Chapter 2

Two years.

Thats how long its been since that fateful day when those men stole Sam right out of her life. She hated them. She knew they were following orders, but did they even think what they were doing was wrong?!

Liz was now 15, sitting at her desk, finishing up her homework. But in her head, she was planning a master escape plan for her little brother. Tom didn't approve of this, but for some reason he never stopped her. She guessed he finally realized that Mother wasn't always right and that Sam meant the world to her. He must be so sad there, so lonely. He’s probably wondering why Mother would just give him without a fight....why his big sister didn't do anything. She hoped with all of her heart that he didn't hate her too.

A knock sounded on her door. “Liz, we need to talk,” her brother said.  

“About what?”

"About how you're trying to make Mom’s life miserable.” At that, Liz stormed to the door and flew it open. Her brother was leaning against the door frame. He had lost over 50 pounds in the last two years. He said it was from stress at school, but Liz knew the truth. He was just as worried about Sam as she was.

“Why do you even care. I see the glares you give her while she isn't looking.”

“Yeah, while she isn't looking. So what does it matter?

"I don't want her to think all of her children hate her for the choices she's made.”

“Oh, but its okay for her to hate her children?!” Tom looked down at the floor, as if admitting defeat. There was no way to argue with what she just said. Mother had become meaner, stricter. It was more obvious now that she hated her children.

“Listen, Liz, there’s nothing we can do. Disobeying Mother would be one of the many things that show you're stupid.” His face paled, as if he realized that he actually just said that. Liz felt tears starting to form, but didn't let them fall. Her brother already knew it hurt her deep. She always has had trouble learning. Liz had the lowest grades in her class. But he didn't need to point it out.

“Yeah, I get it. But since everyone knows I’m stupid already, why not just flaunt it? Hmm? And you don't have to talk to me or anything because I’m so stupid. Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation as top of your class, now would I? No, I’m too worried about Sam, probably rotting away in some camp with a bunch of drunken men who are much bigger and stronger then him. Well, sue me then for caring!” She slammed the door in the face, not caring about “manners” anymore. He knocked again, this time harder. Liz’s eyes widened; he never knocked so loudly, it was considered rude. Something must truly be wrong.

“You better let me in there this instant, Elizabeth Ann Corlette! I’m serious...I’ll even break down this door!” Okay, that proved it. Something was up. She opened the door, and Thomas’s face was about as red as his hair. It was truly a scary sight, so Liz stepped out of the way, letting him stomp into the room. “Don't tell me that I don't care! You think I’ve been doing nothing the past two years.”

Liz didn't know if that was rhetorical or not, so she answered it anyway. “All I’ve seen you do is sit around, reading your books about a past long gone. Why do you people even study that stuff?”

“Why are you getting off topic! And I’ve done something. Don't know what it is though. Do you see this?” He held up a sketch pad with a picture of some weird brown bar things with green circles on top. On the bottom of the brown, there was a green line that stretched across the page with green circles on top as well. Almost naked to the eye was a few little green lines with a yellow circle in the middle of different colored circles. It would probably be prettier if Thomas was a better artist. But even with this amateur painting, there was almost something...poetic about it. As if it were natural to her.

“And that is? Dots and lines? I’m so impressed.” She said sarcastically.

“Listen to me! These dots and lines mean something. Represent something. Has anything happened to you?!” He said this almost like he didn't want to be thought of as crazy. Liz was almost hesitant to answer. What if this was a test to see if she was a witch? But, he was her brother! They were at least partially close to one another. They had to have some degree of trust.

“Actually...yes.” And with that, she pulled her floorboard up and collected the paintings. Since the first one, she had drawn two more. One was of a tall pitcher with the clear liquid sloshing out of it into a small glass. The other was of someone pouring the stuff over their heads, almost plastering their hair to their head. And the strangest thing, the person in her dream had brown skin and black hair. She had never seen anything so out of the ordinary.

Thomas picked them up and studied them closely, almost like a critic. “What is this? The sun, a person, and a glass, all with a recurring theme. A clear liquid. I believe this is what was once called water. I read about it in a book; it was once the stuff that sustained us all, humans are actually made up of about 60% water. Curious. I draw these things and you draw water. I should take one for research.” He was about to run off when Liz caught his arm.

“You can't. What if Mother see’s them?! She’ll think we’re using magic to see the past. Let me hold on to all of the paintings. And..check Sam’s room for anything.” It pained her to say that. To go into a dusty room that was occupied only two years ago by a cute 4 year old boy that called her sister. It pained her to even think about it.

