Emily and Chandra flopped down onto chairs.
“I’ve never cleaned so many dishes in my life!” Emily exclaimed. “Oof!”
“That’s what happens with four males in the house, I guess,” Chnadra said, grinning wearily. “Hungry ones, at least.” She hauled herself off the chair. “Come on. Mama needs help in the garden.”
They trudged wearily to the back gardens. Xenia was on her knees, pulling weeds. She was wet with sweat and grimy with dirt. She gave them a gentle smile.
“I see you came out to help me,” she said, brushing aside a few stray hairs. “I’m weeding out the onion section. Perhaps you can weed the potatoes and the carrots?”
“I’ll weed the carrots,” Emily offered quickly, giving Chandra a sideways glance.
“I’ll do the potatoes,” Chandra said.
The afternoon passed quickly, and each one of them weeded out two separate parts of the garden. Then they took quick baths while Caelan and Manchu sliced bread and fruit for lunch. The meal, though simple, tasted delicious. Then everyone helped Conrad, Caelan, and Emily get ready to leave.
The packs were filled with soft, white biscuits, fresh vegetables and canned vegetables and fruit, and some emergency supplies, and Emily’s clothes. Emily helped Chandra make a quick dinner of biscuits with ham, fruit, and sugar cookies. After eating, everyone pitched in to clean up, and then they went to bed.
Emily woke the next morning to birds chirping outside her window. The first soft rays of dawn poked through the trees, and the dew-laden grass shone.
Emily jumped out of bed, dressed hurriedly in her hiking suit, and slipped her backpack onto her back. Then she hurried downstairs to the kitchen.
Xenia was bustling about busily. She glanced in Emily’s direction. “I’m making a nice breakfast for you, Conrad, and Caelan. They’re accompanying you to your next destination.
Emily took off her pack and sat at the kitchen table. After a while, Conrad and Caelan strode in and sat down.
Xenia put three bowls on a try and brought them to the table. Emily peered at the contents. It was mixed, sliced fruit sprinkled with sugar and crumbled biscuit. She dug in and found the dish extremely tasty.
They thanked Xenia for the delicious meal and quickly finished it off with toast. They stood up, shouldered their packs, and started their journey.
By late morning, they had covered several miles. It was cool and sunny, and they chatted merrily.
“So, where are you from, Emily,” Conrad inquired.
“Gaelan,” Emily answered.
“I came from there,” Caelan commented
“I was born in Siwa, which is on the other side of Galnadria, in Vaeran,” Conrad said. “I have six brothers.” He gave Emily a sideways glance. “Do you have any siblings?”
“I had two sisters,” Emily said. “When I was captured, One was twelve, and the other was four. I really want a brother, though.”
“I was born in Gaelan, but we moved to Siwa, where my other siblings were born,” Caelan explained. “Along with Conrad, there is Adaniah, Zuben, Allen, Farquen, and Gaejon, along with some sisters.”
Emily shifted her pack slightly. “Cool.”
Conrad looked at her. “Would you mind telling us how you were kidnapped?”
“No,” Emily replied. She reached far into the depths of her brain. “I was taking a walk in our neighborhood. Quiet place, it was. Anyways, I was just walking along, when two strangers suddenly came up on either side of me.........”
“Hey, girl, how you doing? Hey, Walter, she sure is downright pretty,” said one.
“Oh yes, pretty enough to meet our master......”
........the one who had spoken first suddenly whipped out a rag and gagged me. He and his companion dragged me to the shadows, where they knocked me out. When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in a tiny room.
That’s how I ended up with Hadrian’s army,” Emily finished.
“I almost joined Hadrian’s army,” Caelan said. “I desperately wanted to be free of prisoner hood. But I learned that joining up would cause me to become even more of a prisoner! I hoped to escape before my secret of who I was, was discovered. My own brother rescued me, and he helped me get to where I am now.”
Conrad glanced up at the sky. “Caelan, the sky’s starting to darken. We should stop until it clears up.”
Caelan stopped and gestured to two boulders along the side of the road. “Let’s build a shelter between that.”
Emily went to collect pine tree needles as the two brothers built a canvas shelter. They ducked underneath just as rain started drizzling down. There they pulled out blankets and food, ate a delicious supper, and curled up next to a warm fire.
