It was a quiet night. The stars lit the night sky with all their radiance, letting the centaurs read what was to come. A soft pounding could be heard, the sound of dwarves mining underground. Animals of the night wandered through the sleeping trees, completely silent with only their thoughts as company.

The silence was broken by the pounding of hooves. A horse and rider raced through the trees. There was tension in the urgency of this pair. They were obviously running for their lives.

The rider stopped abruptly to listen. His horse pawed and snorted nervously. From where they had come, there was the sound of pursuers. Shouts of order’s and horses whinnying in protest echoed after them. The rider swore before reining his horse and squeezing him into a gallop again. This was a dangerous chase and if he were caught he would be killed. It was the order of the ‘Black Queen.’

Coming to a river, his horse waded through with some difficulty but kept true and raced on. The rider thanked the heavens to be blessed with a horse such as this, whether talking or not. But he knew that a river would not stop his pursuers. He needed a distraction.

As he rode through the trees, he remembered the stories that he had heard as a little boy. It was said that the woods were haunted and filled with monsters of the most terrifying nature. Anyone who entered these parts never came back. But only some humans believed them. Other creatures ventured into the forest without fear. He was one of the few that knew the stories to be false. He knew this part of the land a little.

As he rode, he saw a familiar tree. It was a cherry blossom. The pink flowers shimmered and he could almost see the sleeping dryad inside. Cherry blossoms were good luck he knew, and he needed some luck if he were to survive the night. Stopping his horse again, and this time he dismounted. Taking the small pack off the horse, he whispered. “Farewell brother.” Before he slapped the horse on the rear, making him take off into the forest and out of sight. Quickly, he climbed through the branches of the tree and hid among the pink flowers. He was completely still as he watched the riders gallop after the fleeing horse. Once they were gone, he let out his breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Maybe he had some luck at last.

Leaning against the beautiful tree, he watched the stars dance in the sky. He wondered whether the stars said anything about his destiny. Closing his eyes he silently prayed. Please help us. Please…

Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing violently through the branches of the trees. It didn’t feel like a normal wind, more like magic. He wrapped his cloak around his body, trying to hide against it. There was a flash of lightening and just as the wind stopped he heard a thud, like someone falling from the branches of the cherry blossom.

Climbing out of the tree, he cautiously moved towards where the sound had come from. He was surprised to find a boy, lying on the ground, completely unconscious, and dressed in the strangest clothes he had ever seen. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a young woman.

2: Chapter One

“Come on Chris! All you ever do is read! You need to have some fun in your life, while you’re still young!” Crystal cried, as we ate lunch.

I looked up at her, over my book and replied. “I do have fun. And I don’t just read. I come to school; I go to Crossfit, go to my Taekwondo classes, work my job and listen to my music.”

“With a book in one hand. Come on girl! There is more to life then that.”

“Really?” I replied sarcastically, giving Crystal a look that said “Enlighten me.”

“Yes. Chris, you are the only girl that I have ever met that dresses the way you do. I mean, look at yourself! You look like a boy and everyone mistake’s you for a boy.” She complained.

“FYI, that’s the idea! I like dressing this way and honestly I like being a tom boy.” I laughed, flipping my blue, green and blonde hair out of my face. It was the truth. Most people did mistake me for a boy, but it didn’t matter to me. My hair was cut in a very punk boyish way, with blue, green and blonde running through it. And my right ear was pierced four times and on top of that, my style was punk and boyish. I never liked the normal clothes that most girls wore, and my parents weren’t around enough to dictate what I wore anyway.

Crystal replied with a huff. “You would be so much more attractive if you dressed more like a girl.”

I looked at her again and told her. “I don’t want to and I like my style. No matter how little you say I have.”

“How do you ever expect to get a boyfriend looking like that?”

“And now we come to it. The whole reason we are having this conversation.” I laughed. We had had this conversation in the past. I was just playing my role.

Crystal blushed and reminded me. “You’re the one who is always reading fairy tales and stuff like that. And if that doesn’t say ‘I want a boyfriend’ I don’t know what does.”

“Look Crystal, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you know that I don’t believe in the whole, “happily ever after” ending. I don’t believe every princess has a prince and if they do then I refuse to be one of them.” I told her. This was also true. I didn’t want someone to try and sweep me off my feet like every other princess in the world. I didn’t believe in anything fairy tales said. My life (or what little Crystal thought I had) was good. I was independent, young and strong. I could rely on myself and didn’t need anybody to look after me. My grandmother had taught me to be this way, since my parents were never around. I didn’t need anybody to look after me anyway.

“Come on Chris!” Crystal whined. I rolled my eyes and closed my book.

Looking up at her, I decided to humor her. “Fine. What would you like to do tonight Crystal?”

Crystal brightened and replied. “Well some of us are going to karaoke. You can come.”

“Okay. Just tell me when and where.”

I met Crystal and a few of her other friends at karaoke. Although Crystal had tried to convince me into wearing some more feminine clothes I would not humor her in that sense and just to annoy her I chose the most unusual and masculine clothes I had. When her other girlfriends saw me, they exclaimed. “Crystal when you said that another friend of yours was coming, you didn’t say that it was some hot guy.”

I laughed. “Hold on hon. I happen to be a girl and I’m straight.”

“No way! You’re much too gorgeous to be female.”

I rolled my eyes to Crystal. She sighed. “Sorry girls. Christina is a girl.”

When they didn’t believe me, I led them to the girl’s washroom and showed them the bandages I wrapped around my chest.

“Don’t make me take them off. I would rather not have to.”

Crystal hissed to me as we all left the washroom. “I told you to dress more feminine.”

“And I told you I refuse!” I retorted.

And my day was just getting worse as I was about to find out. Typical that Crystal didn’t tell me that her boyfriend and some of his friends were coming as well. And to make matters worse they all thought that I was a boy too. I wouldn’t have minded so much if they would have believed me when I said that I was a girl. They had to get the other girls and Crystal to confirm that I was.

None of the boys or girls were interesting at all. Unfortunately most of Crystal’s friends were completely shallow. They were all about looks, flirtation and which boy they liked the best. I hated those kinds of girls the most. Crystal was an exception, because she was the only girl that actually was not shallow. And she was my first friend in middle school. As much as she knew I couldn’t stand her friends I had promised her that I would endure.

The boys weren’t much better. But there was one boy that I found particularly annoying. He had blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was the best looking, I had to admit, but I didn’t like that he kept staring at me.

Although I knew Crystal wouldn’t be impressed I told her that I needed to get home and wouldn’t let her ask why. As I left, I heard someone call my name behind me. To my complete dismay, it was the blonde boy, offering to walk me home.

“I can walk on my own.” I told him, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

He nodded. “I figured that. But I wanted to talk to you.”

“How very touching.” I replied sarcastically.

He chuckled. “You really aren’t like other girls you know.”

“Really? Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Are you always so sarcastic?”

I spun around to him and cried, spitting venom. “Are you so stupid that you can’t tell that I’m not interested?”

He shrugged, after recovering from his flinch. “Or maybe I just won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Why are you so afraid?”

“Afraid? Who’s afraid? I’m not scared of anything!” I shouted angrily.

He took a step towards me and quietly replied. “But I think you are. You’re afraid that someone might look at you and tell you that you are beautiful.”

I stared at him, completely surprised. Beautiful? Me? I laughed, emotionless. “I don’t care what others think about me. Who asked you anyway?”

“Crystal told me that you would be hard to convince, so let me put it to you this way. You’re afraid of a prince, coming to you and sweeping you off your feet. You’re afraid to fall in love.” He pronounced. This was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. Before he could say another word I punched him in the gut.

He coughed, as I whispered dangerously to him. “Listen carefully. I am not afraid of anything. I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I am not a princess in need of a prince, to save or protect me. Go find yourself some princess with bows in her hair and frills coming out of her yin yang.” Straightening, I turned on my heel and walked away.

He called after me. “My name is Casper.”

“Fuck you!” I called back, not turning to him and giving him the one finger salute.

Once I got home, I fell onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. I sighed. That punk! Who the hell was he to say that I was scared? I wasn’t afraid of anything. I had learned a long time ago that love was an illusion. Everyone I had ever cared about (besides Crystal) had left me. I wasn’t about to love again.

Sitting up, I reached under my bed and grabbed the book I was reading. To me, reading was my release from the real world. It helped me relax and escape into adventure. My world was so boring compared to the books I read. As much as Crystal thought that reading was boring, I preferred it to anything else in the world. If I couldn’t read, I would go crazy!

I dove head first into my book and in a matter of seconds was lost in the pages. Mystery, adventure, horror and love danced through the pages before my eyes. I was so immersed in the story that I fell asleep while reading.

At first, I saw nothing just blackness. But as my eyes adjusted I found myself overlooking a large room. I had a Birdseye view. I couldn’t tell any of the details in the room, except that there was someone sleeping in the humongous bed. I had enough light to study his features. He was very handsome, with dark hair, and skin darker than mine but by no means black. I could tell that he was well built and tall, by the outline in the bed. But something told me he needed to wake up and get away. I didn’t know how I knew this, it was just a gut feeling I had. After a few moments, he woke up and stared at me. I knew he saw me, because he asked. “What are you?”

I couldn’t explain that. I didn’t even know myself what he meant. “No time. You need to run.”

“What?” he asked astonished.

“You are in danger. Run! Get away from here.”

 He climbed out of bed quickly, and rushed to put on his clothes. Just as he grabbed his sword from under his bed, we both heard footsteps coming closer. He stared at me for a few seconds. I mouthed. “Go!” He opened a hole in the wall and climbed through. It shut just as men with crossbows burst into the room, shooting arrows at the bed where the handsome man had been sleeping. I knew then that someone wanted him dead and although I didn’t know why, I couldn’t help but wonder. And just as they realized that he wasn’t there, I was falling into an abyss of dreamless sleep.

The next day, Crystal was mad at me. “How could you ditch me like that?”

“Crystal, you know I don’t like going places with people I don’t know. And you didn’t tell me that your boyfriend was coming along.” I reminded her. Then I added. “Besides you seemed to be having a good time and I would only dampen the mood anyway.”

“Chris I was trying to get you more comfortable with people!”

“Look, I just don’t like being with people like that okay. Just drop it. And I needed to go home anyway. Curfew you know.”

“Ha! You haven’t had a curfew since you were 10 years old. Your parents are away anyway.” Crystal called my bluff. I sighed and shrugged.

She asked after a moment of silence. “When are they supposed to be coming back again?”

I shrugged again. “Hell if I know. I really don’t care anyway.”

“You could have a house party.” She suggested sweetly.

“Crystal no.”

“It was only a suggestion. By the way, how did you like that guy?”

“What guy?”

“The cute one that walked you home?”

“Oh him! He was too dense for my liking. Couldn’t figure out that I wasn’t interested.” I replied, completely uninterested.

“Come on Chris. He could have been your first boyfriend! He was cute after all.” She cried, just as the first bell rang.

As we all took our seats I told her. “You know that I’m not interested in boys and love is completely out of the question.”

“Why is that?” I gave her a “You-know-why” look. Just as the teacher walked in she replied. “Oh because of that.”

Classes went on as usual. At lunch I helped some students that were getting picked on by the school gang. They didn’t want to fight me today thankfully. They had just got their butts kicked by me once this week and weren’t willing to get beaten again. I was the best fighter at my school, but refused to be in a gang. I preferred to help students that were picked on because they were different. Because of this, I had earned the nickname “Guardian Angel.”

I had helped a lot of people, and not just at my school. I did so because when I was in elementary school I was always picked on because I looked like a boy. There was one boy that helped me when I was being bullied. He was my guardian angel and taught me to fight and stand up for myself. In fifth grade though, I lost him.

At the end of the day, ominous looking clouds rolled in overhead. Crystal had an umbrella, which didn’t surprise me. Her backpack was at least 25 pounds without her homework and textbooks. Today though, I was approached by an elementary school girl. I knew her very well, since I had babysat her and her older brother. She was crying, although trying very hard not to.

I said goodbye to Crystal before bending down to her level and asked gently. “What’s the matter Melissa?”

“Robert is in a fight again. With some eighth graders.” She sniffed, rubbing her eyes.

Shit! Not again. I swore. Standing and taking her hand I told her. “Take me there as quickly as you can!”

Melissa did so and I found where they were fighting on the roof of the middle school. That punk kid never learns! I swore again, carrying Melissa on my back and running through the school to the roof. Banging open the door, I found Robert in the middle of a fight against five big middle school bullies.

“Leave him alone you punk kids!” I roared, making Melissa squeak in surprise and all eyes turned to me. There were bystanders, from all different grades. Putting down Melissa, I heard some murmuring before Robert cried. “This is my fight Chris! Stay out of it!”

“Like hell I will! You should know better than to start a fight!”

“They started it!” One of the bystanders cried.

“I don’t care! I’m ending it!” I roared again. Eventually I was ignored and the fighting started again. I swore under my breath and went in to break it up. I stood between the gang leader and Robert. Although Robert tried to get around me I threatened dangerously. “Try and get away from me and I will break your legs like twigs.”

Robert knew me well enough to know I wasn’t joking. The group fidgeted before the leader threw a punch at me. I caught it easily and twisted his arm behind his back. “You know, you’re just a punk ass kid, with a whole lot of guts to throw a punch at me. I bet your brother didn’t tell you that I was the one who gave him the black eyes.” His brother was the leader of my school’s gang and was over six feet and built like an ox. I didn’t like him and he hated me. Mostly because he couldn’t beat me in all the fights we had had. And there were more than I liked to count.

“By the way, if you struggle you’re going to break your own arm. Just a little more twisting and it will break in two.” I whispered to him, before letting him go. As he stumbled forward I continued, so they could all hear me. “You’re lucky I don’t beat up kids younger than me.”

The boy looked at his gang before shouting at me. “He started it!”

“I already told you punks, I don’t care who started it! It’s done!” I replied, before taking Robert by the arm and saying. “Let’s go kid.”

Robert cried. “What about her?”

Looking to where Robert was pointing, I saw a girl, about Robert’s age on the opposite side of the railing at the edge of the roof, holding on for dear life. Two members of the gang were on either side of her; like they were trying to make sure she wouldn’t try and climb over. I stared and screamed. “What the bloody hell are you kids thinking?”

None of them said anything, but I walked over to the girl. Her captures moved out of my way. I gently asked her. “Sweetie are you alright?”

She nodded but shook from head to toe. I knew the roof wasn’t high enough that you would die if you fell off, but one could be seriously injured. A cherry blossom bloomed below.

Gently I told her. “I’m going to help you over okay. You have to trust me.”

She nodded again, and I helped her over the rail. She ran into Robert’s arms. Terrific. She’s his crush. Just as I turned around, I saw the leader of my school’s gang stand beside his brother. He and the little brother had a stupid grin on their faces.

“What a fitting place for a rematch. Where it all started.” He sneered.

Rolling my eyes, I said. “I don’t have time for you today. I have to get these kids home before it rains and I work. So get out of my way.”

“Oh you’re not going anywhere. We are having a match right here right now.” He disagreed.

I sighed. “Do you really want to show your younger brother how easily I beat you the last time we fought?”

He growled and threw a punch at me. Although I blocked it easily, the force knocked me slightly off balance. At that moment, thunder crashed above us and a gust of wind, forced me completely off balance and somehow, I found myself over the safety railing and falling to the ground. I heard a scream, just as I entered the canopy of the cherry blossom tree. I saw a flash before a branch of the tree knocked me out cold.

3: Chapter Two

I woke to a throbbing pain in my head. Groaning softly, I tried to focus and sit up. But I felt dizzy and fell back. It was then that I realized that I was on a soft bed. As my eyes focused, I found that around me there was a pleasant woody smell. Wherever I was, it was warm and comfortable. Then, when my eyes adjusted I realized there was a light to my left, with figures around it, murmuring. I strained to hear what they were saying.

“Are you sure, this is the one you saw?” A light male voice asked. I could tell that the voice was normally very merry, although at the moment it had a serious tone to it.

“I’m quite sure. I promise you that she is the one I saw.” Another male voice answered. Strangely enough, I knew the voice, although I couldn’t put my finger on where I had heard it before. 

“Are we even sure that this is a girl?” The first voice replied with a joking tone.

This time a smooth female voice assured. “A girl? Nay, more like a young woman. Looks can be deceiving and nobody knows that better than I.”

“And the stars have said that she could come disguised as a man and help us win back our freedom.” A solemn voice agreed.

The familiar voice sighed. “You know that I believe you Glimstar, but I don’t see how this woman is to help us win our freedom.”

Just at that moment, I felt something slither across my arm. I yelped in surprise and leaped away; I still had no balance and fell against something hard and warm. I found myself face to face with the young man from my dream. He stared at me with deep green eyes, with a question dancing in his expression. I had fallen right on top of him.

A silver laugh brought me out of my enchantment. “I am glad to see you are awake my dear.”

Sitting up, I looked at the group around me and whispered. “Oh my God?”

“Would you get off of me please?” The young man asked, softly. I blushed and let him stand but sat on the floor in complete amazement. The first creature I saw was a short man with goat legs and horns just visible through his curly hair.

“A fawn?”

He nodded, with a smile.

Next was a larger man, with a man’s torso and head, as well as a horse’s body. He was well built and had black skin, but with light amber hair.

“A centaur?”

 He bowed his head in approval.

Then I saw the women. She was beautiful, with hair the color of cherry blossoms, dark skin and dressed in a leaf dress. Little pink flowers bloomed from her arms, legs and bare feet.

“A dryad?”

“My you do know your creatures.” She laughed again.

I couldn’t speak for a few moments, because I was in such awe. Where was I? Was I dreaming? I pinched myself quickly to make sure. I wasn’t dreaming.

I was in such astonishment that I didn’t see the snake slither beside me. When she spoke I jumped. “The girl who is to save us all is afraid of snakes.”

“Talking animals? Animals can talk here?” I spluttered.

“Of course we can talk.” The snake hissed, slithering towards the dryad, who picked her up and allowed her to slither all over her.

