Katherine
We tumbled into existence in a heap. While Madeline, Ashley, and Rachel appeared gracefully, the rest of us pitched forward onto the floor. Unable to catch myself and still dizzy, I face planted into the grass. Ugh...my stomach....
I think Madeline cast a teleportation spell. She must've just teleported all of us here, wherever "here" was. During the teleportation, I felt like my entire being was being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. I thought I saw stars, but it could've just been my eyes playing tricks on me. There was intense pressure, and just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, we popped into existence again. My stomach desperately wanted to regurgitate my breakfast. I forced the bile down, thinking that throwing up in front of Madeline and the others would not be a good impression.
A beetle scuttled through the blades of grass in front of my face. I pushed myself up, and almost fell back down. I looked at Madeline, Ashley, and Rachel, who seemed to be the only ones not affected.
"How are you guys—?" I started, but just then I felt extreme discomfort in my stomach. Spinning around, I threw up onto the grass, heaving all of my breakfast out. Fortunately, Lucian, Aaron, Indigo, and Jason all seemed to be experiencing the same nausea and were all still on the floor, puking their hearts out. At least I was standing.
"Ah, yeah, I forgot to warn you guys about this," Madeline said sheepishly. "First time teleporting can be a bit...uncomfortable. Don't worry, it won't happen the next time."
"I don't think there's going to be a next time," groaned Lucian before throwing up again.
"I am never doing this again," complained Aaron, looking sick.
"I think the only reason Rachel and I weren't affected was because of our magic," Ashley said. "Since we're all sorceresses? Maybe we just have a natural defense against it or something."
"Hm. Maybe. But children, this is where I must leave you. Any more things you want to tell me or ask me before I leave?" Madeline looked at us.
Since half of our team was still on the floor puking I decided to take charge. "Where are we, first of all?" I asked.
"You're about two miles from the village of Goldhedge. See that road over there?" Madeline pointed to a dirt road towards the left. "Head north down that road, and you will reach Goldhedge. After that, just keep heading north, past Queenrise and a few other towns, and you should reach Strongfair."
"Okay, thanks," Indigo said, finally standing up. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "Thank you for everything, Madeline. It was an honor meeting you."
"It was my pleasure meeting the prophesied Rosewood Seven," Madeline replied. "I can see the talent you all possess. When the time comes, know that I will be fighting on your side."
She faced all of us. "Remember, be careful, be alert, and trust no one except each other. Lord Victor is cunning and sly. He will try to break you guys apart. Your teamwork is what will defeat him ultimately. I'll tell your parents that you all are not dead yet." She winked at us.
"Wait!" I suddenly remembered something. "Back at the inn, when the evil smoke attacked—I heard its voice in my head and it felt like it was taking over my mind. I felt a lot of pain and coldness. What was that all about? And how come it only affected me?"
"Well..." Madeline hesitated a little. "The evil smoke that you refer to is actually known as the very essence of Evils. There are a lot of theories regarding why you would hear voices and stuff, but I think it's because of your magic."
"My magic?" I questioned.
"You have special magic in your blood, and you are a special within the specials. There's something in you that attracted the evil smoke, and it tried to take over your mind. Your body put up a fight, which is why you felt the coldness and the pain. Some say Lord Victor himself is trying to take over the person's mind and soul. You're lucky Ashley and Rachel were able to banish it in time and extract it from your body." I blinked, my brain reeling from what could've happened.
"Well I've got to get going. Be strong, my children." As we watched, Madeline's form began to shimmer and glow. The edges softened, and a dazzling gold light began to shine. Madeline began to fade into the bright golden light. "May fortune be with you!" her voice came within. Then there was a brilliant flash, and Madeline was gone.
I looked at Indigo, and we both looked at the three guys still groaning on the floor. Indigo tsked her tongue. "Look at you three, still on the floor. All the girls are up and ready, and you three men are still throwing up your breakfast?" She kicked Lucian with her boot, who moaned and rolled away feebly.
"We're not men; we're children," he complained. "Can't you give us a few minutes?" Ashley and Rachel approached, and the four of us looked at the pitiful sight of all the guys on the floor.
