I know a special little place... (DISCONTINUED)

4

12/05/2017

My guess was right. The person is Zhu. This means the trip is gonna be marvellous. This also means Mom is terrible at "giving a surprise". Oof, it's been such a long time since we went on a road trip. We are gonna go out in an hour and I can't wait to reach Broken Dragon Pines and find out if my dream can come true! 

Ryder

12:58 pm
We have reached Broken Dragon Pines and it's so beautiful and calming. Zhu has turned up some of their lofi mixes which they had downloaded and the place feels so ethereal. It feels like the perfect place one would want to spend their entire lives in. Also, all of us sang to the radio in the car, and it was a classic road trip one could ask for, except that Zhu had to ask for another packet of biscuits every twenty minutes. Is this the place I visualised about? I wouldn't be surprised if the trees start speaking and the winds start whispering at this very second. 

Zhu is calling me for a run deeper into the woods. I wonder if we are replaying our past? Well, they say history repeats itself. So I'll just sit back and watch my past unfold into the present. Moreover, I'm feeling a little hungry, so might as well ask Mom for a packet of biscuits. Thank her for knowing our infatuation with biscuits so well. We wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for her and her numerous Oreo packets.

Until then,
goodbye.

Ryder.

*********************************************

The trees finally saw the people they were waiting for for ages. They whispered among themselves and frantically moved their leaves, calling the wind to spread the news, urging the birds to weave their history. The insects watched in admiration and the grass swished in delight. The butterflies stopped their work to see the purebloods and the bees buzzed faster.

Ryder and Zhu ran freely, not giving a care about the world. The old lady smiled from the shadows of the trees and sighed, and the clouds wept their shiny tears for a while, making them dance in the drizzle that was tears. The trees laughed among themselves, their leaves dripping with water, as they saw the childish innocence radiating off from them. The birds weaved every scene and the wind spread the scent of every moment to the entire forest to know. The frogs croaked louder, hoping to catch their attention and Azraa watched from the shadows and ran, ran to the broken remains of a lost palace, climbed up to the top of the ruins, shot her arrow and gave a whistle. "The time has come", she muttered, before running off again, determined to let the Queen know.

Elyas pointed his arrow towards Azraa but then lowered it. "We will let our Queen know as well. The purebloods have come, and it's our time to shine, Azraa. You may have defeated us many times, being a clever spy and messenger, but this time you won't. This time, we'll lead, and if we don't win, my name is not Elyas", saying this, he jumped upon a tree and blew a conk, indicating the arrival of the purebloods.

The clouds stopped crying and the birds weaved slower as Ryder and Zhu sat under a tree. The tree bent a little more, spreading its branches as much as it could and tried to shade them from the harsh glare of the sun. Queen Fatima talked hurriedly in the language of the forest, the long trails of her pale pink gown swishing with every hurried move. Azraa was beside her, taking in the surroundings, smiling to herself, thinking, "They have come".

But they didn't know that Elyas was behind a tree, noting every word of Queen Fatima in his excellent memory. They didn't know that Queen Farah had already planned arrangements to test the blood of two innocent kids who didn't know they were purebloods. They didn't know that a war was stirring, a war that would end everything.

**************************************************

Meanwhile, Zhu's mind was stirring with the striking familiarity and comfort they felt in the forest. They had a gut instinct that something was going on, something they will have to face pretty soon. But stomping on the feelings, they shifted their mind to a sleeping Ryder, who had fallen asleep, sprawled under the shade of a tree. Their heart was tugging at the strings, hoping they'd find a piece of memory that would calm the gears working in their brain.

Elyas etched every curve, every shadow and every angle of the two scrawny kids in his memory. Grinning, he whispered, "I bet on my arrows that long-haired one is ours" and ran away to the depth of the forests, nimble yet strong feet never once tripping.

Queen Farah listened patiently to what Elyas had to say, sipping coconut water with a light smile colouring the features of her face in an ethereal way. He narrated everything perfectly, not missing a single piece of information he had gathered.

Queen Farah deposited the now empty coconut and paced the hallway, her kohl-rimmed eyes shining and her green flowing gown swishing with every move. "Bring both to me by tomorrow, Elyas. Fatima wouldn't capture them, she's too much on 'freedom'. Till then we'll have the test." She smiled. "I want to see how much the purebloods can take, it's been so many generations. It feels like a new start", she murmured to herself. He nodded his head and saluted, thus promising to bring them by tomorrow.

"You may go now, Elyas."

Bowing, he touched his arrow to his head. "As you please", he said and walked away, Zhu's figure etched permanently in his memories.

************************************************

Hearing someone speak loudly from afar, Zhu cocked their ears and slowly tip-toed towards the direction of the sound.

The first thing their eyes noticed was another pair of eyes. Green in colour and held a fiery gaze, those eyes. Zhu couldn't turn away, green eyes looking directly at hazel ones, but then a running figure came up and hid those unearthly eyes that they saw from the gaps of the branches of a tree.

The cogs in their brain turning, they walked away, not being able to ignore the sense of belonging they felt.

Queen Farah smiled before she turned her attention to her messenger, Elyas.

****************************************

Tossing and turning in bed, Zhu tried counting sheep to fall asleep. When that did not work, throwing off the covers, they put on their sneakers, sneaked out of the house and ran off to the park. Zhu knew doing this was dangerous, anything could happen, but they couldn't care less about it now. They needed to feel the cold breeze cutting through the skin and see the beauty of dark nights, they needed to calm their mind.

Plugging in their earphones, they sat on a lonely swing, dozing off as they felt the breeze comb through their hair. They felt as if the wind was singing an old, broken lullaby.

Little green flecks of light lit up the corners of the park, and they floated around, close enough so that they'd notice yet far enough for them to miss out. Zhu noticed them from the corner of their eyes and was surprised at how familiar they felt with them. They seemed to dance to a tune they couldn't listen to. Reaching out their hand, they touched one of them and all the lights vanished. Zhu felt as if a close friend left them alone. Sighing, they got up and trudged back home, a new void in their heart and new questions buzzing around in their head.

As they plopped down on their bed and was about to go to sleep, they heard a whisper in their head-

I know a special little place,
Where once lived a fairy
I know where she lives,
Do you wanna come with me?

Zhu knew that something was going on at that moment, something Ryder was hiding from them when they took out their mobile and texted him.

They wondered how many more nights will go on like this.

********************************************************

A/N: I'm extremely sorry for not updating this book for so long. I was in heavy writer's block and had lots of projects from school. I still have assignments left to do, so updates will be irregular. Also, my mental health had gotten worse all these weeks I didn't update. It's not like it's better now, but it's in a form that I can deal with. I hope I didn't disappoint you by not updating for so long. Anyways, I have a very important announcement to make:

If you haven't already, then check out the story Gold Feathers and Moonlight by @meh_trusfrated and Through the Years (Larry) by @rpc28ls, two very talented authors.

Wishing all of you a pleasant day!
~love, Evak