Just Another Eldemore Story *Posting Welcome*

[SkieNight]

Just a little something that came to mind one night, and after suffering from weeks of writers block I'm using it to get back to writing. This story isn't at the top of my list so who knows if I'll finish, or when this'll be updated, but I'll try to do my best with it. Also, please note this has had minimal editing done so please correct me if anything seems off. So please enjoy this little story of an odd group of characters and their odd adventures.

Small Disclaimer
I already know that a some of this story wont fit all the lore and stuff. It's just a story, and just some writing. I'll try my best, but at the same time I have to do what fits for the tale and the characters. Also, this is my interpretation of Eldemore lore/ how I'd like to view things. Sorry if it isn't exactly how you envisioned it. And these characters are not 'official' bearers/wardens/riders/whatevers they are characters from this story, and this story alone.

Parts of the Tale:

The Cast
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

[SkieNight]

~ Araedia Ferne ~
- Twenty-eight years old
-Owns a small glass/metal shop in Alabaster
-Bonded with Zaetlan, hangs out with Lior
-Has a rather odd relationship with Forrest

~ Zaetlan ~
-Glasswork Dragon (Silver Leaf)
-Female
-Bonded with Araedia Ferne
-Tends to act as Araedia's "Jimminy Cricket"

~ Calix Maru (Forrest) ~
-Nineteen years old
-Lives as a nomad/thief
-Bonded with Kisien
-Looks to Araedia as an older sister/guardian

~ Lior ~
-Otterling (Glass Smith)
-Female
-Not bonded to anyone, lives with Araedia Ferne
-Doesn't appear to trust anyone

~ Eero ~
-Unknown age
-Male
-Bonded with an unknown Dire Wolf
-Leader of the bandits, has some odd feelings towards Araedia in particular

[SkieNight]

The knocking echoed through the store. The woman sighed and picked up the box. “Store’s closed!” She called, hoping that her voice made it to the door and the knocker heard.

The knocking persisted and she let out a long huff of air before pushing some loose strands of hair from her face. She stuck her head out of the room, box still in hand. “The store is closed! Come back tomorrow morning at nine!”

Whoever was outside had to have heard her, and yet the knocking turned to a frantic banging. Mumbling something under her breath she walked out of the storage room and moved through the store, weaving through shelves stacked with clocks, glass bowls, and other metal and glass objects.

When she finally reached the door she balanced the box on her hip, opening the door with her free hand. “What.” Standing just in front of the door was a shaggy boy. His clothes were ripped, and something was dripping down his left arm. His hair stood on end and his face was dust. He pushed past her frantically.

Closing the door behind him she spun around and marched after the boy as he moved through the shop. “What in the name of-”

“Not now,” he mumbled, holding his arm. “I’ve gotta hide.”

She continued to follow him; the only time she stopped was to drop the box on the counter before jogging to the back of the shop. “What hap-”

“Please,” he bagged looking over his shoulder, his dark eyes looked frantic and she realized that he was shaking slightly. “I’ll explain everything later just get ready for them to come.” A loud knocking rang through the shop again and he dashed up the stairs. “I’ll be in the usual spot!” he called before disappearing behind a door.

The knock echoed again and she swore under her breath. “The shop’s closed, come back tomorrow morning!” She moved back to the counter and picked up the box. The bun of dark hair that had been sitting atop her head had fallen over slightly, and loose hairs hung in her face.

The knocking turned to pounding. “Alabaster Police, open up.”

She swore under her breath again, what did he do this time? Making her way to the front of the store she propped the box up on her hip again and opened the door. Three men stood just outside of the shop, and two more stood at the base of the steps that lead up to the small door.

“Hello gentlemen, how may I help you?” She forced a smile across her lips as she stood in the doorway. One of the men moved to walk in but she kept her ground. “May I ask why you are here?” She spoke sharply, offering them a harsh stare.

“We’re after a thief. We noticed that your front window is open and he could’ve had access to it. We just want to take a look around.” The one to her left stepped up, when he spoke the other two by the door backed off.

“Well, I’ve been inside all day. I think I’d know if someone just walked into my house or store.” She moved the box slightly so that her arm wasn’t tingling, though she kept in on her hip. “I appreciate the thought men, but I’m fine. I hope you catch the thief, and I’ll make sure to close the window. Thank you.” She moved to close the door but the man placed his foot over the threshold before she could close it all the way.

“Ma’am, we’d like to search your shop. It won’t take to long.” He pushed the door open and she sighed taking a step to the side to let them pass.

“Anything you break, you pay for.” She let the door close behind them before trailing them through the store. With a sigh, she placed the box down on the counter again and leaned back as they moved through the ground level, looking over every inch of the shop. At least none of them are bonded.

Two of them started up the stairs and she let out another huff pushing some of her dark hairs from her face. A small fluttering noise caught her ear and something landed on her shoulder. The small creature was no larger than a dragonfly, with two thin wings on either side of its furry body. Its bronze armor glowed slightly in the candlelight. It didn’t look like any of the officers had noticed the small creature.

He’s tucked behind the loose panel in your closet, as always. The small voice echoed through her head. She knew no one else could hear the little dragon speak. The woman nodded once.

“How bad is his wound? I didn’t get a good look at his when he ran in.” She sent another glare to one guard who was looking over one of the glass bowls. He glanced up and quickly set it back on the shelf before continuing the search.

As far as I could tell is wasn’t to deep, though wounds can sometimes fool you. It certainly needs treatment though. The small dragon-like creature flicked its tail slightly and the small charm that hung from its end rang slightly as it hit the creature’s armor.

“That wasn’t a question. Whether it was bad or not I’d still treat it.” She frowned as the men went through the boxes, tossing things this way and that. “Easy there, that stuff if fragile!” They seemed to ignore her and continued it search through the boxes. Her forehead wrinkled slightly as her brows twisted together.

Want me to do something? The small creature asked, and though the corner of her eye she could see the small thing smirk slightly. All the shop owner had to do was nod, and that was just what she did.

The small animal buzzed off her shoulder and vanished somewhere into the shadows. The woman’s eyes left the shop when the two soldiers returned from upstairs, alone, the tightness that had once been in her chest left. One of the two opened his mouth to speak when a crash rang out from the shop.

Spinning around She stormed through the shop and found another one of the officers staring blankly as some broken glass. She glowered and glanced up at him. “You broke it.”

“I- I swear I didn’t! I-It just fell… fell off the shelf! I didn’t break it!” He said frantically. He said it took quickly for it to be true; he clearly had broken it, though he probably had some help.

“You broke it, now you buy it.” Her arms fell across her chest. He opened his mouth to speak again. “No buts.”

“Just pay for it already!” Another officers called. They were standing by the door, clearly impatient to leave. “How much can a stupid bowl coast?”

“H-how much is it?” The young man in front of her looked miserable.

“Three silver pieces.” A small smirked tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“Three... three silver pieces! That’s-”

“It was a custom.” She held out her hand and reluctantly he fished through his pocket before dumping three silver coins into her open palm. He shuffled back to the front door mumbling an apology.

“Anyway, thank you for allowing us to search ma’am. Sorry for bothering you.” One of the officers said, though she didn’t pay attention to who spoke.

“No problem any time.” But please never come back. They opened the door, and she watched them walk down the steps before turning and making their way down the street. She let out a sigh and closed the door. She leaned back against the door and looked around the shop, the broken glass still lay on the floor, she’d have to take care of that later, but now she had more important things.

“They’re gone!” she called through the shop. She heard some fumbling around upstairs followed by footsteps. A few seconds later the shape of a young man made its way down the stairs. “Sit,” she pointed to one of the boxes, “I’ll the get some stuff.”

She moved behind the counter and fumbled around for a second before finding the first aid kit. She walked over to where the boy was sitting and he turned slightly, showing her the wound. In the light of the candles she couldn’t see all that well, but it didn’t look as deep as she thought it had been. It was still bleeding though, and didn’t seem as though it was going to stop any time soon.

“What happened?” She asked calmly as she slowly patted the wound to soak up some blood and rub in some disinfectant.

“I was grazed with a throwing knife. The guy had better aim than I thought.” The boy didn’t move, nor did he look at her as she tended to his injury. Instead, he looked straight ahead at the shop, his eyes flickering around as he tried to keep his mind off of thing.

“Well clearly he wasn’t that god or he’d have hit you.” She mumbled, and began to wrap his arm in gauze. “Why did he try and hit you?”

“I had something I wanted, simple as that.” He mumbled. “This actually isn’t from today. It had mostly stopped bleeding by the running reopened it.”

She pulled the gauze tight and he flinched slightly before the tied if off. “Then what exactly is this from?” He opened his mouth. “And don’t give that knife throwing story again, tell me why they would throw a knife at you.”

“I had something they wanted.” He didn’t look at her; his eyes were focused on the small shop in front of him. He focused on something and tilted his head slightly. “One of your glass bowls broke.”

“I know it wasn’t good one so it doesn’t really matter.” She sighed and continued to look at him with dark eyes. “What exactly did you take?”

“Just a... thing…”

“A thing? Really now? All that trouble for a stinkin’ thing!” She sighed and stood back up, returning the first aid kit to its spot under the counter. “I guess that this necklace I found is worthless then, correct? If all you got from them was a thing.” She held up the gold chain she had taken from his pocket.

The boy’s head snapped as he focused on her hand and what was dangling from it. “Give it back.” He said, his hand outstretched.

“Not until you explain.”

“Araedia. Give me the necklace.”

“It’s clearly important then,” She sat atop the counter and looked at the thing in her hand. Araedia couldn’t see it clearly, though it seemed to have something hanging on the end of the chain. Some stone by the look of it. Her eyes fell on the boy; he was now standing in front of her. “I’ll give it back, first tell me what happened.”

“I stole it from a bunch of rouges, alright? I got injured when I was running away.”

She tossed him the necklace, and the boy let out a breath of air. “Why did you come here then?” Araedia asked, “I mean clearly the guards are looking for you and all.”

“I need your help.”

She gave him a questioning look, and slid off the table, “With what? You have the necklace, and it seems that you could have helped yourself. Why do you need me? Besides, I thought I told you to steer clear of the city for a while.”

“They have Kisien.”

Araedia stopped and looked over the boy and it hit her. She had known him for over a while now, and only once had he ever looked this panicked. He was still shaking slightly, and his dark eyes were watering. She had never seen Forrest cry, but this was the closest he’d ever come. Why hadn’t she noticed before?

“So that’s where the damn cat went.” She let out another breath and leaned against the table. “Tell me everything.”

[SkieNight]

Araedia leaned back against the wall, at some point during Forrest’s story they had moved upstairs to her room and were now both sitting on her bed. Her eyes gaze across the room and out the window that looked down into the street, the window that had been closed all day.

Forrest sniffled slightly and rubbed his face with the back of his hand. His dark brown eyes were now puffy and red around the edges. Araedia ruffled his hair slightly which proceeded to stick up at odd angles. The girl rose from her spot on the bed and Forrest watched her with a questioning gaze. “Get some sleep, you’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“But what about you?” The younger boy asked, though he was already lying down on the bed, his head resting on her small, ripped pillow.

“You need some sleep, and I need to pack. Don’t worry, I’ll rest before we head out.” He squirmed under the covers and she kissed to top of his head softly, as she had done so many times before. “Get some sleep.” She said, her hand running down his cheek.

“Yes mom,” he mumbled, rolling over so that his back was to her. Though before he rolled she had seen the smallest of smiles crossing his features.

She walked across the room quietly and looked back towards the bed, from what she could tell Forrest had already fallen asleep. He seemed so small as he slept, his chest rising and falling gently under the covers. The boy looked just as he had years ago when she had first met him. To think it’s been ten years. Araedia thought as she blew out the lone lamp that hung by the desk, opened the door and walked into the small hallway.

She moved down the hall when something snaked its way around her leg. Araedia looked down at the small otter-like creature as it tugged on her pants with tiny paws. Its large purple eyes looked up at the girl as she bent down and picked it up, cradling it in her arms as her fingers ran over the lighter patters that swirled across its smooth coat.
“I haven’t seen you all night Lior. Where were you?” She asked softly, moving down the stairs, the small creature climbed up her shirt and sat on her shoulder, nestling itself in the crook of her neck. “Probably hiding from those men, right?”

