The Depth of Love

Melody was furious, facing Carter with a glare on her face that could make an Aurum cower. Carter, however, was not fazed. He was laughing, then looking at Melody and redoubling his laughter anew. Sometimes, Carter was the smartest and most clever person Melody knew, and other times it would seem as if he didn't have a brain at all. Melody looked at the pure joy on Carter's face, and couldn't help but smile. It was so rare to see a genuine smile on Carter's face that Melody had learned to appreciate every single second of those rare moments. She could recall the exact time they met which happened to be one of those moments.

Melody had been out collecting water from a nearby stream. The current was moving fast, faster than she had ever seen it. She leaned over the edge to dip the old rusty bucket into the swift moving water, and her foot slipped on a wet rock. The girl fell face first into the river, which wasn't shallow, with nothing and no one to help her. The current quickly overtook her, her whole body submerged under the waves. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, she was sure that she would die. Instead, firm hands seized her own and pulled her out of the water.

After coughing up the excess water that had wormed its way into her lungs, she looked up into the face of her savior. It was a boy, a boy that she recognized from school. Melody had never actually talked to him, but they were definitely in the same classes. He introduced himself as Carter, and the two kids began to talk. They talked about their lives, interests, families. Eventually, when they had warmed up to each other, Carter confessed he had been watching her from behind a bush, which was how he had gotten to her so fast. He admitted to having a crush on her for three years, since he had been just eight years old. Melody was obviously flattered, but told him she just didn't feel the same way. The hurt look on his face was more than enough to make Melody say that she did want to get to know him better and become friends though. The two have been amazing friends ever since. It was truly ironic to think that Melody's near death had brought them together.

"You going to put that down, or were you planning on using it?" Carter's voice cut through Melody's thoughts. She looked down in surprise, to find her hunting knife pointed away from her at Carter. He must have startled her so much to the point where, when she turned around, she had put the knife in a position to defend herself.

Melody shoved the hunting knife roughly back into the sheath that hung at her side. "Of course I'm not going to use it. You should really know better than to scare me like that though." Her face twisted into an mischievous smile. "Who knows though? Maybe next time I might not hesitate to see who it is." She knew she wouldn't do that just in case it was her friend, but he didn't have to know that. Just as she had wanted, his smile faltered. "You wouldn't really do that." The girl just smiled in response.

Whipping her long hair around so it smacked him in the face, she bent down to pick the deer back up. Carter appeared at the other end of the poor, dead creature. He picked up his end with a quick smile directed at Melody. "Come on you. Let's bring this back to our place and talk there."

Their "place" was really just a spot in the forest. It had immense tree cover, so much that the light sometimes shone with a green tint. The trees were only a few feet apart there, except in their spot, where the two had cleared enough away to have some room to sit and talk with each other, along with whatever they had caught. There was a creek nearby that, on the hotter days, they sat next to, and let their feet dangle in until one of them ended up pushing the other right into the water! It was shallow enough that they didn't have to worry about drowning with no one around. It was shady and beautiful and they loved it. The two went there after hunting, when they were upset, or just to talk. That's where they were headed now to talk.

The deer was heavy, but the two of them together was enough to manage to carry it to their place. Once there, they dropped the deer on the forest floor, a huge relief for them not to have to carry it anymore. Melody walked over to a tree, touching the bark lightly. "So, what did you want to talk about?" She was facing away from him. Not because she was still mad at him, but because he had used the tone. The tone he used when he had to say something important or something he knew she wouldn't like.

Carter shifted uncomfortably behind her. He usually was upfront with her, but now he was working hard to conceal something. Melody couldn't help but wonder what was that bad he felt that he couldn't tell her. Melody turned around to face him. Carter smiled halfheartedly, his attempt to assure her that everything was alright. "Carter," Melody said softly. "You can tell me anything." He pushed himself forward off the tree he had been leaning against. Putting his hand into his pocket just to take it out again quickly. In his hand he was holding a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it until Melody could make out its original shape, the shape of a flyer.

Melody arched her eyebrow curiously at Carter. He opened his mouth, then closed it and handed her the flyer without a sound. She scanned it through hurriedly, barely taking in the words as she read. Then, all at once, the meaning hit her. Melody looked up at Carter, and then back at the flyer, reading it through to make sure she had gotten it right. She had.



