“Mommy,
tell me the story about the unicorns again.”
The small girl cuddled up next to her mother’s knee and looked at her
with large brown eyes.
“Don’t you ever get tired of hearing
it over and over, Adabella?” Nalini chuckled as her daughter shook her head
emphatically.
“Never! I wuv to hear about the unicorns that made
everything beautiful!”
“Well,” Nalini slowly picked up her
sewing, “You must have it memorized by now.
Why don’t you tell it to me?”
The little girl’s face beamed. “Once upon a time,” her childish voice rang
out, “there was a heard of unicorns that made everything pretty. The flowers were happy. The trees were happy. Everything was made happy by them. Then one day a mean man began to hurt the
unicorns. They fought back, but he had
too many bad men. They made them
leave. So, now nothing is pretty. The flowers are the sad. The trees are sad. The End.”
For a moment Adabella’s face drooped.
“Mommy. Will the unicorns ever
come back?”
Nalinia’s heart grew heavy. “No dear, I don’t think they will.”
Adabella’s face grew thoughtful as she
turned to look into the leaping flames of the fire. Then, she whispered solemnly, “Someday, I
will find them. And then I will bring
them back.”
Tears filled Nalinia’s eyes as she
watched the little girl’s face turn older.
She was young, but already a vibrant, independent spirit resided within
her. Something great was in store for her. Perhaps
you will, my baby. Perhaps you will.
v
Water sloshed out of the wooden
bucket, soaking Adabella’s woolen skirt.
She shivered as the frigid water touched her leg, but otherwise ignored
it. Her mind, and eyes, were
elsewhere. Off in the distance snow crowned
peaks loomed high over the forest. It
was still fairly warm in the Avlis, but that would not last long. Snow would come, and with it, cold and hunger.
The door to the cabin wearily creaked
open and Adabella set the bucket in a corner.
The cabin was eerily quiet, sending chills up and down her spine. Her
eyes ran over the interior of the cabin and for once she allowed the memories
to surface.
Mother,
I miss you so. Adabella could almost
picture the weary, leathery face, the limp hand, and the blood that was brought
up with each hoarse cough. The sickness
had cruelly stolen her mother’s health until nothing but a shell was left. All
around the cabin there were memories. Stark
reminders of what had been.
Adabella wiped a rough sleeve across
her eyes, trying to erase the tears from her face. “What has happened has happened. There is nothing you can do to change it.” The words left a bitter tang in her mouth.
“You have a life to live, so live
it.” Even
if living is harder than dying.
Her fingers rubbed the worn wood of
her bow as she picked it up and shouldered the sling of arrows. The one thing her father had done for her
before dying was teach her to hunt.
Since then few days passed in which she did not use that skill.
The cheerful sunshine warmed her body,
lightening her mood. By habit her feet
followed the small, worn path that lead off through the woods. However, she soon struck off into the brush
towards her favorite hunting spot.
Ahead of her through the trees, she
saw a flash of grey. She silently slid
an arrow off her back and onto her bow.
The creature crawled through the woods at a slow, jerky pace. What
type of creature is that? It stood
up straight, its long skinny limbs splayed every which way. Grey leathery skin with a hint of brown
covered its body. No! It is not possible! Adabella closed her eyes in horror. An Odisunus. Monlik’s servants were not just reserved
to humans. Also within his service was
the Odisunus. From where it came no one
knew. But they were evil, pure
evil.
Adabella sank low to the ground,
ignoring the sharp sticks and rocks poking into her knees. Her muscles quivered. She remained crouched on the ground long
after the Odisunus was gone. Why here, of all places? Few people live in these woods. Why would Monilk send one of his Odisunus
here?
Overhead the bird’s cheerful songs
were beginning to fade out. The trees
seemed to sag more than ever. Adabella
shivered. An unseen darkness was
entering the forest. The air thickened
until it was hard to breathe. Something
was terribly wrong.
That was when she heard the thunder of
hooves.
v
Dust swirled up around dozens of
riders as they galloped down the path. Their
horses tugged at the bit, their eyes wild.
Fear and evil surrounded their riders like a blanket.
Adabella dared not move. Something had drawn her to the road to see
who the mysterious riders were. Now she
wished she had remained cuddled at the base of that tree.
The men were pulling their mounts to a
stop and the low murmur of voices could be heard.
Black capes covered their clothing and
hid their weapons from view. But if they
had drawn their swords, Adabella was sure she would see the black tip adorning
their ends signally who they were. The Maligno. The evil ones.
They turned, their beady eyes
surveying the woods. Then, like a wisp
of smoke, they were gone.
She raised her head, the strong smell
of sulphur filling her nostrils.
I
have to get out of here. I cannot go
home. Those fleeting thoughts sent
her plunging through the woods. Branches
slapped at her face, tearing at her skin.
Burs and mud clung to her clothes.
But she kept running. At last
her feet gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Evil still seemed to suffocate her.
Everything within her screamed to
keep running. She raised her head
wearily. “But where to?”
Far ahead the mountains seemed to
beckon with snowy fingers. Never.
I would die up there in the cold.
Her resolution resounded like a bell
deep within her heart. And for a moment,
she felt like she had made a grave mistake.
Darkness slowly began to creep out
until the only light that was given was from a few twinkling stars and a
crescent of a moon. Weariness pulled at
her eyelids until they slowly crept down, sending her into a deep sleep.
v
A hand touched her shoulder. “Ada, wake up.”
Adabella leapt to her feet grasping
for her bow.
“Whoa!
Easy now!” Viho looked her up and
down, worried. “I’m not going to hurt
you.”
She blinked trying to get her
bearings. The sun was just beginning to
climb up into the sky. Its rays pierced
the thick foliage over head, lighting up the woods. In front of her, her long time neighbor stood
there, his blue eyes thick with concern and wariness.
“Have you seen them?” her eyes flitted
about her, wild with fear. “I-I saw
them. They were on the path. They headed towards my house, so I started running,”
she garbled, tears of panic streaking down her cheeks.
“Calm down.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, trying
to get her attention. “That is why I
came looking for you. I thought perhaps
they had caught you when they burned your cabin.”
She froze. “They burned my
cabin.” It was more of a statement than
a question. That meant every keepsake
she had gotten from her mother was gone, buried beneath the rubble.
“Oh,” Viho ran a hand through his
sandy colored hair, “I thought you knew.”
Adabella took a deep breath and
blinked hard. “It’s not your
fault.” She turned a tortured gaze to
his face. “B-but what is going on? We’ve never had The Maligno come here
before.”
Harbored excitement sprung to his
face. “The people are throwing off the chains
of Monilk. Nytsom of Absconditus has become their leader. I am going to join them. However, I wanted to make sure you were safe
before I left.”
“You mean it?” hope that she rarely gave into, sprung to
life. “Then let’s go.”
“Wait. You cannot
go.”
“And why not?”
“It is not safe.”
“And it is safer here?
My home is burned to the ground, these woods themselves have been
invaded by the enemy, where else can I go?
I will be just as safe with the uprising as I would be anywhere else.”
He stood there, a mix of admiration and frustration on his
face. “Do not forget your bow and
arrows. You will need them.”
exciting!
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