No, we were cleaning up after your mess. Which might I say took quite a bit of time without thumbs! There was a small humming in the air as Araedia walked back into the shop. The dragonfly creature landed on her other shoulder, a frown crossed over her muzzle.

“Sorry about the Zaetlan, but I had other things to take care of.” As she spoke, Araedia moved around the back of the shop pulling various items from various cupboards.

So you’re serious about going? Zaetlan fluttered from the woman’s shoulder and landed on the countertop. You do realize what you’re getting into, right?

“Yes, I do. I know what we’re up against.”

Do you now? And you also know that it's two again and entire group of bandits?

“I know.”

And you understand that the odds are piled against you, right?

“I figured as much.”

So you realize how-

“I know it’s dangerous, okay!” The girl slammed her hands down on the table. The dragon-like creature didn’t flinch, but the small otterling that had been perched on her shoulder raced down the girl’s back and vanished behind the counter, cowering. “I get it. I really do. But I have to do this.”

You’ve done so much for that boy, and yet what has he done for you? The small creature offered her a hard glare. It was true that Araedia was always helping Forrest, and she always would. He was like a younger brother to him, and it was her job to make sure that he didn’t get himself into to much trouble.

“He’s been more of a brother to me than Ethlan has.” Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I need him, he’s my family.” She sleighed and threw some more lamp oil into her ever-growing pile of things to be packed. “But if family means nothing, then what kind of person am I if I don’t help those in need?”

You’d simply be like every other human in this world. Araedia offered a harsh glare to the glasswork dragon and turned her back to the creature, shoving the various items and food into a bag she had pulled from under the counter. Fine! Be this way. But if you get killed it won’t be my fault.

After a few more minuets of silent, Araedia was done packing and she turned and started back up the stairs. Zaetlan found her place back on the tall girl’s shoulder, though Lior trailed the pair watching the girl with a curious and cautious gaze.

Araedia slid back into her room; Forrest was still tucked under the covers fast sleeping. His breath was even and he was still facing the wall. It looked as though he hadn’t moved at all since he had fallen asleep.

Looks like the past two days have taken their toll on him. The girl thought as she sat down on the floor and leaned back against the bed. She couldn’t help but feel bad for him: he had been chased down for two days, he lost all his supplies, and his closest companion had been ripped away from him. Another sigh escaped her lips. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to go tracking down bandits but what else could she do? She had to help him, she always had and she always would. Besides, even if she didn’t go with him, he’d still try to find Kisien.

She glanced over her shoulder at his sleeping state and he fidgeted slightly. He might not be a kid any more but he sure acts like one. She turned back around and leaned further back, into the bed. Araedia let her eyes fall shut. I wonder why they chased him so much for a single necklace? The thought passed before she could even think about sleep. Whatever, I’m sure those bandits have their reasons. And with that thought she forced her mind away from the subject and begged sleep to come.

[SkieNight]

“You don’t need to do this, you can always stay home with Lior.” Araedia eyed the small dragon that sat on her shoulder. The otter had made it clear that she was staying home by racing under the girl’s bed at the vary sight of the backpack. Zaetlan, however, had insisted on joining them on their journey.

I’m coming with you. You two will need all the help you can get. The young woman frowned, but didn’t bother to argue anymore. After all Zaetlan was right, any help they could receive was a blessing.

Footsteps echoed through the shop and Araedia glanced over her shoulder towards the stairs. Forrest made his way down, pulling a shirt over his head; the golden necklace glistened in the light that poured in front the windows. Though it was soon hidden under a layer of clothing. “How’s the cut looking?” Araedia asked as she turned her attention back to the backpack that she had stuffed with food and supplies the night before. She wanted to make sure everything was still in place after Zaetlan had told her to take a few things out.

“It’s not too bad, the scabbing just opened up. Though I think it’ll close up a lot faster thanks to you.” He stopped by the counter and tapped his fingers over the cool surface. He was ready to leave, and Araedia knew that, though she still found herself to be apprehensive about the whole thing. Chasing bandits, was that really a good idea for two people who both had a limited knowledge of fighting?

“Well I brought extra wrap just in case.” She attempted to swallow the lump in her throat, though it didn’t seem to work. The girl looked up and glanced over the shop. Everything was in place, as usual. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be gone. She had left a note at her neighbor’s house, and could only hope that they’d even cast a glance towards the store every now and again.

She had told them it was a “family emergency”. Hopefully they didn’t know that they reason she moved out to Alabaster was to start anew after her family had fallen apart. She looked back towards towards Forrest, who once again seemed to be in his own head. He stared off into the shop, though he didn’t appear to be looking at any one thing. He’d been like this all morning, there but not there.

She found herself moving over towards him and pulled the smaller boy into a tight hug. “We’ll find her.” She whispered the words into his ear, her chin resting on his left shoulder. “I promise you that. We’ll find her, and rescue her. And when we do, we’ll come back here and I’ll cook for both of you.” She squeezed him once before pulling away.

We should get going then if that’s your plan. The small voice echoed in her head; Araedia rolled her eyes, and grabbed the backpack off the counter. It was full of supplies that could last two day, the time it would take to get to the forest where the boy had last seen Kisien.

“Let’s get going,” she finally spoke after a few minuets of silence. “It’ll be sunlight soon.” Forrest nodded in response and the two walked through the shop and two the front door.

Araedia was about to pull the door open when she faltered slightly, a thought crossing her mind. She pulled the backpack off and rummaged through it before pulling out a dark brown cloak. She tossed it to Forrest who looked at it with suspicion. “The police are still looking for you. At least humor me and put it on. Unless of course you have a better idea.”

He looked between her and then cloak, before grumbling under his breath and throwing it on, pulling the hood over his head. “Perfect.” Araedia said with a smile opening the door and walking out.

After locking the shop door the three were off down the street. The inky blue night sky was just being replaced with a clear blue morning, and rays of warm sunlight could just be seen over the horizon as the small group moved through the quiet streets. A few people were up and moving about in front of their homes or shops, but for the most part the capital was silent.

It seemed like it was just the three of them walking down the roads of the white city. Araedia looked up as they approached the large city gates. As always, they were open, allowing people to pass freely into the outside world. However, a group of officers stood in the shadows of the wall, talking amongst themselves.

“Are they the same ones who checked the house?” She asked the small dragon. Araedia was terrible with remembering faces and names, though it seemed Zaetlan had no problem with remembering either.

No, those guys didn’t have any creatures remember? Araedia glanced up and looked towards the group. Sure enough, she noticed two bird-sized dragons zipping around the guards’ heads. Her stomach turned and her mouth dried as the sight, humans were one thing to deal with, rune bearers were a different story.

A light touch on her arm caused her to flinch slightly and her head snapped towards the boy who was standing by her side. “What is it Ari?” Forrest asked softly, they were continuing to walk towards the gate. Araedia forced herself forward; it would be too obvious to stop.

“Rune bearers.” She said, taking in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. The pair continued to walk forward, and Zaetlan buried herself under the strands of dark hair that fell down Araedia’s shoulders, making herself invisible.
As they moved towards the gates she could see the guards though the corner of her eye, while they looked up they made no sign of movement. The pair was almost to the gate when Araedia spotted one of the bearers walking towards them. Should we stop or-

“Hold up!” The bearer called, and the bright green rune landed on his shoulder. It’s feathers ruffled slightly, and it watched the pair with hard emerald eyes.

“Wh-what can we help you with… sir?” Araedia spoke up first and calmly moved so that she was standing between Forrest and the officer. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her head spun. For a second she wasn’t sure if she would be able to continue standing or not.

The man in front of her chuckled slightly, and a small smile crept over the dragon’s face. “You dropped this,” He held out a small canteen, one that she had poured water in. It was good thing he a caught it or else one of them would have gone thirsty. The tightness in her chest released, though she could still feel her gut twisting around, they needed to get out of there before the officer noticed anything. Once they were out of the city they’d be safe, for a while at least.

“Oh,” she forced out a small chuckle. “Thank you so much.” She turned to leave, and so did Forrest. The younger boy seemed just as ready to run as she did.

“May I ask where you two are going?” Araedia could have hit the officer right then and there. What was the point of making small talk?

“To… Ardis. We’re going to visit my mother.” The lie came out easily, to easily. She could hear Forrest shuffle around behind her; she’d apologize to him later. “I’d love to stand around and chat, but we have to get to the road, we have a schedule to meet.” The young woman turned around and started back off, she grabbed Forrest by the arm and slowly dragged him behind her.

The officer kept in pace, and the rune looked of the pair with a questioning glance. “What did you say your names were Miss?”

“I’m Araedia Ferne, the glass shop owner.” She doubted he had heard of her shop, though there was always the chance.

“Right, what about you’re friend?”

Araedia stopped, her heart felt like it would go flying from her chest. She glanced towards the green rune dragon, she was sure if could hear it pounding against her ribs. “Hum?? Eh… Ethlan, Ethlan Ferne.” She mentally cursed herself for the name she had chosen. And she could feel Zaetlan move across the back of her neck.

Get out of there, quickly. You’re digging yourself into a hole. The words echoed through her mind for a second.

“Brother, I presume?” The guard pushed, taking a step closer, and forcing Araedia to take a step back.

She forced herself to swallow the ever growing lump in her throat. “Y-yes! Now, if you don’t mind.” She turned and something caught her arm, she pulled away quickly and tumbled back slightly, nocking into the young man right behind her. Forrest let out a grunt, and from the corner of her eye she could see that his hood slipped back slightly.

RUN!! Araedia wasn’t sure if it was Zaetlan yelling at her, or if she was yelling at herself. But she listened to whoever yelled. The girl spun around and started off down the road. She could see that Forrest was just ahead of her, he had always been quick on his feet. She could hear the pounding of footsteps behind her, as she raced out of the white city and down the dirt road.

The two rune dragons flew above her head, and for a second she cursed herself for bringing so many things. It was hard to run with something on her back. Up ahead she could see Forrest turn and dash off of the road and into the trees, Araedia didn’t think twice about following him. She made a sharp turn and vanished into the woods.

She wove between trees, all the while looking back to see how far behind the officers were. They had kept pace with her, and turned into the forest after the girl. The gap between them was slowly closing. What has that boy done to piss them off so much? But she already knew the answer to her question. A lot of things.

She forced her attention back to the path: one foot in front of the other, move around the tree, duck, jump. It was all a swirl in her mind as she pushed onwards trying to out run the men behind her. She turned sharply was passing by a large oak when two arms came out of a bush and pulled on her cloths.

She stumbled back into the brush and went to scream when something covered her mouth, forcing her keep quiet. She was thinking about biting her attackers hand when something caught her attention. “It’s me.” The boy whispered in her ear, though he didn’t remove his hand from her mouth.

Araedia heard the fluttering of feathers, and soon realized the two runes were just overhead. She bit her lip and forced herself to stop shaking. Don’t worry I’ll take care of it. Be right back. The thought was there and then left again. A few seconds later she heard the small hum of wings and saw the dragon-like creature zip off out of the brush. A loud squawk echoed from the runes, which was soon followed by silence.

The pair stayed like that for a while, tucked in the dense brush behind the oak tree. Araedia only moved when she felt a small tug in the back of her mind. You’re safe, for now. Though I’d get out of there while you can.

“Come on,” the girl huffed, forcing herself out of the brush, and pulling the smaller boy out behind her. She glanced around and pulled some of the sticks, and leaves from her hair. “Let’s get moving.” She sighed and glanced around. “Where exactly did you run into those bandits again?”

“By the Mystic Glade.” The boy said brushing himself off quickly before he started off into the wood.

“The Mystic glade. Wait, the Mystic Glade” Araedia repeated, as if it would somehow make the words more real.

“Yup,” he said simply, as he moved through the forest just ahead of her. She blinked a few times before jogging a bit to catch up to him. He glanced over his shoulder, “Didn’t I tell you that before.”

