One day things go horribly wrong for Fabala, and she is chased. She decides to run away from the place in which she has known for her whole life, but before she leaves Nella hands her a mysterious bag, with an apparent secret.
Chapter 1
Fabala ran in the shadows, panting, dragging her feet as she ran. The yells were all too clear, ringing through her head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw brown wood. She raced up to it, seeing it was a tower. She grasped the large handle, pushing open the door. She found a set of stairs, and raced up them. She made it to the top and collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. A few seconds later, she pulled herself up reluctantly and hid in the shadows of the nightly tower, pulling her legs close to her. She heard the sound of the wooden door far below open, and looked desperately around for an exit. But other than the set of stairs, there was none. She squeezed deeper into the shadows. The footsteps up the stairs were hurrying, but of only one person. Fabala peered curiously toward the stairs. She waited to hear the sound of yelling, and more footsteps following of many people, but only heard a familiar, but gentle, voice call her name. Nella appeared in the entrance from the flight of the stairs that led into the room. Fabala let out a gasp of relief. "Fabala, they've went straight toward Heartling, they think you never get tired and have ran that far, but I was closer than they to you, and hid in the shadows after seeing you go up those stairs, and watched them storm right past this tower. They are wrong about you never getting tired, I see," Nella remarked, noticing Fabala was still catching her breath in panting gasps. "Oh, Nella," she breathed, "I can't keep running, hiding, I have to go. I must leave." Nella did not respond, she knew there was nothing she could do. Finally, she spoke. "Just rest here for a while before you leave, your still out of breath. And also, take this," she said, handing Fabala a bag, open and without a zipper at the top, but with a blanket in it, covering something. Nella handed it to Fabala with great care, as if the bag was quite fragile. Fabala looked at unsurely. "Do not uncover what lies within it until you are far from here, and on your journey," Nella said. "I won't, Nella, thank you," she said. She took in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, as if hoping everything to be over, and she could be safe and fine. But she opened them again, knowing that couldn't happen. Her future was limited now, she was stuck on her journey, and would remain that way. She got to her feet, steadying herself. "Is this goodbye?" Nella murmured. "Not if you come with me," Fabala replied. "You will come with me, won't you?" "Fabala, put this on before you go," was Nella's only reply, and she put a cloak, almost like a cape and jacket at the same time, over Fabala's shoulders, the hood falling in place on her head. The black cloak let her blend into the shadows, and Fabala looked up, peering from under the cloak. "Goodbye, Nella. May our paths cross again," she whispered, almost breathlessly for she couldn't bear the words. "Goodbye," Nella whispered back, and Fabala went to the staircase and hurried down, without looking back.
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Dawn was approaching as Fabala was nearly through Heartling. She could no longer see Lockas, the town she came from, or the tower where she'd left Nella, and wondered what Nella was doing at the moment. But she tore her thoughts away, and instead kept walking.
Eventually, she looked back, and all she saw was endless Heartling, not even the very tip of Lockas was still in view. Fabala was exhausted, and sat down beside a tree. She was already on her journey, far from Lockas, but she had a long way yet, and something told her not to peer under the blanket in the bag that rested beside her. Instead, she got up and looked up in the short tree of about a quarter to six feet. There were large bunches of bananas, which would be a perfect breakfast for her. She wouldn't need to wash it off like an apple, and it would be tasty, filling, and have a fair amount of moisture to keep her well until she came across more water. She reached up, on the tip of her feet, and outstretched her arm. She grabbed the top of the closest bunch of the bananas, and yanked it clean off the tree, letting it fall to the ground. Sitting back down again, Fabala took a banana and quickly peeled it, eating it fast. She had two more, for she hadn't eaten since the previous morning, and put the remaining two, plus a small one that made it three, into the bag, hoping not to ruin whatever it was Nella gave her. Then she continued on her way through this new mysterous land, clutching the bag, and keeping the hood of her cloke on her head.
