Laramie: Chapter One: The Betrayal

the first chapter in Laramie's life. She is only a child, but she is capable of great wrongness

I remember the day the Shadow Master died, or everyone thought he died. It was the day my mother died. She died of a broken heart, for my father, one of the shadow servants, had been killed only months earlier. My father was the only man, no, the only person she ever loved. My brother and I were distant thoughts when it came to my mother, so I felt no remorse when she died when I was six. But she wasn’t to blame, she had been cursed and doomed to love only one man her entire life. This curse deemed that all who love her shall remain alive so long as she is alive, so when my father died, she discovered that he indeed did not love her and she fell into despair.

However, my father’s death had left a toll on me. He had cherished me, cared for me above all others. He had loved me.

Once my mother had finally succumbed to her despondency, my brother, Facio, and I were carted off to some distant relative, whom I’d never met. I was expecting the rest of my life to be a dull country one.

 

They were waiting for us when we arrived in the small town of Tilla. Melinor, Aguro, and their son, Surghey: ready to take us in after our family’s misfortunes.

“You can call me Surg,” said their son, who was only a year older than me. He intended to be my friend, but I was a shy child and hung to Facio’s side. After a few days I came around and from then on me and Insurgi were inseparable, unless of course my brother was around, which wasn’t often as he was nearly seventeen and itching to be on his own by now. And it wasn’t long before he decided he had waited long enough, and two days before my seventh birthday he left. The last of my small family to abandon me.

 

“Where do you think he is now?” I asked hanging upside down from a tree branch over hanging the small pond we liked to play at. I was eight years old now, but I was alert to the world. I knew what evils it held.

“Who?”

“Who do you think? My brother? Where do you think he went when he left me?” They had all tried to tell me that I wasn’t the reason he left, that he just wanted to travel the world, that he would come back to me someday, but I knew they were all lies. He couldn’t wait to get away from me.

“Maybe… Maybe he went to the Fire Islands. Maybe he went to find the Emberenjekcio.” The emberenjekcio were a myth. Supposedly they were a pygmy creature made of fire and bones. Ledgend says that they chased the witch queen Serena from her home in Dignusterra after she had sacrificed her daughter in hopes that her husband would love her more. Surg didn’t know however that this queen had existed. He didn’t know that she had inadvertently cursed her unborn child to love only one man forever. He didn’t know that this same queen, who had died thousands of years before me had been real. But I knew. And I knew that I was her decendant. I knew I was cursed.

“No he probably was kidnapped and eaten alive by a Müliyar. I don’t think he ever made it to the Fire Islands.”

“Laramie don’t! Müliyar are terrible things. I don’t think I should ever like to see one!”

“That’s because you’re a boy!” I teased. “I don’t think they’d ever want to hurt me. I’ve never heard of a woman being snatched by one. We’re much too clever for them!”

Surghey looked behind me, terror on his face. He pointed and gasped “She’s so beautiful.” As if in a trance. Terrified I turn to see what it is, hoping with all my heart that it’s not a Müliyar. As soon as my head is turned he burst out laughing.

It was all a farce. I turn back around and hit him with all I have, which isn’t much. “Don’t do that.” I was angry with him for teasing me, but also with myself for being so gullible.

“I’m sorry little Larie.” He put his arm around me. I don’t know why he always called me little. I was only a year younger than him. It annoyed me to no end and he knew it.

The sun was high in the sky and we were getting hungry, so we packed up our things and went back to the small but comfortable house I then called home. His mother was waiting for us in the kitchen, a lunch already on plates. Their love was left to no uncertainty, it was dangerous for them to be so close to me, but I was still unaware how dangerous I could be.

 

My life stayed like that for four years. Once I had turned eleven, they came. They were looking for a way to revive the Shadow Master, for he was not truly dead, he could not die you see. He had a link to this world. His body had died yes, but his spirit was still very much alive, and his followers were desperately trying to find a way to give him back his body and his power. They had discovered that my caretakers had knowledge about such things and they were looking for a way in.

I had run away again. Angry. My surrogate parents had discouraged me from using vene. The very part of me that allowed me to express my confusion, my sorrow. The part of me that gave me hope, that there was something I could do with myself. But they would never understand. They feared that power. ‘No good will come of it.’ Aguro always said. I wish I had listened. I wish I had stayed home that day. I wish I knew then what I know now. And such are the desires of hindsight.

I had fled to the nearest town. They knew me there and soon enough I would be taken back to the farm. But it would give me enough time to cool down from the latest row. I walked the familiar streets of Tilla, hoping to find something new in that town that never changed. It was my lucky day.

“Hello there.” An unfamiliar voice called out to me. I stopped in my disparaging path to peer into the shadows where I could spy a man and a woman gesturing to me. “Can you help us?” they asked sweetly enough.

“I’m not supposed to talk to people I don’t know.” I was wary. Although I was angry, I was not stupid. I knew everyone in the town so it was strange to find these unfamiliar people here. Again I wish I had listened to that voice in my head that said walk away. But i was just so angry with Melinor and Aguro. It stopped the caution in my mind.

