CHAPTER 2
After my initial awe at my new state of freedom, I took in my surroundings more clearly. Everyone was moving towards the heart of the city. The Solstice was one of the largest festivals in Asarel. It symbolized the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

Everyone walked from their homes to the center of the city, making merry and enjoying the last days of the year. 

It might be better to have some kind of disguise just incase my father did realize I escaped. A mask was perfect. Unsurprisingly, many today wore them as today was a day when inhibitions were left aside and certain deeds could go unpunished. It was particularly popular for those in love but unable to marry, or so I’ve heard.

There were three men handing out masks by the side of the street and I made my way there. One of them looked at me and asked, “What kind?” indicating towards the variety of masks in front of him. Some had truly amazing artwork and I couldn’t help but admire them. I felt the man’s stare and looked back to him. He seemed oddly interested in me and made me immediately wary. His mask was white and hid his entire face, save for his eyes, which were a pale shade of blue, almost like ice.

“Two please, blue and white,” I answered, deciding it was better to err on the side of caution. Slave trading was not unheard of during this time, though it had been outlawed before I was born. He smiled and gave me the ones I asked for. The first was white with silver embroidery that formed an intricate pattern, covering the eyes and nose. The dark blue one had orange and green feathers on one side that gave it quite a flare and covered only the eyes. I put on the white one and was about to find a coin to give him but he simply smiled and shook his head, saying no need. It made me even more uncomfortable. I hurried away trying not to seem like I was running, distinctly aware that his gaze was still on me.

Once I reached the end of the street, I hid around the corner and looked around. Once I was satisfied that the strange man could no longer see me, and that he wasn’t following me, I removed the white mask and put on the blue. Honestly, I was being much too paranoid, but my instincts told me to be cautious and I heeded them.

I slowly relaxed and moved along with the crowd towards the music as the players made their way to the center. It was something I’d never heard before and the people were laughing and dancing differently from what I knew. There were no steps here that were predetermined and no one was watching if you happened to step on someone’s foot or if you fell and made a fool of yourself. They genuinely enjoyed themselves. The feeling of excitement rose within me again, and all I wanted to do was join them.

Slowly, unsurely, I moved to the sound of the music as I walked with everyone. Then, I began to get bolder and moved my hips from side to side as the woman next to me was doing. She smiled and danced with me, teaching me the way to respond to answer the call of the beats. I raised my hands up and closed my eyes, not caring when I hit someone or if they bumped into me, losing myself in the music and the magic of the Solstice.

I lost track of where I was and hadn’t noticed that the woman was gone. Everything around me fell away and I felt dizzy, but not like when I had too much wine. I felt incredible, as if I could do anything, be anything that I wanted to. Only when I noticed that the music was softer, did I open my eyes again and realize that the crowd was farther away. There were still people around me, mostly lovers, but not nearly as many as there were before.

Away from the seduction of the music, the haze of delicious oblivion lifted slightly and I could think clearer. I was about to follow the crowd again when I noticed that there was a small girl by the age of 11 or 12 by the side of the road, searching for someone. She was dressed well in a white and blue frock that looked a bit too short for her, probably something handed down or bought sometime ago. It was not unusual for a child to be at the celebrations but it was dangerous for a girl to be alone in such a large crowd. The thought brought back the white masked man from earlier and I shivered, goose bumps breaking over my skin. A girl like this would be easy prey.

She wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking and bumped into a man, falling down with a gasp. Worried, I walked over to her, but she was more shocked than hurt. Using my knee for support, I bent down, and offered her a hand up.

“Are you lost?” I asked her.

She hurriedly shook her head, quickly stood up and backed away from me. I was slightly wounded for a moment that she was so frightened of me. Apparently, she thought I was one of those people I was worried about. I took a moment to wonder if maybe I was bit too harsh with that man earlier. It was not a good feeling. However, I was still worried about her. She had her back to the wall and looked as if she was going to run away, seeming like a frightened wild animal, and I knew that any help I could think of offering would be probably misunderstood and unwelcome.

I sighed. I was never very good with children, even when I was one.

Leaving her alone was dangerous. God only knows what could happen to her. So I needed to do this with a bit more delicacy. I noticed that she kept sneaking glances at my face, or rather, my mask. Aha, a peace offering.

