Broken Dreams and Memories :: Silisia

[Silisia Anja Saffy]

SILISIA :: AGED FIFTEEN

PART ONE:

The land was fresh on the early spring morning. The land of Samarid was far behind, and the young girl was free. Silisia allowed the first real smile in months to touch her lips. The angry teenager sat astride her father’s riding stallion, which she had taken in anger. It was anybody’s guess why the stupid king had not opened his eyes to the reality of his family. She patted the chestnut stallion’s neck before asking him to move forward into a village just off the Samarid border. The young girl wore a cloak and the shabbiest outfit she could find. She had chosen her servants old pants and a worn shirt of one of the stable hands. Finding a dark inn, the girl slipped from the large horse, and stopped. The village seemed foreign to every sense in the young princess’ body. Smells of poor quality food wafted through the air. Great noise assaulted her hearing as the people in the street haggled to make a living and to be able to afford the simplest amenities. Yet the echo of true happiness was abound, it a greater quantity than she had ever heard at the palace.

The girl led the horse over to a nearby stall, selling apples. She tentatively glanced at the rough, course looking man.
“Nice steed ye ‘ave ‘ere, lass,” he drawled, his eyes lazily licking over the young, attractive girl. Silisia shrugged, a wicked twinkle coming into her eyes.
“Stole him,” she replied, her voice earnest, while he eyes hinted at a greater secrecy. “How much?”
She looked up to him in challenge, and the man huffed lightly.
“Three bronze coins,” the slight shift of his eyes told Silisia that he was charging far too much for the rather dismal looking fruit.
“One bronze coin or I’ll go buy from the gentleman over there,” she gestured to a rather unsavoury looking character. The man glanced over quickly and a scowl of distaste touched his face.
“Alrigh’, alrigh’,” he resigned. Sil smiled in triumph and handed the man over the coin, placing it in his grubby hand.

She took a moment to select a fruit she was satisfied with, and with a flourish took a bite from the carefully selected apple.
“It’s nice,” she said, forcing out the words through her full mouth.
“Didn’t ye parents teach ye any mannas?” he laughed at the girl, humour twinkling in his eyes. Swallowing the piece, she grinned at him cheekily.
“They tried. Just wasn’t for me,” she replied quickly. She looked around the square, unsure of where to stay the night. The man, seeming to note her confusion, cleared his throat.
“Got nowhere ta stay lass?” he enquire. The girl shook her head, a small smile of confession touching her lips.
“Tell ye what. Ye can stay wit me, and me wife. She makes a mean roast I tell ye,” he grinned. The girl eagerly nodded, happy to receive a bed for the night. Although she tried to escape her royal roots, she had to admit that the idea of sleeping on the floor somewhere was utterly unthinkable. She helped the man pack up, and then followed him home is almost silence. The great horse stirred uneasily next to her.

Settling the horse in a stable, the young princes found her way into the small house, to be confronted by a warm, round woman who immediately enveloped the girl in her arms. Tentatively, she hugged back. Totally unused to be treated like a normal person, Silisia found her actions surprising and wonderful. The house radiated warmth and while dining, Sil found herself feel completely at home.
“Where you from, deary?” the woman encouraged.
“Rivadon,” she replied shortly, not really wanting to go into her personal details. She smiled and told the family her name was Eva, an orphan whose parents had died while fishing. They nodded, seeming to take the story as truth. Sil, triumphant that she had began a new identity, believed that perhaps she never needed to go back. That night, when she settled on the straw bed, she felt absolutely at home, for the very first time in a long time.

[Silisia Anja Saffy]

PART TWO:

Darkness ripped through her mind as she woke up gasping. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Panicky breaths allowed little oxygen in. Nightmares had been the theme in Silisia’s life for many years now. It seemed that no matter how far she run, she could never escape her reality, even when it was not presence. Sighing, she pushed the coarse blankets off her and snuck out of the small house and down toward the lake. Her care feet bit a trail into the soft earth. The lake was illuminated by the soft light of the waning moon. Sil sat at the edge of the water, listening to the night sounds. An unnatural sound touched her ear. The creak of leather moved through the air toward her, and the jingle of metal. Sil crept a little closer to see a group of riders convening at the other side of the lake. Silisia paused, and as she was about to move forward a hand enclosed around her month and pulled her back. Falling onto another person’s lap, the young princess struggled under the other’s grip.

