Iss the Darness

Alexander awoke, panting and shaking with fear. It was dark still, and a cool breeze blew through the open window. He was grateful for the cool air as it kissed his bare flesh. He was dripping with perspiration and there were tears in his eyes. Christian sat up, concerned.

"Alexander, what's wrong?"

Alexander turned to Christian and flung his arms around him suddenly, burying his face in Christian's chest. "I can't stop the nightmares from coming." He sobbed. "That night, I hear the screams over and over again, and I see my grandmother's face. I couldn't save her, I tried but..." He covered his mouth with his hand and tried his best to control his sobbing but the tears just wouldn't cease.

Christian held him close, speaking soothingly to him. "You loved your grandmother, she knew that. You did all that you could, I'm sure of it."

Alexander shook his head slowly as he looked up into Christian's eyes. "No." He whispered. "I ran, like a coward."

Christian narrowed his eyes as he watched Alexander. He could tell that he was terrified of the events of that night though he'd never actually told Christian what had happened. He'd only pieced together a small portion of the story from the bits that Alexander had told him. He couldn't imagine Alexander ever running. He wasn't a coward by any means but if he was forced to flee his home and leave his loved ones behind, then something truly horrible must have happened to him. Christian knew that he would never recover from that night if he couldn't face the pain of the past. Whatever had happened, it was tearing him up inside.

"Alexander," He said softly, scooping him up and pulling him closer against him. "You never really told me what happened. I know it was terrible, but you hardly ever speak of it. What happened to you that night? What has you so scared? Your grandmother didn't die from some illness did she? Please, tell me what happened."

Alexander wiped his eyes. "No, she didn't die from an illness." He said, his voice sounding low and angry. "She was murdered. They came in the night, when we were all asleep. My grandmother, myself, and the two servants we employed. They descended on us so quickly, we didn't even stand a chance. In the blink of an eye, my entire world went up in flames."

As Alexander went on to explain the events of the night his grandmother was killed, a wave of painful memories crashed over him. It was all he could do to remain calm as he relived that horrible night and Christian could tell by the way he shivered against him that it had been possibly the worst experience of his young life.

___________________________________________________________

The last time that Alexander had seen Malcolm and Anna alive was earlier that day. Anna was in the kitchen kneading dough to make bread for dinner. She smiled warmly at Alexander as he entered the small room, arms full of wood that he'd collected for the fire. Malcolm came in behind him carrying two rabbits that he laid gently on the wooden table. They had been caught in snares and though still alive, they were in pain and slowly dying. Alexander hadn't the heart to kill them himself so Malcolm sent Alexander to gather wood. Once the boy was out of sight he quickly freed the animals and snapped their necks.

Anna looked at her husband and shook her head with a knowing grin. "He's never going to learn that way you know."

Malcolm gave a little chuckle. "The boy is young still. Give him time."

"Aye." Anna nodded. "He'll learn, or he'll starve. My concern is what will become of him when we're gone."

"His heart is pure. He just doesn't like to see things suffer, but I know what yer saying. He needs to learn." Malcolm picked up a knife from the cupboard and called Alexander to him.

Alexander came at once, smiling and obedient as ever but when he saw Malcolm holding the knife the smile faded from his cherub like face.

"No." Alexander said softly, shaking his head. "Please don't make me do it." Tears filled his eyes as he backed away.

"Come on now Lad." Malcolm told him, his voice as gentle and caring as he could sound. "They won't feel a thing, they're already dead."

"But...I just can't." He sobbed.

"Do you want to eat tonight, child?"

Alexander took a deep breath then moved slowly towards the table, hesitantly taking the knife. His hands were shaking. His heart pounded erratically as he reached out and took hold of the rabbit, feeling the soft fur slide between his fingers. The cold, hard, body of the animal made his skin crawl and he suddenly dropped the knife and backed away. "I can't!" He cried out suddenly.

Malcolm reached for his arm but Alexander pulled away and ran from the house. The old man called after him but Alexander didn't stop. He ran to the old barn and climbed up into the hay loft, cowering in a corner as he cried against a pile of loose straw. He felt like shit suddenly. He was eighteen, a man now, but still so much like a child that it shamed him.