The rain was pouring down by this time.
Emily loved the snug shelter with the crackling fire and the murmuring of the two warrior brothers as they hung rainproof cloth to keep out any leaks in between the rocks. She had eaten a leisurely dinner and then lay down on her blanket, and drifted off to sleep.
“Where will we take her?” Conrad murmured to Caelan.
“I think we should take her to Zanna’s inn,” Caelan said quietly. “Zanna is still recovering from her visit to Earth to find out whether or not she could get pregnant.”
“We should stay awhile to help out,” Conrad said. “At least Zafir and Zahara are there.”
“Yes,” Conrad agreed. He pushed his plate aside. “I’ll take first watch.”
“I’ll do second,” Caelan said, lying down and wrapping his blanket about him.
Conrad strapped on his sheath and slipped his sword into it.
It was almost time for Caelan to stand guard when Conrad heard something. He silently drew his sword. “Caelan,” he whispered, “I heard something.”
Caelan awoke and quietly drew his sword. They crept outside together.
Conrad ducked, and an arrow whistled overhead. Caelan ducked as another arrow was loosed by the mysterious visitor.
“Beware the wrath of Tarrant!” a voice boomed out.
Boldly, Conrad shouted, “Come out and show yourself, whoever you are!”
“No!” the voice thundered. “You will leave now!”
The brothers ducked arrows again.
“If all you can do is shoot arrows at us,” Caelan called, “then why don’t you just take my companion’s advice to come out, or just leave?”
Emily, who had awoken due to the commotion, came out of the tent.
“Emily, back into the tent!” Conrad ordered.
Emily scurried back inside.
“This is Tarrant’s woods! Leave!” the voice commanded.
“Let us sleep first. Then we’ll leave. Got it?” Caelan called.
The voice sounded reluctant. “Alright. But if you aren’t gone by tomorrow high noon, you’re dead.”
Caelan and Conrad returned to the shelter, and Caelan took his turn to stand guard.
The next morning, they ate apples and biscuits for breakfast and set off at a brisk pace. They covered a good distance. It was almost noon when they finally came to the end of Tarrant’s forest.
“Well, that’s nice to know,” Emily said.
Caelan agreed. “He can’t kill us when we’re off his property.”
“And that’s a relief,” Conrad added. “I wouldn’t like to die that way.” He then sighed quietly as Caelan gave him a familiar glance. “We’ll act normal,” he whispered.
Emily had no idea what was going on, as she munched a cookie and hummed a tune to herself.
“Come out! We know you’re there!” Conrad called.
“Ya just ‘ave to spoil all th’ fun, dontcha? N’fair!”
Two young men came out of the bushes. Caelan unsheathed his sword and casually leaned on it.
“Well, well, we run into you again. That’s the sixteenth time in the past two months. What’s so nice about this area?” Conrad asked.
“So, Itachi and Bronte, what do you want?” Conrad asked.
“On, nothin’ in partic’lar.” One of them pulled a blade o grass out of the ground and chewed it nonchalantly. “Just hangin’ ‘bout.”
“I see,” Caelan said, cleaning off his sword and putting it back in his sheath. “Well, my companions and I will be stopping for lunch. Care to join us?”
“Naw, we got our own food,” said the other, whom Conrad had pointed out as Bronte.
The pair disappeared into the bushes.
Emily sat down and rubbed her legs wearily. She ate some lunch, and lay down to catch her sleep.
“How far away is Zanna’s inn?” Caelan asked Conrad.
“Around two days or so,” Conrad replied. He lay down, using his pack as a pillow.
Caelan leaned back against a tree and dozed, keeping one eye open, knowing that their recent visitors would be back eventually.
They continued at a swift pace and covered a good distance by evening. Then the stopped for the night. Emily pulled together a dinner, after which they lay down for the night. Conrad took first watch, and after about six hours he saw movement in the bushes just to his left.
“Who’s there?” he called, ready to fight.
“Calm down, Conrad.” A voice came from his right.
Conrad froze. “Caelan, wake up! There are people out there!”
Caelan sprang to his feet, sword in hand.
Two figures walked toward them. Conrad sighed in relief.
“Hey, Adianna,” he said. “Hi, Adaiah.
