Espa Norva

Espa Norva - 1 - Sanctuary

ESPA NORVA
1
SANCTUARY

I am no stranger to these parts. I have always lived here. In fact I have lived here since I was born. This is a strange way to keep a diary, in the dark, in the cellar, by candle light. Then again seeing as I have no choice how else am I supposed to keep my thoughts, secrets and memories. I will not let this get in my way this time but what about the day after tomorrow.
12.09.12



"Can we get some of those little pastries like yesterday? I liked them." A small boy with fluffy caramel colour hair tugged on his elder brother's thumb as he asked, eyes squintng up through the gloom to find the other's face.

"No." The older of the two sounded more harsh than he meant to, the word half spat through his teeth as he peered around the corner to the next street.

The little boy stopped tugging and even as his brother started forward into the open space between this cobbled lane and the next, he stayed put. Hands came up to his chin, unconciously seeking out warmth that normally he found hlding onto his brother. Tears grew up in his eyes, making them seem even more blue, almost angelic in his small, pale face.

"I'm sorry, Leo. We just can't stop right now." The taller brother had to back track, his body still tense, movements still a fraction off unsettled. He held out his hand, crouching down, eyes begging the child to understand and come quietly, "Please come on."

"Can we get some tomorrow?" little Leo asked, cheering when he noticed that his brother held a small square of chocolate in his palm.

"Yeah sure. Now come on." Taking Leo's non-sticky hand, the leader pulled the boy after him quickly, through a passage of light from an orange streetlight and back into the gloomy safety of a more narrow back-alley.

Twilight had only just set in properly but they had to keep going. Night could be their only cover. A smell lingered between the cramped brickwork of one water slicked wall and the other. It's scent was damp and dank, waterlogged trash that had been caught in the indents of the curb was rotting and turning to slush thanks to the humidity. The little boy wrinkled his nose and made to say something when his brother dragged him round another bend, this time into a place where the darkness seemed to flood over them like a thick blanket. Leo whimpered. High above he could see where buildings scraped the inky blue of the sky and the spaces where windows sat in the tops of those derelict houses, glaring down at them with dumb eyes. Clutching tighter to his brother he listened... Only the ragged sound of his protector's breathing could be heard in the silence but he still felt afraid, as if at any moment a nightmare would leer up out of the darkness.

"Scorpio?" Leo whispered. His brother grunted in return.

"In here."

They turned into a wider street now, though just as deserted as before. Scorpio glanced back at the six year old padding along behind him. He frowned. They needed something much safer than an indented doorway soon, the air was too heavy to be the end of yesterday's rain. The Floods were coming. Just walking through these passageways felt like they were drowning... And they would if they didn't find shelter before the storms came... The chill in the air even suggested it might snow in the not-so-distant future. Leo couldn't be outside for that, Scorpio wouldn't let it happen. Even if the skies had not split yesterday morning, he would have figured out that the rivers were soon, once again to become a danger, just as they did every year. If it hadn't been for htheir uncle's desire to part them...

A memory of a log fire and laughter danced through his mind. When had he seen a fire? He frowned and shook his head. Whatever that vision had been, it was not something he remembered himself. Maybe it was from one of the photos his parents had had... Leo whimpered again. Cursing to himself he remembered how scared his little brother was of the dark and quickly stopped to lift the child onto his back. That way he shouldn't be so frightened. Not to mention, knowing that he was right there made Scorpio feel like he was protecting his brother better...

"Halt!" A voice punctuated the darkness.

Scorpio's eyes darted about. Who had spoken? Where was the speaker? He too in the ramshackled buildings, the boards across fragmented glass.

"This is a protected property." The voice piped up again, this time sounding cheerful and Scorpio detected a flicker of movement on a low wall in front of them.

"Hello!" Leo scrambled off his back before he could stop him, "I'm Leo and-"

Still breathing heavily from their scattered trek Scorpio sprang forward to seize Leo's arm and yank him back towards him, protecting him from whoever this stranger was, wincing at the small yelp, "Shut up." He muttered angrily, though he was more disgusted with his own action than angry at his brother's.

"Sorry Scorp..." Leo whimpered a little and Scorpio loosened his clutch on his small arm.

Adrenalin must have kicked in to slow down his thoughts into a steady calm because the whole world seemed slower suddenly...

"Wait. Who are you?" The voice spoke up from the gloom, panic edging it, "How did you get here?"

Scorpio felt his defences rise and he pushed Leo behind him, balling his fists and leaning forwards slightly watching the stilloette through narrowed eyes. It stepped forward and he growled slightly. But whoever this stranger was, he must have noticed his malcontent because he raised his hands and interupted Scorpio's desperate thoughts about how to escape the situation.

