★ Part One ★

~ Chapter One ~

Eleven years later

"Mamo! Mamo!" Hana cried as her mother was dragged away from her. The crowded marketplace that was once bustling was still and silent as the woman reached out to her daughter.

"Lauren Bilda, you are under arrest for the practice of creative magic" one of the guards yelled as they attempted to pull the two apart. The onlookers gasped and shuffled back, as though repelled by a strong force. Practitioners were more than illegal. They were evil and highly feared. 

"Hana, Hana listen" she managed to grasp a hold of her daughter's hand and she looked into the identical copy of her own brown eyes. "Don't worry about me, go home to Evelyn and forget about me. It's alright" Tears streamed down both women's cheeks and Hana was sobbing.

"But Mamo-" she choked out, but was cut off by a sharp kick to her side as a guard made sure she went down and couldn't get up again. Her mother's cry of anguish was the final thing she heard before she blacked out on the sandy floor of the market.

When she woke up, she was on the back of one of the carts heading back from the market. Sticky tears were plastered to her cheeks as she sat up, head throbbing. Sitting up too quickly, she cried out as she was thrown from the cart as it hit a pothole in the country road. As she lay, sprawled across the dusty road, her mind whirled.

She had to get her mother back. She knew that much. But how? She got to her knees as she thought, and sat on her heels. Looking around to orientate herself, she saw she was just beyond the Fedil Gardens.

In Gardoth, the centre of the kingdom was the Silver Palace which was the home of King Davol. Surrounding it was the capital city. Jostis was densely populated, and the only major city for several days ride around. Several country roads led off to smaller towns, one of which being Dest, Hana's town of birth.

The Fedil Gardens were the King's pleasure gardens, and they were situated just next to the Silver Palace. The outskirts were marked with dense trees to prevent common folk from entering and disturbing the King's "natural" view.

The people at the market must have thrown her unconscious body onto any cart leaving the city. She was lucky to have awoken when she had, otherwise who knows where she would have ended up. She got to her feet and shaded her eyes as she looked to see where the sun was in the sky.

She and her mother had arrived at around midday, and now it was roughly two o'clock. Judging from where on the road she was, they had set her off on the cart about an hour after her mother was taken. That meant the cart had been driving for roughly an hour, maybe three-quarters of one.

Beginning to walk back up the road, she rolled up her sleeves. The summers in Gardoth got quite warm, and her long sleeves may protect her from burning, but they were no help when she had a few hours walking to do if she was to reach the palace.

With a determined look on her face, she pulled a piece of twine out from her pouch and held it between her teeth while she arranged her mousy blonde hair into a rough ponytail. Securing it, she narrowed her eyes at the city border. She would reach it in a few hours. And then, she would proceed to the palace.

She would get her mother back. No matter the cost.

Word Count: 557

Total Word Count: 1334