sending a mass of water flooding upon the walls, each droplet cutting down through the sky, like pins for the cushion.
-Chapter 2-
Present
The storm outside whistled, riddling the stone walls with water. Hoosun and the twins were inside, warm and comfortable. Hoosun was taking them for a walk through the inner corridors of the innermost wall. They were curved and well-crafted. There were dark patches here and there, in the hall, but most was visible due to torches that sat perched upon the walls.
As the trio walked through the corridor, Hoosun held his arms at his back while the twins ran their fingers across the walls they had passed. They were cool and smooth to the touch, it was a nice feeling. Samana unbuckled her jacket, the buckle of which was silver, and finely polished, for she had taken good care of her cloak. Removing the cloak from her body, she hung it over her shoulder and poked her sister. “I can’t help but feel we’re going in circles.”
Daimana curled her lip and looked ahead into the illuminated stone, noticing the curvaceous manner of the hall, which was quite fashionable as the light of flames reflected off of it. “You’re right!!!...I almost think we’ve been here before.”
Hoosun grinned as much as he could through his beaked mouth. He found the playfulness of the children quite humorous. “We haven’t been here before. There is a place I’m taking you specifically, and we haven’t passed it, yet.”
The twins grinned as one, feeling anticipation as they spoke in voice together. “Where…?”
Hoosun removed his spectacles and cleaned them on his cloak. “You’ll see in good time, my young friends, we are near our destination.”
After walking for what seemed forever, for the twins at their young age, they had finally reached what Hoosun had called their destination.
As they walked, a room in the side of the hall revealed itself. Warm light peaked from the boundaries of a shut, wooden door, leaving mystery to what lay beyond its confines. Hoosun walked ahead and opened the door, calling in. “I have two young people I would like you to meet, my friends.”
Hoosun stepped aside, allowing the twins to get a view of the room, and enter. It was a nice looking room. The walls had the shine of gold. Iron lanterns slumped from chains above, candle light flickering to give life to the scene before the twins’ eyes. The room was filled with rustic furniture in the corners, small benches, and a table here and there, between them. Two children, about the age of the twins, sat at a bench and had a book spread before them. One, a boy, sat on the table, watching the girl read, while she sat on what would be the proper place of seating, the bench.
Hoosun pushed the children forward into the room, and closed the door behind them. “This is what Henk and I call the Den.” Samana and Daimana looked about curiously, Samana asking questioningly. “The Den…? Why do you call it that?”
The girl, who sat seated at the table, looked up from her book. Her hair was long and brown, and was done up in a ponytail at the back, with a small band wrapped around her hair to keep it fashioned so. She spoke, answering Samana’s question in a knowledgeable tone. “It’s the one place where we can have peace and quiet. We’re not like most kids around here, since we’re different, so…Hoosun watches over us, just a little more than he does the others. He allows us to use this space for ourselves, to be away from the others. So, it’s our Den.”
Samana nodded at the informative speech, and