Promise: The Scarred Girl Read online

  “What happened?” Nea asks. Her eyes migrate to Kasia’s round belly. Everything seems to be okay with the baby.

  “My friends are all dead. The Carris killed them.”

  Nea does not understand what Kasia is saying and looks questioningly at the gaze of the stranger. But his face is still hidden behind his long hair. He seems very scary.

  “How do you know that?”

  “They burned all the houses. There are only smoldering ruins left,” says Kasia. She sobs loudly. “It’s all my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault,” asserts Nea and hopes that Kasia will calm down. She cannot stand her tears, less out of pity but more from discomfort. Kasia cries too often for Nea’s taste.

  “The Carris were there because of me!” Kasia exclaims. “Of course it’s my fault!”

  Nea feels the anger boiling within herself. “Don’t be ridiculous! Why should the Carris travel all this way because of you? You take yourself a little too seriously!”

  Kasia furiously counters, “You have no idea!” At least she has stopped crying.

  Nea pulls on her knees and secretly looks at Arras. If she did not know he was there, she could almost forget him. He says nothing and does not move. He sits like a statue in the shade, staring down at the ground. Her gaze remains fixed on his hands. His skin is brown and therefore almost merges with his dark clothing.

  “Do you always travel alone?”

  Arras does not even look up. She is not even sure he heard her.

  “Alone is better,” he says quietly. His voice is reminiscent of the growl of an animal.

  Nea would have readily agreed, if she had not survived the past few days by not being alone. Being alone can be very dangerous.

  “Did you see the Carris raid the village?”

  He shakes his head without looking up. “I only saw the smoke. When I arrived, it was already too late. No one was left alive.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “They came this morning.”

  Theoretically, it would be possible that the Carris have been searching for Kasia, but Nea cannot imagine why they should make this kind of effort. Kasia is just some pregnant girl. Or is she hiding something? Perhaps she robbed the Carris?

  Suspiciously, she eyes Kasia.

  But where could she be hiding something? Apart from the habit and white dress, she had nothing else with her. She was not even wearing the correct shoes; her feet are still in a pair of thin slippers.

  “Why should the Carris be looking for you?” Nea directed the question at Kasia; however she just shrugs her shoulders.

  “You’re hiding something from me!” Nea exclaims.

  “Everyone has their secrets,” Kasia hisses bitchily. She is not ready to trust Nea.

  Nea’s eyes narrow to slits. “If you still want my help, you must talk to me.”

  “Your help?” Kasia repeats condescendingly. “As far as I remember, I have helped you more than you have helped me. Or have you forgotten that attacker already?”

  Of course Nea has not forgotten him. But now that Kasia is hiding something makes her even angrier. “But unlike you, I do not need you!”

  Kasia turns away from her. Nea also looks away. What must Arras think of them? He is probably thinking of leaving the very next morning. In his place, Nea would not be wild about having the company of a bitchy pregnant woman and an injured person who can barely walk on her own. But without him, they’re as good as screwed.

  Eleven

  Surprisingly, the next morning, Arras is sitting in exactly the same spot. He seems to have not moved all night.

  Through the faint light of the sun, Nea can finally get a glimpse of his face. It is just as brown as his hands. His mouth looks grim, as if he is unable to smile. His eyes are large and framed by long lashes. His facial expression seems desperate. Suddenly, Arras turns around and looks at her sharply. Apparently she could only see the beautiful side of his face.

  The other side is disfigured by a scar that starts on his eyebrow, goes down his whole cheek, and finally ends at his mouth. The scar must be old because the dark pink skin stands out against the brown of the rest of his face.

  Her eyes wide with fright, she looks away immediately. She cannot forget the fury in his eyes.

  “Stop staring at me,” he growls and Nea cannot blame him. His reaction was rude, but so was her staring.

  “Sorry,” she mumbles softly. She is ashamed of her behavior and her face starts to turn red.

  Arras stands up and crushes the remains of the camp fire with his feet.

  “Wake your friend,” he asks Nea.

