The Guardians of the Forest: Book One

by Kelly Napoli

CHAPTER 4

  UNHAPPY

  Kiethara woke up, squinting into the brilliant sunlight as she struggled to get up. It felt like she had been asleep for quite a while; her stiff limbs were only further proof to that theory. Then she remembered the previous day’s events.

  “Oh!” she huffed, her eyes snapping all the way open. She looked around, half expecting him to be standing right in front of her; however, the forest was void of any human presence besides her own.

  Kiethara smiled. She knew that she was no longer alone. Truthfully, she had never been, but this past event made it seem more like reality. Gandador might have taken her mother away, but he certainly couldn’t take the rest of the world away. Even if she felt separated, she was not alone.

  Navadar.

  Navadar.

  She liked the sound of his name. It sounded strong, like the name of a warrior. Well, he was an adventurer.

  Kiethara shook her head. Things were changing so fast, so rapidly, but now the new developments were not all dripping with despair. For so long she had been traveling on a straight, familiar path and now one visit from Gandador sent her spiraling along an unfamiliar route and into new, unexplored territory.

  Kiethara wrapped her vine full of bottles back around her waist. She always took it off when she slept so the bottles wouldn’t break in the middle of the night; the last thing she needed was for her to accidentally poison herself. Kiethara laughed. That would be just her luck.

  Kiethara watched with a blank expression as one of the trees supporting her hammock suddenly became wrapped in vines. From these vines came grapes, purple and plump. She reached out and picked one, plopping it into her mouth and rolling it over her tongue, poking holes in it with her teeth to let the juice run down her throat. The grape tasted sweet. Very, very sweet.

  She finally had a friend. Her outlook on life had brightened considerably, as though the sun had come out from behind a cloud.

  A sudden, blinding light made her jump and Aaron emerged from the trees behind her. There was something wrong about his presence. Normally, she would feel comforted by his presence; it was calm and safe, as though nothing could touch her. It was endearing, full of the same love she felt for him.

  But his presence now…

  It was very stiff. Like a smoldering fire, there was some subtle emotion there that she couldn’t place. Annoyance, perhaps?

  “Good morning, Kiethara,” Aaron said like always. His tone matched his appearance, not one she had come to know. It wasn’t calm or gracious; it was hard. And it had that same subtle edge to it, causing her to struggle with her reply a bit.

  “Good morning, Aaron,” she finally managed. She didn’t know why she was nervous. She had no reason to be afraid.

  “Kiethara, we must talk,” Aaron said.

  His voice was firm, as if he was going to lecture her. She couldn’t think of anything that she had done wrong. It was very hard to be rebellious in the forest.

  “About what?” she asked.

  “Your visitor yesterday,” he said.

  Kiethara’s expression turned from confusion to surprise, and then back to confusion. Navadar? There wasn’t that much to discuss. She had questions she wanted to ask Aaron, but he had come to her. It wasn’t as though he was a threat. He didn’t even have any magic of his own!

  “Why?” Kiethara asked.

  “Kiethara,” Aaron sighed. “You need to be careful. You had hardly any idea who he was when you let your guard down. There were many opportunities where he could have hurt you.”

  Kiethara became furious. Had Aaron been spying on her? She couldn’t imagine how he could do that, what with his light, but Aaron was Aaron.

  “But he didn’t,” she pointed out.

  “But he could have,” Aaron said. This just confused and annoyed her even further.

  “And? He could have, but he didn’t. I trust him. Trust is a good thing to have.”

  “Trust is a risky thing to have. Gandador could have enchanted the boy! He could be working for Gandador!” Aaron accused.

  “He wasn’t! He told me his kingdom hates Gandador! He doesn’t even have any magic of his own! Why in the world would Gandador have any use of him?” she asked.

  “For this very reason! You are defending a boy you have only spoken to for an hour. He has gained much of your trust. This makes me unhappy,” Aaron said, crossing his arms. It looked slightly odd, because he was just a figure of light.

  “Unhappy?! Is that what you are? What you are is overprotective!” Kiethara accused. Her fists were clenched and her navy blue eyes were flaring.

  “Kiethara, you know perfectly well why I am protective. The forest needs guarding, and you still have much to learn. If the forest falls, so does the power it holds! I will not let that happen, not over your trust in some boy,” Aaron said. His voice was not just stiff, but furious. They had never had a fight like this before.

  “This boy will not be the downfall of the forest. I can protect myself and this forest. I can defend myself against any attack. I am not weak!”

  “You are letting these feelings towards this boy blind you. Now that you trust him, why would you continue to protect yourself? You seemed to let your guard down mighty quickly yesterday,” Aaron pointed out.

  “He was disarmed, and I was still watchful,” she said.

  “Not watchful enough,” Aaron said.

  Of course she wasn’t! Everything she did was wrong! Everything she did could use improvement, or help! She was sick of it! Aaron seemed to expect her to be perfect; he had the nerve to become disgruntled at every misconduct. The stress and pressure of a whole world relying on her was beginning to become unbearable; a fifteen year old girl could only do so much.

  “There is nothing wrong or dangerous about Navadar,” she said in a final voice.

  “You will not see him again,” Aaron said, his voice was final as well. Even more.

  The silence that followed was deafening. Even the animals were silent, as though they were holding their breath and listening to the conversation.

  “You can’t stop him from coming. He’ll come back,” Kiethara said, proud that the statement was true.

  “And that is when you’ll be sending him away and telling him not to return,” Aaron explained. Her jaw dropped open in shock and fury.