“You conveniently left the out of your story.” She mumbled. The Mystic Glade, in truth Araedia wasn’t sure if she was more scared or more excited. As a young girl she had heard all sorts of stories about Seraphina and the magic of the Glade. Of course, that’s all they were, stories, and after spending twenty-eight years of her life in Eldemore she knew better than to believe some old wives’ tales.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, his brown eyes falling to the ground. “I guess I short of skipped over that part.”

The girl frowned and sighed. “Don’t worry about it.” Araedia said softly. She walked besides the boy and gently rubbed his shoulder. “Oh and sorry about earlier,”

“For what?” Forrest glanced up, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“For lying and everything? Especially for using my brother’s name, it was the first thing I could think of besides your name.” She sighed and removed her hand from his shoulder and let it run through her long, and very tangled, hair. This was going to be a long trip if things continued like this.

The boy offered her a small smile and shrugged. “It’s okay. You were trying to keep us safe, so I mean, it isn’t that bad. Though I have to say I forgot how bad of a liar you are.”

“Shut up, I’d like to see you do any better.” She mumbled, her arms falling across her chest.

“Well, I at least know how to talk myself out of a situation,” A small smile tugged on his lips. Though it didn’t last long at least is was something. “And besides, I can run. All you have on your side is luck.”

Araedia reached out and hit the boy on the back of the head. He looked back at her with a glare. “Respect your elders kid,” was all she had to say. Forrest rolled his eyes and turned back around so that he was walking just a few steps ahead of her. Though Araedia couldn’t help but notice the smirk that tugged on the corner of his mouth as they continued forward.

[SkieNight]

{Author's Note: I'm enjoying this story and the characters way more than expected. I'm actually a few parts a head of what I'm posting and I love where this is going. It's certainly not where I expected it to go. I hope you all are enjoying this, and if you're even bothering to read this many thanks. Well enjoy this segment, it's a bit slower than the other parts but I promise you a lot of action is coming up.}

Zaetlan caught up with them soon, and she was quick to complain that they were moving too slowly. Still the rest of the day went by nicely, even with the rocky start. By the time the sun was setting and the sky was changing back to an ink blue, the small group had traveled farther than they had expected.

Araedia stopped at the edge of a clearing and looked about. Nothing unusual stood out to her, though she knew that they could run into the bandits at any time. The girl was beginning to wonder if anything even lived in the forest. They had traveled through the trees all day and yet she hadn’t even seen any runes. “I think we should stop here for the night.” She said leaning against a large. The girl felt as though her legs were just going to give out at any second.

“We should keep going,” Forrest, on the other hand, didn’t look tired at all. He had taken the backpack from Araedia, insisting that it would be better for him to carry it. As much as she hated to admit it, Araedia agreed. She was slow enough as it was. “We still have about half an hour left of sunlight, if we keep up a good pace we could-”

“No.” Her arms fell across her chest. She had put up with most of the boys pushing and pressure, but Araedia was calling it a day, she was exhausted. “I can’t walk any more, and you should relax as well. Who knows when we’ll run into these bandits, but it’s most likely going to be soon. We need to be ready to face them.” Or as close to ready as we can be.

The boy frowned and opened his mouth to say something. “Not another word from you,” Araedia cut in, “I’m tired, my feet hurt, and I’m hungry. I need my rest and so do you. Now stop being stubborn and set the pack down.” With a huff and a grumble the pack slid off his back and was soon leaning against the tree. “Good, we can start a small fire and warm up some of the food. A good rest will do us all some good.”

Araedia offered the boy a small smile, but he didn’t return it, he didn’t even look her in the eye. “I’ll go look for some wood.” She could barely hear him speak.

“Don’t go too far.” She said softly, though there was an edge to her voice. She watched as he wandered back off into the forest, and let out a long breath of air before collapsing on the spot.

She leaned back against the tree and took a few deep breaths, she was just thankful to finally be seated. Regret agreeing to help yet? The question echoed in the back of her mind and the small glasswork dragon appeared in front of the young woman as though out of thin air. Zaetlan landed on Araedia’s knee, looking up at her with an amused glint in her eyes.

“Not at all.” Araedia spoke, and it was true she didn’t regret coming on this little outing, at least not yet anyway. “Though, if you ask me that later while I’m surrounded by bandits, who knows, the answer may change.”

It clearly wasn’t the responce the small creature was looking for. The glasswork huffed, and turned her back to Araedia. If that’s how you feel.

Araedia looked at the dragon, and chuckled slightly running a finger over the dragon’s back. “It is.” Something rustled off to the side and the girl looked up, Forrest was returning, a stack of firewood in arms. A wave of relief washed over her, she wouldn’t have put it past the boy to slip off and continue traveling without her. She knew how desperately he wanted to find Kisien.

The pair set up the wood together and started the fire just as the last rays of light vanished behind the horizon. They warmed up some of the food Araedia had packed and ate in silence, sitting close to the fire for warmth. Even Zaetlan kept her comments to herself and didn’t share any thoughts with young woman.

“Can you sense her?” The thought had been lingering in the back of her mind all day. “I mean, I can sense Zaetlan, even when she’s a bit away. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a…well… limit to that thing?” The young woman honestly wasn’t sure, and had never dared to experiment. She preferred to have the glasswork as closer rather than farther away.

Forrest looked up at her before his gaze dropped back down to his empty plate. “I can always sense her. Like, there’s just this feeling in the back of my mind that lets me know she’s out there and alive. But, for instance, when I got to Alabaster I couldn’t communicate with her. I know she’s alive, but I don’t know where she is, I can only hope that she’s near.”

Araedia nodded her eyes lingering on the small green dragon that sat on her knee. Despite how much she and Zaetlan disagreed and even argued, she could never imagine not having that little voice in the back of her mind. In truth, the very thought scared her. A shiver ran through her body, and Araedia allowed herself to shake off the thoughts. She placed the plate to the side and pulled out the two thick blankets she had packed.

She stood up and walked over to Forrest, taking the plate from the boy and handing him, a blanket. “Get some rest,” she said, kissing the top of his head. “It’s been an eventful day, and only the Ancients know what tomorrow will bring.”

With out saying a word the boy laid down in the grass and turned so that his back was towards both Araedia and the fire. She watched him with a careful gaze before walking back to the tree and leaning against it. She sighed and let her gaze fall to fire as she watched the flame dance and crackle.

Zaetlan fluttered above the girl slightly before landing on her shoulder. “I’ll always be there,” Areadia whispered, “I promise. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

I know. The words comforted her; it was good to know that her partner believed in her, as much if not more than Araedia believed in herself. I also know that we need to think. What’s the game plan for when you face the bandits?

The girl let out a small groan at the thought, and hoped that she didn’t bother the sleeping boy, at least she hoped he was sleeping, she could never really tell with him. “I don’t know.” Her voice was shaky and her palms sweated at the thought, or lack there of. “I mean I want to trust you and Forrest, but how in all of Eldemore are we going to face off against thieves. I’m sure they’re all bonded with something, and I’m sure they’re strong and know how to fight. And if they have rune magic…” her chest tightened at the thought and she forced her eyes closed. “I don’t know Zaetlan. I want to help him but-”

And we will, Araedia opened her eyes and glanced down at her shoulder. The small dragon was standing tall, her bronze armor glistening in the firelight. We will help him; we just can’t fight for it. No, we’ll have to use strategy; we have to beat them at their own game.

A small smile tugged on Araedia’s lips. “I like the way you’re thinking, but… how exactly?”

That’s for another day. The small dragon shrugged slightly.

“You do realize that we don’t have another day, right? If we’re lucky, we’ll find them tomorrow.” The girl let her arms wrap around her chest and she gave herself a slam squeeze. “We’ve run out of time. We never had any to begin with.”

Again, we’ll figure it out later, when the time calls for it. Right now you all you need to think about is sleep.

“What I need is to think about a plan. Forrest can’t worry about everything on his own.” The girl frowned and looked at the small creature that had made its way back on to her knee.

And neither can you, we’ll all think about it together. For now, close you’re eyes. Who knows, maybe the answers you seek will be found in you’re dreams. The girl frowned slightly but pulled the blanket over her body and leaned back against cool bark of the tree, it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as she thought so she moved so that she was lying down next to the fire. Zaetlan waited for her to get comfortable, then curled up on young woman’s stomach.

“You know, you can be way too philosophical at times.” Araedia mumbled as her eyes slid shut.

I know but you can complain about that later, for now just sleep. But by the time the thought echoed in the Araedia’s mind she was already breathing deeply. Goodnight, I hope you’re dreams are peaceful ones.

[SkieNight]

{Author's Note: we're getting to the good part... I promise. We're so close... things really will start to pick up in the next part. Thank you for reading and enjoy!!

The young woman woke up earlier than she would have liked. She opened her eyes to find herself blinded by the bright light of morning as it poured through the trees. There was a crisp chill in the air, and Araedia pulled the blanket closer to her body, hoping to keep most of the cold air out and most of the heat in.

Her plan didn’t work as well as she would have liked and the woman slowly sat up, glancing around the little camp they had managed to set up. The fire was now just a pile of cold charcoal, it had probably gone out sometime in the very early morning. She looked across the pile to find a blanket and only a blanket, no signs of life.

She wasn’t surprised to see that Forrest was already up, she just hoped that he hadn’t decided to begin traveling without her. A snap of a twig pulled Araedia from he thoughts and caused her to jump to her feet. Araedia didn’t know what she expected to see. Despite so much traveling the previous day they hadn’t anything, not even a Crow Rune.

“Relax it’s me.” The tension left her body and Araedia sat back down on the blanket before falling backwards, her gaze resting on the leaves overhead. She stayed like that and listened as Forrest moved around the small campsite, she suspected he was packing up all their supplies that they had used, which had been most of them. Zaetlan had made Araedia unpack a lot of the more ‘useless’ items to the backpack was lighter, sort of.

“Come on Ari, get up. I need to pack your blanket.” She frowned, but stood up anyway slipping her shoes back on as Forrest folded up the blanket.

One the boy was done packing the two were back hiking. “How did you sleep?” Forrest asked. In truth, Araedia was surprised that he was the one starting all the conversations this morning, especially after last night.

“Fine,” the young woman mumbled in response, she still wasn’t sure she was awake. “You?”

Forrest faltered, when she looked at him. He seemed awake and he didn’t have any circles under his eyes, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t sleep well. “It was okay, I guess. I mean, I did wake up a few times.”

“I figured,” were the only words that she could find. She glanced around and realized that she didn’t know where Zaetlan was. She could feel the connection in the back of her mind but she couldn’t pinpoint where the Glasswork was. “Have you see Zaetlan this morning?”

“You expect me to know? You know how she ignores me.” It was true, for whatever reason the small dragon had never taken to liking Forrest, despite having known him just as long as Araedia had.

I’m here, no need to worry. I was just looking for water. Araedia hadn’t really though of how scared she had been until the wave relief washed over her as she listened to the small dragon’s voice.

“Good. Where are you right now?” She hadn’t really thought about how thirsty she was either until the topic was brought up. Only then did Araedia notice how dry her mouth is, she glanced over to Forrest and caught the boy licking his lips. Originally, Araedia wanted to bring two water packs each, though Zaetlan had insisted it would be too heavy, now she was regretting that decision.

Head a bit northwest and you’ll find where I am.

The girl blinked, she had never been good with directions. All she knew was that they were walking west because the sun was on their backs and casting shadows in front of them. “That doesn’t help…”

For Ancients’ sake you’re useless. Head just a bit right, I’m sure you’ll stumble upon a stream and we can go from there.

“Alright.” She let out a sigh and started to turn right slightly, hoping that she was going in the right direction.

“Where are you going, we need to keep heading west?” Forrest asked, though he had already begun to follow her.

“Zaetlan found water, I don’t know about you but I’m thirsty.” The boy had nothing more to add and so the two continued to walk in the direction that Zaetlan had claimed to be northwest in silence. Apparently the Glasswork was right because soon the pair stumbled across a stream. The young woman looked up and down the bank trying to spot her partner.

