Chapter Text
As soon as she was sure Tash had fallen asleep she carefully untangled herself from the older girl’s arms. She pushed herself up on to her elbows and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark. The moon shone overhead casting shadows that danced their way across the walls. A moon beam fell across Tash’s face, giving Danny a clear view of the older girl.
For every “no” Tash had a “yes”, and then some. Although she was shy by nature, her sarcastic remarks and witty taunts equally brought out the worst and best in people. Although she could be extremely harsh at times, Danny knew it wasn't her fault. It was hard living on the streets, but she tried to make it as easy as she could for Tash. She traced the cut on Tash’s eyebrow with her forefinger, the older girl’s eyes fluttered in her sleep; in a way Danny had given it to her, the cut that is.
It happened about three years ago, she had just turned six was when her family had disappeared. They didn't exactly disappear, they was taken by guards, or killed by them, she didn't know. Her parents had been taking them to some place they called Olay, she hadn't wanted to leave, but she had no say on the matter. They had left the beautiful rooms with soft pillows and gardens with ponies and taken her and her brother Devon with them. She was angry, and had lagged behind the rest of them. They had been walking on a path lined with trees and bushes, it had a sinister feeling to it. She heard hoof beats and had looked up to see several men and women in shiny armor ride up to her parents surrounding them. One of the men who looked like the boss had grabbed her mommy’s arm, pulling down her sleeve to revel the dragon tattoo that covered her forearm, Danny had one similar to it. Her father knocked the man off his horse, after that there was a lot of people shouting and she had stood frozen to the spot unable to move. She saw fire come from her brothers hands, the horses shrieked as their flesh burned.
“The boys an apostate!” someone had yelled. She vaguely remembered wondering what that meant when someone had grabbed her arm. She screamed and pulled but relaxed when she saw it was her mother.
Her heart speed up again when her mother looked at her with wild eyes, “Go, into the bushes!” she commanded pushing Danny towards the forest. Danny crawled under a shrub, she had turned to see her mother with a pained expression on her face. Danny looked at the blade that stuck out of her mother’s chest. She didn’t remember being scared but had panicked when her mother was dragged away. She reached for her mother’s hand and pulled hard. Her mother looked at her with a fear in her eyes that would haunt Danny for the rest of her life, “Go,” she breathed barely audible, “Don’t stop, until you find somewhere safe.” She gasped and seamed to let go, her body sagged and was pulled away. Danny had sobbed grasping for her mother’s arm, her fingers dug into her flesh, and she had pulled as hard as she was able to, but her mother continued to be dragged out. She left Danny groping at the air, with her mother’s bracelet clenched tightly in one hand. She crawled towards the opening where her mother had gone, when the figure of a man had covered the opening grasping for her. Danny turned and ran, as fast as she could deeper into the forest. She didn’t know how long or where she was going, but fear drove her on. After a while she realized her feet where hitting pavement and not the forest floor. She had stopped to catch her breath, she had entered a town of some sort. For the next several hours she had walked aimlessly among the concrete houses and broken down walls. She walked until the fear had begun to wear off and her body was racked with shivers. Her feet stumbled and she had tripped on to the dirty ground. She saw a hole in a wall to her right, she had crawled into it and shivered against the wall, she had been so exhausted she had fallen asleep almost immediately.
She woke the next morning reaching out for her mother, only when her hand groped air did she remember what had happened. She had begun sobbing uncontrollably. After a while she dried her tears and crawled out of the little hole she had resided in. The streets that had been empty when she first roamed them where packed with people now. Vendors shouted nonsense from behind stalls, the smell of food had drawn her to them. When she had walked a few steps she suddenly remembered what her mother had said.
She had to run, but where?
Somewhere safe.
She watched as a big man brought his arm down, sieving off the head of a fish, this place was not safe. She ran through the streets, unsure of where she was going. It was evening before she stopped, she was hungry, and tired, and cold. She wrapped her tattered cloak around herself and kept her eyes on the ground. She was vaguely aware of someone coming up next to her. the person shoved her, barely able to have still been walking, she fell over hard. She warily turned her head to see two boys several years older than herself towering over her. They both had finely made cloths on, with polished shoes and slicked down hair. She sat up, and a cold metallic taste filled her mouth. Her lips trembled.
“Hey!” someone yelled. She watched mutely as a girl in tattered rags strolled up casually towards them.
“What are you doing here street rat!” The smaller boy sneered.
“Back at you,” the girl responded coolly.
“Go away,” The taller boy snapped.
“Okay, but I’m taking her with me,” she said. Danny was vaguely aware the girl was talking about her.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” The older boy said, he lunged at her swinging his fist against her eye. The girl fell back into a puddle of mud. She wiped the mud off her eyes, a long cut ran through her right eyebrow. The boys laughed nervously, their gall disappearing at the sight of blood.
“Why don’t you come where I can see you!” the girl said pulling the taller boy’s feet out from under him. He fell on his back getting his pretty cloths dirty. Danny had clenched her hands and watched with wide eyes as the girl fought with the two boys. Soon they were all drenched in mud from head to toe, barely recognizable. As the two boys ran off crying, the girl’s teeth were stunningly white against the mud that had covered every inch of her face. She had watched them until they disappeared around the bend before turning back to Danny. She had looked down on her, making the younger girl squirm. “Let’s go flee bag,” she said walking away. Danny watched her, she didn't dare move. The girl became aware that Danny wasn’t following and stopped, “Well, are you coming or not?” Danny looked at the girl, her body was all covered in brown mud, except for the places where it had turned a dark red color. Danny shivered, then she got up.
She came to know her as Anatashka, but simply called her Tash, the girl had given her a black eye the first time she called her this, but the name stuck. Yes they fought a lot. Many of Danny’s black eyes and bloody lips were from Tash’s hand, but she had done her own share of damage to the older girl. The first time Tash had raised a hand to her she had ran away with a bloody lip, and misty eyes. Tash had hunted her out behind the merchants trash bins and carried her back to the unfinished building they called home. Danny sleepily watched as Anatashka used the only relatively clean part of her tattered clothes to clean off the dried blood on Danny’s bottom lip. It took a while but Danny eventually got use to the girl. To be honest, she was horrified of her at first, the girl who had single handedly beaten up two boys several inches taller than herself, was rude and sarcastic. But Danny knew, when after she had cleaned up her lip Anatashka had laid her down on the hay they used as a bed and crawled next to her. Danny had cried, but this time instead of reprimanding her Tash had held her and cradled her head she had sung softly into Danny’s hair, lacing the words with the cold night air, and a note of sincerity she hadn't heard since her mother.
Hush now my baby,
Be still love don’t cry,
Sleep like you’re rocked by the stream.
Danny sniffed and buried her head deeper into Tash’s caress.
Sleep and remember my lullaby,
I’ll be with you when you dream.
Drift on a river that flows through my arms
Drift as I’m singing to you
I see you smiling so peaceful and calm
And holding you I’m smiling to
Here in my arms safe from all harm
Holding you I’m smiling too…
It was then that she knew she could stop running. She had found somewhere safe.
Danny smiled, she let her hand hover over Tash’s sleeping form. She liked to watch her sleep, Tash looked prettier when she slept, not that she wasn't pretty when she was awake, but she was just a different kind of pretty when she slept. Not so worried or upset. Danny pulled some hay out of Tash’s brown tangle of hair. She nibbled the edge of one and laid back down into Tash’s arms, she watched the road pass playing idly with a lose thread on Tash’s cloak. She moved her head to rest on Tash’s chest letting the hoof beats and sound of Tash’s heart beat lull her to sleep.