Chapter 4 Journey to Caravan

NARRATOR

Now refreshed a little, Ikaris and Alessa arose as it neared evening and began the long journey to the city they both knew as Caravan. On Alessa's side of the story, she had never been in Caravan. She had hardly ever been anywhere. She spent her entire life within the walls of Morderick, the city where her mother tragically died now.

Morderick was never the bloody city it looked like. At least, not until the new emperor of the entire region began the raid against witchcraft, slaughtering every female being that was either caught doing magic or was suspected to have even the slightest magic powers. In Alessa's case, she wasn't even sure of what she had. As a child, she had noticed her ability to do certain things others couldn't do. She could light a fire without a match, she could hear horses that were ill, resurrect dead plants and many other things that were bringing attention to her.

This was when her mother came in. She would pick Alessa from the midst of the surprised and half-terrified children and lead her straight to her room.

"My dear..." She would say very calmly. "You shouldn't let anyone be seeing that"

"I don't even know what I'm doing mama!" Alessa would cry in bafflement. "I just want to be normal!"

Her mother would then cuddle her and hold her tight, assuring her that everything was alright.

On these days, Alessa felt the best. However, on some other occasions, it was more tragic. She would help a crying child heal her wound suddenly and in surprise and envy, the child would scream out:

"How would you do this? You're a devil! She's not a human! She's a demon! Go away!"

Before they knew what was going on, all the children in the square would gather around Alessa, yelling the same words. All Alessa can do is run away and weep in the dark. It was then Lisa – her mother – knew she had to learn to control her powers or there was no going back.

She never had a chance to truly teach her how to keep it in check. The soldiers came from the far East and demanded for all women who practiced witchcraft. The ban on witchcraft was suddenly more severe. It wasn't only about going to a magic proof jail anymore.

It was murder now!

So everyone ran, both those who actually did practice magic and those who were innocent of it from the fear of getting killed in the process.

Some of the women suddenly proved their witches and fought back at the soldiers with their magic. Little did they know that the soldiers came prepared. They stood their ground, wearing vests and use weapons that was made from or dusted in a powder known as Dragon Dust. It made them completely immune to their powers. They rounded up the women in the town square ready for the execution and to Alessa dismay, after she and her mother had hid safely in the compartment within their house which her father dug before he died, the townspeople matched in and scouted the house. One of the mother's very good friend – Theresa who knew of the compartment led them straight to it and offered Alessa and Lisa on a platter of gold, collecting some silver for their wicked "good" deeds.

It was then Alessa and her mother joined the massacre, and it was then the entire story painfully began as Lisa whispered to her before she died:

"Find the Master!"

Alessa awoke with a loud scream but the scream wasn't the problem. It was what followed simultaneously.

"Alessa!"

She couldn't hear Ikaris. She has been so caught up in the nightmare that she wasn't even conscious of her present environment or of the fact that light was glowing from her eyes as she pushed the cargo to one side with the sound of her voice.

The man driving the cargo shrieked as the horse neighed, trying to maintain the weight of the cargo. Ikaris had bent to one side, toppling over and Alessa was following suit, unable to control herself as she fell to the other side.

The other men at the front were yelling as they tried to steady the cargo. There was a great pull, terrible screams of horses and the cargo finally stood its ground while the two children – Ikaris and Alessa – were caught in the middle of the box, stunned.

One of the men on the horses jumped down and ran to the back. Opening the cargo, he looked in to find both children rubbing the sores on their heads.

"Jeez! Are you alright?" The man asked, concerned.

"Yes, I think. What happened?" Alessa asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"I wish I knew." The man replied. "There was a sudden movement of the cargo and the horses couldn't steady themselves. We were about to topple over!" The man replied. "So sorry about that."

"Oh no! Don't worry, sir. It's fine." Ikaris replied with a reassuring smile. The man nodded, closed the doors and went forward again, leaving both of them together. Ikaris waited for Alessa to fully feel awake.

As they both trekked from the stream, they had gotten weary from walking and were about sitting down and waiting for help when a group of three men showed up with two horses and a cargo, moving towards a village that seemed nearby. They appeared to be mere farmers. They had pleaded with the men earnestly before they let them both join the cargo and begin the ride towards the village where they planned to rest before proceeding to Caravan.

It was in the cargo they both stayed, discussing some of their plights in hushed tones before Alessa had fallen asleep from exhaustion, only to suddenly jump off her sleep with a scream that could have harmed them more than they ever imagined.

Ikaris knew it was the magic again. "Alessa... your magic put us in danger!" Ikaris whispered to her.

It was then Alessa knew what happened. She had been the cause of the near accident. She lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry..."

Ikaris placed his palm beneath her jaws and lifted her face so that she could look into his eyes.

"It's alright." He assured her. "It was a dream. That's all. You're going through a tough time. You need enough food and a good rest."

Alessa smiled and nodded. Ikaris gave her a pat on the cheek and smiled too before turning to look outside the window. It was then he noticed it.

It was then he realized that something was wrong!