Chapter 1: Travis Kinmire
Young Travis Kinmire awoke, nervous in his bed as the dragon-shaped alarm clock crowed annoyingly in the morning sunlight. Brushing several strands of his long brown hair from his eyes, Travis peered outside his window and marveled at the unending stretches of green that covered the courtyard of the Kinmire Estate. It was only half-past eight, although he usually awoke much earlier.
The twelve-year-old could scarcely hear footsteps approaching his bedroom from somewhere within the three-story mansion, which accented the estate so well with its elegant style and intricate overgrowths of vines, bushes, and small beds of flowers. Vines crept inside nearly all of the windows, and the orphaned children of Jeremiah Kinmire wouldn't have it any other way. As Travis's bare toes touched the cool wooden floorboards, a dew-wet Bylon daisy playfully tickled at his calf.
"I'm awake, Lija!" Travis called to his older brother, tugging at the buttons of his pearl-colored night shirt. He sat at the foot of his bed, kicking his feet back and forth in anticipation of the coming day. The schools were re-opening in the modernized town of Fendra in a matter of months; it seemed such a shame. Travis had spent many an afternoon with his friends in the forests and hills of Fendra, having countless imaginary adventures and enjoying the simplicities of their lives together.
It's almost all over now. Travis thought, sitting at the foot of his bed. His lean, jet-black cat, Midnight crawled silently onto his lap, begging to be petted. Travis absently complied, gently stroking her thick, soft coat in between his fingers. Only two weeks left until school starts again. Man, it's been so long; I can barely remember what it was like…
"Travis!" a youthful, yet stern voice shouted from just outside the glossy oak doors guarding Travis's room from the hallway outside.
"I said I'm awake, Elijah," Travis yelled back to his elder sibling. Elijah always had a way of pouncing on Travis in the mornings to wake him up, despite that the schools in Bylon hadn't been in session for the past three years…
Three years… Has it really been that long since mom and dad died? Travis asked himself as he slid off the thin silk night shirt, letting Midnight scurry across the floor and into the closet. I never thought time would pass so quickly…
"Get up, ya little runt!" A fist pounded intently on the door.
"I am up, Lija! Keep your trousers on, I'm coming!" Travis shouted back at the steady, irritating knocking.
The insistent pounding ceased for a moment. Travis shook his head mockingly at the door and proceeded to open the pine door of his walk-in closet to select his wardrobe for the day. The ebony feline was inside, snuggled comfortably in her silk bed underneath his hanging shirts. The young boy dressed hurriedly in a black tank top, a pair of grass-green knee length shorts and a pair of black Velcro sandals. Travis advanced towards the oval, pool-like mirror covering the west flank of the wall, perceiving the small, longhaired boy on the other side of it striding up to meet him.
Travis Kinmire beheld his reflection as he meticulously combed the tangles from his long, velvet-like brown hair. His eyes were a dazzling hazel, mixing green and chestnut-brown with a sparkle of heaven. His features were yet rather childish, but were still the envy of every other boy in Fendra. He smiled just so at the mirror, his thin lips and eyebrows working together to spin the charm which sent all of the young girls of Fendra head over heels for him. An energetic and cheerful lad, Travis never had any trouble attracting people to him with his friendly demeanor and outgoing nature.
"Travis!" a high, feminine voice sang from outside the hall. "Don't keep your brother and me waiting! Your breakfast's getting chilled!"
Didn't I just tell Elijah that I was coming? You'd think he'd tell Minna at least, to be polite. I wish they wouldn't insist on doing this to me every morning… Hurrying, Travis took one last peek into the mirror and dashed out the oak doors.
"Gaw!" Elijah exclaimed as he hit the floor, a red mark slowly appearing on his right shoulder. Hovering above Elijah, a little green dragon flapped its leathery wings at Travis, squawking incoherently. "Watch where you're going, you little squirt!"
"Lija?" Travis almost asked, staring bewildered at his older brother. "Were you standing right outside my room?" He playfully threw his arms around his brother's neck. "How romantic, ya big lug!"
"Shut up," Elijah replied coldly, pushing his little brother away. He didn't take too well to jokes. He never did. His pet pygmy dragon, Piper, hissed smoke in Travis's face as Elijah got to his feet. "Get your ass to the living room, Minna's getting impatient waiting for you."
