Wings of Fate: The Lost Ones

Several hours later Austin, who ate greedily before falling asleep at the table, was tucked into some blankets on the floor, snoring. Ruth sat at her table with a small cup of peppermint tea warming her hands while Raven stood at the window staring at the moon. They were waiting for the Moirai, who would arrive soon -- though how soon that would be, Ruth didn’t know.

When Raven suggested calling her friend, the old lady laughed at her. Really laughed at her. Minutes passed while she whooped, slapping her knees, before it rescinded into mocking chuckles. Phones, apparently, did not exist on DeSolar. She then explained some differences between Earth and DeSolar but even Ruth’s information was limited -- she hadn’t seen Earth since the early 1930’s.

There were things Raven could tell her. But it was clear, there were no phone-lines, no phones, no internet -- they didn’t use Morse-code. This part of DeSolar was called the Kingdom of Camelion and was ruled by a Queen who bothered little with the teachings of her people. Therefore, many could not read or write, or draw anything more than stick figures. Ruth shook her head while telling about the poverty, but then shrugged as though to say it didn’t matter.

“No one controls the Queen Mother.” She said, emphasizing it with wide eyes. “Not even Atropos goes near her.”

“Tell me about Atropos, who is she?” Raven asked, glancing over her shoulder as she murmured, not wanting to wake Austin.

Ruth’s green eyes lightened behind the tea cup as she met Raven’s gaze. “She is one of the Moirai sisters here to help you lead the war.”

“The war, yes,” Raven mused, moving to the table. “I don’t understand how I can be a part of the war here. I know nothing about the planet, nothing about the war, nothing about fighting -- how am I supposed to lead?”

“Atropos will explain more when she arrives, Raven, I truly do not have much information about her plans.”

“Where I’m from, it is generally unheard of for a woman to lead a war. We don’t even have female presidents telling the soldiers how to win a war.”

“I see.” Ruth replied, her voice croaking. She sipped her tea and then continued. “Well, first of all, we are from the same place. I am just from a different time. What year is it there?”

Raven leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on the table, and wondered what she could tell Ruth about home. A lot happened since the woman left. “2012.”

“Oh, my word!” She leaned back -- stunned. “I hadn’t realized about the time differences, how the years pass so much more quickly here. I’ve been on DeSolar for ninety years but according to earth’s time I should only be seventy-six years old. That’s astonishing.” Ruth paused. Raven stared at her, trying to see beyond the exterior and to the woman beneath, in an attempt to understand how it must feel to be her. Raising her eyes from the table, Ruth shook her head with a laugh. “I never cease to be surprised by things here, Raven, and you will most likely feel the same. DeSolar -- it is very different from home.”

“How so?”

“You will see Raven, you will see. During your journey with the Moirai you will be exposed to many more things than even I have been. Do not be afraid though, Atropos will protect you.”

“Why do you refer to her as ‘Atropos’ and ’The Moirai?” Raven asked.

Ruth chuckled. “Oh no, Raven, I’m sorry, I did not explain that well. The Moirai is collective -- it is not just Atropos, it is also her sisters Lachesis and Klotho.”

The Moirai, Raven thought -- hearing the word differently. Collective. Her mind whirled frantically to drum up the long forgotten memory of a story her mother used to read. Every night there was one magical story after another, each well-intentioned to bring on dreams of faeries and princesses. As a little girl she memorized almost every line of The Princess and the Frog, Aladdin, and The Forest of Magic.

There had been a book mentioning the Moirai. Pushing herself, Raven forced her thoughts to zero in on the book cover in hopes she would be able to identify the book by its cover art. Mentally searching for the sound of her mother’s voice, reading the book, the title still eluded her. And it was years since she’d remembered the sound of her mother’s voice.

“This all sounds so -- mystical or magical. Is that what this place is, magic?” Raven crossed her arms against her chest and smelled herself. “Never mind that question, I have a different one. Can I take you up on that bath offer?”

Ruth sat at her kitchen table long after her guests had gone to bed. The little boy fell asleep quickly, which was to be expected, but she hoped to spend a little more time with him. Glancing at his sleeping body, she imagined her own son would have looked much like him -- all dark hair and round, dark eyes like George. Listening to the children run around the village was poor solace to her lonely soul over the years.

She knew, had always known, that even though she was a woman who was meant to love someone deeply -- she would never get the opportunity again. Her heart belonged to George. She buried her great love for him when she buried their unborn child.

