Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Birds song filled the air as the morning sun steamed the dew off the green grass. Bella was woken by a large slobbery kiss from Silver. The dog was barking excitedly and running back and forth on the red dirt road. Bella sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She wasn’t in the clearing anymore. She was sitting on a red dirt road at the edge of the forest. In front of her was a small green hill.

“Where are we Silver?”

She stood up and walked up the hill, following the dog that was running back and forth. The earth was wet and spongy beneath her feet. When she got to the top her eyes went wide with amazement as she looked over the gently sloping land.

“Wow. It’s amazing.” She said in a whisper.

The landscape sloped gently down from where she stood. The red path continued on either side of her, winding like a snake through the many green hills. Between the hills were countless small farms, all with small white plastered farmhouses with red tile roofs. Each farm grew a certain type of flower and the result was stunning. A checkerboard of colors spread across the terrain. Large clouds of bumble bees and white butterflies ascended and descended in the perfumed air.

Far away in the distance, the crowning jewel stood proud, a white castle with large white walls and red tiled towers. Climbing rose was slowly spreading at certain points on the five white towers and the side of the great wall. The two red roads that encompassed the entire land both met at the castle in the distance.

“Hey, you up there!”

Bella turned to see five soldiers on brown horses and covered in shining metal armor standing on the road. They didn’t seem very friendly. Silver growled and pulled on Bella’s dress. Bella got the message and began to run down the opposite side of the hill, into the field of red poppies. She heard the soldiers calling and the galloping of hoofs behind her.

She looked back and saw three of the horses crest the hill behind her and two come galloping into the field from either side. The red petals flew in the morning breeze as the chase went on. The horses were gaining on her, but just as the gap was closing fast, Bella ran into the field ahead of her, a large sunflower field.

She was hidden by the sunflowers and crept stealthily through the green stalks and rows, trying hard to be quiet and listen for the soldiers at the same time. She heard two of them hacking at the sunflowers on her left and turned sharply right. She kept going until she couldn’t hear them anymore. Bella and Silver came out into a small clearing in the middle of the field, where a lone scarecrow stood guard over the area.

Bella rested next to the scarecrow, when she heard a noise behind her. She spun around straight into the floral design on the Captains shining armor. Silver launched teeth barred at the captain but a second soldier brought the heavy end of a spear down on the poor dog’s head. The helmeted Captain spoke with contempt as he nudged the unconscious animal with his armored boot.

“No one ever escapes the Royal Guard of Alexandria. You’d do well to remember that little girl. Take her away to the dungeon.”

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Klaus was surrounded by white infinity, but it felt like he was in a small space. He focused really hard on his surroundings, and slowly they came into focus. He wasn’t surrounded by infinite white light, we was in a white room. The walls seemed to be made of glass and the light was outside the glass. He reached to touch the white glass, when he heard another voice, different from the first. It sounded warm and motherly, like a soft glow inside when you get a hug.

‘Where are you little one?”

‘I don’t know. I think in a glass box.”

“No, not the dream. In the real world. Where are you?”

“In the forest I think.”

“Which forest?”

“The Black Forest. The last think I remember was the green robed people coming out into the clearing,”

“Ah, so you have seen the Elves. That must mean you are in the Encircling Forest.”

“Who are you?”

“The one you truly seek. Tell me, so I can find you, where in the forest?”

“Well, when we came in the sun set to our right so we must have com in from the…”

“Klaus!” The other voice, like a chorus of young children.

In the middle of the room two rows of green stars appeared. They floated on either side of Klaus, and he suddenly felt like he was drifting down a river. Or like he was being carried by many hands. He heard a sound like lightning splitting a tree, and his eyes snapped open again.

Klaus looked around as he sat up. He saw Ivan sleeping soundly next to him on a red dirt path. He stood up blinking as sunlight hurt his eyes. Wait, sunlight! That meant he was out of the forest. He looked around as he ran over to Ivan.

“Ivan, wake up! Look, we’re out!”

“Five more minutes.” Came the mumble.

“Ivan, I mean it. Wait, how’d we get out?”

“Maybe the giant spiders carried us out in comfy web hammocks.”

“I’m serious.”

“And I seriously need five more minutes after last night.”

“Um. Iv, where’s Holly?”

Ivan sat up and looked around, squinting without his spectacles.

“Don’t know. You think the spider got her?”

“What! Stop talking nonsense! Why would they eat her and not us? And why would they carry us out here?”

“Do I look like I know?” Ivan said getting up and stretching, “The point is, we’ve been separated. So, now let’s see if we can find Bella. Holly is sure to be looking for her too and so we should run into her. Right?”

Klaus was about to reply but his mouth just hung open as he stared in disbelief at the sight that greeted his eyes. An old faded red cart pulled up on the road. It was driven by an old, scraggily looking lady, with bushy white hair extending to the seat and a large grin on her face. She wore a large white burlap robe with faded red trim, and a faded red scarf to keep her hair back. Her milky white eyes stared in their direction revealing her blindness. And in her hands were two leather reigns that extended and hung on nothing on the air in front of her.

“Come now young un’s. I canna sense yur der, even ifen these ol eyes of mine aint what they use to be.” She said chuckling to herself. “My name is Goodwife Aconite, the Healer. Are ye by any chance looking for a young girl and a hound?”

