TWO
“And then I was here.” Without further encounters, Aelita reached her destination.
The stream she found was unlike anything she had ever imagined. The water was blue and crystal clear. Further downstream she could see a large red bird with rainbow colored feathers fishing. The sand on its banks was so white, it seemed to glow in the shade of the trees. The sunlight that made it though the canopy of leaves was reflected off of the water in such a way that the shadows of the forest looked as though it was a star-filled sky at dawn. “ This place,” she thought, “ feels almost . . . magical.”
Aelita decided to follow the stream. As she walked, some things looked familiar. But the more she looked, the more things became strange to her. She kept walking trying to make sense of her situation.
* * *
She had been walking most of the day, but it wasn’t until dusk that she reached the forest’s end. The sun was level with the horizon, a burning red ball on the opposite side of the plains in which she now stood. She was mesmerized by the sight of it. As she watched the sun set she new that this place was not her world. This was something else that both amazed her and scared her at the same time. But why was she scared. she had nothing to fear, not yet anyway.
Something in her had grew warm. The necklace! She had forgotten all about it. Aelita had been holding it the whole time hard enough to leave its shape imprinted in her palm. Now the sun was setting so she decided to look for a safe place to sleep. She absent-mindedly hung the necklace around her neck and gazed onto the plain. Not far into the distance she saw smoke lazily rising into the now orange sky. “Maybe I’ll find someone there,” she thought and decided to head there.
As she walked, the sky turned from dark orange to red, and then to purple. When night finally fell, the stars glittered like diamonds. Three moons hung in the sky, illuminating the land enough for her to still see the path. As she admired the night, a shadow flew over her. At first she thought it was just her imagination, but then it passed over her again, closer this time. The third time it passed, it flew up, then dived directly at her. Startled, she fell backwards. Now the shadow landed next to her. She was scared; she shielded her head with her arms and prepared for the worst.
The worst never came. She waited for about five minutes, but nothing happened. She worked up the courage to look at whatever it was that attacked her. It was..........the bird?! It looked like the same bird that she saw at the stream. It was standing next to her glaring. Its eyes were dark and captivating and they filled her with a feeling of peace. Then the bird stretched out its long neck and grasped the necklace in its beak, raising it to her eye level. Then , once it was sure she saw it, let got. Aelita continued to stare at the bird, she didn’t know what else to do. After a few moments of silence, the bird turned away and walked a short distance down the path. It stopped and, looking back toward her, cocked its head as if to say, don’t just sit there, come on!
* * *
The night was illuminated by the glow of the moons. Low clouds passed over the landscape, lazily casting shadows as they went. From the North Tower of the Castle Durfallal, Lanis gazed distraughtly into the night. In her hand she held a book. It was a relic of the Forgotten Time, written in a language of that very few still living could discern. It was one of the kingdom’s most precious treasures. The book held within its bindings many stories of the past, some long forgotten and others still told. One tale in particular now held her interest. She crossed the room and seated herself at a small table, the rooms only furnishing. With a snap of her fingers, three candles in the table’s center flickered to life. carefully, she placed the tome upon the table, opened it, and began to read.
Long ago, in times Forgotten, the world was covered in a great darkness, people’s hearts were filled with dread, and death a welcome escape from torment. The king of the land of Night, Fernaldred, in his quest for infinite power, struck a deal with the forces of darkness. he traded his mortal soul for that of a devil, gaining great powers of destruction. with his new powers, he raised an army of ten thousand demons and dark beings who scoured the countryside, slaughtering all living things in their path. Soon the darkness engulfed everything, but from within the darkness emerged a light.
The king of the Forest Realm was a brave man known as Hiranel. He fought back the forces of darkness. Aided by the magic of the Great Mage Rigueld, the forces of light soon rivaled the strength of the shadows. After realizing his hold on the land was slipping, Fernaldred strengthened his forces. He gained support from the most powerful of beings; the dragons. The army of Night advanced their assault upon the light, taking all the lives they could along the way.
The final stand of both armies on a night where only one moon could be seen in the sky. A night where two moons hid in the shadow of the first, a rare occurrence and an omen of darkness; the Night of Demon Heart, when the moon shows red as blood. the armies of light and darkness fought each other fiercely, but both sides were equally matched. Hiranel’s knights eradicated many of the demons but the mortal men were no match for the dragons’ flame. The king, seeing the struggle of his men, joined his strength with Rigueld’s powers and ,with his sword, slew every last dragon. with that power lost, the dark army was forced back and eventually cornered. Hiranel and Fernaldred met in a final battle, and the strength darkness and light was tested. They fought but their strength was equal. Both kings became exhausted, each only having enough strength for one last attack. Hiranel looked into the eyes of his opponent, and saw nothing but darkness. Raising his sword to strike, he thought about his people and his kingdom. The love that he felt for them filled his heart and he knew that he could not let this devil win. With all of his strength and light, Hiranel struck down Fernaldred.