The young man said, dusting himself off. “I really can’t see how she can help us at all.”

“Uh excuse me. I would like to make a few things clear before you go on.” I interrupted.

 I looked around and found everyone’s eyes were on me. The fawn encouraged gently. “What is it my dear?”

I breathed deep before saying. “Okay, first I’m not afraid of snakes. You just happened to surprise me at the moment’s where I least expect it.”

“My apologies, I do seem to have that habit.” The serpent sounded like she was mocking me a little, but I didn’t pursue the thought.

“Okay second, I would like to know where the hell I am. Am I in Narnia or something like that?”

“Narnia? Where is that?” The fawn asked.

“I guess not.” I muttered before asking. “Then where am I?”

‘You’re in a hidden house in a tree, which is in the land of Canes.” The dryad said cheerfully.

 I thought for a moment before saying, more to myself then to anyone else. “This place isn’t in any of the books that I have ever read.”

“Do you think we are fiction?” The centaur asked seriously, and almost intensely.

I apologized quickly. “I do beg your pardon, truly. It’s just where I come from talking animals, fawns, centaurs, dryads and other magical beings (which I’m sure you have) are all in books. But I don’t think I am dreaming.”

“She doesn’t even believe that we are real!” The young man cried.

“I didn’t say that!” I cried, surprised by his outburst.

“Well you haven’t said anything that tells us otherwise. You have been thinking that you are dreaming and you think that we are fictional characters in some story that you have read!” He replied, hotly. This pissed me off.

“Fine then! And thirdly,” I struggled so that I was standing, right in front of the young man. He seemed surprised but I didn’t care. I proudly told him. “Don’t talk like I’m not standing right here. I may be a woman, but I’m not stupid! I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. One minute I’m protecting myself from a schoolyard bully and then I’m here with creatures I’ve only ever read about in books. I’ve pinched myself several times and…” I started to faint as I finished. “I have concluded that I am not dreaming.”

“Oh no! Catch her for goodness sake Alec!” The fawn cried. Alec, the man, caught me as I fell. I didn’t lose conciseness this time. Gently, Alec set me on my back on the ground and moved a chair for me to put my feet up on.

“It helps the blood circulate.” He said with a matter of fact tone, as the fawn came forward with a cup.

“Drink this, my dear. It will help you gain some of your strength back. You had a nasty bump on your head when Alec found you.” He prompted.

“You seemed to have fallen from the sky. Thankfully, my tree broke your fall a little.” The dryad smiled putting the snake on the ground again. She slithered up to me and asked. “May I?”

“Uh sure?” I replied not sure what she was asking.

She slithered onto my head and flicking her tongue in my ear, tickling a little. “What are those on your ear?”

“You mean my earrings? I have a lot of them on my ears, I know.” I smiled before taking a sip of the drink the fawn gave me. It didn’t taste that good, but I felt better.

“Thank you uh…” I paused realizing that I didn’t know any of their names. “Will you tell me your names?”

“Oh yes, of course. Where are our manners?” The dryad laughed.

The fawn chuckled and began the introductions. “Well you already know Alexander. He is our runaway prince and rightful heir to the throne.”

“Like Prince Caspian.” I murmured.

He continued. “Glimstar is our centaur. He reads the stars and helps us with predictions of the future. He knew that you were coming and that you would look like you are a man.”

“Pleasure uh…” I hesitated, unsure of what would be polite by centaur standards.

He bowed his head solemnly and replied. “Just Glimstar will do. And the pleasure is mine.”

“Cherry Blossom was the one who broke your fall.” The fawn said, smiling at her.

“Everyone just calls me Cherry.” She smiled brightly. She had the most brilliant smile I had ever seen. I had to smile back as I thanked her for breaking my fall.

“The serpent is Secra and I am Glass.”

“Mr. Glass?”

“Yes. Now who are you?”

“Oh, my name is Christina. But everyone just calls me Chris.” I smiled wearily.

“Very plain, indeed.” Alec snorted, but loud enough so that we could all hear him. If I wasn’t so tired I would have kicked him. Instead I just glared at him.

Secra was slithering over my clothes now. She asked. “What on earth are you wearing?”

“Back home, these are more men’s clothes and they are the kind of style that I like. It is a very eccentric style.” I explained.

“And your hair?” Glimstar asked.

“I like to dye my hair different colors. It lets me have fun.” I smiled again.

“Why do you dress like that, if it is more of a men’s style? You have a very feminine figure.” Cherry asked, curiously.

I sighed. “Well, where I come from, men like the women that have bows and frills coming out of their ears...”

“What do you mean?” Cherry asked, confused. I realized that I would have to watch some of the figures of speech I used.

“I mean that they dress so feminine that it’s annoying. I find that men like that kind of girl. Also, I never liked what girls dress in. Men’s clothes are much more practical and if you can find the right clothes they look the best too. I just like them better, in style and practicality.”

After a pause, I cleared my throat and asked. “So what is all this talk about saving someone?”

Another pause, before Mr. Glass said. “Well, at this point, we don’t know when or how but we do know that you have already saved Alec from being killed by his step-mother in his sleep.”

“I have?” I asked, completely confused. Alec nodded.

“You were floating above my bed in the middle of the night and you told me that I had to run.” He replied. After a moment, I remembered the dream I had.

I gasped. “You mean that wasn’t a dream?”

Alec shrugged. “To you it was a dream. To me it was reality.”

I had to smile. Alec didn’t seem to like me and it was probably because he didn’t like the idea that a girl had saved his life. Most men were egotistic like that.

“Have you been in a fight my dear? Your arm is all bruised and I don’t think it was from the fall that you had.” Mr. Glass asked, examining my arm. I had been in so many fights that I rarely noticed the bruises anymore.

“I’m always in a fight. At school, I am the best fighter there and I am always defending weaker students from the local gang of the school. And the gang likes to fight me, just to try and gain back some pride they lost from losing to a girl. I won’t back down from a fight if I don’t have to and I haven’t lost a fight yet.” I confirmed, a little proudly. It was one thing I was confidante in if nothing else.

“We’ll see how good at combat you really are…” Alec started.

But Cherry interrupted quickly. “But only once you get some more of your strength back. Come my dear, you need your rest.” Cherry put my feet on the ground and helped me back to the bed where I was lying. Serca was coiled around my neck, but slithered up Cherry’s arm once I was lying down.

Feeling exhaustion sweep over me I yawned and closed my eyes to sleep. I felt Cherry plant a light kiss on my forehead and whisper. “Sleep well, Christina.”

It wasn’t long before I fell into a deep sleep.

“What is with her? Why is she so strange?” Alec asked, looking over at Christina. She was peacefully sleeping now.

“She is different, there is no doubt. But I like her. She has a very strong personality that is interesting.” Mr. Glass replied, bringing drinks for everyone.

 Cherry agreed. “I am of the same mind. She is just the kind of person we need in these dark times.”

“She will certainly need to be strong if she is truly to be the ‘One’.” Glimstar put in.

Cherry sighed. “She does seem to have a bit of a temper though. She is also very feisty. I do fear for her safety, because she really seems to be a sweet girl.”

“How could you know? You’ve only just met her?” Secra asked.

Cherry shrugged. “I guess you could call it instinct. We all have it of course.”

“She does have a funny smell, but then she isn’t from this world.” Secra replied thoughtfully.

“Alright, enough about her! Now what about the others? Shouldn’t they know of her arrival?” Alec asked.

Mr. Glass became serious again.  “Indeed I believe they should. They will want to know as soon as possible.”

“But also, do we believe that she is really the ‘One’?” Alec questioned, looking around the table. Glimstar sighed. “The stars have told us about her coming and they never lie. I believe she is truly the ‘One’.”

“I believe in her too.” Mr. Glass put in.

“So do I.” Cherry agreed.

Secra shrugged. “I suppose I do too.”

This time Alec sighed. He really didn’t believe that she was the ‘One’. After all, how could this girl help him and his people win back there freedom from his step-mother the ‘Black Queen?’ There wasn’t anything really special about her, as far as he could tell. She was particularly pretty, although it was hard to tell with the way she dressed. He was sure she couldn’t handle a sword if she had to and he didn’t really believe she was really that good at fighting.

Glimstar cut into Alec’s thoughts. “I have no doubt that most of my kind know already. But the others must be told.” He stood, with a little difficulty, since he was almost 17 hands tall, by horse standards. Alec stood. “You shouldn’t go alone. Since I am being hunted it will be more dangerous to be alone.”

Glimstar gave a small smile. “No more so when you weren’t being hunted. You should stay here my lord. Long live the rightful King!” And Glimstar left out the front door.

Alec stared for a few moments before sitting down again. He knew that it was his duty to bring peace between the magical creatures of Canes and the humans. It had been taught to him ever since he was a small boy. But his step-mother never believed in such things. She believed that magic and the creatures that could control it should be vanquished and destroyed. Alec’s father married her after Alec’s mother died when he was six years old. Alec’s own father died when he was twelve years old. Alec, being too young to rule, had no choice but to let his step-mother rule until he turned twenty. She was the one who drove the magical creatures into hiding. By the time Alec was thirteen, nobody knew what had happened to the creatures and some even thought that they were extinct. But when Alec turned fifteen he discovered that they were far from extinct. He had met Mr. Glass and Cherry.

Alexander looked at Chris curiously. She was peaceful, and seemed almost vulnerable. But how she was to help him in the war to come, he didn’t know.

As he watched her, her face changed from peaceful to crease in concentration. She began to twitch and mumbling. She muttered. “Get out of here… save yourself… just run…”

“Glass.” Alec yelled when Chris sat up and screamed. Mr. Glass and Cherry raced to the side of her bed. Alec was already there, and about to wake her up. Cherry warned him. “Don’t wake her up Alec. Her dreams are important to this world.”

“How so?” Alec demanded. Chris had stopped screaming and fell back on her pillows where she lay still and calm.

“I’m not sure. But one thing is for sure. You are here because of her dreams.” Mr. Glass reminded him, standing and going back to the table. Cherry followed, giggling as Secra slithered her way through Cherry’s hair. Alec still wasn’t sure what importance her dreams had, but she had saved him. That had to count for something.

4: Chapter Three

I woke the next morning, feeling very refreshed. There was a sweet smell in the air and made me think of breakfast. Stretching, I found that I wasn’t at 100% but I was on my way to recovery.
Looking around, I saw Mr. Glass and Cherry sitting at the table they were at yesterday. Standing I walked over to them and yawned. “Good morning.”
“And to you.” Mr. Glass replied cheerfully.
Cherry smiled brightly. “How did you sleep?”
“Very well. I dreamed last night, but I can’t remember the dream.” I replied sitting down. Mr. Glass went into a small kitchen that I hadn’t noticed before. Now that I looked around, it was a rather large place and seemed to be underground. There was a hallway, with rooms connecting to it, but seemed to go on forever. I guessed it was for escape if need be.
“Indeed. You sat up and screamed last night.” Cherry chuckled lightly. Mr. Glass brought over a bowl of wonderful smelling stew.
I laughed, before asking. “Where are Glimstar, Secra and Alec?”
“Glimstar went to spread the news of your arrival, Secra went to do the same and Alec is outside practicing with his sword.” Mr. Glass told me, sitting down with his own bowl of stew. I found that the food was very filling and delicious, although not what I was used to eating in the morning. But it didn’t matter.
Once I had finished, I stood and said. “I guess I should go talk to Alec.”
“I don’t know if that is a good idea.” Cherry warned. I didn’t hear her as I exited the house.
I found that outside there was a very small meadow, with trees all around. It was bright this morning and seemed to be a wonderful day. I looked where I had come from and could see why nobody had seen this old stump as an entrance to a home. It was so well disguised that I knew it would be difficult for me to find the front door again.
At first I didn’t see Alec anywhere. It wasn’t until he attacked me that I saw him. I was so surprised that I barely had enough time to dance out of the way. His eyes had a murderous look to them and I knew that it would be pointless to try to talk to him in this state of mind. I would have to wait for an opening to get him to stop attacking me. He didn’t make me wait long. Although all his moves were graceful and skillfully executed he was getting tired and made a stab for my stomach. I sidestepped just in time before he ran me through. While he tried to recover, I tripped him. He fell with a thud, and his sword was flung from his hand. Before he could retrieve it, I had him pinned, face down and both hands behind his back. Both of us were breathing hard, but I still managed. “You are an asshole do you know that?”
“I really don’t like people disturbing me while I am practicing.” He replied arrogantly. He tried to fight me off as I brought his hands above his head and flipped him over so I was looking down on him.
“That doesn’t give you the right to try and kill them.” I hissed in his ear.
“You probably couldn’t fight with a sword anyway.” He smiled, still being arrogant.
I fumed. “I can fight hand to hand, and how would you know? You’ve never even seen me fight. And I did manage to dodge your attacks without a scratch.”
“Actually, you have a long scratch running down your arm.” A cool quiet voice came to my left. Looking up, I saw it was a doe. She was larger than the deer at home, which didn’t surprise me since she was talking. C.S. Lewis always wrote that the talking animals were always larger than the dumb animals. Looking at my arm, I saw what she said was true. And it was then that I actually felt the pain.
“Shit.” I gritted my teeth, but still kept Alec pinned. He didn’t struggle, only looked at me with a smug look. I growled. “You really are an asshole.”
“And you should have a little more respect.” He said.
My anger flared at this. I repeated mockingly. “You really are an asshole, your majesty.”  And punched him in the gut. I realised Alec from the ground, stood and stormed into the house, gripping my injured arm.

Alec grunted, trying to sit up. The deer came over and helped him. “Thank you Deer.”
“Is she the ‘One’ your majesty? I’ve heard it from the centaurs that she is.” Deer asked quietly.
Alec sighed, standing to retrieve his sword. “I don’t know. I certainly hope not.”
Deer looked to the door where Chris had stormed through, before reminding Alec. “Heroes come in all shapes and size your majesty. Sometimes the smallest thing can be the difference between victory and defeat.” She bowed before going back into the trees. Alec sheathed his sword before sitting in the grass to think. He really didn’t think she would make the difference. In some ways he hoped she was the
‘One’ and in other ways he hoped she wasn’t the ‘One.’
Cherry opened the hut door and called “Alec?”
“Yes?”
“I think it’s time to tell her.” She said seriously.
Alec turned to her. “Are you sure?”
“She’s asking and there is no sense in hiding it from her.” Cherry confirmed. Alec stood and followed Cherry into the house.

