The Marked

he was playing on the forest outskirts near Chorrol when she heard it. The soft, hissing sound brought playtime to a halt; clutching the small doll in her hands, Keaira Gallenus became instantly alert, listening intently.

The sound came again, clearer this time. Keaira could just barely make out words - someone or something was speaking! The voice seemed disembodied and unnatural - as loud and echoing as a shout, but it gave the distinct impression of a whisper.

But Keaira Gallenus was not afraid; only curiosity was present in her young mind. She listened harder still, remaining motionless, straining her ears.

"Keaira... Keaira, my child, come to me..."

The girl jolted with surprise at the sound of her name. She wondered briefly it was her mother, who, having noticed her absence, had begun to search for her - but she quickly realized that this was not a familiar voice. It was something completely different than the sharp and reprimanding tones she was accustomed to with her mother. It was a haunting voice, but also sweet and loving... persuasive in almost motherly way. A voice that no child could resist.

"Follow my voice, dear child... Follow my voice..."

And before she was aware of what was happening, Keaira had dropped her doll forgotten to the ground, and started walking into the forest. She followed the echo of the poignant voice, making her way into the deeper recesses of the forest, places to which she had never ventured. She strayed far from the path into the woods, the trees and foliage becoming thicker as she pressed onward. Only a glimpse of the sky could be seen through the canopy overhead, as darkness closed in around her. The voice was consuming her, it was all she heard, all she felt... all she desired was to reach its source...

Finally, she pushed her thin body through a thick, nearly impenetrable clump of bushes to find herself in a clearing dominated by deep grass, swaying gently in the breeze. There was a small, pleasant wooden hut in the center of the clearing, smoke rising charmingly from its chimney. And outside the door stood a woman.

Keaira was transfixed by the woman's beauty - she was tall and thin, long blond waves of hair hanging at her waist like threads of the finest gold. Her face was almost angelic in its flawlessness - a small dainty nose and oval blue eyes, complemented by full, soft lips...but what enchanted Keaira most was the woman's dress. It was of the purest white, with long sleeves and a skirt well past her feet. The woman seemed to be glowing, how radiant she was. Keaira stepped forward slowly, her eyes wide with awe and admiration. The woman smiled kindly at her, holding out her hand invitingly.

Keaira walked eagerly forward, her young face alight with wonder. She placed her hand in the woman's softly and looked up into her radiant face, grinning. But suddenly the woman's hand closed around the girl's. Keaira's face fell, her expression becoming slightly alarmed. She tried to pull her hand away, but the woman tightened her grip. Keaira grew frightened and started frantically yanking her arm to escape, but then the woman spoke again.

"Be calm, my child. I will not harm you." Her voice washed over Keaira, soothing her like a melody in the wind. In the blink of an eye, fear of this woman was gone- and as quickly as she had begun to struggle, Keaira stopped. She stood obediently still.

"Close your eyes," the words echoed gently from the woman's pristine lips. Keaira obliged without dispute, and the woman pressed her palm firmly against the girl's forehead. Suddenly all was black.

 

Joenea Gallenus sighed heavily, looking in on the empty bedroom. Joenea had asked the child to work on her stitching, but the girl was probably out playing in the woods. And if that were not intolerable enough, she was probably with the stablehand's child, Anwir, again.

Joenea strode from the room angrily, short legs moving rapidly and her shoes making brisk 'tap-tap-tap' noises on the extravagant tile flooring. The Gallenus's were one of the wealthier families in Chorrol, and were rather fond of showing that in their possessions.

Joenea went to the foyer of the house and ordered her servant girl, Lealia, to go out to the stables and search for Keaira. This was the third time this week the girl had snuck out to play, and Joenea certainly wasn't going to deal with her again. Lealia bowed obediently and scurried off out the heavy front doors.

After five minutes of impatiently tapping her foot, Joenea was becoming irritated. It doesn't take this long to walk to the stables and back! she thought petulantly. After another couple of minutes she made her way to stables herself, pondering the various ways in which she would punish the incompetent servant and disobedient child.

