The Wrenfeather Saga Ch 4.

I did something a little different with this chapter, it's from Julie's perspective. I think I'm gonna go back and forth with it especially with some of the future chapters 😏

I step into the kitchen to find Wren and Tobias talking. “I just don’t know what to do with Julie,” I back up and stand out of sight and listen to their conversation. “she just keeps making mistake after mistake. I just can’t trust her anymore, especially with Sylvie. I can’t babysit her while taking care of Sylvie.” I wake up with a start and look over to find Wren sound asleep. I walk downstairs and hear a quiet conversation. I  walk towards the noise and see Samuel and Sylvia playing. “My doll is going to sail to Annieria on your ship,” Sylvia says. “Where is Annieria? What if there are dragons, your doll might be eaten!” Sam says with concern.

“I’m not sure where Annieria is but Mr. Bard told us wonderful stories about it. Dragons aren’t that scary. I think it would be fun to ride one!”

“What?! You want to ride one, that sounds scary, I’ve heard lots of stories of dragons eating little kids just like us!”

“If a dragon tried to eat me I would say, ‘Don’t eat me Mr. Dragon, that's not nice! Do you want some candy instead? Let's be friends!’” 

“Do you think that would work?”

“Definitely! Then the dragon would say, ‘You’re right, candy is much better than human let’s be friends forever and ever!’” I try to cover up a giggle unsuccessfully and they look at me with a disapproving look. Sylvia exclaims, “How long have you been watching us?!” 

“Not that long, I think a dragon would gobble you up!” I walk over, snatch her up into my arms, and pretend to eat her. She squeals and says, “No! He would be my bestest friend in the whole world!” Sam looks towards Slyvia and says, “What about me? I thought you said I was your bestest friend!”

“After you! Julie, I’m hungry. Can we have breakfast please?”

“Does Berry Buns sound good to you,” a voice says from behind me. I turn towards the voice and see Tobias. I’m about to respond when Sylvia beats me to it and says, “That sounds amazing! I love berry buns! Come on Sam let’s go eat,” Sam stands up and starts toward the kitchen Sylvia says, “Watch out Sam there’s a ship in front of you, I’ll get it.” She walks over and moves the ship out of Sam’s path. “That’s nice of you Sylvie but Sam has eyes, he can see the toy and walk around it.”

“No!”

“Yes, he has eyes. I can see them with my eyes.”

“Of course he has eyes but they don’t work. He can’t see that I didn't want him to trip.”

I look at Sylvia’s determined face, remembering the scared girl she was when we met her, and look toward Tobias who nods. 

“Ok well then let’s go get some breakfast.”

I sit outside on a small bench with Wren and ask, “What do we do next? Go back home or try to find Mom and Ki?” 

“Where would we go? Our home is gone and I have no idea where to even start looking for them.”

“We could try to go back to the Bard.”

“I have no idea where he is.”

“We could see if one of the Archers knows where the people of Glipwood went and see if we could find Mom and Ki.”

“Alright let’s try that,” Wren said gravely. 

We walk inside and find Tobias and Mr. Archer fixing a small couch in the sitting room. Wren says, “Sorry to bother you but we have a question.” They look towards us and Mr. Archer says, “Fire away girls.”

“We were wondering if you knew where the people of Glipwood fled after the storm?”

“I think most went to Torboro and Dogtown, is that right Tobias?”

“Yes, though some went further, some went where they had family and some even went to Kimera.”

“Thank you, we are trying to find our family, we weren’t sure where to go, we'll start in Dugtown,”  I say. Tobias turns back towards the couch and says, “If that’s what you feel is the best plan of action, we enjoyed your company, we’ll miss you.” Wren blushes and says, “We’ll miss you too, thank you for having us.”

“Of course lass, you’re always welcome to stay here.”

We head towards Dugtown in the morning retracing our steps that we took just a few days ago. We see many wild animals that seem harmless but each time Wren warns me of the dangerous traits. Tired of being treated like a child, I ask Wren, “Are there any animals that aren’t dangerous in Skree?”