"I'm the guard to Sanctuary."

The word alone, uttered like a name, made shivers race through Scorpio's body. He had never heard the word used... It seemed so old fashioned... But it made him feel safe when he thought of its meaning. The log fire burned more brightly in the back of his mind.

"Sanc...tuary?" He tried not to sound too hopeful. Heavens only knew what the stranger could mean.

"That's the magick word." The shadow boy stepped closer and seemed to peer at them, though his face was not visible in the blackness, "Looks like you need in. C'mon." The obscure figure made to head away down an even more thread like alley. Scorpio hesistated, pulled Leo closer still and then began to follow.

Beacon Hills looked like it had once been beautiful. The pale grey stone they followed the boy along lead past quaint little homes which now stood ruined and unused thanks to the floods. Scorpio tried to map the route in his mind, not wanting to be lost if they had to flee but he soon lost track. Rambling and random the roads were all the same in the dark, their nigrescent leader ignoring their shuffling feet and uncertain whispers. Slowly the houses were beginning to grow again but they were becoming less frequant too... Where were they? Were houses hidden behind the hedgerow that had grown up about them in thorny tangles? Crossing his fingers, Scorpio followed the stranger and Leo followed him.

"Here we go."

A house, solitary, dilapidated, but huge, loomed above them. Somewhere beyond he could hear water. The river? They had wandered down a driveway, he realised with a start. Once it really would have been magnificent. As they came closer he noticed white paint was chipped and flaking off the outside, the door was scraped of it's original green. It reminded him of home. Leo pulled his hand and Scorpio realised he'd been staring, the stranger fading into the dimness around the door.

"Never say never again." A muffled whisper of words caught in his ear as the door creaked open. Bright light dazzled him for a moment. Spots danced in his eyes. Having not seen daylight since they had escaped to avoid recognition, he shied away from its illuminaing glare. Leo gasped, the way he gasped when he saw something he liked. Forcing himself to look, he felt hands guiding him inside, bringing him through the mouth and into the expanse of a beautiful, warm, entrance hall

"Welcome to Sanctuary."


*

That night, Scorpio put Leo to bed only to have his brother ask if he could stay with him. Smiling slightly he climbed into the bed which, to his surprise, was remarkably soft. He wrapped an arm about his younger sibling who nestled down into the covers and he whispered a soft command that he go to sleep now.

"Night Scorp." Was the only reply he received and slowly they slipped into sleep.

*

White chiffon clouds were simmering to a dusky blue as the sun collapsed into it's bloody red miasma of light behind the silhouetted hills. The stars were peering out from the clouds, squinting as they woke up for their nocturnal reign. Above the mounds of the grassy hills, the moon was faithfully reflecting the sun's rays across the untouched fall of pink blossom, turning the petals to a quilt of fairy dust beneath its eerie glow. Leo was dozing against his mother on the plush pale ochre sofa, his eyes glimmering with awe and happiness as his mother ran her fingers through his hair and he watched the sun wave it's guardianship to the moon. Scorpio laughed at his brother's face and moved his chess peice to take one of his father's knights.

His mother set down her blue and white willow pattern tea cup on the side and sighed with a smile playing across her face, "It's nearly time for bed my Lion," she said softly.

"Tell us a story mummy.Then I'll go to bed." Leo was giggling, being bold for a four year old, negotiating with his mother. But he had learnt from his brother. The little boy yawned and curled closer to her but she pressed a small kiss to his honey coloured hair and nodded.

"How about the story of Fanfelt Point. Is that ok?" She had chosen one which they both knew was shorter than the other ones she told but that was fine with Leo.

"Yahuh." he consented with another yawn.

Without thinking Scorpio went to go sit next tohis father, tucking himself under the huge, protecting arm and abandoning the chess game for the time being. It didn't matter they had been playing it for the best part of a week anyway and neither was any closer to winning. His father drew him close and both of them settled to listen to his mother's words. She weaved them like a peice of embroidery, always had done, catching the colours and the magic and the romance and the adventure all perfectly, making each retelling feel like the first time you had ever heard it. Leo's eyes lit up as she began in a soft, semi-whisper...

*

The dream, however, felt like an old photograph in Scorpio's mind. As if it had been folded and creased and left out in the sun so it had faded... But he didn't mind too much. It was his mother he was listening to and as she told the same story he had heard years ago in his head, he slipped into a deeper sleep than he had had in months.

