1

~Rosie 

I headed the couples advice, and hid. 

After wandering around for awhile, it appeared to me how small the village is. Each house is locked up, however, lights blazing from inside suggest there are people in there. Looking around, this place isn’t the most hospitable. Run down houses border along each other, slumped fences hardly giving any privacy. 

My thoughts wander to all the beautiful villages we passed on the way through on the train. Each are all unique and stunning in their own ways, however, none of them compare to where I have ended up. 

The only way I can describe it to myself, is that it is creepy. Ominous trees surround the village, whatever might be beyond is unknown. 

I make a note to ask someone about it. 

With no money, and nowhere to go, I find a spot on the edge of village by the tree, leaning against the stump. My head falls into my hands, and I try my hardest not to cry. It prickles on the back of my eyes, however, I don’t let a single tear fall. I lost my life on the mortal land earlier than I should have, which only made me stronger during my sentence in Death’s realm. 

At some point my thoughts lulled me to sleep. I may not have hidden like I was warned, but I don’t have much of a choice. 

At some point, childlike laughter woke me from my slumber. Blinking rapidly, I sit up against the base of the tree, my vision coming back to me. Four young children who can’t be over ten mortal years old peer down at me, giggling between themselves.

I flinch, giving them all frights.

In an instant they all scatter, running off in different directions, as if they were caught commiting a terrible crime. Or maybe they are scared of me. Either way, I struggle to my feet, trying to ignore my aching back and neck. If the rest of my time here is going to be like that, I’m going to have to find a way out of here earlier than I thought. 

The village is a lot more populated this morning. People wander around, taking no notice of me. They look distracted by their own pity, heads down, going along with their days work, not interested in a girl sleeping against a tree. 

I was just about to get moving, brushing off the back of my pants, when the sound of clattering hooves on the ground rumbles down the main road of the village.

Keeping to the side of the road, I watch. 

Five rather regal figures approach on horses, four men and one woman, hardly regarding anyone they pass by. My eyes fall on the front rider, a stone faced man with golden hair brushed back from his face. He looks dead ahead, not bothered by my stare as he rides past me. I’m most fascinated by the gun on his hip, a rifle, which glints tauntingly. 

The rest of the riders, including the woman have bows instead, following along with equal uninterest. That is, until the girl’s head snaps in my direction, and she looks at me. She has similar features to her brother, with those blonde strands, eyes sharp. 

Swallowing uncomfortably, I let her observe me for a quiet moment before the group disappear into the forest. 

The entire village seems to let out a breath once they were gone.

I’m not sure what that was, but I don’t have time to investigate it right now. I need to find a bakery, and if what I saw last night is correct, there is a bakery further up town. Maybe they will have a job for me, and might let me sleep in their hearth until I have enough money to get out of this town.

Thick ash wood smoke catches in my throat as approach the bakey. A bell tingles above my head as I walk through the door into the shop front. The poignant scent of fresh bread has my stomach grumbling in response. Sweet delicacies are laid out in front of me, shielded behind glass. 

It seems they require a strange currency to purchase. I have no money at all. I will worry about food later, though. 

There are more important things to deal with. 

Just as I was eyeing a cheese scone, an older lady wanders out from the back, a handful of bread loaves in her hands. She looks at me for only a moment, before she opens the back of a glass cabinet, slipping the bread in. I watch her do so, unable to take my eyes off the food, unable to stop breathing in that fresh scent. 

The lady keeps one loaf in her hand, as she wanders over to the counter. She slips it into a paper bag, before sliding it across the counter at me. Her eyes, a watery blue, meet mine, insisting I take it. 

I do so cautiously, unsure of her intentions. She seems kind, although she doesn’t smile. I look at the burns on her arms. She clearly has slaved away all morning for this. 

Tearing a piece of bread from the loaf, I nibble at it. “Thank you.”

“You came off that train, didn’t you,” she says, motioning for me to come around the counter. I would be skeptical, however, she offered me food, and has been the only one today who hasn’t either ignored me, or laughed at me. 

I nod, following her into the back room. It’s not the bakey area, yet it still smells so pungent like flour and yeast. A fire places on the other end of the room, crackling gently. With my bread in hand, I rest on one of the couches she offers. For once, I feel comfort, burying the worry about the future within me. 

“No one has came off that train in a long while. Years. The people will start to talk soon, and when the people start to talk, bad things happen,” she tells me. 

I swallow uncomfortably. I somehow knew this would happen. 

“What kind of bad things?” I ask warily. I’m not so sure I want to know, however, I’m apart of this town now, as much as I want to escape. 

“The leader of this place, he’s not a good man. He notices when things aren’t right, and the gossip will reach him eventually,” she explains, throwing another log on the fire. I watch it burst into flames. I know who she is speaking of. Time. What I know about him is slim, considering how little I assumed I would end up here. 

I swallow another piece of bread. “Why would Time be worried about me? And if you’re so worried, why did you invite me in here to talk to me? What will he do if he finds out I’m here?”

“Time won’t do anything. He trusts me.”

She notices my skeptical expression. “I own the only bakery in town, and when he visits, he gets the best service. And I take pity on you. It’s a lawless area around here, each for their own. I doubt many else would be kind enough to take you in. A lot of people don’t have the ability too, anyway.”

“You’ll let me work here?” I question in disbelief. I’m surprised someone here could be so generous. 

“It won’t be great work, but it will be enough to keep you on your feet until you find another place to work. My only rule is I suggest not speaking to anyone around here. Like I said, they gossip, and not in a fun way.”

I nod. “Thank you. My name is Rosie, by the way.”

“Don’t go telling anyone else that. People are going to be curious about you, asking a lot of questions. Pick a different name, in case an more powerful immortal tries to track you,” she explains, to which is shiver. I had no idea this place would be so dangerous. “I’m Marie, by the way. Not my real name, but that’s what everyone else calls me.”

I don’t dare ask for her real name. Something tells me everyone around here is rather shady. For now, I’ll heed Marie’s advice. She might be a crazed older woman full of conspiracies, however, I’m not about to take that risk. 

This is Time’s territory, after all. 

“Who are those people wandering around on horses? They from this village?” I question, curious about that impassive faced boy and that sharp eyed girl. 

“They are hunters. There isn’t much to do in this place, so the younger kids often go into the forest for fun. It’s a dark, dangerous place in there. I don’t suggest wander out of the village unless you know the way out. Otherwise you are bound to get lost,” she comments. “And whatever you do, don’t talk to those Hunters. Some believe they work directly for Time.”

Finally, I finish my bread, putting the empty bag down on the bench. “Who is Time truly?”

Marie pauses what she was doing, looking directly at me. “Simply imagine the worst thing to ever exist in this world. An unforgivable creature who cares nothing about your life. He is beyond anything you can imagine.”

I can’t help but shiver at her words. 

She folds her arms across her chest. “That’s Time.”