by A. D. Duling
Anna rolled over and found Hayden lying very close to her; eyes shut and breathing deep, lost in slumber. She listened a few minutes longer, looking around and found nothing. Anna lay back down and just as she shut her eyes, she heard the voice called her name again. Anna quickly sat up and looked again over to Hayden.
Once again, she found him sound asleep. Alarmed, Anna grabbed her dagger and looked around again. Val was still covered and Anna could see the rise and fall of her chest as she slept. It had not been her friend calling her name.
Anna… The voice came again, startling her and Anna jerked around. Anna… it spoke again. Down the hill, Anna spotted a glowing tree. She stood up and walked cautiously towards it, but stopped at a few feet away. The glowing light came from a hole inside of the tree’s trunk and when Anna looked around herself, she found no one in sight. Still hesitant to proceed, Anna thought about the possibility of it being a trap and pulled her book out, “Is it safe to approach the tree?” she whispered to it.
Yes, proceed. It answered her.
Anna put her book away and walked towards it. When she reached the tree, she leaned over and looked inside.
“Hello Anna…” A voice spoke from behind her and Anna jerked around, holding her dagger out. A woman stood behind her, whose body glowed just as the tree. Her hair was the purest white Anna had ever seen and the woman almost seemed celestial to her.
“Are you an angel?” Anna asked her.
The woman smiled in response and nodded, “If that is what you want to call me,” She answered her.
Anna looked to the tree trunk, “Why is it glowing?” she asked the woman.
“There is a gift inside, waiting for you,” said the woman and Anna looked back to her, “I am the protector of the trees,” the woman introduced herself, “and they have asked me to give this gift to you.” The woman walked over to the glowing hole and reached her hand inside of it. When she pulled her hand back out, inside her palm sat a silver bag. The woman handed it to Anna.
“Inside this bag are beads; when eaten, they will replenish your health,” She explained to her, “One life ring from a tree is required to create such a bead; one year of life is sacrificed to give It,” she said. Anna opened the bag and looked inside, “The beads glow constant, so you will have to eat one quickly if you are trying to stay hidden,” she informed her.
“Please thank the trees for me,” Anna thanked her, noting many beads filled the bag, “They have given me way too much,” She added.
The woman shook her head, “No, Anna,” she disagreed, “We fear it may not be enough,” She said, regret upon her face.
“What do you mean?” Anna asked her, not understanding.
The woman smiled and kissed her cheek, “We wish you great luck on your journey, Anna Kippling,” She bid her and then stepped away. The woman then disappeared and the glowing light from inside the tree went with her.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Anna stood silent for a while before she made her way back towards her sleeping companions. Sleep did not come as easily for Anna as did before after that. Too many thoughts now clouded her mind. Anna felt apprehensive of what lay ahead of her and when the sun began to peek above the horizon, Anna gave up on the prospects of sleep and went for a walk until the other two woke up. After a while she found herself sitting under a tree holding her little companion in her hands and staring blankly at its empty pages.
“Why is it only I can save the Empress?” Anna finally asked her question, one of the many that had plagued her mind all that morning. The words quickly formed on the page and she read:
Only the chosen one can and you are the chosen one Anna Kippling. The words told her.
“Why am I the chosen one?” she asked it.
You simply are. It wrote.
“You told me I had to kill the Chancellor to stop him; how do I do that?”
When the time comes, you will know what to do. Its words formed on the page.
“Why do your answers have to be so uninformative?” Anna shot back in her frustration.
An answer does not always come in the form you want it. It replied wisely.
“Ugg..!” she yelled and threw the book down, angry at its answer. Anna sat and stared at it for a while, too afraid to ask her next question and more afraid to hear its answer. Finally, knowing she could not avoid it, Anna picked up her book and asked it: “How do I save Hayden?”
Give up your life for his. It came quickly.
“When does this happen?” She asked, surprisingly calm.
In two nights, she will kill him and you will give up your life for his. It answered her.
Anna sat stunned as she absorbed what her book had written, “Who is she?” she finally asked it, but already suspected who the she was.
“Anna!” Hayden called out to her and Anna peeked around the tree, finding him standing a few yards away. Hayden jogged over to her and she stood up.
“You were asking it questions again, weren’t you?” He asked her softly and Anna nodded.
“What did you ask it?” he pressed her, but gently.
“I asked about any major dangers on our way,” Anna lied to him.
“Oh and what did it say?” Hayden asked her and Anna could tell by his face he knew she had lied to him.
“It said to be cautious every step of the way,” She lied again and knew Hayden was a ward of this, but didn’t pry anymore and Anna was thankful for that.
