[OLD] Cursed

Chapter 5

     There was a faint sound of wings beating in the distance as Monah took off. The Silver Sun was a full circle tonight, proving that Monah's stories that the night dragons bit away at it were false. Monah's silhouette grew smaller as she flew farther away from her and the Blue Tree. But this time, Caroline didn't feel lonely or sad that she was gone. In fact, she had been anticipating the moment.

     Every night, she would slip into the underground tunnel, reading the objects that turned out to be called, 'books'. A strange word, but at the same time, the language was human, an ancient myth. The books turned out to be more interesting than she had thought. The human scribbles weren't so useless either.

     The Blue Tree seemed to have changed ever since she started using the Room of Books. The leaves on the tree were lusher, a brighter shade of blue. The dark brown bark softened into a lighter shade of caramel. It was almost as if the tree were happy.

     But the Blue Tree seemed different that night. The leaves sagged and the bark was rough underneath her hands as she searched for the metal stick. Strangely, it wasn't there. She tilted her head in confusion. How could it just disappear? She thought, disappointed.

     An eerie silver glow brightened her surroundings. She turned around sharply, raising her head towards the Silver Sun. It was shining fiercely, as if it had been lit on fire. Something glimmered in the distance. It was a mix of silver and gray, like a wall of moonlight. Is that the wall? Why does it look different? Forgetting about Monah's warning to stay put, she eagerly scrambled down the mountain. Does it have something to do with the Silver Sun being full tonight?

     Snow flew in all direction as she rushed down, and twigs snapped underneath her paws as she ran. A feathery, winged creature chirped in irritation as she dashed by, flaring it's violet wings. She narrowed her eyes against the cold night wind, squinting through the dark so she wouldn't crash into any trees.

     At last, she broke through the woodlands. The wall was there, as if it had been waiting for her. The wind whispered in warning and the branches reached out towards her, telling her to come back. She ignored them, taking a few paces forward. The wall was different than the rest of the nights she had seen it. The white was gone, replaced by a dark gray color like the storm clouds in the sky on a rainy day. And it glowed. It had never glowed before. Or maybe it had, and she had just not realized it in the past.

     But that wasn't what caught her eye. The wall rippled in agreement as she approached it, as if it sensed her presence, reading her thoughts. It looked as if were made of water, almost transparent. She could make out an endless sea of grass on the other side. She felt it call her, tugging her forward. She extended her paw and touched the wall. She let out a squeak of surprise as her paw went right through.

     She stared at her paw in shock. It... it went through! She looked back at the mountain, then at the wall, then back at the mountain. Will Monah mind? She thought to herself. Don't you want to see where the Sun goes? A small voice pestered in reply, erasing her last thought. She took a deep breath, then stepped through the wall.

     Caroline couldn't believe her eyes. The meadow stretched out endlessly, the horizon on every side of her. In the night sky were more stars than she could count, more than all of the leaves that decorated the trees that grew on the mountain. Every speck of light lit up the field, making it glow in the darkness.

     Stars. I see stars. She lifted her face to the sky in awe. Shootingstar. She closed her eyes and basked in the light. The night breeze whistled softly in her ears. She felt peaceful, calmed, certain, as if she was always meant to see this place.

     There was a crunch behind her, indicating that she was not alone. She whipped around with a hiss, and her eyes locked with blue ones. A night dragon! The ones that Monah warned me about!

     But the eyes weren't a navy blue. They were lighter, reminding her of the lake, which Monah had strictly forbidden her to go near. She took a few steps back, growling softly. There was the sound of two objects banging against each other. Then she saw a spark. Light. A red light blazed on a stick, but it didn't consume the wood. She tilted her head at the creature who had made the light, who looked oddly familiar. Is that a human? Impossible. They're myths.

     The human-like creature had wings like her, which made her uneasy. A shapeshifting dragon? An illusion user? Her eyes shifted towards the light, and she couldn't tear her gaze away. It must be a piece of the Sun. She thought. Caroline felt herself overflow with curiousness and wonder. Magic.

     The shapeshifter took a step towards her and she let out a threatening hiss. Then it spoke. "Are you human?" Human words. It speaks human. It is human. She just blinked a few times, staring into the human's blue eyes. They gazed back at her, her curiosity reflecting in their eyes. She glanced at the light again. "Magic?" She asked. The human looked surprised. "It's called fire." "Fire." She repeated, not taking her gaze away from the light that even the shadows ran from.

     "You've never seen it before?" Caroline shook her head. "If... had... night dragons... find me." "I'm taking it you never really spoke the language either?" She shook her head again. "What language do you speak then?" She looked up at the sky, then back at the human, getting the right word for a reply. "Dragon."