It said some other stuff, but those were the points that jumped out at Melody. She folded the flyer back in half, and then in half again. "A-Are they serious?" she finally got out after a long stretch of silence. Carter took the flyer back and tore it right down the middle. He tore it again without a word. Finally, he looked up at her and nodded. "Of course they are. Even if they weren't, they would never admit they made a mistake." Carter gave a shake of his head accompanied by a look of disbelief. "If they double the guards we'll barely be able to sneak out. Going to work an hour earlier will weigh heavily on both our families. A curfew will give us too little time in a day to do what we are used to. Those Aurums..." He proceeded to call the Aurums several things that Melody's parents would kill her for saying. Carter's parents would be none too pleased either, if he was heard uttering those things in front of his little siblings.

Melody sighed, she was definitely in agreement with Carter's assessments, but she had to be the one who kept her head because, clearly, Carter's was already long gone. He had to have been wanting to unload this on her all day. Melody didn't consider it a burden though, she liked that Carter trusted her enough to tell her anything that was bothering him. Walking over to where he stood, she put her hands on each of his shoulders. "Hey, look at me," Carter lifted his head to look at her. "We can work through this. A curfew can't keep us in. More guards can't stop us from hunting. Life will go on as if nothing has changed, alright?" Carter nodded slowly. "Good. Now let's split up this deer." The two kept busy the rest of the afternoon deciding who got what part of the animal. Later, they walked home together with the deer carefully concealed. At the intersection where they went different ways to their own houses, they hugged friendlily and left. They would see each other very early the next morning if the new rules were real.

A blaring sound the next morning caused Melody to fall right out of bed, after banging her head on the ceiling. Melody loved to be way up in the trees during the day, which was probably why she liked to sleep high up. That also meant the fall to the ground was very long. The bed was meant to be climbed down slowly on a ladder that Melody had her dad build for her when she was young. Instead that morning, the loud sound caused the girl to fall straight to the floor, banging her shoulder on the wood floor below.

Melody clutched her aching shoulder as she stood up. What was going on? Then she remembered her discussion with Carter the day before. Obviously the flyer was true, it was exactly one hour earlier than she usually went to her job at. Melody scowled at being woken up so early before sighing and retreating into the bathroom to get ready for the long day she was sure to have ahead of her.

Just about ten minutes later, Melody was on the bustling streets hurrying to the mines. The number of guards had certainly been doubled, she noted. It would be difficult to sneak away to hunt with Carter, difficult but not impossible. Her hair blew around her face, tossed this way and that by the roaring wind. It was a nuisance pushing the hair out of her face every five seconds. She would be glad when she was underground, safe from the wind. Melody saw the entrance to the mines up ahead and broke out into a light jog to make it there in time. Technically, she was already late, but every second counted for something with her boss. The girl knew her boss wouldn't be happy with her already for being late. He would say she was ignoring the new laws enforced by the Aurums.

When Melody reached her level, deep underground, she quickly grabbed a pickaxe leaning against the wall. Spotting her boss just ahead, she picked up her pace, brushing past him going over to a bare section to start working. She had to suppress a smile at his outraged expression of her disrespect. Melody set her pickaxe on the stone, brought it back, and slammed it into the wall. Though she had used much of her strength, barely a dent was brought to the stone. She sighed, it would be a long day indeed.

Hours later she was still chipping away. Melody had elected to skip her break so she might have a chance of being finished earlier. There was no set times they had to work to. They just had to be there at a certain time, and once they were there, the time they left was determined by when they reached their personal quota of the day. Melody was in a hurry to be finished. Carter was probably waiting for her at their place already. Although, he seemed to get new quotas each week, and each week he seemed to take longer to finish. That gave her a bit of peace of mind.

Hours later still, her hands were dry and cracked, but she was finished. She left the mines to discover the sun had went down while she was in there. Melody made the decision to run home and check the time, grab a jacket, and then go to their place. Arriving at her house, she found her parents were still at work and it was almost 9:00. That meant the curfew was nearly in effect. Melody looked from her room to the front door indecisively. Her gaze landed on the jacket hanging on a peg near the door. Walking over, she turned the material over in her hands before grabbing off the rack and opening the door. Sneaking around was her specialty, she wouldn't get caught no matter how many guards were out.

