(a few hours later)
Hannah checked her leather bag one more time and made sure that she had packed all the things she needed. She had agreed to go with Sheila as she had a feeling this somehow involved her as an individual. She had received enough treatment to at least feel well enough for a journey. Alicia was sitting on the bed next to her watching closely in case her sister felt sick again.
"You know you don't have to come right? If you die mother will have my head."
"You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."
Alicia shrugged and jumped off the bed to head towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to Kyle...he locked himself in the gardening shed in the backyard."
With that Alicia closed the door behind her leaving Hannah clueless. She hadn't been told of the conversation between Kyle and Sheila. Alicia had heard the full story from Sheila so she knew except for the information Kyle told sheila about the end of the universe.
Hannah smiled at her handiwork and threw the bag to the bed before deciding to head down for a quick read in the study. They had decided to head out the next day as it would take them only a few hours to get to the forest by flight.
On her way down she came across Sheila who was holding a mug of tea.
"Hey Sheila!"
"Oh? you seem to look well. Want to join me for a walk around the house?"
"sure."
Hannah and Sheila walked as a pair trough the mansion as Sheila tried to find a few things for the journey. Just as they were heading to the dining room they found a maid waiting for them by the door. In her hand was a letter with a blue stamp.
"A letter has come for you, Ms Sheila."
"Thank you, who is it from?"
"The royal palace."
Sheila frowned as she took the letter from the maid. She was tempted to just toss it away but it was a letter from the royal palace. She had only received such letters when the palace wanted to convey messages to nobles about stuff like taxes. She gave her mug of tea to Hannah as she tore the envelope open. She pulled out the letter inside and started reading it.
[Dear Ms. Sheila Entriken,
I hope that it is indeed you who receives this letter otherwise reading this may make no sense. Ms. Entriken have you ever heard of the Dark forest? If you have then congratulations as it will make this much easier.
You are not to go anywhere near that place, especially with those troublemakers you're keeping in your home. This issue is because an old friend of mine has managed to resurrect because of them. Do not worry I can take care of the issue myself but if I so much as see you lot anywhere close I will quite literally send you back to the heavens myself.
From; Abrak,The elf king :) ]
Sheila's face turned dark immediately. She placed the letter down on the floor and continued walking into the dining room. Hannah was confused as she followed Sheila.
"Hey what exactly did the letter say?"
"We can't go to the Dark forest."
"Why?"
"Because if we go we die."
"How can you be so sure-"
"Because it's the elf king... he can easily kill us no matter how strong we may be..."
"Now you're scared to die? I thought we were going to save lives..."
"We are but its better to leave it to the elf king. He can kill whatever this ancient may be... or at least hurt it more than we could."
"Why are you so sure he can do better than us?"
"Because with that Divine dagger of his he has the strength of a major god."
"Wait...what..."
********************
(In the garden shed)
Kyle was staring at a wooden wall as he held his knees close to his chest. He felt like crying but resisted as he had other things to think about. He knew that he was foolish to share his visions with Sheila but he also felt a bit relieved.
{Maybe she's right... the future isn't definite so we can probably find a way to avoid it. Still if she's wrong...}
Kyle fell into deeper sorrow as darker thoughts filled his mind. Those visions he had been shown were far more horrifying than he had explained to Sheila but there was no way to show them to her. Kyle picked up a small shovel and tossed it into the other tiles causing a little ruckus. He cared not if he would be found.
Suddenly the door flung open and light flooded Kyle's eyes. He squinted as he tried to see who had opened the door and standing there with a smug expression was Alicia.
"You sure are acting weird but that's fine."
She entered the shed and took a seat next to him on the hard stone floor. She then leaned her head on his shoulder. Kyle wasn't startled and simply decided to ignore her as he closed his eyes to think.
"What's bothering you Kyle?"
"Something I wouldn't want you to know about."
"Really? why is that?"
"Because its something i'd rather not talk about."
"You have a crush on Hannah?"
"WHAT? OF COURSE NOT!"
Alicia's face burst into smiles as Kyle blushed furiously. She had managed to catch him off guard.
"So what is it? I'll just keep guessing until you tell me."
Kyle stopped blushing and frowned as he resisted to leave the shed right there and then. He knew how Alicia was, she wouldn't leave him unless he shared his problems.
"Trust me, if you knew then I would have to be the one comforting you!"
"Oh? Is it really that depressing?"
"You can say that..."
"Okay then how about I tell you my most depressing problem and then you tell me yours. We can then comfort each other!"
"No-"
"I'm having my migraines again."
Kyle looked at Alicia and immediately his face was one of worry.
"Surely you don't mean..."
"Yep the very ones my mother had been trying to cure. They seem to only occur at night now that's why non of you have noticed."
Now Kyle was really scared. Alicia's migraines were infamous as when they happened she would lose control and had to be taken care of by his father.
{She shares a body with something we don't know of. Under no circumstance are you to ever engage her in that state.}
Kyle's memory of his father's exact words hadn't decayed in the slightest. He wondered how to best comfort her. He then came up with an idea.
"Want to go to the bathhouse?"
************************
(At the royal palace of the elf king.)
Abrak ate the soft bread on his plate as he though silently to himself. He was well aware of the ancients and at one point in time they could be considered friends.
But now he had to kill one before the others started waking up. He had a falling out with them during the age of heroes just as the hero queens appeared and saved the world.
He shook his head as he tried to get rid of those old thoughts. King Abrak was one of the most powerful beings of this world and also amongst the oldest.