Breaking a tale

Luna - A whole lot of stairs to climb

I quickly drifted off to the sound of the horse's hooves and the soft rocking of the carriage. When I awoke we were surrounded by a thick fog, it was so thick I couldn't see the horses out in front. It clung onto my skin, grabbed to my hair and settled on my clothes. I clutched the strange paper parcel I had been given as I spun around in my seat, straining my eyes but seeing nothing. The only comfort was the steady beat of the horse's hooves hitting the ground. The fog continued for a long time, how long I could not say as time seemed to slow in the fog, but eventually, it began to thin, and outlines of trees began to emerge from the mist.

At the edge of the fog was a huge gate, taller than anything I had ever seen before; it was made of dark brick and the gates themselves were covered in gold. The brickwork above the gate was engraved with the Tale Caster's crest and the symbol of the sunflower. On the other side was the brightest forest I had ever seen. The trees were a vibrant green and I could see birds of all colours of the rainbow flying around. A complete change from the white fog that stood behind me. As we pulled closer to the gate the horses were slowed to a stop and the carriage driver jumped off his perch and went towards a small hut.

Inside, was a guard wearing a white and black uniform. His helmet had a gorgeous white plume coming out from the top and when he stood up I saw he had a silver sword tucked into his belt. The carriage driver went over to this guard and after a small discussion, the guard handed over a piece of paper and pulled a lever. With this, the gates started to creak and slowly began to open. This took a long time and by the time the driver had got back to the carriage the gates were still creaking open. I began to get impatient, tapping my foot on the wooden floor until we started to move again.

All other emotions were replaced by wonder as we passed gates. I had never seen anything as bright and colourful in my life. There was so much life in the forest, it was as if even the air was alive. There were flowers of all kinds carpeting the forest floor and so many animals were running around. There were the animals and flowers I was used to seeing back in Cinderheath but there were also new and unusual creatures in the forest. Strange birds that I couldn't have even imagined and mythical beasts with wings and horns. A small herd of deer-like creatures ran alongside the carriage for a while and I yelled out in delight. They were smaller than deer and had small colourful wings on their backs. They let out small yips and barks as they ran cheerfully alongside the carriage After a while they flew off into the treetops and I didn't see them again for that journey.

I spent the rest of the journey watching this new and interesting world fly past the carriage window. Occasionally another, mysterious creature would follow the carriage and there was always an interesting thing to look at. We passed gnarled oak trees with ancient faces formed into their trunks which I swore I saw move, and enchanting pools that glistened and shimmered with winged creatures hovering above them. We also passed small cottages with colourful smoke pouring from their chimneys, far away from any other civilisation. At this point, the carriage driver turned to face me.

"I wouldn't go anywhere near those cottages, Princess" he muttered roughly. I was about to ask why when he continued. "Witches live in those cottages, they do" he said, a tinge of fear in his voice. It was clear he had had some bad experience with these so-called "witches", but I didn't believe him at the time. I thought he was just being judgemental about some poor old women who lived out in the forest.

Soon enough we came to a village, the sign at the entrance said in flowy writing "Welcome to Hemlock. The oldest village in Aureum" Aureum, the word rolled on my tongue. That was the name of the land I would call my home for the next few years. The village was bursting with energy. The architecture was completely different from anything I was used to seeing in Cinderheath. The buildings seemed alive and were completely made from wood. In Cinderheath most buildings were built from stone but in Hemlock I didn't see a single stone building. The buildings all had flowers growing on windowsills and some looked like they even had trees growing from their walls.