“That’s all right child, we’re just looking for our friends.” The woman spoke to me in such a pleasant voice I found myself drawn in. “Perhaps you know them. Aguro and Melinor?”

“Yes, I live with them.” Not sure of what they wanted. But I was still angry and unwilling to help any friends of the people I hated most at that moment.

“Wonderful. I told you Lawrence, this is where they live. Could you take us to them by any chance?”

“NO!” I yelled. I was making a scene but I didn’t care anymore. “I’m not going back there. I never will!”

“What’s so wrong with them?” the woman asked trying to call me down. Her voice was so pretty that I couldn’t help but obey her thoughts.

“They won’t let me use my vene.” I pouted, hoping to win her over to my side of the argument.

“Now that is odd.” She said, I couldn’t tell if she’s just playing along to appease me, but I found that I didn’t care. I was just happy to have her on my side. She was so lovely after all. “You see they are very good at vene and very famous for what they’ve done with it.”

I was confused. “What do you mean? Aguro hates vene! He wouldn’t go near it with a ten league pole.”

“Well perhaps they are now, but years ago, they killed the Dark Lord, the Shadow Master himself. Banished him into the very depths of his own soul. Perhaps they are only wary of it because they know what evils it can do if in the wrongs hands.”

“Can you take us to them please. We would very much like to visit them again.” Lawrence interjected. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I couldn’t help but feel distrustful of him. It seemed and odd combination to me. This lovely and wonderful woman with this man who was nothing short of awful and distasteful.

“Lawrence! Not today.” To woman reprimanded. “I am so sorry dear.” She focused on me again.

“Nualen we have no time!”

“We have all the time in the world!” her voice turned sharp which startled me. It seemed wrong coming from her gentle form. “Can you meet us here tomorrow, I’m afraid we shall not make it to your place today, but if you can we would love to come by tomorrow when things with your family have settled down.” I agreed. And now happy I turned around and headed back home. “And if you please, don’t tell them that we’re coming.” Nualen called after me. “We should very much like to make it a surprise when we drop in tomorrow!”

 

But they didn’t come “tomorrow”. Almost every day for a month I went into town to see them. Of course keeping it a secret from Melinor and Aguro was hard to do, but I liked Nualen too much. I couldn’t betray her secret to them. It was her husband I didn’t particularly care for. There was always something off about him. Almost rushed. Like spending time with me was getting in the way of a really important job. But I couldn’t quite tell.

I remember the day I came home. It was early withering. The tree leaves were just turning to their beautiful colors. Their reds, oranges, yellows and browns. It was my favorite time of year. So pretty and just turning to a brisque cold. It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t too cold either. I remember this day so clearly I wish I could forget. I wish I could erase all the pain that was created, all the sadness, all the loss. But in a way I’m glad I cannot. I’m glad that I have to hold onto these things. It is my punishment. My resolve for what I will have to do.

I came home that early withering day after spending the day with Nualen and her husband. I was so happy. They had finally decided to come and see Melinor and Aguro. I never understood why they wanted to wait. Perhaps it was to gain my trust. It worked. I told them exactly where to find the little farmhouse. They were to arrive that night, unannounced of course, and surprise their old friends.

I had gotten home a little after dinner. “Where have you been Larie?” Melinor asked casually as I walked back in the door.

“Just in town, I was talking with some friends.”

“No one really.”

“Well what did you talk about?” she asked. Again casually, but with a hint of caution that I didn’t understand.

“Why don’t you like vene?” I asked trying to change the subject. I didn’t want to accidently let them know that Nualen and her husband were in their way.

Melinor sighed. “Because I have seen what I can do to people. It changes them. And it can hurt others.”

“But you and Aguro are masters at the stuff! I mean you took out a dark lord, a tyrant with it!”

“Who told you that?” she asked urgently. I didn’t answer. “Laramie answer me!” she yelled. I was shocked I had never seen this side of her. She looked scared.

“It was one of your friends. They want to come and see you.” I figured that keeping this a secret anymore might give Melinor the wrong feeling. I didn’t like her to be scared. It made me scared.

“Who was it Larie?” She asked again. I didn’t understand her reaction. I thought she would be happy to see her friends.

“Her name is Nualen. And her husband is Lawrence.” I saw the blood drain out of her face. She became paler than the full moon that would rise that night. “They told me they were your friends.” I was pleading. I was trying to justify it to her. To myself. “They wanted to surprise you.” I still did not know the weight of my actions. But I knew something was wrong. “I’m sorry.” I said in the smallest voice. A child’s voice. For that was what I was. A child. No matter how much I wished otherwise. I was still only a child. And something about that brought her back. Color returned to her face.

“I know Larie.” She lifted her eyes out the window to the horizon and I saw something shimmer. Like an invisible wall go up. And then she closed the shutters. “Did they say when they were going to get here?” She asked my in the semi-darkness of the house.

“Yes. Just after nightfall.” I said, not sure of what was really happening. “I don’t understand, wha-“

“Larie, those people, Nualen and Lawrence, they are dangerous people. Bad people. Servants of the man we banished long ago.”