When I came into the house with a sliced arm, Mr. Glass exclaimed. “Dear Lord! What in the world happened to your arm?”
“Alec attacked me and slashed it.” I explained, as Cherry lead me to a chair. I was still furious, but tried to sound calm.
Mr. Glass instructed. “Keep pressure on it. It will stop the bleeding.”
I did as I was told, as Mr. Glass got a wet cloth and some bandages. When he came over he told me. “’You’ll have to take off your coat. I can get someone to fix it for you later.”
Again I did as I was told, flinching a little as Mr. Glass dabbed the slash and bandaged it up.
I looked around and saw Cherry staring at a picture. Something about her told me she was distressed. It might have then the dimmed flowers in her hair. I asked her. “Is something wrong Cherry?
She snapped her head up and replied. “No, everything is fine.”
“Cherry, I may be human, but I can tell that something is distressing you. I want to help you but I can’t unless you tell me what is wrong.” I flinched as Mr. Glass began wrapping my arm.
She looked at me and sighed. “I’m worried about you my dear. I’m worried about the role you are going to play in this world.”
“Why?”
“Because you are the ‘One’.” She replied. This confused me.
“The ‘One’? I keep hearing about this and nobody tells me anything about it.” My anger started to boil. Mr. Glass saw this and tried to calm me down, just as he finished bandaging up my arm.
“Chris, calm down…”
“No! I need to know. I hate being the last one to know about something important and if this doesn’t count then why am I here?” I raged.
“Chris this may not be…” Cherry started.
But I snapped. “I want to know! I have the right to know if I am this ‘One’ everyone keeps talking about!”
Mr. Glass sighed and asked Cherry. “Would you get Alec please? She needs to know.”
When Alec came in, he looked at me and asked. “Does it hurt?”
“Well what the hell do you think?’ I asked sarcastically.
He replied, slightly amused. “You know you didn’t feel anything until Deer pointed it out to you.”
“I was too busy trying not to get stabbed by a certain someone.” I argued.
“Alright enough you two. Now Chris you want to know about the ‘One’ right?” Mr. Glass asked.
“Yes.”
Cherry sat beside me and began. “A long time ago, there was a prophecy about someone who would bring peace and balance between magical creatures and non-magical creatures in a time of great tragedy. This prophecy was made long before Alec’s time, when humans and other creatures lived peacefully. Unfortunately, humans became afraid of magic and tensions began to rise between the people. Pride and fear fed into the minds of the humans of higher rank and they began to fear that magical creatures would try and overthrow them. It has always been that humans rule, as long as anyone can remember. But before the tensions, the kings and queens would walk among their people as equals. But pride and power is the main weakness of humans. Alec’s father came to rule and tried to ease the tensions. He succeeded for a little while.” She stopped and looked at Alec to continue.
He did by saying. “My father married my step-mother when I was seven years old. She was very beautiful but much too proud of her own beauty.”
“Just like the queen in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’.” I murmured. He gave me a look, asking if he could continue. I nodded.
“She was one who believed that magic was vile and evil, more because she had no power over it and it wasn’t something she could control. Her greatest fault was every human’s greatest fault: The desire for power, as well as complete and blind pride.” Alec stopped for a moment, letting everything he told me sink in, before continuing. “My father taught me that we cannot exist without magic. It is the reason why it is important to have peace with magical creatures. They can access and control magic and my father knew this. He also knew the magical creatures in Canes didn’t use their magic for ill. He had heard the old stories as a child and loved them dearly. He told them to me every night until the day he died.”
“He died when I was twelve years old. On his deathbed, he made me promise that when I was old enough I would restore the peace that the land of Canes once had. He said I needed to make peace between the people. He told me the balance of magic needed to become right again. He made me promise this with the most solemn oath possible. My step-mother ruled when my father died, because I wasn’t old enough to rule. I had to be twenty before I was mature enough. She started to make tensions rise again. She banned magical creatures from the castle, and then from towns and cities. She threw humongous parties and drained the people’s money, stole land that was not hers to take and drove any creature that wasn’t human into hiding. She never knew about the prophecy and never forgot that I was the rightful heir. She hated me and often tried to keep me confined to the castle or to my room. But she didn’t know about the secret passage ways around the castle.”
“Like the one you used to escape?” I asked. He smiled a little.
“Yes. I would often use it to escape the castle and walk through the forest. I was fifteen when I realized there were still magic and magical creatures in the world. It was believed that they were extinct.
 I was walking through the forest when I found a small glade. In the sunlight, I saw Glass and Cherry dancing with other fawns, dryads and nymphs. I was so entranced and surprised that I couldn’t speak for a while.”
“I remember your face that day. It was so funny.” Glass laughed, before imitating a stunned expression. We all laughed, and I didn’t doubt that my face looked very similar when I first saw this group.
Alec continued. “When they saw me watching, they knew exactly who I was. They bowed and were all very formal, until I asked them to stop. I told them that they shouldn’t have to treat me like a prince because I would rather talk to them as equals than anything else. That was a surprise to them. That is when they told me the second part of the prophecy. It was a part I never heard. The entire prophecy goes:
‘In the darkness of the land,
Where no life is to be seen
A light of the “One”
Shall spring forth and burn
Giving strength and warmth
To the pure and rightful
Balance will come
And peace with love’
“They told me I was the rightful in the second part of the prophecy. I was even more surprised then before, but remembered my oath to my father. I would bring balance even at the cost of my own life. Anyway, I met many other creatures after that and tried to figure out ways to solve the dispute between all the people. Then, somehow my step-mother found out that she had not exterminated the magical world and had her troops go through the surrounding forests and kill any and all the creatures they could find. There were very few deaths and these people retreated deeper into the forest, were most humans fear to go. When she was satisfied she threw a huge party, draining what little the human population had left.”
“She couldn’t see what she was doing to her own people?” I asked horrified.
Alec replied. “It’s not that she didn’t see. It’s that she didn’t care. Power was all she cared about. She tried, once, to get me to see her point of view and she found that I couldn’t and wouldn’t share it. I was disgusted by her. And I told her so, on the night of my twentieth birthday. A few nights later, you dreamt about saving me, and did so.”
“What happened after you ran away?” I wanted to know.
“Basically I got chased and found you.” Alec simply ended.
“But what am I supposed to do? If I am supposed to be this ‘One’?” I asked cautiously.
“Well, we need the others to approve of you first, so we can gain their support.” Mr. Glass replied.
“What if I don’t want this?”
Nobody said anything. They all stared at me as I continued. “Look, I’m not anything special. The only thing I have done is dreamt of saving Alec and fallen from a roof and into your world. I can’t believe that I’m going to save anyone. I want to help in any way I can, but I’m not who you are looking for. Fate does not control me. I am the master of my own destiny. I hate it when people think that I’m something that I’m not.”
Cherry sighed. “It is your choice whether you want to help us or not. We will not force you to do something you don’t want to.”
“But it is Fate! Do you think this is all a coincidence?” Alec cried angrily.
I shot back. “That’s right! I just happen to be in the right place at the right time! Well for everyone else. My fate is decided by no one but me!”
“Maybe so. But nobody knows the way the world turns, or what is to become of us in the future. The only thing that is certain is that the time is now to regain the balance we once had in this world.” Mr. Glass calmly finished.
I calmed a little and asked. “So how can I help?”
“First we need to see your skills in combat. Come on!” Alec replied, grabbing my arm and dragging me outside. Mr. Glass and Cherry followed behind.
Once outside, I cried angrily. “Let go!” Snatching my hand away from Alec I glared at him. “You asshole. That hurt!” Why did he seem so desperate for me to be something I was not?
He turned to me and instructed. “You say you can fight hand to hand right? So attack me.”
“No. That is one thing I never do in any fight. I never start the attack.” I replied proudly. It was the truth. I was taught that my skills were used only in self defense and in the defense of others. Besides it was a dangerous position in any fight.
Alec glared before huffing. “Fine.” And he attacked me. I dodged just fast enough to avoid being hit. I didn’t have a choice but to fight him now. Quickly I found that I needed to take Alec seriously while fighting him, unless I wanted to lose the fight. He was difficult to fight because he was just as quick as I was and stronger too. Mr. Glass and Cherry watched silently close to the entrance of the home.
Since I still wasn’t fully recovered I became fatigued very quickly, but I refused to let Alec see it. Fighting with an injured arm didn’t help either. As we fought Alec shouted instructions and corrections. It frustrated and angered me. I didn’t like being corrected on my fighting skills unless it was by my coach. Alec wasn’t him. He made me so angry that I did something very foolish. I threw a punch with my injured arm. Alec dodged easily before taking it and twisting it behind my back. A stabbing pain shot through my arm. I bit back a scream and whispered, venomously. “That is dirty.”
“In a fight for your life you never think about fighting dirty or not. Only about surviving.” He replied, quietly in my ear.
I flinched away and said. “They you won’t mind if I do this…” And I stepped as hard as I could on Alec’s foot before hitting him where it hurts the most. He let go of me and crouched on the ground with a whimper.
I turned to him and told him. “Now we’re even. You hurt me and I will hurt you.”
Mr. Glass and Cherry were silent, more from astonishment I guessed. I was a little surprised myself. It was very unlike me to fight dirty like that, even when I was as angry as I was. I knew I had a temper but I tried not to let it get the better of me. But if there was one thing I didn’t like was being corrected about my fighting.
Slowly, Alec stood and told me. “You have skill no doubt. But certain aspects of your fighting can help you win or lose in hand to hand.”
I spat venom. “Do you want to die?”
“Look Chris, I don’t believe you are the ‘One’ either. There is nothing special about you except for your ridiculous clothes and hair, your style of fighting and your dreams. But whether you are the ‘One’ or not, while you are in my kingdom I will do everything in my power to keep you alive and safe.” He replied. His temper was rising. Mine did at the same pace.
“I don’t want to be taken care of! I can take care of myself! I never asked for your help or protection! You may be the rightful heir to the throne, but to me you are nothing but an asshole. You probably could charm anybody you wanted without trying. I know your type! You look like the prince who will sweep any pretty maiden off her feet but you only take advantage. Men like you are nothing but scum!” I laughed out loud, emotionless.
He was beyond furious now. He raged. “You think you are any better? Acting all high and mighty when you’re nothing! What do you know about anything? What do you know about living every day of your life in fear, knowing that death is right around the corner? I have lived without a real family since I was twelve years old. What do you know about the expectations and pressure put on me because of you?”
“None of your damn business about my life!” I snapped. “At least you had a family. I’ve had to fend for myself ever since my grandmother died. I see my mother and father so seldom that I bet they forget I even exist. What do you know about my life? You have no idea how it feels to be told that you were a mistake. I’ve lost all the most important people in my life. So don’t tell me about living life in fear. My life is fear! That is why I can’t love anybody. It is only a weakness and can be used against me. That is why I am the way I am. To keep fear away and…”
“To hide your own fear.” Cherry screamed, silencing both Alec and I. She was angry, I could tell. Her hair flamed and she had tears in her eyes. I didn’t care. I had my own tears of anger running down my face. Cherry cried. “Both of you are afraid of things and push others away to hide that fear. But we are on the brink of war and how can we fight our enemies if we are fighting among ourselves?”
I glared at Cherry and then Alec before turning and sprinting into the forest. I was too furious to think about anything. Maybe someone called after me, but I didn’t hear. I was beyond the point of hearing. I wanted to be alone. I ran, stumbling a few times because my eyes were blurred from the tears. I didn’t like to cry, but couldn’t stop myself. I was too furious. After a little while I stopped and sat on the ground. It was around ten in the morning and the sun was coming through the canopy of the trees. I breathed deeply, trying to stop my tears from rolling down my face.
After a few moments I heard a smooth voice come from the trees to my left. “If I hadn’t heard from the centaurs about the ‘One’ I would kill you.” I turned and saw a beautiful, pure white wolf. Her eyes were amber and had an intelligent look to them.
I chuckled. “Then I’m glad you heard from them. But I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m not the ‘One’ that everyone keeps talking about.”
“How do you know?” She asked me, sitting beside me. She had a proud air around her, but not an arrogant kind of pride.
I sighed. “I just know. I’m not anything special you know, other than the way I look. I’m just me.”
She looked at me hard for a moment before asking. “Could it be because you don’t want to be as well?”
“I guess. I don’t like believe that I am just some piece of one big chess game. I don’t want to have my future planned out for me.” I replied, looking at my hands.
The wolf said slowly. “Nobody knows what the future holds, but maybe it’s because you don’t believe you are the ‘One’ that makes you the ‘One’. My dear pup, you are a young woman and choose your own destiny. Just follow you heart and gut. That is enough to point you in the right direction. Even if you don’t believe it, I believe you are the ‘One’, no matter what anybody else thinks.”
I stared at her. She was beautiful no doubt but how could she believe in me so easily? She didn’t even know me. I asked her. “Why do you believe in me so easily?”
She stared into the trees ahead of us and said. “Call it instinct. You have the instinct to fight in something you truly believe. I can see a strength in you others may fail to see.”
“What do you mean?”
“As you stated, you are nobody’s game piece. The paths you walk are roads few travel because you are yourself and you don’t let anybody dictate what you think or feel. It is similar to the road I travel.” She explained.
“What road do you travel then?”
“The path of solitude. I am a lone wolf and my name is Angeni.” She replied, bowing her head slightly. Somehow speaking to her comforted me.
“I’m Christina, but everyone just calls me Chris.” I introduced myself before adding. “Do you mind me asking why you chose that path?”
After a short silence she looked at me and countered. “Why did you choose your path?”
I sighed, after thinking for a moment. “Because I knew that I needed to be strong to become who I wanted to be. And to find myself, I needed to become strong alone.”
“My dear, you and I are similar. Strength comes in many forms. But for everyone, strength comes from the heart. The belief that you can rely on yourself is one of the aspects that makes you strong.” She smiled. It was an odd sight to see a wolf smile, but I hoped that was what she was doing.
I leaned back on my hands and quoted. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”
“Indeed. The only thing left to answer is: Will you?” Angeni replied, looking into the sky. We sat in silence, watching the clouds float over us in the deep blue sky.
 

