by R.G. Strike
Godfrey’s vision was vague. On the right corner of his eyes, he could sense the sunlight dazzling brightly; the other looked like a disco bar, with dots of lights strewn everywhere. He scratched his eyes for a moment or so, and when he realized what he saw, he almost fainted back.
The dots of lights were, in fact, leaves on the branches of the overhanging trees, obscuring the light from entering the steep, rocky and mossy forest. There were fat, darkly-barked pine trees growing barely a meter or so from each other.
Mystified of where he was, Godfrey cramped on a rock in the ground to support himself as he stood. He seemed to feel little as though he was like a pebble because the old trees had been no taller than a mountain.
He had almost forgotten to remember his sister Eliezer, but the moment he clapped eyes at her sprawled on the ground, probably unconscious, he jumped and panicked. Racing to his feet to approach her in less than a minute, Eliezer’s head was bloody beside a sharp boulder.
Godfrey bent to his knees and wrapped his palms around Eliezer’s forehead, wiping what seemed to be red and green liquid, probably blood. Godfrey had examined her for any injury or wound, and was relieved to find nothing. In fact, Eliezer was in perfect health. Yet the liquid was making Godfrey terrified. If Eliezer wasn’t injured, then where could the liquid have come from? Maybe a rain, but no. Well, how could it rain with diverse colors?
Once again, Godfrey let out a sigh and continued wiping Eliezer’s head; the red liquid had stained her ash blond hairs as it trickled down. Drawing out his palms, Godfrey inhaled it out of curiosity.
A pang of smell swelled inside his lungs. He belched out a cough for a few seconds before considering it as real blood. What about the green liquid: What was it? The thought of smelling it again was resisted by his senses. Godfrey was aware that he had always hated the smell of blood because it would make him faint, no matter where the blood had come from.
Still, he held up his greenish palm and breathed in the smell, with more courage this time.
He frowned. The green blood had no smell at all, as though Godfrey was just breathing in the morning air.
“El – El, wake up!” Godfrey shouted as he rattled his sister’s head.
Eliezer had somehow opened her eyes with less difficulty. She was staring straight above, apparently confused of where she was and what she was staring at. For a moment, she seemed to be recognizing whose voice had woken her; her green pupils frozen below a roof of fuzzy blond hairs as she waited once again.
“El, it’s me!” Godfrey had whispered this time.
She turned her head towards him, and saw her brother up-side-down in her vision.
“W-what happened, Frey?” she asked weakly, closing her eyes.
“Nonsense, El, how could I know?”
“What do you m-mean?” she asked, rolling up on her feet so that she was now facing Godfrey.
“Look,” Godfrey began uneasily, “we fainted on that wagon, and the next thing that happened is that we woke up in this forest. That’s all. And, well, I found you here.”
“You found me?”
“Yes,” he replied, “with these liquid splashed on your face.”
Eliezer was silent as she touched the blood on her forehead, and then gazed at it closely. Turning her head towards the descending trail behind her, she fell more silent.
“It’s – it’s theirs.”
“WHO?” Godfrey clarified.
“The – the dead w-warriors. These b-bloods were bloods of t-those warriors who were k-killed.” She pointed at a headless man pierced through his stomach by a branch so that he was dangling more than eighteen meters above; flies were swiveling around.
“How could you know there are lots of them if you’ve only seen one?”
“Because,” she explained slowly, slightly tougher this time, “there are arrows everywhere, Frey – look!”
Eliezer was telling the truth. When Godfrey looked over behind Eliezer, dead knights were scattered everywhere; mislead arrows were nailed on pine tree trunks; spears, swords, and some arrows were stabbed at the knights’ bodies. Mixed with them were green alligators that looked long, green and scaly, rough, in fact, but with human’s head. Some of them were sliced apart, torn, and hanged.
“I – I feel afraid, Frey,” Eliezer said coldly. “What if – what if we’re next?”
“Hey, stop talking about rubbish, El. That will never happen. Besides, I’m strong being your brother. In fact, I’ll make sure that you won’t get hurt.”
“How sure are you?”
“I’m as sure as I could be. Being brave and strong, I’m afraid that’s an easy stuff. Well, that’s chicken-feed.”
Standing to full height, Godfrey jumped and landed on the lower ground of the forest, then running to approach the dead knight nailed with a long, silver sword with bronze hilt.
“Check this out, El!” he exclaimed over to Eliezer, who had turned eager to know what Godfrey was up to.
Then, breathing so much deeply, Godfrey wrapped his right palm around the cold bronze hilt and uprooted it. The force seemed to have been great because the knight trembled before finally drawing out his last breath.
“This,” he shouted, loud enough for Eliezer to hear, “is called bravery, dear sister. Now don’t be too fearful to come over here because you’ve got me here to protect you. Come on now, El. Hurry up, or I’m going steal a run from you.”
“I can’t – I can’t jump the way you did. Heights do terrify me!”
“Okay. That must mean that you’re not coming with me. Goodbye.”
Godfrey jokingly turned aback and took a few steps slowly.
“Frey!” Eliezer called. “Don’t leave me! I – I – okay, I will jump!”
Eliezer gulped, fear still swelling in and out of her mind. Then, as she took a feeble hope of landing perfectly alive, she leapt on both foot and streaked into the air. She was unable to describe what it felt like to fall, but she was clambering on her hope . . . her impossible hope.
The drop was far easier than she had expected. She softly landed on a canopy of beige pine leaves, which felt too comforting that she had almost wished to stay and live there for the rest of the day, but she could not. Godfrey’s voice had sounded again.
