I keep writing these little bits at the start but I’m running out of things to say. This is chapter 7 of Castle of Glass the first manuscript I wrote. Completely unedited so if you find mistakes let me know. Also feedback is cool!

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Chapter 7

I stood atop a small gravel hill looking down at my friends who were swiftly approaching me. A look of anger and playfulness across all their faces as they heaved in heavy breaths of the cold morning air. I shifted my stance holding the wooden sword tightly to my right my shield firmly clasped to my forearm. My stance tightened as Raine approached his eyes tired and his hair sticking out at the sides as he ran at me.

Before I could react, he was grasping the collar of my shirt the gravel underneath us giving way as we slipped back. My body forcefully dragged down on top of his as he balled my collar into his fist. Gravel dust flew past us as people ran past trying to get on top of the hill not paying any attention to what was happening.

Then the world went black yelling surrounded us as I laid there still and unable to move or speak. I felt the ground beneath me shift as everything began to spin the yelling getting louder. A blue light darted across my vision back and forth like a firefly a small hum in my ear.

My body felt like it was freezing and burning at the same time my hands were clammy and I could feel a distinct wet patch around me. I opened my eyes looking around realising I was in a tent a small lantern glowing above me as people spoke outside. My head ached when I sat up the front feeling tight.

Raine and Kat were sat to my left reading, Raine’s head was bandaged up and he looked like he had been crying. He looked up at me as I was staring at him and immediately jumped over to me wrapping his arms around me. He sobbed into my shoulder apologising until Kat came over to join the hug.

 I held them both for a while not sure what had happened until Lauren and Dr. Allen appeared with a tray of drinks. When Lauren saw me, she looked completely shocked letting out a small sigh as she told the siblings to go grab a drink.

 The doctor walked over to me as calmly as ever his bag in hand as he got to work checking my eyes and explaining what had happened. When Raine had grabbed me during the game he had slipped and dragged me down with him effectively slamming my head into the ground beside him. I was pretty scratched up and they were worried with how long I had been out but the doctor said I looked fine and to just check In with him before bed.

Once we had gotten the all clear Lauren came and gave me a hug then left us to do what we wanted with our day. Kat and Raine wanted to go out for lunch and I was up for it so we went to go change and get ready meeting up outside mine and Kats tent.

Raine appeared not long after we got ready he had chosen to wear some loose fitting trousers and a buttoned shirt. His purse and dagger were attached to his belt. Kat had opted to wear a knee-length skirt she had stolen from her mother in the summer. My own outfit didn’t stray far from the norm with form-fitting trousers and a tunic however I opted to bring a cloak with me as I still felt weirdly cold.

The cafe we went to was a small building that seemed to go under street level. The ground floor now filled with over a dozen tables and chairs sparsely placed around the room. A large fire sat at one of the back walls spreading heat throughout the entire building an orange glow emanating from it. There was a staircase that led upwards from the back corner a small ‘no guest’ sign placed on the banister.

A cheery man stood at one of the tables talking to some of the customers his hands lazily placed in the front pockets of his apron. He swayed side to side as he spoke his voice booming as he laughed. The door bell rang as we closed the door and he turned to us with a warm smile. “Welcome, Welcome!” He boomed clapping his hands together white dust dispersing from them.

He led us over to a table with a bounce in his step before quickly making a jog upstairs and coming back with a small notepad. I looked at the chalkboard he had up on the wall with all the offerings he had and decided on a sandwich and tea. Kat decided to have the same as me, and Raine wanted soup instead of a sandwich.

We didn’t have to wait long before our meals showed up and we could dig in. My head was still tight but the heat from the hearth meant I could at least take the cloak off to eat without feeling cold. Kat and Raine watched me closely as we ate still worried about my injuries. I did my best to assure them I was fine and continued to eat the large meaty sandwich that I had been given.

The sandwich was amazing, and a lot more than I expected. It consisted of a small loaf of bread cut in half and filled with various meats and fruit. The acidity of the fruits paired well with the meats made for a great taste. Kat seemed to be enjoying hers as well as she tore off bites before putting them in her mouth.

After a few minutes I noticed Kat and Raine looking at each other smiling they looked like they were planning something and I didn’t want to find out what. I unfortunately wouldn’t be able to avoid it though.

“So Rip-Rip that girl that was at camp yesterday?” Kat asked with a grin.

