Where's my sister?

Annabekke closed her eyes firmly and turned away.

"W-What's in it?" She asked, and Lillith could see her biting her lip viciously.

"Nothing..." Lillith replied, staring down into the empty coffin. Annabekke turn around and looked at Lillith, before letting her gaze fall into the coffin. Her eyes searched around the wooden base for any sign of a body. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"I'm guessing you're glad there's no body there then?" Lillith asked. Annabekke nodded.

"If there's no body there it means... it means I'm real. I'm not dead. Now... now I just have to find out how... and why."

Lillith nodded. "I understand," she replied, before grabbing the lid of the coffin and swinging it shut. With another small grunt, she placed the lid onto the coffin and, grabbing ahold of the mud at the sides of the hole, she swung herself out and onto the ground. She stood up and straightened out her clothes, wiping the mud from her hands on her jeans.

 

"Now what?" She asked. Annabekke stared at the coffin for a few more minutes.

"I guess now we fill it back in."

"Do you want me to do it?" She shook her head.

"You dug it up. I'll do it." Taking hold of the shovel, she walked over to the mound of dirt. She dug her shovel into it and lifted a huge chunk of earth. Glancing over at Lillith who gave her another reassuring smile, she threw the earth down onto the coffin. Annabekke flinched slightly at the sound of the mud hitting the empty coffin, like rain hitting the pavement.

 

"Annabekke," Lillith said softly after several minutes, "I... I have something I need to do..."

Annabekke nodded, "I understand... thank you for helping me."

Lillith nodded, then took a deep breath. "The person who knows where Clairessa is--"

"I can't take you to her."

"What? Why?"

Annabekke sighed, "she's in the mountains of Errol, just east of Zenbu. Her name is Miranda. She's a sorceress." She looked down at the end of the shovel, "I have been banned from there, for private reasons. So I can't take you. All I can do is wish you good luck, and pray for you."

Lillith nodded. "Thank you."

"It's me who should be thanking you."

"Tell me when you find out what happened to you."

"I will." Annabekke smiled. "Goodbye, Lillith darling."

"Goodbye, Annabekke."

And with that, Lillith turned and fled the cemetary.

                       ***

The rock sailed across the water, creating little divets in the surface, followed by expanding ripples. The ripples created a line in the surface of the water, an arrow pointing north.

The girl sighed as she watched the rock skim across the lake, before picking up another one and skimming it, watching it create a line almost identical to the first one.

She looked down at the lake, staring at her reflection. Her amazingly ice-blue eyes, her blonde hair that curled around her face and halfway down her back, her pale skin.

She sighed, swishing her feet around in the water, watching as the ripples expanded around her.

She took a big heavybound black book from a velvet purple messenger bag that was laid on the ground net to her. Taking her pencil from where she's stored it between the top of her ear and her head. She opened the book, removing the ribbon she'd used as a bookmark, and began writing.

 

October 14th, 2001.

I don't know what to do. The nightmares are getting worse. I see her face... her beautiful green eyes, so like mother's, so captivating... so full of hope and love.... yet, at that moment in time, corrupted by fear and agony. I see the knife... the strange marks... and I scream as it digs into her flesh... Then I wake up, and I can't get back to sleep. It's the same every night; I haven't had any sleep in ages.

I can't stop thinking about her. I miss her more and more every day. I'd love to go see her, go find her but... I can't do that to her. I can't hurt her like that. Not again.

I hate that man. I hate him. Whoever he is. I hate him.

It's their anniversary today... sister's birthday too. I miss them. I really do.

It's hard... living this new life and pretending nothing's wrong. I'm a normal bounty hunter. No traumatic past, no traumatic experiances. Just a normal bounty hunter.

That's what everyone thinks. Maybe... maybe one day... I'll tell somebody the truth. Maybe.

 

                       ***

Lillith sat at the desk in her room. A backpack open on her bed, with a few clothes and essentials thrown in it.

She was hunched over a map, a pen in hand, planning out her route.

First, she'd have to travel upstream to Kiota, then switch ships at Niente, then travel to Zenbu. From there she'd have to find her way to Errol, probably on foot. The mountains were in the upper part of Errol, past the village of Te'nak, up through the S'udad. It would be a long journey, and would possibly take a few weeks, but she was determined to find this Miranda, and find out where her sister was.

She got up and rolled up the map, stashing it in her backpack. Then, she opened all her drawers and looked through them, throwing anything that might be useful into the backpack, ready to be packed properly later. She wouldn't need much, just food, a few spare clothes and lots of money.

 

After she'd finished packing and had her backpack waiting at the door, she checked she had anything and looked around her home.

Bending down to get her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder, opened the door and stepped out into the cold October air.

Glancing back at her home one last time, she shut the door and began her trekk to Errol.

This would be a long journey indeed.