“Once upon my shattered life”

He set the pen down by his ink well. It was still early in the morning and he still had not tied his hair back or put his belt or strapped the sword onto his back. For now he was quite content on sitting in front of the desk Doctor Hudgens and his daughter Sarah had given him two years previous. He exhaled and closed his piercing green eyes and leaned back in the chair. A rooster crowed outside somewhere from the town, the sound filling the room. He sighed again this time running his hands through his reddish-brown hair. He hadn’t been able to sleep much the previous night, due to some very strange dream. That wasn’t the first time either. He shook off the thought when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. He stood up and went about the room, tying back his hair and putting on the belt. A brunette with matching brown eyes poked her head inside my room and smiled. This was his last day in Ogden, off to start a life for himself.

“Good morrow Sarah” he said with his back facing her.

“Oh, good morning Zac” she said stepping in the room. “Do you have everything that you need?” she asked. Zac nodded as he put on his belt. “Alright, just remember Father wants to see you off” she said sadly.

He nodded and turned to face her “Aye, I know” he told her. Sarah smiled and left the room. he was left to his thoughts and packing. In a few short hours He was leaving this town, maybe for good

--

A young woman of Erathian descent stepped through the door of her father’s large home in the capital city of Aria, Egmont. Her hair was waist length fire-red hair, which curved at the ends. Her ocean blue eyes shinned when she saw a familiar painting in the grand entryway of the home. It was her as a young child no more than nine or ten years old. She was smiling and picking flowers, some of which were in her hair. And there was a boy around the same age as her. He seemed more interested at pulling the petals off a flower than actually looking at the artist. The artist managed to capture the boy’s unusual hair color; it was a deep brown, almost a mahogany color, but failed at catching those bright green eyes she remembered so well. The boy’s name was Alexander Gregory. Her best friend as a child, he had pasted away a few years ago, six, to be exact. He was the middle child of Sir Nathan, and his wife Lady Christine.

“Miss Meredith” a servant named Thomas said bringing her out of her revere. She waited for the middle-aged, stocky, beady eyed man to continue. “Master Howlett wishes to speak with you” the lady, Meredith Howlett smiled and nodded. Thomas bowed showing the top of his balding head.

“I will go” she mumbled with a thick accent. Thomas was hired after she and her parents came to Aria. “Wonderful, I know he wants me to marry a spoiled Arian” she thought to herself. Thomas disappeared into a different part of the house. She walked over to a door on her left and opened it. It was her mother’s tea room. It was lined with white carpet, jade green walls with pink flowers painted on there, the cherry-wood table surrounded by four chairs with white cushions on top, and her mother’s best china set neatly on top. The curtains on the far wall were opened letting the light. Meredith continued through another door that went to her father’s study. She opened the large cherry-wood doors. A man in his late forties sat there, writing a letter on his oak desk. The man had graying blonde hair and short beard.

“Father, you wished to see me?” she asked in the Erathian tongue. The man looked up and sighed.

“Yes, I do wish to see you. Now do please speak Arian” Master Howlett said. He as well had a thick accent.

“You are eighteen now Daughter, and your Mother and I wish you to marry soon” he said bluntly. Meredith’s eyes grew large.

“Father” she exclaimed “I do not wish to marry” she ran her hands down her face. “Who do you want me to marry this time? Some spoiled noble’s son?” Master Howlett stood up slamming his hands on the desk.

“Sir Rollin’s son is a kind young man!” he exclaimed.

Meredith’s calm blue eyes, turned angry “No he is not father! He is as selfish and rude as the next one!” she yelled in her native tongue again. Her father’s eyes narrowed.

“Meredith. Do not speak in that tongue” he hissed. “You are in Aria now and you talking in that accursed tongue is making the people angry”

“Is it the people Father?” she hissed in return “Or is it you?” with that she stormed out. The man sat heavily in his chair. What was he going to tell the young man he promised Meredith to?

--

Zac packed all of his belongings. His clothes, boots, belt, and most important, his journal. He was ready to set off. There he stood at the town’s entrance with Doctor Hudgens and Sarah.

“Well Zac, this is where you leave” the doctor said sadly. He gently placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You are like a son to me Zac, and you will always be welcome in our home”

“Thank you” he said softly. Sarah and her father raised an eyebrow. “I said ‘Thank you’” Zac told them. Sarah smiled and hugged me.

“Please do write us” she said pulling away. He nodded. “And I am sorry Robert did not come”

“It does not matter” Zac said softly again.

Sarah smiled and nodded “Please be safe” she told him. The doctor nodded in agreement with his daughter. He gave the younger man a pat on the shoulder, and shook his hand. Finally it was time for him to leave. Then Zac did something that was out of his very shy character. He smiled.