I’m right here. Araedia’s eyes instinctively moved until they were focused on a small dragonfly-sized shape that zipped across the stream and landed on the girl’s shoulder. Araedia smiled at the small creature before walking over to Forrest who was kneeling next to the water. She crotched next to him and took some of the liquid in her hands and sipped from the stream. The water was cold, and set a small shiver through her body as it went down her throat. It felt good and refreshing

“Fall really is starting to set in,” Araedia said with a sigh, sitting back on her heals. They days were getting shorter and cooler; she could feel it in the air. If these weather patters continued snow might even be in the near future, especially far north.

“No kiddin’.” The young man chuckled, tossing the water sacks back into the backpack and throwing the pack over his shoulder. “Come on, we can just step across the stream here and then head southeast a bit. In truth we shouldn’t be far from where the bandits stopped chasing me and…” He stopped and swallowed, his face looked pained as something flashed across his eyes, a memory of some sort. “Let’s just go.” He mumbled stepping across the stream before starting back into the forest.

Araedia watched him for a few seconds, her brows furrowing together. With a huff of cold air she stepped over the stream and started after him, Zaetlan still perched on her shoulder.

The day didn’t stay cold; by late morning the sun had warmed up the air and made traveling hot but not unbearable. The shadows of the trees provided enough cool air that walking wasn’t too uncomfortable either.

The forest remained as empty and still, just has it had before. Araedia was starting to wonder if the bandits were even here or if anything was even here. She believed that Forrest had run into a group of them but she was beginning to think that they had already left. The young man had assured her many times that the group was still out there in the forest, but she wasn’t quite so sure.

You two stay here, I’ll fly on ahead and check things out up ahead. Araedia relayed the plan to Forrest who nodded in return. It was just past noon and the small group was now standing behind a small grove of trees, hidden in the shade. A large red Rune Dragon had just zipped overhead and they were debating whether it was from the bandit group or not. Araedia had believed it to be one of the dragons that had chased them the previous day, but both Zaetlan and Forrest were convinced it was a different one, and that it was much larger than the last Rune they had run into.

“What’s the plan if we do find the bandits?” The young woman asked; the thought had been weighing on her mind all day. They didn’t have a plan and it was beginning to bother Araedia. They couldn’t just run in there blind, they’d get themselves killed.

“We find Kisien as quickly as possible then leave.” Forrest peered out from the side of the tree and spoke as though he had been thinking about this all along and as though it were the best option.

Araedia rolled her eye and shook her head. “No, I mean how are we going to find and retrieve Kisien?”

“We’ll figure that out when we get there.” He shrugged. Forrest was making this whole thing sound like a piece of cake and it was starting to make Araedia’s blood boil.

“You do realize that if we don’t make a plan we could both end up dead, right?” Her words came out sharper than expected, but she didn’t really mind, he clearly hadn’t thought of that. The boy glanced back at her with a puzzled expression.

“Come on now,” he said with an exhale of air, offering her a small smile. “Don’t be so pessimistic.”

“I’m not being pessimistic, I’m being realistic!” Araedia snapped returning Forrest’s soft look with a glare. “There’s a difference. You need to get it in your skull that realistically what we’re about to do could kill us. We don’t know what we’re up against, but if one has a Rune Dragon you can sure as hell bet that there're others. If we’re going to do this, and we will do this, we need to think up of some idea that will keep us alive.”

Forrest said nothing. It looked as though he wanted to speak up and had something to say but he kept his mouth closed. His eyes dropped to his feet and he released a long breath of air. “You’re right,” his voice was barely audible, “what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Was all Araedia could say, she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. “I honestly don’t know this time.”

A small hum filled the air and the young woman looked up to spot the small Glasswork flying in. Well I have good news and bad news, which do you want first? The small creature’s voice echoed in her head as it landed gently on the woman’s shoulder.

She glanced towards Forrest who returned her look with a questioning glance of his own. “Good news.” She nodded and the boy leaned in slightly, as though it were going to help him hear Zaetlan.

We’ve found the bandits; they’re just ahead in a rather large clearing. Araedia repeated the news to the boy by her side. A smile crossed his lips and excitement bubbled behind his eyes. Excitement that caused the young woman’s mouth to dry.

“What’s the bad news?” The girl asked softly, turning her gaze back to the Glasswork

One of them is heading right towards us.

Araedia mumbled something under her breath before telling Forrest the news. The boy stared into space for a second or two his brows coming together causing his forehead to wrinkle. Something passed over him and a smile broke across his face.

“What does this bandit look like?” Araedia couldn’t believe he’d ask such a question.

“That doesn’t matter now! We need a plan, and fast. If he’s coming here right now who knows how much longer we have left!” The girl said dropping her voice to a whisper, she couldn’t be sure how close the bandit was.

“It does matters. Now what do they look like?” Araedia rolled her eye but glanced to Zaetlan for the answer.

Not all that tall, maybe Forrest’s height or smaller. He’s muscular though with tan skin and dark brown hair and piercing red eyes. Araedia relayed the message back to the boy and looked at him with a questioning expression across her face. Her fingers tapped against the wood softly, they needed to move

“Now what exactly is this plan of yours?”

A smirk crossed Forrest’s face. “We can actually pull this off then. All you need to do follow my lead a you’ll be fine.” Araedia opened her mouth to reply but the sound of movement crossed her ears, the bandit was getting closer. “I’ll explain later. For now, let’s get ready to catch ourselves a bandit.”

[SkieNight]

{Author's Note: As promised... stuff happens....}

"That should keep him busy for quite some time.” The young woman said, taking a step back to admire her handy work. In front of her sat an olive skinned man with his hands and legs bound together. He was restrained against a tree and a thin piece of cloth had been tied around his mouth to prevent him from talking or more importantly, yelling. While he had once been in a dark shirt, ripped pants and black cloak he now only sat in his undergarments.

“Sorry about this,” it was probably the fifth time Araedia had apologized to him. “It’s just something that needs to be done, I hope you understand that.” He glared at her in response; it wasn’t like she expected him to respond.

“Okay, already.” Forrest came out from the brush wearing what the bandit had on originally. It fit him surprisingly well, seeing as they were about the same size. He had the hood up and pulled it down his face to shadow every feature but his mouth. As long as the others didn’t look too closely he really did resemble the man who was now tied against a tree.

“Great, let’s go then.” Araedia’s stomach bubbled and she took deep breaths to keep herself form shaking. They were really going to sneak into a bandit camp. With Forrest’s help she tied her own hands together and the two started off towards the camp with Zaetlen flying just a head of them, leading the way.

The woods grew thicker as they went on, though up a head they could see a small clearing. That’s where the camp is. The Glasswork dragon spoke as she found her spot, tucked under Araedia’s hair. I’ll stay right here, or at least try to stay near by. Good luck. Araedia chewed on her lip and her fingers twitched slightly.

“You ready?” The young woman flinched at the voice but nodded. She’s never “be ready” for something like this, but it was now or never.

“As ready as ever,” she mumbled.

Forrest pulled down his hood one last time, took her by the arm and started marching towards where they suspected the camp was. Sure enough Zaetlan was correct, a few minuets later and they were walking into a broad clearing lined with a handful of half collapsed tenets and boxes galore. Araedia took the opportunity to glance around and tried to take in as much of the clearing as possible.

In the middle of the camp was what looked to be the remains of a large fire, now it was just a pile of coal. Along the far edge were all the tents, though most of them looked to be half collapsed. Araedia couldn’t help but wonder how long they planned to stay. And to her right were crates of various items along with a small herd of Sleipnir and what looked like a cart.

There were more people than she would have though, men and woman alike. And a number of Runes, Dires, and a handful of Servals wandered around. No Elkrin or Drakes could be seen, which helped calm the young woman down, slightly. One thing that unnerved her was that she couldn’t see what looked to be cages anywhere. Kisien, or anything resembling the feline, was nowhere to be seen.

Forrest’s hand gripped her arm tighter as he marched her purposefully towards a group of people sitting around what would have been the fire. “I bet he can sense her.” The girl told Zaetlan, though there was no reason to. “You go look around and see if you can find her and any other creatures that look trapped.”

Right on it. Stay safe and alive. The words echoed through her head and the girl nodded once as the small creature zipped out from her hiding spot and zoomed away. That was the plan though, to stay alive. She glanced around the clearing again, her eyes stopping at the fire pit. Araedia found herself shaking as they approached the group, thankfully she didn’t bother to try and hide it. She was a “prisoner” after all.

“What did you find Jomac, a new toy?” The woman that spoke glanced up and sent a shiver down Araedia’s spine. One eye was a piercing ice blue, her other eye was clouded over and a scar ran from her forehead to her cheek.

Forrest tossed the young woman forward and Araedia stumbled slightly her knees buckling and legs shaking. She looked around at the group that was currently staring at her as though she were some animal on parade.

“So you were the one sneaking around in the forest.” Another man chuckled his hand running through the black fur of a large wolf with shinning red eyes and two tails that twisted into one of a serpent’s.

“I’m guessing that Olaris is still out flying then, looking for anything else.” Forrest nodded; as long as he didn’t need to say anything all would be well. The woman stood up, and as she rose and pure white Dire Wolf rose with her. “I guess I’ll go tell Eero that we have a guest, then. Watch her and make sure she doesn’t escape, we’ve already lost one we don’t need to loose another.”

Forrest nodded again, though not enough to move his hood, and pulled Araedia up so that she was in front of him, both his hands dug into her sides, keeping her stedy. Her arms were tied anyway and her legs were still weak from shaking, it wasn’t like she’d try to run. Though they didn’t know that. She ran her tongue over her lips before chewing on them again.

“Did you find anything?” She could still feel Zaetlan’s bond and strong feelings told her that the small dragon was somewhere very close by.

Yes, tent. First one on the right, largest one that hasn’t been taken down yet. Araedia let her eyes drift over until she found the tent that she was sure Zaetlan had been talking about. It was a rather large tent and could probably hold at least a few creatures of various sizes.

“How many are in there?” She couldn’t help but ask as she waited for Eero whoever they were.

Besides Kisien… um… six, four Runes and two Dires. Araedia frowned, that wasn’t good, and it meant a whole lot more work for them. When she glanced up again she spotted the intimidating woman walking with another man.

Like Araedia he had darker skin though his had a different shade from being out in the sun. His hair was darker than hers, so dark it was almost black, and was much shorter. His eyes were rounded and were richer golden color than her own. Over all he looked like someone she knew and it caused her stomach to bunch up and drop and her legs to grow weaker.

He was tall, it was obvious as he walked besides the woman: he stood almost a whole head taller than she did. He glanced up and looked Araedia over; he stopped at her face and something in the air seemed thickened as he forced his gaze away from her.

“Good job Jomac, this was a good catch.” Forrest mumbled a thank you but added nothing else.

“So what should we do with her? It doesn’t look like she bonded to anything so should be just kill her now?”

Okay, that was not part of the plan. Araedia’s eyes grew wide and for a second she glanced over to Forrest, big mistake she realized so she let her eyes fall to the ground. The salty taste of blood filled her mouth as she bit her cheek to keep from saying anything that might give them away.

She could hear footsteps come towards her, but didn’t look up. A rough calloused hand forced her chin up and she found herself looking up in the man’s golden eyes. Eero she remembered, his name was Erro. He looked over his face as though he were searching her for something. A second later he let go of her chin and turned away.

“Who knows? She might be useful and know a thing or two.” He shrugged and started back towards the tents. “Keep her around for a bit.”

Araedia let out a long breath of air that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. So she had some time, which meant she could look around then find a way to get out of there.

She watched as the man, Erro, moved towards the tent where Zaetlan had said the others were being held. He stopped and glanced back at her, though Araedia soon realized he was looking at Forrest and her stomach hardened again.

“Say, Jomac, where is that little Rune of yours again?” He spoke in a testing almost threatening way. He’s seen through us! The girl thought, swallowing to keep the bitter taste out of her mouth.

“He’s out scanning the rest of the area. We thought we saw a second one, but she’s the only one we could catch.” Forrest spoke in a low grumbly, the tone of the bandit they had caught, or at least close to it. Araedia hoped.

