The Mystery of Anaia St. Claire

A bit of Advice

 I told Mateao that the cloak was my adoptive father’s cloak. Mateao's face suddenly became grim and sad. "Your father was Old man St. Claire? Your father...who’s dead?”, Mateao said. I nodded. Mateao sighed aloud, “Not old man St. Claire. He and his wife, Amara, used to visit my parents all the time. They were good people. Just...just what happened?", Mateao asked with a serious frown. I felt tears start to swell up in my eyes as I recalled the events of that night. The wound, after all, was still fresh. I looked away and saw that my clothes were dry. "I need to change into my clothes. Do you mind?", I asked him. Mateao nodded and like a gentleman, he turned his back to me.

I quickly got dressed and told Mateao what happened. Since his parents and my adopted parents had history I had decided to trust him. He nodded slowly with every word I said, listening attentively. “Silver wings…”, he repeated after I had finished talking. He gently pinched his chin in thought for a long time before he snapped his fingers like he had an epiphany. “That’s the crest of the Southern Valhats of Sacara. They’re very ravenous people who believe they are the superior race. But you say that they were looking for you?”, he said. I nodded and looked away, remembering what the commander had said. “Where is she? Where is the girl you had adopted seventeen years ago.” His voice still echoed in my mind. I looked back over at Mateao who was staring intensely at me. “Hmmm...I don’t get it. You don’t look Sacarian.”, he said. I frowned, slightly curious. “Well...what does a Sacarian girl look like?”, I asked. He folded his arms and stared out at the lake. “They tend to have very pale skin and blue or purple eyes, blonde or black hair, and have very slim facial features.”, he said as he came closer to me and crisscrossed his legs. He leaned in close to my face and gently pinched my chin. This was the closest I had ever been to a man, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered. “They also tend to be very slender women, no butts, no bust, no bellies. Just flat, like someone, had been run over with a steam roller. But you, you’re the complete opposite.”, he paused. He let my chin go but continued to stare at me. “You have brown, thick hair, light brown skin, light eyes, and a very curvy figure. You’re definitely not Sacarian.”, he said with a wink. I looked away trying to hide my blushing cheeks. “Then, why would they come after me? Why would they be looking for me or know where to find me?”, I asked. Mateao nodded slowly as he stared down at the ground. “It is a mystery. Maybe, it had something to do with your biological mother or father?”, he asked. I shrugged awkwardly. Mateao grunted, very puzzled. “I haven’t the slightest idea then. Maybe, when you get to Kamari you’ll find answers.”, he said encouragingly as he stood up to stretch. “Well...It was very nice meeting you, Anaia. I hope we meet again.”, he said as he leaned down and kissed the back of my hand. With another wink and smile, he disappeared into the woods.

I sighed as I looked back at my horse. She tilted her head at me as if she knew what I was thinking. I smiled at her, saddled up, and headed towards the pass Mateao had pointed out to me. As I stared ahead, I couldn’t help but wish that Mateao had gone with me. He seemed to know a lot about how to get to Kamari. It would’ve made the journey a lot less lonely. As I thought this, an object rushed right past my face at an incredibly high rate of speed. I leaned back slightly just in time for it to hit a tree. I looked and saw that it was a large knife. With that, a variety of war crimes and yelling ensued and within seconds, about ten men appeared surrounding me. The ring leader stood right in front of me with a grin. "Well, well, well, boys! Look at what we have here! It's a cute girl riding through the forest all by herself.", he spoke aloud causing the other men to giggle. I remained neutral as he continued to talk. "Alright, miss, this is how it's going to go down. You're going to hop down off that horse really slowly and let us take it along with any valuables you have. Then, we're going to take you into the forest and have a bit of fun with you...each of us, as many times as we want.", he said as he licked his lips. I sighed to myself. I couldn't stand his kind, not at all. Why do any of these men feel like they have the right to take me? Who are they to chose what I do with m body for me? Oh, I'll show them a fun time! I slowly got off the horse grabbing Papa's field knife inconspicuously as my face hit the ground. I then slowly put my hands in the air to show I wasn't armed. "Good girl.", the ring leader said as he came closer to me. Just when he was close enough, I dropped down and stabbed him in his thigh. He screamed in agony, ordering the other to charge at me. As they did so, I found myself remembering something that Papa taught me. "Because you are a female, Anaia, you are more likely to be attacked and sometimes by large numbers. Remember this, as a woman, your body is capable of flexibility rather than power. Use that to your advantage and if you attack, make sure they stay down.", his voice rung in my ears as I took each man down and down they stayed. I hopped back on my horse and continued on the pass, leaving a trail of unconscious, wounded men behind me.