Chapter 2 rough draft, sort of

Strong, stone-grey hands set to work strapping the bags of wheat and vegetables to the traveling merchant's steeds, a pair of dark furred, ancient looking moose. He finished placing all of the food and goods he had traded for on the one without a riding saddle before his heavy legs swung up and over and onto the saddle his large backside would call home for the next few weeks of travel. The moon was as bright as the night was calm when he softly urged the horses on. He took a sip of his waterskin and smiled as his dark figure faded out of sight from the village and into the southern forest.

                                        <3

I shifted with a groan, my entire body erupting in a protesting pain. I felt smooth, soft dirt all around me, as if I had slept in the fields. My body was slow to respond as I tried to put my arms beneath me. A stinging sensation was lancing through my forearm, and I felt a warm trickling as I felt the pleasantly sharp shape of the oaken leaf trinket in my hand. As suddenly as I had awoken, I heard a ear piercing scream erupt through the air.


My eyes shot open as I sat bolt upright in my bed, sweat soaking both me and my bedsheets. A dream, it was just a dream. I dropped my head into my hands as I swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I softly brushed my sticky, sweaty blonde hair back behind my ears as I glanced around for the oaken leaf necklace. On my bed shelf, just where I left it, although much prettier with the soft glow of a bright moon making it shine.

The necklace felt as sharp as ever as my fingers caressed it's edges. "I swear to whatever god your makers worshipped, I'd you are a cursed item, you and I are gonna have some problems!"

My voice faded into the dark air as I picked up the necklace, the song of its jangling silver chain echoing throughout the quiet house as I inspected it. I pondered what or who the necklace was meant to represent for a while before I heard the soft creak of my door. I spotted Natalie, my little sister, standing in the dim doorway.

"Elle! I had a bad dream!" Her tiny, almost squeaking voice cut through the air as her silhouette sped through the room. It was only when she entered the moonlight that I realized  she had jumped at me.

"Oof!" My back hit the bed almost as hard as my sisters body had tackled mine. A small pang lanced through my ribs as I placed my arms on my growing sister. God was she heavy compared to when she was three. I softly pushed at her hands, trying to pry her off before I realized she was sobbing into my dirty nightgown.

My hand instinctively ran through her hair, it had been a couple years since I had seen her cry this way. It was on just after her eighth birthday, when our grandmother had passed away in her sleep. "Natalie! What's wrong kiddo? Are you okay? What happened?" I asked, the tinge of older sister worry in my voice fairly obvious.

It took time, a lot of time and a lot of soft shushing for the young girl to calm down. " I-it was you sis! You were standing in the middle of town, without a shirt, covered in blood," she brought her hands up to show me where she meant by covered. "You were covered in these burns and markings, and you were screaming in pain!" She stared up at me, frightened and on the edge of crying again just from her own recounting of the dream.

"Shh, come here kiddo, lay down, it was just a dream, only a dream sweetheart. Everything is okay, I promise." I did my best to calm her, my hand patting her soft head. It only took a few minutes before she was sleeping like a bear in winter. I couldn't help but chuckle as I lay her down beside me, wondering what the hell was up with both of our strange dreams. My eyes fluttered as I yawned. The last thing I saw was the shine of that oaken leaf.