Adianna and Adaiah sat down as Conrad introduced them to Emily, who had woken up during the commotion. Caelan brought the campfire back to life and they sat around the crackling flames, enjoying a midnight snack and talking.
“Welll, I’m glad that it was you guys and not those two that we saw,” Adaiah said. “During the late afternoon, we were just walking along, minding our own business, when we heard some sounds. Being as curious as we are, we decided to try and find out who they belonged to. We crept forward for a while, and soon we saw the orange light of a campfire. We heard some voices, so we crept closer and saw Itachi and Bronte eating beside a campfire.
“ ‘It’s not too long now,’ one said.
‘Why now? We’re weak, and they’re strong,’ the other replied.
‘He’s not weak,’ the other answered.
Adaiah bit into his cookie. “We didn’t stay around any longer.”
“Interesting,” Caelan mused. “Who’s ‘he’, who’s ‘we’re’, and who’s ‘they’re’?”
“I’d like to know,” Adianna said. “Itachi and Bronte, are certainly not anyone from our group, or Hadrian’s either.”
“ ‘It’s not too long now’,” Conrad repeated. “Weird.”
“Yes,” Adaiah agreed. “It’s very strange.” Yawning widely, he suggested, “Why don’t we sleep now? It’s late.”
One by one, the five dropped off to sleep. The fire burned down, but the faint light in the coals remained.
No one heard the rustle in the bushes.
Itachi and Bronte had returned.
Adianna’s eyes shot open when something pricked her neck. She looked up into the grinning face of Bronte.
“Hey there,” he said. “Get up.”
Adianna did as she was told, while looking around the campsite. Emily, Caelan and Conrad were nowhere to be seen.
“Yer pals abandoned ya, but yer bro’s still here.” He continued grinning.
Adaiah and Adianna were tied to a nearby tree, while their captors feasted on the contents of the packs they had stolen from their captives.
Suddenly, the ropes went limp.
“Come on,” a voice whispered. “We have your friends. Hurry, before they come after us.”
The twins crept away with their rescuers.
“Our names are Perseus and Orion,” one of them said. “I am Perseus. Stay with us, and we’ll take you to your friends.”
After they had traveled awhile, Perseus stopped and helped his companion move a boulder. A ladder was revealed.
“Climb down,” Perseus told Adaiah and Adianna.
The twins scurried down the ladder. They followed a tunnel that led to an underground cave.
Sitting on ledges hewn from the earth were Conrad, Caelan, and Emily. They were sipping a juice made of squeezed peach and drail mixed with sugar. A pair of girls was sitting on a nearby cot, sewing clothes. They looked up.
One of them stood up and introduced herself as Cassiopeia, and her sister as Andromeda. She gave them glasses of juice.
Perseus and Orion came in and helped themselves to some juice. Perseus sat next to Caelan, while Orion sat near the entrance.
“Orion can’t talk,” Perseus said, “but he’s smart and a great guide. Cassiopeia and Andromeda are my sisters. Pegasus should be here soon. He’s a flying horse, and a great spy. We’re all pretty friendly, but Orion is a pretty serious guy. No one can figure out why he can’t talk. No one cut out his tongue. Doctors don’t know why. We even hired a specialist from earth to try and find out why, using all the latest technology. Speaking of technology, where’s David.
“He’s in his lab,” Andromeda said.
“Who’s David?” Adaiah asked.
“He’s the newest member of our group,” Andromeda answered. “He’s trying ot invent a communication system for Galandria.”
They all quieted down when they heard a WHOOSH nearby.
“That would be Pegasus,” Perseus said. “I’ll excuse myself to go set up some cots for our guests.” He stood and left.
Just then, a door opened, and a boy in his mid-teens came out.
“Ah, David,” Cassiopeia said. “Hello. Would you like some juice?”
David had on a pair of old work jeans and a shirt that had once been clean and white. “Uh, hi,” he said. “No thanks, Cas. I’m not thirsty. I’m just trying to figure some stuff out. It would be OK if you could make me some cinnamon toast, though, please.” David disappeared back into his lab.
Perseus came in, holding a couple cots. “That’s our David,” he said. “Always working in his lab.”
“Does he ever sleep?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, about fourteen hours a week,” Andromeda said, opening a closet door and pulling out sheets, blankets, and pillows.”
