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Chapter 3 is finally here, after much work!!! Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Wishes
We had headed to the southeast for quite a while. My dress and hair had dried a bit, but I was upset that the only dress that my mother had woven for me out of silk had been soaked. It took her two years to gather the silk that she needed for the project, and another year to weave it.
Even though the day progressed, it grew darker as we walked through the forest. Very soon, after about thirty minutes, the forest was pitch black, and I could not see my hand six inches in front of my face! But Vizian could apparently see in the dark, because he took steps that would never lead him into an overgrown root or a mess of bushes. Following him was a task for me, and I stumbled often. I couldo ve swore that I heard him snicker once.
Just when I thought that the forest could have no end, I saw a flat, metallic surface stretch out near the bottoms of the trees, providing some light. We walked closer to it, and the forest broke into a sort of dome, covering the top of the dome, which was about thirty feet high, in foliage. All around, there was no breakage in the bowl of trees, letting no light in.
In the middle of the dome stretched a huge lake, its surface glimmering like quicksilver. White flowers floated on the surface of the water, and small lights of different colors darted in and out of them. The same lights skimmed across the surface of the water, leaving a trail of glittering dust wherever they went. A wall of pleasant scent hit me, and it smelled like pine mixed with cloves, lemon, and, very faint, but a hint of apple.
Three lights, the one in front being larger than the other, rose out of a particularly large lily, hovered a moment, then progressed towards Vizian. The lights were bright, never flickering or fading. They emitted a warm feeling, even though they were five meters away. As the difference between the lights and Vizian shrunk, the lights shined brighter.
And brighter...
And brighter...
Until the lights were hovering in front of Vizian and glowing with a light that would blind me if I looked directly at them for more than two seconds. I shielded my eyes from the light, and just as I did so, the lights faded away, leaving floating people. Little. Floating. People. With wings. And pointed ears.
Vizian musto ve seen me gawking at the little floating people, so he said, o Theyo re sprites, Alura.o
I closed my mouth and nodded.
The sprite leading the others was larger than the other two. She wore a small jeweled crown of gold, and a flowing dress that looks as if it is made of silver. Her eyes were the shape and color of almonds, and she had long raven-hair that fell over her shoulders like a black waterfall.
o Vizian-risha, what brings you here? Business or pleasure?o She said. Her voice had an exotic accent to it, an accent that I could not put my finger on.
o Neither, Queen Hira, I am just passing through. This,o Vizian motioned toward me, o Is Alura.o
Queen Hira looked me over. o Alura, well met.o
I didno t know what to do, so I curtsied.
Vizian and Queen Hira started speaking about a topic that I was not interested in. My gaze drifted over to the large flower that Queen Hira had come out of. Another sprite was barely poking out of the flower. It seemed shy. Then, the sprite came out of the flower, and made its way toward me quickly. Three seconds later, it hovered about two feet away from my face. The spriteo s light faded until she was easy to see without blinding myself. She looked almost exactly like Queen Hira, except this sprite was wearing a dress of what looked like violet satin, and she wore a tiara upon her brow. Immediately I thought that she was a princess.
The sprite waved a hand at me and said, o I greet you, farcomer!o
I curtsied and said, o My greetings go to you as well.o
She smiled, and fluttered closer to me. o Make a wish. Anything but the resurrection of the dead and immortality, I can grant.o She said in a hushed tone.
I hesitated. A wish? o Are you sure?o I asked her.
She nodded and giggled.
Immediately I thought of my bow. I had left it in my cottage in Undaga, which is destroyed. A good bow and a quiver of arrows will do.
o I wish that I had a bow of yew and a quiver of twenty broadhead arrows.o I said.
The sprite closed her eyes and muttered a few words under her breath. The air around us became damp, and the very fabric of space began to twist and warp. A soft light glowed at my feet, and the air returned to normal, and all was still again. At my feet laid a beautifully carved bow decorated with delicate strands of pure silver that glinted by the glow that the pond emitted. Beside it was a brown leather quiver stocked with arrows fletched with swan feathers.
I picked up the bow. No human could have crafted this. Not even the greatest human smith in the history of Yarut, Rignar Fire-Hammer.
My fingers traced the silver threads that ran throughout the bow like veins. The silver glowed with the brilliance of polished armor. I set the bow up next to me. It matched my height perfectly. I slung the bow over my back, along with the quiver of arrows.