“But why?” I couldn’t finish that sentence. I didn’t know what to ask.

“Aguro!” she shouted for her husband. “Aguro!” Her husband walked around the corner. “Aguro they’ve found us.”

I saw his face fall. His calm, unmovable demeanor broken. I saw the unthinkable fear flash in his eyes and it frightened me more than I dared to admit. “The wall?” he asked with no emotion. I assume now that he had already accepted his fate. It was now too late to save himself or his small family.

Melinor nodded. “It’s already up.”  She was not as ready as her husband. She wanted to see her son live a full life that he would now surely never know.

“Good.” He had by now built a wall around his emotions; they would not help him now. “Find Surg. Take him and Larie below.” I was confused. Everything was moving to fast for me. I couldn’t comprehend that I had perhaps brought doom to this doorstep. To the house I loved. To the people I loved more than my own parents. It was an immeasurable grief.

Aguro went to a cupboard and grabbed a small yellowish green flask and handed it to his wife. “Drink it.” He ordered, pressing it into her small unwilling fingers. She glared defiantly at him. He tenderly touched her face. Stroaking her face her leaned towards he and gently he told her, “Please.” She began to weep openly. “Please. I can’t handle it. Please drink it.” He pressed it into her hands once more. “Please.”

It was a draft, an elixir, to remove all physical sensations. She had given it to me once when I had fallen from a tree and broken my arm. I was stunned that she should need it, and aghast that there was only enough for her.

She grabbed my arm after her swift drink and called for her son who was still playing outside, unaware of the turmoil approaching or the darkness inside the house. She took us to the kitchen where she shoved the table across the room. She kicked up the woven rug that had sat underneath and revealed a door that neither me nor Surg had known about. She opened the door and told us to get inside. It was cramped and smelled like mold.

“ Aren’t you coming?” Surg asked, completely thrown off guard when she started to close the door behind us.

“No darling.” She said bravely, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. “I have to make sure no one can find you.” She stared at her son trying to fill a lifetime of memories into her last few moments. “Now no matter what happens, whatever you hear-” she faultered, unable to speak. Insurgi lifted his hand and placed it on her mother’s. she smiled grimly. “Don’t let them find you. Don’t get out until they are gone. Then you must leave this place forever. You must as far away as you can.” She gave us both one last tearful look and then closed the door on top of us. She replaced the rug and then the table. And then she left us. We were alone. We were in the dark.

I don’t know how long we waited in that terribly close and dark corner, but at last we heard the loudest boom in our lives. It was louder than thunder and it shook our bones and I knew that the wall had been broken. It would not be long now. Surg and I trembled together in unknowing. Waiting.

It wasn’t long until we heard their shouting curses in the air. They were unbearably close. I started balling and Surg put his arms around me, just as terrified as I was. They entered the house with a blast the knocked down the door and shook the ground. I can’t remember for the life of me what they were saying. All I can remember are the screams. Knowing that the elixir Melinor had drunk had no effect on what she was experiencing now. That Aguro’s stern and strong mind was broken. His torment in his wife’s unfortunes; his uselessness. And then he started to scream. It was a sound so sorrowful it hurt to hear, I even now hear his last cry, his last call of defiance, and his failure. And then it was over. Their calls cut off mid scream.

It was then unbearably quiet. I wanted to break free and kill them. I wanted them to kill me. It wasn’t fair. I heard them enter the kitchen and the bangs of pots and dishes hitting the floor. They were ransacking the house. I couldn’t think, I just wanted them to leave. I wanted to die in my misery and I couldn’t so long as they clouded my mind with rage. 

Surg sat frozen next to me. I knew that he would never be the same carefree boy I had known. I knew that he was just as broken as the two bodies that lay now somewhere above us.

Then after too long, they left suddenly. Board with destroying and defiling everything I cared about. I tried to open the latch above me and found it firmly shut. The table was keeping us locked inside. I started banging, panicking. I didn’t want to die slowly, hiding in this cramped dungeon. I was yelling and banging for an hour before I thought to lift my hand. I simply thought of the door bursting open, and so it did. The table and rug flew across the room. I clambered out. And called for Surg to follow. He didn’t move. I went back to the hole and found him sitting there catatonic. A blank gaze upon his tear stained face. I was afraid he would never move again. But then slowly, he lifted his head and looked in my eyes. There was a flash and I saw him as he was before. Happy, playing with his parents in the garden when he was three. Upset that he had to share his bedroom when I and my brother moved in. I saw my own face and the kind feelings that emanated through him.

 I felt him flinch away as my memories seared through him. He had cut off before he saw that I had lead his parents murderers straight to the door. And I was thankful. If he knew that, it would surely kill him. I reached out my hand to him, an offering of hope. He took it and I helped him out of the hole that I hoped we would never see again.

We left the small house through the back door so that we wouldn’t have to see their mangled lifeless bodies. To do that would make it all too real. Right now we needed to escape. To keep to our last promise. To leave and never look back.

Author's Note

Vene is kind of like magic, however different in that all people have access to it if they have enough faith that they can do something...