A Song Bound in Gold

Soren sighed, wrapping a clean white cloth around Melody's shoulder then steeping away from the table to look at Kalena. "If you stay here I'll protect you, and when she wakes up she'll protect you too I can almost bet you." He hesitated a moment, glancing at Melody before apologizing to her in his head. "If I told you who she was you'd know you're safe here." He paused then let out a breath. "See the brand, her name is Melody. The one of the legends."

Tanner's eyes went wide as he stared at them.

Kalena's eyes also went wide, filling with fear. She had been raised to fear those with magic. She feared them because of her culture and experiances with it and now she was in a house of magic. She gulped, her eyes darting around as she tried to decide what to do. Her emotions were on overload, having just had an encouter with a man that tried to strip her, another man who then protected her (probably for his own personal pleasure), a girl that was injured and wouldn't wake up, and now magic. Of all things. Magic. The room began to spin slightly and she came crashing to the floor having fainted.

Soren cursed, darting forwards and carefully picking her up from the floor. Finding no other option he carried her back to his own room to lay her on his bed. Pulling the blankets up and tucking them around her he sighed a little, perhaps he could have told them that better...
Shaking his head a little he walked back out and eyed Tanner. "So..what are you? Alisake or Iltez?"

Tanner looked back at him, his face still stuck in a mixture of shock and awe. "Huh? Oh uh Alisake," his eyes went back to Melody and he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Who was that girl?"

Soren nodded thoughtfully, glancing back at his room before replying. "I don't know. She showed up here minutes before you did." His voice was distracted as he moved back to Melody and finished bandaging her up before sighing a bit. "If you'll pick her up I'll show you to her room."

Tanner gave a small nod and moved over to Melody and slipped his arms under her gently, lifting her up and following Soren.

Kalena's eyes flickered open and went wide as she realized where she was. Fear gripped at her and she fell out of the bed, quickly running out of the bedroom door and outside. She had to get out of here before she got hurt.

Soren lead Tanner to a door on the back of the house. Pulling one of the pouches off of his belt and unzipping it. A small leather book lay in the folds of it and when he pulled it out it was shown to have fine golden letters on the front. He flipped it open, the pages seemingly filled with unreadable symbols. Stopping on one page h pulled out a small golden key and shut tbhe book, hesitating before sitting it on Melody instead of putting it on the pouch.
He then slipped the key into the door's lock and pushed it open, the doorway turning into a bright light.
"Welcome to the Golden Meadows." Soren announced, then stepped through e light.

Tanner walked in, his eyes wide as he carried Melody. "Whoa... what is this place?"

Kalena's sight began to blur as she ran, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her screams pierced the air as a rough hand grabbed her by the arm.

Soren grinned, gesturing around the meadow with a bit of pride. "The golden meadows is a passageway to other cities and safe houses among the countries. Melody was building it before she was captured."
Soren stepped forwards and glanced around, taking in the sight of the meadow with as much wonder as whe he first saw it. Dozens of doors circled the meadow, each made of dark would and inscribed with the same strange symbols that were on the inside of the book.

"Only about half of the door ways are stable. The others take a lot of magic to maintain, she wasn't done with this, not even close. There is only one door that doesn't require magic to enter, and its the one we want."

Soren pulled out his key and walked over to the only door that wasn't made of the oak, instead it was a black would, the symbols seemingly more complicated than th others. Sticking the key in he pulled open the door to show another doorway of light. Without hesitation he walked though, gesturing for Tanner to follow him into the light.

On the other side lay a bedroom. (Which I will describe in the next post :p)

Tanner followed quietly, his eyes wide with awe and amazement. He glanced down at the girl in his arms, blown away by the thought that she created it all. He looked back at Soren and then the rest of the room. "What if that girl wakes up?" he asked, not really caring, but thinking it might be a good idea to prepare for, just in case she did wake up and happened to stumble into the room.

Soren paused, considering it for a moment with no real worry. "There's not a big chance of her wanderings in here, the doors lock automatically behind us, but they may catch..." Pursing his lips Soren sighed and glanced at Melody one more time before walking towards the door of the room. "You may stay back here as long as you wish, I'll be back when they promblems with the girl are cleared up, If I'm able to fix those ." Sighing once again he stepped out of the room and walked back into the main part of the house, checking the doors behind him.

They were spose to be so that you can go back the way you came but that's all. Slowly he made his way back to his room then froze upon seeing his empty bed. Cursing he immediately ran out the door, hoping to find her before anything could happen.