It occurred to her several years ago, when the Moirai told her the boy would be coming, that perhaps she could keep him as her own. But when she approached the topic with Klotho she was informed, kindly, that Austin was meant for other things. She considered keeping one of the many children who passed through on their way to the Lost Village but was told her village was not a safe place for children.

Not these days.

And she couldn’t move away from the Crash Site because ‘the black bird’ and the boy would be coming soon.

Raven.

Ruth sighed heavily. Well, now they had come. Perhaps she could leave the village. Before they left for the river, even though Bael should have done so, Raven told her about the kidnapping. Raven kept right on talking and did not notice how Ruth nearly fell to the floor in shock. It nearly ended before it began.

She did not tell Raven she and Austin were some of the lucky few. To have been met by Bael’s team was lucky enough for them -- but to have been abducted and then brought back to safety was unparalleled luck. Lucky for all of them, she thought, twisting her fingers together.

No one really knew how many of The Lost Ones there were. The Crash Site could not be watched every minute of the day and night. Bael’s men came upon the Crash Site finding empty vessels and dozens of foot prints in the ground. Search teams were sent out back then -- in search of the travelers. That’s when they found out about that captain of the boat -- found out about where The Lost Ones were taken -- and what was being done to them.

Bael stepped up his surveillance of the Crash Site, and brought her many people over the years. Not once had his men been attacked in an attempt to steal the Lost Ones.

Until now.

While Raven and Austin were at the river Bael came to visit with her. She was in the kitchen preparing soup and bread while he hunched over in a chair with his head in his hands.

“Tell me what happened.” Ruth suggested.

He sat in silence for a long time and she began to think he wasn’t going to speak but when he did finally answer, unshed tears clogged his voice.

“The men fell upon us while we slept. Linden and Calitin, both new apprentices, were watching the perimeter and when I looked for them I found their bodies lying just outside the camp site with their throats slit ear to ear. Their surprised eyes stared unseeingly at the trees above their heads and I knew they were caught unaware.

The boat captain sent at least a dozen men to take Raven and Austin. Jeswein, Amman and I fought hard but while we were fending off the men, the other men took Raven and Austin. The men taking them did not wait around to see if their fellow seamen would make it out of the fight alive and left them to their own devices. We killed those left behind but not before they killed Amman.”

When he paused, Ruth offered him a cup of peppermint tea and then sat across from him with a cup of her own. Taking a sip, he swallowed and continued. “Jeswein and I ran through the forest until we came to the river. We swam to the other side, because the boat moved far up the river, and we only just caught view of it before it turned around the corner to the freedom of the ocean. We made it to the embankment onto Calindahr’s land and then ran as swiftly as we could along the water line, in pursuit of the boat.” He took another sip of his tea before resuming.

“When the boat was just nearing the shoreline of Benk City, the seamen turned on each other. It made no sense.” He said, looking up at her. Confusion raced across his eyes in a mirror image of his frown. “One minute everything was quiet and then two men began yelling at each other. Jeswein and I could not hear their words from where we waited on the beach, but those two men argued about something that lead to bloodshed. When one of the men fell over, dead, other men jumped into the fray and before long there were bodies strewn across the deck.

As we waited to see what would happen, several of the men dove off the boat and headed to the nearby shore, with other men pursuing them. Noticing there seemed to be no more life onboard, Jeswein and I headed to the shore where the other men still fought. We jumped into the brawl so we could take down as many as possible in order to retrieve the two Lost Ones. As we fought I noticed Raven peering around one of the trees on the shore. She ducked her head back and after a swift glance around the beach I knew no one else saw her. I assumed she would not have left the boy behind and so concentrated on just being rid of the men.

Before long they were all dead -- including Jeswein.”

He grew silent after that, lost in the torture of losing his best friend. Ruth knew how close the two were -- knew they grew up and spent their entire lives together. They were more like brothers than friends. Her heart bled for him. There were no words to ease his suffering and so she said nothing. When he met her eyes, he bowed and rose with a sigh. “I better go. They will be returning soon.”

She nodded at him and allowed him to leave so he could be alone with his thoughts. It occurred to her she was not the only one who sacrificed something for this mission. And she knew there would be more. So many more.

Ruth glanced down at the two sleeping people in her living room and stood, comfortable they were safe in her house, guarded outside by Bael. Pouring the remainder of her cold tea down the drain, she placed her cup in the sink and shuffled down the hall to her bedroom. Tomorrow the Moirai would come and her entire life’s mission on DeSolar would be at an end. Watching Austin gave her renewed energy to look forward to a new life and she knew it was time.

Tomorrow she would ask the Moirai to allow her to join the other Lost Ones so she could find some peace in her life.