Sara's Shadows

Chapter One

    “Thank you for coming by and telling me yourself. I’ll let you know when she wakes up and is ready for company.”
     “Are you sure she’s okay Marna?”
     “She’ll be fine. It’s just a bump, it didn’t even break skin. Now go finish reporting before he sends someone to find you. She’s had enough trauma and he would not help her a bit right now if she were to wake.”
     Sara lay on a comfortable bed with a soft blanket tucked around her. She heard the voices speaking low not far from her and then a door closing. She tried to sit up when she was struck by a wave of intense pain in her head and groaned.
     “I see you are finally awake. Try not to move too much, you had a pretty good knock to the head. Let me help you.” She helped Sara sit up slightly and placed another pillow behind her to prop her up.
     “Where am I?”
     The woman pulled a chair up next to the bed. She was a slender older woman but the darkness in the room prevented any further discovery.
    “You are in Haven and these are my rooms. I’m Marna Lyon. Lord Shadow has put you under my care so you will be staying with my daughter and me for awhile.
     “Lord…Lord Shadow? Where am I? What happened? Where are my parents? Where’s Dany?” As she said her brother’s name the memories of what had happened came flooding back to her. Tears came to her eyes. “Dany?”
     “Oh dear, there is no easy way to tell you.” She takes a deep breath and puts one hand over Sara’s. “I’m sorry; your brother didn’t make it back to Haven. The stab wound… The healers did everything they could.”
     “And my parents?”
     “I was hoping to wait till you were a little more recovered to tell you. This was not the way it was meant to be. Lord Shadow sent his men to bring your family to Haven. There was a misunderstanding and shots were fired. There is a full investigation in to the events, especially concerning your bother’s accidental death.”
     “Accident?” Sara stammered finding her voice. “Accident? That man meant to do it! My brother was harmless, harmless!” She broke into a rage of sobs.
     “My dear, I’m so sorry.” Marna tried to put her arms around Sara but Sara shook and shoved her away.
     “Leave me alone! You’re one of them! Get away from me!” she screamed.
     “Of course. I won’t be far if you need anything.” Marna walked to the door and quietly closed it behind her. Sara pulled her knees up to her chest and continued to cry until she fell back asleep.
 

     The next time Sara awoke there was a familiar face standing near the door.
     “Keith?” She rubbed her eyes.
    “Hey there Sara,” he said quietly.
    “Keith!” She sat up. “What happened to you? I was afraid they had hurt you too.”
    “Uh, no, they didn’t hurt me.”
    “What happened to you? Why did they bring you here?”
    “Sara, I live here.” He said slowly. Sara’s face dropped as she took in what he was saying. “I am a Captain in Haven’s elite forces. My assignment was to do a deep cover investigation. I was sent to find your father, Matthew Guerin.”
    “Kenner.” Sara whispered.
    “What?”
    “Our last name is Kenner.” She sneered at him. “Some elite force you are, you couldn’t even get the last name right!” She stood up. She was still wearing the same clothing as when she was taken.
    “Sara, your father was Matthew Guerin. He ran from here thirty years ago and went into hiding. I was ordered to find him.”
    “Stop lying! My father had nothing to do with you people!”
    Keith took a deep breath as he shook his head. Sara launched at him, hitting him on the chest.
    “No! You got the wrong man! His name was Kenner! Kenner!” She was sobbing now and striking at him harder.
    “Stop it Sara.” Keith grabbed her and easily pinned her arms between them. “Stop now. I can prove it. I’ll prove it.”
    She stopped struggling and looked up at him, tears streaming down her face, her mouth trembling. He let her go and reached into his coat. He pulled out a picture and handed it to her. The picture was fading from age and creased from wear. There were two young men dressed in uniforms standing next to each other smiling companionably. One was a younger copy of her father.
    She stared at the picture for a minute and swaying a little grabbed at a chair. Keith reached for her but she shot him a scathing look.
    “Get out.” She murmured as she held tightly to the chair back.
    “Sara…”
    “Now,” she said hoarsely as she sat down in the chair and stared at the picture.
    As Keith closed the door silently behind him, Sara crumpled down in sobs holding the picture to her heart.
 

