The sun had begun its slow ascent into the sky as we made our way toward the Mistwood Forest, our designated path to the Dragon Academy. The tension in the air was palpable, and uncertainty weighed heavily on our minds. Lord Fireheart had assured us that we would recognize the sign to depart, but as we walked in silence,I could see some people that I knew but hardly talked to,there was an unspoken question in all our hearts—what lay ahead in the forest?
As we trudged forward, Thorian, with his unruly brown hair and a mischievous glint in his eye, struck up a conversation. "You think it's going to be as daunting as they say, Elara?"I looked behind to see him staring right at me
I met his gaze, trying to hide my own apprehension. "We'll find out soon enough."I said wiping my already sweaty palm on my leather tights
Dain, who walked beside me, nodded in agreement. "We've trained for this,hopefully nothing separates us and we stick together and watch out for each other." He said and I nodded in agreement
Selena,her golden hair gleaming in the morning light, chimed in, "Exactly. We'll be just fine."
I tried to look around to find Jacque walking slowly in front of me and what my dad said about trusting people rested heavily in my heart.
"Does everyone have snacks and water packed"I said loudly enough for my friends around me to hear
I looked over at Jacque who turned immediately "Yes I do,just 2 bottles and a few nuts,it should last for about 2 days if I gauge it." "That's good,Selene how did you pack?"I said turning back to look at her"I didn't know we were to pack"she said looking to the ground "It's fine,we can all share ours with you "I said looking around and everyone nodded in agreement
The rest of the journey was quiet everyone continued onward in silence, and in no time we got to the base of the Thick woodland.It was Enormous and Vast.It was all tress and fog for miles.It was high noon as the sun was in the sky and you could see that the sunlight was having a hard time prying through the thick leaves
From the corner of my eyes,I saw Thorian unsheath his blade and in unison,so did the rest of us.As we ventured into the Mistwood, the forest lived up to its ominous reputation. The ancient trees seemed to whisper secrets, and strange sounds echoed through the woods.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I knew we had to stay strong. "Did anyone feel that?" I asked and I heard different notes of yes from around me"Ignore it"I said firmly.
Thorian, his brow furrowed, muttered, "This place gives me the creeps."
As we pressed on, for what felt like hours,we heard a sound which grew louder, and I couldn't help but overhear Jacque, muttering, "I can't believe I'm here."It was really hard to see as we were trying our possible best to stay together.
"This isn't even as scary as I thought,is that all you can you can do forest?"Jacque shouted "Keep your voice down dipshit,we don't want to draw attention to ourselves from anything or anyone"Thorian whispered aggressively
"Please,I could do this in my sleep,I thought this was supposed to be challenging ....Mom is that you"Jacque said looking to the side and smiling
"Stop joking around Jacque,I said and kept on walking.I had walked a few steps when selene said
"I don't think he's joking" her voice sounding high,I turned back to see Jacque walking in the opposite direction of all of us and muttering something about his mom and tearing up "Are you guys just standing there watching him?"i yelled and ran towards him grabbing his arm.
"No your mum is this way,I just saw her"I said trying to keep my voice from shaking from fear "Really?"he said not resisting me taking him in the Right direction
I brought out water from my bag and dunked it on his face "What was that for "He yelled "You tell me,why were you going the other way"I asked already fuming "I wasn't,I was walking behind you and you came of nowhere and dunked water on my face" he said back angrily
I looked around at everyone who were having a hard time trying to process what the hell happened "That's not possible,you were crying and mumbling something about your mum" Selene said looking around. "Why would I look around for my mom,she died when I was 10"he said trying to dry off himself,not seeming angry anymore
"This is crazy" Dain said looking at each of us to know if we weren't going crazy."Let's keep moving,we don't have all day"he stated
"Let's just keep going straight ahead and we should come out of the other side"I said "Good idea,"Selene replied, her voice steady as she adjusted her grip on her blade.
We walked for hours,upon hours and finally decided to give it a rest for a while."I could swear we had passed here before"Selene said looking around her "That's not possible,we're going forward.It's not possible in any way,Please do not put thought in my head" I butted in lazily
She picked up something off the ground and passed it around "This is the flask you dunked Jacque with right" and the flask finally got to me and Yes indeed it was the same flask.I know that because my family's crest is embedded on it "We are so fucked!!" Dain said falling to the ground