“No joking,” Perseus added. “He works way too hard. He needs to rest and eat more. The fullest meal he’s had ever since coming to live here was a piece of bread and two bowls of soup.”
“He’s going to get sick,” Emily said, sounding concerned.
“It’s nice of him to want to better our lives as Galandrians,” Perseus said, “But you’re right, Emily, he ought to rest and eat more.”
“I’ll make him his toast,” Andromeda said. “I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me.” She disappeared through a nearby door.
“How many doors do you have that lead out of this room?” Emily asked.
“I don’t think I’ve ever counted,” Perseus said. “There are separate bedrooms and bathrooms for girls and boys, a kitchen, a guest suite, a dining room, three closets, a pleasure room, and David’s lab off this room.”
Caelan whistled. “Wow! That’s a lot of rooms.”
“Yes,” Perseus agreed. “Right now, though, some visitors have taken up the guest suite, so you’ll be sleeping in with us..... that is, if you want to.” He paused, then continued at their nods. “They’re some good friends of ours, and they dance for a living. They’ve been traveling since their parents died, putting on performances everywhere. Said that they once had an older brother, and they think he’s dead.”
Emily stood up. “What time is it?”
“Dawn, I think,” Perseus said. “Why?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to help out in the kitchen,” Emily said. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Perseus answered. He pointed to the door that Andromeda had gone through. “There’s the kitchen.”
Emily hurried through it, with Cassiopeia right behind her.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Sure,” Cassiopeia said, handing her an apron. “If you don’t mind, you can peel those carrots.”
Emily took the paring knife that Andromeda gave her and set to work.
“We’re making a meal for a family we know,” Cassiopeia explained. “We’ll make breakfast while the meal is cooking.”
The trio bustled about busily, the good smells of food cooking drifting about. They cooked the meal, prepared breakfast, and set it out.
After they had eaten the tasty meal, the girls cleaned up while the males talked about weapons.
Emily talked to Andromeda and Cassiopeia.
“ I was born in Gaelan,” she said. “I was kidnapped by two men who had an evil master, and Caelan rescued me from being sacrificed to their supreme master. We went to Xenia’s inn for a while, then kept going. Then we were saved from being captured by two other evil men by Orion and Perseus, and they also saved Adianna and Adaiah when they were captured.”
All three girls jumped when Perseus burst into the kitchen. “Quick! He got to the secret room!” he cried.
The three girls quickly dried their hands with towels.
“What’s going on?” Emily asked.
“Our underground house has been discovered! By HIS spies!”
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE TH MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Emily and Chandra flopped down onto chairs.
“I’ve never cleaned so many dishes in my life!” Emily exclaimed. “Oof!”
“That’s what happens with four males in the house, I guess,” Chnadra said, grinning wearily. “Hungry ones, at least.” She hauled herself off the chair. “Come on. Mama needs help in the garden.”
They trudged wearily to the back gardens. Xenia was on her knees, pulling weeds. She was wet with sweat and grimy with dirt. She gave them a gentle smile.
“I see you came out to help me,” she said, brushing aside a few stray hairs. “I’m weeding out the onion section. Perhaps you can weed the potatoes and the carrots?”
“I’ll weed the carrots,” Emily offered quickly, giving Chandra a sideways glance.
“I’ll do the potatoes,” Chandra said.
The afternoon passed quickly, and each one of them weeded out two separate parts of the garden. Then they took quick baths while Caelan and Manchu sliced bread and fruit for lunch. The meal, though simple, tasted delicious. Then everyone helped Conrad, Caelan, and Emily get ready to leave.
The packs were filled with soft, white biscuits, fresh vegetables and canned vegetables and fruit, and some emergency supplies, and Emily’s clothes. Emily helped Chandra make a quick dinner of biscuits with ham, fruit, and sugar cookies. After eating, everyone pitched in to clean up, and then they went to bed.
Emily woke the next morning to birds chirping outside her window. The first soft rays of dawn poked through the trees, and the dew-laden grass shone.
Emily jumped out of bed, dressed hurriedly in her hiking suit, and slipped her backpack onto her back. Then she hurried downstairs to the kitchen.
Xenia was bustling about busily. She glanced in Emily’s direction. “I’m making a nice breakfast for you, Conrad, and Caelan. They’re accompanying you to your next destination.