"LET ME GO!" Kalena screamed as she tried to yank out of the tight grip the man had on her arm. "LET ME GO!" he slammed her up against a tree, his body pressed to hers. Her mind spun, black spots forming in her vision from the impact of the tree. Tears were spilling down her cheeks. The guard chuckled in her ear as his hands began to wander her body. She squirmed, trying to get away, but it was no use.

Tanner looked around and then back down at Melody. He sighed and decided he should probably find a bed to put her on. He started to look around, trying to pick out a bed.

Soren paused, taking a deep breath as he remembered the words Melody had told him long ago when talking about magic. You can't fish it, listen to everything around you, become one with the life energy, that's when your magic is strongest.
Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and opened himself up to the forest. He'd once been told that he was best at elemental magic, others had been awed at how the forest reacted to him. There. He'd heard it. The girl.

Suddenly he was rushing through the forest, whispering harshly to the trees as he neared the spot. Jerking to a sports feet away he let the last word come out as a shout, a branch of the tree acting as if a mind of its own and turning limber as it wrapped itself around the guard and proceeded to lift.

Melody stirred again, curling into him instinctively, the brand on her shoulder more prominent than ever. Her brow furrowed as she muttered in her shallow sleep, obviously dreaming.

Tanner tensed slightly when she curled into him, then relaxed as he saw she was still sleeping. He raised a brow at her murmurs, trying his hardest not to stare at the brand on her shoulder, wincing as he thought of how painful it might have been. He finally found the bed and laid her on it gently after he had pulled the covers down. He straightened her out some, making sure she stayed modest, before pulling the blankets up and over her.

Kalena dropped to the ground, her mind spinning, not even really comprehending what was going on. The tears continued to roll silently down her cheeks and she inwardly cursed herself for being so weak.

The guard was crying out in fear as the tree grabbed him. He had no idea how to react in his drunken state other than with fear.

Melody sighed, curling up on her side and whimpering at some unseen thing in her sleep as she winced a little, the dream taking her back to the prison. Her fists curled around the blanket, holdings it tight enough to turn her knuckles white with the force.

Soren growled, the magic seemingly not enough as he muttered something else, the tree snapping back and releasing the guard as he grabbed the guy by his collar and placed a cold expression on his face. "Now what would a guard be doing all the way out here with an obviously scared young lady?" Soren tightened his grip and his eyes went dark. "Nothing bad I hope..."

The guard looked at Soren and raised a brow. "It's none of your business what we been doin'. We was just 'avin' a little fun is all. Now run along and go play wif your magic rocks why don'tcha?" He shoved Soren away and stumbled back towards Kalena.


Tanner sighed as he watched her, wondering if he should try to wake her. He gently reached out and touched her hands, hoping to make it relax her some.

Soren growled, snapping a short word and watching as the branch wrapped itself around the man again. "Listen to me closely.," He said softly, his voice like ice. "I don't like to repeat myself. You come around here again and I will personally see that you no longer have use of your favorite limbs. Is that clear?" He watched the man, never breaking eye contact as he gestured towards Kalena with a kind hand. "Can you walk?"

Melody jumped, her eyes snapping open to revelation them to be a brilliant shade of gold. For a moment she looked panicked, a strange feel to the air around her as she started trembling slightly, her sleep covered mind trying to figure out where she was.

"Hey, it's alright," Tanner said as comfortingly as he could. "My name is Tanner. I found you in the woods. Soren helped me bring you in here....are you alright?" He asked, concern and worry coloring his features.

Kalena blinked and gave a small nod, forcing herself to stand, using the tree for support. Well...maybe she could walk. She wouldn't tell Soren that it was a maybe though.

The guard's eyes filled with fear again at the tree and gave a small nod. Why he was more afraid of the tree than the boy contriving the tree was beyond comprehension. But it was the truth all the same.

Melody blinked, her eyes taking in the familiar surroundings even as his words began to register in her head. Taking a deep breath to calm herself she studied Tanner for a moment, a carefully surpressed expression of hope in her eyes. "Soren? So...." sje paused, almost unable to continue in case it wasn't true. "I'm...I'm free?"

Soren smirked, patting the guy's cheek before turning away to face Kalena. Watching her with a concerned expression he hesitated, offering her a hand. "I could carry you if needed. " he offered slowly, sure that she would say no but needing to put the idea out there. "Its an awful long way back to the cabin."