she glanced around at the loud stall keepers, at the many items she wished she could buy. A particular shawl caught her eye – a beautiful white one, with embroidered lilies scattered along it. She quickly turned her head away and hurried along to the cheapest vegetable stall. That shawl hadn’t been sold since Amy had first laid her eyes on it a few days ago – she couldn’t even guess what price it was being sold at. She didn’t know anyone who could afford such a piece of finery. What was it doing on a market stall? It belonged around a princess’ shoulders. But no, it remained there, day after day, as a solid reminder of what Amy would never be. She continued her shopping in haste, now wanting to get as far away from there as possible.
A look of confusion dawned on the young man’s face as he glanced about the narrow street he was in the middle of. To his left and right were small wooden buildings, with nothing but big holes for doors. The forbidden darkness of each door seemed threatening – he knew he wasn’t welcome in any of these homes. Up ahead, he could hear people shouting – what was going on? He took a step forward, firmly feeling the ground underneath his leather shoes, trying to make sure that this wasn’t some sort of dream.
Where was I before? I was… inside… somewhere…
But the memory trace was gone and he was left with a blank space where it had once been. Fear began to seep into his mind, which quickly evolved into panic. “Who the hell am I?” The sound of his own voice made him jump. The deep, uneven tones and slight tremor confirmed exactly what he was trying to deny – he was absolutely terrified. He didn’t know his name, where he was from… and his surroundings were completely unfamiliar. Hell, he couldn’t even remember how old he was! He glanced down at his palms and found smooth, strong hands which seemed to smell… fragrant- of some sort of flower or plan. He willed something, anything to come into his head, but there was nothing. He must have bathed not an hour ago (his hair was still slightly damp), and yet, he couldn’t remember any of it!
What was even more worrying was the fact that he was here – in an unfamiliar place. Unless… would someone here know who he was? Eagerly, the man began to look around for someone to talk to, and quickly caught sight of grimy women and children coming to their doorways to glare at him. His questions came out as short breaths as the women pinned him down with their venomous looks, their accusatory glances demanding to know what he was doing on their street.
“Hey, you!”
The man glanced behind him to see two burly man dressed in vivid purple suits, striding up the street towards him. He glanced at their sheathed swords and angry expressions, and then looked towards the other end of the street, where the loud bustle of a crowd could be heard. Knowing his story would sound insane to these men, and not wanting to face the wrath of their swords, he turned and ran towards the sounds of people, now wanting to become lost. All confusion and terror disappeared in his determination to get away – to give himself the chance he knew he needed.
“Stop him!”
Amy dropped the carrot she had briefly picked up and let out a gasp as something very large knocked her off her feet. The collision caused her to stumble backwards and fall to the ground, making her wince as a jolt of pain ran up her back. She remained still for a moment, oblivious to the crowd that was beginning to gather around her. Once the wave of pain had passed, there was only the dull ache of having hit the hard ground.
“Damn… are you alright miss?”
Amy glanced up and suddenly found herself looking into the brightest shade of eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to be a mixture of blue and green – almost… turquoise. Was such an eye colour natural? It took her a moment to look past the turquoise eyes, but soon discovered that they belonged to a tall man dressed in elegant clothing. He was looking at her with a mixture of concern and… awe? Suddenly, he glanced over his shoulder and a look of fright entered his eyes. Before Amy could answer his question, he sped off, and was soon nowhere to be seen. The guards who had been chasing the stranger stopped and looked down at Amy, their chests heaving as they caught their breath.
“Are you injured miss?” The first of the men asked as soon as he could. The look he gave Amy, however, was completely different to the one she had just been given. There was no element of concern in this man’s gaze, just primitive lust. Disgusted, Amy immediately stood up and brushed the dirt from her skirts, signalling to the man that she was fine and didn’t need any help.
“I think that man was running towards the City Gates.”
Amy’s reminder of why they had been so breathless worked, as they stormed past curious marketers. Amy didn’t feel guilty at all about misleading them and giving them false information about the direction he had run in – somehow, she knew that the man wasn’t malicious, and hadn’t done something horribly wrong… otherwise; he wouldn’t stop to ask if she was alright. As soon as the guards were gone, Amy was soon conscious of the number of people staring at her. She turned to the elderly man on the stall, who was looking at her sympathetically. She pushed her shoulders back and held her head high before speaking to him in an even tone.
“I’ll have a bunch of carrots and a turnip, please.”