The morning mist was slowly burning away in the warmth of the sun coming over the mountain top. Erik and I stuck to the clearest paths through the field of tall grass, so we could see where we went by the sunlight shining through the wispy grasses. Every once in a while, if we couldn't see where the mountain was, one of us would climb up a tree stump or a rock, and look over the grass to reorient ourselves. Taking a break every few hours, we kept our pace quite fast, to get to the mountain as soon as possible. We were over halfway there already, and the sun was just setting. I climbed up on Erik's back, and searched for a clearing where we could camp for the night, since we made good time. After finding a small opening in the stalks, Erik and I found some stones in a nearby stream and made a small fire. We laid out our bedrolls, Erik taking first watch, and I fell asleep. Erik woke me for my shift, and went to go rest. I sat by the fire, and quietly started to sing.
"🎶I wake up at home, feeling alone, it's only me, no company🎶"
"Sing louder, I can barely hear you." Erik mumbled from under the blankets.
"I thought you were asleep... I don't sing in front of anyone. Not since mom...." I trailed off my sentence not wanting to continue. I knew Erik understood. After a moment I started singing again, a little louder this time.
"🎶 If I'm being honest, it's always been my dream, to have somebody for my own. I can't wait for the day when I can, wake up and tell you how much I love you-🎶"
I heard a gentle snoring next to me, and saw that Erik had quietly moved his bedroll over, next to my feet, and fell asleep. I smiled, and leaned down, brushing a light kiss to his forehead. I couldn't believe it. My boyfriend, is my best friend. No one could be a better match for me than him, and I was grateful for it, because I would want no one else. No one complimented my personality better, and no one had the same taste. No one knew me better, and no one could because Erik was always there for me, and I trusted him more than anything. He's the one thing I have left in this world, and now he really is mine. The sun rays beamed over the mountain top before I knew it, and I woke Erik, and grabbed my bedroll, and bag. I took out the pot, and filled it with water in the stream we found the rocks in. I put out the fire, and helped Erik put the rocks back in the creek, and erase all traces of us being there, so as not to be found by anyone searching the New Woods for us. By now they had put out security to try and trail us, but the only problem was, they had no idea where we went. As we walked through the forest, we left confusing markers, pointing in the wrong direction, and if they had dogs, we left a scent trail that wound around trees in circles, and went part of the way backwards, before disappearing. To do that we jumped up onto a low hanging branch and climbed through the trees, being careful not to disturb any part of the plants, that way no one could figure us out. Erik and I made quick progress though the woods, leaving more confusing clues and twisted trails, in case someone managed to catch up to us, and follow our tracks again. Nearly the whole day had gone by, when we reached the foot of the mountain.
"You know, we could have gotten here a lot faster if we just went straight." Erik blatantly stated.
"Would you rather get here faster and risk getting caught, or get here slower and be at a lesser risk?" I asked as I stared up the mountain side.
'You're right. Alright, ready to climb? Did you bring rope?" Erik replied cheerily
"Yeah. Did you?"
"Yep. Alright, let's get this party started!"
I laughed and we started the climb up the tall mountain. The climb was long and hard, and the only thing keeping us from falling was our hands and feet, and the ropes we had tied to eachother. We made it quite a distance up, when we noticed a small platform on the cliff face. We climbed up on top of it and it was a simple platform aside from the cave at the back, and a boy. The boy had deep red hair that was styled in an unkempt fashion, and red eyes. He had scars on his face and body, and wore a sleek black suit, decorated in military achievements. The one thing that caught my eye, was the freshly polished golden crown resting atop his unruly curls. He grinned a devilish grin, revealing pointed, white teeth.
"Hello my darling. How have you been for the last 26 years since I saw you?" said the boy, or a man I suppose, since it had been 26 years since he saw me, which I didn't believe, because I was only 22.
"I don't know you. I've never met you a day in my life. I'd recognize that hair if I had." I growled back.
"That's right. You were 7 when we last saw eachother. Such a small girl. You remember me, I simply didn't look like this before. I've....changed in the past 26 years. It's a long time to go without hearing a peep from your beloved little girl."
"You are NOT my father. He died a long time ago. You have no right to say that to me."
"I never said I was your father. I said you are my beloved little girl. You look so beautiful my dear. I missed your happy little face. You must be Erik, my girl's bestfriend, now boyfriend I presume, judging on how close you two are standing, and the fact that, my love, you grabbed his hand reflexively, not his arm like you used to." He stood and stalked over to me, and ran a clawed finger along my jawline, studying my face. I flinched away and he grinned. He turned to Erik and scanned him up and down, while Erik's hand never left mine. The man, a full head taller than Erik, turned and went past his fire to the cave entrance, the flames somehow flickering out as he breezed past. Before he stepped into the shadows, the man turned to us one last time, and said,
"No need to hold your breath, darling. I'll be seeing you again soon." He then disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Out of anger, I grabbed a knife and threw it into the cave. It hit a wall, and fell back out of the cave. Confused, I went over to the cave, and picked up my knife. I stuck it blade first into the dark, only to be met by a solid wall, simply painted black. I pressed my hand against the wall, or at least tried to. My hand went clear through the wall. Curious, I stuck the handle of my knife through, and it went through. I clipped the knife to my waistband, and stepped through the wall, held back by the blade of my knife. What I saw was the most beautiful garden, and a large crystal castle sitting in the middle of it all. Aysh's voice came to me again, saying a new saying.
'You found a shortcut to me. Good job. If you want a chance to survive though, you need to follow the path I went. Going this way forces you to leave behind any weapons, which is a bad idea. Meet me at the tree you see in the distance at midnight when you arrive, no earlier, no later.'
All of a sudden my body was forcefully pushed out of the portal, and I fell onto the floor. The black wall had disappeared into stone. Erik was still standing where I left him, with his mouth open in surprise. I just sat there for a moment, blinking in confusion. I turned and repeated exactly what Aysh said to me, to Erik, who simply nodded and walked over to help me up. We scanned the area for anything of value. We didn't see anything, until a small glint in the corner of my eye, made me look to see a small tiara shaped comb sitting on the rocks around the fire the man had made. I walked over and picked it up, and there was a note intertwined in the teeth if the hair ornament. It read: 'To get in the gates you will have to wear this in a place the guards can see it. Erik is your bodyguard. You are the sister to the King. This is how you will get inside. Hurry. ~Ayshlin Madysun'
Erik had walked over and read the note over my shoulder.
"I guess we better hurry up and get up this mountain then."
I nodded and turned towards the mountain face, and we continued the climb up.