The Silenced Speaker

Chapter 6 - The Sacred Fawn

I dedicate this chapter to Light, for today is her birthday. Happy birthday Light~

xxcrimsonxshellxx for our 'two-month-anniversary'~ I've known you for two months now, twin~ ^_^

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Roxanne rode Midnight to the depth of the woods, sighting no prey in the process. Autumn wasn't the best season for hunting. And Roxanne knew exactly who planned this. Tathiette. She was so desperate to spend time with Alexis that she had to involve her entire family to make sure he wouldn't turn down her request - even though she had been proven terrible at riding.

Enjoying the sensation of wind whipping her face in the ride, Roxanne closed her eyes, trusting Midnight not to lead her to danger. Without warning, Midnight took a 180º'U' turn and trotted at a much slower pace. Roxanne's eyes fluttered open, totally unfazed by Midnight's sudden turn. Midnight neighed, as if trying to warn Roxanne something.

Roxanne took a sidelong glance, and at once noticed a gorgeous fawn by a birch, completely unaware of an arrow on its left, aiming at its throat. Roxanne knew she should've left it. Thirteen years in the Palace taught her to know better than to meddle with a Royal's prize. Yet she couldn't stand it. The fawn looked so innocent; its eyes were clear and dustless. Just like the little Roxanne thirteen years ago.

Without realization of what she was doing, Roxanne drew an arrow from her quiver, and notched it onto her bow. She leveled the bow with her eyes, and adjusted the angle slightly, before releasing.

A gilded arrow sprang out from the left, speeding towards the fawn; the fawn didn't seem to notice. When it was only a metre away from the fawn, it snapped in half, and immediately dropped onto the ground.

On the trunk of the birch behind the fawn, an arrow sank deep. It was Roxanne's. It was the very reason the other arrow was snapped.

From where the gilded arrow came from, there were loud curses in a shilling voice, stinging Roxanne's ear. Roxanne frowned. Tathiette - again. She had guessed it was her already by the gilded arrow, since it was a well known fact that Princess Tathiette had an addiction to gold. Being confirmed wasn't at all pleasant. Especially not when she thought of how Tathiette would punish her.

Roxanne lowered her head momentarily, trying to sort out her thoughts, and suddenly Tathiette's voice was gone. Midnight halted, flicking her tail slightly in bewilderment. Roxanne lifted her head; she was still in the same place, not an arrangement of a single tree has changed, but there were no fawn, no Tathiette, no broken arrows on the ground or the arrow Roxanne had shot on the birch.

How bizarre.

Then something even more bizarre occurred; right in front of Roxanne, a girl materialized. She seemed no more than sixteen, wearing a voile aqua dress that reached her knees and an olive green satin waistband. Her skin was pale, and her tawny hair was braided into countless plaits, swinging and bouncing along with her movement. She smiled playfully at Roxanne, her emerald eyes flickering with mischief.

Why was this bizarre? Because in the Palace and the Royal hunting grounds, the first rule of security was to make sure no one could teleport from or to these places. That was too much for the safety of the Royals. Roxanne did not see how this girl could be an exception. That could only mean this girl had defied the spell, which few mages in Elrtiv could do. Roxanne was one, and this girl was the second. Who was she?

"You're wondering who I am." The girl simply stated. Roxanne scowled a little at her frankness. Something else wasn't right. Roxanne did not need to bend down to meet the girl's eyes, even when she was on Midnight. The girl was floating in the air. Levitation couldn't be managed by a mortal easily.