Snippet #2517811

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Jack had seemed rather eager to spirit him back to the tavern, but his feet told him otherwise and he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t get moving. They were still a few days outside of Vóreia, and Cassius had the strangest feeling that he’d find what he was looking for once he got there. His journey was just beginning, and in Vóreia he’d take the first steps towards saving the girl from his dreams. Or so he believed, that is. He wasn’t entirely sure what was guiding him, but he felt it in every fiber of his being that some higher force was pulling him north (even though his heart knew that his final destination lied somewhere in the Eastern Queendom of Anatoli).

At times, Cassius had wondered if he was simply deranged. There was no sense in chasing down a face he’d only seen in his imagination. But, he was driven with conviction and convinced that she was as real as he was. For sixteen years he’d watched her struggle and live in darkness, experiencing every moment of her anguish and torment as if he was the one imprisoned inside the cave and not her.

"Well, you know best yourself, mate. Just follow the main road towards Vóreia. I'll catch up with you in the evening. See you then, lad.” Staying on the main street, he wove his way through the plaza, surviving the dangers and intrigue of the marketplace before finally reaching the northern edge of the city. Just before stepping outside the city gates, he heard a voice in a nearby alley… a voice that immediately lured him into the dark decrepit corridor.

“Cassius…” A mere whisper in the wind, he only stepped further into the darkness before something snatched his wrist, dragging him onto the ground. Slumped against the wall, he saw only a silhouette in the shadows near him as slender bony hands reached out for him. The figure cackling, it revealed its discolored hood draped around its head before finally its dark beady eyes fell onto Cassius. Shivers sent spiraling down his spine, beneath the hood he could just barely make out the grotesque creature beneath.

“You’ve kept me waiting a long time, boy. They talk about you, yes, yes, they talk about you. All the time, you see. Nobody listens, they should listen, and nobody does… but I did. You’re special! You were meant to be a farmer… no, not a farmer at all. She thought you were dead see, dead! But you’re not dead now, are you… ?” Terrified, he pressed his back to the wall, fingers curling around the hilt of his… wait, where was his sword?! He must have left it in the tavern. “Dammit…” Having no other options but to indulge whatever it was, he hesitantly stood up. “What are you talking about you old loon?”

”There was twins you see, twins, just like you with pink hair and everything. I saw them I did, I saw them! They didn’t want me to see, but I see everything.” Of all the things that made sense to him, he’d never really acknowledged the fact that he’d shared quite a resemblance with the girl from his dreams. But twins… was that possible? He’d always been the outcast in his village because not many people had hair like his… except for one that he knew of.

”Awe, you realize now, you do, you do! The Queen won’t be very happy when she finds this out, not very happy at all. You best make big friends traveler because you’re going to need them where you’re going.” And just like that, it was gone… leaving Cassius alone with his thoughts. It wasn’t long after the encounter that Cassius was well out of range of the city, his hands deep in his pockets as he mulled over everything he’d heard. The biggest question that rattled his brain was… who the hell was that? And how did they seem to know more about him than he did.

Could it be possible that he had a twin? And what did the Queen have to do with any of this? He was nothing more than a lowly peasant; surely he wasn’t in position to interest a queen in the slightest. “Who am I?” Staring into the sky, he almost didn’t hear the sound of hooves clicking behind him. Jack had come as promised, a welcomed site no doubt as Cassius took note of his sword hanging over the side of Jack's horse. “Am I happy to see you. Maybe there were some supplies I needed after all.”