  Rather than stand, Nea only looks to Kasia in her sleeping bag. It must belong to Arras. At least he wore his jacket at night.

  “Hey, get up!” Nea shouts and shakes Kasia's sleeping bag. Kasia is instantly terrified. Nea feels Arras looking at her. He probably thinks Nea is unfriendly, but that does not matter. She just shrugs her shoulders, but does not dare look at him.

  Now awake, Kasia begins whining, “My back is killing me! I am looking forward to a real bed!”

  Nea pulls herself up. “That's great, if that's your only concern.”

  Kasia snarls at her, “You know full well what I meant. Why must you turn my words around? Do you want me to look bad?”

  To be honest, Nea does not care what Arras thinks of them. He must assume the worst anyway. Will he leave now?

  Kasia wraps herself into the sleeping bag, “What do we do now?”

  “We go,” Arras replies softly, not looking at the girls.

  “Where to?” Kasia asks impatiently.

  “Into the mountains, it is safer there.”

  The mountains will only take Nea further away from Promise. She wanted to deliver Kasia to her friends and move on. The fact these friends are now probably dead is not her fault.

  “You can count me out,” she says casually as she firmly binds her sleeping bag into her backpack. Her body still hurts, but somehow she will cope with the pain.

  “What do you mean?” Kasia asks desperately. “You cannot leave me alone!”

  “Why not?” Nea hesitates for a moment then lifts her head. “You're in good hands with Arras!” She's waiting for his reaction, but there is none. Did he not hear?

  “He is a man!” Kasia says indignantly, as if that explained anything. “I need you!”

  “At least you admit it now,” Nea replies, however she is not ready to continue looking after her. As soon as her child is born, she will continue to demand her help. It would be an endless cycle and she would never be able to rid herself of Kasia, and thus will never be able to reach Promise.

  “Nea, please!” Kasia begs and Nea can hear her tears without having to watch. The twins would be disappointed in her. Miro would be disappointed in her. It does not matter! None of them would ever understand.

  She pulls the backpack on her shoulders and stands up holding the campaign staff. Limping past Arras, she pauses for a moment. “Thanks for your help.”

  He stares at the ground. Without lifting his head, “You will not go far.”

  Nea feels anger welling up inside her. How does he know? He just does not want to be alone with Kasia. “Maybe so, but I must try.”

  He lets her go unhindered; however Kasia throws herself to Nea's feet.

  “Please do not leave me alone,” she begs, crying on her knees. For Nea, this is clearly too much drama.

  She tries to walk past her, but Kasia clings to her legs and begs like a small child. “I need you!”

  “Are you crazy?” Nea says angrily. “Let me go at once!”

  “Only if you stay here!” Kasia replies stubbornly.

  “If you do not let go of me voluntarily, I will be forced to liberate myself,” Nea threatens. Kasia makes no effort to remove herself. She knows just as much as Nea that this is an empty threat. Nea tries to be hardened, but is not so callous as to harm a pregnant woman, after all.

  Arras, however, quietly creeps behind Ka
sia and picks her up from under the arms and pulls her off Nea. Although she thrashes her arms around, she does not hit Arras. “Let her go. You cannot force her to stay.”

  Although his appearance is as cold and hard as stone, Nea can hear in his voice that he has a soft core. His dark voice comes from deep inside his gut and reminds her of glowing coals. He is warm and gentle, like Nea.

  Nea quickly turns and runs off before they can change her mind.

  “The Carris have attacked my friends because I'm Ereb' first wife!” Kasia suddenly screams and airs her secret.

  Nea stops in her tracks and turns around to her. Kasia is exhausted in Arras' arms. Her eyes pleadingly look to Nea.

  “Then why did you run away?” Nea now wants to know. She cannot resist it, but Kasia has aroused her interest.

  “I told him I would no longer be his wife, but he would not let me go. Instead he put me in the monastery. I was a prisoner!”

  “Is that his child?”

  “Of course,” Kasia snorts. “What do you take me for?”

