Sadly, Ashta held her grandfather's body as she rocked back and forth, sobbing. She held onto him until the sun began to set and she could see dusk was beginning to darken the sky. After a while, she pulled herself away from his dead body, and she placed her shaky hands on the kitchen counter.
Suddenly, she stopped when she saw his samurai sword lying under the counter. The blade of the sword was soaked with fresh blood, but she didn't see either of the men injured. Confused, Ashta pulled herself to her feet, and she sniffed. She grabbed the sword and set it against the cupboard.
Why was this happening? she wondered, as a little blue bird landed on the windowsill and chirped at her.
At that moment, the little bird flew into the house, and Ashta scowled. The bird flew around the kitchen and then up the stairs and into her grandfather's study. Heavily, Ashta sighed as she headed up the stairs, and she walked into the study, after the bird. Yinlin had always let the birds come inside the house and fly around. He talked to them like they were his friends.
Ashta didn't like the fact that every time one of the birds came into the house, there would be bird droppings to clean up. The little bird was on her grandfather's desk, and it chirped at her again. Ashta glared at the little animal.
"He's gone!" she yelled at the bird, and the small creature, coward.
She wasn't really angry with the bird, but at that moment Ashta didn't want the bird around, because it was too much of a reminder of Yinlin.
"He's gone, and he is not coming back!" Ashta yelled, and then she collapsed on the chair behind the desk as she sobbed.
Two more birds flew through the open window and landed on the desk. They were the same blue color as the little bird, but these two were much bigger. The two larger birds looked at her with sad eyes and then they chirped at her and flapped their wings. Ashta looked up and saw the two birds were hovering over an envelope.
Curiously, she got up from the chair and grabbed the envelope. It was addressed to her and the handwriting was Yinlin's. She opened it and pulled out a handwritten letter.
"My Dearest Ashta,
I am so sorry about everything. I hope that you, one day, find it in your heart to forgive me. You were always a daughter to me. Now that I am gone, you must carry this weight on your own. Please follow these instructions carefully. Trust no one, not even your aunt and uncle. I have faith in you, my dearest princess.
-Open the box on my desk and put the enclosed amulet around your neck.
-Follow the same steps for all the elements to learn Fire
-You must travel beyond the Forbidden Forest to Halondelle
Good luck my child.
Forever in my love, Yinlin
Ashta sobbed as she held onto the letter. The small bird cooed at her sadly and she looked at the bird.
"I am sorry for yelling at you," she cried at them.
The three birds chirped softly and flapped their wings. Ashta noticed a small wooden box on the desk. Seemingly, she picked it up and opened it. Inside, there was a folded up piece of paper and the necklace the letter talked about. The amulet looked like two silver snakes curled around a pink stone and 'To my dearest, Ashta' had been engraved on the back. Ashta put the necklace on, and she unfolded it to old worn edged paper, and she saw it was a map.
The map showed a way through the Forbidden Forest and to Halondelle. However, there was a blank space between the forest and the kingdom's land. Curiously, she wondered what might be in that space, but then she shook the thought from her head. She decided she would worry about that little detail when the time came.
Carefully, Ashta folded the map back up. She was going to see where those men came from, and she was going to see to it that those men paid for the death of her grandfather. She put the map on the desk and then she ran to her bedroom. She pulled her camping backpack out of her closet, and she began packing it with essentials she would need on her journey.
During her packing, Ashta thought about the men who killed her grandfather, and became furious. That man was the only family that she had. She never saw a clear view of their faces, but she could remember their voices if she ever heard them again.
Evidently, Ashta remembered that Yinlin had kept his sword and two Kendo sticks hidden under his bed, and she ran to his room. Although the sword was already downstairs, she grabbed the harness and the Kendo sticks and ran to her room. Quickly, she grabbed her backpack out of her room.
Ashta hurried down the stairs and made sure she had packed enough food, supplies, and clothing. Seemingly, she didn't know how long she would be gone, or if she was ever coming back. Quickly, she glanced at herself in the mirror, and she saw Yinlin's blood on her. Sadly, she huffed a sob, and then she clenched her fists.
