Quite the Fall

Owen’s strong arms come around my waist, and he presses me against him. I hiccup and turn my face to the side, glancing up at Owen, whilst pulling myself together.

“Ready?” His voice is calm, but his whole body is tense. We need to move, whether I’m ready or not. I nod my head, feeling my legs quivering underneath me. I push myself out of his arms, and take a shaky breath.

“Let’s go.” I grab Owen’s hand tightly in my own, and we race down the alleyway. At each intersection, we turn. The more we zigzag, the more likely we can escape. I haven’t heard footsteps behind us for a while now, but we keep on running.

I can barely feel my legs as we run. I feel like we have been running forever. I hardly remember why we are running in the first place. Why did we run? What did we witness? With my mind focused elsewhere, I became my clumsy self again. My feet hit the ground, one after the other. Until one doesn’t. Instead, my left foot hits my right heel, full force. I swing my arms to try to balance myself out, but my right foot is kicked forward, and my legs become tangled. I slam into the ground, hard. I managed to get my arms up to protect my face, but I wasn’t able to catch myself. I roll twice over, before I settle in a pile of dust and blood. Owen screeches to a stop ahead of me, and runs over to the tangle of limbs I have become. He picks me up, and dusts me off, examining the raw skin on my arms and hands.

“I think we have run far enough.” He says, and puts my arms down. I examine the damage myself, and see the nasty road burns, but for the most part, I am still in one piece. The sting begins to settle in, as the adrenaline from the fall wears off.

“Agreed.” I reply. I limp ahead, Owen trailing behind me. “Can I crash at your place for a while? I don’t think it is wise to go home yet.” I say to Owen. My mind travels to my mother. I hope she will be okay without me. I’m not even sure if those men will go to my house. If they really were talking about my dad, then chances are they know where I live.  

“Yeah, of course you can. Your mom…” Owen trails off. He drags his hands through his hair, his face distressed.

“She’ll be fine. She knows how to take care of herself.” I reassure Owen, and myself.

RUN!

I glance over at the other man, but his face is hidden behind the bodies of those beside him. A few broken phrases reach my ears.

“I gave you time . . . the city is . . . Mr. Velde can’t save you now . . .”

My eyes widen at the sound of the name and I gasp out loud. Could he mean my father? I sense Owen glancing at me and then squinting back at the man, trying to decipher who the man is. Unfortunately my gasp echoed off the walls of the alley and right to one of the man’s ears. He glances over at Owen and I. I try to duck my head back behind the doorway in time, but he definitely sees me. He is shouting at us, telling us we shouldn’t be here. I feel distant. It is too surreal, I can’t grasp what is happening. Owen grabs my arm and yanks me out of the doorway. I see my feet running beside his, but I don’t hear our footsteps. The man is still shouting at us, shouting to stop, but we keep going. As we round the bend and run down another alley, all my senses come back to me like the force of a thousand bricks falling on top of me.

“STOP! CITY POLICE!” I glance back, my heart now in my throat. That man is not a cop. Cops don’t dress in suits.

“MY ASS YOU’RE A COP!” Owen shouts back and picks up the speed, practically carrying me as he surpasses my maximum speed. My feet are clumsy beneath me, and my breath is coming out ragged, each breath more difficult than the last.

“Owen!” I croak. My throat is too tight.

Owen glances down at me seeing my wide eyes, tears streaming across my ghostly face. He says something under his breath and whips me around a corner. We crash into the wall, his body pressed tightly up against my own. I grab his jacket with tight fists, and shove my face into his shoulder. I cough and sputter in breaths, trying to muffle the sound. I know the men will catch up soon. We need to run again. 

Lost and Found

After winding through the streets from the City Centre, I finally speak up. “Owen, do you even know where we are?” He pauses before answering me.

“Yes. Sort of?” Another pause. He sighs. “No, okay? I lied. I got distracted and this city is built like a maze! Who designed this place?!” He raises his hands up in the air, gesturing at the city walls. He lets them fall back down to his sides.