  “Then he has a right to see it. You cannot deny it to him!”

  “He is not interested in that!” Kasia replies, injured. “I hardly see him. The Carris are the only ones who want the child. To them, it would be a kind of demi-god. For this nonsense I will not give them my child!”

  Nea can understand, but she is still of the opinion that Kasia would be better off with the Carris. There she would not have to worry. She would want for nothing. She is not the type of girl that can fend for herself. Not like Nea.

  “You should go back to them,” Nea replies.

  “Never!” The expression in Kasia's eyes is determined and full of fear at the same time. “I know what you think of me and you're probably right. But it's no longer just about me! I think of my child and that is why I will not return to that madman. My child deserves better than a life in captivity. I may not be as strong as you, but I can learn.” She looks to Nea with pleading eyes. “Please help me!”

  Nea looks from Kasia to Arras. He still seems unimpressed. Has he no opinion on the matter? She should have expected he would not help.

  “What if your friends are still alive and the Carris only took them prisoner? They always need slaves.”

  Nea spies a tiny spark in Kasia's eyes light up. “I had not thought of that.”

  “You could secure their freedom if you return.” So Kasia would be going after all.

  But, Kasia throws a wrench into the plan without hesitation. “No, I cannot. We have to somehow liberate them.”

  Nea does not ask what her plans are in freeing her friends from the Carris. The point at which Nea could have fled has passed, but she is still not ready to give up on her dream of Promise. Perhaps she could trade Kasia to the Carris in exchange for a safe route to Promise. She would be no better than Luica, but this is an exception, an emergency.

  “Alright, I'll help you,” is Nea's response. “It would be best if we went to Fortania. If you want to blackmail Carris for your friends' release, they will probably be secured near Ereb. Nea has no idea if Kasia's friends are still alive or not, but Fortania is near Promise.

  Kasia turns to Arras and implores pleadingly without fear in her eyes. “What about you? Will you help us?”

  He averts his gaze away from Kasia and looks to Nea instead. She has the uncomfortable feeling that he sees through her devious plans. Under his view, her guilty conscience stirs.

  Fortunately, he turns his gaze back to Kasia. “I'll stay as long as you need me.”

  Kasia beams and hugs him tightly. “I do not know how to ever thank you for this.”

  Nea finds that she would have preferred that Arras not accompany them. She must get rid of him in order to implement her plan. Maybe she can get him to join her, but first she must get to know him better first. It will be difficult with his secretive nature.

  As they descend the hill, Nea becomes aware of how far Arras must have carried her. In two hours they reach a field, on which stand the ruined remains of a deserted village. The scorch marks are still clearly visible, although no more smoke rises into the sky. Basically, the village had a perfect location. On one side are mountains, and on the other is a dense forest.

  How did the Carris know of this village at all? From Ereb? How did he and Kasia meet? Although Nea pretends to not care, there is a curiosity burning inside her. Previously, she thought Ereb was a figment of people's imagination, but does he really exist? What kind of person is he that Kasia was eventually taken with him, not that Nea would expect a lot from her.

  Without a word, Arras walks to the remains of a house. The roof is still standing, but the walls are burned down, leaving only the frame of the house remaining. It does not look safe.

  “What are you doing?” Kasia asks before Nea had a chance to.

  “We should search the buildings for useful items before we move on,” Arras replies without turning around. He does not wait for the girls and leaves it to them to follow him or not.

  Kasia looks at Nea, perplexed. Although Arras is much kinder to her than Nea, it seems she still trusts Nea more.

  “Come, let's search another house,” Nea says. Then adds, “Where did you live?”

  Kasia looks around at the charred remains of the houses as though she was having problems remembering. She vaguely indicates one of the smaller houses.

  “When were you last here?” Nea asks suspiciously, while they walk to the house.

  “It was almost two years ago,” Kasia admits guiltily. “Actually... I never wanted to come back.”

  “Why not?” Nea asks out of habit, as she walks past the collapsed door into the interior of the house.

  “I left following a dispute.”

