It was not as easy or simple as Arwyn had originally thought. She had to wake up before the dawn, with only time for tea to drink before their departure. The carriage ride was long and bumpy. Sure, it was fancy and extra cushioned and insulated, but it was not enough to allow Arwyn to catch a quick nap before they made it to their destination. That and her mother chatted nonstop about the game plan, and who is all going to be there. Even being tired, Arwyn was able to recognize her mother's brilliance. The Marchioness managed to put together such a big plan in such a short time that involved so many people. Arwyn couldn't help herself and smiled.
Arwyn was to keep track and keep count of the inventory of what went out and what went in the relief tent. There was going to be food to serve, supplies to help build up the riverbed with, such as sturdy material, bags of sand, boulders, clay, so many other things went into this situation.
She couldn't enjoy the view on the ride since it was still dark out, only Sytra staring back at her. The inside of the carriage was lit by a blue energy stone. It was just enough light to make out her mother's excited face. She was still chattering away, Arwyn couldn't hear anything she was saying. Her mind was elsewhere.
It was on the mountain. Her encounter. Her pledge. She wasn't sure what Emoce meant about her having to come back to the mountain due to the pledge. Was it because she had placed her bloodied thumb into the soil? If so, what does that mean? She couldn't find the answer just thinking about it. Arwyn pondered some more on the matter till her mind shifted to when Emoce had touched her forehead. Instinctively, Arwyn touched her forehead; it didn't feel any different than it did before. What was the light supposed to be? The light that had emitted from their touch was warm and fuzzy, jittery, like it was full of energy. She was frustrated internally. What use was it being in her thirties on the inside, when this world and her young body made her feel so feeble? Did all of her past life's experiences mean anything? Wasn't she smart before? Why were the answers here so elusive?
"Arwyn." Her mother's voice brought her to.
"Yes mother?"
"I was trying to ask you if you had received any letters from Viscount Maylock's girls lately?"
Thinking about it hard, she was trying to remember. Some of the memories were fuzzy and not everything made a whole lot of sense. From what she could tell, his two daughters Leila and Sasha had not written her in quite a while.
"I have not received letters from them, they must be busy with their new governess." Arwyn answered slowly trying not to miss any detail. "Are they going to be there assisting with the project today?"
The marchioness was thoughtful for a moment. "They might not be allowed to since they are so young and full of energy."
Her mother was right, Leila was 12 and Sasha was 11, they were very mischievous and were known to pull pranks. Probably not the best to have around with something so serious. Its not like they were close or anything, from what she could tell. Once in a great moon they would come over for tea, but with everything going on, it had been awhile since they last exchanged letters. "Well it's for the best, I am sure."
With that, the conversation moved on, and her mother talked on and on about gossip and frivolous things. She liked to chat away like that sometimes, it eased her nerves. They arrived at their destination as the sun was starting to rise.
The village of Link came into view, a town shrouded in trees. Located below the mountains, the forest extended down into their land. The river came out from the mountain, gushing with energy stones. It was a village that made a profit mining the stones out of the waters. With the threat of overflowing, it threatened their homes and their livelihoods. It was one of the few places in Calrin that sat near the mountains, yet it wasn't on the mountains themselves.
The site came into view. Tents were constructed close to the riverbed, white canvas blaring against the sunlight. Work. Arwyn was excited. Actually, working on a project made her feel so much better about her situation. It was something that she can at least control and take charge of. Instead of feeling like some God's ragdoll.
As soon as she set foot onto the soil, the environment moved quickly. Orders were given, people were delegated certain task. Overseers were given lists on what they need to look for when they check the villagers finished work. It made it easier for bookkeeping and keeping track of what went in and out. Arwyn expected this. She sat in the tent, writing down who takes what. It was quite demanding. Yet it was nice to be able to chat with new people. Arwyn used the opportunity to ask them about the woods they live in. Villagers were only allowed to go so deep. There are markers in place to let them know that they cannot go any further into the woods. Why? The mountains are not safe. Why? "That is what we are taught and what we teach the children."
About midday was when the in and out of the tent slowed down. It was at the point in the day when everyone was ready for a good long lunch break. Her mother and Viscount Maylock had already checked in with her. They had headed with some of the leaders to mark any other areas that needed patched up.
A loud bell began to ring. It was lunch. The food tent became crowded in an instant. Arwyn snuck some bread and decided to take a stroll instead of waiting for the main meal. She passed by children playing in a field of flowers. She watched them for a moment. It brought back some unpleasant memories of her past life. Her parents had never let her leave the house, the few times she did she was brutally beat with a hanger. It was refreshing to see children playing. It was nice to see children not afraid, and actually happy. Her heart began to hurt. Just a low throb. A flicker of light caught her eyes. It was across the field at the edge of the woods.
The children were called to eat, and soon were no longer in the field. The flickering light had stopped. Arwyn stared hard into the trees.
More flickering deeper in the woods caught her attention. So it's moving...
Without any consideration, Arwyn trekked into the woods. She had to know what that light was. Was it Emoce? Was it something else? She couldn't sense any danger from it. Not that she was close enough to fully know. So she walked on, her curiosity piqued. The trees were tall and white. Similar to white pine trees. The fresh smell was so tantalizing. The flickering light would stop, and then show up a couple hundred feet ahead. So she went in deeper. The trees were covered in moss, and pollen from cotton trees filled the air reflecting the light. It was not similar to the flickering light she was following. Close though. It was a good two miles that she hiked just following a will-o'-the-wisp. Arwyn was so happy to be in pants and a cotton blouse. She wasn't restricted and was able to move quicker and with more ease. Soon she came to the barrier. Two large red planks nailed together to form an x.
How discreet. She was amused at the people's tactic. "What could be so scary?" Arwyn scoffed.