"Well, we can't go anywhere with them like this," Rachel sighed.
"Yeah. Might as well rest for a while," Ashley agreed. I shrugged.
"Guess so. Indigo?"
"Mmmm, well it's almost noon. We can eat something while we wait for the boys to recover," she said.
"Don't talk about food," the boys moaned in unison.
* * * * *
When everyone was finally well enough to travel we set out on foot towards Goldhedge. After about a mile my legs began to ache. I was never the one for exercising, ironically, since practicing my sword moves is pretty much exercise. But now that we don't have our horses anymore for transportation, I began to realize how much less progress we were making. We weren't taking a nice leisure stroll through the countryside, but our pace was hardly faster. One can only walk so fast without tiring quickly.
When we finally reached Goldhedge it was about three in the afternoon. According to our map the next village on our way is nearly ten miles away, and we wouldn't make it before nightfall. Led by Lucian, we all agreed to call it a day.
Walking into the village I could tell that something was up. Everyone was talking, some excited, some nervous. And there seemed to be so many people, way too many for a village, even a large one like Goldhedge. There were colorful streamers and decorations all around. Was it some sort of festival?
We decided to split up again. Seven people in a group was just too suspicious. So while Indigo, Lucian, Aaron, and Rachel headed for an inn called the Lucky Goose, Ashley, Jason, and I wandered on, trying to gather some information before finding an inn. We agreed to meet back at the village square in half an hour. The town square itself was busy and crowded, with lots of vendors and shoppers bustling around. The people spilled from the village square and into the streets. I saw colorful tents set up even around the village in the grassy areas, no different than a carnival. What was going on?
A young boy about the age of seven or eight ran past us, a cheeky grin on his face. I reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. He skidded to a stop and looked at us curiously.
"Hi, um, we're travelers here and I was just wondering if you could tell us what's going on?" I gestured to all the commotion around us. "Is it some sort of festival?"
"Oh that's why you look unfamiliar," the boy said. "It's the annual Village Festival. We celebrate like prosperity and the harvest and what not. There's like food and vendors and everything! Everything's better at night, because that's when all the entertainment comes on." His head bobbed enthusiastically.
"The harvest?" Ashley questioned. "But it's barely June."
"Yeah I know, but that's just how this is. I don't really know what it's supposed to celebrate, actually," the boy shrugged. "All I know is that mum lets us run around and have fun. See you around!" He took off again. I looked at Ashley and Jason, an eyebrow raised.
"So it is a festival," Jason said. "Though of what exactly, we don't know."
"Maybe we should ask an adult," Ashley suggested. She walked over to a woman selling pies and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hello ma'am, we're travelers here and we were wondering if this is some kind of festival?" Ashley asked politely. The woman looked up from her work. She had a kind, motherly face and was wearing a light blue dress and bonnet that pioneer ladies would've worn. She looked us up and down, and smiled.
"Oh, welcome to Goldhedge, my dears! I'm Mary. And yes you're right, it is a festival." Another customer approached and asked for a pie. Mary kept talking while she helped that customer.
"It's an annual thing, where we celebrate like a good harvest and whatnot, even if it is a tad early," Mary laughed as her expert hands wrapped the pie up nicely and handed it to the customer. "Thank you!" she called out to the person. Mary turned to face us again. "So travelers, eh? Where do you come from?"
"Northbell," I said quickly. "So tell us more about this festival, please. It seems like a load of fun."
"Oh, well, it is a load of fun, but it used to be better." A strange look came over her face. "There's usually lots of entertainment and stuff at night, with magicians, musicians, performers, everything. One tradition we have here is a martial arts tournament, and it's really cool to see the skilled fighters of our land." Mary eyed the swords we carried and her gaze landed on the double swords on my back. "Whoever wins the tournament is crowned best fighter and is awarded the brooch of Goldhedge, a highly prized piece of jewelry. People come from all over the land to compete in this tournament; that's why there are so many people."
"What's so special about the brooch?" Jason asked curiously.
"Do you children know the tale of Augustus and Helena?" Mary asked us. We nodded vigorously.