5: Chapter Four

~~Later, with the help of Angeni, I went back to the rest of my group. Mr. Glass was pacing, while Alec was sitting on the ground carving something out of wood. Cherry was also sitting on the ground, but she seemed to have roots coming from her legs that went into the ground. Her eyes were completely closed, but I could see that she was relaxed.
When I entered the grove, Mr. Glass stopped pacing and cried. “My dear Chris! I am so glad that you are back. I thought you had gotten lost when you ran off like you did.”
I smiled. “I would have been lost if it hadn’t been for Angeni.” She came forward and Mr. Glass thanked her.
“Just don’t lose her again.” She teased. Mr. Glass laughed and Angeni left. I couldn’t help but notice how gracefully she glided through the trees. Defiantly like a ghost.
After a moment, I asked Mr. Glass. “What’s wrong with Cherry?”
“Oh nothing at all. She is just mediating.” He replied completely unconcerned. I didn’t look at Alec. I was still too furious at him. He didn’t have any right to say what he did. He didn’t know anything about me and couldn’t even begin to think how much I had been hurt by the people I was supposed to call my parents.
After a little while, Alec finished carving his wood and stood. At this point I looked at him, but kept my face as neutral as possible. He tossed the stick at me which I caught. I could now tell that it was a wooden sword. It wasn’t well made but then it was completely terrible either. I could guess what he wanted to do now but I waited for him to tell me. He explained casually, his own wooden sword in his hand. “You may not be the “One” but if you are to survive in this world, you’re going to have to learn how to fight with a sword. It is the most important skill on the battle field.”
“Fine then. Let’s go.” I replied, holding the sword in both hands.
He instructed. “You need to be able to use the sword with one hand. You need to be able to use both hands individually, in case your dominate hand is injured.”
I took a few breathes to calm myself. He was really annoying me. Mr. Glass called. “Don’t be too hard on her Alec. She just started and we don’t want the wound you inflicted to open up again.”
Soon I found that sword play was harder then it looked. I fought with one hand and found that if I tried to hold the sword with both hands Alec would hit one of my hands with his sword and never the same hand. I found also that Alec had a ‘learn fast or die’ kind of attitude when it came to his teaching. By the end of training I was exhausted and frustrated. I was covered in bruises from where Alec had hit me and my knuckles were almost bleeding from getting whacked so much.
I panted, when I sat on the ground, unable to say anything. Alec came up to me and I shot him a death glare, dearly wishing looks could kill. He didn’t flinch and said. “You are going to have to work on your sword fighting.”
“Thank you captain obvious. I would have never known that!” I sarcastically replied.
He sat beside me and sighed. “I’m sorry Chris. For the wound on your arm and what I said earlier. I didn’t know about the kind of life you have had.”
I stared at him, completely speechless. Was he apologizing to me?
He continued. “It’s just that I don’t want to believe you are the ‘One,’ because what if you are not? What do we do then?”
I thought for a moment, before slowly saying. “I suppose you would just try to take your rightful place without the ‘One’.” I already know that I am not who everyone thinks that I am.”
“Do you really know? Do any of us?”
“I guess not. But I don’t want to be responsible for any lives lost. I couldn’t take that guilt.” I sighed. My anger with Alec hadn’t completely disintegrated but I was going to be civil and not try to get him upset again.
“That is a risk I have to live with. There is a constant fear of knowing that one wrong order, one risk and it could result in unnecessary deaths. In war, there are always many deaths but sometimes lives could have been saved by choosing a different path.” Alec explained to me.
I listened and wondered out loud. “How do you survive that guilt?”
“By knowing that I didn’t force anyone into anything I guess. The only thing that I can do is pray that I do not make a wrong move. This is one big game that we all must play.” He answered, looking at me.
I sat up proudly and told him. “I refuse to be a part of a game. And if I already am, I will play by my rules. No one else can tell me how to play. My future is decided by myself alone.”
Alec sighed. “Let’s hope that neither of us chooses the wrong way to play then.” He stood before saying. “We’ll work on more sword play tomorrow. I hope you know how to use a bow and arrow.”
Why the hell would I know that? I grumbled standing and following Alec, Mr. Glass and Cherry (who had finished meditating) back into the house. Mr. Glass changed the dressing on my wound and put some ointment on it. Although it smelled quite nice, it stung. Mr. Glass assured me that it did help as he rewrapped my arm. I was so exhausted that as soon as I hit the pillows of my bed I was sound asleep.
For the next few days, Alec worked me endlessly. I was bruised everywhere from sword practice and my arms were so tired that I could barely move them. It frustrated me that I was such a bad shot when using a bow. Mr. Glass calmed that frustration by saying. “Fighting with a sword is similar to fighting without weapons and because you already have those skills, sword fighting should be easier.”
I did feel myself get a little better at the sword fighting though. Alec still annoyed me to death and would still whack my knuckles, but I didn’t try to hold the sword with two hands as much. Each day I would fight with a different hand. Alec told me it was better to be able to fight with your sword in one hand, because you could make smaller movements. One day, I came out of the hut, expected Alec to attack me or throw a wooden sword at me. Instead, he had something like a stump in front of him. I asked curiously. “No sword fighting today?”
“Later. Right now, I want to test your balance and strength.” He replied, beckoning me over. I obeyed as he instructed. “Get up on that.”
I looked at the stump for a moment before doing what I was told. He stood in front of me and said. “Now stand on one foot.” I did so. I had relatively good balance so it wasn’t any problem. Alec walked around me and continued. “Standing on one foot is good for relaxation. And if you can stand on one foot while practicing your movements in fighting, it is a good skill to have. One might not always have both legs, whether they are lost or injured. Practice your fighting movements while you stand on one foot.” I did so and found that not only was I to practice kicking, punching and blocking that I was going to have to block and counter Alec’s attacks. He was kind enough not to attack from behind though, although he had in the past. Although it was a little calming, it didn’t stop me from getting frustrated when I had to put my other foot down.  I practiced on my right for about an hour before I was told to switch and practice on my left, for an hour as well. Finally Alec told me. “You can rest now.”
I slumped to the ground and stretched my legs. They were sore now, as was expected. Asshole. Bloody slave driver. I thought viciously.
Alec came over to me and after few minutes and told me. “Your balance is much better than I expected you know. We might make you a fighter yet.”
“Is that a compliment?” I teased.
He blushed after a few seconds of silence, although I wasn’t really sure why. He snapped lightly. “Of course not! Just a statement of fact.”
I laughed as he quickly walked away. I knew that he didn’t mean it. He just didn’t like to admit that he was paying me a compliment.
In two days, I was going to meet other creatures in hiding. Mostly leaders of the different species, but I was happy about it.
“This meeting is about getting approval from the other creatures. I’m sure not everyone will believe that the “One” has come and most probably still won’t believe it when they see you.” Alec explained, the night before the event. I was listening and eating at the same time, but somehow he didn’t think that I was listening.
“Do you understand how important this is?” He bellowed at me. I was used to him yelling at me.
Calmly I swallowed my food and replied. “You don’t have to yell. Of course I understand. We need as much fire power as we can get.”
“We don’t have dragons is that is what you mean.” Mr. Glass told me.
“Rephrase.” I muttered and tried again. “We need as many people behind us as we can.”
“There won’t be many humans but yes.” Alec confirmed before adding. “And even if you aren’t the ‘One’ if you act so, they are more likely to fight beside us.”
“Great, I’m going to have to pretend to be something I’m not. I love playing pretend.” I sighed, sarcastically.
“You just have to get them to believe it. Nothing more!”
“Even though we all know I’m not!” I shouted, before standing. I was getting frustrated and irritable very easily and I knew it was because I was going through a bit of withdrawal. I hadn’t read anything since I had come to Canes, even though I had been told that Mr. Glass had a library. Since we had a bit of time now I asked Mr. Glass. “Could you show me to the library?”
“Library? There is no time for that. We need to plan…” Alec began, before Cherry cut in.
“Alec, we don’t need to plan everything out. In this case we don’t need to plan out how we are going to talk to the others. Besides, you have been working Chris to the bone. She needs a little time to rest still. She is still not a hundred percent better from her fall and her arm isn’t completely healed. At least let her rest for tonight.”
Although we all knew Alec didn’t like to, he surrendered to this.
“Come with me Chris.” Mr. Glass guided me down the hall and to the third door on the right. The room was like a study, but every wall was lined with books. I smiled brightly, beginning to read some of the titles.
“I’m glad someone likes to read. There hasn’t been much time for reading in the past few months and so these have all collected dust.” Mr. Glass smiled, a little sadly. I looked at him and smiled. “I love to read. It was kind of my release from reality back home. I wouldn’t trade my books for anything. I don’t think I could survive without them.”
Mr. Glass chuckled. “Well, if you need any help don’t be afraid to ask.”
“Thank you.”
Mr. Glass left me with a candle for light, which was all I needed.
I found a vast number of different books, and it was difficult to pick one. But I found numerous books about different creatures. I took out a book on the creatures in Canes, one on unicorns and Pegasus, one on dangerous magical creatures (witches, vampires, werewolves and such) and one book on dragons. I thought it could be useful to know more about the magical creatures of this world, since I didn’t know how they would vary compared to the books I read at home.
I became so engrossed in my reading that I barely noticed when someone came into the library. My candle was switched many times while I read. I was surprised by how many creatures there were in Canes and the surrounding areas. The book I was most intrigued by was about dragons, and one I had found about other creatures outside of Canes. I fell asleep while reading a book about dragons.
“Wake up Chris.” I heard a soft murmuring. I groaned, expecting to be stiff from lying on the books all night. But when I opened my eyes, I found that I was in my bed. Cherry sat on the edge of my bed and smiled one of her dazzling smiles. I knew that she was excited about something, and knew that she would tell me soon.
I smiled and yawned. “What time is it?”
“About ten in the morning. You were up until about two in the morning reading. Alec was kind enough to carry you to bed.” She chuckled.
I stretched and told her. “I found out some interesting information last night and it leads me to a crazy idea, which might help us in this war.”
“Well why don’t you tell us your plan over breakfast. Come on my dear.” Cherry smiled, gliding over to the table. I stood and followed.
“That is the craziest idea I have ever heard! There is no way that they would accept it!” Alec cried, as we began our journey to the dancing grounds. It was where the meeting of creatures was going to take place.
I retorted. “You don’t know that. And from what I know and have read, it is the best hope we have.”
Mr. Glass put in. “It’s crazy for sure but Chris is right Alec. It might give us a better chance in this war.”
“Right, we need to throw something at the Bitch Queen, something completely unexpected. This is a crazy plan, but sometimes you need to take a gamble.” I continued.
Alec argued. “This plan might do more harm than good. It’s much too dangerous.”
“Fighting a war is dangerous enough and honestly, if we are lucky we might be saving lives rather than ending them. You promised your father to bring peace between the magical and non-magical creatures of this world. Why can’t it be all of them?” I asked softly.
Alec searched my face before saying. “Don’t expect any help from me.”
“I never do.” I muttered, as we continued to walk.
The sun was beginning to descend as we made our way to the dancing grounds. Although the conversations of this meeting were more serious, the dancing ground was one place that everyone knew and could find. When I asked if there would be dancing Cherry laughed. “It’s not called the dancing grounds for nothing! Of course there will be dancing.”
“I don’t dance very well.” I blushed.
“Don’t worry. They are all group dances and not very hard to learn.” Mr. Glass assured me.
“I will only dance if he does.” I jerked a thumb to Alec.
He huffed. “Neither Cherry nor Glass will allow me not to dance.” We all laughed at that.
It was dark when we entered the dancing grounds. There were sphere’s hanging from trees, shining with a silver light. I wondered if they actually knew how to catch moonlight. There were already creatures dancing, mostly fawns, dryads and nymphs but it wasn’t long before I was sucked into the music and dance. Something about the atmosphere made me forget how much I really couldn’t dance. I saw Alec join in the dance and felt envious of him. His movements were so smooth and graceful, making me feel a little clumsy, although when dancing I actually was rather clumsy anyway. I wasn’t surprised that Cherry and Mr. Glass were dancing though. Even I knew that fawns and dryads love to dance.
The moon was high in the sky by the time all the creatures had settled down and found a spot to sit. Once the chatter had stopped, Alec stood and began. “Friends, it is good to see you all especially in this time of need. You all know the reason we are here tonight. There have been whispers in the forest that the “One” from the prophecy has finally come to Canes. As Glimstar predicted, the ‘One’ has indeed come at last.” A murmur went through the crowd and Alec continued. “I believe that she will lead us to victory, as the prophecy has foretold, but we must rally together if we are truly to be victorious and take back what is rightfully ours.” A murmur of agreement went through the crowd. “Now friends, let me introduce to you, the ‘One’ who will lead us to victory. Chris, please stand.”
As I stood, an uproar came from the crowd. Everyone shouted at the same time and none of the made any sense. How positive. This is going very well. I thought sarcastically.
Some creature cried. “You’ve brought us the wrong person. This is a mere boy.”
I was annoyed at this point and screamed above everyone. “ENOUGH!”
Everyone fell silent and stared at me. I breathed in before starting. “First, let me get a few things straight. I may look like a boy, but I am a girl. And for those who don’t believe me then here is your proof.” I lifted my shirt and showed the bandages around my chest. Mr. Glass has provided me with some, since mine were getting worn out. There was a murmur as I dropped my shirt and continued. “Second, honestly I really don’t know whether I am this ‘One’ that everybody is talking about, but I am willing to do all that I can to help you in your fight against the ‘Black Queen’.” This was the name for Alec’s step mother, although I had adopted the name ‘The Bitch Queen.’
“Before me, I see so much strength, courage and loyalty. It’s in all of your faces. I know that your numbers are great and that numbers do not win a battle, but if nothing else they do help.” Another murmur. I took a deep breath. “So what I propose is that we unite with the creatures of the east, west, and north and…” I had to scream over the crowd again. This time I was really getting pissed off.
“SHUT IT!” I screamed and everyone fell silent again.
“I realize that it’s a risk, uniting with the wild men, dragons and elves. But if the ‘Black Queen’ takes over this land, how long do you think it will take before she conquers those lands as well? She already has control over the land south of Canes, which (as I understand) is enormous and to get to the other lands she needs to get through the central part. This war no longer just involves you all. It involves everywhere. I am willing to go and beg for help in this war. If nothing else, you all may treat this like a test for me, to see if I really am the ‘One’ from the prophecy.”
There was silence. Then Angeni stood from among the crowd. She spoke in her smooth voice. “It is a crazy idea. Uniting with those creatures has never happened before. But I believe there is a first for everything. I also believe in you. For me, my path intertwines with yours. So you will not make this journey alone.” She came forward and sat beside me.
Cherry then stood and spoke. “I believe in you too. And on this journey, you are going to need all the help you can get.” She came and stood on my other side.
After a long silence a young fawn stood up. “My name is Edmund. I for one, thinks that this is the adventure of a lifetime and I need to see with my own two eyes if you are worthy of the title of the ‘One’.” He came forward and stood beside Angeni.
Lastly, I heard a sigh and saw Alec stand again. “I believe that your idea is the most insane one in all the lands. But as you said, it would be unexpected and we indeed might be saving lives, and not just in the land of Canes. Besides, it gives me the chance to be sure that you are the ‘One’ too.” He stood, just behind Cherry and I. I had to smile as he came forward. It was defiantly something that Alec would say.
Glimstar came forward. “I do not need any proof that you are the ‘One’ so will not join you on this mission. The stars have told of your coming and they never lie. My people and I offer our swords to the service of the rightful heir and to the ‘One’ of legend.”
After that short speech, all the animals murmured in agreement. Alec exclaimed. “Alright. The five of us will go. Glimstar, Mr. Glass and the other leaders, we must speak to you.”
While the other animals chatted, ate or danced, the leaders of certain groups spoke with the small group that had formed in light of this quest. Alec started. “Although it may be a little inconvenient, weapons and armor needs to be made as quickly as possible. We are not sure how long this adventure is going to take and honestly, if it is unsuccessful then we need to be much more prepared. We will need plenty and if possible extras. And while we are gone, we need to be able to keep each other informed about progress on either end. But how will we do that?”
“We could always send word through the trees.” Cherry suggested.
I nodded. “I think that it is a reasonable idea. But there is one down side that I can think of, off the top of my head. It is a little like a game that kids back home would play, called ‘Telephone’. The idea is that one person says a line and whispers it to another person and they repeat it to another and so on. By the ending the last person to hear the message has to say what the first person had said. More times than not the message changed a few times and eventually isn’t the same message. I think if possible it should be told to one person (or creature in this case) and that is all. But we can send messages through the trees in certain places.”
“I agree, with Chris and Cherry. We can still send word through the trees, but in certain places we can see if Goldfeather would be willing to carry messages as well.” Mr. Glass suggested. Everyone seemed to agree with this plan and Goldfeather would be asked the next day.
“Alright, so if we are to be going to each of the different countries around Canes, which should we go to first?”
Everyone had a different opinion on this topic. After we heard everyone’s opinion, I spoke mine. “I think it would be best if we go to the dragons first. And my reasons are: first, with a smaller group, we are less likely to be seen as a threat to them. Second, if we have dragons on our side the longest it will be easier
to get used to them, before we actually have to fight the ‘Black Queen’ especially because we won’t be speaking the same language. I have read that dragons understand normal speech, but can’t speak our language. But they can mind speak. I have no doubt that that will take a bit of getting used to. And my third reason is; if we have dragons on our side, it will be easier to get support from the other creatures, especially the elves.”
Mr. Glass spoke thoughtfully. “She does make a good point. Elves are known for their pride. And because they are somewhat more advanced than we are, they may think that helping us is much below them. But if we have dragons on our side, they may see that we, as a people, are not as weak as they suppose us to be.”
“But dragons are more dangerous than elves.” One of the leaders argued.
I replied calmly. “They are only dangerous if they would see us as a threat. Our group is not big enough to be any threat to them. It is all in the way that we present ourselves. If we can seem proud, but not threatening, they are more likely to respect us and not attack us.”
“But there is still a chance that someone could be seriously injured or die?” Alec asked seriously.
I nodded. “Yes, but that is always a possibility. And that is one of the reasons this quest is a risk for all of us. That is why, if I have to, I will go on my own.”
“And no matter what, I for one will not leave you. Where you go I will follow!” Cherry cried. I smiled at her. I was happy that she wouldn’t leave me. I really didn’t want to make this journey alone.
Alec sighed. “In that case, I have to agree with Cherry. Besides, I already said that I would come. So I agree with going to the dragons first.”
There was still a bit of arguing on that point, but in the end, we all agreed that the east was the first place to go.
After that point was agreed upon, we spoke about smaller details, like how to approach the land of the dragons, how to gain an audience with the heads, and how we were to get there.
“Unfortunately, the only way to really get to any of the places is to walk.” Angeni spoke before adding. “I have wandered those paths, although not recently. But as a beast, I do not forget.”
“I would suggest horses, but that is not entirely proper. Only in great needs are talking horses ridden and we will need to do a bit of climbing if the mountains are as treacherous as the stories have told.” Alec replied.
I agreed. “And I don’t think that they would appreciate being ridden all the time.”
Afterwards, we discussed supplies. It was agreed that we should travel as light as possible. After a little bit of discussion, we agreed, that Alec would bring a sword and a bow, Edmund would bring a knife and a bow (since his skill was known throughout the land of Canes) and that I would bring a knife as well as a sword. When I asked about the sword, the dwarf leader spoke up and told me. “We will equip you with the perfect sword before you leave. It will take a little while to get everything smoothed out but I believe that it will only take a few days.”
 Cherry was to bring only a knife, since she could use a little bit of magic. “But only when completely necessary, since it is draining on me and the world around me.”
Once that was agreed on, I asked. “When would be the soonest we can depart?”
“I don’t think any of us can tell that. At this point we need a little bit of time to discuss all the details about this quest and that will give enough time to get your own sword done as well. Also, it would be helpful if you read as much as you can about the dragons. So that we don’t say any of the wrong things and we can maybe anticipate what to expect.” Glimstar told me. Everyone agreed.
By the end of this meeting, I was starting to fall asleep. It wasn’t because it was boring, more because I was so exhausted. Although I tried not to seem tired, Cherry chuckled. “I believe we should end for the night, my friends. Chris is tired and so am I.”
“I’m fine Cherry.” I insisted before giving a great yawn.
 Mr. Glass chuckled as well. “Come on my dear. It is indeed time for sleep.”
Mr. Glass led me through the clearing, where many animals were starting to fall asleep. I smiled, settling against a great tree. I was sure the dryad inside wouldn’t mind. Before I went to sleep, Alec came and sat beside me.
“Are you still awake Chris?” He whispered.
“Mm, I am.” I murmured softly.
I heard him breathe deeply before saying. “It was very brave, suggesting the plan you did, when you did. I admit that I never thought that anybody would agree to it.”
“I know. I am surprised that they did too.” I admitted, not looking at him. We were silent for a few second before I sighed. “I’m sorry for calling you an asshole, and if I do again. I know that I can be difficult to work with sometimes.”
“Was that an apology?” He teased.
I threatened playfully. “I could take it back, if you like.”
“I’m just joking. Thank you though. But I’m also sorry. Sometimes I forget that you’re not from this world and you don’t have the same training in sword fighting that I do.” He replied.
I had to smile at this. “It’s better than treating me like I’m a princess. At home, girls tend to act fragile and delicate, just to get the attention of boys that they like.”
“Women here act that way as well. But personally, I have been careful not to fall for anyone. If I did, my step-mother would try to use that to her advantage. That’s why I became (what we call) a loveless. It’s someone who refuses to fall in love. We can have family love and friends that we love, but not a romantic love.” He explained. I thought about that for a moment. He was right. In Alec’s case, loving someone was more dangerous for him, than for most people. I guessed I was a ‘loveless’ as well then.
He cut into my thoughts by adding. “Please don’t think badly of me though. If I seem cold and hostile to you, it’s more out of habit and caution.”
I was silent. I wondered why he would have to be cautious around me. It’s not like I was anything special. Besides, I wasn’t going to try and tempt him in any way. There was no point, especially because I was no good at being any kind of temptation. But I asked gently. “But have you ever been in love?” I closed my eyes, waiting for Alec’s answer.
He sighed and confessed. “Maybe once. I really am not sure.”
I gave a small smile and murmured. “Alexander?”
“Yes?” He answered. His tone gave me the hint that he was smiling.
“Good night.”

Alec listened to Chris’s quiet breathing, as she fell asleep. Somehow he found the contrast between her being awake and her being asleep, rather interesting and slightly amusing. When Chris was awake, she was so fiery and feisty, like a wild animal with the pride of a centaur and the stubbornness of a mule. But when she was asleep, she was so peaceful and calm. In some ways, she almost seemed vulnerable. But he knew better then to think that she was at all vulnerable, even in sleep.
Turning, he looked at her sleeping face. He hoped that she wouldn’t dream tonight. There would be plenty of time for that on the road. And if she screamed, nobody would get any sleep. He smiled. “Good night Christina. Let your dreams be sweet and beautiful.”