****

He lay down against the hay sobbing and fell asleep. The darkness came swiftly that night, devouring the light as Alexander slept. When next he awoke, the night sky was on fire. He heard the screams and the pounding of dozens of horses as they surrounded the house. Alexander crawled to the loft doors and peered out at the commotion. His eyes grew wide when he saw the horde of men, barbarians rather, that had invaded his land. They had set the house a blaze and were loading up their horses with what little they could find to steal.

Alexander ducked down among the hay and cupped his hand over his mouth to keep from crying out in shock. He didn't know how long he lay there, cringing from fright before he found the courage to look out the doors again and gasped at what he saw. At first it looked as though the men were dragged two large sacks across the ground but when his eyes focused he saw that there were no sacks. What they were dragging were bodies. "No." Alexander whimpered softly. "God no..."

"Find the boy!" A dark haired woman yelled angrily to the men. "He has to be around here some place. Check the barn!"

Alexander knew in that moment that he was in danger. If they found him in the barn he was dead. He scrambled to his feet then ran to the end of the loft and hid beneath a pile of straw. He could hear the men entering the barn and moving around, throwing things and grumbling to themselves so low that he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

"This is pointless." One of the men yelled in frustration. "Bring the old hag!"

A moment later two men came into the barn dragging something along with them. Alexander listened, too afraid to look but when he heard his grandmother cry out he mustered the strength to crawl to the edge of the floor and look down between the rafters.

"Are ya in here boy?" The man yelled. "Ya see what we've got here? You want the hag to suffer?" When Alexander made no attempt to answer the man frowned and glared menacingly at the old woman. "Fine boy, have it yer way." He pulled a dagger from the belt around his waist and held it to the old woman's throat. "Let her blood be on yer hands!"

"No!" Alexander screamed suddenly as he stood up from where he was hiding. "Let her go!"

The brute of a man smiled as he looked up. "Thought so." He hissed.

Alexander's grandmother gasped when she saw him looking down at her. "No child!" She screamed. "Run!"

"I'll not leave you." Alexander sobbed. "Please let her go, she's old. I'll do anything you say, just release her."

His grandmother shook her head frantically. "My time is past." She pleaded. "Save yourself child. Do as I say and run."

"I'm sorry Grandmother." Alexander sobbed. "But I will not." He took to the ladder and began to climb down. The brute grabbed him by the arm and flung him to the ground.

"Stupid boy." The brute laughed. "Should have listened to the old woman." He grabbed Alexander by the hair and pulled him to his knees. "Take this Plonker to the boss, lads. Let her deal with 'em."

Alexander struggled against the vicious beast that held him. He cursed and flayed his arms in an attempt to strike the brute but he was savagely pushed into two equally large and barbaric men who took him by the arms and dragged him from the barn against his protests.

The Brute motioned for another of his men to follow with the old woman as he led the rest of his men out of the barn and back to where the woman that Alexander had seen earlier was waiting.

The woman dismounted from her horse as the men approached with Alexander. They thrust him forward so that he fell on his knees before her. She looked down at him, studying him closely, as she put her finger beneath his chin and lifted his head so that she caught his eyes, and then she frowned. "You're not what I had expected." She told him softly, almost sadly. "I had hoped for something more from you but when I look at you, all I see is a frightened little boy. You're hardly worth my time."

Alexander was so confused. He had no idea who this woman was or what she wanted with him let alone why she would lead this attack on his family. They were poor farmers, barely known to anyone, and certainly held no value. To Alexanders knowledge his grandmother and he had no enemies, at least none that knew where they were. All the years that they had been in hiding and Alexander never knowing why, he suddenly wondered if whoever it was his mother had run from had somehow found them after all.

It seemed unlikely though. Unless this woman had been sent by someone else. She was far to young to be involved in something that happened before Alexander had even been born. She was scarcely older than he was, and very beautiful. She was nothing like the barbarians that she commanded. Alexander figured that they were merely hired warriors. A blood horde. Men that fight for no one and are loyal to no King or country. They fought for glory and for gold and the thrill of the kill. But this woman wasn't interested in such things. Alexander could tell by the way she looked at him that there was something else which she was after.