“Shh,” a male voice whispered, pulling the girl closer. “Unsavoury type those. I’m going to let go now. Don’t make a sound.” She felt him relinquish his grip and Sil stumbled forward. Shooting a deadly glare back, she caught a glimpse of her attacker. The boy was hardly more than eighteen. He lounged back, the light of the moon catching the mysterious twinkle in his dark eyes. Shaking her head at him, she looked back over to where the riders were. They were now exchanging a package for what seemed to be a bag of gold. With the deal made, the group moved away. Turning in superiority, the girl stared down the boy.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she hissed and stood up.
“No... Sit down,” he urged. However, it was too late. The group of riders had seen them. “Run!”
Taking no further encouragement, the young princess ran after the fleeing boy, with the pounding of hooves heavily down about the two. Silisia caught her foot upon a root and fell heavily to the floor, the world blacking out just as she saw the boy turn back to her and to hear the sickening crunch of bones breaking.


Waking in an unfamiliar context, the young princess looked up blearily.
“You hit your head,” the sound of the boy’s voice hit her ears. This time, however, his voice remained cold.
“Where are we?” she asked blearily, trying to bring the boy into focus. Her ankle throb in a pain, and a glance down to it, she realised it was blue and swollen. She groaned.
“We’re on our way to a slave market in Sanglant,” the boy said bitterly. “You will probably be sold as a whore.”
She looked up, and around the campsite. Many people moved about lazily, many more than she had seen a few days past. Many other young looking people were chained up in a similar fashion to the princess and her companion.
“What’s your name?” the boy probed gently, taking her silence as distress.
“Eva,” Silisia lied effortlessly. She looked back at him, noting the stark blue of the eyes she had thought to be dark. “What do I call you?”
The boy tilted his head, his dark shoulder length hair falling across his face, as he heard her name. He did not seem to believe her.
“Eva hey? My name is Dynami,” he replied truthfully, gazing back at her.

“Now what?” she asked tiredly, searching his eyes for truth.
“Now?” he laughed cynically. “Now we pray for a miracle.”
She flinched at his honesty, and then looked down to her bound hands. She truly was in a mess.
“Dynami!” a sharp voice called out. The boy glanced up, and with an apologetic smile back at the blonde girl, he got up and moved toward the man that had called him. Her eyes widened in surprise, and anger.
“You...” she hissed, struggling against the chains.
“Hush now pretty thing,” the other man drawled. “That’s why you should not talk to these creatures.”
The man hit Dynami over the head in annoyance and stalked away. Rubbing his head, the boy turned back to the seething princess, and shrugged before moving over to a dark horse and began tacking him up.

Silisia squirmed and looked around for a way to get away, but all the men seemed to be packing up camp. Panic rushed through her as the boy called Dynami walked over to her and untied her from the pole, and literally picked her up.
“Put me down!” she ordered, struggling against his hold.
“No can do,” he grinned and managed to put them both on the horse. He put her in front of him, side saddle, and put one arm around her and the reins in the other hand.
“I tried to help you, Eva,” he whispered softly against her neck. “Now all I can do to help is keep you as my own.”
The girl fell silent. She could not allow this. All of a sudden, she wanted to be back home, in the cold uninviting walls of her father’s palace and in the reach of him. It would be better than this. The party set out, and the loathing in Silisia grew.

The green fields of Samarid faded into the cold, heartless terrain of the Bhaktawer. People stood at the side of the convoy. Dressed in tradition clothing they stared down the travellers. Silisia fiddled with her rope until it became lose. Her eyes scanned the surroundings and found a horse being held loosely by one of the people. As they rode past it, she grabbed Dynami’s arm and wrenched it off her and jump and landed so that she hung from the horse’s neck. In fright, the horse pulled from its owner’s grasp and galloped off. Silisia pulled herself on, just as she heard the cry, “Retrieve her Dynami!”