  “What happened?”

  “My boyfriend broke up with me. He had another...” she replies. The way her voice cracks tells Nea that the memory still hurts. “My best friend, to be exact.”

  Nea suddenly feels something like pity for Kasia. Although she never had a boyfriend, she knows only too well what it feels like to be cheated on. The decision to return to her friends must have been out of desperation than from longing.

  Nea sat beside Miro on the observation deck of the lighthouse. It no longer shone at night, but was one of the best places to watch stars from. Miro always dismissed stargazing as boring. Nea was surprised that he had been eager to accompany her at all.

  A cool wind blew in their faces and Miro pressed Nea close to himself. Sometimes he could be really caring, but these moments were rare. Nea let her head fall on his shoulder. She did not know most of the constellations by name, but it was the arrangement of them that remained in her head.

  “I do not understand why you like staring at the sky. It's always the same picture, whether it's today, tomorrow, or in a year.”

  “It's just fascinating,” Nea countered. Miro did not see the point in it.

  “It would be better if they moved, but they are silent and seem stuck to the sky.”

  “They move. Very slowly, but they move. And some stars burn out, while others are newly born. It's mystical.”

  “It's silly,” Miro wrapped a finger around one of her curls to annoy her.

  “You're callous,” Nea replied and punched him playfully in the side. Even if he did not understand, he did not have to call it silly.

  “And you're a dreamer.”

  “Do you not have any dreams?”

  “Of course I do,” he replied promptly and looked Nea in the eye. It was one of the few looks that she did not know how to interpret. It happened in moments of silence when they were both alone or when Miro felt unobserved. He was very serious and his thoughts seemed far away.

  “And what are you dreaming?”

  Miro hesitated, but then he stuck his tongue out. “I cannot tell you, otherwise it will not come true.”

  “Shall we try another house?” Nea asks, unusually considerate.

  Kasia shakes her head. “No, there is no need. There is nothing
of mine here anyway. They have most likely thrown away all of my things. The house is just as good or bad as any other.”

  Nea shrugs and goes cautiously into the interior of the house. To her right she recognizes the remains of a kitchen. Without power, it was probably barely used.

  “What are you looking for?” Kasia asks curiously.

  “I do not know,” she replies and turns to face her. Her gaze falls to Kasia's feet. “How about shoes?”

  Kasia smiles. “Good idea! The bedrooms are upstairs.”

  Nea stops in front of the former staircase and stares hesitantly upwards. The steps are all black and covered in soot. In addition, there are burn marks in the ceiling. She doubts that the floor will hold them.

  “There's not a chance the floor will hold us,” she says to Kasia.

  “Try it at least. You'll be fine!” Kasia urges her on.

  “Try it? That will kill me!” Nea grumbles angrily. Kasia with her big belly is one to talk. Her compassion is gone immediately.

  “Just wait here,” Nea says to Kasia, she already wants to leave this house alone, but this is the house with the best odds of finding shoes to fit Kasia, of course if she does not find any, she will be angry.

  “And what if the Carris come back?” Kasia asks anxiously.

  “Then scream loudly and I’ll come rescue you.”

  There is no reason for the Carris to return, so Nea is not worried.

  She climbs on burned debris and ventures up the stairs. Under a pile of burnt wood, Nea finds several knives, which she pockets. The events of the past few days have taught her that you can never have too many weapons.

  Further on, she pushes the remains of a carpet aside with the campaign staff when she hears a loud rumbling followed by Kasia screaming.

  She immediately feels more annoyed than worried and bolts after the house looking for the pregnant girl. She looks in all directions and can see neither Kasia nor Arras.

  Nea cups her hands to her mouth and cries out, “Kasia!”

  Only silence answers. A crow flies overhead.

  “Arras,” she screams and runs to the house they left him in. The moment she sets foot toward that house, she notices movement from the other direction and turns around. Arras exits one of the houses carrying Kasia in his arms. She is covered top to bottom with soot. Even her blonde hair is dusted with a black layer.