Melody was out the door and halfway across the street before things started to go wrong. She and Carter had memorized the guards rounds for instances just like this. However, it seemed with the surplus of guards, they had switched schedules. Melody made a mental note to be sure to get her hands on the new schedule as soon as humanly possible. Sneaking around without knowing exactly what obstacles lie ahead was dangerous.

It was now past 9:00, which meant the curfew was now in place. If Melody was caught, it wouldn't go over well for her in any way, shape, or form. Her mom always said that: any way, shape, or form. Was Melody turning into her mother? Don't get me wrong, she loved her mother, but Melody wanted to make her own path. She would follow in no one's footsteps.

Melody was halfway across the street when a guard turned the corner. "Hey!" he exclaimed. Melody froze where she was standing. Every instinct she had told her to run and don't look back, but her panic was too great for her to think rationally. She had never been caught before, not a single second of a single day of her entire life! The consequences for disobeying any law set in place by the Aurums was severe. That's when Melody finally looked at the guard closely. He wasn't looking at her she realized. The darkness made it seem like he was, but in reality, he was looking at someone else, one of his buddies most likely. The girl shook her head slightly at her irrationality. She stepped out from under the streetlight, and took off at a brisk pace towards the woods.

Not even five minutes later, Melody was stopped again. A guard turned the corner, much like before. This time though, he looked straight at her. The two stared at each other dumbfounded for a moment. There was no mistaking the look of shock on both their faces. There was no confusion this time, he had seen her and she was in deep trouble. Melody acted first, she was not going to be a sitting duck, just waiting for him to come over and arrest her. She darted into the nearby alley. It was completely dark except for the scarce moonlight that shone above.

"Hey!" the guard exclaimed. Man, they really needed to get a new phrase. Melody saw the stone wall up ahead, and knew he would be here any second. Unless she acted fast, he would come around the corner just to see her cornered. Melody looked around in a blind panic. What to do, what to do? There. It was a ladder, hanging a good six or seven feet off the ground, but if she could get to it, she could climb onto the roof of the neighboring building. She'd figure things out from the nice, safe rooftop.

Melody ran and jumped as high as she could towards the ladder. Her fingertips brushed the bottom rung, but couldn't get a good grip. She landed hard on the alley road. Carefully getting to her feet again, she looked around for a better solution. There was a giant dumpster that she would be able to climb up on and get a good boost. Why hadn't she seen it before? Getting seen by the guard had really shaken her up, she didn't have the clearest head at the moment. Melody reached for the rung on the top of the dumpster and found she was easily able to reach it.

The girl hoisted herself up and began to climb. Once on the rooftop, she sat down, taking shaky breaths. She could hear the guard down below exclaiming in confusion. Soon enough, his running footsteps fading away, but she could still hear him yelling for backup. They would be searching the whole village for her now. The only chance she had is if he didn't see her face completely, or if she staged an accident that made it look like she died. Morbid? Yes. Her only choice. Also yes. Melody didn't have much faith in the fact he might not have seen her face. Carter would just have to wait for her a little longer. She had her own death to stage after all.

This would be probably the most interesting task that Melody had ever set her mind to completing. Staging her own death was definitely not on her to do list for life. How would she even start something like this, she had absolutely no clue. Nevertheless, exactly a half an hour later, there looked to be a bloody mess on the street below. Of course, it was really just some red paint that the darkness and moonlight combined made seem a graphic shade. Let the guards think what they wanted about the mess, and hopefully it would be cleaned up by daylight. Melody imagined the scene would lose its whole ambiance without the darkness making it seem different from reality.

She was jogging away from the scene quickly, unwilling to be spotted by yet another guard. The schedule was completely different from what she and Carter were used to. Melody broke out into a run when she hit the forest border. Here was where she felt free, unburdened by her life in the village. In the darkness she could barely see what was underfoot, so, of course, she tripped over a large tree root. The girl went flying face first down the steep hill with no way to slow or stop herself. Finally, she hit a tree... hard.

The sound of laughter jerked her upright into a sitting position. She was amazed to see that she had rolled all the way to her place where Carter was waiting for her. Groaning, Melody managed to get to her feet, but not before sending the glare of the century toward Carter's laughing face. "You should have seen yourself!" he exclaimed between laughs. "You look like one of those rolls of cheese that sometimes get away from the cook, and you know how they just roll down the street until they run into something?" Melody knew exactly what he was talking about, and it really painted the picture of how foolish she had to have looked.