Ashta walked straight out into the backyard and took her place on the elemental rock. She cleared her mind, closed her eyes, and began her emotionally fluent dance. Tears filled her eyes as water appeared around her and circled her with the air element. The earth began to shake softly and sand and dirt rose with the swirl.
Ashta spun around in gentle circles, but then her circles became more violent as she spun around faster and faster. Suddenly, she felt heat rise around her, and she still concentrated on her dance. The heat became hotter, and she opened her eyes.
There was a swirl of earth, air, wind, and fire swirling around her. At that moment, the symbol for the fire element burned a bright white light. She felt the breeze as everything swirled around her, and she was proud of herself.
Immediately, Ashta felt a burning sensation creep down her spine and she stopped dancing as she screamed out in pain. The pain brought her to her knees and an unseeable force held her arms straight out. The five symbols disappeared from the rock and appeared across Ashta's shoulders, and the pain suddenly stopped. Ashta opened her eyes, and she was somewhere she had never been before. It was like a dream-like vision all around her.
"We have to do it now!" Ashta heard a woman say.
"Anastasia, how could they deny our child like this? Ashta is a very special girl," a man said.
Their voices sounded vaguely familiar to Ashta.
"Jerico, we don't have a choice. I will send my necklace with her. It will help guide and protect her," said the woman, who the man called Anastasia.
Curiously, Ashta watched as the man and the woman handed a swaddled baby to a younger version of Yinlin, and she realized she was the baby. The dream-like state flashed and Ashta shielded her eyes.
"Now, you will burn for your crimes that you both have committed against the kingdoms!"
Cautiously, Ashta heard as she unshielded her eyes. She saw a woman tied to a post, with a pile of wood underneath her in the middle of a town, and there were people surrounding the area that were dressed in what looked like clothes from the eighteen hundreds.
"We did as you asked, and we got rid of the child!" the man named Jerico yelled.
Horrified, Ashta watched as a group of people had strung a rope noose around the man's neck. That man was her father, and the woman was her mother.
"You still must be punished, my son," said a very large man.
The man had a golden crown on top of his head and he looked like a much older version of the man that was about to be hanged.
"But only the queen can punish me. You hold no reign over our kingdom," stated the man.
"Do it!" yelled the man with the crown, and the noose pulled Jerico up into a tree.
Ashta watched in terror as a group of people set the pile of wood on fire that the woman was standing on. Anastasia screamed as the man gasped for air. The atmosphere flashed again, and Ashta found herself in the middle of a garden. Confused, she blinked a few times, and looked around.
"The princess? You're alive?" asked a loud male voice.
Ashta spun around in a circle, and she didn't see anyone, just plants and statues.
"How can this be?" the voice asked.
The voice was indeed a male's voice, but it had a mysterious echo to it.
"Who are you?" Ashta asked, as she looked around and still saw no one around.
"I am the moon god!" stated the voice, as two glowing green eyes appeared before Ashta.
"Ashta!"
She heard a girl's voice call her name. The eyes looked at her as she heard a low growl. The dream-like state disappeared and Ashta opened her eyes. The swirl of the elements disappeared as her arms were freed, and she was still on her knees.
"Ashta?" the girl's voice said again.
Ashta looked up and saw Lashanna and a guy staring at her.
"What happened here? What are you? Did you kill that man inside the house?" Lashanna rambled with fear in her eyes, and Ashta looked at her for a moment and then shook her head.
"That man lying on the floor in the kitchen is my grandfather. Those men that came from the Forbidden Forest, they are the ones that killed him," said Ashta with anger, and the man scoffed.
"Then why are you covered in blood?" he asked.
Lashanna gave the man a warning look, and then she looked back at Ashta.
"Did you kill those men?" she asked, concerned.
Ashta shook her head and rose to her feet. Ashta knew she had to leave soon, and she really didn't want to have to explain herself to anyone, just in case Lashanna or her friend decided to get the local police involved. Ashta looked at Lashanna sadly and headed toward the house.
"Look, don't worry about all of this. There are things that are going on even though I don't understand. I have to go," Ashta called, as she walked back into her house.