When she arrived at the horse corral, however, Joenea found that Daimon the stable hand was not at his usual post and the boy Anwir was no where to be found. She turned to the city gates and discovered, to her unpleasant surprise, that the guard normally stationed there was absent as well. She turned about once again uneasily, taking in the uncharacteristically empty landscape.

Suddenly, loud and unexpected enough to make her jump in alarm, Joenea heard yells in the distance. Just as her daughter had hours ago, she stood completely still and listened intently.

"Is it the girl? Have you found her?" A man shouted.

"No, but I think I've found something. Over here," responded a second man. Joenea started - that was Daimon's voice! Frustration with her child was quickly replaced with worry as she strode resolutely in the direction of the voice.

She walked over the hills leading toward the forest and looked across the mass of fields. Off to her right, she spotted two men standing near a boy who was holding something in his shaking hands and sobbing hysterically. As she drew closer, she realized it was Daimon and his son, along with the town guard.

"Missus Gallenus!" exclaimed Daimon, who sighted her.

The boy Anwir turned toward Joenea and she stopped dead in her tracks. He was holding Keaira's doll.

 

A search party was immediately organized- nearly the entire town guard was spared their duties to search for the child, and most citizens leant their assistance as well. The girl was well liked among the community, and several were sincerely concerned for Keaira's safety- but others were there simply because it was the talk of the town and they wanted to be right in on the action.

The search lasted throughout the day, but as dusk drew near, the number of searchers had dwindled, and hope was starting to fade. Talk was brewing of kidnap, and many were expecting news of a ransom demand. The only person undeterred by all of this was Anwir, who was still searching furiously. Daimon stood comforting Joenea, who had fallen into an unbreakable silence, staring blankly ahead at the seemingly endless expanse of trees that may be concealing her daughter from her.

The sun was nearly vanished over the horizon when a shout was heard. Daimon exchanged a look with Joenea and started running towards his son's voice, and she eagerly followed right on his heels. The way was blocked by thick, tightly packed thorn bushes, and they spent several frantic minutes slicing their way through.

When they finally reached the other side, it was to find a clearing of deep grass, but nothing more. But as they ventured into the clearing they sighted Anwir in the center, leaning over a still form.

"Keaira!" Joenea exclaimed, running forward to her daughter's side.

The girl did not respond, and for one horrible moment they thought that she was not going to wake - but suddenly the girl took a deep breath and her violet eyes fluttered open, darting around at the group of people huddled over her.

Anwir started to cry in relief, and his father leaned over and wrapped him in his arms, speaking soothing words in his ear, smiling lightly to himself.

"Mamma?" Keaira said, looking slightly confused.

"Oh my dear, you're alright, you're alright..." she said, gripping her daughter tightly to her chest. After a moment, she suddenly pulled away from the hug and held Keaira by the shoulders, looking her sternly in the eye.

"Now don't you ever do that again! What were you doing out here, and why didn't you answer when called?"

"I couldn't hear you, mamma! There was this beautiful woman, see, and she so lovely and kind... oh can't I see her again?" Keaira replied, looking about. She looked dismayed when she found there wasn't another woman in sight. Or a cabin, for that matter...

"Sweetie, you must have fallen asleep out here... From now on, we stay inside the city gates, okay, darling?"

"But mamma-"

"No, I won't listen to any objections. Now stand up for me, let me look you over," she said, raising the girl to her feet. Keaira stood steadily, and Joenea was relieved to find that she seemed unscathed. After more hugging and joyous relief, the four walked back to the delighted city.

But there was something different about Keaira. Something that her family would not realize for several years, and Keaira even longer. Something that would alter her life forever.

If one examined her forehead closely, they may have noticed a patch of barely darker skin, so slight it was nearly invisible. Upon taking a closer look, one would see that this patch of darker skin was in the shape of a circle, with an 'X' clearly visible in the center.

Keaira Gallenus had been marked.