Vitkus Twins

1.1: Jindřiška

Ten years Later

Sněhový Motýl was used to seeing adults running after two children, some of them encouraged those doing the chasing, joining the mob or ignoring them... no one tried to stop the group from chasing the two ten-year-olds.

Jindřiška was running as fast as she could down an alleyway, her blonde hair pulled into tight braids and light blue eyes scanned her surroundings, so she didn’t fall over a stray can or feral dog.

If Jindřiška did trip over a dog, she could only hope that said dog would go after the adults chasing after her. Which she knew was half the size it had been, since the other half was now chasing Zikmund, her precious twin; Zik.

Splitting up while being chased only worked sometimes. If they were drunk enough, it would cause enough confusion for them to go bother someone else they didn’t like.

It would seem that this time...

It didn’t work and Jindřiška was still running away from them.

Jindřiška and Zikmund were used to adults chasing them and had learned that they were only fun if you were part of it and not the person they were running after.

Jindřiška also knew that outside of Zima it was dangerous for them to be outside after dusk since they would most likely be chased down by some angry adult.

Jindřiška had always wondered why they would chase them, why barely anyone would stop them and what they had done to warrant this level of hatred... or what their parents had done before their deaths.

There was a reason. People don’t try to kill others without a reason; it didn’t matter to her if it was a good reason or a bad one. She just wanted a reason, but she doubted that she’d ever get one.

The only thing Jindřiška could now was hope that she’d lost them at some point, while she ran from alleyway to main street to alleyway again, never giving much thought to where she was going, as long as it was away from the adults behind her.

She didn’t know how long she had been running, but today just wasn’t her day as she had tripped over a starving stray cat. Before she could blink, the group of adults caught up with her, and they started punching and kicking her small body.

Jindřiška curled up into a small ball, her hands went to cover her head and her face was hidden by her knees.

She knew that it was pointless to cry. She had been taught by those groups of adults that it would always be pointless to cry. If she did, they would just hit her harder. Only a handful of things would stop them.

One if it started to heavily rain, two being if Jindřiška passed out, they would get bored and move along. Thirdly, one of the Ochrana stopped them.

Shouts of Fox brat, Demon and Monster were thrown at her from people who weren’t close enough to physically harm her.

Jindřiška was happy that they never used anything sharp and didn’t hit her with glass bottles, since the bruises would be gone by the time she was back at her and Zik’s apartment.

There were some words they would shout at her that Jindřiška knew that she couldn’t repeat in polite company. She had seen adults tell each other off for using them.

But no one would tell them off for shouting at her.

Soon the adults got bored, moving and some of them tripped over loose rubbish and others swayed onto the walls.

Jindřiška could only hope that Zikmund was okay. She hoped that Kočka and Pes had found him before the other half of the group caught him.

“Zůstaň do rána

Řekl bys, že jsem toho hoden?”

Jindřiška sang to herself, pushing herself up into a sitting position and watching the bruising on her skin disappear.

“Jindřiška?” Kočka asked, appearing in front of her, putting her hands on her shoulders.

“Zik?” Jindřiška asked with a small voice.

Kočka was part of the Ochrana, a mask covering the lower half of her face, while a cat mask rested against the side of her head.

It allowed Jindřiška to see Kočka’s dark blue eyes and ashy blonde hair.

“He’s okay,” Kočka promised, picking her up.

Jindřiška was too old to be picked up, but it helped that she was half the size of children her age.

It was also Kočka and Pes who homeschooled them, along with Zmije and Plch. They were making sure they would be ready for the Academy the year after they turned thirteen.

Jindřiška put her arms around Kočka’s neck, making sure not to hold so tight that Kočka couldn’t breathe, but tight enough that she wouldn’t fall.

“Zikmund is fine, Vzácný poklad,” Kočka said, hugging her tightly.

Jindřiška could feel fingers going through her hair. This helped calm her down while Kočka went towards her and Zikmund’s apartment.

A few minutes later, Kočka was walking through the front door.

Pes was sitting on one of their couches, while Zikmund was sitting on the one across from him.

“Kočka, Jindřiška,” Pes greeted, looking up from his book.

“Zik!” Jindřiška said, looking up from Kočka’s shoulder.

Kočka gently placed her onto her feet.

Jindřiška walked over to her brother, pulling him into a hug. He was her best friend, while she was his. They knew each other best, and they were one of the few people who would treat each other kindly.

Jindřiška and Zikmund could list the people who liked them easily enough. There were; Zmije, Plch and Pes; Kočka, Růžena and the Vůdce Vesnice.

“Good night, Štěně,” Pes said, putting his book away, standing up and ruffling their hair, making it messier than it already was, “we’ve got to Vůdce Vesnice and tell him what happened.”

“I made dinner, it’s on the table,” Kočka said, pulling them into a hug.

“Goodnight, Pes. Goodnight, Kočka, Zůstaňte v bezpečí,” Zikmund and Jindřiška said waving their hands.

Pus and Kočka waved, leaving the apartment.

Jindřiška quickly locked the door behind her.

Jindřiška could feel Zikmund keeping his eye on her while they collected their dinner, the last time this had happened.

Well, Zikmund was the one who was caught and beaten.

“Ris? Are you okay?” Zikmund asked after they sat down.

“I’m fine, Zik, they didn’t hit hard, and I haven’t gotten a single bruise,” Jindřiška promised.

She knew that was the only way that Zikmund would drop his line of questioning, eat and then go to bed.

Jindřiška felt bad because she had had bruises, but when he asked, there was a single one left. Thus, there wasn’t a reason to worry about Zikmund more than needed, and she was sure he did the same thing.

“Okay, Ris,” Zikmund said with a nod, before starting to eat his dinner.

Jindřiška followed suit.

“Kočka is the best cook,” Zikmund said.

“Then why don’t you pay attention when she teaches you to cook?” Jindřiška asked.

“I want her to stay,” Zikmund said.

“Yes, but one day, we’re going to be on our own, and then we’ll have to cook for ourselves,” Jindřiška said.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Zikmund admitted.

“Just pay attention next time,” Jindřiška said.

“Okay,” Zikmund said, putting his dish on the sink and walking towards their bedroom.

Jindřiška followed quickly behind him.

Zikmund had been given a pair of plain grey pyjamas, while Jindřiška had been given a light cream nightdress with butterflies sown in the corner.

Climbing into the bed, they were asleep before their heads hit the pillow.