    She held on to the picture as she looked around the room for the first time. It was a comfortable sized room fitting a single bed against the dark mahogany paneled walls across from the door, a low dresser near the end of the bed against the side wall and a small desk which the chair belonged to next to the door. Two lamps were on either side of the room. There was a window on the same wall as the dresser closer to the door. The outside light filtered around the drapes. She rose, walked to the window and slowly pulled open the curtain.
    The late fall sun shone brilliantly as it fell behind the opposing wall. She looked out into a rectangular courtyard surrounded by four-story walls of dark grey stone. There were latticed windows along the two of the walls and larger plate glass on the third wall. She looked down from her second story window into a picturesque flower garden. There were rows of flowers in a multitude of colors and variety of bush and bulb. It made a delightful vista in a dark world.
    “It’s pretty isn’t it?”
    Sara started and turned at the new voice. A girl stood in the open doorway smiling. She couldn’t be more then early teens.
    “I like it in winter best. The snow builds up along the walls and the wind swirls it along the paths. It’s really pretty, plus I don’t have to work in the garden then. I much prefer the nursery or school rooms.
    "Mom asked me to come up and see how you were and find out if you were hungry yet. I could bring you something from the kitchens if you wanted. She doesn’t think you should leave our rooms till you are feeling a hundred percent."
    “Who are you?” Sara stammered.
    “Oh! I’m Kestra. So, hungry?”
    “I, I guess so.”
    “Okay. I’ll be right back with something. I think we have some bread and soup left over from lunchtime. Maybe some cheese and, well I’ll see what I can find. Be right back!” Kestra turned quickly and skip stepped away from the room. Sara heard a door close in the next room.
    Sara moved toward her bed and looked outside the open door to the room beyond. It had the same dark mahogany walls. Outside her door was a dining table with four chairs. She could see a bookshelf with many books, a few lamps and a chess table against the opposite wall with two more chairs adjacent to a closed door. She stepped into the doorway of her room and saw a couch settled against the wall of her room with a long coffee table. Down a little further was another door on the same wall and then a short hall way to her left with two more doors across from each other.
    She stood in the doorway for a few moments and entertained the idea of trying to find a way out, but where would she go? Everyone she cared about was gone. She didn’t have any other family. She had no way to get back home, not that she had any idea where that was from here in the first place.
    Her thoughts were interrupted by the door across from her bursting open and Kestra balancing a large tray with an array of cheese cubes, vegetables, some fruit slices, bread, two bowls of soup and two glasses of juice on one hand as she opened the door. She carried it over to the table and set up two places.
    “Here we are!” Kestra said as she sat down and picked up an apple slice. She started chewing and looked up at Sara who was still standing in the doorway. “Aren’t you hungry? I thought you said you were.”
    Sara put the picture on the desk and as she slowly came toward the table the look of worry swept from Kestra’s face as quickly as it had come. Sara sat down and looked at the food in front of her. The aroma from the soup reminded her that she hadn’t eaten in some time. She picked up the spoon and tasted.
    Kestra smiled happily and finished eating her apple slice. “Good? The fruit is fresh from the orchards too. I saw the crews out picking the apples yesterday.” She popped a piece of cheese in her mouth. “I don’t mind working in the orchards when it’s picking time. The school takes the day off and we all help out either picking, carrying or hauling. I’m not strong enough to carry or haul so I get to pick ‘em. I would’ve been out picking but I had to clean up here.”
    Sara had begun to relax a little as the girl twittered on. Kestra had an infectious cheerful voice and look which comforted and confused Sara. How can anyone be happy in this place?
    “I’m surprised I got the tray as far as I did, it was really heavy, but at least I didn’t have to go all the way to the kitchen on the first floor. Keith happened to be bringing it and we, well I almost ran him over.”
    At the mention of Keith, Sara almost choked on the juice she was drinking and looked up at the door expecting him to come in.
    “Oh, he’s not coming today. He said he had other duties he had to get to. He was just bringing the tray up to see if you would eat something. I could see if he can stop by later if you wanted to see him.”
    “No!” Sara replied severely.
    Kestra looked curious. “You're mad at him?”
    The sincerity of Kestra’s look and voice took Sara by surprise.
    “Do you have any family Kestra,” Sara asked quietly.
    “Dad died when I was young so it’s just Mom and me now.”
    “My family is gone,” Sara said. “My entire family is gone because of him. He lied to us. He brought them…he brought them to my home and they killed my family. I hate them, I hate them all.” Tears began to fall from her eyes as she said the last. She got up quickly and went back to the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
    She stopped at the edge of the desk and looked at the picture. She picked it up and carrying it to the bed, sat down.
    She thought about her father and things she remembered him saying the few times the Shadow nation was brought up. Sometimes when there was news of a recent takeover, “They will stop at nothing to get what they want,” was the usual comment he would make with a venomous tone, then he would just go off on his own and even her mother couldn’t talk to him. She didn’t think anything of it at the time, she had no reason to. Now, his behavior seemed suspicious, and she hated admitting it.
    There was a timid knock at the door and it opened to let Kestra’s head in.
    “Sara, do you…do you hate me too?”
    “What?”
    “Well, you said that you hate them all and, well I am one of them, so…,” she looked down at the ground.
    Sara, dumbfounded, sat staring at this girl; this girl who was right. She was one of them. Could she hate this girl who couldn’t have had anything to do with her family’s death? She could, but…
    “No, I guess not.” Sara sighed and looked down at the picture again.
    Kestra opened the door and quietly walked over and sat down next to Sara. Sara glanced over at her and then looked back at the picture.
    They sat that way for a few minutes and for the first time Sara felt almost comfortable. There was nothing frightening or threatening about this girl. She had an artless and sincere way of speaking, questioning and just being. She started speaking again, this time more seriously.
    “My mother always told me that not everything is as it may first appear. I should learn all that I can, even if it is not what I expected or even wanted to hear. She told me that sometimes the truth is not as simple as I want it to be, that things are almost never black and white.” Sara looked up at her, not sure what to think.
    “I know Keith hurt you, but I’ve known him a long time and I know that he wouldn’t have done it just to hurt you, that there was a reason for what he did. I know he is sorry that he hurt you.”
    “I think you should talk to him and find out his side of things…but only if you are willing to listen.” She then added in her earlier lighter tone. “Hearing someone doesn’t do any good unless you listen to them.”
    She stood up, and as she walked out the door, looked back and smiled. Sara looked down at the picture that Keith had given her and began to wonder whether anything in her life was what it had seemed.