The Guardians of the Forest: Book One

by Kelly Napoli

  ***

  From her vantage point, she could almost see all of Nikkoi.

  Hiking up these steep hills had not been easy. They had made her journey much more strenuous; it took all of her self-control to not chug down the little water that she had left. The cold air was already cutting at her throat and lungs. Above her, volumes clouds lazily churned in the sky

  Despite this, these hills had failed to douse her spirits completely. Seeing these hills, at first, had actually raised them, for they had meant that she was traveling in the right direction. She had walked miles on flat grass, sinking into despair as darker thoughts told her she was lost. But she had found these hills and, as her piece of parchment read, Nikkoi laid in the heart of them.

  While she looked down on Nikkoi, low between the high mounds and stretching up slightly on the sides of others, she reflected on how much it paled in comparison to Redawn. The stone wall here was a fraction in width and in height, not to mention that the tallest buildings inside the flimsy barrier looked quite pathetic. Kiethara wondered if Nikkoi had any royalty at all.

  With a very, very deep breathe, she slowly descended towards the kingdom. She pulled her hood over her head, tucking all of her long hair into it. The last thing she needed was to run into that lady again and be recognized…

  Only one cart passed her as she approached. She decided not to walk directly at the gate; instead, she went up against the stone wall. From what she saw, there were three guards and she knew she would not get past them without proof of who she was or what she was doing.

  Well, not without her powers.

  Kiethara closed her eyes. She had to turn invisible. Which meant she had to recall the feeling she had had when Navadar had caught her naked. When Gandador had caught them kissing. When Trinnia and Raynock had laughed at her during dinner. She brought these memories to the front of her mind and begged her powers to relent and obey her for this one time.

  Kiethara opened her eyes and looked down on a very strange sight.

  She had managed to turn invisible, yes, but only she and the guardian’s garment turned invisible. If someone outside the kingdom turned and looked at where she stood, they would see an olive green robe and a brown, bulging sack floating above the ground.

  Kiethara quickly tore them off, dropping them to the ground. What was she going to do? These items had been her saving grace and now she couldn’t keep them?

  But what if she put them under her garments? She picked up the robe and stuffed it underneath her dress, As soon as the white fabric covered the tattered green, it became invisible. Perfect! All she had to do was cram all of these items under her clothes and she would be fine.

  Kiethara took one step forward and the brown bag became lose and fell to the ground, becoming visible.

  Blast!

  She needed to do something else. She tied her robe around her waist, under her dress, and tucked the two canteens into them as tightly as she could. She flattened the bag and put the strap around her neck, making sure, it, too, was underneath the dress’s material. The directions she could keep in the bag, but unfortunately, there was really nothing she could do for the blanket. It was too big and too bulky—she needed to be as small as possible to slip through the crowd. With a deep feeling of remorse, she dropped it on the ground and turned away from it, silently padding towards the gate.

  The guards looked utterly bored. It proved less of a challenge then she had figured to sneak past them. The gate was already opened, and they didn’t even look up as she tiptoed past them.

  Now, if she were to attempt this in Redawn, it would have been impossible. Even though these roads were a bit narrower, they did not hold the same magnitude of crowds. All she would have to do was avoid the marketplaces.

  Kiethara slipped between two houses and crouched down, digging under her dress for the slip that contained the directions. She took it out and pressed it against the wall so no would notice it hanging in midair.

  She had to leave at the west exit. She wouldn’t be able to tell which exit that was until later, for the sun was currently dead center in the sky. She still had hours, which was perfect, for she had to scrounge up some more supplies. She stuffed the directions back into her bag and stood up, smoothing out the folds of her dress. Looking down to make sure she was covered, she walked out of the alley.

  Her shoulder made contact with a rather hefty man who was carrying a barrel over his shoulder. She had not thought that a tap from her would have sent him stumbling, but apparently she had caught him off guard. He staggered sideways, the barrel slipping out of his hands and onto the ground, where it went rolling into the stable across the street, sending apples bouncing in haphazard directions.

  Kiethara gasped and flung herself back into the alley that she had walked out of. Her heart was thumping so fast that she was surprised the man did not look directly at her. Instead, he was spinning wildly on the spot, scanning the streets with blood shot eyes. People passing by gave him a wide berth, some pointing, a few boys stealing apples off the ground.

  It took the man along time to recover himself, but in the end he finally stocked off to retrieve his apples. While his back was turned, Kiethara quietly slipped out of the alleyway and into the street.

  It took much of her focus to keep the sound of her breathing low. Being invisible was not all fun and games, as that incident had proved. If she wasn’t careful, some crazy, demented woman would stuff her in a cage again.

  Unfortunately, the best place to get supplies was, ironically, the marketplace. It was busy enough that stealing something would not go noticed and, if it did, there were enough people there for one of them to get blamed. She didn’t like the idea, but it was necessary, and besides, she didn’t feel like she owed these people anything anyway. With a suppressed sigh, she set out in search for such a place.

  She was making slow progress, dodging anything solid. If she hadn’t been concentrated so hard on whom she was near, she wouldn’t have noticed him

  Sinsenta stood tall in the crowd. A brown cloak swished softly as he swiftly strutted down the road, coming towards her. His appearance was alarming, due to many contributing factors.

  His sleek black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, giving his tan, coarse face a stretched look about it. Sinsenta’s eyes did not fail to shock her; one a watery blue while the other was a muddy brown. The atmosphere around him was impatient and angry, and without thinking twice about it she pushed herself up against the wall, despite the fact that she was invisible and he was feet away as he passed.

  None of these characteristics were half as alarming as the last was.

  The bottom of his face, mostly his chin, was severely scarred. It was mottled pink and brown, ugly in every aspect.

  The injury she had unintentionally inflicted on Sinsenta had not come to mind in a long, long time, yet now she could clearly remember Sinsenta’s face twisted in pain, flesh peeling and blood trickling down his chin. A scar for a scar, it seemed. She didn’t feel any regret towards it—it actually made her smile. Now every time he saw his reflection, he would have to see her name carved into his skin. He would have to know that a fifteen year old girl defeated him that bad. It was nothing more than he deserved.

  Kiethara began to follow him.