“Then cautious we will be,” He gave in answer. Anna turned around before the guilt reached her face and pretended to watch the sun as it continued its rise. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him and could see his eyes were also now on the sun. Anna reached her hand out and took his. Out of the corner of her eye, Anna watched as a smile formed across his mouth. They stood a few minutes longer and enjoyed the view before they headed back. At that moment, on any other day, Anna would not have enjoyed it as much as she did right then; with Hayden at her side and holding her hand.
Anna’s Book of Answers was now closed in her hand, but the word written upon its page in answer to her last question had been seen before she had closed it. The name the book had given to her was Valencia.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Right from the outskirts, the Forest of Darkness lived up to its name. Trees leaned their heavy branches down ever so closely above their heads, as if their boney branch fingers were trying to reach out and snatch them as they passed. Their wide trunks were lined so close together, Anna felt like a prisoner in this nature prison. The thick mud on the ground made it impossible to travel through unless on foot and they had to leave the horses tied at the outskirts.
From the start their progress was slow; the thick muds on the forest floor swallowed them up to their knees and at barely a mile in, the three were already stopping to rest.
“There has to be a better way to cross through this place,” Anna complained.
“Why don’t you ask the book?” Hayden suggested to her.
Anna pulled the book out and opened it, “Is there an easier way to travel through this forest?” she asked it.
“He can ask the trees for help,” Anna read aloud to them and then put it away.
“These trees are creepy,” Hayden replied to the book’s suggestion.
“They’re still trees…” Val pointed out to him.
Hayden nodded and then stood up. Anna and Val watched as he walked over to a nearby tree and stepped close to it. He leaned in and whispered something. They strained their ears to hear what he spoke, but his words were too soft. After he finished, Hayden then stepped back and waited. Quietly in their spots, Val and Anna waited too. Minutes ticked by as they waited in their places, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.
“So what’s supposed to happen, Hayden?” Anna asked him, growing a little impatient.
“I asked it for help and it told me to wait,” He answered her.
“It talked back to you?” she asked him, surprised.
Anna shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms, “I was only asking!” she responded to his snide remark, returning the nasty glare.
Suddenly a noise that sounded like thunder echoed across the forest and quickly halted their chatter. The three looked around and above them, listening. Another loud thunder came at them, but closer this time. The noise repeated itself, again and again, moving closer each time and shaking the ground with it.
Standing and looking about, Anna grasped the handle of her sword and waited for an attack she thought what was coming. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she feared what horrendous thing it would be.
“Look up, over there!” Hayden yelled to them and pointed ahead of them.
Not many yards away from them, they found their “thunder”. The loud noise was from the trees linking their heavy branches together, forming a chain that was quickly moving towards them. It continued until reaching the tree in which Hayden had just spoken too; where then it laid its branch down onto the muddy ground for them to climb up on.
“What do we do now?” Anna asked him.
“We climb,” said Hayden.
“It’s a bridge, Anna, “Val told her, “They’ve made a bridge for us to cross along!” she exclaimed.
“Amazing…” Anna responded softly.
Hayden walked over and climbed up first, “We better move quickly, I’m not sure how long they’ll keep like this,” said Hayden. He reached down and helped them up.
Val went first and Anna quickly followed after her. They moved fast, keeping up with Hayden’s pace as they walked along the makeshift bridge of the trees. They kept themselves balanced by holding onto the manipulated smaller branches that came down for them to grab on to, as they walked along it. They went another mile before seeing the end, where the ground became more travelable.
The final tree lowered its large branch down just as the first one had done at the beginning and they climbed off. Anna was the last to step off and as soon as she did; simultaneously the trees returned to their former positions. A loud thunder clap cracked along the forest perimeters as they did so. Hayden walked over to the tree and spoke a word of thanks to it before they moved on.
Now that they were deeper and back on forest ground, Anna realized its name was literal. The light barely reached past the cluttered branches high above them, giving them little light to travel by. A few feet in front of them were as far as their vision allowed them.
“I’m going to break my leg if we keep going like this in the dark!” Anna complained to them.
“We need to travel without our lights Anna; we have no idea on how close we are to the Chancellor’s castle and using them could give ourselves away,” said Val.
“But we can barely see-” Anna protested.
“She’s right Anna, we’re just going to have to walk carefully and feel our way through,” Hayden interjected, “And quietly,” He added.
If Anna could see him, she would have given Hayden a good hard slap to the back of the head. It seemed his snide comments were coming frequently today and she was in no mood to hear them. But… even though she would never admit this to him, Hayden was right.
