Chapter 3 - Marie I
Marie woke to sweet melodies of birds singing. The sun spilled into the cave. She covered her mouth as a fierce yawn parted her lips. She hadn’t slept that well in ages.
They departed for the nearest village. Marie and Jalems took the lead, behind them Tek’mer, and at the rear Gale and White rode the largest of the horses. The streams of sunlight fingered through the lush greenery. The air smelled crisp and sweet with rustic leaves blowing in the chilly winds of fall.
“Where are we headed again?” Marie glanced at Jalems beside her. He kept his focus on the dirt road ahead of them.
“Brinebourne,” he said sharply, “just think, on a day like this you were born,” he said, almost distracted by the thought, Marie’s eyes narrowed unsure of what that meant to her.
Jalems told Marie when she was seven that she was adopted, though he never mentioned much of her parents. Her chest tightened whenever she thought of the subject. She wondered what kind of people they were and often daydreamed of the life she should have had.
“What were they like?” Marie asked, she could feel her heart start to beat faster. Jalems turned to her, his forehead wrinkled, “Who?” he knew who, he prolonged the conversation hoping she would drop it.
“My parents, what were they like?” she asked, Jalems sighed heavily, he cleared his throat.
“I never knew your parents, I only found you,” Jalems said.
He wanted to leave the topic in the past, it was too painful for him to remember that day for more than one reason.
“You didn’t try to find them? I mean who just leaves a baby lying in the dirt to fend for herself” Marie grew upset the more she thought about it, her cheeks flushed pink with fury.
“I tried my best to find them. I did” Jalems said softly. He had always planned to talk to her about her parents, what really happened, but here on the road. It didn't feel right.
“From that day forward I vowed before the Gods to protect you,” Jalems said with a warm smile.
Marie scoffed, it was a line she had heard all her life, a line he said when he wanted this subject to end.
He looked down at her, his expression unreadable, “And that’s what I did” he said, firm. Absolute.
Marie fell silent. She turned her face eastward. She didn’t want him to see her tear-filled eyes.
“Where are you from?” White asked, her high-pitched voice alarmed Gale. White placed her hand on Gale’s forearm. Her body was shaking, she relaxed slightly under her touch.
“Are you okay?” White wondered. Gale responded with a slight nod. It felt forced and unconvincing. “Then why are you shaking?” White asked, digging her gaze into Gale.
She averted her eyes, though she had left her past behind long ago, she carried the trauma with her like a waterskin.
White shifted her body on the horse, allowing her to back away from Gale. She felt an uneasiness brewing. “I didn’t mean to pry,” White said. Gale looked back at White, her lips formed a brief smile. “You didn’t pry, I was always told to never make eye contact and when I did-” Gale struggled, her expression went blank. She felt numb for a moment, stuck in a recurring memory of her past.
“And when you did?” White asked, her voice brought Gale back to the present. “Nothing” she shifted her gaze back to facing forward.