The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 53

Aaron was also giving his own gift to Charles. "I got this cloak when I left my school to go on my quest," he explained as he tied it around Charles. "It made me feel powerful and safe, especially on cold nights. I want you to have this, buddy. One day you'll grow into it, and you'll be the most dashing hero in Crystallea."

Charles flapped his arms, watching the long cloak flutter around him and trail several feet on the ground. "Thank you Aaron. I'll take good care of it. When I can finally fit it, I'll go to your school and find you. I'm going to be a good fighter, just like you." I've never seen Aaron so close to tears before. He murmured "You're a brave boy, Charles. Such a brave boy."

One last group hug, one last teary goodbye, and then Aaron and I were on the road again, loaded with food that Lily so kindly packed for us. Christina and Charles stood on the porch, waving, crying, and I turned around to look back every so often. But then we exited the village and let the horses gallop freely. Ravenstone was soon just a speck on the horizon, and the Northern Mountains loomed in the distance before us, its peaks already capped with white.

As we passed through various villages, I noticed how the villagers stared at us and their wary expressions if we approached them. A few prodding questions, and we found out that large groups of people had recently passed by. Smaller groups consisted of around ten people; larger groups had about twenty to twenty-five. The largest group to pass through, an old man in one village told me, was near fifty. "They rode stallions, battle stallions," the old man told me with wide eyes. "I saw people wearing armor and holding weapons. Several of them had swords, just like yours. We suspect..." he looked around and lowered his voice dramatically. "We suspect they might be Lord Victor's new recruits."

"New recruits?" I looked at Aaron in shock. "Were they all headed towards the Northern Mountains?"

The old man nodded. "They passed by just a couple of days ago. If you're heading that way, you'd best be careful. Lord Victor's army is ruthless; it'd be tragic if you two kids died out there."

As we made our way towards the Northern Mountains, Aaron and I discussed the newfound information. "So Lord Victor is congregating his army at his stronghold," I said, letting my horse proceed at a trot. "This means it'll be much harder for us."

"All the villages we passed through said they saw groups of soldiers," Aaron mused, his horse trotting alongside mine. "Lord Victor must have gathered quite a force."

I sighed, gripping the reins in my hands tightly. "I'm going to be honest with you, Aaron. I don't expect to come out the Northern Mountains alive. In fact, I doubt I'd ever make it out of the Northern Mountains, dead or alive."

To my surprise, Aaron reached over and covered my hands with his, brushing over my whitening knuckles. "I know," he said softly. "Once upon a time, I thought I'd return to the Academy a hero. I thought I'd make my family proud and show my Mum up above what her son accomplished. But now..." Aaron gave a small bitter laugh. "I would give anything to be a normal student at the Academy again. I would trade in my powers for a normal life."

"But we have to do this. We made it this far, and lost all our friends. We can't let them die in vain." I looked over at Aaron, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes. "We have to at least try. If we die in the process...at least we can join Indigo and Ashley and the rest of our friends in the afterlife, right? At least we'll die as heroes."

It was a somber journey, knowing that we were headed towards almost certain death. Yet we pushed on, our horses racing down the dirt road, two teenagers against the most powerful evil lord of all times. We had to try. So many people believed in us; countless people gave their lives in hopes that Lord Victor will be defeated some day. We can't let them die in vain. We can't let our friends die for nothing.