6: Chapter Five

~~I was comfortable when I woke up the next morning. At first I wasn’t sure why, but soon I realized that I was leaning on Alec’s shoulder. I also found he was leaning against me. He slept so soundly that I thought it would be a pity to wake him up at the moment, so kept as still as possible. I had to smile a little, but it was still almost a bitter smile.
I bet we look like lovers right now. I snorted quietly.
Alec stirred after a little while. After a moment he asked quietly. “Are you awake Chris?”
“I’ve been awake for a while. I was waiting for you to wake up.” I replied gently.
To my surprise, Alec sat up and gave me an annoyed and almost angry glare. “You didn’t have to! You know that we looked like we were in love a few moments ago didn’t you?”
My temper flared at this. “You don’t have to snarl at me! I was letting you sleep! I was perfectly aware about what we probably looked like! Besides who would ever fall in love with an ungrateful guy like you?” I snapped.
I didn’t know if I had hurt Alec’s pride at that moment, but I didn’t care. I stood quickly and stormed off.
Asshole! Ungrateful bastard! I thought angrily. I didn’t understand why he was so angry, when I was only being considerate. He was being unkind and unjust. As if I wold want anybody to think we were lovers.
I kicked the ground angrily. “Stupid bastard! Why are men always like that?”
“Always like what hon?” Angeni softly asked, gliding through the trees like a ghost. I would have smiled if I wasn’t so angry.
“They are so unfair! I try to be kind to Alec and he gets all mad at me! And then when I’m not kind to him, he gets annoyed that I’m not being very kind. Why do they always believe that they are right and women are wrong?” I slumped to the ground before throwing a stone, making butterflies scatter.
Angeni sat beside me. “In a pack the male is dominate. He chooses his mate, gets to eat first, and kills any that might oppose him. But he is also the protector of the pack. He leads them to food and water. He will also fight anyone or anything that threatens him or his pack.” She commented quietly, starring into the trees.
“Are you saying that Alec is the leader of this ‘pack’?” I asked slowly.
“In a manner of speaking; yes.” She replied before adding. “But in a way, so are you. It’s difficult to share leadership, especially when he has been the only ‘leader’ for so long. It is a little threatening I believe.”
“He still has no right to be unkind.” I objected, gritting my teeth at the thought.
“I saw you while you both slept. You two did look like lovers. You knew this and so did Alec. I believe that he was a little more concession of the dangers of looking like it. It is dangerous for either of you to look or be in love. Especially in the world as it is now. Alec knows this and he wants to push away anyone who may tempt him into love.” She explained, looking at me.
I laughed. “How could I tempt him? I’m not beautiful, I have a terrible temper and I bet I’m the only girl who could beat him in a fight. I also don’t fawn all over him like other girls would.”
Angeni sighed. “You do not see your own beauty do you? Beauty is not skin deep hon. Like strength, beauty comes from the heart. And your strength is one of the beauties you possess.”
I stared at Angeni. She continued. “Strength is not your only virtue either. You are compassionate, tough and kind. When you are happy, your face lights up and seem to fill your entire body. You seem to shine my dear. It is a light that few can see. I have seen it and it is possible that Alec has seen it too. That is the temptation for him.”
I sighing and reminded her. “But we are not in love. You know that and so does Cherry.”
“I know. But, you must be careful how you show affection to Alec. Love is a dangerous game that the heart plays. It does not tell us when it will appear or if it ever will appear. Love for anyone is dangerous, especially for you and Alec. ” Angeni warned, standing and stretching. I heard her back crack and she asked. “Shall we return? I heard the dwarves are going to start making armour and swords today and that you will be fitted today as well.”
“Alright then.” I breathed before following the white wolf through the trees.
We stayed at the dancing grounds for a few nights, planning courses of action and different tactics. In some cases, I had to ask them to explain what was going on, since I had never been around this kind of situation before. Although it frustrated some of the leaders, Cherry helped me. Goldfeather had agreed to carry massages, except once we entered the Wilderness to the West (which was where the wild men were) and the Everlasting Mountains in the East (where the dragons were). When I asked why he replied. “We don’t know whether the dragons will try and eat me or not and it’s the same with the wild men.”
We also decided that there would be certain points before entering the domains of the other creatures where Goldfeather would meet us. It was easier for him as well as for us, because then we could measure our time. Although it was a problem that we didn’t have a map of the lands to the east, west and north, we had a map of Canes. Alec had pointed out landmarks that we would head for and that Goldfeather would meet us at. The issue came up with how I might fare with this journey.
I fumed. “I will be fine!” And shot a glare at Alec, who had brought up the question. I was still furious with him and I hated anybody thinking that I was weaker than anyone else.
A couple of days after our arrival at the dancing grounds Mr. Glass took me underground to the forges of the dwarves. At the entrance to the tunnel I didn’t have to duck too much, but as we went deeper I found that I would ram my head into the roof. Mr. Glass was shorter then I was, but had no problems with hitting his head. He fit well in the tunnels. Going through the tunnels I saw they were lined with drawings, which I guessed to be stories. They reminded me of the caveman drawings, but with more color and detail. As we went deeper, the walls began to be lined with precious stones and metals. They were like streams of colors in fabrics, and I couldn’t help but look around me in wonder. Mr. Glass chuckled when he look back at me after knocking on a door at the bottom of the tunnel.
“I forgot that this is your first time in the mines.” He said as the door opened, to revival a brightly lit room with a dwarf standing in the door way. He had brilliant red hair and carried a huge battle axe on his back. The dwarf said. “It is good to know that some people still take pleasure in our tunnels.”
I bowed in greeting and rammed my head into the roof as I tried to stand.
“Shit.” I groaned rubbing the back of my head. He smiled in amusement and led us into the room. Thankfully the roof was higher and I could walk without crouching. As we went through he looked back at me and asked. “So this is the ‘One’? What on earth are you wearing?”
I rolled my eyes. Everyone had something to say about my clothes, although I had to admit they probably looked funny to them. I replied. “They are from my world and I like them.”
As we went through, I saw furnaces on both sides and dwarves making armour and weapons. There was the clacking of metal everywhere, and the air was thick with smoke and steam.
Finally we reached a forge around the ending of the room, where a younger dwarf sat, making armour. He had dark hair and bright eyes.
When he saw us he jumped up and cried. “The ‘One’ is here! I am very happy to meet you! Mr. Glass, always a pleasure to see you.” He came over and shook Mr. Glass’s hand before taking mine in a bone crunching grip.
Mr. Glass replied. “The pleasure is all mine, Ruby.”
 I had to laugh when he let go of my hand. “Call me Chris. And I’m not the ‘One’.” I corrected.
“You’re much too modest my dear. Now come with me. We have little time to make you the perfect sword.” He led me away and started handing me swords to try. Ruby told me that it was to try out the blade. After a few big bulky swords I found one that was slimmer but very comfortable to hold. It was heavy but not unbearably so. When I moved through the air I admired how beautifully smooth it was.
“Ah so that is the style for you. It is a beautiful sword no doubt. Prince Alexander has a similar style. Is the weight alright?” Ruby asked taking the sword from me. We moved on to grips and decoration. I wanted something simple, although Ruby tried to get me to put on more than was needed.
Finally after a little while we finished and Ruby was excited to get to work. As Mr. Glass led the way I whispered to Ruby. “Don’t make it too grand okay Ruby. I would rather if it wasn’t too flashy.”
Ruby grinned and promised he would keep it simple. I nodded hurrying after Mr. Glass. I couldn’t wait to see the finished product but I wouldn’t see it until the day we left.
While at the dancing grounds, Alec had me train every day. I knew it was a good thing, but I was still angry with him and didn’t want to have to talk to him more then was necessary. Edmund took over training with a bow, since he was one of the best in Canes. I found that I liked Edmund. He was pleasant and a little sarcastic and had a little more patience than Alec. He told me that he worked with younger shooters and I could believe it. He was serious about shooting but was still kind.
After everything was arranged and agreed on, Cherry, Mr. Glass, Alec and I went back to Mr. Glass’s place to prepare. We would meet Edmund and Angeni the day we were leaving at a place called ‘The Pool of Glass’. We were all silent on the way, mostly because we were thinking about different things. I was personally a little worried about this quest. Maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew, or maybe I was going to be a burden, since I wasn’t use to walking around so much, especially cross country. When Cherry asked what was wrong, I just smiled. “Just lost in thought.” I didn’t want anybody to think that I doubted myself. That was not a good way to start a quest that I had suggested.
Once we got back to Mr. Glass’s place he made a quick meal. I ate a little before excusing myself. “I’m going outside for some air.”
After a pause, Mr. Glass reminded me gently. “Don’t fall asleep outside.”
I promised and left into the cool night air.
Outside was beautiful and smelt sweet, like the earth in the morning, with dew still clinging to the leaves of trees. I liked the air outside the most around this time. It was easier to think and relax. I knew I should be reading on the creatures we would have to face on this quest but right now, I just wanted to take a moment to feel like myself, without everyone’s expectations on me.
I sighed, taking in the night’s air and sinking to the ground. Lying on my back, I looked up at the stars in the sky. I had read that here, the stars were actually people, in one form or another. The constellations were different here, which didn’t surprise me. But instead of one Milky Way, there were dozens, all connected in some way, like the walks of heaven. As I let my thoughts wander I felt the small pain in my chest. I knew it vaguely but I couldn’t place my finger on it.
I didn’t have long to wonder, because my thoughts were interrupted by another presence that I didn’t know.
I heard footsteps running in my direction as well as hooves pounding. Standing quickly, I looked for somewhere to hide. There wasn’t anywhere except behind Mr. Glass’s hut. I hid just as the figure came into view. I knew instantly that it was a girl. Younger than me, I guessed, but not by much. It was hard to tell because she had a hood over her face. She stopped for a moment and looked behind her franticly, as if she was being followed. It wasn’t long before I found out she was indeed being followed. A lovely golden cougar sprang from the trees at the girl. She had just enough time to dodge before she was surrounded by a group of centaurs. I didn’t know what they wanted from her, but I wasn’t going to wait and find out. I ran into the middle of the circle just as they pointed their spears at the terrified girl.
“Stop!” I cried, standing defensively in front of her. The leading centaur was not one I recognized, but he was completely black, his torso dark and his eyes were deep amber.
“Stay out of this women! You have no right to interfere!” He boomed.
I stood my ground and replied. “I may have no right, but I will interfere none the less. What do you want with this girl?”
“That is no business of yours! Stand aside!” He roared.
“What do you want with this girl?” I repeated, roaring back. The girl yelped from behind me.
“Chris!” I heard Mr. Glass yell from the entrance to his hut. Cherry and Alec rushed out of the house behind him. Alec looked at me before trying to come closer.
But the cougar growled. “Stay out of this your majesty.” She wouldn’t let any of them come any closer.
Alec cried to the centaur. “What is the meaning of this Red Star?”
“It is not your concern!” Red Star retorted.
Cherry cried. “It is our concern when you are surrounding the ‘One’ from the prophecy.”
“She jumped into the middle of this circle to protect this thief.” The cougar replied.
I looked at the girl. She didn’t look at me, but was clutching something around her neck, as if it was her very life. I turned to her, and removed her hood. She had bright red hair that was very wavy. Gently, I told her. “Give it to me girl.”
She shook her head violently. I asked. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t live without it.” She stammered.
After a moment of silence, Alec cried. “I know you! You are my step-mother’s maid. What the hell are you doing here?”
I stared at her, completely surprised. She looked at me, with big green eyes, before sinking to the ground. She quickly said. “I will die if I tell you and I will die if I don’t tell you. I guess there is no choice for me.”
She pulled a knife, from under her cloak and stabbed herself. But not before I knocked her onto her back and held her hands above her head. She still had the knife in hand, and I had to wrestle it from her grip. Holding both her wrists with one of my hands, I held the knife up and asked. “Would someone take this please?”
One of the centaurs took the knife from me. Looking at the girl’s face, I could see a little glint of hatred towards me. But it was well hidden under her fear. I asked her gently. “Don’t you think it’s a little silly? Thinking that your only choice is to die? Just because you were caught stealing for the Black Queen? Besides, since you were caught, it’s not like you can go back to her anyway. They won’t let you and neither will I.”
“She stole from us! She needs to pay the price!” Red Star cried.
I calmly looked at him and replied. “All she really needs to do is return what she stole. And as for punishment, I will administrate that myself. She is under my protection.”
“What right have you to do so?”
“The right as the ‘One’ and the right as her rescuer. I just saved her from death didn’t I? And besides I think she can be very useful.” I calmly replied, glancing at the girl. I asked her. “What did you steal maid?”
“It’s around her neck.” The cougar purred. She seemed calmer now that the thief wasn’t going anywhere. Making sure she was still pinned, I took a small necklace from her neck. It was silver with a charm on the end. The charm had a silver tree, with fairies dancing through the branches. A star and the moon were visible just above the branches.
“It’s beautiful. What is it?” I asked Red Star.
“It’s a symbol of the magical creatures of this world. The tree represents earth, plants and growth; the fairies represent air and magic. The star represents eternal light and fire and the moon represents the cycle of life and water.” He replied. He was calmer too, now that the maid was relieved from her burden.
Handing it to him, I asked. “If she is under my protection, she goes where I go right?”
“Yes.” He simply replied, signalling the other centaurs to lower their spears.
Turning to the maid, I released her. “How would you feel about a little adventure maid?” I asked her sweetly.
If it were possible her eyes widened. She glanced at the centaurs and asked. “Will they be coming?”
I looked up at them, then back at her and told her. “No they won’t. But you will be traveling with me, Cherry Blossom (a dryad) a fawn named Edmund, a talking wolf named Angeni and Prince Alexander.”
I could see the glint of hate when I mentioned Alec and fear when I mentioned the rest of our group.
But she still realized. “I don’t have much choice do I?”
“Now that you mention it, no you don’t” Alec came up and said to her, with a cold sweetness. The maid shrank back and I saw the hate in her eyes, intensify. But whether it was her own personal hate, or that of the Black Queen’s I didn’t know.
She looked from Alec to me, before agreeing. “I’m dead if I return anyway.”
“Alright then. But you still will be watched for a while. Since none of us trust you yet. Get up.” I told her, standing and offering a hand up. She sat up for a moment before ignoring my hand and standing. I added quietly. “And try not to abuse the freedom we will give you. It only makes it worse for yourself if you do.”
The centaurs were dispersing, but Red Star stayed in place. I looked at him and assured. “I promise we won’t lose her. And she has nowhere to go even if she did get away from us.”
Cherry came forward and smiled warmly at the maid. The maid stared back at Cherry, and didn’t smile back. Mr. Glass came forward too and kindly suggested. “Why don’t you come in my dear? You look very tired and half starved.”
The maid followed Mr. Glass, but only when Cherry lightly took her arm and lead her away. I heard Cherry ask the girl’s name.
“It’s Megara.” The maid replied.
Alec was talking to Red Star and some of the other centaurs when the cougar came up to me. She looked me up and down with her piercing hazel eyes. “I had heard that the ‘One’ is strange, but I never expected her to be this strange.”
I laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Indeed it is one. I’m not sure whether you really are the ‘One’ or not. But Prince Alexander seems to believe in you, since he is helping you gather allies, and I stand beside you, as well as his majesty.”
“Thank you for your confidence. May I know your name?”
“You may. I am ‘Drops of Sun From Heaven’. But everyone calls me Sun.” She chuckled, bowing her head in greeting.
“It is nice to meet you, ‘Drops of Sun From Heaven’. I am Christina. Just calls me Chris.” I bowed to her. She gave me a cat like wink, before following the centaurs into the trees.
I looked to the entrance of the hut and saw that it was as far as Cherry could get Megara to go. Sighing I came forward and said to her. “Meg, you need to cooperate if you don’t want to be hurt. If you weren’t coming with us, you would be with those centaurs right now. And they won’t treat you as nicely as we are willing to. And hun, I will drag you by your hair if I have to. And don’t think that I won’t, because even though I am a woman, I am as strong as men twice my size back home. I’m also as fast and agile as you are. So if you try to escape, you won’t be going anywhere fast. So stop being proud and follow Cherry.”
She gave me a cold glare before following Cherry into the hut.
I was about to follow, when Alec called to me. “Wait Chris!”
I turned to him, surprised but still proudly asked. “What?”
Alec breathed deeply before saying. “You know that taking that girl under your wing is dangerous. She is going to be a burden.”
“I don’t need your critic! She needed help and I was willing to give it!” I snapped angrily.
Alec shot back. “You shouldn’t abuse your place as the ‘One’, especially because you don’t believe you are!”
“Don’t worry about me! I can take care of myself and her!”
“She is my step-mother’s maid. What makes you think she is not a spy?” He roared.
“That’s why I won’t let her get away! And if she is a spy, how is she going to contact the Bitch Queen anyway?” I screamed back.
“I’m just saying be careful.” Alec replied quietly after a few moments of silence.
“Don’t worry about me!” I snapped, storming into the house. I was still furious with Alec from a few days earlier. I headed straight for the library once I entered the house. I needed to escape and this was the best way. There was already a candle there waiting for me. I began to read until I feel asleep between the pages of the Book of Dragons.

