Gone Rogue - 1

                                    

                                          
This story is set in: ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇsᴇʀᴛ ʟᴀɴᴅs
Others stories set in this world are Deathsinger & The Desert Clans (You can find those stories on Patreon/Tumblr)
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"My Lady!" The gruff voice of your bodyguard sounds so far away as you stare in horror at what is left of your home.
And then it hits you. Your parents are in there. You have to get them out, the whole place is on fire! You have to hurry- You don't even realize you're running forward until your bodyguard stops you with an arm braced around your middle.
The air puffs out of your lungs and you let out a hoarse scream, struggling to free yourself.
"I have to do something!" You shriek. "My parents are in there!"
"They are gone," your bodyguard says quietly. 
You try once more to free yourself, then slump against his strong body. He's right. The house is not much more than scorched bricks and glowing embers, collapsed in the middle like a soft cake. There is no way there are any survivors. Bodies of servants litter the courtyard. They were loyal till death; their throats are cut in neat lines, pooling blood. You choke on a sob and stare in disbelief.
"Why?" You croak. "What did they do?"
"Such questions will never find answers," your bodyguard murmurs. "My Lady, it is not safe for you here."
Despite the truth of his words, you do find one answer to a question you hadn't even asked yet as your foot crunches down on something. You lift your foot and find a broken rune-circle, symbols spiraling out in an intricate joining. You reach down and take it in your hands, thinking. You have seen symbols of this likeness in your study books. This is an Ishari rune.
"The Ishari did this!" You gasp, poison bitter in your heart.
Your merchant father traded with the Ishari most of all and this is how they repaid him? By cleaning the house of goods and torching it with them inside?
"My Lady," Your bodyguard urges. "You have not been accounted for. No doubt they will return for you."
"What do I possibly have to offer them now?" You snap angrily. "They have taken everything."
He tries to steel his expression but you have already seen that he knows something.
"Kalen, what do you know?"
"I am honor-bound to say nothing of it to you," he murmurs.
"That honor is broken," you hiss, gesturing to the house. "Spit it out."
"The Isharin who visited frequently wanted you. I overheard many conversations where your parents pleaded their way out of selling you to him." 
"What?" You gasp. "My parents would never sell me."
"That's what they told him. He offered them great sums anyway."
"Why? I know I have some merit, but most Isharin girls are far more educated and far more beautiful."
Kalen lowers his gaze to the ground. "I don't know why, my Lady."
You can tell he's telling the truth. You turn to look at the ruins again, sucking in a breath to say something, but Kalen is suddenly swooping forward, nearly pushing you off of your feet as he drags you.
"They have come back," he hisses. "Hide."
He guides you to a broken, scorched wall, and together you take refuge behind it. Thankfully the bricks have cooled just enough to be safe, but the heat in them still has sweat beading on your skin almost instantaneously.
The Ishari pull up on their horses, conversing. You can hear the voice of that particular Isharin your parents often had transactions with, ringing clear and high as a bell.
"Search the immediate area. They may yet be close by."
You press closer to Kalen, gripping his hand tightly.
If these bastards could kill my parents like this, they will not hesitate to do the same to me, you think with your heart pattering wildly.
Kalen pulls your head against his chest and strokes your hair, breathing evenly. You feel a twinge of sadness that one of the rare moments you are close would be at a time like this. Things are never going to be the same.
You hear the trod of footsteps coming closer, and you stiffen. Kalen's free hand rests on the handle of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. However, the Isharin doesn't come close enough to look over the short wall, turning and shouting,
"I don't think they have been here."
"Then," the Isharin tells him, "They have fled."
"Shall we go after them?" 
"Yes. We will head north. It is the only direction they can go."
"And if they are fools enough to flee into the desert?"
"The heat will kill them before I do," the Isharin replies. "Let's go."
The sound of horse hooves fades into the distance but Kalen keeps you there a few minutes more until he is sure they have left. You clamber out from behind the wall, sucking in a sigh of relief as cool air grazes your sweaty body.
"What are we going to do?" You ask Kalen helplessly. 
"We're going south into the desert."
"But you heard him! The heat will kill us," you protest.
"We'll travel at night," Kalen says. "I have crossed the desert many times before and I have survived, have I not?"
"Yes, but where will we be going?"
"We will seek refuge with my clan," Kalen responds.
"Didn't they cast you out?" You ask and regret it when he tosses you a look.
"Let me worry about that," he replies. "We have a headstart now, but it won't be long till the Isharin ask around and realize we decided to take our chances in the desert."
"And then?" You ask, and his response lets you know just how bleak the situation is as he says,
"And then we die."