“Then everyone here is wrong,” replied Cierra with conviction.
He didn’t respond to that, instead he continued with the story. “After the Darkness took hold of the Crystal Palace and trapped the royal family in ice, the Council was set up as the authority against the Darkness. They were supposed to be taking measures to banish the Darkness once and for all and enlisted the help of the Protectors. Considering that the High Councillor was behind it the whole time, it’s not surprising that the Council’s efforts have been so ineffective. No doubt everyone has been a pawn for him, enabling him to spread the Darkness further more quickly.”
“He gives me the heebie-jeebies,” Cierra growled. She inspected her bracelet. “The Ancestors knew that the bracelet would appear. You said that one of them saw the six charms. What were they?”
“The legend of the charm bracelet is told as a bedtime story to nearly every child in Elturia. A lot of it is an author’s imagination, but it’s based on fact.”
Cierra sat down beside him and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. “Do tell.”
“In keeping with the prophecies of the Ancestors, according to the legend only one thing can destroy the Darkness completely.” He pointed to the bracelet. “A mythical charm bracelet with six charms: the sun, a leaf, a water drop, the moon and stars, a jewel and … a key.”
Cierra felt goose-bumps rise on her skin. Those were the exact same charms she had on her bracelet; that she’d always had on her bracelet. “What do they do?” she asked, almost whispering.
“Each charm acts as a key and around the Kingdom are several keyholes that each one fits in to. The bracelet will lead the wearer to the keyholes. Once the correct charm is inserted, then the magic in the charm will restore the relevant part of the world. The Darkness will be banished from it forever. They’re supposed to change everything back to the way it was before. The sun will return, the stars, the forests, even the people. Everything.” He shrugged. “It’s just a story for children, but like the Unfinished Prophecy, it doesn’t have an ending.”
So there are supposed to be stars in the sky, she thought to herself, glancing up briefly. “Hold on,” she said as another thought occurred to her. “You have no stars and no sun either?”
Dru shook his head. “Not for two years now.”
“That’s awful!” Cierra couldn’t imagine how depressing it would have been to live in this constant twilight for years. Not to mention living with the ever-present fear that the Darkness would destroy them.
She took a shaky breath. “How do you know it’s my bracelet? There are millions of charm bracelets in my world. Probably just as many here in yours.”
“There are no more charm bracelets in Elturia. A massive search made sure that every single one was gathered up when the Darkness descended, in the hope that one of them would match the prophecy.” He leaned back, resting his weight on his palms. “Besides, can millions of charm bracelets disintegrate a person?”
Cierra looked away. Dru put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and stood up.
“Cierra, that wasn’t your fault. The Councillor ordered that man to take the bracelet. How were you to know that it would react that way?”
The tight knot of guilt that had settled in her belly when the guard had died loosened a little. “You’re right, but I still can’t help feeling responsible,” she murmured. She blew out a soft breath, trying to expel the tension. All thoughts of the guard were pushed to the back of her mind. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. “It’s simple then? We follow the bracelet around the Kingdom, find these keyholes and banish the Darkness.”
“That’s being very optimistic,” Dru said, “but yes, that’s the general idea. It’s not going to be easy. The Councillor will be after us and will send plenty of unpleasant Darkness creatures to hunt us down. He won’t show us any mercy.”
“All the more reason we should get a move on. We’ve wasted enough time sitting around here. Let’s get this over and done with.” She held the bracelet up and studied it closely, wondering how it was supposed to show them where to go.
The leaf charm was quivering faintly, pointing off into the distance. “I think we’ve got our first destination. Come on, Dru!” She started walking.
“Cierra, I haven’t told you the...” he sighed as she ignored him and kept walking.
“Don’t worry, you can tell me later,” she called, glancing over her shoulder. She caught the troubled look on his face as he tucked the locket he had been playing with back inside his shirt.
“Do you have any idea where you are going?” he asked once he’d caught up.
Cierra shrugged. “Not really, but you said the bracelet would lead the wearer. I’m just following.”
Dru looked ahead at the path they were taking, squinting into the distance. He groaned. “The Singing Forest. Fantastic.”
Cierra couldn’t see anything. “What’s wrong with the Singing Forest? That sounds lovely. Where is it anyway?”
“Do you see that dark, misty smudge on the horizon?” he asked pointing.
“Barely,” she replied.
“That’s the Singing Forest. It used to be one of the most magical places here, but ever since it was Darkened ... well, I’m sure you can guess.”
“Darkened?”
“That’s what we call something that has been taken over by the Darkness.”
“So, the forest looks similar to all of this,” Cierra said, indicating the dreariness around them.
“Similar,” Dru agreed, “but a lot more dangerous. There are ... things in there now.”
“Of course it’s dangerous,” Cierra replied, as if that should have been obvious. “We’re on a quest to save the Kingdom, they’re not going to make it easy for us. That would defeat the whole purpose of it!” Dru didn’t crack even the smallest smile.