"Where were you anyways? I've been waiting for you for over an hour." "Staging my death," she replied coolly. His eyebrows shot up, "Say what now?" Melody went on to explain the events that had taken place since she got off work. "So, we'll have to pick up some new schedules to memorize the guards' rounds," she finished. Carter just shook his head in disbelief. "You could have been killed!" Melody frowned slightly, had he heard a word that she had just said? "But I wasn't," she pointed out. "We'll still hunt tomorrow, with or without the schedules. We will just have to be extra careful." At his skeptical look, she added, "Come on, what's one day going to hurt?" "Fine," Carter gave in. "You'll have to promise you won't be reckless though. We will have to be extra careful as you said, and..." "Take a deep breath you worrywart!" Melody broke in before he could began a whole rant about the dangers of tomorrow, or change his mind completely. Carter sighed, "Just promise me we'll get the schedule as soon as we can." If a simple promise like that was what it would take to make Carter agree with her, she would consent. "As soon as possible," Melody promised.

Melody had thought Carter's worrisome nature was unnecessary, how wrong she was. The next morning she slung her hunting bag over her shoulder, packed to the brim with provisions for at least a week. She liked to be prepared when it came to hunting. The bag consisted of food, water, rope, her spare hunting knife, and not much else. Melody was positive that she had everything she needed, but she still couldn't shake a feeling of unsettlement. Telling herself it was just the fact that she didn't have the guards' new schedule memorized, she set off without so much as a simple glance behind her.

It was easy enough to get to the border of the woods. Her natural confidence, which she put in every step, allowed her to walk right past the guards without raising any alarm. It helped that it wasn't curfew this time too. At the border however, there was a guard leaning casually against one of the trees. However relaxed his manner seemed, Melody could see his eyes were wild and alert. That didn't look good, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Melody had been in plenty of tight spots before, this was a simple matter of turning on the charm and walking right by him.

She smiled softly at the guard, and attempted to walk into the woods. Of course he held out a hand to stop her though. "Can I help you?" Melody asked, not unkindly. "Standard check," he grumbled. "Business?" He really was a man of few words, actually forget few words, he was a man of few syllables. "I'm going to collect water for my family," Melody replied evenly. "What's the knife for?" That was the longest sentence she had ever heard a guard say. "Well, I have to be able to defend myself don't I?" At the look on his face she decided to turn on the "I'm just a scared little girl" act. "I mean, what if there's a bear or something?" she said with a nervous expression. There were no bears in this area, but the incorrectness of it would add on to her little girl act. He smirked, "Go on then." Melody smiled and disappeared into the forest without another word.

She ran until she found Carter at their usual place. "Ready?" she asked. "Ready," he replied with a firm tone. Good. He had shifted into his focused hunting mindset, as Melody liked to call it. Nothing would throw him off a trail when he was like this. It was perfect for what they needed right now. "I set some traps yesterday when I was waiting for you. Want to check them first?" Melody nodded, but threw him a look of concern. Setting traps was dangerous. Traps gave concrete evidence that somebody had been hunting illegally. Apparently she couldn't be reckless but he could?

The two reached the first trap within a couple minutes. A rabbit was found tangled up in the rope, dead. They gently pried it out and Carter took it with them. The two were bending over the next one when they heard a light crack of a twig. They had trained for years to notice that type of thing, and to avoid doing it themselves. Looking back at the same time, they saw a guard looking triumphantly at the two. The trap was enough evidence to convict them both of illegal hunting.

He must have found the traps Carter set yesterday. Knowing that whoever set them would be back soon to check on them, he must have come back and waited for them to wander along. Carter looked at her, and she looked at him. Their eyes met and they said, at the same time, "Run."

The two set off like rockets down the steep hillside. Neither of them would risk looking back. Looking back meant slowing down, and slowing down meant getting caught. The wind whipped Melody's hair back and forth as they ran. They wouldn't get caught, they never got caught, they couldn't get caught. If they were caught it was as good as a death sentence, and then who would make sure their families had enough to eat each night?