Leo too was dreaming. Pastries and sweets in dancing rings surrounded him and a brother that was spinning him around in circles so he could fly, laughing his head off. They hadn't a care in the world.

Both were completely asleep when a face looked around the bedroom door to check on the new children. She was not surprised to see the brother's wrapped in each others embrace, the younger one could hardly be over five... She smiled slightly, not failing to notice the protective way the younger boy was wrapped in other's arms.

From what she knew they had always been close. Seeing them like this, she knew it was true. Who couldn’t know that? They were escaping a life she had been told was full pain and lies and scars… Both had drowned in the terror of the Dark and both still need to be saved. Prehaps this was was their salvation? She quietly slid out of the door, needing to send a message to the one who had told her so much about them already.

Quietly and silently Cilia left them, a strange twinkle in her eye and a smile on her lips.

*
Scorpio awoke with a stiff neck. He didn’t want to open his eyes yet though… he was comfortable and warm and for once it seemed he’d slept for enough hours to make him feel normal… He moved his head gently, aware of his aching muscles and the warm weight in his arms. With a yawn he prised his eyes open, squinting in the dim spring light that was filtering through the small gap in the dark blue curtains. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes again… It was daylight, he had no reason to get up…. Wait… He opened his eyes again. Blue curtains? That was when he realised where he was.

Leo’s peaceful form took him by surprise. The boy was curled into his chest, head tucked just under his chin, on the hollow of his collar bone… The complete calm on his face spoke of wonders… Leo had had nightmares almost every time he slept since they had left... Scorpio smiled fully this time, his true smile, the one he kept for himself and Leo these days… No one else deserved it. Slowly he extricated himself from under his little brother and slid out of bed. Leo was fine and he wanted to figure out where they were.

Padding across the room he looked out through the curtains. The sky was dull and grey, just like it had been yesterday, but it wasn't raining yet. He could see how bruised and purple the clouds were turning in the distance, noticed how they hung lower in the sky. It wouldn't be long. Tip-toeing now to try and avoid the creaking floorboards he made for the door, but caught his reflection in a half broken mirror as he passed it. He froze. The face looking back at him wasn't him at all. It was gaunt and pale with one eye surrounded by a mass of bruising and his lips were chapped and dry. His face had almost stopped throbbing by now but that didn't make it look any better... Scowling he finished crossing the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

The ground floor was stacked up with strange things. A grandfather clock with no face, blank picture frames and broken vases were only a few of these, he guessed it was in an effort to make the building feel more homely... But in the daylight it suddenly did not look seem quite as grand as it had the night before. The silence made him feel at safe. He could almost imagine his mother playing the piano in the corner like she had at home, only this piano had no keys. He could hear running sound of water calling out from behind a one hinged door beyond the open kitchen.

The River flowed quickly at the bottom of the garden. Not at all like it had been up stream where it had slimed it's slow, blackened way past the collapsing homes that the very poorest families still lived in... He made his way closer to it he and saw the ruins of a swimming pool and tennis court. The Floods must have destroyed them. Treading carefully he slid down the edge of the bank to where a floating dock settled on the edge of the water. Sitting down on the end of it's slippery surface, dangling his legs over the side, he remembered how he had always loved the water... Smiling to himself he watched the whirlpools of current catch up small bits of weed and dirt and drag them away from him. The water seemed remarkably clean considering what he had seen floating in it before.

“You all right mate?” Said a voice.

Scorpio's head jerked up and he moved away from the sound, almost slipping in. A boy, about his age stood on the bank, hands in pockets. His clothes were black as were his hair and shoes, yet he didn't seem scary... There was something pleasent about his face that made Scorpio relax slightly.

“I’m Jann.” The boy said, pulling out a watch from his pocket and glancing at it.

Scorpio eyed him carefully, “Scorpio.” He said finally, letting himself assess who this guy was before elaborating, “And I’m fine thanks.”

“Mind if I join you?”

"Suit yourself.”

The boy settled down next to him with a swish of his overly sized jacket, “You came last night with Fallouce didn’t you?” Jann pulled out a cigarrette and a lighter. Scorpio watched in fascination. He hadn't seen many of those since... since his mother and father last had a dinner party. Weren't they meant to be incredibly expensive? The boy exhaled with a contented sigh,"Did you?"

Scorpio shrugged, trying to seem nonchalent. He hated questions. They scared him, he shrugged again.A silence settle for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable, just tangible in the heated air.

“You’re safe here for as long as you like.” Jann finally spoke again as he finished the cigarrette and stretched, "You're not into drugs are you?" The tone was casual but demanding. Scorpio shook his head slowly, "Yeah, didn't think so, you've got a place here."