“All right.” Tom ran into the next door room where he closed the door behind him. He didn't want his sister to be reminded of the fact that Sam was gone. The last thing he needed was for her to break down in a fit of tears while they were doing something important. He scoured the room for anything out of the ordinary. Sam probably couldn't write, so paintings were off the list. He couldn't do much of anything except walk, talk, and eat.  Thomas looked under the bed and in the drawers, but nothing was incriminating. Thomas wanted to slam the drawers in anger, but stopped himself. Anger would not get the best of him today. He glanced around the room taking in everything, from the bed, to the table, to the...animal statuette collection on his dresser. Of course! That must be something. Tom grabbed a few and ran back to Liz. She was sitting on her bead, head in her hands, thinking about Sam. “Look what I found!” He placed them on her lap.

“Yeah, his animal statuettes. I guess they could mean something. But what does this all mean?! That we’re crazy? That we’re wi..” Thomas clamped his hand around her mouth, preventing her from finishing the sentence.

“Don't say that out loud. If Mother hears, she won't hesitate to give us to the queen. We need to try and act like nothing is wrong.”

“That will be hard for me considering that I’m running away. I can't stand Mother anymore, not after the horrible things that she has done. And Sam...I can't leave him to die. I have to go to him, even if that means losing my life.” At this point she was sobbing into her hand, wishing things had worked out differently. That Father had lived and Sam would still be there. Some people would blame their Father for dying and leaving a sibling to continue his work, but Liz was smart enough to know that his life wasn't taken by him, but by some ruthless people who had the upperhand. Father had had no choice, but Sam had. Mother could have spoken to the queen, pleaded with her to spare him. There was a chance, even a small one, that Sam could have stayed. But Mother didn't even try, just threw him to the dogs

Thomas sat down next to her and patted her back in a fatherly like gesture. He then hugged her, the first in what felt like forever that he actually hugged her with meaning. It gave Liz the slightest bit of hope that one member of her family was here for her. “Liz, life will not be easy. Not for you, and not for me. But everyone has their purpose, and we better fulfill that. Think of it like a game.”

“A game?”

“I guess you could call it the game of life. Life is there in two forms; those who help and those who hinder. Those who help will guide you through life, lead you through the hard stuff in life to be rewarded in the end. Those who hinder will try to get you to go on shortcuts, leading you astray perhaps. You will never find your real purpose in life. You are taking the good path now, something good is bound to be at the end of this rainbow.” Liz finally hugged him back, practically squeezing the life out of him. His message cheered her up. She believed him not just because he was family, but because he was right. She wanted to be the best person she could be, and that was why she needed to save her brother.

“Are you going to tell Mother? Please don't, I need to do this.”

“Well, don't think you're doing it alone, little sister. I want our brother back just as much as you do. I’m coming with you.” Liz’s eyes widened. Her brother had never shown so much affection for anything but books in his whole life. But, none the less, she was proud.

“Hey, I’m happy to share the opportunity to save a little boy. Now, do you have any plans, ‘cause mine probably suck.”   At that, they both laughed, forgetting all the troubles and worries and just enjoying each others company.

“I have some ideas.”

~

So, all in all, the plan was very thorough. They had an entrance plan, and escape plan, and a just-in-case plan. They would sneak in a servants door of the castle, find the door that connects to the wall and go through it to the camp, locate Sam, and run the hell out of there. Sounded simple enough to Liz. She went to the back shed and picked up one of her Father’s old swords. Tom grabbed a dagger from the meager weapons pile they had. They hoped to not have to use them, but anything can happen. It isn't odd seeing a boy of 19 there, but girls, except the queen, were never allowed. They would sense that something was wrong. So, as a precaution, she tied her hair up and put it under a mans hat. Men's trousers were also placed on her, as well as a tunic that was giant in comparison to her 5’2” stature.

“We ready to go? Because, I don't want to stay in this thing any longer. It smells like feet and rotten cabbage.”

“What do we tell Mother? We can't just get up and leave without a reasonable reason.”

“Tell her we’re going to the market. For a long time. Don't know how long this will take, you know?”

“Yeah.” Thomas went into the kitchen to tell Mother. She could hear her Mother’s reply loud and clear.

“And why do you have to go to the market? I just went there yesterday.” her Mother yelled.

“We had a big growth of corn last night, and Elizabeth and I thought it would be a good idea to give you a break, so we’re going.”

“I don't need no break! What, do you think I’m too old and frail to go? I’m only thirty two, are you calling me old.”

“No ma’am, we just thought we could do something nice. Leave you in peace for a while, you know?”