Melody was scared, something nearly unheard of for her. Carter beside her looked scared too, an expression that Melody had never seen before on his face. They never got caught, that's what Melody kept telling herself, but something about this time felt different. It felt like defeat. Melody's positive affirmations turned into "we won't get caught, will we?" She could tell Carter was thinking the same thing without even looking at him. Sometimes they used to joke they shared brainwaves. They may not share brainwaves, but Melody certainly knew when her best friend was bothered.

Carter surged just the slightest bit ahead of Melody, to lead them both out of this mess. It was just like him to try and save the day. Melody then saw a branch that looked like it had recently fallen. She opened her mouth to tell Carter to watch out for it, but it was too late. He tripped and went flying downhill, faster than when he was running the second before.

Melody ran to catch up with him. He looked dazed as she helped him to his feet. The guard was gaining on them, and Carter's fall had not helped matters. "Come on. Come on!" Melody urged them on under her breath. "We can do this. It's not impossible. We will get away." She repeated these several times under her breath for motivation. "Melody," Carter's voice said weakly. "You don't have to worry. I know we will get away." Melody turned to look at him gratefully, but taking her eyes off the path was not a good idea.

She tripped, hitting the ground hard. She got to her feet quickly, but ended up spitting out blood. That wasn't a good sign at all. Carter looked at her, "Are you alright?" You would have thought the two had learned by now to keep their eyes straight ahead. They couldn't just forget about each other's welfare though. Carter gave a sudden yell. Melody looked around for what could've caused him the pain that was etched on his face. Looking at the ground, she saw his foot was caught in a metal trap with serrated teeth. It looked like they weren't the only ones hunting.

Carter's foot was bleeding, but Melody knew if they tried to pull it out, it could end up even worse. He couldn't go any farther. If he was going to get caught, she was going to get caught right alongside him. He saw the stubborn determination in her face and shook his head. "Melody no. You have to go, you have to get out of here!" "No, I'm not leaving you." He looked at her with admiration in his eyes. "Please go. I'll be fine." He pushed her gently away for him. The guard was now at the top of the hill, looking at them with victory in his eyes. "Carter..." she began. "Do it for me then." The tone of his voice, and the hurt in his eyes was too much for her. She nodded once, and began to stumble away from him, leaving him behind to receive his death sentence from the Aurums.

The trees flew past Melody as she ran, nothing more than a green blur. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She had left her best friend behind to die. The world was blurry through the tears streaming down her face, and a ringing noise filled her ears. "Please let this be a bad dream," she gasped. "Please let me wake up," she whispered between sobs. There was nothing she could say to change the fact that Carter was gone and it was completely her fault.

Melody found her way blindly back to the village. She was thinking a bit clearer now, and her mind was already busy at work trying to figure out a solution to get Carter back safely. She could do this, it would just take a short amount of time to figure something out, and then she could set her plan into action, and the two could live out the rest of their lives like none of this had ever happened.

As Melody walked further into the village, she realized there was something terribly wrong. Posters hung all around the square, posters that certainly hadn't been there when she and Carter had left that morning. Melody was absolutely positive they hadn't been there because they were wanted posters. Wanted posters for her and Carter.

Over Carter's picture a stamp said caught, but there was nothing on Melody's. It said they had committed crimes against the Aurum by purposefully breaking the new laws put in place, hunting illegally, and resisting arrest. Technically, they had done all those things and more that the Aurums thankfully were still ignorant of. It was never supposed to end up this way though. They were never supposed to get caught, and worse it was all Melody's fault. She had insisted, despite Carter's reservations, that they hunt without taking the proper precautions. They hadn't even really needed to hunt, she just wanted that time with him out in the forest. Melody's selfishness and greed had put them both in danger, but only one of them was paying the price for her actions and it wasn't her.

The posters were on every corner, every post, every doorway. No one could miss them, and no one would be willing to take the risk of hiding her with the huge list of crimes below her name. It scared her a bit, on how fast the Aurums put all this together. It didn't matter though, not to Melody. She hadn't planned on staying in her village of Elwyn anyways. It had been a plan slowly forming in her mind since leaving Carter. Melody had packed enough supplies to last her week, and to defend herself. There had never been any doubt in her mind. She would not leave her best friend behind, she would go right to Aurum to rescue Carter. She would go into the lion's den, where the people who wanted her dead lived. Melody would do anything to save Carter's life, something she had said many times before. Now she would prove it to be true.