Emily took off her pack and sat at the kitchen table. After a while, Conrad and Caelan strode in and sat down.
Xenia put three bowls on a try and brought them to the table. Emily peered at the contents. It was mixed, sliced fruit sprinkled with sugar and crumbled biscuit. She dug in and found the dish extremely tasty.
They thanked Xenia for the delicious meal and quickly finished it off with toast. They stood up, shouldered their packs, and started their journey.
By late morning, they had covered several miles. It was cool and sunny, and they chatted merrily.
“So, where are you from, Emily,” Conrad inquired.
“Gaelan,” Emily answered.
“I came from there,” Caelan commented
“I was born in Siwa, which is on the other side of Galnadria, in Vaeran,” Conrad said. “I have six brothers.” He gave Emily a sideways glance. “Do you have any siblings?”
“I had two sisters,” Emily said. “When I was captured, One was twelve, and the other was four. I really want a brother, though.”
“I was born in Gaelan, but we moved to Siwa, where my other siblings were born,” Caelan explained. “Along with Conrad, there is Adaniah, Zuben, Allen, Farquen, and Gaejon, along with some sisters.”
Emily shifted her pack slightly. “Cool.”
Conrad looked at her. “Would you mind telling us how you were kidnapped?”
“No,” Emily replied. She reached far into the depths of her brain. “I was taking a walk in our neighborhood. Quiet place, it was. Anyways, I was just walking along, when two strangers suddenly came up on either side of me.........”
“Hey, girl, how you doing? Hey, Walter, she sure is downright pretty,” said one.
“Oh yes, pretty enough to meet our master......”
........the one who had spoken first suddenly whipped out a rag and gagged me. He and his companion dragged me to the shadows, where they knocked me out. When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in a tiny room.
That’s how I ended up with Hadrian’s army,” Emily finished.
“I almost joined Hadrian’s army,” Caelan said. “I desperately wanted to be free of prisoner hood. But I learned that joining up would cause me to become even more of a prisoner! I hoped to escape before my secret of who I was, was discovered. My own brother rescued me, and he helped me get to where I am now.”
Conrad glanced up at the sky. “Caelan, the sky’s starting to darken. We should stop until it clears up.”
Caelan stopped and gestured to two boulders along the side of the road. “Let’s build a shelter between that.”
Emily went to collect pine tree needles as the two brothers built a canvas shelter. They ducked underneath just as rain started drizzling down. There they pulled out blankets and food, ate a delicious supper, and curled up next to a warm fire.
The rain was pouring down by this time.
Emily loved the snug shelter with the crackling fire and the murmuring of the two warrior brothers as they hung rainproof cloth to keep out any leaks in between the rocks. She had eaten a leisurely dinner and then lay down on her blanket, and drifted off to sleep.
“Where will we take her?” Conrad murmured to Caelan.
“I think we should take her to Zanna’s inn,” Caelan said quietly. “Zanna is still recovering from her visit to Earth to find out whether or not she could get pregnant.”
“We should stay awhile to help out,” Conrad said. “At least Zafir and Zahara are there.”
“Yes,” Conrad agreed. He pushed his plate aside. “I’ll take first watch.”
“I’ll do second,” Caelan said, lying down and wrapping his blanket about him.
Conrad strapped on his sheath and slipped his sword into it.
It was almost time for Caelan to stand guard when Conrad heard something. He silently drew his sword. “Caelan,” he whispered, “I heard something.”
Caelan awoke and quietly drew his sword. They crept outside together.
Conrad ducked, and an arrow whistled overhead. Caelan ducked as another arrow was loosed by the mysterious visitor.
“Beware the wrath of Tarrant!” a voice boomed out.
Boldly, Conrad shouted, “Come out and show yourself, whoever you are!”
“No!” the voice thundered. “You will leave now!”
The brothers ducked arrows again.
“If all you can do is shoot arrows at us,” Caelan called, “then why don’t you just take my companion’s advice to come out, or just leave?”
Emily, who had awoken due to the commotion, came out of the tent.
“Emily, back into the tent!” Conrad ordered.
Emily scurried back inside.
“This is Tarrant’s woods! Leave!” the voice commanded.
“Let us sleep first. Then we’ll leave. Got it?” Caelan called.