“ Darkness turned to light once again and peace befell the land. And all lived happily ever after........what a lie!” Lanis said angrily as she slammed the book shut. This was the story all who lived in this land was raised on. This was the story of their past. It was also one of the Durfallal’s most guarded secrets. Their past was a lie. With the weight of this truth lying heavily on her shoulders, she returned to the window. the clouds had were gone now and everything was bathed in the moonlight. After gaining a final look from the tower, Lanis began to descend the stairwell, the candles extinguishing themselves as she left. Swallowed by the darkness of the unlit stairwell, she thought about things passed and feared that which has yet to come.
* * *
She had been following the bird for a while, but now Aelita was exhausted. She had not rested since she awoke in this strange place. She continued to follow her companion, but soon her leg gave out and she sank to her knees. The bird looked back at her and cocked its head to urge her forward, but it was no use. Aelita realized it was not the greatest idea to sleep in the middle of the path so, with the last of her strength, she stood up and walked to the side. The grass was tall and dry and she was sure no one would see her. Soon, she was asleep, hidden in the grass. She never noticed the bird’s departure. Soundlessly it spread its wings, the rainbow of it’s feathers glistening in the moonlight, and took to the night sky. It glided with such grace and beauty, anyone who say it would have thought it only a dream. Then it disappeared into the distance night sky.
* * *
Aelita was awakened by the warmth of the sunlight. She didn’t open her eyes right away though. “ What a strange dream. That’s all it was, a dream nothing more,” she thought. “ and when I open my eyes, I’ll be in my own bed, in my new room, in that stranger’s house.” Deep in her heart, she wanted this to be true but even now she could feel the grass she had slept on and here the strange noises of this new place. Finally she accepted the truth and opened her eyes. The sunlight was bright, almost blinding. She quickly raised her hand to shield her eyes from the rays then she stood up. She looked around, feeling that something was missing. As if she had forgotten something, something like.............the bird! she was so exhausted that it completely slipped her mind. She searched the surrounding area but found no sign of it, and began to feel an emotion she was accustomed with; she felt alone. Aelita may have been lonely but she know she wasn’t helpless. the bird had led her this far, so she decided she might as well go on.
“ So, where’s the nearest bus stop........?” she said to herself as she walked. She was sick of walking, and the unchanging brown scenery. She was also starving. The growling of her stomach seemed to be the only company she had in this barren wasteland. Except for the bird from the stream, she had not seen another living thing since she had stepped onto the plain. The silence here was overwhelming, almost unnatural. Aelita felt that something wasn’t right and began to look around. She saw nothing but the feeling would not leave her. She began to walk again, trying to rid herself of the paranoia. Then from behind her came the sound of the dry grass rustling. For a moment she thought it was the wind, but there was no breeze. She quickened her pace, but the noises became more apparent and always from behind. She was being followed by something. Scared, she started running as fast as she could and didn’t look back. She was a fast runner, the fastest on the track team at her old school, but her pursuer was faster. Aelita could hear it coming closer up behind her. She didn’t want to be caught by whatever it was that was following her. She put every ounce of her will into outrunning it, then she heard it losing ground. She was running blind, keeping her eyes closed and just focused on escape, so she never saw the rock in the middle of the path. She tripped and fell.
She scrapped her hands and knees as she did. Soon droplets of blood formed on her palms. She got up as quickly as she could but was struck to the ground from behind with such force, that it winded her. Gasping for air, she tried to crawl away. Suddenly, a sharp pain seared through her right arm and she was flipped onto her back. She screamed in agony, grasping her arm. Warm blood was flowing from the wound. Her pursuer was towering above now, un unbelievable monster that couldn’t b real. It stood like a human but hat the features of a wolf. Its fur was orange and tan, matted down with what looked like dry blood. Aelita’s blood was visible in the beast’s claws. The most frightening feature of all was it’s eyes. They were as red as blood and had no pupils.
The creature raised it’s claw to it’s mouth and tasted her blood. It smiled at the taste, raised its claws and pounced on her. Aelita rolled to the side, but not soon enough to avoid having her right shoulder slashed. The monster slowly turned to her, then attacked swiftly this time. She had no time to move and nowhere to go. Covering her head with her arms, she screamed and the top of her lungs. “ It’s all over,” she thought, “ I’m going to die here!” The creature’s claw sunk into her shoulder, then it collapsed on top of her. Protruding from it’s back was a handle of some type of knife. It was dead! Aelita got out from under it as quickly as she could. She was becoming dizzy from the loss of blood and disoriented by what just happened. The world was spinning around her. She thought she saw a figure standing in front of her, calling out to her. Then everything went black.
I just finished this part. I don't think it's any good. kinda confusing but i guarantee that it it will make sense eventually. please tell me if it's bad so i may improve. if you have any ideas please share them!