Eero opened his mouth to speak when a shrieking filled the air. A few choice words came to mind as the girl began to wiggle around trying to undo the ties around her hand. Forrest had tied them so that she could untie herself at any given moment, though they now seemed stuck. She glanced up just as they large red Rune swooped overhead before diving towards Forrest, talons out stretched. The young man ducked away just dodging the attacker’s claws, though in return his hood fell down revealing is face.

“Just as I thought.” The older man, Erro, said pulling out a long sward. “So who are you two exactly?”

“Two people who aren’t happy with what you’re doing.” Forrest hissed through his teeth pulling out a small knife. Araedia finally untied her hands and realized, much to her dismay, that she was the only person in this entire camp who was unarmed. She didn’t spend too much time thinking about it though, moments later she took off through the camp, towards the tents.

“Get her! I’ll take care of the child.” She could just hear Erro’s cry followed by the clanking metal. It dawned on her that the rest of the eyes had turned to her. She ducked around one tent, just missing an arrow that whizzed by. She glanced up to see two more men racing towards her and she made a sharp turn, and scramled up some boxes before ducking behind the pile.

One box was partially opened and she ducked inside, closing it overhead. She took slow and quiet breaths, hugging her knees. In the darkness of the box she could just make out another shape in front of her. It looked like a large stone from what she could tell, but for all she knew it could be a Drake’s egg.

Footsteps raced by the box and a hurried string of words rang out, though they sounded very muffled from what she could hear. Something tugged the back of her mind and for a second she felt safe. Are you hurt? I know you’re alive but I can feel you’re fear, where are you?

“Hiding in a box, I’m unhurt. I’ll try and make it to the tent as soon as I can get out of there.” Araedia’s thoughts were jumbled, but it was what she could get out. At least she knew that they still hadn’t found Zaetlan.

Another pair of footsteps came by; it was only one set, who ever it was, was alone. “Ari? You there?” the voice called softly. The girl lifted the lid of the box and peered out. Forrest stood in front of her, dumfounded as he watched the young woman crawl out of the box.

“Sorry, it was a little awkward trying to fit in there.” She mumbled softly and looked the boy over. The dark shirt that he had taken from the one bandit was darker on the sleeve and looked to be soaked in something. “Oh man…” she mumbled pushing up the sleeve to look at the second cut he had received, this was deeper, but cleaner and straighter, it had clearly been done by a sward.

“We need to get out of here, we don’t stand a chance.” She whispered looked at him with pleading eyes.

“No, we’re so close.” His voice was stern and he looked determined. Araedia simply sighed and shook her head. “I’ll distract them and hold them off, you get in there and find Kisien. Got it?”

“Fine.” She whispered before looking over her shoulder, two guards were coming their way, though they hadn’t been spotted yet it was only a matter of time. As she walked past Forrest and Araedia squeezed his shoulder. “If you die I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you.” She whispered, and with that she raced around the side of the boxes and vanished behind another tent.

The young woman was about twenty feet or so from the backside of the tenet where Kisien was being held. She could hear the clanging of metal where Forrest was and let out another calming breath. You got this Araedia, in an out.

When the coast looked clear she bolted across the empty clearing and slid behind the only upright tent. She placed her ear to the cloth but heard nothing. Hurry up! No one’s in here and I don’t think we have much time left. She could hear Zaetlan call.

“I’m on it.” She began to walk when something cool and sharp was pressed against her neck. Her heart felt as though it was about to burst out of her chest as she turned around slowly to face her attacker.

“Stay still,” the voice sent a shiver down her spine. She stopped moving and out from around the back of the tent was Eero, the handsome golden-eyed man. Araedia swallowed and looked up at him, he was at least half a head taller than she was.

The cold metal pushed against her neck and the girl let out a small hiss, it stung and she could just feel warm drops slide down her neck from where the blade broke the skin. “You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you?” The man’s chuckled caused her knees to buckle and dizziness swarmed over her, though she forced herself to remain standing.

“I honestly didn’t want to kill you,” he continued taking a step forward, Araedia held her ground as best as she could. “You could have been useful. But alas, my kindness has run thin. What do you take us for, fools?”

“No, not fools,” she spat and wave of courage and adrenaline pumped through her blood stream and the young woman stood taller, she wasn’t going to let this man kill her without a right. “More like gnats. You’re pesky as all hell, and you have a brain, only it isn’t very big”

“Watch you’re mouth,” he hissed. The pain left her neck, and Araedia didn’t watch where the blade went, she kicked up with her leg her kneecap making contact with the man’s stomach. With a grunt he doubled over and the girl turned to run.

Something cold hit her back and the next thing she knew she was sprawled in the dirt. Her lower back ached and she realized he must have hit her with the blunt something, most likely something metal. She rolled onto her side to stand up and noticed Eero standing over her, his sword was pointed at her chest.

“Enough of this little game.” He spat, though something caught Araedia’s attention. All this time he had never looked her in the eye, not once. He rose to swing the sword when some movement caught the corner of her eye. It clearly distracted Eero too for the man glanced up slightly and watched as a small creature ran head first into the blade nocking it sideways slightly.

“Zaetlan!” The name left Araedia’s mouth before she could think and the girl jumped to her feet, racing towards where the little creature had fallen. She scooped up the Glasswork and cupped the small thing in her hands. The young woman turned around just as Eero was walking towards them.

“How heroic,” he said flatly. “And what an utter waste of my time.” He raised the sword and Araedia held the Glasswork to her chest as she turned to bolt, or at least try to. Something flew through the air and the bandit behind her dropped his blade his hand going to his shoulder.

“Run!” Forrest’s voice snapped Araedia out of her daze and she turned away from the injured man and raced after the boy. The pair sped out of the camp and into the woods.

“I-I’m sorry!” She yelled as she ran, she could still hear some of them behind her, and the barking of a dog told her that some of the Dires were on their trail. They wouldn’t be able to out run them forever. “I wasn’t able to get Kisien!”

“It’s fine.” Forrest didn’t look back, something was off about the whole situation. Wasn’t Forrest the one who had wanted to stay? Besides, they shouldn’t have left without what they had originally came for.

“What’s going on?” Araedia placed Zaetlan in her pocket before pushing forward, trying to catch up to the boy. He simply ran faster. “Forrest, listen to me!”

“I’ll tell you later, lets keep going.” He glanced back, there was something almost panicked in his expression. Araedia glared and slowed to a jog then a stop. He glanced back and noticed her. He slowed but kept moving forward. “Araedia, let's go.”

The young woman crossed her arms across her chest. I don’t know what you’re doing but we don’t have time for this. Run. The voiced that echoed through her head was desperate and shaky.

“No.” She looked back to Forrest and stared the boy down. “Explain yourself, Calix Maru.” She spat the name like it was poison on her tongue and Forrest turned around to stare her down in disbelief and hatred.

A frown crossed over the boy’s face as he stopped and Araedia walked up to him. “I told you we’ll talk later. For now let’s go.” He seemed desperate as he turned around and started off again.

Araedia scowled but started off after him. That’s when she noticed the bag that was tied to the boy’s hip. It bulged to the side and the young woman looked at the satchel with a frown. “Zaetlan, do you know what he could be hiding?”

No, I’ve been with you or by that tent most of the time. But I can find out for you. The girl liked the idea, she was wanted to know what was in the satchel and frankly she was annoyed that Forrest was giving up so easily. Her hand went up and touched her neck gently, she had forgotten about it, but as she touched around the cut it stung.
“Are you strong enough?”

I’ll be fine. A small head peeked out of her pocket and zipped forward, a few seconds later the satchel was untied and fell onto the forest path and rolled. The boy felt his side before skidding to a stop and turning around. Araedia jogged to a stop besides the fallen objects and picked up the satchel pouring out its contents.

A few gold pieces fell onto the forest floor, but what interested the woman the most was the large stone that fell and rolled across the ground. Araedia reached out and picked up the rock, looking at it. The stone, if it even was a stone, seemed to swirl various colors and the longer she looked at it the more she couldn’t quite tell what is was.

“We don’t have time for this.” Forrest hissed scooping up the contents of the satchel. He held it open. “Put the stone back and let’s go.”

Araedia looked over the odd rock and placed it back into the bag. “Why did you grab that anyway?”
“As I said before I’ll tell you later. We don’t have the time right now!”

I hate to be the downer here, but we have company, and not the kind you like. Araedia looked over her shoulder to see what the Glasswork was talking about. A white wolf broke through the undergrowth; its two tails were raised as it let out a low growl. A second Dire Wolf jumped through the brush, and its long serpent tails snapping back and forth, twisting around each other.

Araedia swore loudly and turned to Forrest who had stopped just ahead of her to see what she was looking at. “We can’t outrun them!”

The two wolves slowly slunk forward, fangs bare and hackles raised. Forrest pulled out his knife and tossed the bag back to Araedia who clutched on to it as though it were going to save her.

“They’re ‘ere!” The voice of a woman called out as she broke through the undergrowth. She was the bandit they had seen earlier, her blond-almost-white hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her bright (and dull) eyes were narrowed. A smirk crossed her lips as she stood by her wolf. Another Dire padded out from the trees, its crimson fur glowed and it’s eyes narrowed on Forrest and Araedia. Behind the Dire Wolf walked out Eero. His golden eyes boiled with rage.

“We aren’t letting anyone else escape, sorry. One out there in the word is enough.” As Eero spoke he and his wolf walked forward. Araedia noticed something odd about the beast, across its body were various straps, all holding various things. From one such strap the man pulled out a short hunting knife. “Now we can do this the easy way or the hard? What do you prefer?”

“Something that doesn’t end in our deaths.” Araedia answered, “And hopefully leads to all of you rotting in jail.”
“Sorry,” he sounded anything but sorry, “That isn’t one of the options.”

“Then we’ll make it one.” Araedia bent down and grabbed the nearest object, a fist-sized rock. Her eye narrowed on her target and she threw it. While it didn’t his Eero it did veer off and hit the white Dire in the side. The dog let out a tiney whine before growling.

“That’s it, get them!”

It all happened quickly. The White Dire lunged for her and the girl fell back and skidded over the ground. Stars danced across her vision and shapes moved around her. She tired to sit up but something forced her down and pain racked her body starting at her shoulder. She pushed up and threw her arms and legs around trying to get whatever it was off of her. A loud, broken cry filled the air, and it wasn’t until later that she realized that sound was her own, and all of a sudden it all stopped.

She couldn’t see anything, and the smells all mixed together. There was a musty, earth smell, the smell of something almost metallic-like, and the smell of the trees were all so strong. However, she could still hear clearly. There was a lot of yelling and the clanging of metal on metal. Footsteps also caused the ground to shake slightly. Something warm came and cupped her face.

“… you there…. darling?…” She couldn’t understand exactly what was being said. Something came and touched her shoulder, a groan escaped her lips as more pain flashed through her body.

[SkieNight]

{Author's Note: I've been debating about whether or not to post this section. It's nothing bad in all honesty, I've just taken a lot of liberties. This is where interpretations may differ. The Seraphina as described in this chapter is how I view her, it's probably very different to how the admins view her, and it's probably different from how you, the reader, imagine her. But after a lot of thought, and reading back through this part when was doing minor editing I decided I'd just go for it. This is all for the fun or writing and reading anyway right? So sorry again, I tried with her, but in the end I had to follow where the story took me. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy as Araedia and Forrest's quest takes on a new turn....}

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and attempted to sit up. Another groan escaped her lips as she leaned back against the wall, deciding it was best not to move too much. She glanced around the small room. Araedia wasn’t too surprised at her surroundings; she had blinked in and out of consciousness a few times and soon became aware of where she was.

She sat alone in a small room atop some purple cushions that looked as though they belonged on some rather fancy chairs rather than on the floor. To her left was a small bookshelf, crammed with books, and sitting atop it was a Sea Serval that was neither pink nor purple but some dark mix of the two colors. The feline watched the girl with a careful gaze. What caught Araedia’s attention was the fact that a gold earring hung from one of the cat’s ears. Something about the Serval seemed oddly familiar and the knowing glance the cat gave her only confirmed the feeling.

