The Ruby~an Original Story

Chapter Two

     The forest was gone, completely. Every inch of the land had been burnt to the ground, and all that remained was ash. Broken tree limbs were scattered around the ash-covered ground. With each step the brothers took, they could hear the crunching underneath their feet.
“Gods, this is terrible,” Raisya muttered under his breath as he took in the sight before his very eyes. “There probably won’t be any animals around here. We’ll have to find another area.”
“I can’t believe she did all of this,” Ambruce replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I can. She’d kill off a newborn just to get her way.”

Right outside of the village was another forest, this one being in much better condition than the one near their home. The spring breeze blew through the trees, which caused them to sway the slightest bit. The sun was present in the blue sky, making the air nice and warm.
Raisya looked at his brother. “Okay, see anything? A deer, maybe?”
Ambruce surveyed the location, searching for any animal to shoot at. Raisya handed him the bow and he drew an arrow. “Nothing yet. Be quiet though, or you’ll scare them off.”
Raisya rolled his eyes, drawing his dagger. Its handle was encrusted with real emeralds. It was his father’s. He gave it to him on his eighth birthday, and he remembered it clearly. The dagger was passed along in their family for generations, and it would always hold a special place in his heart.
Both of them waited in silence, weapons drawn and at the ready.
A minute or two had passed, and a large buck came into view. Its horns were giant, as well as the rest of its body. It hadn’t seen either of them, and it had started to munch at the grass.
Ambruce quickly aimed for its heart, steadying his breathing to keep his focus. He wasn’t the best at hitting a bullseye, but he had a good feeling today would be his first.
Steady…
And…
Now!
He let go and watched the arrow cut through the air. It was heading for the deer at an incredible speed. And then…
The arrow stopped. Right in midair, it just… froze.
“What the hell?” Ambruce exclaimed, running over to the frozen arrow. The buck sharply turned its head in their direction, and as quickly as it came, it ran off.
“Why is it stuck in the air?” Raisya asked, following after his brother.
“How am I supposed to know? Magic, I guess?”
Ambruce grabbed the arrow and attempted to pull it back. However, it wouldn’t budge. It continued to hover in the air. Then, it snapped in half, falling to the ground afterwards.
“You are not to harm any animals here,” a female voice said in an angered tone. Ambruce looked back at Raisya with confusion.
Ambruce picked up the broken arrow, looking around the woods. “Who’s there?”
A figure in a white cloak emerged from the bushes. The brothers could see the silver hair peeking out from the hood. This person almost looked like an angel.
“You have no business killing innocent animals here. You can do that from whatever barbaric village you came from, but you won’t be doing that in this forest,” the figure said, venom lacing their words.
Raisya gripped the handle of his dagger, just to be cautious. “Well, who are you to tell us where to hunt? This is public ground, and we’re free to hunt as we please. We have to survive somehow.”
“Then leave these woods. These animals are my people,” the person pulled down the hood of their cloak, letting the silver hair shine in the sunlight. “I am Saliah, protector of the Spring Forest. In other words, Queen of Animals.”
Ambruce and Raisya looked at each other, then back at the Queen. “So you’re telling me that your pompous ass is the queen of the animals?” Ambruce asked, a grin slowly appearing on his face. He suppressed a snicker.
Saliah narrowed her eyes, slowly stalking up to him. “Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
"No, no, not at all,” He cleared his throat, snickering again. “Never knew there was a queen of animals. Sure you didn’t make it up?”
“Amber, shut up,” Raisya hissed at him with a glare.
“No, no,” Saliah dismissed, crossing her arms. “Maybe I just have to prove it to you, since you're so incompetent.”
“Show me then, queenie,” Ambruce shot back with a glare of his own.
Without breaking eye contact with him, Saliah whistled sharply. Another rustling came from the bushes, this time it was much louder. Growling followed, as well as angry howling. A pack of wolves slowly slithered out from hiding, threateningly surrounding Ambruce and Raisya.
“You just had to piss her off, didn’t you?!” Raisya yelled at his brother, pointing his dagger toward the nearest wolf. He gripped the handle tightly, keeping his distance from the wolves as best he could.
“I thought she was crazy or something! Wolves aren’t supposed to be out during the day!” Ambruce yelled back, nocking another arrow through the bowstring of his bow.
“If you both leave now, you’ll be leaving in one piece,” Saliah said in a threatening tone. “If you refuse, I’ll command them to rip you to shreds. And they're pretty hungry.”
“Amber, let’s just go,” Raisya muttered under his breath. “Think about the gem and what would happen if we died and couldn’t protect it. Who's the idiot then?"
Ambruce was silent for a minute, then he sighed. “Fine, fine, get rid of your wolf friends and we’ll get out of your fur.”
“I’m not one for puns,” Saliah rolled her eyes. She looked at one of the wolves and nodded solemnly. The entire pack then retracted back into the darkness. “Now, get out of here before I change my mind.”
Ambruce returned the eyeroll, starting back on the trail. Raisya followed beside him.
“Honestly, none of that was even necessary. I just want food, and I’m going to die of starvation,” Ambruce grumbled, running a hand through his hair.
“Will you stop complaining? If you hadn’t run your big mouth, we wouldn’t have been in that position!” Raisya replied.
“Oh come on, I know you thought she sounded dumb too!”
Saliah watched them leave the forest with narrowed eyes. She looked on the ground and picked up a small black spider. She softly smiled, giving it a gentle pet with her finger. “I need you to spy on them for me. There’s something off about them that I don’t trust… If you find anything peculiar, you know what to do.” She set the spider back down on the dirt, watching it scamper off in the direction of the brothers.
“He mentioned a gem. If it’s the one I’m thinking about, then this world is in the hands of two morons.”