She looked around and couldn’t stop a shiver from creeping up her spine. “It’s very depressing. This might sound awful, but why doesn’t everyone leave and abandon this Kingdom to the Darkness?”
“Some have, but a lot of the other Kingdoms won’t let them over the border, afraid that they’ll somehow bring the Darkness with them. Also,” he continued, “the Elturians are known as fighters. We won’t let this thing win unless we have absolutely no other choice. We’ll die trying.”
“None of the other kingdoms are willing to help?”
Dru’s shoulders slumped a little. “Despite all the help the Protectors have rendered them in the past years, none of them want to get involved. Cowards.”
“Maybe they think your services weren’t worth this much trouble. What exactly did you do for them?”
“Elturia is the only Kingdom that has anything like the Protectors. The Sungate Kingdom has its own stealth force, but they’re more like assassins. We can act as mediators, or help keep political leaders safe, guard trader caravans passing through unpleasant country, anything really. All of the Kingdoms know of us and respect us, but obviously not enough to give us a hand in our time of need.”
“I guess it’s a little unfair, but you can’t really blame them,” she said. “This Darkness stuff is pretty scary.”
He didn’t reply, lost in thought. Silence fell between them, the only sound the crunching of their feet as they trudged towards the dark smudge.
It wasn’t the most pleasant walk that Cierra had ever undertaken. There wasn’t much to look at in the way of scenery, but if she looked over her shoulder, she could just make out the cliff-top town and the Council Chambers at the top.
“Dru,” she said suddenly, startling him out of his reverie. “What about Torvven? Will he be alright? The Darkness wolves and the High Councillor are up there. What if they do something to him?”
Dru didn’t seem very concerned. “Torvven can look after himself. He may be an annoying old man, but he knows what he’s doing.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure? Maybe we should go back and check on him...”
He turned to
her. “Cierra, he’ll be fine! He used to be a Protector. One of the best. I’m sure that if that weren’t enough, he’d be able to talk his enemies to death anyway!”
She stopped. “A Protector?” Dru kept walking, leaving her behind so she ran to catch up. “How come he’s a gatekeeper? Of all things, why a gatekeeper? I can’t imagine a Protector wanting to become something so mundane as a ... a gatekeeper.”
Dru sighed. “You don’t stay quiet for very long do you? Not to mention the constant string of questions. When Protectors retire, they are given the choice to keep working in something else or to take a small house somewhere and the large payment they get for their services. Most Protectors feel the need to do something, especially after the excitement of the life they’ve lived. Sitting around doing nothing doesn’t suit us. We don’t like it. So when we retire, we choose something a little less strenuous.”
“Like what?” she asked, her curiosity aroused.
“Well, gatekeeping for one, but they usually try to find something slightly similar to the Protector’s job. Others will teach the Protector Apprentices, mostly in theory lessons.”
“There are apprentices? Could I be an apprentice?” she asked, excited at the idea of being able to do fancy sword moves like Dru.
“No,” he answered shortly.
Her short daydream of being a kick-ass sword wielder fell to pieces at his brusque tone. “Why not?”
“Because you can’t stay quiet for more than a minute! Being a Protector requires stealth, speed, intelligence, and skill.”
“And arrogance apparently. Besides, I can be quiet if I want to be,” she said indignantly.
His only response was to lift an eyebrow.
Cierra decided to move on before he could start pointing out any more flaws he might think she had. “How many levels are there in the Protector ranks?”
“Three: Apprentices, Intermediates and the Elite.”
“The Elite,” Cierra mused. “That’s you, right?” Dru nodded. “What does that mean?”
“That I’ve proved myself and have mastered the techniques of the Protectors better than others may have.” His face darkened. “Obviously a mistake though.” He pulled the badge from his shirt and looked at it. Cierra could see the bitterness in his face. He still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he’d given his trust to someone who had used and betrayed him. That was probably going to take some time to heal.
“I don’t deserve this,” he muttered, throwing it over his shoulder.
“Dru!” Cierra exclaimed. He didn’t reply, just kept walking. Cierra looked at the abandoned insignia lying in the dust. She bent and picked it up.
“One day, you’ll find yourself again, Dru,” she murmured, dusting the badge off. “I know you will; I believe in you.” She slipped it in her pocket to give back to him when he realised he needed it, then ran to catch up again.
Dru glanced at her expectantly. “Next question?”
“Are we there yet?”
The unexpected childish question made Dru chuckle and Cierra smiled, glad she could lighten his mood.
“Wait, why are we even walking?” she asked. “You have your little transporter thingy. That would make it much faster!”
Dru tapped the device at his wrist and shook his head. “There’s not enough energy left in this thing to open even one Passage. I’m afraid we’re stuck with walking until it recharges.”
“When will it recharge?”
He didn’t respond.
“Dru?”
“No time soon,” he said quietly.
“Oh. Couldn’t you have gotten us closer during our escape earlier?”
“I didn’t know we would be going there at the time,” he replied dryly.
