The Island With No Parallel

Revett (Part 1)

When Yunara’s consciousness slipped and came back, she felt like he was dreaming. They weren’t standing in the alleyway anymore. Round about them were buildings of a completely different design than the way buildings were in Spain, and walking all about them were fairies,. their wings like robes folded on top of their clothes, roaming the streets and the air above. Manuel looked around in amazement. So did Yunara, but for a completely different reason.

All about them, on the buildings, red flags were hanging with silver symbols of spiders on them. Men with the symbol etched on their chests walked around in hoods sided by knights, patrolling the streets.

While Manuel was still disoriented from the journey, Yunara grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, hiding behind a building as more of these men in these hoods walked by.

“What are you doing?” Manuel demanded.

“Shhhhh...” Yunara hissed, watching as the men passed by. She spoke in a low voice. “They’re Aracs. Damn that man, Lord Stretton has changed everything in so little time.” She said it angrily, but in her heart, she wanted to cry. It was like this wasn’t even Ecencia anymore. Seeing these men marching about, that horrible symbol. A cold hand started taking hold of her heart, sending her heart rate up quickly. The King and Queen. Nexa and Pitrious. It was all coming back to her again, as if she were experiencing it all over again.

“Do you think Lord Stretton has gotten to the person we’re looking for before us?” Manuel said, a welcome interruption from her thoughts.

“No,” she said, trying to focus. “I think Cadria would have told us if they had. She’d definitely know.”

“Then what do we do now? Where do we find whoever it is we’re looking for?”

Yunara paused. “We’re looking for Kailu. I remember Lorenn said she was the daughter of a blacksmith. There can’t be that many blacksmiths here. It’s a small village. Let’s ask around.”

“To who? Them?” Manuel asked dryly, pointing at the hooded men in the streets.

Yunara ignored the comment. She stopped and thought for a moment. “Let’s find a bar. Everyone knows each other at the bars.”

Manuel shrugged. “Lead the way.”

She didn’t respond. She led Manuel away from the building where they hid and carefully started down the streets of Revett.

They walked through the town avoiding the men in hoods. They made rounds about the town everywhere. “I can’t believe so much has changed,” she mumbled under her breath, still staggering over it. She wondered what would happen to Ecencia from here on. When Cadri returned, would she be queen? After all of this chaos, would Ecencia even accept her as their leader? A girl at the age of 16! But Yunara knew that the main family had to come back to set things in order. Lord Stretton had no right to the throne, and Renen was a traitor. Despite her age, Cadri needed to be Ecencia’s queen. She was the only one that might be able to bring this chaos back to order.

Finally, they found a bar, and as soon as a man of the Aracs and a soldier passed by, they darted for the entrance.

They entered a seedy bar like any other. A grisly bartender barked orders to the kitchen behind him as women served at waitresses serving rounds and rounds of beer to drunkards playing cards. Yunara walked up to the owner of the establishment as Manuel looked about with a tinge of disgust on his face. She figured this kind of bar wasn’t the type he would frequent. It definitely looked like a drinking place for the poor. “Sir, can you help me?” she asked the owner.

“Only if the help you need is paying for a drink,” he said, cleaning out a glass.

Yunara looked to Manuel. “You must be joking,” he objected. “Does my money even work here?”