Lana - Entry 52

I’ve found her and I have a plan. I can’t believe it! I’ve done something right for once.

They were stopped right by the side of the road, like they didn’t care if anyone found them. But I guess why would they care? I doubt they thought I’d give chase and even if I did I doubt they’d think I was much of a threat. But they don’t know; they don’t know about my curse.

There are two of them, both tall skinny men. They don’t look like much but I can still feel the bruises his sharp fingers left on my arms the last time one of them got a hold of me. At least, one of them was stronger than they looked. They sat on the ground around a fire. Lilith was there, her hands and feet still bound. How surprised she was going to be to see me. I can’t wait to see the look on her face. 

Here’s the plan. I can’t take them by force, even if I’m sneaky so I’m going to have to use my secret weapon. I’m going to have to make the curse work for me. I’ll leave the coin, somewhere safe but not far away. I’ll wait for the wind to pick up, as I know it will. When I can really hear the voices I’ll run towards Lilith. With the world flying out of control, they’ll be distracted and I can untie Lilith and get back to the coin before it can get me. I can do this, I know what to expect. It will be just how it was with Sal. I’ll get back to the coin before it gets too bad.

I know its risky and I am scared. I’ve fought so hard to stay alive and I don’t want to die. Not yet. But I don’t have a choice. I have to do this. I have to be strong for Lilith. I am going to leave this journal behind… just in case I don’t come back. If I don’t make it maybe someone will find it and maybe some small part of the world will not forget that I existed. A piece of me will remain.

But I know everything will be ok. Lilith and I have so much more of the world to see together. So many more adventures await us!

Well, good-bye for now.   

Lana - Entry 51

I’ve been riding hard for days now. I’m not sure how much longer the mare will last. She is a kind gentle thing and I’ve pushed her to her limits. I feel bad but there is more at stake here. I know with Lilith’s determination she would stop at nothing if the roles were reversed. That’s why I have to push harder. I’ve only stopped now because I’m afraid that if I don’t let the horse rest she’ll collapse. If that happens I won’t catch up to Lilith, so I’m letting the mare rest just for a bit.

Lana - Entry 50

Well, mission accomplished, I have a horse. There was a small town not far from where Lilith was taken. After sunset I crept in as quietly as I could. It wasn’t as dark as I had hoped it would be, the street lamps still burned and the moon was full. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a darken store window. I was surprised at the girl looking back at me. She didn’t look as fragile as I remembered myself to be. I took a step closer and saw the determination in my own eyes. For the first time I felt like I could actually do this. A bright silver streak on my check caught my eye. My fingers went up to touch it. My skin didn’t feel any different. But there it was, where the man had touched me; a silver mark in the shape of a crescent moon. How odd. But I didn’t have time to waste thinking about it. I had to find a horse.

And there one was, tied up outside of a bar. Its brown body looked dull in the moonlight and there seemed to be absolutely nothing remarkable about the beast but I really didn’t care. She would work. I freed her reins from the post and mounted. I don’t have a lot of experience with horses but when Pan use to visit sometimes she would come on a horse. It was never the same one, and some were meaner than others but with the nice ones she would let me ride around a little and I had loved it. Definitely some of my happier memories. 

A man came out of the bar, jarring me from my thoughts. He yelled at me to get off the horse, that it wasn’t mine. I looked up and he caught sight of my face. Instantly he took a step back as if suddenly afraid of me. “Take it” he whispered continuing to step backwards. “Take it, and get the hell out of here, get away from me.” He seemed almost frantic at this point.

He was now the one scaring me. I kicked the mare’s sides hard and we took off. I don’t know why he freaked out but it doesn’t matter. I now have a chance of catching Lilith.

Lana - Entry 49

I’m still heading down the road in the direction the man took Lilith but on foot I’ll never be able to catch them. I’m going to have to try my hand at stealing again. I don’t have enough money to buy a horse and without one I’ll never be able to catch them.

I’m going to be strong this time. I’m going to be strong for Lilith. I know she would do it for me. I know she would. It’s my fault she got caught and I’m going to have to free her. I hurt everyone that gets close to me, but no more! Everyone that has come into my life has been disappointed, hurt or killed. I’m going to stop being worthless and harmful. I’m going to stop thinking about myself. Lilith is my friend, my sister and I will not let her down.

I’m off to find a horse.

Lana - Entry 48

They’ve taken Lilith and it’s all my fault. They’ve taken her and she’s gone. If only I had kept moving like she had wanted everything would be fine now. If only I wasn’t so weak.

They came in the night. I woke to rough hands dragging me over the ground. I think they had accidentally grabbed me instead of Lilith. Lilith was on her feet, knife in hand, standing in front of what was left of our small fire. The man that was holding me spoke softly to her.

“Lilith, its over. You’re coming back with me.”

She just scowled at him and said that she wasn’t. There was so much hate in her voice, I was stunned.

He then said the strangest thing. He said, “Lilith, come back with me or I’ll touch her.” I’m not sure what he meant because he was already touching me. I could feel his bony fingers through the fabric of my shirt.

She looked at me. Our eyes met and for a fleeting moment she looked so sad. But then her gaze grew cold as she returned her stare back to my captor. “Go ahead, Marwolaeth.”