Fabala blinked sleep from her eyes. She'd closed her eyes for a few moments and fell asleep. Shee looked up to see a figure, and stumbled clumsily to her feet. The figure was a girl, about Fabala's age. she wore her golden hair down, while Fabala's curly dark brown hair was pulled back in a braid. The girl wore a silver necklace and a nice pink gown, making her look like a diamond near a mere pebble as Fabala stood before her. Fabala became suddenly startled as she realized the girl may be from Lockas, who'd been sent to find her. But then she reslized the girl looked nothing like a Lockason, she looked too fancy, the kind who'd spend two hours each morning just finding nice clothes, jewelry, and hair. Fabala was never one of the nicer dressed Lockasons, but this girl was definitely not from Lockas. "You looked startled," the stranger said, in a funny accent that Fabala had never heard before. "How do you travel? "Well, I walked," Fabala replied, as if it was obvious. It was obvious, surely? "No,no, no, I know that. But how do you travel? Why have you come?" the girl said, with a trace of impatientness. Fabala was silent, and glared at the stranger. Finally she spoke. "I travel in the shadows." The reply was nearly spat, as if it was hard for Fabala to think of. "And why are you running?" The stranger spoke softly, gently, but there was curiosity in her voice. "Running?" Fabala's glare could nearly burn through the stranger's skin. "Why do you think that?" "Shadows, startled, sleeping hidden under a tree," the stranger gently raised an eyebrow. Then she concluded, "hiding, running." "I hide in the shadows from those who chase me, that's all I'm going to say," Fabala replied stubbornly, and was prepared to repeat herself if the stranger pressed for more answers. But the stranger said nothing more. She only took Fabala's bag from behind her, and Fabala's glare grew harsher, and she tried to reach for the bag, but the stranger already held it in her hand, and without a say she turned around. "Very well," she said, equally stubborn as Fabala, "come with me then. I'll see to you shelter, food, and drinks for as long as you wish to stay." Fabala, knowing it was the only way to get her bag back, followed. But as she began to walk, she said, "I don't need that. I'm traveling, I need no shelter, I stop for water often, and I have food in my bag, I picked some bananas earlier." "Yes, but I have your bag," she said, and even through her funny accent Fabala could make out that she was amused. All Fabala could do was follow, as stubborn as she tried to be.
Fabala was forced to follow the girl, who walked into a house. Fabala was given a room, but wasn't given her bag back. She was able to eat dinner-bread, meats, cheese, and many delicious foods. Fabala couldn't hide her hunger, and dug in happily, showing no resentment as she did earlier. When she was done, she asked for her bag. "Ah, your bag," the stranger began, "I took it from you." "Yes," Fabala replied impatiently, "and I want it back. A friend of mine gave it to me." "But I can't give it back." "It's right there in your hand!" Fabala said angrily. "Please, hand it to me!" She got to her feet and reached out to grab it, but the girl pulled it close to herself, clutching it. "Yes, it is special." "It's mine! Give it to me! I can't open it until I'm far from Lockas on my journey, anyway! But instead I'm stuck in this little house!" Fabala shouted. "Well, Lockas is days away, even by carriage. We all know it. And you walked. And this is part of your journey, you only came to eat," the stranger insisted, interested on the bag, her gaze fixed on it. "Don't-!" Fabala cried as the strangers hands touched it, but waas cut off by the girl. "What's your name?" she said intensely. "Fabala." "Fabala, your destiny is to uncover many mysteries, mysteries the people of Lockas want to keep hidden. You were chased away by them, but you must forfill your destiny," the girl said, her eyes distant, as if reading from somewhere. "What?" Fabala whispered in confusion, disbelief. "This is your future! Your destiny!" the stranger shouted. And she pulled out something from the bag, bundled by a blanket and held it high over her head. She lowered it, and uncovered it from the blanket. And in her hand was something that made Fabala gasp.