They traveled through from there in silence and very cautiously. When one or the other stumbled, they kept their complaints silent in their heads. Anna knew she did most of the tripping, but when she heard Hayden have trouble a few times, she felt better about not being too clumsy. Val the more graceful one of the three, probably never tripped.
Not too long after, out of the darkness ahead of them, a large structure came into view and they knew they had reached the Chancellor’s castle. Anna knew it was made of the similar stone of the other city structures, but somehow when evil was thrown in the mixture, everything belonging to the evil one always seemed creepier. When they were close enough, Val crouched down behind a fallen log and the other two followed her.
“We need stay low and find a way to slip inside unseen.” She whispered to them.
“I could ask my book,” Anna suggested.
“Good idea,” Val agreed.
Anna pulled her book out of her pocket and quietly asked it.
“It says on the west side of the castle, there is a wall there with a drain leading out from the ground underneath it,” she said as Anna strained her eyes to read the words, “It also says it will lead us up inside the castle from there.”
“Ok, then let’s go,” said Hayden and they followed after him.
They stayed low and tried to make as little noise as possible. Just as the book had described, they found the drainage pipe peeking out from the hill side right where it said it would be. There was a gate on its end and it was locked. Val picked up a rock and hit the lock with it. The lock broke and fell to the ground. Val opened the gate and climbed inside. “I’ll go on ahead and check it out; I’ll knock if it’s clear.” She told them.
The pair nodded their heads and waited quietly outside the drain pipe, listening to her steps as she walked along the pipe. A few minutes after, the promised knock came and Hayden climbed inside.
“Hayden wait, something isn’t right,” Anna stopped him.
Hayden stopped and looked back at her, “What are you thinking, Anna?” he whispered to her.
“This just seems too easy,” She whispered back to him, “Why would a Chancellor allow such a flimsy lock be the only security between him and any outside intruders?” she asked him.
“But your book directed us here, wouldn’t it have known that?” he asked her and stepped out.
“But we didn’t ask it that,” Anna pointed out to him.
“Your right,” He agreed, “Maybe I should get Val back here.” Hayden went to climb back in again, but Anna grabbed his arm.
“No, wait!” She whispered and he stopped.
“What now?” Hayden whispered back to her.
“I think Val may have something to do with this. I think she’s leading us into a trap,” said Anna.
“Val is my friend, Anna. I trust her.”
“I know Hayden, but she is, even if it’s against her will.”
“How do you know this?” he asked her.
“The book told me…”
“But you don’t know for sure-” he went.
“I’ll ask the book and you can see for yourself…” she added and Hayden nodded.
With night nearing and their little light becoming less, reading the book’s answering words were even harder this time, but Anna managed and was grateful there were few.
Yes, it is Valencia.
Chapter Thirty
Anna read the words to Hayden and heard him sigh.
“She can read minds Anna, she’ll know as soon as we get near her,” He reminded her.
“I’ve known about this for a while now Hayden, I don’t think she can anymore.”
“If she is being forced to betray us, she would have to stay one step ahead,” He pointed out.
“What can we do to prevent her from reading our minds?” Anna asked the book.
The Chancellor has stricken her with an illness, she is slowly dying. She is incapable of reading minds anymore. The book told her.
Anna read it to him and they stood in silence, absorbing the sentence of what was placed on their friend’s head. Another knock came down the pipe.
“We have to save her, Anna,” said Hayden.
“We will,” Anna promised him.
Hayden turned and climbed inside; Anna followed after him.
“What took you guys so long?” Val whispered to them, when they finally reached her, deep inside the pitched black pipe.
“We thought someone was coming and had to hide,” Hayden lied.
Val stood silent a moment as if doubting him, “There’s a light up ahead,” she finally spoke, giving no sign of suspicion, “it could be the way up,” She whispered to them.
The
y followed Val up to the spot that she had spoken of and found a metal grate above them with no lock. Through the bars they could see the room above and after waiting a few minutes in silence, they felt confident it was empty and decided to enter. Hayden continued to play ignorant and pushed the grate up as quietly as he could and then gently laid it down on the floor next to it. He climbed up first and then helped the girls up.
Hayden quietly returned the grate to its place afterwards, to keep them from being discovered and to keep their friend unsuspicious. With his ear pressed to the door leading out, Hayden listened for movement on the other side. Having heard nothing again, he slowly turned the knob and peeked through the crack of it. After a few seconds, Hayden shut the door and turned around. “It’s clear, but there’s a turn and there’s no way to know what’s around it.”
