Douce Dépendouce

Chapter 8

"We will, I promise," Linda replied.

Even though I couldn't see him, I could sense Avalon relax slightly, his shoulders still slightly tight. Anne placed a soft hand on his shoulder as he looked around, soon letting us go. I stood up, followed by the others and later Anne as we departed the Stone Circle, ending back up at Valedale.

"It's quicker than I would have liked it to be, but we're doing it," Lisa said.

I nodded, agreeing with her.

We all had a light conversation as we all worked our way to the bus stop, soon getting into a serious, and yet fun conversation about if Avalon worried all the time. We all laughed as we each shared our opinions and how stressed he would be about tomorrow, and how he had nothing to worry about. I enjoyed speaking to them, and found it a way to have something fun with all of us, but deep down I knew that I was hiding my nerves and fear every minute making them rise higher and higher.

The next morning all I could feel was tension. My muscles ached as I had gotten ready, my shoulders tensing. I knew that I had been stressed all night, leaving my body in a state of pain. I had gotten ready rather fast and had made my way to Valedale. Alex had been down at the stables late last night getting Hu ready for me, and had managed to bring him up to the Stone Circle. She had sent me an early text when he had arrived and I thanked her, knowing that she would be tired. Besides all that, all I could think about was Pandora; every thought and worry that I thought of played in my mind, making it hard to think of anything besides that. I broke out of my head when I found myself standing at the entrance to the portal leading to the Stone Circle. I didn't remember walking around or even opening it, or a matter of fact of stepping off the bus. I sighed, entering the portal and finding my way to the meeting ground, seeing everyone there. Linda and Lisa sat on their horses, discussing something as Linda pointed to something on a book page. Alex sat on one the stones as she held Hu and Tin-Can, her eyes drifting out. Anne quietly stood next to Avalon who stood near the keystone holder. He looked to be staring rather closely at the relaems around us, an uneasy feeling creeping into me. I swallowed that away as I headed over to Alex, seeing her give me a smile. I took Hu's reins and soon hopped on his back, walking towards the others.

Linda looked up when she saw me, a pleased look on her face. "Ready for this?"

I nodded. "It'll be a once in a lifetime experience."

Lisa smiled, along with Linda. We then waited for Alex to get up on Tin-Can, seeing her soon walk over. Once she did so, Anne called us over, leading us to Avalon. He looked up at us, letting out a small breath.

"Do as we discussed yesterday and stay with one another," he spoke.

We all nodded. "Come back as soon as you can and don't go wandering off. You all know the risks and side effects that-"

"Ok, we understand," Alex cut in.

Anne placed a hand on Avalons shoulder as he sighed, giving her a nod. Just like that, Anne placed the small rock that withheld Pandoric energy on the Keystone holder. Once she did so, it slowly started to light up, soon turning into a spiral of pinkish light. After a bit, it turned into a portal, looking exactly how it did before. I looked around, seeing Linda gave Avalon a small nod. He didn't reply and just stood there, staring after us. Linda walked forward first, soon followed by Alex, me, and then Lisa. Linda disappeared into the portal and soon Alex and I did too. I could feel the energy drifting and changing as we got closer and closer to entering the land, the sense of time being drained until it was non-existent left my body. After a while, I saw the other side of the portal, being swept in and arriving there. I looked around, seeing Alex and Linda standing a few feet ahead. I asked Hu for a trot, coming up to their side and soon followed by Lisa. We all looked around, taking in the world again. It had been a long time since any of us had been here, leaving everything overwhelming. I took it all in as I started to feel slightly sick at the sight of the bright colours, my dream slowly coming back to me. I blinked that away as I followed Linda and Alex, seeing Linda turn to face us.