ARTHUR AWOKE WITH A START.
He blinked at the sun which stung his eyes and rolled on his back, groaning in frustration. His body felt sore from sleeping on the cold hard surface and the noise of the birds and crickets was not helping him sleep well.
The noise of birds…
Arthur sat up immediately, touching himself. The previous night had not been a dream then? He was sure he had been badly hurt after falling from that opening, but now that he checked, there was no wounds on his body.
He felt nothing except the soreness that came with sleeping on hard ground for too long. In his mouth, he tasted earth, dried leaves and a hint of something which did not taste good at all. Or maybe, he had really been dreaming and had not sustained any injuries from the fall.
What he had seen was definitely a dream but the dried blood on his head and the scars on his body – which he was sure were not there before – coupled with the dead beast some feet away from him, which he had no idea killing, were evidence that maybe it really had not been a dream.
He glanced up and squinted at the harsh glare of the sun and how far it was from the surface. Not that far. He noted. If he should begin climbing now, he should be out in fifteen minutes, give or take. He glanced at the beast, and if he should climb with the beast, it would take longer.
His uncle would be mad out of his mind and he needed something to compensate for losing the rabbit. The beast – whatever meat it was – would serve them for a long time. Maybe through the winter which was already by the corner and his uncle might forget he was mad about something as soon as he laid eyes on the beast.
Arthur rose to his feet and walked towards the beast; one way or the other, he was leaving here with that thing.
***
Elara pushed the hair off her face and tried to concentrate on her weave. The threads kept disappearing mid-weave and she could not keep control of them for long.
How long had she been at this? – trying to master a move which had been tough even for Kethra and now, so far from the hive, she had no one to teach her but herself – two days? How long had it been since that boy fell into that pit?
She sighed in relief as she remembered. Yesterday night.
Her memory was still good – thankfully – it meant she still had a lot of time before she was to face the sisters again. The last time she had faced them, things had not gone well. She frowned as the thread which she had been weaving disappeared once more.
"Concentrate, Elara." She muttered to herself. "Concentrate."
She thought of the boy instead and wondered if she should go in there and help him. She had heard his cries for help earlier and blatantly ignored it. She had to be sure, she told herself. If he really was the chosen one, he should be able to take on the beast.
The beast had only barks and no bite. If she was to rate it, then he would be amongst the lowest of beasts which she knew. It was slow, mostly because of its weight and pride, especially when it smelt the fear on its prey.
From where she stood, the stench of the boy's fears was everywhere and she was sure the beast was having a filled day.
The cries had stopped as abruptly as they had started and again, she had thought of going in there to help him but she still needed to know if he was the one. If he was not the one, the beast would devour him as it did the last four she had been following and she would have to move on to the next human who showed any signs of being the Yajan.
She sighed again.
How long has it been since she had been at this? Trying to find the Yajan as Kethra had instructed and guiding him towards his path. So far, it felt like a vain quest and the only thing which kept her going was the hatred she had for the dark lord.
Elara almost jumped when she heard the gasping, out-of-breath sound. She grinned and jumped over the fallen tree which she had been sitting on, hiding safely behind it.
He had done it! He had slayed the beast!
She was sure she had had a good feeling about this one and now, she was happy she followed it. Of all the prospective reincarnations of the Yajan which she had trailed, this one had exhibited all the characteristics she was looking for. All the signs and traits, yet there was one thing he did not have.
Magic.
She could not smell it on him. His aura made him out to be a normal human and it was hard to tell if he could even see the threads talk more of weaving them like the Sorans. What was his name again?
Arthur.
The word came to her ears like whispers from the mouth of the wind and she smiled again. The first thing she tried to find out when trailing a person was their names. His name was fitting for the Yajan.
She sneaked a peak from behind the tree where she was squatting out of his sight and placed a hand on her racing heart. She could hardly tell what made it beat so hard, was it his golden locks which was rustled and strewn with dried leaves or was it his muscles which bulged and flexed as he hefted the beast or was it the exhilarating thrill of finally finding the Yajan and the excitement which this promised?
Elara was sure she would know soon enough.
The dice had been rolled and now, she had to begin playing the game.