"They were the two fabled legendary fighters of Crystallea," I said eagerly. "Both were deemed undefeatable in skill until they met each other. They decided to challenge each other, and the battle went on for days. Finally, they decided to call it a tie. Augustus had fallen for Helena, and she had grown to love him. He asked her to marry him, and she agreed. To seal the deal, he gave Helena his prized cloak and she gave him her brooch, passed down for generations. Wait, is it the same brooch?"
"No of course not," Mary smiled. "Just replications of it, but made out of the same materials and skill. Only one is made per year, which makes it all the more special. Helena's hometown was Goldhedge, and that's the origin of the brooch."
"Oh...." We all said in unison.
"I'm guessing the brooch symbolized invincibility and the great skill of the fighter," I said. "That's why so many people desire it."
"Yes," Mary said. Her face took on a slightly angry look. "But for the past three years, the same person has claimed the brooch of Goldhedge. He is arrogant and boastful, saying that he is the ultimate champion and that no one can defeat him. He's even daring to say that he's better than Augustus and Helena both. And everyone knows that Augustus and Helena are the best! No one can beat them, ever, whether in the past or in the future."
"Who is he?" Jason asked. Mary shrugged.
"He claims that he came from the distant land of Shadowville or something, and his name is Eric. You have to admit, he is good. But no one can win the brooch for three years in a row! Many people think he's cheating in some way, but there's no proof. It's ruining our reputation. And whenever he wins, he shames the fighters who lose. This guy has no sportsmanship whatsoever!" Mary ranted.
"And the way he fights is sly and evil. Usually in the arena, fighters are still courteous to each other and play fair. It's a contest of skill, and good fighters know when someone is better than them. And the contestants don't intentionally harm each other or stab each other; there's usually minimal injury, and everyone's happy. But since Eric appeared, everything's changed. He will purposely stab you, or inflict major injuries. People have lost their fingers or broken a bone. And that's the lucky ones. Many fighters have had to be carried off stage, or requiring immediate medical attention. I think he's killed like two people already."
"That's not right!" Jason exclaimed. "Why don't you guys do something about it?"
"We can't," Mary said sadly. "There's nothing in the rules that said consequences for winning more than once, or about the way they fight. But it does say that everyone attends at their own risk, and no legal consequences will occur if someone gets hurt or killed."
"So Eric is just running wild," Ashley said, anger flaring up in her eyes.
"Every year we wish for someone to come and beat him," Mary said. "Everyone does. It doesn't matter who the person is. As long as they can beat up Eric and shame him for good everyone's happy. Heck, they can kill Eric and we wouldn't even care!"
More customers arrived at the stall. Mary turned to leave. "Well my dears, have fun! Maybe one of you can be the one who defeats Eric."
We thanked her for the information and continued walking, looking for a place to spend the night. A tavern called the Brooch of Goldhedge caught my eye, and we walked in. There, we booked the last two rooms available. "There's just so many people," the bartender commented. "You guys are lucky to have found a place to stay."
After setting our bags down the three of us headed out for the village square. We met up with Indigo and the others, and we told them what we have heard. They seemed appalled at Eric's behavior too.
"That's just wrong!" spluttered Lucian angrily.
"I hope he gets killed," Aaron said darkly.
"Woah woah woah calm down guys," Rachel said. "We'll see for ourselves tonight, won't we?"
"I guess we will." I agreed, adjusting the straps on the sword scabbards.
As we walked around the village, taking in all of the decorations and vendors, my thoughts remained on Eric and the brooch of Goldhedge. How good was this guy? How ruthless? As a fighter, I couldn't resist watching a tournament or seeing how good another fighter was. Mary's last words echoed in my head: "Maybe one of you can be the one who defeats Eric."
What a tempting offer. But if Eric is as bad as they all say, it would be very dangerous for a fifteen-year-old girl like me to fight in a tournament against him, even if I was the warrior and one of the chosen seven...
A/N: Hope you are all enjoying the story so far! If you do, feel free to press that vote button or leave a comment or two. Any feedback is greatly welcomed! Thanks for reading :)