7: Chapter Six

~~It was about a week later that we finally met up with Angeni and Edmund. We met at the ‘Pool of Glass’. It was called such because the pool of water in the clearing was so clear, you could see through the water as if it was just air. I was told it was also where some sacred nymph first appeared. She was the one who apparently told the prophecy about the ‘One’.
When I first saw the pool I had the urge touch the surface of the water, just to make sure it was water.
Meg looked around the glade in wonder. I was sure I had a similar look on my face when we entered. Meg still had a problem with magical creatures, even though Cherry and Mr. Glass had been nothing but kind to her. So she would be useful, I had her help me look up information about the magical creatures we would, or might, encounter. I was impressed to see how well she absorbed the information she read. I hope that she would retain that information, for when it was needed.
When Edmund and Angeni appeared in the glade, Meg ducked behind me.
I whispered, gently. “It’s fine. They’re friends and they are coming with us to the dragons.”
“Who is this?” I heard from above me and felt Secra slither from a low hanging branch and onto my head. Meg yelped in surprise and jumped away.
“Secra, didn’t we have a decision about scaring people when we first met?” I teased, laughing a little.
She smoothly hissed, gliding from my head to my shoulder. “Maybe. Didn’t we have a decision about the metal on your ears too?” She flicked her tongue in my ear. It tickled a little.
“Maybe, but who’s keeping track?” I laughed.
“Agreed. Now who is this human? She has the smell of the castle about her.”
“Meg, come here and meet Secra.” I ordered gently. Meg shook her head violently. Cherry sighed and came up beside Meg.
She assured the girl gently. “It’s alright sweetie. She isn’t going to hurt you.”
Cherry led the slightly resisting maid forward. Secra didn’t try and slither onto Meg, but looked her up and down.
“How old are you girl?”
“Fourteen.” Meg squeaked.
I put in. “She was the maid to the Bitch Queen.”
“How dare you speak so!” Meg shot at me. Her voice shot venom in my direction, which took me by surprise. But still I recovered and stood proudly.
“How dare I? Same reason I defended you against the centaurs, because I know right from wrong. She has tried to destroy these people and they have done nothing wrong. When you live in comfort like you have, you don’t see how others have suffered. I have been there, and so I know.”
“My parents sold me to the Queen and she has been nothing but kind to me. She taught me to read and write. She has the right to do or take whatever she likes.” Meg argued.
I sighed. “I can see that trying to convince you is going to take more effort than it’s worth, so I won’t try. But Meg, don’t try and tell me what I should or shouldn’t do or say. I am entitled to my opinion same as you are to yours. But remember, you are no higher than me in this situation. I don’t like punk kids who think they are right all the time, especially when they don’t know what they are talking about.”
“Chris come here!” Alec called. I gave Secra to Cherry and obeyed. Ruby was there, holding a bundle, which was obviously my sword. I took it tenderly, as if I were holding a piece of fragile glass.
“Go on my dear! Unsheathe it and see how you like it.” Ruby urged brightly. I did so and fell in love with it immediately. It was perfect. I waved it through the air slowly, admiring how it cut through so smoothly. Stars shot across the hilt and covered it with silver. The blade had writing on it that read: ‘Strength comes from within.’
I smiled, sheathing it. “Thank you so much Ruby.”
“No thank you! You gave me a chance to have a bit of fun with my work. Now a proper sword must have a name.” He smiled. I unwrapped it and thought for a moment.
Smiling, I asked. “How about just ‘Vis est decus’? Meaning ‘Strength is Beauty’. But ‘Beauty’ for short.”
“That is a good name.” Ruby laughed, as I tried to do up the weapons belt. I had a little trouble, but was successful in the end.
Looking around I saw that Angeni and Edmund were now meeting Meg as well. I could see that she was very scared of Angeni even though we all assured her that Angeni wouldn’t hurt her. When I came over, I stood beside Angeni while Cherry spoke to Edmund and Meg.
I apologized to Angeni about Meg.
“She’s very young and has grown up under someone with a special hate for talking animals. Also, most humans fear of wolves in general. Not everyone loves wolves like you do.” She smiled.
“How do you know how much I love wolves?” I asked.
“Because you have body art of a wolf. I saw it when you proving your gender. It is on your left side.”
“Yes. It’s in memory of a friend and my grandmother. I do love wolves and so did my grandmother and my guardian angel. I can show you if you like.” I replied, and without waiting for an answer I showed her my tattoo. Angeni looked and nodded.
“My dear Chris, here is something for the road.” Mr. Glass came over and handed me a pack. It was a little heavy but not very heavy.
I smiled and replied. “Thank you Mr. Glass.” He smiled and walked over to Meg and Cherry. I watched him and couldn’t help but watch Meg. She smiled at Cherry and Mr. Glass. She seemed to try to be a little more open, although she didn’t really like them still.
“Meg will get use to you though. And she will have to deal with her fear until then.” I smiled to Angeni. After a moment I called to the rest of our group. “Are we all ready?”
“I think so.” Alec replied, since he had finished speaking to Ruby. We gathered and began on our way.
Looking back I waved to Mr. Glass and Ruby. Mr. Glass called. “May the light shine on you!”
“And on you. Take care of yourself.” I called back.
Angeni was first, since she knew some of the paths. I came after Angeni and then Meg with Cherry and after was Edmund and Alec brought up the rear.
We travelled for that day, taking a little time to let Meg and I rest. It took a little less time for me to rest, but I still needed some time. This was the first time I was able to inspect the pack that Mr. Glass had given me. I found in the pack, was a little bit of food, some herbs (I suspected it was for healing purposes) and lastly I found a set of different clothes. I had never really thought about how my clothes looked at the moment. But now that I saw them, I found they were grubby and dirty, with a few rips as well. I had to laugh, thinking that I would have to figure out some way to fix the small rips. I guessed with everything that had happened in the short time that I had been in Canes my clothes had been the least of my worries.
After stuffing everything in my pack again, I looked around. Cherry was talking with Edmund and Angeni, about what I didn’t know. Alec stood with his back slightly to me, although I could see one side of his face. He had his eyes closed, soaking in the sun that shone on his face. A wind blew lightly for a second, making his hair move softly, as well as his clothes. I was mesmerized by the sight, but only for a second.
What are you thinking idiot! Stop being stupid! I angrily thought. Where had all my self-control gone?
Looking around again, I saw Meg, sitting on a large rock panting a little. I smiled and walked over to her.
“Not used to this kind of journey are you?” I asked her. She looked at me with a questioning brow. Her eyes spoke volumes.
“I’m not really either. It’s alright though. I like this kind of thing.” I sighed, sitting beside her and looking to the sky. It was clear blue. It was such a familiar sight.
“The sky is the same. Where I’m from, we don’t have all this you know. There are not many places there where you can look in front of you and see trees for miles on end. There are no talking animals, dryads, nymphs, centaurs or fawns. There aren’t any magical creatures at all.” I mused.
“What? There is such a place?” Meg cried, sitting bolt upright. It surprised me but I kept my voice neutral.
“It’s not all that exciting Meg. The only magic we have is in our books. It’s not as beautiful as here.” I replied.
“I want to go there! Away from here.” She cried. I looked at her with a questioning brow.
I sighed. “Meg, you don’t want to go there. If you can’t accept differences here you won’t be able to accept differences there. You need to learn to accept that people and animals are not all that different.”
She looked at me. I could see she was a little confused.
“Back home, we try to accept difference in others, from skin color to religion. We try to accept everyone as they are no matter what. It is that same as here though. Because we all look different it is hard to accept other’s at first. The only difference is that the people here are not all human.” I tried to explain. Meg said nothing and I continued. “I was much the same as you when I first came here. I was scared and surprised. I didn’t know where I was or why I was here at all. But I believe everything happens for a reason, and I accepted that there must be a reason I came to Canes. But the difference between you and me is that I am able to accept difference in others, whether animal, spirit or human, much more readily than you. I don’t know whether that is just my personality or just because they were the first creatures I saw when I woke up in Canes, but all I know is that for some reason I can accept and trust them. I believe that, part of the reason you are here is so you can learn.”
“Learn what?” Meg asked quietly.
I shrugged. “Maybe it was to learn that all the creatures of this world are not as different as you believe. And maybe to learn that they are not as dangerous as you have been taught. Think about it.”
I finished, since we were all ready to start out again. We traveled until the sun began to set in the west. Alec and Angeni found a suitable place for us to rest. Meg and I sat on the ground, trying to catch our breath, while Edmund and Cherry went to find firewood. Alec and Angeni went out to hunt. Alec needed Angeni to help him tell the difference between talking animals and the wild animals. We were still in Canes and it wouldn’t be good for Alec to kill his own people.
After a little I stood and took off my weapons belt. Unsheathing ‘Beauty’, I breathed deeply. I had to admire the sword for a few moments. Something about it was beautiful, even though it was just so simple. I liked things like that. After a few moments I began practicing blocks and attacks Alec had shown me. I knew that if I practiced my muscles would begin to remember them, like when I practiced taekwondo. I practiced slowly making sure I did all the movements correctly. I knew that speed would come after technique and at this point my technique was poor. As I practiced I heard my favorite songs run through my head.
“You me and the DJ! Dancing till the break of dawn! No no never gonna stop now! Turn it up, let’s party on!” I whispered as I practiced. The other lyrics were in Korean and harder to say off the top of my head. Although I didn’t know any Korean, I preferred the music, compared to most English music that played on radio’s back home. It was the beat and emotions of the songs that I liked and I found it easier to appreciate those aspects if I wasn’t distracted by the lyrics. Somehow, the modern English music seemed to have lost something on the way, to become ‘better’. The love of music didn’t seem to be in the songs by ‘Miley Cyrus’, ‘Justin Bieber’ or ‘Cher Lloyd’. There wasn’t as much soul in the modern world of American pop.
Meg watched silently for a few minutes. But I wasn’t so concentrated that I didn’t notice her try to sneak away.
“Maid!” I screamed, just as she began to sprint away. I dropped ‘Beauty’ and gave chase. Racing as fast as I could, I found she was faster than I had originally thought her to be. But in the dress she was wearing, she got caught on twigs and tree branches, until finally she tripped over a tree root. I caught her before she had time to stand.
Taking both her hands I held them behind her back and whispered sweetly in her ear. “You have guts maid, I’ll give you that. But you won’t get away from any of us, especially not me. And just so you know if you try and run away again I will break one of your legs.”
She held her head high and scoffed at that threat. Roughly leading her back I dangerously asked. “Don’t believe me?”
“No I don’t. You’re a woman same as me and not strong enough to break anyone’s leg.” She replied proudly.
“No? Then how about an arm?” I twisted her arm, just before the point of breaking. She cried out in pain and I could almost hear the bones creaking in strain. I told her quietly. “If I twist just a little more, you’ll have one less arm to worry about. I wouldn’t doubt or say what I can or cannot do maid. I may be a woman, but I am by no means weak like you. Admittedly I am not as strong as Alec but I am stronger than you.” Letting her go, I picked her up and carried her back to camp. It was mainly to prove my point. Just before getting there I added. “One last thing. Don’t think I won’t hurt you maid. When you piss me off or abuse the freedom we give you, I will not hesitate in hurting you.”
Everyone was back by then, and looked at me in astonishment. I didn’t need to ask why. Dropping Meg by Cherry I asked her. “Will you keep an eye on her Cherry? She is defiantly not to be trusted.” Cherry nodded and helped Meg to her feet, before talking quietly to her. Moving to the middle of the glade, I picked up ‘Beauty’ and sheathed it, before walking over to Alec. He was gutting three nice rabbits. He glanced at me when I sat down beside him.
“What did you do to her anyway?”
“Just caught her after she tried to run away, threatened to break her leg if she tried again, and twisted her arm just before breaking it when she doubted that I would.” I shrugged.
“You broke her arm?” He looked at Meg and then at me.
“No, just twisted it. It was mostly to prove that I could and would break any bone in her body.”
“Would you break her legs if she ran away and you caught her again?” Alec asked cautiously.
“Yes. It may be cruel but it would keep her from running away.” I admitted.
“You know she would be more of a burden right?”
I shrugged again. “We would make due.”
Alec kept cleaning the rabbits. I watched curiously. After a moment, Alec saw me watching. He looked at me with a questioning brow. I was silent for a moment before I encouraged. “Don’t mind me. I just am interested in watching.”
“Why? It’s a pretty disgusting job.”
I shrugged again and replied. “I have never seen anything like this back home.”
Alec shrugged and continued cleaning the rabbits. After cleaning them, he put them on a spit and began cooking them. Cherry was to turn the spit so that the rabbits would be cooked evenly throughout. Once they had started cooking, Alec asked. “Are you ready for some practice?”
“Sure. Sword practice or hand to hand?” I asked.
Alec thought for a moment, before nodding. “Both. But hand to hand first okay?”
“Sure.”
Practice was better than normal. Instead of getting frustrated and mad, I kept calm and was able to take Alec’s correction without giving him a glare. I found that everything felt smoother and more fluent. I knew that my muscles were coming accustomed to the exercise and were starting to develop memory.
After both hand-to-hand practice and sword practice Alec commented. “That is enough. You are getting better you know.”
I panted as I slumped to the ground. “Thanks.”
Cherry asked, with a bit of a groan. “Are they done yet?”
Alec laughed. “They should be done. Thank you Cherry.”
After we all had eaten (not all of us had the rabbits but Angeni had whatever we didn’t eat) we all sat around the fire, either talking quietly or just in silence. I sat with Angeni humming one of my favorite songs. Angeni yawned and lay down quietly. After a few moments I did the same, watching the stars in the sky.
Meg appeared, standing over me. I gave her a questioning brow. “Can I help you?”
“I’m sorry that I tried to run away and doubted what you said.” She said quietly. She didn’t sound as sincere as I would have liked, but I accepted it anyway.
“It’s alright. Just don’t try to run away again.”
She nodded and walked away quickly. After a few moments of silence, Angeni sat up and started to sing. Well, it was howling by human standards but I preferred to think of it as singing. Everyone listened to the song, completely unconcerned, except for Meg, who had frozen like a statue. I didn’t really care though. I like Angeni’s singing. I fell asleep before Angeni finished her song.
I dreamed that night. Again I had an eagle’s eye view of a large room. It was elegant and brightly lit, different from Alec’s room. The bed was massive and had some kind of design on the head board. To one side of the room, I saw a beautiful lady, pacing. She was in a huge bright orange dress and was richly decorated. It took me a few seconds to see the crown on her golden head. I was horrified when I realized that it was the Bitch Queen.
I watched her before she groaned. “Where is that girl? She should have been back a few days ago!”
I knew she must be talking about Meg. She was right though; she should have been back by now, if we hadn’t caught her. I could have laughed. Now that maid was farther away from the castle then before.
The Bitch Queen growled. “That stupid brat! I should have known that she would betray me! I shouldn’t have trusted her.”
She’s paranoid. I realized suddenly. That could be useful.
There was a knock at the door and another maid, with long black hair entered. She curtsied. “You’re Majesty. We have just received a note.”
“Speak girl! Who is the note from?”
The girl stuttered. “F-from P-p-prince Alexander majesty.”
The Queen spun sharply on the girl. Her eyes blazed as she snatched the note from the maid. “What? He is still alive!” She dismissed the girl and ripped open the note. I saw her face change from anger to horror. “How can he still be alive? And how can he do this to me? After all I tried to do for him.”
“From what I heard, all you’ve done for him was, try and lock him in his room, take advantage of the power his father gave to you, and also try to kill him and his people. Is that about right?” I asked her mockingly. She spun around, looking for me. I smiled and mocked. “Up here my lady.”
Slowly the Queen looked up at me. She opened and closed her mouth as if she were trying to say something.  I laughed at her. “You look like a fish. It’s funny. How people of high standing, such as you, think that they can do no wrong. You think you have the right to take whatever you want and you think that everyone should worship you. And honestly, when they refuse, you decide to exterminate them. And because of that, my lady, you have no respect or pity from me.”
She seemed to have found her voice since she screamed. “Demon! Stay away from me!” She ran to her bed and pulled a crossbow from under it.
“Certainly. But beware. We are everywhere, even in your nightmares!” I smiled wickedly and bowed.
Just as she shot an arrow at me, I fell into darkness. I heard singing, like when my grandmother would sing me to sleep after I came home from school crying. I relaxed and let the darkness take me.
The next morning, Edmund woke me early. I wasn’t impressed, but got up anyway.
“You need to practice your shooting every day. Especially because you are such a lousy shot.” He grinned, tossing me a bow.
I yawned and sarcastically replied. “Thanks.”
Once we had finished practicing the rest of our group was up, either packing or still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Edmund and I made ready quickly. Once we were all packed, our group began again. This routine continued for a few days. Cherry sent word of our progress through the trees once we had past the boarder of Canes and entered the ‘Untamed Land’. The second morning after we had left Canes, started beautifully. Although there were clouds in the sky, the day promised to be pleasant. And for some reason, I felt very happy that day. Like I was high on some kind of drug, but I already knew that my drug was life itself.
Once we started on the road, Alec noticed my giddiness. He asked, sounding slightly amused. “What are you so happy about?”
“Nothing. I am just in a really good mood. It happens a lot at home.” I smiled, before humming a very uplifting tune and following Angeni. I didn’t know this at the time but Alec gave me an amused smile.
Meg had a little less difficulty today than normal but we still had to hurry her along. Cherry warned. “We need to get as far as we can before the rain gets here.”
Just as Cherry had predicted, it started to rain just after mid-day. I loved rain and as everyone went to find shelter I stood in the rain taking it all in.
Alec called to me. “Chris, get out of the rain.”
“Are you kidding? I love the rain. It feels beautiful.” I laughed, lifting my head to the sky. I began to sing. “I am unwritten, can’t read my mind. I’m undefined.”
“Chris you’ll get chilled.” Cherry called.
“I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand…”
“Chris!”
“Ending unplanned!” I smiled and began skipping through the rain. I heard Alec swear as he came after me.
“Staring at the blank page before you. Open up the dirty windows; let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find! Reaching for something in the distance, so close you can almost taste it. Release your inhibitions!” I sang, beginning to run as I heard Alec splashing through the rain.
“Christina come back!” Alec cried angrily.
I laughed and sang on, running in a circle, spinning every so often, just to get on his nerves. “Feel the rain on your skin! No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in! No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips! Drench yourself in words unspoken, live your life with arms wide open. Today is where your book begins…”
Alec caught me at this time and held me close, as if he were afraid that I was going to run away again. He held me for a few moments and I whispered breathlessly. “The rest is still unwritten.”
We stood there in the rain, the smell of it mixing with Alec’s scent, making it almost intoxicating. I wanted to run away but I didn’t at the same time. Alec pushed me out of his arms, but kept me close enough that his hands rested lightly on my shoulders. Looking into his eyes, I couldn’t help but see how beautiful they were. If I wasn’t careful I would be swept away.
Alec let me go, and turned away. Out of embarrassment or anger I didn’t know. He asked. “Are you ready to come out of the rain now?”
I pushed away the awkwardness I felt, being so close to him and mockingly replied. “I suppose so.” Alec gave me an unsure smile before leading me back to the rest of the group.
While Alec was chasing me, they had found a small cave. It was large enough that we could stretch out a little but we would still be cozy. I found it very comfortable, aside from the small leaks, but that wasn’t a huge concern. When we entered, I laughed at the funny look Edmund gave me, as well as the smile and giggle from Cherry and Meg. Angeni smiled, and even gave a small chuckle.
Being completely drenched as we were, Cherry suggested. “Why don’t you two change into your other clothes?”
I looked at Alec and Edmund. Edmund blushed and replied. “Right right. We’ll be on this side of the cave. You change on that side.” And turned away.
Alec stared at me and I joked lightly. “Don’t look. There isn’t much to see anyway.”
He rolled his eyes and turned around, taking off his shirt. I stared at his back for a few moments. It was very muscular and his skin seemed to shine in the little light we had. It could have been because it was wet too. Turning away I muttered. “Pervert.”
When we were both changed, I found the extra clothes that Mr. Glass had packed for me were similar to what I had already been wearing, although the style was not as punk as I would have liked. But I had to remind myself that I was in Canes now, and nothing is the same as home. Alec and I laid out our clothes, close to the fire that Edmund made. I hoped they would dry a little.
I shivered a little, since my jacket was wet, so I couldn’t wear it to keep warm anyway. Angeni came up beside me and offered. “Here Chris. Let me share my warmth with you.”
“I’m fine Angeni.” I protested before sneezing. Angeni smiled and lay down beside me. “You’ll be no good if you get sick.”
I smiled and snuggled up to Angeni. “Thank you.” I whispered. She gave me a lick on the forehead and rested her head on her paws. In her warmth I drifted off to a dreamless sleep. But not before I heard Cherry whisper. “Good night Chris.”
 