The men in my village did not approve of women having any sort of weapon. They believed that weapons were not made for women. Women were supposed to be married once they reached the age of fifteen, clean, raise children, and cook meals for their husbands.
o Thank you.o I said to the sprite.
The sprite turned toward Vizian. o Would you like something, Vizian?o
o Can you? You are looking considerably weak, Princess.o
I flashed a glance over to the sprite, which I know just learned was a princess. She looked pale, and dark circles hung under her eyes.
o No, I can grant you a wish, Vizian.o She said.
o If it can help her, I could contribute to the wish, Vizian-risha.o Queen Hira spoke up.
Vizian pondered, a quizzical frown on his face.
o I have but one wish. I wish that Alura would love me as I love her.o Vizian said.
The words hit me like a large wave. Immediately, I glared at Vizian, whom was staring at me as if in a trance. I turned on my heel and stalked into the forest behind us.
Then, I ran. Heart thumping, feet hurting, but I ran. I ran until I had no more breath in me. I stopped only for a short while.
o Why did you run?o Viziano s voice asked out.
I groaned. o You followed me?o I turned around, and we stood face to face.
I saw hurt in his eyes. Those beautiful, deep, gray eyes...
Growling softly, I turned away from his gaze.
Deep breaths, Alura, I said to myself.
By the time I turned back to Vizian, his arm had found mine, and his hand was resting on my shoulder. I shook it off.
o Why did you run?o He asked again.
o You are ignorant! Have you not seen that I do not want you?o I snapped.
Vizian recoiled. o I just-o
o -no! No, no, NO! I do not love you, Vizian, and I never will! Now, if you still want to take me to this place, Portani, then do so. If you do not, I will go back to Undaga and avenge the death of my people.o
Viziano s look turned sour. o We should be going, then. Portani is a long ways away. One hundred leagues will take at least a week if we go now and have periodic interruptions.o
o Then lead the way, before I change my mind.o
Vizian turned on his heel and started walking in the direction from which we came.
He shouldno t make another move like that. If he does, one of my arrows will somehow find its way to his neck.
Chapter 3: Wishes
We had headed to the southeast for quite a while. My dress and hair had dried a bit, but I was upset that the only dress that my mother had woven for me out of silk had been soaked. It took her two years to gather the silk that she needed for the project, and another year to weave it.
Even though the day progressed, it grew darker as we walked through the forest. Very soon, after about thirty minutes, the forest was pitch black, and I could not see my hand six inches in front of my face! But Vizian could apparently see in the dark, because he took steps that would never lead him into an overgrown root or a mess of bushes. Following him was a task for me, and I stumbled often. I couldo ve swore that I heard him snicker once.
Just when I thought that the forest could have no end, I saw a flat, metallic surface stretch out near the bottoms of the trees, providing some light. We walked closer to it, and the forest broke into a sort of dome, covering the top of the dome, which was about thirty feet high, in foliage. All around, there was no breakage in the bowl of trees, letting no light in.
In the middle of the dome stretched a huge lake, its surface glimmering like quicksilver. White flowers floated on the surface of the water, and small lights of different colors darted in and out of them. The same lights skimmed across the surface of the water, leaving a trail of glittering dust wherever they went. A wall of pleasant scent hit me, and it smelled like pine mixed with cloves, lemon, and, very faint, but a hint of apple.
Three lights, the one in front being larger than the other, rose out of a particularly large lily, hovered a moment, then progressed towards Vizian. The lights were bright, never flickering or fading. They emitted a warm feeling, even though they were five meters away. As the difference between the lights and Vizian shrunk, the lights shined brighter.
And brighter...
And brighter...
Until the lights were hovering in front of Vizian and glowing with a light that would blind me if I looked directly at them for more than two seconds. I shielded my eyes from the light, and just as I did so, the lights faded away, leaving floating people. Little. Floating. People. With wings. And pointed ears.
Vizian musto ve seen me gawking at the little floating people, so he said, o Theyo re sprites, Alura.o
I closed my mouth and nodded.