Cierra lost track of the time it took them to walk to the forest. The never-ending twilight made it nearly impossible to define any sort of time. She wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be night-time or early morning or the afternoon. She could tell they were making progress because the forest grew gradually clearer as they got closer. The smudge got larger. Soon, she was able to make out the forms of trees. Not long after that, she could see the massive tree towering above all the others. This must be the forest I could see from the cliffs, she mused.
They eventually reached the tree line and stopped. Cierra wasn’t eager to enter. She guessed Dru was probably just as reluctant as she was.
She gazed at the forest. The trees were stunted and their branches bare. Vague screeching noises reached her ears. There was a mist so thick that it was impossible to see past the first twisted trunks. The smell of decomposing vegetation was strong enough to make her gag.
“Not very inviting,” she murmured. She held the bracelet up. The charm pointed straight ahead. “I don’t think we have much choice. It wants us to go in.”
Neither of them made a move to enter the forest.
A high-pitched howl drifted on the wind to them. Cierra clutched at Dru’s hand. “What was that?”
Dru looked back the way they had come. “Darkness wolves. They’re onto us.”
“Already?” Cierra asked, starting to panic.
Dru turned back to her. “They’re still a fair way off, but we shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s go.” He tugged at her hand and pulled her into the dark, clinging mist.
The difference was noticeable immediately. As soon as they entered the forest, all sound was deadened. The fog swallowed everything. Cierra looked back at where they had entered but could hardly tell that the forest ended just a couple of metres back. The only way they were going to get through this was by following the Leaf charm as closely as possible.
They made their way carefully through the twisting branches, tripping over concealed roots and undergrowth. Spooky shadows loomed out of the mist, created by stunted tree formations. Cierra kept firm hold of Dru’s hand, afraid that if she let go, he’d disappear into the mist and leave her alone.
Although the mist kept the noise down, small scuffles and patters could still be heard all around them. Cierra tried not to think about what could be making the noises. She remembered Dru’s earlier comment about there being dangerous things lurking in the Singing Forest.
Dru seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her. Almost subconsciously, he drew his sword and kept a watchful eye on the shadows in the mist.
“Talk to me, Dru,” Cierra whispered, needing something to listen to other than the disturbing scratchings.
“This forest used to be one of the most magical places in Elturia,” he said, quietly. “The trees were alive and green and would sing, hence the name. The sun would shine through and light up small glades covered in masses of forest flowers. You’d be able to see small rainbows from the Fairyfolk that lived here, and see their little houses in the trees. If you came on a moonlit night, fawns and tree nymphs would have parties and dances and there would be lanterns strung up between the trees. Music would be coming from the trees themselves. It was beautiful.”
Cierra looked around, feeling almost unbearably sad. There was no trace of the magic that Dru talked about. She couldn’t even imagine it. The trees made absolutely no sound. “What happened to the Fairyfolk and the nymphs and fawns?”
“Most of them left, they couldn’t live here after the forest was Darkened. As for the rest,” he looked around and lowered his voice further. “What else do you think is making all the noises?”
“There are still some here?”
“Yes, but they’re not the same. Nothing could live with this much Darkness and not be infected by it somehow.”
“That’s terrible.” She looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of one of the magical creatures, but not sure if she’d like what it had become. She tripped, not paying enough attention to where she was putting her feet. When she looked up, she stopped short.
A towering wall of thorny vines blocked their way. It disappeared into the mist in either direction and the top was also hidden by the damp cloud. Cierra looked at her bracelet. Th
e Leaf pointed straight ahead and had started to sparkle.
“I think we’re almost there,” she said, showing him the charm. “It must be just beyond this barrier.”
Dru walked closer to the vines. “These vines have been tainted with Darkness. They’re trying to keep us away from the Keyhole. There must be some way through.”
Cierra stayed where she was, looking around uneasily. “Dru...”
He didn’t seem to hear her, inspecting the Darkened vines.
“Dru,” she said, louder this time and he turned. “Can’t you feel that?”
He frowned, not sure what she was talking about. Cierra pivoted slowly, scanning the surrounding area. It was impossible to see more than a metre through the mist.
“It’s probably nothing...” she said, turning back. She blinked at the spot where Dru had been standing seconds ago. He was gone.
“Dru?” she called, voice quavering. “Dru! Answer me!”
There was no reply. The forest was silent.
She was alone.
Also in The Unfinished Prophecy Mini-Series:
Part Two: The Monster of Crystal Lake
Part Three: The Ancient Labyrinth (coming 14th Feb 2016)
Part Four: Circle of the Stars (coming 28th Feb 2016)
Part Five: Key to the Kingdom (coming 13th March 2016)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Australia, I lived in almost every state there before taking the leap with my dream to move to the UK with my husband. I love to travel and explore new countries and learn new languages.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, playing video games, watching anime or TV series, talking to my (imaginary) friends, and generally enjoying life as much as I can!
Part One - The Twilight Swordsman (The Unfinished Prophecy Book 1) Page 4