Embers of Frost

Chapter 21 - Dawn (Part 1)

It'll be impolite if I ask her now. But will she even tell me later? No, I don't think so. She isn't like that.

"We can't change the past anymore," Abigail said, her voice cracking slightly, "but this time, we'll make no mistakes."

Adam only stared at her, scrutinizing her expression. And then he nodded.

Abigail took a deep breath. "Where was I again? Right, the horses. Once we get them, we're going to head for Langel. There's only a large forest left to cross then: Faymere Forest."

"Faymere Forest," Dawn echoed. "That name sounds familiar."

"Of course it does!" Janet cried. "Everyone knows that the forest is," she lowered her voice here, "haunted. It's been plagued by spirits since as long as anyone can remember. People that have ventured into it never return, the few that do ridden with madness. The forest has been called cursed. No one uses this route anymore."

"The Legend of Faymere," Adam said. "Ring a bell, Dawn?"

"I... can't quite remember it right now, but I think I've heard it before," she said hesitantly.

"That's not important right now," Abigail interrupted. "This is the shortest path to Langel, the other one being by sea. We'll need to go through a lot of procedures to get aboard a ship. I'd rather take my chances with this 'cursed' forest."

"But leader-" Janet said.

Abigail held up a hand. "I'm the one making decisions here, and my word is final. We're going through Faymere Forest."

Janet cursed softly, shaking her head.

A smirk formed on Dawn's face. "You can stay here if you're scared, Janet. No one's going to say anything."

Janet's gaze shot to her. She scowled. "Are you talking about yourself, hag? I'm never scared."

Dawn said nothing, only rolling her eyes.

Abigail glanced at Adam. "Can you take us to the village? It'll be quicker than walking."

"I suppose it won't harm once, but I shouldn't be able to do anything else." He sighed then. "I hope you know what you're doing. You wouldn't want anything happening again."

She flinched once before shoving the map back inside her satchel. "Trust me. Nothing will," she whispered.

Adam took Abigail's hand, Dawn quickly taking his other hand before Janet. She didn't want to get into an awkward position with him like before. She almost thought that he looked disappointed for a moment, but dismissed it as her imagination.

Janet shrugged before grasping his left shoulder. He took a deep breath as Dawn saw her green surroundings fade from in front of her eyes, brick walls replacing the view. Pots containing flowers appeared around her, the scent of pollen in the air. A rusty door was in front of her, leading into a small cottage. She could hear people speaking from within, but none of them had noticed them yet.

Adam's grasp on her hand slackened suddenly, as she glanced at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said, though he seemed far from it. He was sweating profusely, his chest heaving up and down with heavy breaths. He looked extremely pale, his previous energy missing. "Those transportation bursts really sap the energy out of you." He smiled at her, but it looked more like a grimace to Dawn.

"Those what?"

"No time to discuss that now," Abigail said. "Adam, stay here. You're in no condition to be walking around. Let us handle this."