The sprite leading the others was larger than the other two. She wore a small jeweled crown of gold, and a flowing dress that looks as if it is made of silver. Her eyes were the shape and color of almonds, and she had long raven-hair that fell over her shoulders like a black waterfall.
o Vizian-risha, what brings you here? Business or pleasure?o She said. Her voice had an exotic accent to it, an accent that I could not put my finger on.
o Neither, Queen Hira, I am just passing through. This,o Vizian motioned toward me, o Is Alura.o
Queen Hira looked me over. o Alura, well met.o
I didno t know what to do, so I curtsied.
Vizian and Queen Hira started speaking about a topic that I was not interested in. My gaze drifted over to the large flower that Queen Hira had come out of. Another sprite was barely poking out of the flower. It seemed shy. Then, the sprite came out of the flower, and made its way toward me quickly. Three seconds later, it hovered about two feet away from my face. The spriteo s light faded until she was easy to see without blinding myself. She looked almost exactly like Queen Hira, except this sprite was wearing a dress of what looked like violet satin, and she wore a tiara upon her brow. Immediately I thought that she was a princess.
The sprite waved a hand at me and said, o I greet you, farcomer!o
I curtsied and said, o My greetings go to you as well.o
She smiled, and fluttered closer to me. o Make a wish. Anything but the resurrection of the dead and immortality, I can grant.o She said in a hushed tone.
I hesitated. A wish? o Are you sure?o I asked her.
She nodded and giggled.
Immediately I thought of my bow. I had left it in my cottage in Undaga, which is destroyed. A good bow and a quiver of arrows will do.
o I wish that I had a bow of yew and a quiver of twenty broadhead arrows.o I said.
The sprite closed her eyes and muttered a few words under her breath. The air around us became damp, and the very fabric of space began to twist and warp. A soft light glowed at my feet, and the air returned to normal, and all was still again. At my feet laid a beautifully carved bow decorated with delicate strands of pure silver that glinted by the glow that the pond emitted. Beside it was a brown leather quiver stocked with arrows fletched with swan feathers.
I picked up the bow. No human could have crafted this. Not even the greatest human smith in the history of Yarut, Rignar Fire-Hammer.
My fingers traced the silver threads that ran throughout the bow like veins. The silver glowed with the brilliance of polished armor. I set the bow up next to me. It matched my height perfectly. I slung the bow over my back, along with the quiver of arrows.
The men in my village did not approve of women having any sort of weapon. They believed that weapons were not made for women. Women were supposed to be married once they reached the age of fifteen, clean, raise children, and cook meals for their husbands.
o Thank you.o I said to the sprite.
The sprite turned toward Vizian. o Would you like something, Vizian?o
o Can you? You are looking considerably weak, Princess.o
I flashed a glance over to the sprite, which I know just learned was a princess. She looked pale, and dark circles hung under her eyes.
o No, I can grant you a wish, Vizian.o She said.
o If it can help her, I could contribute to the wish, Vizian-risha.o Queen Hira spoke up.
Vizian pondered, a quizzical frown on his face.
o I have but one wish. I wish that Alura would love me as I love her.o Vizian said.
The words hit me like a large wave. Immediately, I glared at Vizian, whom was staring at me as if in a trance. I turned on my heel and stalked into the forest behind us.
Then, I ran. Heart thumping, feet hurting, but I ran. I ran until I had no more breath in me. I stopped only for a short while.
o Why did you run?o Viziano s voice asked out.
I groaned. o You followed me?o I turned around, and we stood face to face.
I saw hurt in his eyes. Those beautiful, deep, gray eyes...
Growling softly, I turned away from his gaze.
Deep breaths, Alura, I said to myself.
By the time I turned back to Vizian, his arm had found mine, and his hand was resting on my shoulder. I shook it off.
o Why did you run?o He asked again.
o You are ignorant! Have you not seen that I do not want you?o I snapped.
Vizian recoiled. o I just-o
o -no! No, no, NO! I do not love you, Vizian, and I never will! Now, if you still want to take me to this place, Portani, then do so. If you do not, I will go back to Undaga and avenge the death of my people.o
Viziano s look turned sour. o We should be going, then. Portani is a long ways away. One hundred leagues will take at least a week if we go now and have periodic interruptions.o
o Then lead the way, before I change my mind.o
Vizian turned on his heel and started walking in the direction from which we came.
He shouldno t make another move like that. If he does, one of my arrows will somehow find its way to his neck.
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