Elijah stood up and brushed some dust and vine leaves from his clothes, stepping on a few shrubs growing out of the tiles in the process. Piper chirped out a scolding cheep, his tiny green head bobbing up and down as he landed smugly on Elijah's shoulder. Elijah was handsome for a fifteen-year-old, with deep green eyes and soft brown hair similar to Travis's, although nowhere near that long. He wore a white wife-beater, a pair of khaki clam-catchers, and a pair of tan sandals. Around his neck was a thin gold-laced necklace attached to a shark's tooth.
"What are you waiting for?" Elijah growled as a grapevine extended itself from the ceiling and offered him its delicious purple fruit. The older boy shooed his sibling away with his hand, picking off several grapes before following him into the living room.
The living room of the Kinmire mansion was worthy of its reputation as a home-within-a-home. The room was decorated wonderfully with the finest of silk drapes and curtains. As with the rest of the house, vegetation grew from all sides of the dining hall. Lilies and lotus blossoms lined the floor, while grapevines and white roses hung from the ceiling like ice icicles from a dazzling cliff of flora. An enormous table easily became the centerpiece of the room, with stained redwood legs fashioned into images of the most exotic and elegant of the birds and beasts. The table itself was made of gray and blue swirled marble, studded in several places with roses crafted out of jade and ruby.
Travis casually strolled into the great hall, its sights and subtleties taken for granted in the hustle of daily life. Trotting into a brass seat with a magenta velvet cushion, the boy pulled his chair a bit closer to the table for his breakfast. A young girl about Elijah's age walked in from the kitchen, holding two white porcelain bowls in her hands, and one comfortably balanced on top of her head. The warm, inviting scent of cinnamon filled Elijah and Travis's nostrils as she entered. Elijah's twin, she was not a tall girl by any means; she was an inch or so shorter than Elijah. Her shoulder-length wood-brown hair was soft as silk and exhibited highlights of red as intense and beautiful as the sunrise. Her angelic face was quite ravishing; her intense frost blue eyes contrasting perfectly with her dark, lovely eyelashes. She wore a long deep violet gown, trimmed with superb stitching of golden silk designs.
Minna sat down between her brothers, placing a steaming bowl of hot cinnamon oatmeal in front of each of them. Travis could smell the delicious seasoning permeating throughout the room as he dug his spoon into the warm, soggy goo. He pulled it out of the steaming mixture, only to yelp in disgust.
"Aww, but Minna…" Travis protested, looking down at his spoon. "You know I hate raisins in my oatmeal… They give me a stomach-ache!"
Minna's hand swatted him lovingly in the back of his head. "Eat it already, Travi. I spent all morning making breakfast for all of us," She lectured him; her loving eyes focusing on his. "You'd better enjoy it now before it gets too cold."
"But Minna…" Travis whined half-heartedly. Sighing, he whispered to himself. "Do you always have to make it with raisins?"
Elijah cursed and slammed his hand on the table, smashing several of the grapes he had planned to put in his oatmeal. "Look Travis, if you don't want to eat it, don't bother coming to breakfast in the first place!"
"Really now, Elijah!" Minna snapped, turning to face her twin brother. "It's not that important, seriously! You don't have to yell at him!"
Travis's heart wrenched when he heard his brother's voice barking angrily at him. The pain in his heart only got worse as he made eye contact with Elijah. His brother's green eyes were fixed on him like a jungle of hostility, accusing him of a crime that, at the moment, must've meant as much to him as murder…
"You do this every day! I'm sick of your constant whining, Travis!" Elijah's words got progressively louder with every syllable, the intense feelings of pent up frustrations almost tangible in the great hall. "You better learn your goddamned place and show a little gratitude for once!"
Travis remained silent and took the verbal abuse, staring quietly at his feet. Why is he doing this to me? Before mom and dad died, we were so close… He actually seemed to love me, he'd even tell me so once in a while… He'd hold me close when I was scared; hug me when I was sad… But now… Now he treats me like some shameful burden on his life…
Speechlessly, Travis pushed his chair away from the table and started quietly walking towards the front door. He thought he heard Minna call his name, but he ignored her and continued walking… His footsteps slowly began to drown out her voice, and the sounds of the hillside soon drowned out his footsteps…