“So basically, you’re telling me that I need to go to this ‘Ghrian’ place?” Kuphila reaffirmed.
“Yes, at least then someone might be able to tell if you really are the Earth gem or not…” Cabhru replied.
“I’m glad you know who you are now, Lady Kuphila.” A deep voice echoed around them.
Kuphila scrambled to her feet in surprise, to see a shadow amidst the mist-shrouded trees before her. Cabhru turned to see the new owner of the voice as well.
Within seconds, the cloaked man walked forwards and stood in front of them. He had a large, bulky frame, and towered over the short duo. Kuphila ran her eyes up and down him, taking in his slightly familiar appearance. She gasped loudly as she realized where she recognized the man from.
He was the man who had been chasing her, and who had been at her home when the fire happened!
She clapped her had to her mouth, as the colour drained slowly from her face. Cabhru looked at her, raising one of his thick, ginger eyebrows questioningly.
“Fear not, I mean you no harm.” The man reassured, his large, pale hands raised to his hood, gripping the blackened velvet fabric. He lifted the hood up, and pushed it behind his head, revealing an olive skinned face, completed with a long scar running down the left side, cutting through his eye and curling one side of his lips up.
Kuphila studied the man carefully, before she said anything.
“Why should I trust you? And what do you want with me and my family…?” She mumbled quietly.
The man’s pale lips curved into a grin, and he dipped his large hand into a pocket in his cloak. He moved his hand around, and retrieved a small leather bound book. Kuphila eyed the book curiously, watching his thick fingers curl around the pages.
“My name is Mork. I am a member of the earth society. We have been awaiting your return to Ghrian since you left with your parents.” Ignoring the look of shock on Kuphila’s porcelain face, he continued speaking. “We have known of your whereabouts for a long time, my lady. We were simply waiting for you to realize your own abilities.”
Kuphila moved back slightly, brushing her ankles against the cold rock behind her. Her heart was beating uncontrollably, and her mind was swimming in confusion.
It was only yesterday that she been sitting quietly at home, curled up in her enormous magenta blanket, reading a book. Books about princesses and adventures had always captivated her curiosity. She had always wanted to leave her home and journey to a distant country, finding peril and adventure at every turn. However, now that she had left her home, she found herself standing among two strangers in a dark, cold forest, questioning her very existence.
I want to go home, she thought bitterly, before remembering that by now she would no longer have a home to return to.
Her frozen, pale face turned a deep shade of crimson as it heated up. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, forcing her to blink wildly, to hide any trace of them.
If what this man says is true, then… I really am some kind of important being... She thought, trying to push other thoughts out of her head to focus on the task at hand.
“What do I have to do?” She asked, breaking the silence which had been shrouding the trio.
Mork moved his head too look directly at Kuphila, his long ebony hair flowing like a dark waterfall behind him.
“I can help you. I can show you what you have to do.” He extended his massive hand towards Kuphila, gesturing her to take it. “Come with me?”
Kuphila didn’t hesitate. She had already made up her mind to find out what to do, and to speak to this man regarding her parents.
She extended her slender arm out, and grabbed onto Mork’s outstretched hand.
“Let’s go then.” Mork said softly, turning around, to walk back the way he came with Kuphila following close behind.
Kuphila turned her head around slightly, to see Cabhru standing by the rock, his long crimson coat moving gently with the wind. A wide grin was plastered across Cabhru’s face, as he waved goodbye to Kuphila cheerfully.
Mork’s footsteps were so light, that there was barely a sound to be heard as each humongous foot softly landed on the muddy ground. Kuphila’s footsteps, however, made loud sloshing noises as she clumsily slipped and slid around the mud, nearly falling over numerous times.
The sun was still nowhere to be seen, but the moon was slightly visible above the tangle of thick, black branches which hung overhead. The mist seemed to have thinned out, after they had been walking uphill for a few minutes.
After what seemed to be a long and arduous walk, Kuphila began to notice the trees thinning out, and becoming smaller and less frequent. Finally, there were no more trees, and the forest was no longer surrounding them. Kuphila took one last glance at what she assumed must have been a beautiful forest once.
Mork led her out of the forest, into an open grassy field. Here, the moonlight was visible, as it danced on the dry, brown grassy tufts. An enormous shadow loomed overhead, casting an eerie shadow over the clearing. The creator of the ominous looking darkness was a tall rounded mountain, which stood directly behind a small, brick cottage.
As they got closer to the cottage, its appearance became more noticeable and Kuphila could see what it looked like properly. It was built entirely of maroon coloured bricks, interlocking in a plain, un-artistic pattern. Mork inserted a copper coloured key into the key hole and twisted it around tightly, until the old wooden door gave a click, followed by Mork turning the handle and gesturing for Kuphila to follow him inside.
The soft, carpeted flooring was a welcome surprise for Kuphila’s cold, muddy feet. Mork gently closed the door behind him, leaving the two with only the faint light from the moonlight, streaming in from the dusty glass windows, to illuminate the room. Kuphila held back a cry of fear brought on by the darkness, nearly biting her tongue off. Before more than a second had passed, a dim light flickered on overhead of the two and lifted the darkness from the room instantly.
“I’m sorry about the bad lighting in here… This isn’t really my permanent residence, so…” Mork said lifting one of his tremendous, muscly arms over his head to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“It’s quite alright.” Kuphila replied, too focused on thawing out her frozen toes, to properly pay attention to the lighting situation.
“Please come this way, I’ll show you a map of where you will need to go.” Mork walked past Kuphila, through the dark hallway ahead and into a room on the left.
Kuphila shuffled along the carpeted floor, attempting to wipe of the mud, which was still caked onto her feet heavily. She entered the room that Mork had gone into, but was surprised to find that Mork was nowhere to be found, and there was no light entering this room at all.
Kuphila’s morbid fear of darkness prevented her from entering the room; so instead, she stood by the door frame, waiting hesitantly.
“Mork? Are you in there?” She called out into the darkness.
“Yes, I’m in here. Don’t worry there’s nothing to bump into. The light’s just not working.” Mork’s deep voice called out from the darkness.
Relief washed over her like a calming wave, and she ventured into the dark room.