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Holly clenched her fist angrily as she stormed through the last part of the forest. How would those two be able to even take one step without her? They’d be captured or worse if she didn’t get to them first. And then she would do a lot worse. As she came out into the midmorning sunlight, she found herself on a road. After climbing a hill she saw the roads end both at the castle in the distance. A couple of farmers were in the middle of their poppy field, shaking their heads and pointing at large portions of trampled crops.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning lass.”

“You didn’t happen to see two dimwitted boys walk past here this morning?”

“Sorry, the only dimwit wesaw this morning was that stupid Captain of the Gaurds. Imagine ruining twelve bushels of the finest poppes just to capture a little girl and her runt.”

Here the wife came in as well.

“Oh yes, and my lands, what a fuss that youn un’ made when they went to take her. She wouldna budge untl they agreed to take the dog too. Serves em right though. Taking a poor little girl like that to the dungeon of Castle Alexander.”

“Excuse me but what is the fastest way to the Castle?” Holly asked urgently.

“Well now,” The farmer sad stroking his beard. “Both roads are about the same, aye. But ther be the harvest road. It runs smack dab down the middle of the land to the Castle. It’l get ye there in half the time.”

“Thank you.” Holly called as she set off at a run down the indicated path.

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“Oh aye. I do remember yon olden days. Back before the wick’d Queen Alexis took the trone. She’s an hard handed tyrant that un. Mark ye well. See how she works the poorfolk. All so she can send the flowr’s away an take most of the money. Tis truly a sad state of affairs.”

“And you say she’s the one who has Bella?” Klaus asked as he adjusted himself on the faded bench of the cart.

“Oh aye. My doves did come and tell me all ‘bout the struggle yer friend put up.”

“Why would soldiers capture an innocent girl? It doesn’t make sense.” Ivan called from the back of the cart.

“Well, as I was sayin’. After the new Queen took contr’l, she passed all manner of strange un’ unnatur’l laws. They say she ain’t all there ‘n the head.” Goodwife Aconite said smiling, “But then, there are some that say the same of me.”

Klaus and Ivan smiled as they continued down the path and arrived at a house where a farmer waved Aconite down. He came up huffing and puffing and showed the healer to his house. There his young son lay very still on a bed. They couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Aconite took a charm off her braclet and placed it on his chest then spoke some mumbled words. The charm glowed softly and the child coughed and sat up. Aconite took the charm back and then went to her cart, returning with a small package of herbs. She gave the farmer instructions for caring for the child and then they were off.

“Wow that was incredible!” Ivan said eyes wide with fascination, “How did you do that?”

“Oh that was noting.” She smiled and her eyes seemed to dance with laughter, “It’s just a pinch of white magic to do the trick.”

“So wait.” Klaus said reluctantly, “Are you a… witch?”

“Heaven’s no child.” She laughed, “I ain’t no witch. I’m what ye would call a healer. You could call me a white witch I suppose, but white witchcraft aint nothing like them dark arts.”

“But you do use magic.” Ivan asked, skeptically.

‘Well, the best magic, I alwas say, comes from muder nat’r herself. The wondr’s pow’r o herbs canna do wonders.”

“And you do all this healing for free?” Klaus asked, looking across the flowery plains.

“Oh aye. People aughtn’t have ta pay a price to live and thrive,” She said as she flicked the nothing pulling the cart. “Now, yur friend. She’ll be kept in the dung’n I suppose. Now, if ye want to save her, as I’m figur’n ye do, ye’l need to get into yon Castle. I think I might have a way.”

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The bees bumbled lazily in the afternoon sunshine. Holly was still jogging up the overgrown path when she came to a fork. She figured the path must be working around a field and meeting back up again so she decided to just keep going through the field. It was made of giant tulips, and she had a difficult time making her way through the rubbery stems.

As she was going along, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her left foot begin to give way. She jumped forward of the crumbling ground. Her heart jumped into her chest and she felt a ting of panic as she felt no solid ground but instead the rushing air as she fell into a large deep pit.

Holly hit the ground and rolled instinctively. Standing up she felt a pain in her left leg. It didn’t feel broken but the throbbing continued none the less and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to climb out. She sat down and looked around. To her one side, where the path should have been there were stairs coming down to the bottom of the pit. She looked closely and saw that the floor was actually paved with stones that had been overgrown with moss over the years.

Getting up painfully, Holly began limping along the paved path towards a wall of earth. She placed her hand on it, closed her eyes and buried her finger tips in the soft reddish brown dirt. Then her eyes snapped open, and with a cry she swung her staff and broke into the underground passageway that had been blocked up. Slowly and deliberately Holly stepped out of the afternoon sun into the dark, damp passageway feeling her way with her hands on the root covered walls.


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End Chapter


So that was a lot shorter than chapter 1. I don't know if its too short though. I know the next part needs to be all one chapter and its gonna be long thats it needs its own chapter. Anyway, so yeah sorry I didn't get this up sooner. This has been my final projects week, next week is finals, and then I'm free! kind of... yeah most difficult pert here was writing for Aconite. She has this intense Irish-Scottish accent. I'm trying to jump between the two so she can't be pinned down to one or the other. So yeah, I'm looking at havng the next chapter up by Saterday. Until then,
Cheers