Kaj’s breath came in short gasps. Her bare feet barely touched the ground as she ran towards the cliff.
“Wait Kaj!” Dae appeared and ran effortlessly behind her.
“I’m going with you!” He yelled, “Kaj please stop!”
She couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to.
She had to keep running.
She headed towards the Cliff.
“Kaj no!” Dae’s voice rang out behind her as she cleared the cliff face. She felt herself falling. She saw the water rushing to meet her. All of a sudden the air around her stopped moving and she hovered over the water. Her arms and legs stuck to her body. Everything was silent.
Kaj couldn’t hear or say anything. She was stuck two feet from the water. Her body trembled from the weight, as if she were being pushed downwards. She tried to move her toes and fingers.
Nothing.
Suddenly an incredible light burst out from behind her, it was so intense she couldn’t see anything.
She screamed as pain sliced down her neck and down her back. Her whole body started to shake violently.
What’s happening to me? She thought franticly.











This is a story.
A story of war, love, hope and dreams.
Real situations twisted into subtle lines and words.
K.O












Chapter One
Run Kaj

The sun warmed Kaj’s face as she stood and looked out across the east sea of Scarlet. Deep blue water chopped and churned with a life of its own. Waves crashed sending sea spray onto the sharp rocky outcrops below.  
The sea is not burdened by anything, she thought wistfully. Standing on the cliff face she could see for miles. The beaches, the farm lands, the never ending oceans filled with islands and lands not yet discovered.
For years she had stood on this cliff face and dreamt of exploring the far away valleys and mountains, deserts and oceans. Her hunger for freedom grew stronger as time passed on and she changed from a young shy girl into a wild spirited teenager of nineteen. Long white blonde hair flew freely behind her and emerald green eyes stood out in her pale face as she looked at the well known view before her.
The land she stood on had hardly changed at all, it’s rolling hills and fresh green grass lay untouched in the sunny plains surrounding the town Scarlet.  
“What I would give to leave these walls” Kaj sighed to herself.
Glancing around behind her, she watched as Scarlet’s town folk wandered through the colourful streets, bartering between themselves over objects of every description.

Scarlet had been her home for as long as she could remember. As a child she grew up with out knowing her real parents, but was raised by a young man named Zeon, Duke of Scarlet. Her close friends Élan and her husband Franc, whom she called her Aunt and Uncle, attempted to help Zeon raise her into a young lady. Their son Dae, her closest friend, reminded Kaj daily that they had obviously failed in that aspect of her life.
With her long legs and graceful walk she certainly looked the part, but her manner and demise supposed otherwise. Many people avoided to look her in the eyes, knowing that if they spoke or smiled they would receive a long silent glance that spoke of nothing but implicated boredom.

Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear she glanced back at the sea Scarlet was one of the two last peace filled cities in the kingdom. The other was Isonme. Castle Isonme was a four day travel north east of Scarlet. Its beautiful white castle and courts, with its gold trimmings and fancy courtiers, held a high regard among the rest of the kingdom. Many people travelled there for the advisors and doctors of the courts.
The Duke of Isonme and his daughter Ara were the two most highly regarded people in the entire kingdom. Scarlet was just as powerful, only in trading and merchandise.
The alliance between the two cities where tightly secured by the engagement of Zeon and Ara.
But the rest of the country was slowly being disillusioned by a woman of pure darkness, Aslar, Queen of the west. She had been living for over two hundred years in a castle that was said to be as black as the night itself. Never growing old and never needing the things that a normal human being needed, many people knew she was a sorceress, but chose not to say so in fear of being cursed and killed by her minions. Neither human nor animals, but said to be something she conjured from the rocky outcrops of her Castle.

History intrigued Kaj; she often sat and listened to story tellers and historians, feeding her desire to get out of her caged life in Scarlet.
Grinding her teeth and crossing her arms, Kaj stared frustrated at the sea again.
“Kaj!” jumping slightly she turned to face her aunt Élan. “Stop disappearing girl! Come back inside, you’ve received a letter!”

“It’s from your Lord Zeon, milady” said Dae as she walked into the hall where her aunt and uncle were waiting. Giving Dae a quick glance for the use of milady, a word she couldn’t stand, especially from her closest friend.
“It’s from Zeon” Dae said with a voice of sincerity, holding the letter out for her to take.
“No you read it Dae. Please. Out loud” Kaj nodded to him and chose a spot against a marble pillar to sit and listen. She smiled slightly as a fruit platter was put within reach. Taking a piece of fruit she nodded again at Dae to start reading.
“Dearest Kaj,
I hope everyone is well, and that as the Lady of the castle, your behaviour is most sensible.
I’m afraid my trip has taken a turn for the worst, someone has taken Lady Ara and there are now rumours that whoever has taken her is after you too. I’m hoping this isn’t true. But if anything happens to you I wouldn’t be able to live with knowing that I could have stoped it. I’m asking you to stay within the walls of the castle. Please Kaj; don’t put yourself into a situation where something could happen. I can’t stress this enough. Make sure Dae is with you at all times. As I am in command of the search party for Lady Ara, my return will be delayed Hopefully she will be found safe and sound. Until then please keep us in your thoughts. . Remember that you are never to be alone and that there are people around you that care for you and would be extremely hurt if anything happened to you.
Zeon.”
Kaj looked first at Dae who had rushed the last bit of the letter so fast his hands were shaking, then standing up put her half eaten fruit on the platter and walked out of the hall, leaving her aunt and uncle staring wildly at her back as she called for a horse to be saddled.
“Kaj where are you going?!” Élan exclaimed. “Don’t disobey Lord Zeon! Kaj!”
Her plea’s were lost to Kaj as she had already mounted her horse, taken a long bow and arrows and flew out of the court yard leaving some startled hunting dogs to bellow and bark at her disappearing figure.