“Fine, fine, don’t don't expect good sales. Sold a good load of corn yesterday, I did, enough to fill every house twice over.” Thomas finally came back into the living quarters room. Liz could tell that his conversation with Mother had taken a lot of self discipline. He wanted to literally knock some sense into her.

“Lets go.” They ran out of the house, sneaking around in alleyways and finally arriving at the castle. Its grand size was intimidating, but that wouldn't stop Liz. She would go through hell itself to get her brother.

“Here it is. You sure you want to go through with this?”

“Of course! You having any doubts?”

“Nope.” They threw their rope over the wall, securing it tightly. Tom went first, then Liz. They crept around to the back, careful not to get caught. They were almost spotted by one of the guards as they made their way around. They quickly ducked behind a pillar, holding their breaths. Liz was sure they were done for until the sound of armor clanking went away.  She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. They crept around to the servant door and slowly opened it, as to not make any creaking noises. They tiptoed towards a grand door. The door that led to beyond the wall. Liz was almost hesitant. They must have put a wall for a reason, right? Monsters? She reached out to open the door but paused right in front of it.

“What are you doing? They could be here any second. Just open it!” But still, she didn't open it. She had a bad feeling; a girls voice in the back of her brain told her it was a trap over and over again. But before she could stop him, Thomas opened the door, revealing 60 armed guards, swords all pointed at the two children.

“Did you really think that you would just get away with this? That we wouldn't see you? How stupid can you two brats be?” They began to walk forward, leading them into a large ballroom. It wasn't welcoming at all; the walls were painted red and black with sick decorations strung up everywhere. Liz kept walking forward, not thinking about it. After all that planning, they had been caught.  How could they have been so stupid as to think no one would notice them?!

“And what do we have here?” a voice said from behind a large curtain that stretched from one side of the room to the other. Liz, recognized that voice, it was one she had never forgotten. The voice of Queen Laquisha. The curtain was pulled back by four guards, revealing the evil queen. Thomas stood there in shock. He had never met the queen, always wanted to. He had heard that she was a witch herself, one of the most powerful. A Flame witch. They may be the most common out of the four elements, but it was the most destructive, easily earning the queen her throne.

“Rebels, my Lady. Found them sneaking into the castle.”

The queen stepped off her throne, walking towards them. Her auburn hair was set into a large bun at the top of her head, her face a cold mask. Her large red and black dress fanned out behind her. She walked up to Liz, picking up her chin in her cold hand. For someone who is supposed to be a fire witch, she sure has cold hands Liz thought. “Throw the boy in the dungeon. But not the girl. I have use for her.” The guards began to drag Tom away. Liz wanted to scream in frustration. She hated the fact that now both her brothers were in trouble, and she was helpless.

“Please, don't hurt him!”

The queen pinched Liz’s cheeks, all the while with a cold smile. “Only if you cooperate, my dear. Disobey us...and well...my guards get antsy when they haven't killed in a while.” THe queen walked back to her throne, whispering in a man’s ear as she walked past him. He had a bowl haircut and a yellow vest over a white shirt. He was extremely tall, towering even the most powerful of guards. Liz was immediately intimidated, he could crush her with one hand! He began to walk towards her, and she tried to get away but the guards arms were too muscular.

“This is Gordon, he will show you to your room, my sweet. You will find it to your liking I hope.” As soon as she finished her sentence, the curtain re-closed. Gordo took her from the guards and led her down a hallway. He kept silent the whole entire time, just staring ahead into space. After what felt like two miles of walking, he finally stopped and turned to look at Liz.

“Elizabeth, its good to see you again.” Elizabeth just stared at him, her confusion plain to see on her face. She had never seen someone like this before, and she was sure she would remember someone like that.

“I’m sorry, I don't...”

“Yes, yes, I know. You were only a baby when you're Father, Simeon, came to me and showed you off to the council. What a day that was. How is your father, by the way?” Liz was choking on tears. Just the mention of her father could send her into a bawling fit. But she held back her tears. She didn't want to look weak. “He’s...dead.”

Gordon gasped and patted Liz on the shoulder. “Then I am deeply sorry for you loss. But we must go.”

“All right.” She started to walk forward, but he stopped her with his giant arm. She stumbled back, clearly surprised.

“No, not that way. We are going somewhere different. Somewhere safe.”

“And that would be where?” Liz was starting to get really scared of this guy. Was this guy joking, did he want to kill her? He seemed like a nice person, but so do a lot of people before they stab you're backs.

“Why, Lencourt of course. Its where you belong, my dear little witch.”