  “That would be rude.”

  “That would be the smart thing to do. You will do it,” he declared.

  “You can’t control me,” she snapped back. She knew she was being very uncouth, but she could care less at the moment. Now that she had a taste of the outside life, she wanted more.

  “I am here to lead you in the right direction. I will not let my forest fall because of simple matters of disobedience.”

  “Your forest?” Kiethara asked in disbelief, daring to raise an eyebrow.

  “Yes, my forest. I created it. Navadar’s weakness will not be the end of it.”

  “Navadar has no magic of his own, and you act like he is plotting to destroy the forest!” she yelled.

  “The better the illusion works. Gandador is not a fool. You, so young, would be appalled at the things he has done,” he tried to explain.

  “So young? According to what you have told me, I do more than any of the fools out there! I think I can handle it,” she replied in an icy tone.

  “Well, I believe otherwise. Some knowledge is still too much for a fifteen year old girl, despite what she has been through,” he said. This only infuriated her even more.

  “You never tell me anything!” she shouted back, and then it hit her.

  “That’s it, isn’t it? It’s not Navadar you don’t trust, it’s me,” she said in a quiet voice.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Kiethara. There are just somethings better left unsaid,” Aaron said, his voice now calm.

  “Well, Navadar will tell me! He told me Gandador had attacked the kingdoms. Why didn’t you tell me that? Eh? Anything else you’re hiding?”

  “Yes, t
he boy will tell you unimportant details such as that. But you will talk too,” said Aaron.

  “What?” she asked.

  “He will tell you more and more about his life, and you will become more enthralled and entangled with those useless facts. And in return you will tell him more about your life, about the forest. Information, if placed into the wrong hands, can be used against you,” he told her in a hard tone. His words were piercing, cruel.

  “I’m not going to tell him anything,” she promised, though it sounded more like she was pleading.

  “You told him plenty today. You even demonstrated some of your powers after you had only known him for a few minutes!” Aaron yelled at her in a booming voice, making her stumble back.

  Kiethara looked up at him in alarm, her mouth open wide. So maybe she had been a little foolish, but still, nothing had happened! She could tell Navadar wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t tell him any secrets about the forest, and as far as she knew, there weren’t any foremost secrets to tell.

  “I showed him I could fly. I didn’t show him anything Gandador doesn’t know,” she defended.

  “Even if you don’t directly tell him or show him your power, he could still pick a weakness out. He could slowly wean the truth out of you.”

  “You’re talking rubbish! It amazes me how highly you think of me. You say you trust me, but your actions make me believe otherwise,” she sneered.

  “Kiethara, did you ever stop to consider the fact that you are thinking too highly of yourself? You have weaknesses, and more than you think,” he snapped.

  “Then why don’t you tell me?!” she demanded, throwing her hands to the sky. She was tired of all these riddles Aaron kept throwing at her.

  “It’s better for you to understand your strengths rather than your weaknesses.”

  “Nonsense! I can’t believe you would say that to defend yourself! It is dangerous for me not to know my own weaknesses! And if I don’t even know them, how in the bloody world is Navadar going to find out?! There is no danger!”

  “No danger? Kiethara, do you love your mother?” Aaron asked.

  The question threw her off. Why was he asking her that? Of course, she loved her mother. Even if she couldn’t remember her, the memories Aaron had shared with her had made her adore her mother. Her mother gave her very life to protect the forest and Kiethara herself!

  “Of course,” Kiethara answered. Her tone became soft, her fists unclenched, and her navy blue eyes were gentle.

  “Are your feeling towards Navadar stronger?” he asked.

  “Not at all.”

  “Then why would you gamble the fate of the forest for some boy when your mother gave her life to protect it?”

  Once again, the forest was quiet and still, only Kiethara’s pain to fill the silence. It showed on her face; it hung in the air. His words had been like a whip, degrading and vicious.

  “That’s not fair,” she whispered.

  “That is the truth, and nothing less,” he replied. Kiethara opened her mouth to reply, but Aaron cut her off.

  “I’m not going to argue with you anymore, Kiethara,” His tone was final.

  “Aaron…” she pleaded. Was it really that bad that she had a friend? That she was happy?

  Instead of answering, he left.

  Kiethara brought her fist back and slammed into one of the two trees that supported her hammock. Hot, angry tears rolled down her cheeks. They stung her face.

  It was so unfair.

  The one time her life isn’t boring or—in her opinion—dangerous, she gets scolded for it. How was it possible that Aaron hated Navadar so much? There was no danger, there wasn’t even magic. What did Aaron know that made him act this way? A better question, what was he not telling her?

  It was obvious that he had been watching them. Could he not feel how normal Navadar was? How not a single spark of magic could be found in him? Gandador was far worse a threat, not to mention he would want to defeat her and burn down the forest himself, not use someone like Navadar to do it for him. She might not be strong enough to beat him yet, but that was why she had Aaron here with her.

  Her heart pounded in her breast.

  What if Aaron didn’t come to help her? Her relationship with Navadar might just cost her the relationship she had with Aaron. She knew Aaron was far more important. She needed to train; she needed him in order to survive. Was it impossible to have them both?

  She remembered his words about her mother. What would she have done? Would she have defended Kiethara? Or Aaron?

  It didn’t matter now. She had lost her battle, and she knew there would be consequences. The most painful of which would be sending Navadar away for good, wounding him without explanation.

  Just like she was now.