𝗔 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
𝗔 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝗔 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
When senior high school student Elizabeth Carter sees Isaac Belwich at her...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Isaac
The city of Listra faded into the horizon as we made our way towards Cape Flore, a fishing village on the end of a peninsula. It would take us at least a day to get there, that is if we didn't run into any guards along the way. The Great Imperial Way was the main trading route between Listra and Flore, and though it was midday, you wouldn't be able to tell because the massive storm blocked out the sun. I relaxed against Belle, her strong warm form, comforting me. She had slowed down considerably after running for about five miles straight. Slowly regretting not grabbing a saddle, I shifted to get better situated on Belle's back, sucking in air as a shockwave of pain spread throughout my back. Lizbeth had really got me good. I carefully reached behind me to feel my back. The skin felt warm to the touch; It was swollen and wet with blood.
I needed to get this healed... I laid my head on the back of Belle's neck and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again. What was I going to do? I didn't know how many people my mother had in her pockets or if Flore was even safe. I stared off into the distance watching the landscape pass us by. Lightning struck in the distance, and the wind picked up, rain started falling from the sky. Great!
I sighed. We needed to find shelter. We had just crossed over the river that ran into Ravenwood forest. Its tall, dark trees towered in the distance. Ravenwood manor is close...
That's where I woke up when I was taken here. Lizbeth's voice reminds me, making my heart hurt. That day had been so perfect... I closed my eyes; I could still feel the way she felt in my arms as we floated in the cool water of Hopper Pond. My grip tightened in anger, and now she's trapped by my mother. I should have taken her back home... but I was excited to have her here.
Would she have let me if I had asked? She seemed set on learning about her magic. I sighed and guided Belle towards Ravens Pass. Ravenwood Manor is closer than Bellenshire right now, and we really needed to get out of this rain. I was so tired, and my emotions raging war inside me was not helping.
Raven's Pass was darker than usual. Was it because of the storm? At least the trees provided some cover from the rain. We needed to be careful; with the state I'm in, there's no way I could fight a pack of stalkers or a group of mischievous nymphs.
"Come one, Belle, we need to go a bit faster." I encouraged, but she seemed uneasy as we ventured further into the Pass. "I promise we will be okay. I just need you to go a bit faster. We can rest when we get to Ravenwood Manor." she snorted and sped to a steady gallop. Poor girl has had a rough day.
Various whispers followed behind us, rustling the trees and bushes along the way. I covered my ears to block out the nymphs, nasty creatures. They lure men and women into the forest with empty promises and tricks, only to eat them later. A shiver spread down my spine at the thought. No wonder Ravenwood Manor was abandoned. No one in their right mind would live so close to the forest.