--

Zac wandered down a path that the towns-people said would take him to Egmont. It was close, and he knew it too, he could almost feel it. He stopped a moment to take in the view. There were many trees scattered about. Fields of flowers, that almost looked as if they were painted. And the wild animals that hid behind bushes and the trees. It was truly a sight to behold. He started walking again, losing himself in thought.

He had been recently having strange dreams. He was a boy around the age of ten, and there was a young man with brown hair, a much younger girl who also had brown hair, and one more person, a girl who also appears to be around ten. He could only distinguish her bright red hair; it is strange, because none had faces. He often heard the red-headed girl laugh and say “Decdum moa” which means ‘Come along’ in Erathian. Zac have begun to wonder if these are odd dreams or pieces from his life before.

He saw a horse-drawn carriage in the middle of the dirt road. He could see three figures, an elderly man, and girl with blonde locks of hair, and a younger man, much older than me pointing a sword at them shouting

“Give- horse- to- me-“It sounded as he was still learning the language. When the older man did not comply with the attacker’s demands and that infuriated him. “Give me the horse, you imbecile!” he shouted. That confirmed my idea, he was from Erath.

“Leave them be” Zac told him, as he approached. The fear in the girl’s hazel eyes made him forget his quiet demeanor. The attacker simply grinned at him revealing sickening, yellow teeth and put the blade to the old man’s neck. He went at the man with his blade drawn. “Back away” Zac boomed at him. The man took the blade off of the man’s neck then he pointed the blade towards him.

“Go away. This does not concern you” he hissed. “Your Arian scum” he added distastefully. That last part struck a nerve. Zac narrowed his eyes dangerously.

“You must learn to hold that tongue of yours” Zac hissed in return. “It shall get you into a considerable amount of trouble” the man laughed at him. In his mind there was no way a boy could beat him. He was wrong. Zac knew he had to stop this maniac before he hurt these innocent travelers.

Zac boldly took a step forward.

“Step back!” he yelled pointing his sword at the younger man.

“Leave the travelers alone” Zac shouted at him. He swung at him, but Zac quickly parried around him, but it wasn’t quick enough. He managed to cut his right side. Zac saw his chance to end this quickly and used the hilt of his blade to knock him unconscious. Relief washed over him as he watched the man crumple to the ground. But now the elderly man and girl looked terribly frightened of him.

“Why did you do that?” the elderly man asked Zac. Zac opened his mouth to answer but clamped it shut as he gripped his side. Zac’s sword hit the ground followed by his knees. He didn’t quite realize at the time how badly he had cut him. Zac felt a small hand touch his shoulder. His eyes were clamped shut until he looked up and saw the girl. She cocked her head to the side and smiled kindly towards him. Then the man helped Zac to his feet while he still gripped the cut.

“What is your name, boy?” he asked the young man. “I, am Jeremiah Meade” he gestured to himself while still propping him up “And this is my granddaughter, Katharine” the girl nodded.

“Zac Hudgens” Zac told him through gritted teeth. As they walked Zac’s knees started to buckle from underneath him and he felt terribly light-headed. With luck the man called Jeremiah, was there to help him but that light-headed feeling would not leave, and it was getting worse.

“Zac” Jeremiah said snapping him out of his reverie. “Are you alright boy?” he asked. Zac nodded quickly, but regretted it a moment later, he nearly fell backwards, and Zac would have taken the elderly man with him. He felt a small hand on his other arm, it was Katharine, her hazel eye full of worry.

“Grandpa, he’s hurt” she told him her eye never leaving Zac’s side. Finally we were at the end of the carriage (they had walked very slowly for Zac’s benefit) and he slowly sat to avoid the light-headed feeling again. Katharine crawled onto the carriage behind him as Jeremiah moved his hand to look at the wound. Now Zac was really starting to feel the blood loss. The world started to fade out as the young man was slipping out of consciousness. He saw Katharine and Jeremiah talking but heard nothing, they were trying desperately to keep him conscious. That is the last thing he could remember.

--

It was early morning. And one of Meredith’s favorite butlers, Jeremiah, and his granddaughter had returned the previous night, but she was not able to talk to them about their trip. They had rushed in with a young man with a nasty wound on his side. Now a day later everything had settled down and she was on her way to see him. And part of her wanted to know about this stranger. The room was shut and she gently knocked. A blonde headed girl opened the door. She looked up and saw the familiar red head and hugged her, nearly knocking them to the ground.

“Meredith! Meredith!” she shouted. Meredith laughed at the young girl

“Hello to you too Katharine” she replied. “Can I enter?” the girl nodded and led her to Jeremiah.