The voice sounded reluctant. “Alright. But if you aren’t gone by tomorrow high noon, you’re dead.”
Caelan and Conrad returned to the shelter, and Caelan took his turn to stand guard.
The next morning, they ate apples and biscuits for breakfast and set off at a brisk pace. They covered a good distance. It was almost noon when they finally came to the end of Tarrant’s forest.
“Well, that’s nice to know,” Emily said.
Caelan agreed. “He can’t kill us when we’re off his property.”
“And that’s a relief,” Conrad added. “I wouldn’t like to die that way.” He then sighed quietly as Caelan gave him a familiar glance. “We’ll act normal,” he whispered.
Emily had no idea what was going on, as she munched a cookie and hummed a tune to herself.
“Come out! We know you’re there!” Conrad called.
“Ya just ‘ave to spoil all th’ fun, dontcha? N’fair!”
Two young men came out of the bushes. Caelan unsheathed his sword and casually leaned on it.
“Well, well, we run into you again. That’s the sixteenth time in the past two months. What’s so nice about this area?” Conrad asked.
“So, Itachi and Bronte, what do you want?” Conrad asked.
“On, nothin’ in partic’lar.” One of them pulled a blade o grass out of the ground and chewed it nonchalantly. “Just hangin’ ‘bout.”
“I see,” Caelan said, cleaning off his sword and putting it back in his sheath. “Well, my companions and I will be stopping for lunch. Care to join us?”
“Naw, we got our own food,” said the other, whom Conrad had pointed out as Bronte.
The pair disappeared into the bushes.
Emily sat down and rubbed her legs wearily. She ate some lunch, and lay down to catch her sleep.
“How far away is Zanna’s inn?” Caelan asked Conrad.
“Around two days or so,” Conrad replied. He lay down, using his pack as a pillow.
Caelan leaned back against a tree and dozed, keeping one eye open, knowing that their recent visitors would be back eventually.
They continued at a swift pace and covered a good distance by evening. Then the stopped for the night. Emily pulled together a dinner, after which they lay down for the night. Conrad took first watch, and after about six hours he saw movement in the bushes just to his left.
“Who’s there?” he called, ready to fight.
“Calm down, Conrad.” A voice came from his right.
Conrad froze. “Caelan, wake up! There are people out there!”
Caelan sprang to his feet, sword in hand.
Two figures walked toward them. Conrad sighed in relief.
“Hey, Adianna,” he said. “Hi, Adaiah.
Adianna and Adaiah sat down as Conrad introduced them to Emily, who had woken up during the commotion. Caelan brought the campfire back to life and they sat around the crackling flames, enjoying a midnight snack and talking.
“Welll, I’m glad that it was you guys and not those two that we saw,” Adaiah said. “During the late afternoon, we were just walking along, minding our own business, when we heard some sounds. Being as curious as we are, we decided to try and find out who they belonged to. We crept forward for a while, and soon we saw the orange light of a campfire. We heard some voices, so we crept closer and saw Itachi and Bronte eating beside a campfire.
“ ‘It’s not too long now,’ one said.
‘Why now? We’re weak, and they’re strong,’ the other replied.
‘He’s not weak,’ the other answered.
Adaiah bit into his cookie. “We didn’t stay around any longer.”
“Interesting,” Caelan mused. “Who’s ‘he’, who’s ‘we’re’, and who’s ‘they’re’?”
“I’d like to know,” Adianna said. “Itachi and Bronte, are certainly not anyone from our group, or Hadrian’s either.”
“ ‘It’s not too long now’,” Conrad repeated. “Weird.”
“Yes,” Adaiah agreed. “It’s very strange.” Yawning widely, he suggested, “Why don’t we sleep now? It’s late.”
One by one, the five dropped off to sleep. The fire burned down, but the faint light in the coals remained.
No one heard the rustle in the bushes.
Itachi and Bronte had returned.
Adianna’s eyes shot open when something pricked her neck. She looked up into the grinning face of Bronte.
“Hey there,” he said. “Get up.”
Adianna did as she was told, while looking around the campsite. Emily, Caelan and Conrad were nowhere to be seen.
“Yer pals abandoned ya, but yer bro’s still here.” He continued grinning.
Adaiah and Adianna were tied to a nearby tree, while their captors feasted on the contents of the packs they had stolen from their captives.