Directly across from her was a dark purple curtain that ran the length of the room, from floor to ceiling, and (at least to what Araedia could see) cut the small room in half, or mostly in half. From behind the curtain she cold just hear the mumbling sound of voices. The young woman looked around but she couldn’t spot the small Glasswork anywhere, though she could feel her presence clearly.

“Zaetlan, where are you?” She could feel the creature’s presence and knew she was near by, but it was certainly disorienting when the dragon wasn’t anywhere within reach, especially when the young woman had just awoken in a strange room.

Relax I’m right here. The words echoed in her head just as the curtain moved and opened up, revealing another wall just past the curtain.

There was the sound of something knocking and a head peered our from behind the curtain. The boy looked at her and a smile broke across his face. “She’s awake!” he called, pushing the drape to the side and rushing towards Araedia. Kneeling in front of her Forrest asked, “How’re you feeling?”

Araedia smiled slightly and rubbed her head. “Fine, I have a killer head ache though.” She glanced at the red-stained gauze that wrapped her left shoulder. “Not to mention my arm doesn’t feel the best right now.”

“Well you were attacked by a Dire Wolf, I’d imagine that it wouldn’t feel all that great.” When Forrest stood, Araedia looked the boy over. He had more wrapping all down his left arm, and she noticed some on his right leg as well.

A small laughed escaped her lips and the young man gave her a questioning glace. “We really are a mess aren’t we?”

“You two certainly are,” another voice caught Araedia’s ear and the young woman looked up. “Though you should have seen yourselves when I first stumbled upon you.” An elderly woman entered the room, with a tray of tea and what looked like some type of crackers. The woman’s silvery-lilac hair was tied up in a messy bun and held up with a green headband. Her pink eyes were filled with amusement as she looked over the two young ones sitting in front of her.

“You must be the woman that helped us.” Araedia remembered seeing a woman a few times when she had opened her eyes, though Araedia never got a chance to ask whom the woman was. “Thank you so much for taking care of me and Forrest. It must have been hard dealing with him alone.”

“Think nothing of it, it’s my duty to help guide those in need.” A smile played over the elderly woman’s face as she handed the tray to Forrest before crossing the room and sitting in a large plush chair. “I can see that you are burning with questions. You’re little friend already asked me some, though I know you’ll want to hear the answers from me.”

Araedia opened her mouth when she noticed the small green dragon sitting on the shoulder of the woman. She watched closely Zaetlan flew from her perch on the elderly lady’s shoulder and landed in front of Araedia. The young woman had never seen Zaetlan be so friendly with anyone outside the family, even Forrest was out of the question.

“H-how long have I been out?” She asked, pushing the odd thought back. This woman was certainly something special. It had taken her a little bit but the more she was conscience the more she remembered, from hitting her head to when she fell, or well, was attacked.

“It’s the third day.” Forrest was the one to speak up; he was sitting cross-legged on the ground across from Araedia and had set the tray down in front of him. “I’m honestly surprised you woke when you did. You’ve been sleeping pretty soundly. You definitely needed the rest.”

The girl let out a groan of frustration and ran a hand through her hair, which stuck at various angels and was matted in the back. “Three days.” She mumbled and looked at Forrest. “Did you manage to…?”

He blinked and shook his head. “No.” He said softly, “I was hit pretty badly during the last attack as well. I remembered walking here and that’s about it. By the time I was okay to move around the bandits left, well… as far as we know.”

Araedia frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose, her head pounded and it was hard to get a clear thought in as she tried to ignore both the pain in her shoulder and the throbbing of her head. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have stopped you. I really should have trusted you.” The mumbled. “It’s my fault we’re in this mess.”

Forrest offered her a small smile and shook his head, “ It was only a matter of time before they caught up with us, and besides I should have at least told you some the plan. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“But because of me we could have died!”

“But you didn’t.” The old woman sat back in the chair sipping a cup of tea, a pleasant and knowing simile stretched over her lips. “You did what was needed and your destiny has lead you here. Since you’re here I’d say you both did well.” The woman took another sip of tea, and her green chocker jingled slightly as she swallowed.

Araedia offered the woman another questioning look and asked, “Who are you exactly?” She rubbed her temple with her hand as she tired to sooth the headache. “Sorry for not asking early.”

“Oh that’s fine, you can just call me Seraphina. Also, I would recommend the tea if you have a headache.” The elderly looking woman smiled and leaned back in the chair. “We can skip all of the ‘what did you do’ and such as your friend has told me. For now sit back and rest, it’ll do you some good. I’ll be here if you have any questions, which I know you do.”

A million things ran though Araedia’s mind, though she found she couldn’t clear her mind to form a clear question. In stead she reached out with a shaky hand and took a teacup, sipping it slowly. The tea was strong was strong, and the girl actually wrinkled her nose at the herbal taste and smell. But it soothed her throat and made her feel more relaxed. And after drinking a few sips the pounding in her head became less and less of a problem and soon she could concentrate and think clearly.

Her eyes fell on Forrest and Zaetlan, both of whom were watching her closely as though she were just going to collapse again. She couldn’t really blame them though if she’d been out for almost three days. “How are you two doing?” She finally asked, taking a third sip of the hot water, struggling to ignore the strong flavor.

“I’m fine.” Forrest said with a shrug, though Araedia eyed his wrapping with suspicion. “Well, you already know about the first cut, it opened up again when I was fighting. And I got nicked with the sward… then bitten by the blasted Dire Wolf. It’s all be healing nicely though, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I suppose I have you to thank again for that.” She smiled at Seraphina who again just shook her head. “I’m sorry you had to do all this by yourself, I really wish I could have helped.”

“And again, it’s fine. It is my duty after all.”

The girl sighed slightly and turned to the Glasswork dragon with a soft expression. “How are you doing?”

I’m fine. Zaetlan fluttered up and landed on the young woman’s knee. I got a bit beat up but it’s nothing that I can’t handle. You got the worst out of all of us.

“Of course I did. It’s probably because I can’t fight.” Araedia took another sip of the tea and mentally kicked herself, between her and Forrest she was both the eldest and the most useless, at least when it came to fighting.

You’re probably right about that. Araedia glared at the dragon for not trying to cheer her us, though Zaetlan had no reason to. It was all true after all. But now that we know our weaknesses we can figure out how to make ourselves stronger. And now we also know not to have you run from Dires, because you will fail.

“Thanks.” The girl mumbled under her breath taking one of the crackers and shoving it in her mouth.

It’s true. If it wasn’t for Seraphina… well, I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if she didn’t find you two in time. The small creature shivered slightly and curled up on the girl’s knee.

Araedia ran a gentle finger over the Glasswork’s back and turned her gaze to Seraphina. “How did you find us and how did you save us alone?” She didn’t quite understand how such an old and peaceful looking woman could have done anything against two Dire Wolves and three bandits. “Oh and who’s that?” She gestured to the magenta Serval that was now walking across the room. The cat moved behind Forrest, paying no attention to the boy, before hopping in to Serephina’s lap.

Forrest watched the cat with a puzzled expression. “Wait… when did that Serval get here?”

Seraphina chuckled softly and rubbed the cat’s head, her thumb moving over the white markings on the felines’ forehead. “This is Fiore, she comes and goes as she pleases. She actually isn’t mine, she’s simply a good friend.”

Fiore then… The name sounded familiar, Araedia would have to ask Zaetlan about the feline later. For now, there were more important things to worry about and ask about.

The woman cleared her throat and continued, “As I said before it’s my duty to give guidance to those who need it. I know everything that happens in this forest and I was aware of you’re plight. I decided that I could step in and help you both since you had made it this far on your own.

“Now how I helped you, well that’s a different story. Thankfully when I arrived you’re friend here had already gotten the Dire off of you so that wasn’t much of a problem. And scaring away the bandits wasn’t too hard. They really are wimps when it comes to power beyond their control.”

Araedia looked to Forrest and gave him a questioning look, he simply shrugged in response. “So did you use Rune magic or…”

“It isn’t really Rune magic, though I guess you could call it that if you must.” The woman replied taking another sip of her tea and stroking the cat that sat on her lap.

“Okay then… so how did you help us?”

“Well you’re friend was rendered useless shortly after I arrived so I was forced to take care of the bandits myself and help both of you back. At least he could walk, most of the way that is. Neither of you are light, might I add.” A smile ran across Serephina’s lips. “However, you’re both here and alive, so I don’t think that the how is very important.”

A frown crossed over Araedia’s lips as she set the mostly empty cup on the floor in front of her. She glanced around the area and realized it really was all one single room, there didn’t appear to be a kitchen or bathroom anywhere. Not even a bedroom by the looks of it. “Where are we exactly? Is this your home or what?”

“You could call this my home,” The elderly woman said with a small shrug, “Or my work space, whichever you prefer. It’s a caravan wagon that you’re in, if that’s what you were asking.”

Araedia looked around the small wagon. It wasn’t the bookshelf that caught her eye it was the table on the far side of the room. The wooden table was draped in what looked to be strips of purple cloth and in the center of the table was a crystal held what could only be described as wisps of clouds swirling that whirled around it’s middle like and endless storm.

“What exactly do you do in this ‘work space’?” Araedia asked, never taking her eyes off the crystal ball that sat on the table.

“Oh I guess you could call me fortune teller, though I prefer the idea of being a teller of fates and destinies.” Her eyes fell on the now empty tray. Forrest had eaten most of the crackers. While the tea was helpful for the headache Araedia found that she still wasn’t all that hungry. “I’ll go get you some more, just relax for now. We still have a lot to talk about, though it doesn’t all have to happen immediately.”

The Sea Serval slid off the woman’s lap as she rose and slipped away, pulling the curtain behind her close. Fiore blinked and watched the younger woman with a cool gaze before hopping back onto her bookshelf perch. “Okay so do we know the Sea Serval?” Araedia felt like she had seen the cat before, but couldn’t think of anyone she knew who’d be partners with a Sea Serval, besides Forrest of course.

Oh that old glassmaker in Silverport. The girl blinked and stared at the Glasswork dragon. Well not old… um… you know beard… feathered hat. He was a friend of your father, one of his glassmaking buddies or whatever…

“You mean Captain Willy?” He was the only person she could think of that lived in Silverport, and even then she only really remembered the man’s name, not the face, it had been a while since she had hung out with him.

Yes! I do believe that’s his cat.

The girl glanced back towards the bookshelf as Fiore groomed herself. It did ring a bell once Araedia thought about it. She looked back at Forrest who had been silent for most of their discussion; she could only guess what was going on in his head.

Araedia chewed on her lip slightly as she watched the boy. He glanced back over to her. “What? When ever you do that you have a question to ask… or more like ten…”

“That stone…” The girl couldn’t find the words. “Wh-… why did you grab it? I feel like I’m missing something, or maybe I’m being left out of some big secret.”

The boy rolled his eyes and pulled on the satchel that was attached to his hip. Something about his movements left Araedia guessing that he hadn’t taken the bag off his hip. He gently pulled on the strings of the bag and took out the stone. The young woman peered at it with a raised eyebrow. The stone was larger than she thought or remembered, it needed two hands to hold, and as she stared at it, the rock-like object appeared to change color, texture, and even shape around the edges. Every time she blinked Araedia found herself looking at a slightly different stone.

A few seconds later Forrest snatched the rock from her hands and slipped it back into the satchel. He watched Araedia, a small smile tugging his lips. “Cool right? My thought was that we would offer them a deal, they would get this thing back, and we would get Kisien. Seemed more than fair to me.”

“You do realize that they’d rather us be dead then make any deal… right?” His plan seemed like a fair one, but there were too many holes. And besides they were dealing with thieves not merchants. “If they had no other option they’d probably trade, but they actually have another option, and that option is killing us and taking every.”

Forrest frowned slightly and offered her a hard look. “Well I realize that now, it just seemed worth it at the time.”

Araedia’s eyes fell back on the pouch at the young man’s hip. Her face twisted in confusion and she chewed on her lip slightly. “What do they even want with it? I mean it’s just a rock, a really fancy and rather colorful rock.”