With his right hand, he let go of my arm and ever so gently ran his thumb down my check. Everything went black. I had fallen to my knees; he was no longer holding me. For a moment I saw the blurry outlines of Lilith running away and something chasing her. Then it was black again. I had fallen on my side in the dirt, I couldn’t move. My vision returned for a moment and I saw that the man had Lilith, he was dragging her back to the road, where he tied her arms and legs and threw her over a horse then took off. Everything went back again.

When I woke, everything was still night. The wind was picking up and the voices were coming. I got up and ran down the road in the direction that he had taken Lilith. It’s all my fault.

Lana - Entry 47

It’s been days of her silly, non-stop pace. I just couldn’t keep up any longer. When she woke me to leave I could barely move. I told her I couldn’t go on, that she would have to continue without me, that I wanted to with all my heart but I just could keep going. She seemed to have an internal debate. I watched her shift her weight from one foot to the other and back again. For a moment I really thought that she was going to leave me. I almost cried I wanted her to stay so bad. I think she saw the look on my face and knew how much I didn’t want her to go because she decided to stay.

She sighed and said that we’ve probably gone far enough and that it was going to be dark soon. Why not have a fire, a warm meal and few hours of sleep and then move on. I told her that that was all I needed. Just a little rest and then I wouldn’t let her down. I’d be able to keep up. She looked relieved, I know I was. In the moment I thought she was going to leave me I’ve never felt so alone. I couldn’t imagine the world without her. Not now. If I had to go back to walking through this world alone it would kill me.

But we had a small fire and a hot meal and I could tell that she was just as tried as I was. She needed this too. A few hours of sleep now and we’ll be right as rain.

Lana - Entry 46

She is killing me with this pace. I’ve never known anyone to drive themselves this hard. Not even Madeline with her endless list of chores. She’s so focused on accomplishing her task (which means getting away from the men that are chasing her) I don’t think she is thinking about anything or anyone else. We’ve only been stopping for a few hours at a time to sleep. I’m practically dragging myself to keep up with her but she doesn’t seem to notice. At this pace I might cure myself by simply out running the curse. Anyway, we’re currently stopped, I’m sure not for long so I’m going to try and get some sleep while I can.

Lana - Entry 45

Lilith hasn’t slowed down at all. She wants to put as much distance between us and them as possible. I still don’t know how they found her. She says that they have eyes and ears everywhere. I’m starting to become a little afraid of her uncles. Who are they that they can send men chasing after her, with spies everywhere. I don’t know, something makes my stomach a little uneasy about the whole thing but I know I have so much more to learn about the world. I don’t want to ask her any questions, I can see she’s upset and I don’t want to make her angry by asking silly questions. This world is truly a strange, scary place that’s somehow wonderful.

We didn’t talk about the fact that she stabbed that man. Although, I don’t think I could have done it knowing that he wasn’t really going to hurt her. I mean he wasn’t going to actually hurt her, just take her home. But she did only get him in the leg. I’m sure he’s fine.

Lana - Entry 44

They found us. The men that are hunting Lilith found us and we almost didn’t escape. We had just reached Aldane. We were walking up to the city and I stopped. I’m actually a little relieved that we didn’t make it inside. The walls were so tall; they reached for the sky and stretched off in either direction, like they were circling the world. I just stopped, head back, mouth open, eyes wide unable to even comprehend how people, PEOPLE, could make something like that. My imagination is truly not grand enough because I would never have dreamt of something so big. Well, mountains maybe but not something manmade. I just can’t even think of how they did it. Just amazing.

Anyway, at the time I had stopped trying to wrap my mind around it all. It took Lilith a moment to realize I wasn’t with her anymore but she finally turned around to see where I was. When she saw my face she actually smiled. I had seen her really smile only a few times and I remember thinking how beautiful she was when she smiled. My face is too plain; I’d never be beautiful like her. She waved me forward and I could hear her shout at me, saying that if this dump impressed me I’d never believe how magnificent her home was.

Before I could take a step forward a man came out of nowhere and grabbed her. I saw her kicking and scratching at him but he wouldn’t let her go. I was frozen. I wanted to run to her and help but my feet were as heavy as lead. And then it was almost like things slowed down and I saw Lilith raise a knife in one hand, I don’t even know where she pulled it from, and then she buried it into his leg. He let out an ear-piercing scream as Lilith wiggled free. Time sped back up as she raced to me and grabbed my hand. She pulled me after her and suddenly life returned to my legs. We didn’t head into Aldane but instead turned back the way we had came and just ran.  

Lana - Entry 43

Lilith seems to have forgiven me for the other night, she no longer seems mad. I wouldn’t say she’s exactly in a good mood but at least she’s not mad. She didn’t realize I’d never had alcohol before. She might have forgiven me but I still haven’t forgiven myself. So, stupid!

I’m so lucky to be with Lilith. She’s so smart and strong and determined. I wonder if there is anything she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it. I find myself wondering what Eve would think about her. I’m sure the two would be fast friends. They’re both…what’s the right word? Stoic? Maybe that’s it. Once Lilith has done what she needs to do and her uncles have cured me perhaps we can set off on another adventure and find Eve together. How much fun would that be?!