I slowly took the mask off and handed it to her, smiling. She looked from me to my mask with a slight confused burrow between her eyes. I inwardly smiled at the comical expression on her face and gently cooed, “It won’t bite.”
Her gaze shot back to me as if she were surprised that I was still there. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she reached out and snatched the mask, looking at it with interest. She fumbled with the mask for a bit and when she finally managed to put it on, it was a bit crooked. I reached out slowly and straightened it for her. She stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed and gave me a small smile.

I smiled back and said, “Shall we go find who you’re looking for?”
She frowned and asked, “How did you know that I was looking for someone?”
I was a bit startled at the sound of her voice. It was a child’s voice, but the undertone behind it was wary and distinctly suspicious. Also, the cultured tone made me reassess my assumption of her. She was a lady, probably from a well-off family. Her wariness of strangers solidified it, because kidnappings were quite common for noble-born. Inwardly, I grinned. It seems I’ve met a kindred spirit. I hadn’t met her before, but that wasn’t unusual as Asarel always had a large number of travellers.

“I saw you looking for side to side earlier and thought I should come and help,” I said, giving her my hand to hold.

She looked at it for a moment and then decided to take it, albeit only lightly. We made our way through the street together. “You haven’t answered my question yet. Who were you looking for?”

“My elder sister, Kara. She is as tall as you but with black hair and brown eyes.”
Looking around, I sighed. If those were the only clues I could get, then this would be much more difficult than I thought. After all, black hair and brown eyes weren’t exactly very rare and almost every girl in this crowd was close to my height. We should stay in the same area as she was probably looking for the little girl.
Realizing that I still didn’t know her name, I looked down at her and asked, “What is your name?”

“Clara. My name is Clara,” she answered, after a moment of hesitation. She looked up at me and returned the question, “What is yours?”

I also hesitated for a moment for if it was known that I had come out to take part in this alone, the repercussions could be unthinkable, especially if it got into the wrong hands. However, I mentally shook my head at the thought. After all, she was a little girl, who would she tell? And moreover, how would she even know who I was?

“My name is Areena,” I said, with a smile.
Just then, a girl came barreling into me and pushed me away from Clara. I almost lost my footing and fell, but I managed to right myself at the last moment. I looked at the girl, who was kneeling in front of Clara, checking to see if she was unhurt. I inferred that this must be Kara, Clara’s sister.

Or rather, supposed sister, I should say. The older girl bore little resemblance to Clara. She had dark hair with light brown eyes and looked to be a few years older than me. Clara, on the other hand had lighter hair and dark eyes. I suppose her hair might darken as she grew older, but the dynamic between the two didn’t seem to be one of sisters. 

Clara brushed her hands away when she tried to remove her mask and said, “You weren’t gone very long Kara, I’m fine. Now, you are acting rude to the kind lady who lent me this mask.” Her last sentence was sharp and it seemed to wake Kara up from her worried trance. She finally looked up at me and frowned. She got up and smoothened her skirts, which were slightly marred by the dirt from the street.

Bowing her head, she said, “Thank you for taking care of my little sister. My apologies for any inconvenience.”

Deciding to overlook that she had yet to apologize for almost flattening me, I said, “She was no trouble at all. Now, what do you say we go and enjoy the festivities?” Only then did the both of them notice that we were in an almost deserted street. The crowd had moved on a while ago, taking the music and laughter with it. Kara frowned, and scrutinized the empty streets as if searching for something. She quickly nodded her head in affirmation and we made our way onwards.

However, we had to stop as we came across a brawl that blocked the main street. A handful of men were arguing heatedly and it appeared that the owner was asking for compensation, whereas the men who seemed to have caused it were too drunk to comprehend it.

I could guess that it would quickly end in blows and had no intention of getting involved. We would simply have to take one of the other roads to the center, which shouldn’t be too difficult. I gestured to Clara and Kara that we should take the small street on the side, which was big enough for only two people at a time. I had read the map of the city before and was reasonable sure that it was the right way.

However, before I could move more than two steps, Kara grabbed my arm forcefully, so much so that I was sure it would bruise. I winced and turned back to her, ready to give her a piece of my mind, but the look on her face stole the words from my mouth.