8: Chapter Seven

~~The rain continued for the rest of the day and throughout the night. Only a few times was I woken up from the thunder. It was so loud and powerful that it shook the entire earth. The second time the thunder woke me I groaned quietly. “Ah for crying out loud…” I sat up and let my eyes adjust to the little light in the cave. I could see that everyone was lying very close to each other. I suspected it was for warmth. After a few moments I noticed Meg crouching in a corner of the cave, with her knees to her chest. She was shivering violently. I stood, careful not to wake anybody.
I stood over her and gently asked. “Meg, what are you doing over here? You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine.” She replied quietly, giving a small yelp when the thunder boomed from above. I sat beside her. She didn’t’ look at me. Instead she looked in the opposite direction.
I stared out into the rain and sighed. “My grandmother always told me that thunder was just the drums of heaven. She said that it was music and that although it is terrifying and earth shattering, it helps some people overcome the fear. Once we overcome that fear we may become stronger.”
As if on cue, lightening stuck and thunder crashed above. Meg gave a yelp and buried her face in my tunic. Hesitantly I put my arms around her. She was still just a child, no matter how much she may believe otherwise.
“You know, you remind me of a girl that I would look after back home. She is younger than you are, but she cares about a lot. She looks for protection from everything, like the thunder. But she is never afraid to ask for help when she needs it.” I mused lightly, giving a small smile.
She cried quietly, pulling out of my arms. “I’m not scared of anything.”
Calmly I argued. “Meg, you are still a child. Don’t argue. You aren’t used to the lightning and thunder because you have been living in the castle, away from the elements, and nature in general. You need to realize that it’s alright to be scared, especially of things that you don’t understand. It’s natural and it helps you become stronger.”
“I’m not afraid of anything.” She repeated.
“Then why aren’t you lying with the rest of us? If you aren’t scared of us then come and keep warm. We are different and you are afraid of that. And since I know you are going to argue with me, I say: Prove it!” I challenged standing and walking back to the group.
Thankfully nobody seemed to have woken up from that argument. I curled up in between Angeni and Cherry, not really caring what Meg did. She was free to accept us or not. But eventually she would have to choose between pride and acceptance. I fell asleep quickly and quietly.
That morning, when I woke up, I found Meg curled up beside Cherry. I had to smile. She was just a girl in need of protection and some good friends.
I was the first to wake up and wasn’t going to wake anybody else. We may have lost time yesterday from the rain, but I didn’t see the point in waking anyone else. Besides they all slept so peacefully that it would be a shame to wake anyone. Sneaking out silently, I stretched in the cool morning air. It was misty, but I breathed deeply. The world smelt so beautiful after a big storm.
After a few moments of drinking in the air, I heard the strangest sound. It sounded like the twinkling of tiny bells. Looking back at the cave for a moment I whispered. “I’ll be right back.”
Slowly I began to follow the sound. It was a short walk for me to find the bells. In a small clearing there was a large group of fairies dancing in a circle. I realized that the bells were actually their voices singing. I watched for a few seconds in awe. When they saw me they stopped and stared. After a few moments they seemed to speak to one another before changing their dance and their song. I didn’t will myself to, but I started to walk towards the fairy ring. I had no control over my body movements and desperately wanted to stop. I knew that if I stepped into the fairy ring I would be captured by them.
Help! Someone help me! My mind screamed. I couldn’t speak, for like my body I had no control over my voice. Just as I was about to step into the fairy ring, I felt a strong hand haul me back. The fairies stopped their dance and song, shouting angrily at my saviour.
“You little demons! You should learn some manners. Away with you before I get really mad!” Edmund bellowed, keeping a firm grasp on my arm. They gave him a sulky look before vanishing.
“Edmund thanks. I don’t know what happened. My body just started moving on its own. I couldn’t do anything.” I explained, breathless. Edmund let go of my arm as we began to walk back to the cave.
“Don’t worry about it. Fairies are mischievous little creatures. They are very pretty, but tricky.” He grinned as we arrived back at the cave. Everyone was awake now and just starting to pack up. Edmund whispered, before entering. “We’ll practice later today.”
I nodded to his back and went to fold up my clothes. Although the rain had cleaned them pretty well, they were still damp. I folded them, and gave Alec a smile, as he was folding his own clothes. He blushed, but gave me a small smile. I didn’t know why he was blushing but I didn’t pursue it.
Cherry asked brightly. “Did you hear the fairies this morning Chris?”
“I did. I was almost captured by them too. Edmund made sure that didn’t happen though.” I had to blush slightly.
“Oh dear! I forgot that we would encounter some interesting creatures when we entered the ‘Untamed Land.’ There are a lot more magical creatures in this part of the world.” She chuckled, sealing her pack.
“A lot more dangerous creatures too.” Meg put in. I saw this as an opportunity to see how well she retained what she had learned, while helping me read up on these creatures.
“What kind of creatures Meg?” I challenged lightly.
All eyes turned to her. Maybe I shouldn’t have put the spot light on her. I thought, feeling a little guilty.
She inhaled deeply, before saying. “Griffins could be a potential problem. They are half eagle and half lion. They don’t really hurt anything, unless they are scouting for food. They will eat anything they can pick up and carry, which includes us if we are not careful. The other problem with Griffins is that they are very protective of their nests, like any bird I suppose. It will attack us if we get too close to the nest. But it doesn’t eat other birds.”
“Goldfeather should be safe then.” Alec murmured right beside me, making me jump.
“Alec! You shouldn’t sneak up on people. You are just like Secra.” I groaned, trying my hardest not to smile. It was harder because Cherry and Meg were trying not to laugh, while Edmund and Angeni grinned in amusement. Alec gave me a cheeky smile.
 Once Cherry and Meg had contained themselves, Alec encouraged, with an edge of coldness. “Please continue maid.”
She nodded, her eyes showing more coldness then Alec had given her. “I also read about Pegasus and Unicorns. There are some in this part of the world, although we may not encounter any of them, until we get closer to the mountains. The unicorns are a little more dangerous than Pegasus, because they are very territorial, especially to unknown creatures, like us. It’s best that we try to steer clear of them as well.”
I spoke now. “That is easier said than done though. The one problem if we do meet with either creature, more unicorns than Pegasus is that young women are especially susceptible to their pure magic. And they will attack anyone who gets too close without a strong or pure heart. And since not all of us have these qualities, it’s best if we are careful about both those creatures.” After my little blurb, I turned the spotlight to Meg again, by prompting. “Anything else we should be wary about?”
Meg continued. “There are the monsters that look more like humans. Banshee’s, vampires, werewolves and witches to name a few.”
“For those I suppose we’ll just have to keep our guard up.” Edmund put in.
“I can smell those creatures if they are close. I encountered a few in my travels. Banshees have a swampy smell about them; vampires have a disgustingly sweet smell, while werewolves smell like humans with wolf mixed in.”
“What about witches?” Meg asked her.
“Witches are the only kinds of creatures I can’t distinguish from humans. I can smell an unknown presence but other than that, I won’t be much help in detecting witches.” Angeni admitted.
“Alright, we should start out before it gets too much later. At least we have an idea about what we are up against in this part of the world.” Alec stated, swinging his pack over his shoulder. We all agreed and followed him out of the cave and into the morning sun.
We tried to stay as unnoticed as possible while traveling through the ‘Untamed Lands’. At night, we were especially cautious, since most of the dangerous creatures were night walkers. As an extra precaution we always had two of our group on watch and we would take turns throughout the night. Thankfully, Meg never tried to run away, but I suspected because she was more afraid of the monsters she might encounter if she didn’t stay with us. It wasn’t until the third night after the rainstorm that we encountered a monster.
We were sitting around the camp fire when Angeni stood up and growled. “We have company.”
Everyone jumped to their feet and looked the way Angeni was facing. Alec and I drew our swords and Edmund had his bow with an arrow in the string. Angeni growled low in her throat as a vampire emerged from the trees.
I knew that vampires were told to be beautiful, and this one proved to be no exception. She was beautiful, but it was a haunting beauty, that sent shivers down my spine. She was slender, with almost pearl white skin and flaming red hair. Her eyes were black and seemed to have a hypnotizing nature to them. Cherry whispered to us. “Don’t look directly in her eyes.” I kept my mind closed and my sword in hand.
“Why not? It’s rude not to look at your guest.” The vampire laughed. It was musical and cold. After a pause, in which she surveyed us, the monster began to slowly and gracefully walk towards us. Angeni growled again, all of her hair standing on end. It almost surprised me how threatening she looked.
“There is no need for that. I mean you no harm.” The vampire purred sweetly.
“Like hell you don’t!” Cherry cried angrily, standing in a defensive position.
The vampire stopped and gave Cherry a venomous look. “I don’t like you very much. You are much too rude.”
“We don’t want any trouble. Tell us what you want!” I asked her, never letting my guard down.
She looked at me now. She smiled sweetly. Everything about her was cold though. It was just a gut feeling. “You are a pretty boy. I like you. You are so sweet smelling.”
I was angry now. For a moment, I thought I might need to rethink my tom boy look. But it was only for a second. “First off, I’m a girl. And second, don’t you come any closer or I swear we’ll send you back to the fiery pits of hell.”
“No. Don’t kill her.” Meg said. We all looked at her. Her voice was monotone and emotionless. Her eyes stared straight into the vampire’s eyes. She slowly began walking towards the vampire. Cherry grabbed her arm and cried franticly. “Meg! Wake up!”
“It’s too late now. She is mine. Come to me my dear.” The vampire smiled cruelly, as Meg fought against Cherry. I saw the vampires fangs glitter in the fire light.
Looking from the vampire to Meg, I told her, angrily. “It’s never too late.” And I punched Meg, knocking her out cold.
Cherry caught the maid and stared at me in astonishment. The vampire’s eyes flamed, in a way that might have made lesser men cower. After a moment though, she smiled cruelly. “Fine. I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. Besides, I think I like your smell better anyway.” She lunged for me, almost too fast for me to follow. But it wasn’t fast enough. Angeni attacked her with a terrifying growl and took out a chuck of her shoulder. The vampire screeched and knocked Angeni to the ground. Angeni staggered, with a yip, but stood her ground. The vampire was pushed back a little, helping us gain a little ground. Edmund shot an arrow at her, but she dodged easily. I stepped back, trying to figure out what I should do. Cherry called. “Take Meg Chris. Alec, grab a branch from the fire.”
I took Meg and watched as Cherry trapped the vampire with roots of the surrounding trees. The monster screeched, showing her ugly and dangerous appearance. She tried in vain to break free. Cherry ordered. “Edmund, shoot a branch into her heart now! Alec, send her back to hell!”
Neither Edmund nor Alec hesitated. As the vampire was shot, she burned. Her screeches filled the night air, until there was nothing left but a pile of ashes.
We all stood for a moment, panting. None of us had anything to say, since there was nothing to say anyway. Angeni staggered, trying to make her way back to the fire. Her shoulder was ripped open, and blood bloomed like a poisonous flower.
“Oh my dear friend. Don’t strain yourself.” Cherry cried, rushing over to Angeni’s aid.
Angeni, limping over to the fire tried to calm her. “Don’t worry about me Cherry. It’s just a flesh wound.”
I lay Meg on the ground, as Angeni lay by the fire and let Cherry dress her shoulder. She yelped and yipped a few times and none of us could blame her. Cherry told us seriously. “It really isn’t too deep, but it’s deep enough.” She then told Angeni. “You will need to take it easy if you want it to heal properly. You won’t be hunting for a while.”
“Thank you Cherry.  I do realize that, and I fear that I will slow down this journey a bit.” She yipped again.
“It doesn’t matter. We will not leave you behind for the sake of progress. We’re all in this together!” I told her smiling. Everyone agreed. She shot a smile around, as Cherry finished dressing her wound. Once that was done, she limped over to me and curled up beside me. I had to suppress a giggle. Sometimes, Angeni reminded me of a big dog. I never told her so, of course, seeing as it would be offensive to her.
Alec and Edmund took first watch that night. Cherry and I waited for Meg to wake up, while Angeni slept. After a few moments I asked Cherry quietly. “What I too rash in punching her?”
“Maybe a little. But we couldn’t have her getting in the way, or fighting against us.” Cherry assured me, giving me a gentle smile. It was warm and dazzling, not cold and threatening.
I yawned and lay down beside Angeni and Cherry. Cherry stroked my hair, before moving a lock of hair from my face. “Good night Chris.” She murmured as I drifted into a dreamless sleep. 
We stayed in the same place for one day. Meg hadn’t woken up yet and Angeni was grateful to have a bit of time to rest. Although Alec was impatient, he still tried his best to endure. That morning, Edmund and I shot for about two hours, mostly just to pass the time. Edmund commented that I was getting much better.
“You’re still a pretty lousy shot though.” He said, with a cheeky smile. I gave him a playful punch in the arm. That was one of the ways I showed affection and he knew that. Edmund was really nice, but he liked to tease me about my shooting.
Later, after Alec and Edmund had come back from hunting and we had all eaten a bit, Alec and I practiced hand to hand combat. It was at this time Meg woke up. Both of us were so concentrated that neither of us noticed. Cherry waited until we were finished before calling. “Now that you are done beating each other up, come here. Meg has woken up.”
Rushing over, I knelt beside her and asked gently. “How do you feel?”
“A little confused. One minute we’re standing in front of a vampire, then I am dreaming and then I am here.” She clinked a few times before rubbing her head. “And my head hurts.”
“Okay I will give you the summary. You looked directly into the vampires eyes, even though Cherry told us not to. And you became hypnotized by her. To keep you from trying to get away from us, I knocked you out.” I didn’t mention that I punched her. It wasn’t really relevant.
We helped her sit up slowly, and gave her some water. Alec came over and asked coldly, but I detected a gentle tone. “Are you alright maid?”
She shot daggers from her eyes and replied, just as coldly. “I’m fine.”
I couldn’t figure out whether the hate she seemed to have for Alec was her own, or the Queen’s. She was more comfortable with Cherry and Edmund now, and even a little bit better with Angeni too. But there was some kind of distance between Alec and her, which I didn’t think stemmed just because she was the Black Queen’s maid. I knew it wasn’t my place to ask, but my curiosity was getting the best of me.
Later that night, Alec and I were on watch. Angeni was still awake but silent. She seemed to be lost in thought. Cherry, Edmund and Meg were sleeping, while Alec sat on the grass, with his sword in hand. I knew that he could be ready at any moment if he needed to be. He didn’t look at me when I sat beside him. I sighed looking at him gently. “You okay?”
He gave me a questioning look and replied. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Just making sure.” I shrugged, looking into the darkness of the trees in front of us. Something about it set shivers through me. It reminded me of those fathomless cold eyes. After a few seconds of silence, I breathed. “Alec, was there something that happened between you and Meg? Whenever you talk or look at each other, it’s almost like there are lasers shooting from your eyes.” He gave me a curious look when I mentioned ‘lasers’. I muttered. “Rephrase: I mean you look at each other, with daggers. I’m sure if looks could kill, one of you would be dead.”
Alec looked away from me. I knew that I would be walking on thin ice, but I didn’t think it would be that thin. Quickly I added. “If you don’t want to you don’t have to tell me. I-“
“No it’s okay. It isn’t only because she is my step-mother’s maid that we’re like that.” He admitted, looking at his hands. I waited as he took a long breath and explained.
“I met Meg when she was sold to my step-mother. I was fifteen at the time and she was nine. I remember thinking how unfortunate it was that such a cute girl was serving my step-mother. I would talk to her while she would do her other maid chores. She was so polite and shy. I couldn’t help but think how cute she was. As we both got older, she became more beautiful.” I saw a small smile creep into his features, but disappeared after a moment. “We were friends until about a year ago. It was the night of my nineteenth birthday. My step-mother seemed to be much more cheerful than normal. I didn’t know at the time why and frankly I didn’t care. Once the celebration was over, she pulled me aside and told me that she had left a present in my room. I told her I didn’t want anything, but she wouldn’t hear anything about it. When I arrived I found Meg there. She was dressed in very elegant clothes, contrary to her maid attire. At first I didn’t recognize her. I was stunned, but when she spoke I realized who it was. I was about to ask what she was doing here, but she came forward and kissed me. I was surprised and froze in position. She might have taken that as a hint to continue, because she started to untie my clothes. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I needed to get her off of me.”
I stared at him, when he paused. “You can guess what happened. I pushed her off and demanded that she tell me what the hell was going on. She told me that she was the gift the Queen was talking about earlier. I knew then that it was a plan to try and use me. My step-mother always tried to do so and this was the lowest of the low. I was so angry that I couldn’t look at Meg anymore. Meg pleaded me to believe her, that she loved me. I knew this to be a lie. Where else could she have gotten the elegant clothes, than from my step-mother? I told her never to speak to me again and that if she ever tried to touch me again, I would not hesitate in having her thrown out of the castle. She has hated me ever since I suppose. I admit that I might have been a little cruel but you have to realize that my step-mother poisoned Meg’s mind, about me and my people, ever since the first day she stepped foot into the castle.”
“I see.” I murmured putting my head on Alec’s shoulder. I after a moment I had to ask. “Did you love her Alec?”
Sighing he admitted. “I was only infatuated. After that betrayal, I felt nothing for her.”
“Mm, I understand. Truly I do.” In truth I didn’t understand the extent of the hurt that kind of betrayal leaves behind, but I hoped they could overcome the feelings of hurt and let the past lie. But I knew that it was easier said than done. I had been betrayed, just not in the same way. My own parents betrayed me, so I knew how hard it could be to trust anyone.
Even now I can’t trust anyone. I thought to myself, moving to sit behind Alec, and leaned against his back.
After a few moments of silence I mused, more to myself then to Alec. “You remind me of him.”
“What?” He asked quietly.
I realized that he had heard me, but still I answered. “A friend I had once, when I was much younger.”
“What happened to him?”
I smiled sadly and whispered. “Maybe I’ll tell you some day.”
I rose and continued my watch. When I passed Angeni I gave her a pet. She had fallen asleep and sighed. She never minded when I pet her. I liked the feel of her fur and she knew that. I passed Meg and had to smile. She was beautiful for being so young.
But beauty is not skin deep. I reminded myself. I just had to hope Meg wasn’t beyond hope now, from being under the influence of the Black Queen for so long.
Cherry woke up in the middle of the night to take Alec’s watch so he could sleep. And a little later Edmund took my watch. Alec hadn’t fallen asleep yet when my watch was over. I walked over to him and told him, slightly amused. “You can sleep now. Cherry and Edmund are on watch.”
“I can’t sleep. I’m too surrounded by my own thoughts and concerns.” He replied quietly, not looking at me. I sat behind him again and leaned against his back.
“Why don’t you talk about them? Sometimes it makes it easier.” I suggested.
Alec was silent for a few moments, before saying. “I’m concerned about this whole quest. What if one of us dies? Angeni is already injured, because she was protecting you.”
“Angeni was protecting all of us and I am sure she would do it again. You once said that you have to live with the fear of death every single day. You also said that how you try and deal with that fact is by knowing that you didn’t force any of us into anything. We came because we chose to, with the exception of Meg. You are not to blame for anything.” I tried to ease his conscious a little. After a moment I joked lightly. “Don’t you ever think otherwise, or I might have to knock some sense into you.”
Alec chuckled leaning against me. I hummed softly, a slow relaxing song. Halfway through the song Alec murmured. “Chris?”
“Yes?”
“You’re humming…”
“Oh sorry. I’ll stop if you want.” I apologized.
“Don’t please. It’s soothing somehow.” He insisted.
I smiled a little and told him. “Just sleep Alec.” I hummed “Take Me Away” by a Korean group called “U-Kiss”. It wasn’t a particularly happy song, but it was the one I had in my head at the moment. When I finished Alec breathed deeply behind me. I knew he was asleep. I was glad that we could be friends.
When it’s all said and done Alec really isn’t a bad guy at all. I smiled and fell asleep under the protection of a dryad and a fawn.
 