It was possibly the best thing Scorpio had ever heard but he didn't want to keep his hopes floating on some vagrant dream, they had to keep moving or they'd be recognised.It was a miracle they had made it as far as they had, “We are,” He muttered more to himself than to Jann, “Until the flyers are up.”

“Actually Scorp we’re safe here forever.” Leo leapt on top of his brother happily. Grinning he hugged his brother round the neck and giggled, “Hazel told me.”

Scorpio laughed too as Leo fell over his shoulder, “Leooo.” Pouncing like a cat he started to tickle his brother until the little boy was begging for mercy through his laughter.

“Oh stop Scorp.” Leo was unable to stop giggling, “Scorrrp!”

Jann smiled at the sight then, standing to give the two some space. He knew when he'd arrived he'd been ecstatic just like these two, even if the older one was still worried. “When you want to you can come and have breakfast.” He moved away back into the house.

*

In the house there were four main residents. Jann, who seemed to be the leader within the house, Hazel, who although she was mainly reknown for her ability to make amazing bread was really the one who secretly controlled the boys through their stomach, Fallouce who had taken to being watchdog/sentry over the area, and the quiet, rarely seen Cilia who had taken up permenant rooms in the topmost room of the house.

“Can we go and get some of those little cakes later. You said we could yesterday.” Leo begged his brother who was lying stretched out in the grass beside the pool. The two were alone out in the weed ridden garden. The swimming pool, as it had turned out, was still usable thanks to a cover Jann had taken to put over it before the Floods each year. They had just been swimming, or Scorpio had been swimming and Leo had struggled along beside him, most clinging onto the sides as he had never been before.

“Yeah. Ask later and I’ll take you then.” Scorpio, couldn't say no. He was happy for a change, and oddly calm - worry free...

“Yey! Thank you!” Then Leo’s grin lessened, “Will you have to steal stuff again?”

“I dunno Leo. I really don’t...” Scorpio rolled on to his stomach. He hated stealing... He could do it but it left him feeling more guilty and more afraid... Leo must have noticed the pensive look that had filtered on to his face because he stood up and ran into the house calling out for Hazel.

Scorpio tried to smile and failed.

*

Scorpio's shoulder's were slumped slightly as Leo tugged on his hand to come to the door. He didn't really want to go buy cakes, not when he was going to have to put himself out to steal money again before they could. Leo must have realised that there was a damper on his mood still because when Jann entered the door with one hand holding onto a a plastic bag, the little boy asked their new companion to come with them.

"You've got the money?" Jann looked at Scorpio in surprise and before Leo could turn to see the answer Scorpio shook his head no, scuffing his shoes as he looked away.

"Well then I'd better come with you." Jann laughed, lifting Leo onto his shoulders in one swift movement. A silent message seemed to have passed between then as Scorpio looked up surprised, "Can't let you newbies get lost in the maze out there."

Scorpio found his lips tugged up slightly, a rueful grin pressing itself into existance. They hardly knew each other yet Jann was... sticking up for him wasn't quite the right word...Covering for him maybe. They were half way out the door when Jann suddenly runed back to drop off the shopping in the hallway.

"Hazel!" Jann bellowed, his deeper, baritone voice reverberating around the house as if the building were compltely empty.

"What?" The skinny, dark skinned waif poked her head out of the kitchen, floud streaked across one cheek. Leo giggled.

"We're going to get pastries. Want to come?"

"Yeah! The cake's just been put in so if we're quick it'll be ready when we get back." Her smile was a wide one, but strange because she was missing a couple of teeth from the left side of her mouth. Things were all a bit strange though, he had quickly come to realise, in this house, "Good thing that Espa's just been."

Jann nodded and they paused to let Hazel pull on her shoes, calling up to Cilia to keep an eye on the house until Fallouce came back.

"Who's Espa?"

"No one really knows who he is.” Jann said, “All we know is that he only ever comes at night and that occasionally he needs us to keep an eye out on certain places.”

It wasn't much of an explination but there was something on the two Sanctuary inmate's faces that made him not want to ask much more about Espa Norva. It didn't feel like a safe subject to broach right at that moment.They began to weave down the streets. They seemed much less intimidating in the daylight. Their stagnancy easily linked to the damp, black stains that crept down their walls and what had, last night, seemed like rising cliffs all about them now seems like a shanty town, falling apart in it's unloved state. Maybe it was the extra company but Scorpio felt himself relax a little further.

