"Mary," Sister Elizabeth tapped the young woman on the shoulder. "Dear child, class ended an hour ago."
Mary blinked her eyes, though they were still weighed down by her sleepiness. She yawned a little bit, then sat up at her desk. Her veil was slipping on her head, as per usual. Sister Elizabeth frowned, grabbing pins from her pockets for what seemed like the millionth time in her life, and began to adject the veil on the novice's head. Mary bowed her head apologetically.
"Is there something troubling you so much so, that you must sleep during your lectures?" Sister Elizabeth asked Mary, her eyes resting intently on the woman. "You're of age, these things shouldn't still be happening. There are only so many excuses I can make for you, my child. Please, be careful to rest at night. Pray yourself to sleep, even."
"Yes, Sister Liza," Mary nodded her head. Her eyes were still very sleepy.
Sister Elizabeth simply sighed, shaking her head, "What am I to ever do with you?"
~~~~
It didn't take long for Sister Elizabeth to decide what to do with Mary; the young woman was sent off to the market with a lengthy list of supplies to bring back to the monastery before twilight. While this was supposed to be a punishment, it definitely felt more like a reward. Mary loved seeing so many people, though her heart hurt for the children and families she saw, often those who were struggling just to earn their next meal.
"Here, take this," Mary smiled as she offered a small roll of bread to a young child. The child, his skin nearly gray from the dirt and grime on him, greedily snatched the roll from Mary, running off into a dark alley, almost as if he feared Mary changing her mind on the offer of free food. Even so, Mary always took those things into account as she went to the market. She hoped the other sisters wouldn't mind the lack of dinner rolls for the evening mealtime.
Mary continued going from stall to stall in the market, gathering what she needed for the monastery. Sometimes it was odd things like more thread, or a specific medicinal plant. Anything and everything! It added so much excitement to these little adventures for Mary. Plus, she adored this time she could spend on her own, making her own decisions, and not having to abide by the strict rules of the sisters, which she never could seem to get right.
Though, something about today seemed off. For one, Mary noticed that there were no women outside. Not a single one.
"I wonder if it has to do with the royal decree that was announced this morning…" Mary thought to herself. She continued making her purchases here and there, not inquiring about the lack of women. Though she was receiving strange looks from the men that day, too: looks of worry, looks of concern, looks of fear. Had something happened that she didn't know about?
"Sister," a voice sounded from behind her. Mary nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around, frightened, only to meet the gaze of a rather handsome man. His hair was nearly white, and his eyes were gold, and he was clad in dark robes. He didn't appear to be from around any of the local areas. While his appearance was still humble, it certainly didn't match the dull shades of brown that filled the market. Something about him seemed…magical.
"How can I help you, sir?" Mary asked, keeping her voice steady, though her heart was racing. Was this man secretly an officer? Was he going to arrest her? If she had listened harder all those times as of late, perhaps she would know more about the politics and unfortunate events happening currently within all the neighboring villages. Surely, if she had just listened…
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out, "There she is!" Several officers on horses began to rush into the market. At that moment, the man who had spoken to Mary stepped forward, pulling Mary close to him.
"She's with me," the man spoke, resting his hands lovingly on her shoulders.
"A veiled woman? With a man?" the officer scoffed. "That's unheard of! No holy woman would sacrifice her vows in the name of love! If she did, she would no longer carry herself as a woman wedded to the church!"
"Wedded, did you say?" the white haired man repeated, a smirk forming at the corners of hos mouth. "It seems even you understand the lunacy of the decree," the man pressed, pursing his lips and continued, "So don't waste my time." His gaze darkened, causing the officers to turn around, as they decided it wasn't worth dealing with.
Though right behind the officers, a dark sort of mist followed them, taking the form of a human with the most horrifying smile. The mist turned around, hissing in a voice only Mary could hear, "You cannot escape us. You cannot run. You cannot hide. Wherever we go, we will find you."
Tears welled up in Mary's eyes, though the man's hands rested heavily on her shoulders. He pulled her closer, looking down into her eyes, "It's not safe for you here. Let me return you to wherever you are from."
"Yes…sir," Mary muttered.
~~~~
Late that night, Mary found herself staring up at the ceiling in her shared quarters with the Sisters. Even after the candle had been blown out, her mind remained restless. All she could think about was the mysterious man she saw that day. There was a peculiar tug at her heart, though she shook off the feeling. She was to be bound to a life of celibacy, which meant one thing: no men. Alas, a girl could only dream.
After quite some time, drifting in and out from a restless doze, Mary was startled awake when there was a loud knock at the door.
"Mary, Mary, come quick!" The voice of Sister Elizabeth sounded through the door.
Mary's heart leapt in her chest. Sister Elizabeth never did things like this, and certainly not in the middle of the night.
"Sister Liza?" Mary called out softly, careful to not wake any of the Sisters in her room.
"Mary!" Sister Elizabeth's voice seemed irritated, "Let me in!"
"Oh, yes!" Mary laughed nervously to herself as she approached the large, wooden door. Carefully, she unlocked the door.
"You foolish, foolish girl." The voice sounded like the voices of many. It wasn't Sister Elizabeth. In fact, it wasn't a human at all. But before Mary had any time to react at all, the hands of the black mist were already wrapping around her throat.
"St-Stop..!" Mary choked out, beginning to struggle as she tried to grab the hands that held her, but her fingers slipped straight through the mist.
"You are mine," the mist chuckled darkly. With a single movement, it threw Mary onto the ground.