9: Chapter Eight

~~Our pace on the journey slowed right down, as we had anticipated, because of Angeni’s weakened condition. Although we all knew this none of us complained. Especially not after Meg’s argument with me on the second day back on the road. We were all tired and had stopped for the night. I was helping Angeni by changing her bandages, while Alec and Edmund made a fire. Cherry was observing me, making sure I did the bandages right. Meg sat on the opposite side of the fire.
“You don’t have to look after me as much as you do Chris. I’m fine.” Angeni complained, before yipping in pain.
I smiled and apologized. “Sorry, but of course I do. I hate feeling useless.”
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have to look after her Chris. She’s not even human! But of course you have to help her as well as every other helpless being on the planet!” Meg shot at me. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
Standing slowly I asked her dangerously quiet. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me! She’s just a savage animal with a human voice!” She spat venomously. She was standing proudly and in a way that made it seem like she was trying to look down on me. I didn’t know what brought this attitude on but my anger rose dramatically. Everyone had seen me angry, except Meg.
Angeni tried in vain to calm me. “Chris leave it be.”
“Helpless being you call her? You’re one to talk maid. Who’s the one who stumbles along needing to rest every 30 minutes, scared of everything different from you? You can’t even follow the simplest instructions!” I began to rage. Alec and Edmund stood and came forward, in case I attacked Meg. I had been known to attack someone who pissed me off enough, as I had told them.
Cherry tried to stop me. “Chris stop.”
I ignored her and everyone. Except for Meg. “You know nothing about Angeni or about anything! When that vampire attacked us she risked her life to protect all of us, including you! Angeni is anything but helpless or savage. Next time you have the nerve to say anything, human or animal, is helpless or savage, look at your reflection in the water. We should have left you with the centaurs. We wouldn’t have to deal with stupid girls who talk about things they don’t understand.”
“Chris!” Cherry cried.
 Meg’s eyes started to well with tears, but I didn’t care. My own eyes were filled with tears, but they were tears of anger. It took every inch of my being to keep myself from attacking Meg and I wasn’t finished yelling at her yet. I finished. “Next time you’re in danger or need help, don’t look at me. You’re on your own from now on.”
 I turned back to helping Angeni as Meg started to cry. Cherry went over to Meg to comfort her. Alec came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.  I shook it off and snapped. “I don’t want to hear it!” Meg was no longer my problem and she didn’t have my trust or sympathy. I didn’t even look at her for the next few days. When she tried to apologize I turned it down. “Don’t even try to apologize to me. It’s not accepted.” I wasn’t about to forgive her anytime soon. Later, Meg apologized to Angeni, who accepted it graciously.
“She’s only a child Chris. You can’t be mad at her forever.” Angeni told me one night. Meg sat with Edmund, while Cherry and Alec were on watch.
I countered showing no emotion. “You’d be surprised. She’s just lucky I didn’t black out. Back home, the last time I blacked out in a rage, I almost killed someone.”
“She’s only a pup. She has been poisoned by the most ruthless persons in the world. Also we were all tired.” She yipped, as I dabbed her shoulder. It was much better, but still pretty bad. Right now we were just making sure it didn’t get infected.
I sighed. “Sorry. And I’m not about to forgive her yet. I hate girls that give me attitude and say things they don’t have a single clue about.”
We didn’t meet any other dangerous creatures while travelling through the ‘Untamed Land’. Although we did come dangerously close to a griffins nest. We had seen the griffins circling overhead and hoped we weren’t a threat. Edmund kept an arrow strung in case they attacked us.
We met Goldfeather just outside the domain of the dragons. He told us that everything was on schedule, except for us. “After all you are two days late.” He said. I almost shot at him about our attack, but Cherry gave me a warning look. I had also forgotten that she had sent word through the trees.
We stayed on the edge of the ‘Everlasting Mountains’, the dragon domain, for the night. After a fire was made and practice had finished, we were mostly silent. None of us really knew what to talk about.
I took the first watch with Edmund. The only creatures we were worried about were unicorns and Pegasus. But even then it really wasn’t much of a concern.
While on watch, I heard the strangest sound. It sounded something like the pounding of giant wings. I listened, straining at first, before realizing that the sound was getting closer. Although it was dark, I saw some kind of shape dive into the trees just beyond the fire light. Quietly I drew ‘Beauty’ just before the creature made its appearance. It was a silver Pegasus. He was about 17 hands tall (as horses are measured), with a completely silver coat, while gold ran through his mane and tail. I was struck by his brilliance but still kept my guard up.
“Don’t move.” I told him, as he made a step forward. He stopped, pricking his ears forward as Alec and Angeni came up beside me. Edmund, Meg and Cherry held back close to the fire.
When Alec came up, to everyone’s surprise, the Pegasus bowed. “Majesty. I am honored to meet you.”
I stared at him, before glancing at Alec. “What is this?”
Alec shrugged with an “I have no idea” look. The Pegasus nickered, which I guessed to be something like a chuckle. “I have heard of the journey of creatures from Canes, and almost didn’t believe the rumor to be true. Then here you stand before my very eyes. Rest assured, I mean you no harm.”
“How can we be sure?” Alec challenged proudly.
The Pegasus replied. “You can’t I suppose. You can either believe me or not.”
I stared at his sky blue eyes and couldn’t make out any hint of a lie. I didn’t know if it was because females are supposed to be weaker against the beauty of Pegasus, but still I sheathed my sword and told him proudly. “I believe you.” And walked towards the Pegasus confidently.
Alec grabbed my arm and hissed quietly. “What are you doing Chris?”
“Testing him to see if he is trustworthy.” I replied shaking off Alec’s hand.
“Have you lost your mind? You’re the ‘One’ and yet you’re going to risk your life?”
“I’m not the ‘One’, and I will do this with or without you behind me.” I told him, turning back to the Pegasus. He took a step forward as I walked towards him slowly.
When I came up right in front of him I looked into his sky eyes. I commented. “You have kind eyes. With strength and light like the sea.” Bowing I presented myself. “I am Christina. My companions are: Prince Alexander, Angeni the wolf, Cherry Blossom, Edmund and Megara our prisoner from the Queen’s court.”
“You take prisoners?” He asked, his ears twitching to pin back.
I proudly explained. “Only ones that steal from Alec’s people and have the misfortune to be caught. It was either she came with us or we left her. She would have received harsher punishment if we had.”
“I see. My name, by the way, is Spirit. I am honored to meet you all.” He replied, bowing again.
I searched his eyes and asked, raising my hand. “May I?”
He didn’t seem to know what I meant but accepted. I gently stroked his nose and cheek. He was soft, not like Angeni but still very soft. Angeni came forward and nuzzled my hand, like she was asking for attention too. I smiled and gave her a pet as well. To Spirit I introduced her. “This is Angeni, my very dear friend, and in a lot of ways my conscience too.”
“Well met.” Spirit said, putting his nose close to Angeni.
She touched her nose against his (which was proper as I was told later) and replied. “And to you.”
After a little prompting, Alec came forward and almost shyly stroked Spirit’s neck. Spirit nickered again. “Majesty I swear upon the magic in my blood I mean no harm to you or your companions.”
“Just Alec if you please. And I believe you if Chris does.” Alec replied smiling one of his real smiles, before leading the way back to the fire. Angeni and Spirit walked together and I continued on my watch. As much as I loved the silence, I had the strangest feeling that something was watching me. At the end of my watch I felt eyes were boring into my back as I turned to go to the fire. Then I felt as if a knife had stabbed right through my back. I screamed and fell to the ground.

“Chris!” Alec cried, sprinting to her side. He was about to touch her, when Cherry warned.
“Alec, don’t touch her!”
Everyone saw a purple light radiant around Chris. Cherry knelt beside Chris quickly and said. “She’s been hit by dark magic. But it’s a spell I’ve never seen before.”
“Come out and show yourselves you witches!” Spirit bellowed.
Everyone heard cackling and three witches glided from the trees. They weren’t exactly what anyone expected. Well, two were exactly what was expected, but one wasn’t at all. The first two were old and decrepit, with black robes and haunting eyes. The third seemed young, with blonde hair and a deep red robe.
“Indeed, for a beast you are quick.” One of them laughed. She had hair that at one time might have been red.
Spirit was very tense and his eyes filled with rage and sorrow.
Alec demanded angrily. “What did you do to her?”
“Only a little spell that can’t be broken.” The young witch said, sweetly.
Cherry asked with quiet anger. “Why did you do this to her?”
“One less person to fight to get to me.” Spirit answered quietly. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He sighed. “Witches hunt Pegasus and unicorns of silver or gold for one reason. Eternal beauty. Gold or silver Pegasus and unicorns are extremely rare and so one of gold and silver, like me, is the ultimate prize. I am sorry to bring this upon you all. I truly meant no harm.”
“Enough chit-chat!” The second old witch cried, shooting a spell at the group, making them scatter. Only Cherry stayed with Chris. She began muttering words under her breath. Edmund shot an arrow at one about to hit Cherry with a spell. The witches dodged but couldn’t hit her while being shot at.
Cherry finished muttering quickly and placed her hands on Chris’s shoulder blades. A bolt of light shot into the sky. Cherry’s hair whipped around her and she screamed. No one could keep their eyes from her. The light steadily turned purple and the witches cackled. “The poison is spreading!”
“Cherry!” Meg screamed, tears streaming from her eyes.
Just as Cherry was about to be engulfed by the purple light, a white pure light filled the sphere. Cherry cried. “Come back Chris!”
As suddenly as it had come, the light was gone. Cherry’s hair fell and she collapsed beside Chris. Purple light no longer radiated around Chris. The witches shrieked in fury and began shooting spells in every direction.
Edmund shot one in her fury and Alec ran forward, dodging the spells to kill the other. Only the young witch was left and she knelt to the ground in surrender. Alec pointed his sword at her throat and asked. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“Because I’m pretty?” She replied cheekily, with a dazzling smile. Alec looked at Spirit.
Spirit solemnly said. “She has had the blood of my people.”
“Mercy!” The witch screamed, as Alec ran her through. She fell to the ground, and like her sisters vanished in puffs of smoke.
Alec and Edmund went over to Cherry and Chris. Both were alive, but unconscious. Alec picked up Chris while Edmund picked up Cherry and carried her to the fire, Alec following. Alec was surprised by how light Chris was.
The group sat around the fire, mostly silent, watching Chris and Cherry. Angeni curled up beside them both. Alec sat beside Chris and Edmund sat beside Cherry, with Meg. Spirit was lying away from the group alone. Alec noticed this and after giving Angeni a pet went over to talk to him.
“Spirit?” He asked softly, hoping not to startle him. Spirit looked up at him slowly before turning his head away. Alec sat beside him and sighed.
“You know, I’m not very good in these situations. Chris is better at them then me.”
Spirit gave a snort but didn’t look at Alec. His ears were turned in Alec’s direction though. Alec tried again. “Chris is a funny girl. She’s got the quickest temper I have ever seen, she’s easily irritated, can be completely irrational and sometimes even stupid. But under all of her faults, she is kind, compassionate, extremely loyal and strong, and she has the courage of a lion. I believe she would say that she would rather give her life then let her friends or comrades get hurt.”
“But I am a complete stranger to her.” Spirit whispered sorrowful.
“True. But she trusts you. That is one other thing she does too. She will help anybody who is in trouble; even if she didn’t know you were in trouble. If you ask Meg, she might tell you that Chris protected her from my people, while being chased for stealing. And Chris saved me from being killed by my step-mother. That is a bit of an interesting story.” Alec smiled a little at the memory.
“We have time.” Spirit replied, finally looking at Alec, with a twinge of interest in his voice. Alec went on to tell him about Chris’s dream and his reality, until the point when he found her unconscious under Cherry’s tree.
Spirit was silent for a moment before commenting. “How strange. Gifts like that are rarely seen and she only ever does that in her dreams?”
“She is a strange girl.” Alec mused.
Spirit asked. “She’s not from this world is she?”
“What tipped you off?” Alec joked.
Spirit laughed (it sounded like a snort and a nicker mixed together) before saying. “It’s more the way that she holds herself. It’s so proud and confident, not like some other women, like that girl Meg.”
“Meg was a maid.” Alec reminded him.
“Of course, but the way Chris presents herself is fearless and confident. When she’s afraid, I am willing to bet that no one could tell.” Spirit said thoughtfully.
Alec thought about this for a moment, before agreeing. “I don’t think I have ever seen her afraid. But somehow, I think that is one of the reasons I respect her.”
“Just respect?” Spirit asked cautiously.
Alec confessed, with a sigh. “I guess I like her too, but only as a friend.” He added the last part quickly.
Spirit didn’t seem convinced but said nothing.
Feeling this conversation getting awkward, Alec cleared his throat and invited Spirit. “Come sit with us. None of us blame you and you’re welcome to join us.”
Spirit looked at Alec in surprise, as the prince stood. He hesitated for a moment before standing and walking over with the prince. Everyone greeted him warmly. Spirit was surprised by how forgiving these creatures were.
As Alec watched over Chris again, he saw how vulnerable she seemed to be again. He could see why people thought her to be weak at first. But Spirit was right. She did present herself different from other women in this world. Somehow she seemed much stronger than all the women Alec had ever met. Maybe it was just where she was from.
After a moment, Alec thought about how she had screamed to him about how she was always alone. She had parents he knew, although she rarely ever talked about them. But if she had parents why did she say she was always alone? He realized that he knew very little about her. But she never really opened up about it. And he wouldn’t press her to talk about it; since he was sure it was a touchy subject.
Alec looked at the sky, watching the stars dance. He wondered about her home life. Was it as bad as she had made it sound?
Cherry was the first of the pair to wake up. She looked up at Edmund and Meg, giving them a weak smile. “Hello.”
“How are you feeling?” Edmund asked gently.
 Cherry coughed. “Oh, I’ve seen better days but not too bad. What happened to the witches?”
“They were destroyed. There is no trace of them at all.” Spirit put in.
Cherry struggled to sit up, with Meg helping her. She asked, after she had a bit of water. “What about Chris?”
“She’s asleep. I’ve seen her twitch and mumble in her dreams.” Alec quietly laughed, before adding. “Does anyone know what a respectable marsh wiggle is?” Everyone had to laugh at that.
Cherry chuckled and sighed. “I’m just glad that she is alright.”
“That was a very brave thing you did my dear.” Angeni yawned.
Cherry smiled again. “I would do it again for any of you.”
“Same as we would for you.” Chris replied quietly, making everyone jump in surprise.
Cherry asked quickly. “Chris how are you feeling?”
“Lousy, but nothing a little sleep can’t cure.” She laughed, before coughing violently. Alec helped her sit up and gave her some water. Once she finished Alec asked her what she was dreaming about.
“Oh, it was a part of one of my favorite books.” She chuckled, before looking at Spirit.
“You’re still here?”
Spirit looked sadly at her and asked. “Should I leave?”
“Of course not! I’m glad you’re still here.” She smiled brightly as Alec put her head on the ground again. She continued. “I would rather die than have someone die for me. And besides I consider you a friend.”
“But you hardly know me. How do you know that I won’t get you killed?” He exclaimed.
Chris shrugged with a smile. “Call it instinct. I just know I can trust you. Your eyes don’t lie about your intentions.”
Spirit gave a smile. She was very strange, but so trusting. How could she be so trusting to someone she hardly knew?
As if reading his thoughts, Chris laughed. “Yes, the way I accept people, animal or otherwise, has gotten me into trouble in the past. But I have always been told that I have a talent for seeing who is trustworthy and who isn’t.”
Spirit hoped that he really was worthy of the trust she had in him.
I suppose only time will tell. He thought laying his head down as everyone, except for Alec, fell asleep.
Alec was on watch, and for some reason couldn’t stop straying to look at Chris sleeping face. When he really looked at her, she was much prettier than she said she was. She seemed to remind him of his mother. He remembered very little about his mother, but he remembered that she had courage and beauty like no other, but not just on the skin. His mother’s beauty on the inside shone out of her, making her beauty on the outside all the more noticeable. Chris reminded him of that.
Alec tore his eyes away from Chris’s sleeping face again and growled to himself.
I must not fall for her. She is a friend and nothing more. She will only ever be a friend. He told himself firmly. He had promised himself a year ago, never to fall for anyone ever again.