Leo asked why Cilia hadn't come with them and as Hazel mumbled something about having to look after the house, Jann told them about how she had been swept away by the Floods and had returned one day, with a fear of the outdoors. Afraid to go out.

“That’s silly.” Leo said, “That means she can never buy those cakes.”

Everyone laughed.

“Trust you to think of that!” Scorpio said ruffling his brother’s hair fondly.

“But it’s true.” Leo insisted, causing another bout of laughter.

Smiling to himself Scorpio thought of his brother’s ability to make people laugh. He remembered how once Leo had been upset because everyone had been laughing at him and how their father had told him that it was a great gift to make laughter and that it made him special.

“Scorp. We’re here.” Leo’s voice dragged him out of his memory.

*

Leo loved the cakes. He grinned as he ate one after the other. Last time he had had so many cakes had been when his mum and dad had been alive. Until the Uncle had come he and Scorpio had eaten cakes and ice cream every day... Or something like that. Tears welled up in his eyes and trickled down his face. He wanted his mummy to make the cakes for him like she used to.

“Leo? Leo what’s wrong?” Instantly Scorpio was there. His worried face peering into his own. He didn't want Scorpio to look like that anymore.

“I miss them. I want mum back.” Leo whimpered, wrapping his arms aroundhis brother's waist, “I want dad. I want to go home.”

Sadly the older brother shook his head in a way that made Leo's sobs come harder, “You know we can’t.”

Scorpio turned quickly to Jann and Hazel who were sitting next to them on the small bank wall, “Can we go back soon?”

“Sure thing. Let’s go little guy.” Jann said standing and tugging Leo's attention to him for a few seconds.

Carefully Scorpio lifted the little boy on to his back. But the tears did not stop.

*

Leo went to bed early, without a fuss which had surprised Scorpio because normally the little boy hated being left out. Although he had been so miserable earlier he had soon forgotten, though Scorpio had not, tiring himself out in the pool with Fallouce. The youngest there had eaten fish fingers at seven then promptly fallen asleep. Scorpio smiled sadly as he shut the door to their room, returning to the ground floor knowing that his brother was safe and warm and only happy until he thought about the situation. It was then he realised that a smell, unlike anything he had smelt before, was traumatising his nose. A mixture of smoke and burnt food and something he didn't want to think about...

Fallouce had been trying to cook with Jann.

Hazel was sulking.

“Suppers ready.” Jann said weakly as he came in. The boy who had seemed so self-assured that morning now looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the floor.

Sighing Scorpio came to help clean up the mess. How exactly mashed carrot had managed to find its way onto three different walls.

"You get out. I'll make dinner." Scorpio said, imitating his grandmothers condescending tone. And like two banished dogs Fallouce and Jann disappeared out the door.

Scorpio had never been a bad cook. He had helped his mother out when he was younger because it meant he was allowed to lick out the mixing bowl and his dad would be proud of him when his mother said he had done some part of it all by himself. It was a lesson that had been built because he wanted the extra attention from his parents when they were busy looking after Leo. He almost felt bad thinking about it now... But then again... It had turned into something he enjoyed and now it was turning into something that was useful...

*

“Omelette!!!” Cried Fallouce as Scorpio brought four plates out of the kitchen and the scent wafted up his nose. He reached out his hands, his mouth hanging open like a dog's does when it's hungry.

“But there’s five.” Jann added. “There’s four of us.”

“Cilia’s upstairs. I’m taking it to her.” Scorpio replied, trying to sound nonchalent, but knowing that they were going to think him weird because of it. “Here you go.” He put the chipped plates down on the rickety table which only just had enough free space on it for them. He disappeared up the stairs.

“He’s nice i’n’t he?” Fallouce murmered as he finished his first mouthful, “Thinking of Cilia like that, and helping us clean up and cooking for us.”

“He’s a Jack of All Trades really....” Jann mused, "I like him."


*
Cilia was sitting in her attic room. As far from the river as possible, thought Scorpio absently.

“Cilia.” He called out quietly incase she was a sleep and tiptoeing into the room, “I made you some omelette.”

She was a willowy girl with pale, lightly freckled skin and platinum blond hair. Smiling she half turned to meet his eye, “You’re special Scorpio.” she whispered when she took the plate and brushed his hands, “You’re different. Espa would like you.”

“Espa?” He asked, this time pretending not to know who she was referring to just incase she knew more, “Who’s that?”

“Espa Norva. The founder of this place.” She frowned at him, "But you already knew that."

Turning back to the window, looking out on to the river, seeming to forget all about Scorpio being there. But as he let the room he could have sworn he heard a faint voice, “Thank You”