Emjad in the Past
Once again, sitting the calming arms of the orchard, Emjad was at home. No matter how they tried, the servants had not yet figured how he got there, but, without fail, when nowhere else, Emjad could be found sitting in the crook of his favorite tree.
Since he could walk, Emjad was prone to following his uncle around the grounds. Over the last few years, the trips with Uncle had become more and more of a game, hiding in shadows, sneaking around servants, pilfering from the kitchen, all harmless things; although scary his brother was a favorite pastime.
Tonight was a particularly odd night, he wasn’t sure why he had come. Another odd thing, come to think of it, was that he had not noticed his brother in bed. Rhys always slept like a rock and regardless of the mischief that Emjad caused, Rhys hardly ever woke. With that thought came a sudden chill and a flash. Father!! Blood spattered in a arch across the ivory curtains, guards with smiles drawn across their necks and father, father was a white ghost. Emjad felt ill in every way possible. What did this mean, where was Rhys, what was going on?
Suddenly, the soft padding of feet across the orchard limestone caught his ear. In games with uncle, Emjad had learned that a keen sense of hearing could tip him off to where his uncle might lie, this sound was definitely a sign his uncle was up to his old tricks. Try to shake off the gruesome flash, Emjad thought that he would give his uncle a good scare. How would he know Emjad was in the orchard tonight? With catlike dexterity, such that even those in the “arts” would be scared, Emjad wove his way through the trees and dropped near a line of bushes. Out of habit, of luck, he took a peek to see where his victim was. The source of the noise froze Emjad’s heart, it was not his uncle, it was a man of serpentine features and mannerisms. Waves of fear and hatred washed over him as he surveyed this man. Frozen, Emjad watched him wipe an evil looking blade across his thigh as a smiled bloomed across his face. With a mounting realization of what had happened, the fear that had taken Emjad began to condense into a dark core. That core compressed all emotions into hatred and hatred in particular for one person. “The Serpent Man” had changed Emjad’s life, without question, things were now different.
After a few minutes, “The Serpent Man” left the garden and was gone without a trace. Seconds later, alarms and shouting guards filled the night air. The Estate was under attack, with father gone, Emjad knew, as young as he was, that this was the end. A great house fallen. As fear was trying to claws its way out of the pit of hatred Emjad harbored, his uncle appeared at his side with Rhys in tow. From their faces, Emjad could tell that the fear and hatred that he had felt were not alone. I guess this was no surprise, since he could remember, Emjad and his twin brother had had a special connection.
“No time to waste,” said uncle. With that, he was gone, Emjad and Rhys now in line. Heading for the wall that surrounded the Estate, a door suddenly appeared with uncle disappearing inside. Once through the doorway, the stone slab slid shut and a torch suddenly appeared with the grim eyes of their uncle behind it. “We must protect the name, although the Estate is gone, the name lives on in the two of you.” With this said, what seemed like miles of dark, damp tunnels passed Emjad’s eyes ending in such filth, even the beggars Emjad saw outside the Estate walls would be ashamed. Through this door, with the rising sun, Emjad and his brother started a new life.