Cael was hiding again.
The room was dark, save for the flickering light of a single candle stub melting into the floorboards beside him. He sat curled in the corner between the bed and the wall, hands over his ears, trying to block out the shouting.
He knew how this would go.
It always started with something small a dropped plate, a locked door, a glance held too long and ended in noise that rattled the bones. But tonight was different.
Tonight, they had found his journal.
The one place he let himself write what he truly thought. What he truly felt.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Fists slammed against the door.
"You ungrateful little brat!" his father's wife shrieked from the other side.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"How dare you!" came his father's voice, lower but full of fury. "You think you can scribble lies and get away with it?"
Cael squeezed his eyes shut. He'd hidden the book beneath a loose board, far under his bed. How had they found it?
Tears stung, but he didn't let them fall. He just pressed himself deeper into the corner. He knew better than to make a sound.
"You will open this door," his father roared, "and you will tell us where you learned to write!"
The shouting didn't stop. Rage, insults, and demands blurred into one. Cael lost track of the words. He didn't care.
He just wished he could disappear.
Then silence.
Only the sound of water, steady and soft, flowing nearby.
Cael slowly lowered his hands from his ears and blinked.
The shadows were gone. The walls, the door, the screaming all gone.
He wasn't in his room anymore.
He was sitting beside a stream, its clear waters glinting in pale light. Grass brushed against his fingers. Trees rose around him like quiet sentinels.
How had he gotten here?
The shouting was gone.
So were the walls, the bed, the flickering candle.
Cael stared at the stream, its surface impossibly still, as if it flowed without disturbing a single stone. The ground beneath him was soft, mossy, and cool, and the air smelled faintly of lavender and old paper.
He blinked slowly. The fear hadn't left him his chest still ached, and his hands were curled into fists but the silence wrapped around him like a heavy blanket. He wasn't sure if it was comforting… or terrifying.
The world around him was strange.
The sky wasn't blue it was a soft teal, and the clouds drifting across it were the color of cotton candy. The sun, at least, seemed normal… though he couldn't look at it directly to be sure. Everything else felt slightly off. The leaves overhead shimmered with unfamiliar hues, and even the stream beside him was oddly clear, almost too clear, like glass stretched thin over polished stone.
Despite the strangeness, it was beautiful.
Cael wasn't sure how to feel. Relief sat heavy in his chest he was glad to be away from the shouting, the door, the fists but uncertainty gnawed at the edges of that relief. Where was he? How long would he be here? Was this real?
He leaned over the stream and peered into the water. No reflection greeted him. Only the glimmer of smooth, jewel-toned stones resting peacefully at the bottom.
"What do I do now?" he whispered, the words barely louder than the water's murmur.
He stood slowly. The stream curved ahead, slipping between trees and out of sight.
He remembered something a bit of old advice from a book, maybe. Follow the water. It always leads to people.
So Cael followed the stream.
Not because he knew where it would take him, but because it was the only path he had.
He walked for what felt like hours.
The stream wound through the forest like a silver thread, leading him past moss covered stones and trees that whispered with wind. Cael's legs ached, but he didn't stop. He was used to walking quietly, used to keeping himself small and unnoticed.
At first, he thought the voices were in his head.
Soft like the start of a dream.
Then louder.
"Come on, Cress. Don't cry," a girl's voice called gently.
"I'm sorry… it's just it hurts," another voice replied, trembling.
Cael froze.
He looked ahead and spotted them across the stream, just a few steps away.
Two girls.
The older one had dark hair tied in a neat braid and eyes that looked far too tired for her age. She walked carefully, steadying the smaller girl on her back. The younger clung to her, face hidden, her wild curls bouncing with each step.
They hadn't seen him yet.
"Hey!" Cael called out, his voice hoarse from disuse.
The two girls froze. The older one shifted her stance protectively, turning so the younger was shielded slightly behind her.
Cael raised his hands quickly. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you I just…" He glanced down at the stream between them. "I've been walking for hours. I didn't think anyone else was here."
The older girl's eyes narrowed slightly, assessing. "Who are you?"
"I'm Cael," he said, stepping to the edge of the stream. "I just… showed up here. I don't know how. One moment I was home and the next" He gestured vaguely at the trees. "This."
There was a pause. Then the younger girl peeked over the older one's shoulder. Her cheeks were wet with tears, but she studied Cael with wide, curious eyes.
The older girl didn't relax entirely, but her expression softened just a touch. "I'm Sollene," she said at last. "And this is Cress."
Cress sniffled, still half-hidden behind Sollene. "Did it hurt for you, too?" she asked quietly.
Cael blinked. "What?"
"When you came here," she said, her voice trembling. "Did it hurt?"
He hesitated. "Not… exactly. It was loud. And then it wasn't. I guess… it hurt before I got here."
Sollene's eyes met his. Something in her expression softened, a flicker of understanding passing silently between them.
"She fell a little while ago," Sollene said, nodding toward Cress's ankle. "I think it's sprained."
"Let me help," Cael offered without thinking. "Cold water's good for that."
They led Cress to the edge of the stream, and Sollene knelt beside her while Cael gently guided the injured leg into the cool current. Cress hissed at the shock but didn't pull away. The water ran clear and steady, swirling around her ankle.
"Keep it in there for a few minutes," Cael said. "It'll help with the swelling."
Sollene tore a strip from the bottom of her own skirt without hesitation at Cael's instruction. Once Cress's ankle had soaked for a while, they carefully lifted it out, patting it dry with a sleeve before Cael wrapped the makeshift bandage around it.
"Not perfect," he murmured, tying it off, "but it should hold."
Cress gave a shaky smile. "Thanks."
Cael smiled back, then looked at Sollene. "So… what now?"
She stood, brushing dirt from her skirt. "we where going to continue following the river until we find something ."