A small chuckle came from the far end of the room and Seraphina appeared from behind the curtain carrying another tray, one that she handed off to Forrest as she passed by. “Just a rock. Really now, can you be any less observant?” She sat back down in her large chair her pink eyes filled with amusement. “If it was just a rock do really think that they would care if you took it? If it was just a rock would they bother keeping it at all?”

“Well… I-I don’t know what they are thinking.” Araedia stumbled over her words and frowned, her arms crossing over her chest.

“Now, now. No need to be defensive darling,” Seraphina smiled kindly though her gaze became more pointed and serious. “Whatever you decide to do with that rock just don’t let it fall into the wrong hands. I know he wouldn’t like it.”

“Who’s he?” Forrest asked with an almost fearful look.

“No one you need to fear.” The old woman responded coolly.

“But who is this he. Like what’s his name?” This time Araedia was the one to speak up.

Seraphina only chuckled softly. “His name doesn’t matter at the moment, I’m sure he’ll tell you when the time is right.”

Araedia just groaned and mumbled in response, “You really are a fortune teller aren’t you?”

“No,” Seraphina said shaking her head slightly. “I’m a teller of destinies and fates not fortunes.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Fortunes entail something positive, destinies and fates aren’t always positive.” Her gaze met the confused looks of Forrest and Araedia and the elderly woman smiled slyly. “Take the last girl who was here for example; her fate is as dark as the night and her destiny in an uphill climb. Though I wouldn’t say its any more challenging than either of your destinies.”

Araedia eyed the woman with another questioning and openly suspicious glance. “Our destinies? You mean that you can see them then?”

“I am a teller of fates after all. I can see your destinies and your fates and everything in between.”

“Destinies and fates, aren’t those the same thing.” Forrest asked before taking a bite of some more of the crackers the elderly woman had brought out. Araedia had picked up her teacup, though she had yet to take a sip. The girl simply held it loosely in her hands as she listened carefully and tried to wrap her mind around it all.

Seraphina nodded. “Two very different things, might I add. Fate is the predetermined course or road of one’s life and it occurs no matter what one’s actions are. Destiny, however, is a set of determined events that is chosen by the way one lives and shaped by how they live their life. They are very similar, but very, very different.”

Araedia glanced at the cup in her hand. “So you would you say that it was fate or destiny that brought us here?”

“Both.” The young woman frowned, her forehead wrinkling as she tried to think it through. Seraphina chuckled and continued, “While your fates have determined what has happen to both of you already and what will happen in your near and far futures, it was destiny that lead you to the bandits and brought you here, to me.”

“So you’re saying that no matter what we would we could or would have done we’d have ended up here?” Forrest took another handful of the dray crackers and proceeded to eat them.

Seraphina nodded. “No matter the choices you’d have made, you two would have ended up sitting in front of me as you are now. However, the things that have happened to you were planned as well, to some extent.”

“Planned? By who?” Araedia set down the cup and stared the elderly woman in eyes. “Who did all this so called ‘planning’? And who gave this person or thing the right to plan someone else’s life! If someone or something did plan all of this then it’s their fault we’re in this mess, it’s their fault Kisien was taken and it’s their fault that… well never mind… but still. Someone standing out there planning for all this to happen?” Her arms crossed back over her chest. “I just… can’t buy that. All this fate and destiny stuff sounds likes a bunch of mumbo jumbo if you ask me.”

“It’s not easy to understand.” The woman agreed with a small nod. “Nor is it set in stone. Don’t think of it as a singular thing planning for all this. Think of it more as the universe aliening itself, finding all the right places for everyone and everything in this endless puzzle. Yet those puzzle pieces are always moving always changing. And you can change those pieces. You can change your fate and control your destiny, you just have to know how.”

Araedia groaned and leaned back against the wall closing her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense. I mean…. I get that some things just happen, and whether that’s ‘fate’ or not, I don’t know, but the universe making all this happen? Not likely… And a person being able to control their own fate or destiny or what ever… did you just say they’re predetermined?! I just…” she groaned again and stood up walking towards the curtain hoping there was a door behind it. “I need some fresh air.”

The young woman pushed past the curtain and looked up. To her right was the small table with the crystal ball. She stared at the swirling patter for a few seconds before forcing her eyes away. She turned left, where she found a door, and pushed it open before stepping outside, letting the door slam shut behind her.

After stumbling down a few stairs she found herself on the grass in front of an odd caravan. Looks like she really is a traveling fortuneteller. Araedia couldn’t see what else Seraphina could possibly be. She moved across the small clearing and set herself down on a log letting her head fall into her hands.

Her head was still pounding and she wasn’t sure if she was going to pass out again or not, she had stood up pretty quickly, probably a little to quickly. A sigh escaped her lips and the woman looked up and around as she rubbed her temples. She could only take so much of that destiny stuff before it just made her head spin. Yes things happened for a reason, but she couldn’t see how your life was planned out for you.

Are you alight? There was a small buzzing in the air and something landed on her leg. Araedia looked down to see the small green Glasswork staring up at her.

“I’m fine… My head’s killing me though.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose before resting her head back on her hand.

Maybe you need to drink some more of that tea?

“That stuff is gross, besides what I need is to let my head clear a little.” Araedia leaned back and looked up though the trees and at the sky. “All that fate and destiny stuff is absolutely ridiculous.”

Well I think it’s pretty interesting. The Glasswork fluttered up and sat on her shoulder, nestled between strands of Araedia’s messy, dark brown hair.

The girl’s honey colored eyes never left the sky. “Don’t tell me you believe in that stuff.”

So what if I do?

The girl let out an audible groan. “Really Zaetlan? That stuff is ridiculous. It’s all just some ploy to get you to pay her to take one of those stupid fortune reading sessions.”

Ii might be. The dragon said with a small shrug. Or it’s just another thing that you human will never understand. I’m voting for that latter option. Araedia shot the small dragon a glare, though she didn’t bother to say anything. Starting an argument was the last thing Araedia wanted to do at this time. Come on… it’s not like I’m wrong. You human always think you’re oh so smart and special, but are you really? You barely understand Rune magic, you’ve managed to kill off an entire species, or at least get very, very close, and force another into hiding. Not to mention that you still don’t understand the universe. Who are you to say that fate and destiny don’t exist and are just lies?

The girl mumbled something under her breath and continued to rubbed her head, running a hand through her hair, or at least trying to. “Okay… okay, I get it. I’m not one to say anything. After all I’m only a mortal. But that doesn’t mean-” She stopped and glanced over at the small dragon that looked at her with unblinking green eye. “You know what? Whatever just drop it.” She mumbled her eyes falling down to the ground and her feet.

It was then that she realized what she was wearing. She wasn’t in the clothing she had been attacked in; she was in the second pair of cloths that she had brought on the trip, or at least they looked like the ones she grabbed, she wasn’t quite sure. The girl shivered slightly as a cold wind blew through the trees. She glanced up at the sound of something moving and peered past the caravan and into the brush.

Something moved beyond the clearing and a pair of eyes watched her from somewhere, she could feel it. Araedia stood up, wrapping her arms around herself to keep in the heat. “I’m getting cold, I think I’ll head back inside.”

Zaetlan’s attention was focused elsewhere. That might not be a bad idea.

[SkieNight]

{Authors Note: So... I've been terrible about updating recently, sorry about that. And its mostly because I've been too lazy to edit. I've written a lot, I'm almost at chapter 9 at this point, but with over 70 pages of writing I just haven't wanted to sit down and edit. However, since I had a day off today I forced myself to edit and got through about two chapters of editing, give or take, so I should be good for a while. I hope you enjoy the tarot read, and this part of the story. Thanks for reading!}

For the second day in a row Araedia opened her eyes to find herself staring at the wooden wall of the caravan. Well, technically it was the fifth day as she had been barely conscious for the first three days. The young woman sat up slowly and looked around slightly. Forrest was sprawled over the floor, wrapped up in the think blanket Seraphina had given him the previous evening.

The boy had insisted that he didn’t need one, and this wasn’t that cold. Clearly he had been lying. The young woman forced herself up and walked across the room as quietly as possible. Though she wasn’t worried about Forrest waking up, it seemed like the boy could sleep through anything, of course recently he hadn’t been the best sleeper. What she was worried about was waking Seraphina, not that the girl had ever seen the elderly woman asleep.

Araedia pushed past the purple curtain that spilt the room in half and glanced around again. The old woman was nowhere to be found. Her eyes fell back onto the table where the glowing crystal ball sat with its internal swirling, as though a blizzard was always storming just past the glass exterior.

“Pretty isn’t it?” Araedia hadn’t even heard the door open. Her head snapped up and her eyes snapped towards the older woman who was standing by the door, smiling kindly.

“Y-yeah, it certainly is.” The young woman said taking a step away from the table. Araedia hoped that it didn’t look as though she were about to do something to the orb.

A small chuckle escaped from the other woman’s lips as Seraphina moved around Araedia and plopped herself in the ornate chair across from the younger girl. “How is your shoulder? You were bitten pretty badly.”

Araedia’s hand ran over the spot where she had been bitten and her eyes looked over the gauze that had been wrapped tightly around the spot. Though it seemed to have turned slightly pinkish in color, most of the bleeding had stopped and, thanks to some of the things Seraphina had given her, the pain was pretty much gone.

“It’s healing very well thanks to you.” Araedia said with a small smile, taking a seat across the table from the woman, her eyes falling back onto the swirling sphere. “May I ask where you got this? The glass work is absolutely incredible.” It looks like something father could’ve made. Though she knew that it was impossible.

“That it is,” The elderly lady agreed with a nod and leaned forward slightly against the table. “I actually picked it up as a special order in Silverport. A good friend of mine crafted it, and with just a touch magic it became what it is today.”

Araedia sat back in the chair and watched the swirling. She could have guessed that magic was involved, things didn’t just swirl one their own. However, not matter how long the young woman looked at it, she couldn’t see any shapes or events or scenes. There was nothing to indicate that it was in fact a crystal ball used by any fortuneteller.

Araedia glanced up, and found herself looking into the soft violate eyes of Seraphina. “I have two questions for you.”
The elderly woman smiled again. “I know, go ahead and ask.”

Araedia cleared her throat and found herself looking at her hands. “Are you... by chance… a Mystic?”

Seraphina chuckled again and folded her hands on the table. “I certainly am.” Araedia found looking up to study the woman across from her after Seraphina answered the question. The Mystic smiled again. “And your second question?”

“Oh right! Does this thing,” Araedia gestured to the ever-swirling orb. “Actually work then, since you are a Mystic and all, or is it just for decoration.”

“Oh it works,” Seraphina said, her clear purple eyes focused on the swirling of the mist-like substance in the sphere. “However it is often hard to read as fates and destinies are messy, messy things. And people, like you, tend to get very clouded readings. In truth I prefer tarot card readings for closer or more prominent future events.”

“What are tarot cards?”

A mischievous look cracked across the old woman’s face, “How about I show you? It’s easier to explain if you’re given an example.” She stood up and walked to the closest cabinet, pulling a stack of cards from the top shelf. She made her way back to the table and placed the cards in a neat pile on the table. “Now as I shuffle, think of a question. Don’t say it out loud, just hold it in your mind and focus on it until I’m done shuffling.”

Araedia blinked slightly and watched as the woman shuffled the deck. Think of a question… Nothing came to mind. Well what do I want to know? A thought passed her mind and the young woman focused the question, repeating it to herself over and over again as she watched the shuffling of the cards. She let the question float around in her mind as the woman split the deck placing half to the side and the rest between them.

“I presume you have your question?” Araedia nodded, her eyes never leaving the stack of cards in Seraphina’s hand. It wasn’t a though Araedia believed in this kind of thing, the young woman was simply curious to see what the answer would turn out to be. And besides, what else did she have to do? “Now I’m going to flip over five cards. With each card I’ll tell you what it means and then it’s for you to decide how the figure, the meaning, or the element relate to your question.”

Araedia looked unimpressed. “So I’m pretty telling my own fortune? Wait, then what are you here for?”