The hate and anger in her eyes told him that she was looking for revenge though he couldn't understand how her pursuit had led her to him. It just literally made no sense. He looked up to her, pleading to her with his eyes as hot tears fell down his pale cheeks. When he looked into her eyes though he was surprised to see a hint of mercy in them, or so he thought. The hatred had, for a moment, washed away to be replaced with something like pity. There was something familiar in her eyes, and in her face, and for a moment she noticed it too.

Her eyes were an uncanny shade of violet, like his. Her raven hair flowed down her back in a tight braid but the color and the wave of her hair was also similar. The shape of her face, the softness of her skin. When he looked at her it was as though he were looking at a more feminine version of himself....

"Who are you?" He asked suddenly, narrowing his eyes as he stared at her.

She smiled. "You don't know me?"

Alexander shook his head. "Should I?"

The anger returned to her face as she stood up straight, releasing his chin. She frowned. "No, I don't suppose you would. I don't suppose your mother or the old hag you call your grandmother would have told you about me. You know nothing of me or yourself. Who you are...who WE are or where we come from. As for me, I am the one who was thrown away. Discarded like trash and left to die in the street! You...you were the one loved and protected. Shielded from the evils of the world that I was cast into!"

Alexander shook his head. "I don't understand." He sobbed.

"Because your a fool!" She hissed as she walked back to her horse. "Secure the boy and the old woman, then burn the barn and anything else that you can't use. We'll make camp on the hillside."

The leader of the horde stroked his beard as he considered the orders he was given. "Milady?" He questioned her though his voice was cautious and wavering. "Why keep the two? Would it not be best to kill them both? A feeble old woman and a Molly. Surely they would only get in the way."

The woman glared at the man and sneered, her voice seeping with venom as she spoke. "Do not question me." She warned. "I have my reasons which are no concern of yours. If you want your pay that is. Do as I say. Tie them up. I have use for the boy."

The brute nodded. "Yes, Milady." He turned and motioned for his men to do as instructed. "Tie them up!" He hollered. His men did as they were told without hesitation.

Alexander and his grandmother were taken to the old well at the south of the farm and tied to the post, their hands bound behind them. "Please." He pleaded with the men. "My grandmother is old and not in good health. Give her more comfortable lodgings. Do as you will with me but spare her any more discomfort."

"Shut your mouth, churle." The soldier growled. "Or I'll shut it for ya!"

He pulled the ropes tight, digging into Alexander wrists and making him wince in pain. The man walked away and Alexander sighed. "I'm sorry, Grandmother." He whispered.

"This is not your fault." The old woman told him.

"I should have fought them." He said. "I should have protected you."

"You would have been killed."

"At least I would have died with some dignity." Alexander frowned as he lowered his head. "It would have been better than dying like a coward."

"You should have ran when I told you." She turned her head to the side, straining to look at him.

"And leave you alone?" Alexander shook his head. "How could I do that? I would never."

"I know." She sighed as she rested her head back against the hard stone of the well. "You're much like your father. Too much so. Was his love for your mother that killed them both."

"Why do you never speak of him?" Alexander asked her. "I hardly know anything about my father. You say that he was such a great man but why did he abandon us here?"

"He made a deal with the devil." The old woman said. Her voice wavering and full of sorrow as she spoke. "Your mother was to be taken to Avimur, to live at the palace under the protection of the King. That was the deal your father made with him. In return your father drove off the Dronar horde. The King betrayed him though, and your mother, and ordered her to be killed before entering the city. The same night the King rode out to where your father and his soldiers were camped and he dispatched them all."

"How did my mother escape?"

"She didn't escape, my child. Twas a kind guard that let us flee. He took pity on her in her state. She was carrying you and could not bear to murder an expectant mother. He told us to run and so we ran. We hid in the forest till morning then walked half the day until we came to a farm. Your mother was weary from traveling and the farmer took pity on us. He allowed us to stay the night. His wife fed us. And in the morning he took us in his wagon to Allanar. Your mother sold what jewels she had with her and we were able to buy this land and hire two servants. The rest of the story you know. You were born here and it seems as though we both shall die here."