My face immediately heated up as I tried to play it cool, “What about her?” I asked grabbing another bite of my sandwich I couldn’t answer them if my mouth was full.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Raine asked never the one for subtleties. Kat jabbed him in the arm with a laugh.

“That’s not how you were supposed to ask but yeah is she?” She asked leaning further across the table.

I swallowed harshly shaking my head fast, “No she isnt why – why would you think that?” I had meant to play it cool but my response had come out more panicked than I could have expected.

Kat shook her head as she sat back down, “Then what is she to you?”

“She is just a friend I met her the other day on my way to Dorine’s.” I replied sighing and leaning back in my chair.

Kat looked as if she wanted to ask more but I had already picked up my drink, so she didn’t bother. We sat in relative silence for the rest of the time we were there occasionally mentioning something we’d done or seen but otherwise just enjoying the chance to rest.

When we had finished up, we headed back to the camp hearing yelling as we approached. Members of the caravan were freaking out there were city guards there arguing with one of the elders and many of our already injured were grabbing their weapons and horses. We ran over to Lauren who was organising her own weapons to try and figure out what was happening, and she let out a sigh when she saw us.

“Mama what happened?” Kat asked with a bit of panic.

“Emilie is missing in the woods.” She replied frantically as she picked up the last dagger, she needed strapping it to the inside of her thigh.

“Please let us help.” I said my hand clutching the sword I had strapped to my belt.

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The forest was pitch black by the time we had gotten out there the dim light of the moon the only thing guiding us as we quickly made our way through the foliage. Kat and Raine ran a few feet ahead of me while I stayed back to keep a close eye on the nearby river. We had split from the main party to cover more land in hopes to find the kid and get home before midnight. 

We had all taken on a specific job as we ran Kat marked where we had been in case the main party passed by, and Raine stayed ahead with a torch to look out for tracks. So far nothing had come up, but we kept pushing forward hoping we’d eventually hear the kid yell or see them in the distance.

Eventually Raine stopped us at an oddly shaped tree its broad roots protruding from the ground in a jagged embrace of the earth. The body of the tree was bent as if bowing to an audience its branches not only thrust into the sky but also shoved into the dirt beneath them. The strange stature of the tree did bring one good thing though a small piece of red string was tied around one of the low branches a sign someone had been here.

After inspecting the tree to make sure that Emilie was nowhere around it we began to look around to find another string. Spotting another one we headed that way and began jogging across a clearly marked path eventually noticing deep footprints as the dirt became more gravelly in texture.

We all eventually stopped as we realised not all of the footprints were those of a child and we agreed we needed to at least be armed in case of combat. Raine took the chance to properly inspect what he was looking at trying to figure out how fresh the tracks were however the darkness made it harder to distinguish.

The few moments he spent inspecting the tracks me and Kat spent planning we both organised our weapons and decided it would be best to put the torch out dunking it in the river. The less likely a possible attacker is to notice us the better. I spent a minute checking there was nothing loose on me that might make noise before stowing away my cloak in a tree with Kats. Raine followed suit stowing anything he didn’t need in the tree before we set back off.

Our movement was a lot more deliberate as we tried to make our way across the forest and quickly and silently as possible. No one spoke the situation too tense as we followed the tracks of the child and possible attacker. My hand stayed close to my sword ready to draw within moments notice. Raine was much the same one hand hovering over the dagger he had strapped to his chest.

A scream echoed out into the darkness the forest seemingly coming to life around us. My hands trembled as I clutched the hilt of my sword tightly the metal blade clanging in its sheath. We stopped for a moment to listen hoping it wasn’t anything maybe an animal. Our hopes were unfortunately and brutally crushed as we heard another loud and recognisable scream.

My entire body ached as we ran towards the scream my legs didn’t want to move and seized up the colder, I got. The trembling in my hands got worse as we finally made it to where the scream had come from Raine ducking behind a bush and dragging us down.

I peeked over the bush to see what the situation was my breath catching in my throat as I saw the reason for the screaming. Emilie sat behind a tall woman who was covered in blood. She held a sword in one hand as she shielded the girl from a group of rough looking men. She couldn’t fight them like that not without risking Emilie getting hurt.

 “We need to help.” I whispered. Ducking back down out of view. Neither of them hesitated to draw their weapons, “We will be fine.” I assured them before drawing my own.