Suddenly, the ropes went limp.
“Come on,” a voice whispered. “We have your friends. Hurry, before they come after us.”
The twins crept away with their rescuers.
“Our names are Perseus and Orion,” one of them said. “I am Perseus. Stay with us, and we’ll take you to your friends.”
After they had traveled awhile, Perseus stopped and helped his companion move a boulder. A ladder was revealed.
“Climb down,” Perseus told Adaiah and Adianna.
The twins scurried down the ladder. They followed a tunnel that led to an underground cave.
Sitting on ledges hewn from the earth were Conrad, Caelan, and Emily. They were sipping a juice made of squeezed peach and drail mixed with sugar. A pair of girls was sitting on a nearby cot, sewing clothes. They looked up.
One of them stood up and introduced herself as Cassiopeia, and her sister as Andromeda. She gave them glasses of juice.
Perseus and Orion came in and helped themselves to some juice. Perseus sat next to Caelan, while Orion sat near the entrance.
“Orion can’t talk,” Perseus said, “but he’s smart and a great guide. Cassiopeia and Andromeda are my sisters. Pegasus should be here soon. He’s a flying horse, and a great spy. We’re all pretty friendly, but Orion is a pretty serious guy. No one can figure out why he can’t talk. No one cut out his tongue. Doctors don’t know why. We even hired a specialist from earth to try and find out why, using all the latest technology. Speaking of technology, where’s David.
“He’s in his lab,” Andromeda said.
“Who’s David?” Adaiah asked.
“He’s the newest member of our group,” Andromeda answered. “He’s trying ot invent a communication system for Galandria.”
They all quieted down when they heard a WHOOSH nearby.
“That would be Pegasus,” Perseus said. “I’ll excuse myself to go set up some cots for our guests.” He stood and left.
Just then, a door opened, and a boy in his mid-teens came out.
“Ah, David,” Cassiopeia said. “Hello. Would you like some juice?”
David had on a pair of old work jeans and a shirt that had once been clean and white. “Uh, hi,” he said. “No thanks, Cas. I’m not thirsty. I’m just trying to figure some stuff out. It would be OK if you could make me some cinnamon toast, though, please.” David disappeared back into his lab.
Perseus came in, holding a couple cots. “That’s our David,” he said. “Always working in his lab.”
“Does he ever sleep?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, about fourteen hours a week,” Andromeda said, opening a closet door and pulling out sheets, blankets, and pillows.”
“No joking,” Perseus added. “He works way too hard. He needs to rest and eat more. The fullest meal he’s had ever since coming to live here was a piece of bread and two bowls of soup.”
“He’s going to get sick,” Emily said, sounding concerned.
“It’s nice of him to want to better our lives as Galandrians,” Perseus said, “But you’re right, Emily, he ought to rest and eat more.”
“I’ll make him his toast,” Andromeda said. “I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me.” She disappeared through a nearby door.
Emily stood up. “What time is it?”
“Dawn, I think,” Perseus said. “Why?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to help out in the kitchen,” Emily said. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Perseus answered. He pointed to the door that Andromeda had gone through. “There’s the kitchen.”
Emily hurried through it, with Cassiopeia right behind her.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Sure,” Cassiopeia said, handing her an apron. “If you don’t mind, you can peel those carrots.”
Emily took the paring knife that Andromeda gave her and set to work.
“We’re making a meal for a family we know,” Cassiopeia explained. “We’ll make breakfast while the meal is cooking.”
The trio bustled about busily, the good smells of food cooking drifting about. They cooked the meal, prepared breakfast, and set it out.
After they had eaten the tasty meal, the girls cleaned up while the males talked about weapons.
Emily talked to Andromeda and Cassiopeia.
“ I was born in Gaelan,” she said. “I was kidnapped by two men who had an evil master, and Caelan rescued me from being sacrificed to their supreme master. We went to Xenia’s inn for a while, then kept going. Then we were saved from being captured by two other evil men by Orion and Perseus, and they also saved Adianna and Adaiah when they were captured.”
All three girls jumped when Perseus burst into the kitchen. “Quick! He got to the secret room!” he cried.
The three girls quickly dried their hands with towels.
“What’s going on?” Emily asked.
“Our underground house has been discovered! By HIS spies!”
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