We keep on walking and he glances down alleyways as we pass them. Owen glances down another, passes it, changes his mind at the last second and grabs my arm as he swings me around toward the alley.

“Ah! Owen!” I giggle and steady myself as I skid to a stop beside him.

“Sorry! It’s this way, I swear.” I give him a look and he squirms underneath my glare. “I’m sure this time!” he says and grabs my arm. I groan as he drags me along.

The snow has mostly melted already with the afternoon sun, and Owen and I have peeled off our winter jackets, stuffing hats and mitts into the sleeves so they don’t get lost.

We walk for a while longer and just before I’m about to blame Owen again for getting us lost, he smacks a hand over my mouth. “Shhh.” He whispers and shoves me into a small doorway, hiding us from whatever is up ahead.

I peek out from behind Owen’s large frame and the doorway, trying to get a look at what he saw. A little way s ahead of us is a group of men that are surrounding another man. The man is backed p against the wall, his posture emanating anger, and he points an accusing finger at one of the other men.

I glance over at the other man, but his face is hidden behind the bodies of those beside him. A few broken phrases reach my ears.

Drama Queen

Owen shoves his face in front of the chain, blocking my view. “Whoa.” With a frustrated sigh, I push Owen with as much force as I can muster and manage to make him take a step to the side so I can see again. “Where did you find something like this, Isabella?” Owen asks, talking to her as if they were old friends.

“All my rarest pieces are from a good friend of mine who travels the world looking for trinkets like this. This specific item is from a small village south of New City located in one of the hottest deserts this world has to offer.” She smiles up at Owen, moving her smile to me when she notices that I am the possible buyer.  

“My father was from New City.” I say, my eyes still on the necklace. “How much?” I glance up and meet her eyes. I am uncharacteristically eager to buy this necklace. I don’t usually wear jewelry, but there is something special about this piece that I have to have it.

After a bit of haggling, and a significantly lighter coin purse, Owen and I walk away from the stall. I touch the necklace that is now around my neck, resting lightly on my collar bone. Owen is pouting beside me as we browse the rest of the stalls. I glance over at him, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I didn’t find out where she is staying while she’s in town.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and kicks the dirty snow. My face scrunches up as I try to hide a smile and a snicker of laughter.

“You poor thing. Whatever are you to do? And you were going to confess your love and everything! Such a shame. I guess you’ll just have to wait until next month when the next sellers come and hope that she’ll be there again!” I sigh dramatically and place my hands over my heart. “Owen, you must go back! Confess your undying love before it’s too late!” I smirk as he rolls his eyes at me.

“You’re a drama queen, Sia.” My eyes widen as he attempts to hide a smile.

“I’m the drama queen?! Owen! Seriously? You just met the girl, and she was using you to make a sale!”

“Yeah, well it didn’t work. I didn’t buy anything, did I?”  He gives me a look of victory, which makes me laugh out loud, startling a nearby man at a stall. Owen slaps a hand over my mouth and gives the man an apologetic look. I snicker behind his hand. “Come on; let’s get out of here before you cause a scene.” He cautiously removes his hand from my mouth, and then grabs my hand, leading me down the nearest alleyway which heads out of the City Centre. 

Owen Is Always In the Way

“Why, hello there, beautiful.” I look up to see Owen leaning on the table, his eyes locked on to the lady behind the stall. I roll my eyes at him, but then continue to gaze at the shiny objects on the table. “The name’s Owen, Owen Grey. I’m sure with looks like that you have a name to match.” He gives her a goofy grin and winks at her. I pretend to gag.

She glances at me with a smirk, then smiles back at Owen, flicking a piece of loose hair off her shoulder. “Isabella.” She says. She stretches out her hand towards Owen, and he takes it in his own hands and places a kiss on it. I try to hide my grin from Owen. She is playing him like a fiddle.

I clear my throat and say, “These are so lovely Isabella, but do you have something more… unique?” she looks over, studying me. I suddenly feel very self-conscious, and realize that I’m properly dressed for the weather, but she is hardly dressed to be out in public. A shiver runs down my back as I immediately get a feeling of distrust.