She looked at me with anger, confusion and fear in her eyes, and it made me momentarily pause. Clara came and took my hand, making me look down to her. “I trust her,” she told Kara, which only further confused me. I looked at the two of them and finally asked, “What in the world is going on?”

Kara was the one who answered, “Who do you work for?” She still hadn’t let go of my arm, though she did loosen her grip.

I gaped at her, “What in blazes are you on about?” Looking down to Clara, I raised an eyebrow – an action that I had perfected a long time ago to effectively communicate a large number of things without actually saying them, and in this particular one, I was asking for clarification. She looked at me with something akin to sympathy and said, “It’s alright Areena. You can tell me.”

I frowned at her, for once at a loss for words. I decided against asking them what was going on for the third time, as they seemed unable to comprehend it. I sighed, deciding to take another approach. Giving Kara a disdainful look, that had once caused a lady to faint, I waited until she let go of me to kneel down and talk to Clara face-to-face.

“My name is Areena. I have no information about you or your sister,” I said, adding emphasis to the last word to communicate my displeasure, “I cannot know what you are talking about if you do not tell me.”

Kara snorted, a gesture so unladylike, that I actually paused to look back at her. She said, with barely disguised disgust, “Then why would you try to lead us to such an obvious trap?”

“What trap?” I asked, exasperated. I looked to the street that I was about to enter and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “It doesn’t seem very obvious to me.”

“I am an important person, Areena,” Clara said. Marie looked at her distraught, but Clara shot her a look that cut off anything she was about to say. “And no one can know that I am here.”

Then it dawned on me, “You’re hiding from someone. And you think that person sent me to capture you?” I said, slowly. She nodded once, her eyes looking much too old for such a young girl. “The only reason I wanted to take that street is because it isn’t advisable to go anywhere near that,” I said, nodding to the inevitable brawl that had taken over the street, which started involving even the spectators around them. It was getting dangerously close to us and I had no urge to stand here and wait for it. Finally, it seemed to dawn on them as well, and we all to a few steps back, away for the crowd that was starting to gather. I sighed as I realized how late it had gotten. Someone would have noticed my absence by now.

Clara gripped my hand and I pulled her closer. “Do you two have a place to go?”
Kara nodded, still suspicious of me. I sighed and said, “Then you should go there. It’s starting to get dark and I don’t think it’s prudent for two girls who barely know the city to be on these streets alone.”

Kara breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I concur. We must go.” Clara agreed as well, but she pouted as she looked at me. “I wanted to dance some more,” she said, in such a petulant voice that had me smiling widely at how childish it was. She was finally starting to act her age.
Looking down at her, I smiled, “There will be plenty of more opportunities, trust me. If you ever want to find me, and let me prove to you that I’m not some kind of spy,” I said the last words dryly, directing them to Kara who clearly still had doubts about me, “Just go to Thornhill Manor and ask for me.”

She nodded and smiled up at me, and I smiled back. Then I looked at Kara, who was frowning at me. I didn’t like the woman much, but I could understand her position and even approved of the fact that she was protecting Clara with so much vigor. I went to her and bowed slightly, “Take care of her.” She inclined her head as well and said, “I will.”

I turned around and walked away, only to stop abruptly at the realization that I had absolutely no idea how to get back home. Well, I couldn’t go back to them now, especially after stating that it was dangerous for those who didn’t know the area well. How embarrassing!

With a pink tint to my check I went in a random direction, away from those two, and tried to find a landmark so I could figure out where I was. The center of the city was easy to find, but I wasn’t too sure about any others. I had mostly travelled in carriages, and hence had very little knowledge of the city. The descent of the sun helped me find out roughly where to go, as I knew that Thornhill manor was towards the north. However, as lost as I was I couldn’t figure out how far that would be.

Deciding that asking someone for directions outweighed the paranoia that seemed to follow me, I stopped to search for someone with a reasonable amount of sobriety, which was easier said than done, as the festival was still in full swing.
When the third person that I’d come across could barely string a sentence together, I was debating on whether or not I should just try to make it on my own.
That was when I’d heard something that chilled me to the bone. A child’s scream.
Clara.