Resur looked up as a hooded figure entered the almost empty tavern.
“You’re a bit early,” he said as the figure sat and rested a long bow on the bench beside them. “The crowds don’t start coming in until sunset.”
“Shut up Resur. You know very well I don’t like to drink.” Kaj said to her old friend as she removed her hood, revealing her bright hair and piercing eyes.
Resur chuckled and poured a cup of water for his guest. “Trouble again?”
Kaj scowled and played with her cup. “I hate it when these things happen. I just want to get out…”
Resur poured himself a glass and leaned on the bench. “Don’t go to far this time alright? You know those men haven’t quite gotten over the last encounter…”
Kaj continued to play with her cup, seemingly too distracted to hear him. But really thinking of the shouts and curses from the men as she had put up a fight when one of them decided to make the mistake of touching her like they would some whore.
“And I’m sure that when they find out who you really are they wont be too happy…” he continued. “Just be careful Kaj,” he said taking her empty cup and smiling.
“Go take a ride on the beach and forget the world.”
As he spoke the door of the tavern opened once again and the sounds of laughter entered the building as the first group of men were ready to become just a bit too merry. Before Resur had time to blink, Kaj grabbed her long bow and breezed past the newcomers, knowing full well that they didn’t have to be drunk to remember her face.
Resur smiled slightly as the clatter of hooves faded down the cobblestone road. Turning, he began to serve the first customer.

The sun was setting, sending pinks and gold’s over the sandy beach as Kaj galloped along the beach, her hair whipping at her face and her eyes brimming with tears from the wind. She was sure this wasn’t what Resur meant when he had told her to go for a ride along the beach. But she was very sure this was forgetting the world.
Breathing hard she slowed her horse down to a relaxed walk, she absently stretched her back thinking of the route she would take back home. Groaning slightly at a now apparent hot pain in her back, Kaj stopped her horse to give it another stretch. The searing pain wasn’t new to her; she first started getting the pains on the morning of her nineteenth birthday.
She remembered the feeling well because it cursed her for the entire day, making her extremely irritable and peculiar.

Eventually the pain disappeared leaving Kaj wondering yet again about it. Spurring her horse on absentmindedly she turned towards home leaving the sunset to admire itself.

Avoiding the eyes of her aunt and uncle and even Dae, Kaj sat through dinner without speaking, hoping that they wouldn’t say anything about Zeon or the letter.
She nodded to Dae once, as she left the table, motioning that they would meet on the castle wall once the guard had swapped for the night shift.
When they were kids they would always meet in the same spot at the same time. It was a safe place for Kaj when she was troubled with too many thoughts, and a safe place for Dae to complain about his vigorous sword fighting and training.

Dae was typically training to be a Swordfighter. His father was one of the towns greatest Knights. Wishing his son could follow in his place, he enrolled Dae into training. Only an esquire, Dae felt himself incompatible to continue into knighthood, making his father frustrated and their relationship strained.
Kaj knew that Élan was pained to see them in such a way. Her love for both of them was stronger than anything Kaj had seen. And even though Dae and his father looked nothing alike and had completely different personalities, she knew that they also shared a love that no man could break.
Dae’s long brown hair and hazel eyes gave him a slightly softer look compared to his father’s strong build and hard set face. Kaj often teased him about it, calling him softy and offering to join her as she took her compulsory beauty treatments.  
She smiled at the thought as she grabbed an armful of bread and meat and stuffed it in a rucksack with some flasks of water. Taking the rucksack to the stables she saddled up two fast but plain looking geldings, not wanting to attract attention she quietly lead the geldings out into the court yard. She passed the reigns to a stable boy, as well as a gold coin for his trouble, and told him to wait while she went to meet Dae.   

As nineteen year olds the wall had become a place to go when one, most of the time Kaj, was in dire need of a protest. Family problems and identity crisis’s were mostly on the agenda. But tonight Kaj had a different reason for meeting him there.
“I’m leaving.” She stated as Dae sat beside her with his back to the stone wall.
“Where will you go?”
“Anywhere. The forest to the north first and then I plan to follow the river inland. Explore…” pausing as she took in Dae’s facial expression. “…and live.” She finished softly.
Dae nodded slowly starring at the ground. “What will you tell Élan?”
“I’ll leave her a letter. Telling her how much I love her, and that I will come back when I’m ready, but I don’t know when.” She watched him as he continued to stare at the ground,  
“I’ll also tell her not to worry because you’re coming with me.”
Snapping his head up, he grinned, “Alright”
Smiling back at him Kaj ignored the sadness that came with the thought of having to say goodbye to her family. Unsure of what the future would hold, she stood up and put her hand out for Dae to take, “Partners?”
Dae took her hand and stood up beside her, “Partners”
Before Dae realised what he had just done they were mounted and cantering out of the castle gates and through the town into the forest and lands beyond, leaving the stable boy unable to comprehend why he had just let the heir of Scarlet run away.


Escape the darkness and flee to the light.
Next Chapter, Escape