Dwellers of the New World Chapter Eleven ( Pt 1 ) Chance Meetings

It was early morning when Cinnamon awoke, she dug her fingers into the sheepskin she slept on, frustration and panic ran through her mind, she wondered what her parents would be thinking. Part of her wanted to stay with the travellers, but she knew that if she stayed, she'd be going home, suddenly going home didn't seem like a good idea.

Cinnamon was afraid that her mother and father would be angry with her for leaving the cabin, as would Gregor too, 'she would probably loose her job, knowing his anger.' She thought to herself. Wiping the sleep from her eyes and deciding to get up, she thought about sneaking away and not going home. Looking at her leg, the wounds had healed, so this was a good opportunity to explore the beaches and make an escape.

Tansy and Daisy were no where to be seen, so finding her muddy boots, she put them on. Cinnamon jumped down out of the wagon and stared out across the bay. The water looked inviting, but the girl knew very well that there were dangers to be found in the ocean, she had heard tales of monster fish that would smell a human from a great distance, so she put those thoughts to one side.

The rest of the travellers were still sleeping, so quietly she made her way down the path to the bay and across the sand. It was while she was climbing over some rocks, that she spied some boats sailing out to sea. 'They must have gone out fishing early!' she thought to herself, glad she wasn't on one of the boats with all those scary creatures swimming around.

Then she saw some flying fish and stared in wonder at the spectacle.There wings were like the flying insects that inhabited her parents garden in the Summer, but on a much larger scale. She wondered if her parents would ever believe her, if she told them about this display? 'probably not!' she thought to herself, that was if she ever went home.

It looked like the weather was going to stay nice, the sky out to sea was clear and the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon. The ocean was a lot bigger than she'd ever imagined and seemed to go on forever. Cinnamon had also heard stories of lands far away, where many different creatures lived and she wondered what they looked like and if they were huge or small.

Soon the craggy rocks became easier to clamber over. Cinnamon studied the rock pools, there were shell like creatures that seemed to walk under water, their spindly legs looked like they could hardly carry the shell. Then their were little fish that peeped out from behind some green ferns, but then quickly hid once more, almost as if they'd seen the girl looming above them. It felt like one big adventure to the Cinnamon.

As she neared the next bay, she was aware of the large expanse of beach that she was approaching. Noticing some large ships she speculated if this was where Dawson had been taken. The beach was empty, apart from some birds that were pecking along the shore line.

Cinnamon wondered where she should explore next. She stared up at the cottages that lined the bay, there was smoke coming from vents in the roofs, so she wandered up towards one of the buildings, noticing a few tables and wooden benches set out. The door to the cottage was open and seemed warm and inviting, she made her way inside and a roaring fire welcomed her.

Some barrels that sat on benches had taps, so she took one of the tankards and began to fill it with some of the liquid from the barrel. Taking a sip, Cinnamon ran outside and spat the liquor out, “Yuk! That's nasty!” she said out loud. Tipping the rest of the liquor away, she took the tankard back inside.

Feeling really thirsty by now, she wondered where she could get some water to drink, or even some tea. Then she noticed some herbs hanging beside the fire. Some sage leaves were just the thing she needed, 'but where was the water?' she thought to herself. Stepping outside she noticed some caves along the beach that seemed to be some kind of storage space, as she was just thinking about going to have a look, Cinnamon heard a voice.

“Hey you!”

Looking around, a burly man came across the beach towards her. “She thought he looked familiar, so she waited for him to approach.

“What you be doing here? ain't never seen you in these parts before.”

“I'm sorry...my name's Cinnamon and I was just looking for some water to drink.” She paused as the man kept his eye on her.

“You ain't from round here...that I do know.”

Cinnamon felt slightly nervous of the man. “No...I...I'm not from round here. I came down with some travellers from further up near the barracks, I hope it's okay going in the cottage...I didn't think anyone would mind, as the door was open.”

“Me name's Bracus, I remember you...you're the girl who serves up food...ain't you?”

“Yeah! That's right.” Cinnamon wasn't sure whether she should have been so open with Bracus, her friend Will who was one of Gregor's guards, had told her all about Bracus and how he could be ruthless in his actions.

“If you want water, there's some in that pot next to the fire with the lid on...it's good stuff, comes from the cave springs.” Bracus knew that Gregor would be angry, if he had any idea Cinnamon was here, so he would have to think clearly about what he would do with her.

Just as the girl was about to thank Bracus, a young boy came bounding across the sand calling out.

Cinnamon was sure she recognised him, then as he got closer she realised it was Varden, the boy stopped in his tracks, they stood staring at each other, not quite sure what to say next.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Eleven ( Pt 2 ) Secrets! | ABCtales