It was a cloudless, warm and sunny day. The fields were full of grass, wind gliding through it slowly, making it look like the grasses are dancing in the evening. Bees and butterflies were also flying around, as if they weren't bound by gravity. The sun was slowly sinking behind the trees.
A young teenage boy was sitting peacefully on a small hill, leaning against a tree that looked so old, one could think, it would soon crumble. Its bark, old and dry. The leaves though, were as fresh and green as they could be.
All together, the world looked like in a fairy tale. The boy had a light tan and was of average height. His eyes were of an electric green color even though one could hardly see them through his raven black hair, swaying above his freckle sprinkled face. He wore clothes mostly of a black and grey color scheme. His body looked rather frail and thin.
"I don't relate to those people." The teenager whispered.
'This place is so beautiful they said. It is so romantic they said.'
"I don't see their point. Literally"
If one would look through the boys eyes one could only see a lake of colorlessness. A sea of black and white as well as many different shades of grey.
'Well anyway, I better head back. The others will already be mad, that I took so long to return.'
Shaking of the depressive feeling, he wiped his hair back, took his backpack and stood up, walking away from the hill, through the field of green. Soon, he reached a pine forest and entered it between two large tree stumps. There were many colorful and glistening lights in the forest, cast by little shining spheres of vibrant neon shades, like blue, green and violet. Sadly the boy couldn't perceive them. He only knew they existed, because the other villagers used to mention them a lot when he was a small child. Nobody really knows what those things are, but everyone says that it's dangerous to stay outside at night time. There are stories of children being taken away by those lights, when they go outside after sundown.
'Yeah, as if that was actually the case. It's probably just some fairy-tale, so that kids stay at home.'
There was a lot of fog in the forest too but strangely it could only be seen about 10 meters from were one was standing. It also kept away from the path. That's at least what the others told him once.
'I always wondered why I could see perfectly, even though the others can't see anything beyond the mist. I guess it would be fun to explore, what lies beyond the fog but it's probably a bad idea.'
'To be honest, I think something's off today...'
"What could it be?"
'The trees are like usual. The ground is still covered in needles from the conifers. Well, the moss is a little dry today. But why? Nothing ever changes here. At least nothing my eyes can perceive. It is concerning to say the least. I guess I should tell the guards... Oh gosh! I'm slowly becoming my brother! There's probably nothing to worry about. My mind is most likely playing tricks on me.' He shook his head and started to hurry home.
After walking for a while, he saw the last sunlight flood the forest and a large clearing opening up.
A wall, about four meters high, encircled a big village. Its snow white stone reflecting the dusk sun like a mirror. As soon as the teenager went inside, he saw a young man, guarding a watchtower from inside the wall. The guy wore clothes, usually carried by guards and kept a musket close to his body. His face masculine and strong, his hair short, one could nearly confuse him with the teenager.
"Didn't I tell you, that you should get home at least an hour before sundown Silas?!" said the guard with an annoyed expression.
"Yes, I guess you did, Dexter." answered the teenage boy with a slight frown at the mention of his name.
"Uhh, what will I do with you, my dear younger brother? You never do what you're told, do you? Well come inside first, it's getting dark outside."
After heading inside, Dex told another guard to take his place and the siblings walked toward the marketplace. The buildings were of modest size. Most were half-timbered houses with pinewood used as beams and marble as walls. Usually, pine can only be used with a layer of varnish, but since there is neither rain nor a big change of temperature inside the village, it's alright. The roofs were made of wood shingles. The roads were also paved with the same white stone, since the small town bordered a mountain chain to the east. Most men wore simple tunics of different modest colors like beige or brown, while the women were clothed in summer dresses.
"Were you in the fields again, Silly? What am I going to tell mom and sis when you don't come home before the night?"
"I told you not to call me that. But anyway. It's not that big of a deal, really. Since there are no animals in the forest it's improbable that anything could delay my return and I always come home 15 minutes before sundown. You don't need to be that worried all the time."
"Yeah right you smartass. But still, just come home earlier please?"
Silas frowned. "You're such a killjoy. You know that right?"
Dexter nodded. "Of course, that's my job. I'm your older brother and a guard, am I not? What are you doing out there anyway?"
"Well, This and that you know. Nothing special."
"Then why don't you help our sister in the house? Or even better. Get. A. Job!"
Silas coughed "It sure is an idea, isn't it. What can we afford for dinner though?"
"First of All I know that you're avoiding the question. Second... I guess bread it is for tonight."
Silas let his shoulders hang "Again? Then we should hurry. I'm pretty hungry."
The market was usually filled to the brim at times like this, but today the place was deserted. The normally sold out wares were laying peacefully on the market stalls, ready to be bought. A lot of them were imported since most crops are difficult to grow in the forest.
'To be honest, everything that isn't the forest itself doesn't grow there at all for some reason.'
So there are many merchants from across the so called marble mountains. That's why the villagers eat bread, rice, potatoes or fish. There are hardly any fruit or vegetable gardens here but all of the fish is caught locally. A lot of wares were actually jewelry made from sapphires rubies and emeralds, obtained in the mines of the snow white mountain.
'The many precious stones are also the reason why this small town exists at all since that's the primary work people can do here and the cause of the founding of this place.'
"Well, I guess no bread today."Dex mumbled somberly.
"But still, where is everyone?" Silas asked.
"Oh right! I completely forgot. An operator from the west was supposed to arrive tomorrow in order to prepare for a colony that should arrive a week from now." Dex remembered.
'Right, the kingdom of the 3rd realm wants to expand beyond the marble mountains in order to not fall behind the other realms.'
"I heard that he will be welcomed inside the town hall at his arrival, but it's weird that he's already here. He was expected to come tomorrow evening... Well anyway, we should probably head there too now. Mom and sis are most likely there too. I hope that from now on there will be other food than just the stuff we're used to." Dexter shouted.
'Yeah right, as if something could really improve. The fact, that the population will be bigger might sound good on its own but to be honest, I don't think so. Since we can't expand the walls, the size of the village will stay the same. It's probably just going to be even more cramped than before.'
Silas frowned "What? Why are looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing, just try to be positive for once. You're always so bad tempered."
Silas ignored the advice, waved his hand revoltingly and just walked toward the townhall.
Dex sighed and followed him.
***
As they reached the townhall, shouting could be heard from inside. Silas and Dex looked at each other apprehensively.
"Well here goes nothing." Dex says while pushing open the huge door of the main entrance.
"What is she?", "Kill her!", "Kill her!", "What are we gonna...". "Quiet!!" A man shouted to silence the confused and enraged folk. He was standing on an elevated platform, had broad shoulders,
blue-grey eyes and rather short brown hair.
Silas and Dex glanced at each other, nodded shortly and jostled between the people to get a clear view on what was happening.
"First of all, we need to hear her out! What do you have to say? What happened?" The mayor asked coldly.
'What could they be talking about' Veil thought as he reached the pedestal.
A young woman was sitting on the ground in front of the stairs to the elevation. Her frightened, light-green eyes were looking upward at the mayor. She wore clothes, one would expect from an operator of a colony. The raven black, waist long hair, hanging down her shoulders and waist looked just as filthy as everything else about her. For some reason, her hands were bloodstained. Silas' expression subtly changed and his heart filled with rage. It felt as if a snake slowly crawled from his chest toward his eyes and sank its teeth into his pupils. 'Ugh!'. He grabbed his face as soon as a wave of pain rolled over him. Of course, Silas knew her all to well...
It was his twin sister Stella.