Suddenly, actual men appeared. Mary recognized one of the men as one of the officers she had seen earlier that day. A badge on his outer coat held the emblem of one that worked for the government within the palace. Then men pulled out ropes, then some holding out daggers as they began to bind up Mary's hands and feet.
"Goodnight, Mary," the mist hissed as it flowed towards Mary, seeping into her skull. A sharp, excruciating pain overcame Mary, as she began to try to scream, but no sound came out. Then just like that, her entire world went black.
~~~~
When Mary came to, there were several things she realized. For one, she could remember nothing. Two, she had no clue where she was. Three, she wasn't alone. Four, somehow, her whole body hurt, but she didn't know why. At all.
"Ow…" Mary uttered, feeling pain shoot up her ankles as she tried to rise to a sitting position.
"No! No, lie back down, sweetie!" the voice of an elderly lady sounded. "Back down!"
A pair of firm hands grabbed Mary, forcing her to lie back down on the rather comfy sofa she was lying on. Mary blinked her eyes, trying to take in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed were the branches that seemed to reach around everywhere. While there was a very obvious roof above her, it appeared as if…
"We're inside a tree, dearie," the elderly lady spoke as if reading Mary's mind. "You're safe in here though. We almost didn't think you would make it. It's a good thing you were found on time. Had that storm not blown through tonight, goodness knows what might have happened to you. You ought to be thankful you're still here!"
"What storm?" Mary thought to herself, but decided it would be wise to just listen to the elderly lady speak. She seemed to have quite a bit to say, anyways.
"Soup is ready!" the elderly lady piped up, her tone of voice becoming much cheerier as she hobbled over to a cauldron over a fire. She grabbed a small wooden bowl, filling it to the brim with what appeared to be a potato soup. She hobbled back over towards Mary.
"Now you can sit up," the elderly lady demanded.
"Everything hurts-"
"Nonsense!" the elderly lady huffed. She put the bowl of soup on the table behind her, then grabbed onto Mary, pulling her up into an upright position, then adjusting her legs to meet the wooden floor of the…tree house place. "Now, eat!" She grabbed the bowl again, already prepared to shove a spoon into Mary's mouth.
"I-I can feed myself!" Mary stumbled over her words. She was caught by surprise with how…strong the older woman seemed to be. Each and every action, though maybe a little slow because of her age, seemed strong and intentional.
"Then eat," the lady pushed the bowl into Mary's hands. "Eat, and I'll talk to you."
"Thank you," Mary bowed her head. Her long, soft, blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders. Something struck Mary as odd, as to how easily she could see her hair. She began to eat the soup as the elderly lady began to ramble.
"You will call me Nan. Not grandmother, not gramma, not memaw or mawmaw, and most certainly not nana. I am Nan. You will call me that, understand?" Nan-not-Nana spoke, her voice still firm. Her bushy, gray eyebrows furrowed, gazing into Mary's eyes, as if trying to brainwash her into calling her by her name.
Mary couldn't help but giggle a little bit before nodding her head in response, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nan."
"Keep eating!" Nan huffed. She plopped her small, hunched over body into a stiff chair that seemed to mold itself exactly to her body. Or perhaps her body had molded into the chair after many years. "Anywho, you should know by now that women absolutely cannot go out alone right now! Dangerous! Foolish! I'll tell you again, and I'll say it a million times…you were a very lucky girl tonight. Very. Lucky. Had you not stumbled out of that wagon when you did, goodness knows where you might be tonight. After all-"
Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder, causing the house to shake, and a door that Mary was not even aware of, swung open. In walked a man, absolutely drenched from head to toe in water. His hair appeared dark, and it was equally sopping wet. A horribly wet book was in his hands, and he threw it to the ground. He locked eyes with Mary briefly, then stormed off, leaving a trail of puddles of water behind him.
"Oh dear," Nan's voice seemed to soften. "Young lady, why don't we get you settled for the night? There is much to discuss in the morning and days to come. Though, before that, dearie, remind me, what is your name?"
While it sounded like an innocent question, it almost seemed to come across as a challenge. And for a split second, Mary's already empty mind, went blank, if such a thing is even possible. On top of that, Mary was extremely intrigued by whoever that man was that had walked in. And why was he so wet? Had he gone out into the storm without any means of staying dry? And why go out at such a late hour?
"Mary?" she muttered, somehow doubting herself, dragging herself out of her own thoughts. It seemed natrual to say, but difficult to ever recall how she knew such a thing. Common knowledge was common knowledge, but everything in Mary's head felt like a massive fog.
"Mary it is," Nan affirmed, nodding her head. She arose stiffly from her chair. "Come along now. If you can't walk, that's too bad. We need to get to bed. I'm tired," Nan said, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh and, try to be quiet. You'll wake the twins. You can meet them tomorrow morning. Or afternoon. Whenever you rise. And I am not their mother," Nan clarified as she muttered to herself.
Before long, Mary, though it was a struggle with her sore legs, followed Nan up a small, winding staircase, which led to a rather short hallway of just four doors. Nan led Mary to the very end of the hall, leading her to a spare bedroom.
"You'll stay here," Nan nodded her head approvingly. "Holler for me if you need anything, dearie," Nan clasped Mary's hands in her own very briefly. "And by that, I mean absolutely anything."
And with that, Mary soon found herself settling into the bed within the strange tree house. Without a single memory to cloud her mind, Mary fell asleep with ease for the first time in many years.