Chapter 2

Cordelia touched the pommel of the sword on her spine and the sword was instantly in her palm, glowing a light violet color. She strained her eyes to see if she could see the animal that was hiding in the deep pink bushes. The village’s small lights shone in the distance, lightly illuminating the track through the forest.

A rustle of leaves, then a sound of a broken twig made her and Kropka tense even more and stare into the dark forest, but nothing showed its face to them. Another low growl came from the thick bushes. The dark pink leaves dotted with small violet flowers moved under the weight of the animal that made its way through. Slowly and cautiously, it moved, emitting more low, angry growls.

The blade of the sword was light violet, now shining a small light to give Cordelia a better view of the danger that was hiding in the shadows. The pommel of the sword had a large deep violet starfish with amethysts in its center, resembling an eye that maintains a vigilant observer.

The sword had always been intertwined with Cordelia’s memories, even though its current appearance deviates slightly from the moment she first set eyes on it, from the initial time she held it in her hands, from that past era many moons ago.

It was a different time, a different place, a different Cordelia.

Cordelia jumped off Kropka and patted the horse’s neck. “Relax darling, we got this.” She said reassuringly to her as she made one step towards the bushes that were hiding the animal in its embrace.

“Successful hunt, I presume,” said a voice from up above. Cordelia looked up into the branches of the tree to see Jaycen. His presence was a slight surprise to her as she was so focused on the animal in the bushes she didn’t pay too much attention to what was around.

The young shifter that ran away from home. He moved to the village about five years ago and has stayed ever since then. He made an easy jump from the tree branch and eyed the fighting stance that Cordelia still held.

People could describe him as a handsome young man when he wasn’t covered in ink stains and dust from old scrolls and books that he loved to devour. He had dark brown hair that touched his ears, square jaw, eyes the color of deep vibrant green. His skin olive color shone lightly in the moonlight and the low glow of the violet sword.

Jaycen’s passion in life was knowledge, specifically the history of the old times of our world. His fascination with stories of the old times was a well-known fact among everyone in town. Those who ventured out of the safe village brought him a new book back, as everyone loved Jaycen.

Cordelia thought to herself, Jaycen would have loved Aleria. Her sister who also valued books and scrolls and spent endless nights in the library reading and investigating all that she didn’t know. A sigh escaped Cordelia’s mouth at the thought of her sister. Her stance relaxing at memories that clouded her mind.

She also had another one, Xynia. The three of them used to be the bestest of friends and would have so many adventures together until everything changed. Until the blasted day that all changed, the day separated them. The day that ruined all their lives.

Now Cordelia was stuck here on the dry lands while her sisters were somewhere else. The three sisters separated with no way to return to how they used to be. Corelia missed her sisters, but she knew that there was no way for them to come back. She had to stay strong and move forward with life or the demons in her mind would win the never ending battle of survival and control.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her in his gruff voice. “I could ask you the same thing?” She responds as she turns back to the bushes, which now were quiet and the strange sense of an animal stalking her has disappeared. She hid the sword back in its place in her skin among the inked kelp plants.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Jaycen made a shuddering gesture. “You know I don’t like it when you do that,it looks so creepy and makes my skin crawl.” She ignored him and looked once again into the thick overgrown plants on the side of the path.

Cordelia took a deep breath and relaxed as the animal seemed to have disappeared into the depths of the forest, back to where it came from. Despite the absence of the animal, there remained a possibility for it to return and complete its initial task.

“Are you alright? Hello! Earth to Cordelia,” Jaycen asked, as he waved his hand in front of Cordelia’s eyes. She blinked and swatted his hand away. She looked him in the eye and asked, “What are you doing here? You don’t normally leave the village?” Which was true. Since Jaycen has found the village, he only left it a handful of times, scared that they will find him, scared that he will find him.

“Yeah, I know.” He rubbed his hand at the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. “I just needed a run, a long wild run.” Cordelia could understand that his wild side needed to be let out every now and again or he would walk on the ceiling, but he hasn’t needed one in a very long time. “Are you sure you are alright?” She asked again as she looked more closely at him.

“Yeah, definitely.” He waved her away and petted Kropka, who loved the attention she was getting. “Tell me, how was the hunt?” He added without even looking at her. Something was up with him. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

Cordelia shared the night’s events while they returned to the small village, still watching the vegetation. She knew that the animal was long gone as Kropka had completely relaxed now and she was like an early danger alarm, always knowing when something was close that could harm them.

Since the first day that the two of them have met, there was this bond between them. Despite the initial lack of trust from Cordelia, she now finds it impossible to imagine her life without Jaycen. She grew to trust him. He showed her that the lands above could be fun and that she could enjoy life again.

They have spent many hours sword fighting and training. If the shadows invaded their small village, one could never be adequately prepared, and Cordelia found enjoyment in training with him. Jayce, despite his aversion to fighting, proved to be a highly skilled fighter in his preferred form.

His father did not agree with Jaycen’s love of books and his thirst for knowledge. Which was one of the reason that he ran away from his pack so many years ago. His disconnection with the family made it that much easier for him to leave that life behind in search of a new one.

He could sometimes spend days stuck in the local library, which some could describe as his second home. His favorite ones always came from the village of Pansty, which was located just under the Towers of Knowledge. Lininda has traveled a lot around the world collecting books, scrolls and stories of any kind. She, like Jaycen, was obsessed with them,she also reminded Cordelia of her sister. This made it easier for Cordelia to befriend the strange women as Cordelia sometimes felt like she was in the company of her sister.

Their walk continued through the village until they reached the other edge of the town that led into the blue fairy forest. “I am okay walking on my own.” Observing the dark circles under his eyes, she looked him in the eye and declared, ‘‘How about you go to bed? Death looks better than you do right now.’’ Jaycen snickered lightly under his nose and looked at her. “I am fine, really.” His stomachs growled loudly. Cordelia lifted her eyebrows at him and made an ‘I don’t believe you look.’

‘‘Go home. Eat and then bed. That’s an order.” He laughed softly again and looked her in the eyes. Her expression frightened him slightly as he raised his hands defensively and rolled his eyes at her. “Alright, alright. My stomach has revealed itself to me.” A loud yawn came out of him at that moment. Suddenly, he looked like he might fall asleep on the spot.

“Can I just quickly tell you about this amazing book? I was reading this new text that Lininda has brought from the Towers. It was about the forest fairies that apparently still live somewhere hidden in the Wilderness and.”

“Blah, blah, blah. This isn’t interesting to me whatsoever.” She rolled her eyes at him and walked away into the woods in which she and Fernicus’s home was located. She turned around to him and added. “I will see you for lunch, after I talk with Shirentel.”

“Just don’t be late like last time!” With a holler, he vanished into the other part of the woods. He, like Cordelia, also lived in the forest, but unlike her, who lived with Fernicus in a small cottage that was covered in plants. He preferred to make his home in a cave system that was connected to the Muchinles Mountains.

As Cordelia and Kropka were making their way through the forest, the horse had stopped yet again and looked toward their home. “What is it?” She asked, but she didn’t need an answer as she now smelled the hot, ashy air.

She jumped back on Kropka and together they galloped to a view of their home covered in flames. The building was in a blaze. Every part of the little cottage that she and Fernicus shared was on fire. The flames were escaping through the open windows; the roof made squeaking sounds from the heat.