“Enjoying the fall, El? I told you so, but you may choose to be there and let me go.”
“No, I’m coming!” she yelled, disappointed. She stood and quickly ran beside Godfrey, who was secretly smiling.
Once again, as they walked, Godfrey was examining the silver sword like it was his first time to hold one. Beside him, Eliezer was stealing a glance at it, apparently afraid that he might stab her and run. For fear of that suspicion to happen, Eliezer averted her eyes and looked far, but still looking down on the steep trail.
“That was a beautiful butterfly,” she said. “With fires coming out of its butt, it’s ideal for a princess. Mom or Dad might have realized that butterfly like that ought to be cherished by a princess like me because, I think, I’ve seen more of them in the –”
She stopped. Her mind was triggered to remember that the last time she had seen one was in the labyrinth of hedge. She also remembered that those creatures had led her –
“– to the bush!” Eliezer gasped heavily, halting right below the butterfly-like creature. “Frey, let’s go back!”
“What?” Godfrey asked back, confused.
“W-we have to go back! It isn’t –”
“What the hell are you talking about, El? We’re going home!”
“But – no! You’re w-wrong. Let’s not take this route going back home! It – it’ll just lead us to the scarlet-eyed alligator! I swear I knew where w-we’re heading for!”
But Godfrey shook his head uneasily, bringing down the sword as he looked at her straight in the eye.
“Stop and,” he said, “tell – me – what – are – you – talking – about!”
“I’m talking about that thing above us!”
Eliezer started crying, kneeling on the
leafy ground. “For heaven’s sake, Frey, listen to me! Y-you’ve always disappointed me, and – and I h-had been stupid enough to be lured into your traps! I want to go home!”
“You’re talking about the Flamefly above us?” he said. “Maybe you haven’t still learned about them, El. Flameflies are good creatures. They – they – their presence tells us that it is safe.”
“But those Flameflies once led me to the bush!” she cried, outpouring with anger and tears.
“No, they didn’t, El! They vanished before you arrived at the bush. That was the signal that it wasn’t safe. I – I’ve watched you – I followed you that’s why I know. Now, given the circumstance, I know what I’m doing! I don’t want my superiority being your brother questioned!”
“Frey, y-your superiority will lead us to death!”
“Don’t you still get it, El?” Godfrey asked, frowning. “If there are Flameflies roaming around a place you don’t know means that it’s safe. Just – just follow it and you’ll get saved.”
“Okay, I’m following you – again, Frey. But if this l-leads us to no good, then I’ll never follow you, ever, in my entire life.”
She wiped her tears and began walking ahead of Godfrey. For half an hour, they walked, Eliezer still leading, following the single Flamefly.
“Are – are you hungry, El?” Godfrey asked nervously, moving beside his sister. Eliezer did not answer and kept on walking with incredible speed, her blond hairs flagging out behind her. “I’m going to find food for you. Godfrey will treat you!”
Yet, with his convincing words, Eliezer had not talked still like she had not heard Godfrey speak. When they reached a clearing with stones cobbled together to form a semicircle, an old, tall, and resiliently gnarled tree at one side, Eliezer settled herself seated on the stone. Godfrey followed Eliezer and sat right beside her. Taking the sword on his lap, Godfrey bowed.
“I really wish I have something to give me food,” he said, rather loudly for Eliezer to overhear.
He could not have imagined it, but it was real. The sword on his lap was glowing with flickering sapphire illumination that it was nearly blinding. Eliezer was surprised, too, seeing it beside her. Then the sword burst light into its fullest, obscuring their visions for a few seconds, then totally went out.
What was once a silver sword was now a meter-long dark stick on his lap. It was just a simple stick, carved with curved lines, snake scales, and hieroglyphics and inscriptions that were impossible to read.
Godfrey looked fascinated, holding it near him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Eliezer’s astonished face bloomed with happiness; but when she spotted that Godfrey was looking at her, she subsided and looked away, as though nothing had happened.
“Maybe I can use this stick to snatch down apples from that tree,” said Godfrey.
When he heard that Eliezer had grunted but had not looked at him still, he stood and walked over to an orchard of red apple trees. They were bearing too many apples that it looked like a dozen of lighted Christmas Tree.
Godfrey raised the stick as he reached for an apple dangling a few distance above his head. Yet it was still far. He tried to jump for several times but was unable to reach it; Eliezer was giggling under the enormous tree.
“Come on! Come down!” he shouted, as he continued jumping and whipping the stick. “I’m hungry and I want food!”
A strawberry cake had popped out from above the stick, falling down immediately and smashing onto Godfrey’s head.
He stopped jumping and wiped the icing of the cake from his head.
He licked his icing-full hand. “It doesn’t taste bad. Want some, El?”
“Cake – of course, Frey,” she had spoken, at last, and smiling once again.
“Give El the same thing,” he said, pointing the stick at Eliezer.
Brown, chocolate-coated cake materialized above her, falling against Eliezer’s head just like it did to Godfrey. Her hairs had partially turned brown with it.
“Frey! I didn’t mean you to give me a cake falling on my head,” she shouted, chuckling.
Godfrey laughed. Pointing the stick once again towards her, he pronounced in a clear voice, “Give us heavy load of lunch.”
In front of the cobbled stone where Eliezer was sitting, a wooden square table appeared out of nowhere, full of foods like from the palace. Cakes, chicken, fruit salad, cold tea on a glass pitcher, and tunas were all served on the top. Two big jars of yoghurt stood on either side.
Godfrey ran immediately and smiled at Eliezer. He sat beside her and said, “What are you waiting for, El? Let’s have lunch!”