Seraphina chuckled lightly, “I’m here to help you put everything into its place. This isn’t really telling you the future, think of it more as you getting a glimpse of the answer through the cards.” Araedia continued to stare. “You’ll see shortly, the one piece of advice I will give you is to keep an open mind. Don’t lock in and focus on only one possibly, know that there are many answers, and the cards don’t always have a literal meaning.”

Araedia let out a long breath of air and nodded once. She wasn’t sure what to expect anymore as she watched the woman turn over the first card and place it on the table between them. Drawn over the face of the card, in what looked to be a hand painted style, was an armored knight ridding atop a pure white Sleipnir. Gripped in the knight’s hand was a black flag with unidentifiable runes written across it and in the background the young woman could just make out a small group of people huddled together.

Araedia glanced up at Seraphina, the Mystic was studying the card closely. “This card represents your question, and its symbol is Death.” The elderly woman spoke slowly and carefully. “Death in this case does not have to be literal. Instead it can represent and intense change, one that many people will fear. However, as long as you aren’t blind to the change and don’t deny it, you can face it.”

The woman turned over the second card, placing it to Araedia’s left of the Death card. The young woman watched the card with a careful gaze. The painted picture was that of a tower crumbling. A stormy sky was painted at the backdrop and two bolts of lighting were sticking the tower. Bricks were falling on either side of the painted building and what looked to be two Runes were pained fleeing the collapse.

“This is the Tower card.” Seraphina went on to speak, her face was relaxed and Araedia studied it. She found it impossible to tell what the woman was thinking and so returned her gaze returned to the cards. “It symbolizes turmoil, a disaster of some sort, something bad. However, it’s something that you can survive through strength and perseverance. Believe in yourself and in others.”

How do these even relate to my question? Araedia shook the thought from her head slightly and watched as the woman flipped over another card. “This is the Emperor card.” The card was a bearded man sitting in a golden throne. Wrapped around the foot of the throne was a gleaming red Drake, its head resting on the king’s legs. The emperor held something in either hand, though Araedia didn’t recognize either symbol.

“The Emperor is a symbol of logic and intelligence. He is here to show that leadership is needed in a situation, and how it is the only way this problem will be solved.” Seraphina pointed at either symbol in the king’s hands. “These are ways to help guide you, through knowledge and power. And remember,” her finger slid down so she was pointing at the dragon that was wrapped around the throne. “Friends are always by your side to help you.”

“But how-”

“Shush, darling, don’t interrupt the reading. I’ll answer you’re questions later. Keep an open mind and try to find ways in which these cards relate to your question. Remember, it might not be the clearest most obvious path, sometimes the answer is connected by a faded string.” Araedia shut her mouth and frowned slightly, but watched the woman’s hand as she flipped over the next card, placing it in line and just above the Death card.

The picture on the card was two people facing each other, they looked to be a man and a woman, though Araedia couldn’t really tell. Both figures were holding large golden cups and flying above their heads was a single Rune Dragon that seems to be in mid spiral. There seemed to be something close almost personal about the people in the picture, but Araedia couldn’t tell where the feeling was coming from.

“This is the Two of Cups.” The woman’s finger ran over the picture. “This card tends to represent love, or a close friendship. However, in some cases it has also been written to represent a new or blooming friendship. Notice how the two figures in the picture are looking each other in the eye. They share a closeness, and this card represents a close relationship in your life or in your future.”

Araedia opened her mouth but forced it closed. She had so many questions it was honestly annoying to have to wait until the end, but she’d live through it. What bothered the young woman the most was the fact that the cards were so open and could represent so many things. A small sigh escaped her lips; it could mean so much or nothing at all. The young woman was honestly leaning towards the latter of the two options.

Seraphina flipped the last card over and chuckled softly. It was a picture of an elderly person, looked to be a woman with long hair falling on either side, holding a lantern in one hand and a walking stick in the other. The elderly woman was draped in dull cloths and a starry pattern was outlined in the background.

“And this last card here in the Hermit. As you can see, this person is an old traveler. With the lantern they stand looking for a new path. This card represents guidance and a gaining of knowledge, something that you shouldn’t forget to do on your journey. Whether they be young of old, friend of foe, look for wisdom and remember to listen. Who knows what you might learn in unexpected places.”

Araedia’s eyes ran over the cards. All together they were in a cross pattern with the Death card in the middle, the Tower to the right and the Emperor to the left. The Two of Cups were above the central card and now the Hermit was lying below. Thoughts swirled through the girl’s mind but no two pieces seemed to fit together perfectly.

“What does it all mean?”

The old woman shook her head, “Didn’t I just explain to you what each of the cards mean?” Her violate eyes dropped back down to the table. “However, it is uncommon to get four out of five cards to be cards from the Major Arc. If that isn’t a sign I don’t know what is.”

“The Major Arc? What’s that?” Araedia leaned back in her chair, this was so opened ended it was getting a bit ridiculous. She could certainly see how one could make money off of this though, and to say it wasn’t kind of interesting would be a lie.

“The Major Arc is the group of more ‘spiritual’ and ‘heavenly’ cards. They are the cards that represent your journey both here in Eldemore, through the universe and through your own mind.” The woman spoke as she swept the cards back into her hand and shuffled them in the deck. “It is said that the more cards you have in a reading that are from the Major Arc, the more your question or answer cannot be controlled by you, but by divine forces.”

Araedia could help but roll her eyes at the thought. “Not more of that stuff.” She mumbled under her breath. Her eyes followed Seraphina as the elderly woman stood up again and walked towards the cupboard where the cards were originally.

“Do you have any other question?” The old woman asked as she turned back to face the girl.

“I do. It’s more about my question and how the cards relate to it. I just wanted to get your advice on it.” Araedia said, her eyes on her hands. She didn’t necessarily believe in this, but she still wanted to hear was Seraphina had to say.

“That is my job?” The woman chuckled softly as she made her way back to her seat across from Araedia, though she didn’t sit down.

“Well… you see I was wondering-”

“Oh, you two having a little chat without me?” Araedia almost jumped form her chair. She hadn’t heard the curtain move nevertheless any movement form beyond the curtain. Forrest was peaking out from the other side of the drapes, with a curious and energetic look in his eyes.

“I just gave Araedia a card reading.” Seraphina said, as she continued to stand behind her chair. Her eyes fell back on Araedia. “Why don’t we go and talk about this somewhere else.” She gave the girl a wink before turning to Forrest. “I think both of you need some fresh air after having been stuck in here for a few days. Besides, isn’t your stuff hidden somewhere in the woods? Why don’t we all take a nice little walk?”

“Sounds like a great idea!” Forrest was already out of the door before Araedia could blink. The young girl stood up and followed Seraphina out of the caravan. And the two started after the boy and into the woods. The girl glanced around nervously, looking for any signs of movement.

“Well what did you want to ask?” The elderly woman asked once Forrest was far enough ahead and distracted enough.

“Well it wasn’t a question as much as I just want to talk about the interpretations.” The young woman sighed and pushed some strands of hair out of her face. Her dark brown hair was now just a tangled mess, and she planned to take care of it as soon as possible. Whenever that was. “The question I asked was what’s going to happen next? I mean, I thought it was a fair question. With Kisien still gone, and the fact that it seems like the thieves packed up and left, I’m not sure where we go after this, I mean we can’t stay here for much longer. I was hoping that the cards might answer it but now I’m just more confused.”

A sighed escaped her lips and she shrugged, “I want to help Forrest, but how? Were do we go? We clearly need help getting her back I mean… we almost died last time! But where to next? And what’s our next move? I doubt you can help us, but I figured maybe we could talk about how the cards could guide us?”

Silence fell between the two as they moved slowly through the trees. Araedia glanced around, she didn’t recognize anything, but to be fair she didn’t know how far they were from their stuff or from where the bandits had attacked them. She glanced back at Seraphina; the elderly woman seemed to be deep in thought. Her purple eyes weren’t concentrated on any one thing, and the frail looking hands fixed her necklace and then the cloth that was draped across her shoulders.

How did this woman possible save us? Araedia had pondered the question before, and had actually asked it before, though the answer she received was anything but satisfactory.

Magic. The small voice echoed in the back of the girl’s head and something landed on her shoulder.

“Zaetlan, there you are.”

Sorry, I was sleeping; it was nice to catch up on some rest. I’d say you should do the same but I think you’re fine after being out for almost three days. The small dragon flicked her tail before brushing a paw against her face. What were you up to this morning?

Araedia chuckled softly and patted the Glasswork carefully with a gentle finger. “A lot, surprisingly. I found out that tarot cards are actually pretty interesting.”

I’m not even going to ask…

Seraphina cleared her throat and Araedia’s mind snapped back to attention as she watched the woman was a careful gaze. “The cards are there to give you a general look and hopefully an answer. However your case is a bit more confusing than most, so I could tell you my interpretations of the cards. Though I already know you wouldn’t like it and it wouldn’t answer your question.”

“But isn’t that was the cards are suppose to do? Answer questions?” Araedia found her arms falling across her chest as she walked

“Yes, but you are looking for specifics that you didn’t ask in your question. Besides, with how messy your fate and destiny are I’m actually surprised how clear your reading was.”

“Clear?” Araedia asked, one eyebrow raised. “In what world was that clear?”

“For tarot cards, it was pretty clear.” Seraphina offered her a bemused smile. “But enough of that. I have something else that can help answer your question. I told you about the girl that stopped by here some days ago, right?”

“Yeah…” Araedia remembered her bringing it up once or twice, though she didn’t know much about it.

“Well, you three are tired together by the same strings of fate,” Seraphina’s eyes landed on the boy who was still walking just ahead of them. It was surprising that he actually seemed to know where he was going. “I believe that she will be of some use in what you are looking for. Granted, I doubt that three alone can accomplish what you wish to do, but it is a promising start.”

Araedia’s eyes widened, so that girl was relevant. “Well who is she? And where can we meet? If she knows something or can be of any help I’d love to sit down and talk with her. What is she like?”

“One question at a time, and even so I can only answer so many things at a time.” The elderly woman chuckled softly. “The girl’s name is Rose, and right now she is off, somewhere, even I don’t know where. But I do know that it’s an important part of her journey. However, if you do wish to meet her, I’d go to Silverport this upcoming winter, you might just find a friend or two who can help you.”

“In the winter…” Araedia repeated, glancing at the small dragon on her shoulder before looking back at Seraphina. “So, you mean like… during the Yuletide Festival?”

“Yes, that would be the time to go. I hear it’s quite the sight to see.” The fortuneteller nodded. “And I believe that you’d have the best chances of meeting her then.”

The young girl sighed and hung her head slightly. “What do we do until then? Winter isn’t exactly anytime soon. Should we try and find the bandits or what?”

“If you want to get killed, I’d track those people down. If that’s not what you have planned then I’d go home, rest and make a plan. You can’t keep traveling out here forever; I’m a traveler you two are not. Besides, you have things to check up on in Alabaster, don’t you?”

Araedia sighed, her mind wandered to her shop. She felt guilty for not having thought about it once, though when it did cross her mind something bubbled up in her. Was it okay? Did anything happen to any of her pieces? Did anyone break in? The thoughts caused her heart to speed up and her mouth to dry.

“I would like to go home. Besides,” Her eyes went back to the elderly woman walking besides her. “I don’t want us to be a annoyance to you. You’ve done so much for us already and there’s no way that I can ever repay you.”

“Carry out your destiny and that will be payment enough.” Seraphina said with a small smile.

Araedia shook her head and opened her mouth to say something but another voice caught her ear. “Hey!! I found our stuff! It doesn’t look like anyone or anything found it before us, everything is still here.”

A smile ran over the girl’s lips. “That’s great!” She turned back to Seraphina and looked at the woman and froze. Would they be leaving so soon? Araedia realized she didn’t have much of a choice at this point.

“I can’t thank you enough.” She whispered. “I hope we meet can again, I still have a lot of questions for you.” And with that the young woman turned and started back towards Forrest who had swung the backpack over his shoulder.

“Don’t you worry darling.” The Mystic turned and started back towards her little caravan. “We will. Our fates are more closely tied then you will ever understand.”