“I mean there is the Gunkee, and Chorkneys are pretty docile,” Two Thwaps run across the path “And there’s thwaps they aren’t dangerous but they are annoying.” Wren goes into a detailed explanation of the different types of thwaps, where they live, what is actually considered a thwap, and how to get rid of them. By the time we can see Dugtown, it’s sunset and Sylvia is asleep in my arms. We quickly walked into town and towards the shop we stayed in the night the carriage took us.

We wake in the morning, have some breakfast, with food Mrs. Archer insisted we take with us, and then head into the city. We start asking around for a Mary and Ki Black but the Dugtowners either mumble a quick “no” or shrug us off entirely. One thing I notice while walking around is people seem confused when they see us and then they look either mad or sad, often mumbling “lucky” or “poor little kids” after passing us. Around noon Sylvia starts complaining about being hungry and her feet hurting so I hoist her onto my shoulders and look for a place to eat lunch. We see an ally that’s out of the way, walk in just a few yards, and sit down to eat. I set out the food, made a sandwich, and leaned against a wall of an old building. I look up and see a sign reading ‘Tilling Court’ and remember seeing a sign earlier that said ‘Tilling Street.’ “Well that’s confusing,” I think. A sack comes down over my head and my hands are tied with a coarse rope. I hear a shriek that has to be Sylvia and a groan that sounds like Wren. I feel myself being picked up and thrown over somebody's shoulder. We walk for a little while and then I feel myself going down. I slam against the ground and let out a groan. I hear Wren do the same and know she suffered the same fate as I. Sylvia shrieks again. I try to get up and help her, but a foot slams into my chest. My head hits the ground hard and I cry out in pain. I can feel a warm trickle of blood on the back of my head and a headache spreading from it. A gruff voice says, “Stay still and you’ll find it much better for your heads.”

I hear soft crying from Sylvia and angrily say, “What is this? Do you enjoy scaring young children or is this something else?”

“Don’t worry you’ll find out soon enough.” 

“How soon? If you had any bravery you would take these sacks off of our heads! Or are you scared of us, 3 girls, one only 4?” I feel the sack slide off my head and at first see nothing in the dark room. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I begin to see my surroundings. Many people are gathered around us, all appearing very dirty. A man with a grizzled chin and torn clothes stands in front of me. “You have a fiery spirit, don’t you?” He examines my face and says, “Good, strong face, the Overseer will love you.”I bite his hand, causing him to jerk it back and cry out. Cradling his hand close to his chest, he puts on a sly expression and says, “As I said, a fiery spirit.” He crouches down in front of me, frowning, and speaks in a voice only I can hear, “I’m going to enjoy handing you over to the Overseer you little wretch.” He stands up and walks away. I sigh and look over to Wren who has a concerned expression on her face and mouth, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” Her face softens a little and she gives me a small smile. I looked past Wren at Sylvia, whose face was red from crying, though she wasn't anymore. She gives me a big smile and I return it.

A few hours later around sunset, the people around us start to stir and stand. The man who spoke to me earlier walked up to us with a barely concealed smile, “Time to go.” The man and some hags jerk us to our feet and Sylvia cries out in pain. “Be careful with her! She’s only four,” The hags laugh and I say with disgust, “You think it’s funny?” The hags lead us through the ally we pass the spot we had been taken from earlier and wish we had picked a different ally to eat lunch. We walk onto the street where a carriage is waiting, I look towards Wren and she looks defeated. I smile at her but she doesn’t see. I look toward Sylvia and realize there are three girls behind me, one I had never met. She is a small girl probably nine who looks terrified. A well-dressed man comes to meet the hags and says, “Mobrik! The ledger!” A ridgerunner skittered out of the carriage carrying a huge leatherbound book and handed it to the overseer, “Thank you Mobrik, name?” The man who spoke to me walks forward, “Mckee,” He says eagerly. 

“Hmm yes, Jade Mckee?”

“That’s her!”

“She’ll be here at sunrise, who else?” An older woman walks forward and the same thing happens. My stomach sinks as I think about what could happen after we get in the carriage. The ridgerunner ushers us onto the carriage and shuts the door behind him as he climbs in.