Part IRough, blowing sand made the very air taste of drought. Miles from any civilization plowed a caravan; an eccentric parade of camel riders and pack mules. A little ways ahead of the party rode a young man with striking blonde hair, cut short to help protect against the cruel heat and wind. His steed an albino camel; it’s back stacked with a bedroll and other miscellaneous necessities.
Glancing behind him, the young blonde grimaced. Sitting in a camel-drawn, covered wagon sat his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dincht. The both of them looked very out of place in the desert atmosphere; both had pale blonde hair, bright blue eyes and milky white skin. Zell, the young man sitting astride the albino camel, inherited the blonde hair and blue eyes, but unlike his proper parents, he enjoyed getting out into the sun, which gave his skin a healthy, though still rather pale, golden hue.
"Zell! Zell, dear, get back here! You're getting too far ahead!" Zell's mother called out from her shaded sanctuary. Zell rolled his eyes, turning his ride around.
"Mother, it's okay, I'm not going that far. Just needing a little fresh air, that's all." He said, waving. Turning his steed around again, he galloped off a little ways, enjoying the wind in his hair. Little did he know that he was being watched a short distance off, sized up and reviewed for some purpose unbeknownst to him.
Hidden by sand dunes and the harsh, blowing dirt, a small group of ten or twelve men, covered head to toe in beige and black robes, silently watched the blonde upon the pale camel. What seemed to be the leader turned his head, nodding to a pair of dark robed figures.
The biting winds were becoming too hard for Zell to see through as a sudden dust storm seemed to be stirring up somewhere near.
"I'm not gonna get any fresh air in this grime...guess I should turn back," He murmured to himself, patting the neck of his camel, coaxing it to turn. The pallid creature began to move, but suddenly panicked, startling Zell. "Whoa! Whoa, careful!" He shouted, trying to regain control of the bucking animal. He wasn't strong enough, however, and he found himself thrown off onto the sand.
Looking up from where he had fallen, Zell strained his eyes through the angry storm, trying to spot his family's caravan. He could barely see the retreating camel, still packed with his belongings, so it was no real surprise he couldn't see anything else.
"Mother?! Father?! Anyone?!" Zell shouted, coughing and sputtering through the dust. He made it to his feet, clutching his side. The fall had hurt him more than he had thought, though he had landed on sand. "Can anyone hear me?!" Zell shouted again, covering his mouth as he unwittingly inhaled sand. He still couldn't see a damn thing, and he couldn't hear anyone return his frantic shouts.
Trying not to panic, the little blonde took a few steps forward, falling back onto his knees. He knew that if he let his emotions get the best of him, he'd lose it. But it was a little hard for him to remember to stay calm when his friends and family were trudging off without him, leaving him stranded in a desert wasteland; no civilized people around for who knows how far.
"Please...is anyone out there?!" Zell gasped, his shoulders shaking. Almost as if on cue, a dark figure could be seen a little ways off, walking closer. Zell squinted through the blowing dust, trying to see if that approaching person was someone he knew; someone that had come back to look for him. "Hello? Can you help me?" Zell asked, hoping the robed figure was there for him.
Walking closer, the dark robed man knelt down right in front of Zell, taking his head in his hands. Zell blinked, unsure of how he was supposed to react to such an odd action. The man tilted Zell's face, running his thumb along his jawline. Zell's breathing became heavy; the man was confusing him and the dust storm was hard on his lungs. The man pulled the material covering his face lower, displaying bright blue eyes, similar to Zell's, but a little colder.
"Um...are you here to help me?" Zell asked, a little uncertain. The blue-eyed stranger stood, slinging Zell into his arms, continuing on his way. Zell, shocked, tried squirming his way out of the robed stranger's arms. "Let go of me! This wasn't what I meant by helping!" Zell shouted, coughing on more dust. The stranger glared down at the little blonde in his arms. His intense gaze quieted Zell.
Within moments, the stranger carrying Zell made his way out of the storm, towards a grouping of more robed men, all riding camels of varying browns. One man had Zell's pale steed in hand, his belongings still firmly strapped to the animal's back. Zell was a little glad of that, but upon seeing no sign of his family or their caravan, he began to worry all over again.
Zell had thought that after he and his savior/captor had gotten past the storm, he would be placed back on his feet, given back his camel, and pointed in the right direction. Apparently, he was mistaken. The blue-eyed man carrying him refused to let him down, and actually kept him firmly gripped in his arms even as he saddled up onto his own ride. Zell felt a little foolish, but decided that after already having tried to convince this man holding him to let him down and having not gotten anywhere in doing so, that he was probably better off keeping quiet. He sighed heavily, glad to be able to breathe again without sand going down his throat.
"I hope you don't mind, but you're awfully comfortable and I'm hurt and tired. I don't know where you're taking me, but when we get there, please wake me up. I need to see if I can find someone who might know someway of getting in touch with my parents." Zell murmured, snuggling into the man's chest. Cold blue eyes watched the little blonde doze off. Tilting his head back up towards his comrades, the robed man holding Zell nodded again, and the group took off.
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On To Part II Back to the Library
