WHO: Evan Meadows → Inej Ghafa WHEN: Night of October 3 WHERE: Evan's dorm room SUMMARY: Evan dreams of the summer morning where Inej's life changes completely. WARNINGS: Kidnapping
Inej lazily stretched her arms over her head, her eyes closed as she let herself sink into the blankets of the wagon for just a few more moments of rest. She knew that her father or maybe even one of her uncles or cousins would come looking for her in no time, as there were plenty of chores to be done before tonight's performance. It was still morning, though, and she couldn't help but allow herself to steal these moments while she could.
They were summering on the shores of Ravka and it was those shores that made it so easy for Inej to let herself fall back into a peaceful doze, rather than fully pull herself from the thin, soft blankets that were covering her and leaving the wagon. Though she could tell, even with her eyes shut, that the sun had risen, the steady beating of the waves on the sandy shores near where their caravan had come to a halt lulled her into relaxation. She had always loved the ocean and had been excited when her family had made their way toward it to perform in a carnival near Os Kervo.
Inej heard the door of the wagon open and knew she had been caught. Barely opening one of her eyes, she spied the man's silhouette. Letting her eyes drift shut once again, she murmured, "Five more minutes, Papa."
It wasn't her father, though Inej didn't realize that until it was far too late. The man wasn't alone and they quickly had her first by the ankles, then her legs. It didn't even occur to her that she ought to fight back until she was dragged from the wagon, her head hitting the hard ground in such a way that made her see stars. Before her vision cleared, she opened her mouth to scream, but the gag was placed before she even had the chance to get out a sound. A moment later and her wrists were bound and she was being slung over the shoulder of one of the men.
The last thing she saw as she was carried away was the caravan, growing smaller and smaller with each step. She prayed to her gods that someone -- Papa, Mama, one of her uncles or cousins -- would come to the wagon to look for her, but no one did. Her gods were silent.
Evan's eyes flew open, wide and confused as she took in her surroundings. She was in her dorm room, the soft glow of her sleeping computer and the incorrect time flashing on the microwave being just enough to illuminate the small space. Slowly she sat up, then hesitated as the world around her spun. Gingerly, her left hand rose and rested gently on what felt like should have been a tender spot on the side of her head -- the exact place, she realized, that Inej's head had come into contact with the ground in her dream.
Evan had been on the receiving end of dreams from Inej for months. They didn't come too frequently, but insistently enough that she knew she couldn't just ignore them. She was like everyone else in town, it seemed. Up until this dream, though, they had been relatively easy to swallow. She dreamed about Inej's life in the caravan, with her family of acrobats. She could recall the rush that the girl got every time she stepped on the high wire. She had her routine memorized and felt confident that she could have done it herself, if Dunhaven had a high wire for her to try. She dreamed about late nights with her father, listening to stories and legends. She dreamed about her mother braiding her hair and making skillet bread. She dreamed about her cousins, the jokes and arguments they all shared with one another. It had been a life so different from Evan's, but undoubtedly a happy one.
She wasn't so sure of that now, though. Evan didn't know what was about to happen to Inej, but she couldn't imagine it was anything short of bad. It was a thought that made her heart hurt even worse than her head.