Once she crossed the barrier, the duff on the forest floor became thicker. The branches above were thicker, blocking out a majority of the sunlight. It was still bright due to the bright rays oozing between the cracks and creases of each branch. The smell of the woods grew more dense, musty and dank. The air became cooler. Huh, and it hadn't even been half a mile. The flickering light stopped. Arwyn stopped. Looking around her frantically, she tried to find it again. Nothing. A chill ran down her spine.
"Well I should head back then." She said to herself, kicking her heals she spun around. Dark shadows were pooling together from every base of the trees. Forming like black mist coming from the ground. Arwyn startled. She was frozen. Whispers and feelings started to wash over her in waves. Dark ominous whispers. Blood lust. Vile thoughts started to pour into her thoughts. Goosebumps spread across her body. Before her very stunned eyes, the black fog, started to form a large dense figure, faceless, but tall, covered in a cloak of moving shadows and mist. Screaming filled her mind. Screaming from multiple places. Blood curdling, horrible screaming. Arwyn's heart, pounding loud and fast, brought her to her senses. She could feel her panic starting.
"Come here" The chilling voices chimed together. Her terror welled up inside of her. It was as if she was back at the café before being killed. She fought the urge to puke.
"No!" She cried.
Arwyn turned back around and booked it. She was scared. She could not go back from where she came from with the vile thing blocking her way. She should have listened and not went past the barriers. 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'
She ran like hell. Jumping over logs and scaling giant rocks quickly. The dark matter grabbed and her and pulled on her. No matter how fast she ran it was too quick to lose. It tugged at her ankles. "Mine" evil voices chimed together. "Fresh meat". Adrenaline was propelling her forward. "Blood".
She came to a deep crevice in her path, she needed to jump to the other side. It wasn't too far. Her mind was blank, terrified. She leaped into the air. Her ankle was tugged and grabbed, instead of making it to the other side, she tumbled into the rocky crevice. 'No not like this.' The darkness enveloped her. Clawing at her. Whispering disgusting things. She sobbed. Dizzy and in pain, tears ran down her face. Her whole body shook in despair. The pain from the clawing and the grabbing, and the pain from their voices were horrible. She couldn't see, she couldn't move. Arwyn remembered all the pain she had endured before all this. Was she really going to go down like this? Arwyn bit her lip. 'Since when have I been a baby?' She thought this but knew, that any situation similar to this would be unpleasant and she knew that she would have difficulty no matter what...
The pain from her lip brought her back and grounded her. "You can't have me!" She screamed and she eased herself up. The dark shadows were heavy and dank and reeked of rot. "I will not let you harm me!" She closed her eyes. A feeling swelled inside of her chest. A overwhelming and calming energy came over her. Her body was covered in warmth. She opened her eyes. Pink magic emanated from her body covering a radius of 200 feet all around her. She was also floating. The shadows dispersed. Their horrible voices gone. Arwyn wasn't sure if they were gone for good, or just gone for now. The light began to fade, and she slowly came down. All of her energy depleted. This body is just too weak, she thought before blacking out.
"Kaw Kaw"
Her eyes shot open. A crow pulled at her shirt. The bird's feathers gleamed. Rainbow magic swirled around it's body. Arwyn came to, adjusting to where she was and what exactly happened. The sun had barely moved, so she hadn't been out for long. Arwyn's face was still wet with tears.
Someone else's presence brought her to attention. She jumped up, her hand pulling the dagger from her pants. She twirled around. A man sat at the top of the crevice, his dark purple eyes watching her intently. They seized each other up. He wore nice clothing, almost seemed as if he was a very wealthy man. 'Must be crazy to be in the woods this deep.' Not that Arwyn was any better. His long black hair falling around his face and shoulders. A mischievous smile graced his handsome crazy face. Arwyn stepped back against the rock. Unsure of what to make of him. He stood up. The crow that had woken her up, flew up to him to land on his large bare hands. The man's nose gently bopped the beak of the crow. He then moved the crow to his shoulder, freeing his hand he leaned down to offer his assistance to the cautious girl. She eyed the sword at his waist.
He noticed where her eyes went "It's only for decoration, My Lady," He patted the hilt with his other hand. "Also, its not drawn, unlike your dagger." He raised his eyebrow. His voice was silky and low. She blinked back her surprise.
There was a long moment of silence. Arwyn fought with herself. She put away the dagger, but instead of taking the man's hand, she grabbed at the rock and pulled herself up catching him by surprise. "I don't need help, thank you." She stood tall and looked at him squarely. "I don't accept help from strangers." Crossing her arms, legs apart, she was attempting to appear intimidating. She was only average height, and the guy had to be at least 6ft 3 inches. At least.
The man took a step back obviously taken aback by her.
"Well then, I see." He turned around, about ready to walk away.
"Did you see?" Arwyn asked after him.
He looked back. "Did I?" not giving anything away. Of course, he saw. He was able to see something very interesting today. He looked away and continued walking on.
Arwyn watched him walk away before pulling out her compass. She was not sure how she felt about a random person in the forest, not that she had any room to talk... She determined the direction of the sun that she needed to walk north east. If she hadn't had her compass, she would have needed help getting back.
It had taken about half an hour to get to the x. Right as she was lifting her leg to cross over, A crow flew down and landed on her shoulder. It was smaller than the crow that had woken her up, but there was a similar colorful magic swirling around its body. Arwyn gazed into its pretty black eyes. She could feel no ill will. "Well hello, do you wanna come with me?" It stared back at Arwyn before nibbling at a loose strand of her brown wild hair. "I'll take that as a yes, then."
Finally she stepped over the barrier and headed back into the safety of the village. A new friend on her shoulder.