Authors note: The first four chapters of this story were originally written a few years ago and my style of writing has changed a little since then. This storyline has very little sex in it so if you are looking for a stroke piece this won't be it. Thank you very much to Paul who has volunteered to edit for me as I attempt to finish off this series. Enjoy! ~Ellie
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Trix was both terrified and thrilled as she walked along beside her brother, trying to keep pace with his long strides. They'd left late in the evening after an exhausted Spar had fallen asleep without saying goodbye to anyone, not even their mother. It had been too hard, Trix acknowledged, to look into her mother's face and know that the grief she read there was her fault. Not only was Opal losing her daughter for a year, but another of her sons as well. Of her five children, only two would remain to help her deal with the fall out their departure would have. She put her hand to her breast and clasped the amulet she had promised her mother and Galen she would not remove and sighed.
Flint was careful to avoid the path of the night watch Spar had put in place since the disappearance of Mason as he stole away from the only home he'd ever known with his sister. He wasn't sure who he was protecting her from more; the Techno warrior, or the mystics who hunted her, or his father. It didn't matter either way, because he was determined to protect her and her reputation by posing as her husband and allowing her the dignity afforded to a married woman with child rather than the judgement afforded to a young woman who had been taken advantage of and left with a baby in her belly.
They had decided not to chance the fact that Judah or one of his bandits might recognise Trix from her encounter there, so Flint headed to one of the smaller outposts where he knew he would be welcome. He didn't have the affinity Mica did for technology, but he was a good blacksmith, and all villages needed one to survive. It suddenly occurred to him that staying in any village where he was known was inherently dangerous. They would have to travel further, perhaps to the far side of Phoenix to find the anonymity they needed.
"Once we get further afield we will need to change our names or be followed by everyone. If what mother said is true then more than just father and your warrior will be searching for you," Flint said thoughtfully.
"I guess," Trix worried that if she changed her name any hope she had of Talon finding her would be gone. "Nobody out here knows me, but I expect a mystic from Pegasus could pluck a name from the mind of anyone who helps us just as easily as someone could repeat it."
"We could change yours now, and mine once we are far enough away to be sure no one would know me or our family's reputation," he mused.
"Did you have a name in mind for your wife? I mean, was there any girl you were sweet on that you might have mentioned to friends? That way, if word got back to the village, people wouldn't be as suspicious."
"No," he shook his head reticent to expand into his reasons why that was.
"Maybe we could just change my name a little, so it's not so easy to make a mistake. My full name is probably too similar, but what about just changing the end?" Trix suggested. "Instead of Katrix, I could be Katrine or Katrina."
"I didn't think you liked being called Katrix?" Flint said and frowned.
"I never minded it, but from as far back as I can remember you have all called me Trix," she shrugged. "Mother called me Katrix sometimes, but not often enough to make a difference, I guess. She told me it was her mother's name, and she had insisted when Spar had wanted a name of a precious stone like you all have."
"Did she say which stone?" Flint asked.
"I think so, once, but I can't remember what it was," she frowned as she spoke.
"What about a jewel, like mother? You could be Ruby," he suggested and smiled as Trix wrinkled her nose. "Maybe something will come to you before we reach the town. You don't have to choose right at this moment."
That night they had walked along the well-trodden tracks in the light of a full moon. Once their eyes had adjusted to the darkness away from the village, Trix found it easier to keep up, as Flint lengthened his strides, eager to put distance between himself and his father's wrath the following morning. By the time the suns first lightening of the sky occurred Trix finally stopped, unable to go on any longer. She wasn't as used to the long walks as her brothers, and she wished they had a bike like the men of Phoenix or the bandits in the clandestine gangs that hid in the foothills and small villages.
"We've been walking all night, Flint, I need to rest!" Trix complained.
Flint had seen her flagging for the last few miles, despite the fact that he carried both their packs. He knew this trek would be hard for her, and had thought to do it in easy stages, but he hadn't considered her lack of strength and experience when making his plans. His experience with travelling had all come from walking with Emery, who was the mirror image of himself.
"There is a village not far from here where I know the blacksmith and his wife. They will give us a good breakfast in return for some help in the forge while you rest. Do you think you can walk just a little further?" He encouraged her, dangling the promise of good food and rest in a village rather than on the open road.
"Could you slow down a little more? You mightn't have noticed, but my legs are not as long as yours, and I have to take two steps to every one of yours," she sighed and began walking again.
"For you, I can do that," Flint smiled and fell into step beside her, feeling awkward as he slowed beyond his normal gait.
They walked for another hour, and the sun had crested the horizon when they came across a woman walking toward them. She looked tired as she trudged along shouldering a large pack. Flint and Trix moved to the side of the path as she came close enough to pass.
"Good morning," Flint said cordially. "Have you come from the nearby village we are seeking?"
"Hello, and yes I have, it is no more than an hour behind me," she replied. "It is a village full of good people, and a strong young man such as yourself would do well there. But if I could give you some free advice?" she asked.
