The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 29

The white-blues and silvers of wintry dreams swirled in the sky above. Upon that cold day, he felt the calling of his own warm heart as he strode in bold steps, trying to reach the village before dark. So far, the journey had been easy; he had crossed the valley with no incidents and right then he was traveling through the mountains. His feet sunk in the snow, but the elves had provided him with a sturdy pair of boots that were made for such environments.

From time to time, he would lose his way in the maze of cliffs and rocks, and fortunately an animal was there to show him the way. It was probably thanks to the woman the old elf had mentioned. He would follow the animal, usually a small bird or a wild fox, and then after a while, it would vanish amongst the trees.

Matthew eventually came out of the mountains, reaching an immense plain with crops of wheat, a golden path that expanded to meet the blue of the sea in the horizon. In the distance he could make out a tiny speck of a village, and he felt his heart race in anticipation. His mouth curved into a bright smile; he knew he was close to finally finding her.

'Hey, you!'

Matthew froze still. Someone had seen him, and they were calling him to turn around. His mind was desperately trying to find a way out, but his legs were the ones that acted first. He immediately bolted towards the village, his body straining from the effort to escape them. Of course, the elves saw him and ran after him with hands ready to produce a spell.

Matthew ran as fast as his legs permitted him, like his life depended on it. He made zigzags through the trees, trying to confuse them, but the elves were too smart to be fooled, and stayed close behind. Matthew realised he could not outrun them, he felt like they were coming nearer with every passing second. He made a sharp turn to the left towards some bushes and rocks, and frantically searched for a hiding place before they arrived.

He didn't have the time to over analyse it. He quickly dropped on the ground behind a bush and prayed they would keep running ahead. He heard them approach, and fortunately they didn't stop, they passed by him without looking around. Matthew took advantage of that lucky moment. He silently jumped up and sprinted towards the opposite direction. That would give him time to save himself from his predators.

Truly enough, the elves were too far behind to catch up with him. Matthew slowed down his pace and calmly headed towards the village. He occasionally looked over his shoulder for any danger, but it seemed the worse had already been over. At least he had a nice running exercise. He arrived at the outskirts of the village that was bustling with activity.

He obviously couldn't just stroll in there. They would tear him to pieces without hesitation, and he didn't even know where she was. Matthew thought for a second. They had said she was at the village, but that was impossible. She couldn't risk being detected either. He was still deep in thought when suddenly a pigeon decided to use his head as landing ground.

'What the hell!' he whispered angrily.

The pigeon wasn't fazed by his reaction and cooed at him with determination, jumping from one branch to another to attract his attention. Matthew tried to shoo it off, but the bird bit his finger hard and pulled his sleeve with its beak before it flew away towards an abandoned building. It was an old temple on the snowy mountains behind the village.

Matthew had a feeling he had to go high up there, and he didn't like it. He sighed and started walking. The closer he got, the more anticipation he felt for finding her. He wanted to make up for the stupid things he had done. She had become an important person in his life, and he didn't want to ruin their friendship because of his insensitive attitude.

After an hour of climbing the steep pathway, he reached the deserted temple. It must have been a magnificent building that provided solace to the people with its humble architecture and wide balconies. Now nature had invaded and taken over the temple, and the people who used to visit it had forsaken it long ago, forgetting the shelter it had provided in difficult times.