“Ah, a treasure seeker I see. I may have something you are looking for.” Her eyes glitter in the morning sunlight as she bends down to reach for something behind the stall. She pulls out a small black box. Isabella opens the box slowly, revealing what appears to be a plain silver chain at first. At second glance, I see more detail. Each link in the chain has been carefully formed into a small snake biting its own tail, and then linked into the next. The eyes of the snakes are small red jewels.

Owen shoves his face in front of the chain, blocking my view. “Whoa.”

So Shiny!

“Ah, yes. A rare find.” The man’s eyes gleam with the prospect of a buyer. “That there came from,” the man pauses and looks around as if checking to see if anyone is eavesdropping. “from beyond the waters of the East.”  His face is so close to Owen’s that their noses nearly touch. Owen leans backwards and glances over at me, giving me a look that clearly says this guy is crazy.

“Right. Um, I’m just going to put this back. I probably wouldn’t be able to afford it considering it comes from beyond the waters of the East.” Owen mocks the man’s voice, and I slap a hand over my mouth, trying to hide my giggles and grin. The man gives Owen the most deadly glare I have ever seen, which he proceeds to shoot at me as well as my giggles turn into outright bursts of laughter. Owen grabs my arm and pulls me away from the table as quickly as possible, snickers of laughter threatening to escape from his tightly sealed lips.

“That was so rude, Owen!” I try to keep a straight face as I scold him for mocking the man, but my smile breaks through. As much as I think that was uncalled for, I still have to laugh at Owen. The man was definitely crazy, and Owen’s mockery sent it over the edge to hilarity.

“What did I do wrong?” Owen plays the innocent card, and I punch him in the arm whilst glaring at him.

“Come on let’s just check out another table.” I grab his hand and drag him over to another seller. The lady behind the stall that catches my eye is tall, and lean. Her hair is a deep red and flows in waves down her back. She wears a headpiece of jewellery that sweeps down onto her forehead, and then back up just above her ears, going around the back of her head. Her dress looks of lavender silk, and loosely clings to her figure. She smiles lazily as Owen and I approach.

Gazing down, I look at all the intricate pieces of gold and silver jewellery on the table in front of me. My fingers hover above each piece, teasing me, tempting me to pick it up and try it on.

“Why, hello there, beautiful.” I look up to see Owen leaning on the table, his eyes locked on to the lady behind the stall, a grin on his face. I roll my eyes at him, but then continue to gaze at the shiny objects on the table.

Oooh Nicknacks!

We walk in silence for some time, our breathing the only sound around us. The snow is deep, but the closer we get to the City Centre, the more travel worn our path becomes which allows us to increase our walking pace and makes for easier travelling. We round the last corner of winding streets that form the maze of houses from Owen’s place to the City Centre. The space before us immediately opens up to a very large circle. The center of the city is an opening where at one time, before it was impossible to grow plants, there used to be a garden and rows of green houses. Now, the City Centre has been formed into a giant market. Rows upon rows of stalls are set up that are selling things from all over the world. Each week these stalls change, with new and rare items to be discovered.

A few people mill about moving from stall to stall, the early risers looking for good trades and rare finds. I grab Owen’s hand and tug him towards the nearest stalls. I move between the rows, browsing the stalls waiting for something to catch my eye. Owen follows suit, his eyes also focused on the items up for sale. A table sitting in the shade of a nearby building catches Owen’s eye, and he taps me on the shoulder, motioning towards the table. We shuffle through the packed snow and rows of stalls to the table. I smile at the man behind it and he nods his head in return.

“Something catch your eye, sir?” the man says to Owen.

“Not really sure.” He replies, “What exactly am I looking at?” Owen picks up a peculiar piece of wood and metal. Gears and rods of all shapes and sizes stick out of an egg-like center. Owen turns it around in his hands, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ah, yes. A rare find.” The man’s eyes gleam with the prospect of a buyer. “That there came from,” the man pauses and looks around as if checking to see if anyone is eavesdropping. “from beyond the waters of the East.”