The lost gem

Chapter 13

Thank you to everyone who reads my story! Although, I have realised that not many people are reading my story anymore. :-( I will try to make it more exciting. Comment below if you think I should continue with the story. Sorry I have not updated in absolutely ages, I have just had some writers block. This chapter is dedicated to @balletshoes123 because she is a really good friend! Don't forget to check out her story 'bully'! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Hold your aim! Steady! Fire!" Cried the enemy. Suddenly, a wave of arrows soared across the sky, burying themselves in several people and destroying anything in their path. Some of the arrows were lit with fire so even buildings were demolished. Anything and everything was ruined. If you were to look at the, previously beautiful village, all you would see now was an isolated field with specks of dust floating in the air. Blood, soaking through the dry lifeless grass. Arrows, sticking out of the ground. The most gruesome thing of all, was that there was a large pile of dead bodies burning in a ravenous fire. All of this was exactly what Charlotte saw.

*3 days earlier*

"Erm...Charlotte..." Alex began.
"Yes?" Charlotte replied in an annoyed tone because Alex had been bothering her with silly questions all day long. For example, 'what time is it?' or 'can we take a break?' or the most tedious question of all 'are we nearly there yet?'
"I'm actually really hungry..." Admitted Alex reluctantly.
"Then get the supplies from the saddle and eat for goodness sake!" Charlotte growled; she was beginning to lose her temper. "Well...that's the problem..."Alex stuttered. Seeing Alex search for a stupid excuse, Lúthien, who had listened to the two argue all day, laughed, "we have no supplies left because Alex fed them to the birds." Alex's cheeks turned bright red.
"Alex did what?" Shrieked Charlotte.
"The birds looked really hungry. They stared at me with big eyes! I had to give them something!" Alex explained.
"You didn't have to feed them all of our food!" Charlotte retorted.
"Could you two just stop! I have listened to you two bicker all day long! I am sick and tired of it! We need to forget how the food was lost. We just need to accept that we now need to find a nearby village and buy some food with whatever we have left." Lúthien said angrily.

After 1 hour, they finally reached a small village. Everyone jumped off their horses and Lúthien carefully and almost reluctantly took something out of his saddle bag. "I wasn't going to get this out," Lúthien stared unhappily at Charlotte and Alex's empty saddle bags, "but seeing as we have nothing else, we should trade this for some food." Lúthien had pulled out an elegant goblet that was made of pure gold. The goblet had an interesting shape and it was worth a lot. Intrigued, Charlotte asked, "Where did you get this?" She took the goblet from Lúthien's hands and turned the goblet around while feeling it with her hands.
"It was my father's. He gave it to me before my mother supposedly disappeared..." Lúthien said quietly. Alex put a hand on Lúthien's shoulder and Charlotte smiled at him encouragingly.
"Let's go!" Alex exclaimed to break the awkward silence.

Walking into the village, Charlotte realised that slowly a large crowd was forming around them.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Croaked an old man with a long white beard. Charlotte looked at Alex for assistance, she assumed he was better at lying than she was.
"Well, hello! Nice to meet you old folk! My name is Bob and..."Alex pointed at Lúthien and then at Charlotte ," this is Bobby and this is Bobette!" Charlotte cast a warning glance at Alex and mouthed, "Bobette?!" In response, Alex shrugged apologetically. Cautiously but confidently, Lúthien stepped forward and announced, "good day! For those of you who do not know, I am Lúthien, prince of Blackforest! We are simply here to trade some goods. There is nothing to be worried about! My friend here has a few...mental disorders and he did not know what he was saying. So please excuse him; his name is Alex and this fine young lady over here is Charlotte. She is the soon-to-be leader of Chillian. Now please go about your businesses!" For a few seconds, the villagers stood, unsure of what to do but soon carried on with what they were doing.

Fuming, Alex stormed over to where Lúthien was standing, clearly pleased with himself. Pushing Lúthien onto the ground, "Mental issues! How dare you!" Alex said. He was furious at Lúthien; he was humiliated by some posh snobby prince.
"I thought it was kind of funny," Charlotte giggled, "I mean, really, Bobette? What kind of a name is that?"
"I had it under control!" Alex said angrily.
"I think we have bigger issues to worry about. Like maybe, finding food?" Charlotte pointed out.

"That'll be 3 coins." A middle aged woman said to Charlotte, who was buying a lot of fruit.
"Actually...I don't have any money and was wondering whether I could trade you something? Charlotte asked, hoping the lady would agree.
"Let's 'ave a look?"
Charlotte nodded at Lúthien, as if asking 'are you sure?' Lúthien nodded back in response.
"Here it is." Charlotte pulled the gold goblet from her bag and gave it to the lady, who examined it closely. Fascinated, the women quickly said, "it's a deal!"
"We should go now. We have our supplies and shouldn't linger too long." Alex, who had calmed down, quietly stated. Suddenly, the old man from before, who had asked them who they were, shouted, "there she is!" Turning around, Charlotte saw an army of orcs, striding confidently towards her. "He must have recognised me!" Charlotte realised. She and Lúthien grabbed their bows and Alex sheathed his sword. Arrows were whizzing through the air, knocking out orcs. Ruthlessly, the orcs destroyed anything in their way, their only concern being to capture Charlotte. "What about my money?" Cried the old man. A tall, ugly looking Orc turned around to face the man and swiped his head off with ease. Disgusted, the village started to attack the orcs but we're outnumbered 10:1.
"Hold your aim! Steady aim! Fire! Cried the enemy. Suddenly, a wave of arrows soared across the sky, burying themselves in several people and destroying anything in their path. Some of the arrows were lit with fire so even buildings were demolished,
"Charlotte we have to leave!" Lúthien called above the noise of the battle.
"No! These people are risking their lives for me. Just because one person needed money and ratted me out, does not mean, I am abandoning these innocent people! Maybe, I can try using my magic?" Charlotte replied, equally loud. Closing her eyes, Charlotte concentrated on the energy flowing through her and pushed her hands forward, in an attempt to release anything that might help but nothing happened.
"Charlotte, it's not working, we have to leave. These people know how important you are to maintain the balance in the world. Just like me, they must have heard about the prophecy." Lúthien said, trying to convince Charlotte to retreat into the woods. Alex saw the situation and said as loud as he could so that Charlotte could hear, "I agree with Lúthien. We are leaving now!" The two boys lifted Charlotte and dragged her away from the battle. However hard Charlotte tried, kicking, screaming, squirming, the boys were too strong and she could not win. So instead she started to sob quietly and muttered, "it's all my fault," over and over agin. The boys, carried Charlotte into the safety of the woods and laid her into the ground, where she curled up into a tight ball and rocked back and forth, trying to calm herself down.

Once the battle was over, Charlotte saw the boys asleep and crept out of the woods towards the village. She had to see what had happened, no matter what the boys said. However, what Charlotte saw, made her legs buckle. Falling to the floor Charlotte cried until their was no water left in her eyes. Anything and everything was ruined. If you were to look at the, previously beautiful village, all you would see now was an isolated field with specks of dust floating in the air. Blood, soaking through the dry lifeless grass. Arrows, sticking out of the ground. The most gruesome thing of all, was that there was a large pile of dead bodies burning in a ravenous fire. All of this was exactly what Charlotte saw. "This is all my fault. If I had not gone to the village, none of this would have happened. Just my presence, brought this terrible doom upon this village. How could I let this happen? Why didn't my magic work?" All these questions were swarming around her head.

Phew! That was quite a long chapter! It certainly took a long time to write! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I will try my best to update soon!