Alexander thought about what his grandmother had just told him. "You're not really my grandmother, are you?" He asked her.

The old woman smiled. She nodded as she tried to look at him. " All your life you've known me as Nan. I helped deliver you. I raised you after your mother's death and I have loved you your entire life. But no, my child, I am not your grandmother. At least not in blood. I am a servant. My name is Nanami. I've been with your mother since her birth and when her father ordered her to leave his home I went with her. I loved her as though she were my own daughter.

In truth her own mother cared little for her, even as a child. She was too concerned with parties and entertaining. She was a lady of some importance and she was known for her extravagant balls and dinner parties. Ismey was just a nuisance to her. Oh she loved to parade her about and show her off. But when it came to mothering I'm afraid Lady Sophia took no interest in her child."

He'd suspected it for a while now, but now the truth had been revealed. But it wasn't the entire story. Something was missing. Something that would explain why their home had been raided, their servants murdered, and the two of them now being held captive. Alexander knew now that it wasn't the house, or their property that the woman in black wanted. It wasn't his grandmother that she had come for. It was him. Alexander was the key to all that had happened and he knew that his grandmother had kept something from him for the whole of his life. But would she be forth coming now, he wondered.

"Who is she?" He asked softly. "The woman in black. I know that you know. Please, tell me the truth. Why does she look familiar to me, and what did she mean when she said that she was the one thrown away and left to die?"

Nan closed her eyes and exhaled a deep and painful breath. "I had hoped that you would never be burdened with the whole truth. The truth of what happened the night you were born. It was too much for your mother to bear and you were so frail, so small, I did what I thought was best to protect you both."

Alexander narrowed his eyes as he listened to her. "What, Grandmother, what did you do?"

***

A tear slipped from the old woman's eye as she remembered Ismey. The pain the girl bore that night was indescribable. How she'd screamed and cried and Nan had done all that she could to ease her pain but even the herbal concoction she'd had her drink did little to help. It was as though she were being torn apart from the inside. At first Nan cursed the Demon King for leaving the lady in such a condition. His deal with the devil had cursed them all. Ismey needed the care of a doctor. Nan was an accomplished midwife. She'd delivered countless babies over the years but this time, it was different. There was so much blood. If something was not done, and quickly, the lady would bleed out.

Anna came in with fresh rags and clean water. She looked at the Lady with concern in her eyes. Nan knew that look and she nodded to the woman. "The child has not turned." Nan told her, her voice somber and with worry.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Anna asked.

Nan shook her head. "I've done all that I know but this birth is not natural. I fear for the mothers life, as well as the child, for no normal means of medicine is helping."

"Then we have lost her?" Anna wiped the tears from her eyes as she prepared herself for the loss of her mistress. But just as she had given up hope she heard a cough from outside the door. She turned and saw Malcolm hovering to the side of the threshold. He dare not enter the birthing room for men were forbidden to do so, but he had something to say and wanted the attention of his wife.

Anna excused herself from the room and went to the hall to meet her husband. Malcolm took off his hat and fidgeted with it for a moment as he tried to calm his nerves a bit. "If this birth is an unnatural one then mayhap, the only way to save the child and the mother be by unnatural means."

"What are you saying?" Anna narrowed her eyes as she watched Malcolm struggle. He was nervous and a bit scared as well but his conviction was strong. He didn't want to face the death of Lady Ismey any more than the women did.

"Mistress Niobe." Malcolm whispered the name as though the very sound of it were wicked. "I've heard tell of some strong magic, magic that can save people. Even bring the dead back to the living."

Anna gasped. "Tis dark magic you speak of! Niobe is a witch. No good comes from contracting with a witch."

"Mayhap not, but Tis no ordinary child we be talking about here. It's the child of a demon. Who knows more 'bout that then a witch? She may their only hope. We kinna let them die. Just ain't right."