Some of their eyes widened in surprise, while others' brows furrowed in confusion. The Guardians were very well dependent on the one with the actual magic powers.
"Why?" Ilda asked
"The book says I have to stay, and that this is their journey to take, not mine"
Indeed, that afternoon, Morgaine was greeted with a new message from the book. One of them was that she had to stay. One, to allow the guardians to have this life changing journey on their own and two, to protect the north when Caine decides to show his head. That part she was instructed to leave out and not tell the Guardians specifically.
"Are you sure that's what the book said?" Jacquelyn asked
"I'm sure" she nodded
"How are we supposed to destroy shadow monsters without your magic?" Jacquelyn asked
"This" she answered, pulling the sack she was dragging forward, "The book told me to create these for you"
She opened the sack and pulled out a sword, and then another. Both of their shiny blades were tightly hidden in the black sheaths. They both had intricately designed handles, one of them had a bird on the pommel of its hilt, while the other had a tiger.
"This is for you two," she said stepping forward and handing them over to Henry and Philip.
She dug her hand into the sack again and pulled out an ax. She handed that to Ryia, who was quite handy with the weapon, thanks to her father and brothers.
Morgaine's hand went back into the bag, and this time she pulled out a bow and some arrows. She handed it to Jacquelyn. The blonde took it with a wide grin. Her grandfather had been giving her shooting lessons, and she was amazing. But she wasn't allowed to do it outside the arena where she was taught, or her back yard where she practiced. Now she had a chance to use it how she pleased and she couldn't wait.
Morgaine's hand went back into the sack for the last time and everyone waited patiently to see what weapon Alianor would get. She had no idea what it would be, she had no experience with weapons like the others and she wasn't very athletic. When Morgaine's hand came out, a book was in it. Everyone looked at it confused.
"A book?" Henry was the first to ask
The book had some black leather covering on it. There were no words or pictures indicating what book it was.
"Yes," Morgaine answered "I didn't have to make this, though. The book told me about it and where to find it, and said that Alianor should be the one to have it"
Her book had shown her a picture of the other book and told her where in Merek's old room it was hidden. She wondered what the nameless black book was, but her book told her she shouldn't open it and just give it to the new water guardian.
"Only Alianor should have this. The book says she'll know what to do with it"
Alianor's eyes widened "It said that?"
Morgaine nodded.
"Are you sure it's right?" Henry asked
"Has the book been wrong so far?" The young Sun Queen questioned
Alianor took the book from her.
"The map to the table is in the book," she told her
Morgaine stepped back and looked at the five. This was a team, her team, and she had to do her part to help them succeed.
"I'm sorry that I can't come with you, but I believe that you can do this without me, you grandparents do too" at that, the former guardians nodded "Like the book said, this is your journey, your quest. It will help you to become great guardians...if you do things right. Trust in yourselves, and each other"
Goodbyes and more encouragements were shared, and soon, the five were standing in front of the closed door to the Forbidden Forest. They stood there for a while, each hesitating to step forward, but Henry was the first to get over it.
"Remember, when you get to the table, you have to touch the gems and say 'Magic table brown and bright, grant us powers of the Sun Queen's light'" Morgaine reminded
They took in her words, hoping they would remember.
"Let's do this," he said gaining nods from the others
With help from Philip, Henry pushed the heavy door with the rusted hinges open. One by one, they crossed the threshold and entered the Forbidden Forest.
°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°
The new guardians walked along a cleared path through the forest, their eyes looking around in amazement. So far, nothing about the place looked forbidden, it looked like any other forest.
Not too far ahead of the group was Henry. He had snatched the map from Alianor's hand when she took it out of the book. He instantly took the lead, remembering his grandfather's words. He was certainly satisfied, and unknowingly so was Philip. The ice guardian was at the back of the group, insisting he'd be a look out from behind. Just a foot or two ahead of him was Ryia, who wanted to assist. In the middle of the pack was Alianor and Jacquelyn, who were simply determined to stay safe.
Everyone's nervousness about being without Morgaine had died down, and they weren't that scared anymore.
"No shadow creatures so far," Jacquelyn said to her friend
"Yep" Alianor answered "Maybe this won't be so bad"
The walk so far had been uneventful, and the girls thought that maybe things would be easier than they originally thought.
But the sudden movement in a shrub nearby changed all that.
"What was that?" Alianor said looking towards the short leafy plant
Her question caught the attention of the others and they all came running.
"What is it?" Henry asked
"The bush, it moved" she answered
"Seriously?" Henry asked annoyed "You saw a bush move?"
The annoyance quickly left him when the rustling of the bush came once again. All eyes were now glued to it.
"What do you think it is?" Ryia asked
Before anyone could answer, the rustling came again. They began backing away as it became more frequent.
"I'm not ready to die" Jacquelyn whispered
"Why are we still standing here? Shouldn't we be running?" Alianor asked
"It could be harmless," Henry said, not wanting to admit he was too scared to move
"Or it could be a freakin' shadow possum" Jacquelyn hissed
They all froze as a ball of white fur jumped out.
"Aaahhhh!" they screamed
"Wait!" Henry said after taking a closer look "Is that a rabbit?"
The rest of their voices died down as they took a closer look. Indeed, it was a rabbit.
"It just a rabbit" Ryia confirmed
The others breathed a sigh of relief, except for Jacquelyn.
"I don't know why you all are relieved. That is probably a shadow bunny, we don't know" she said
"Normal animals love here too" Ryia informed
"Yeah, but just because it's all cute, fluffy and white doesn't mean it's not one of them" she squinted at it
The rabbit looked up at Jacquelyn and wiggled its pink nose.
"See, it just told me it will kill me" she pointed at it
"Come on," Henry said ignoring her "It's going to get dark soon and we'll need a place to rest for the night"
The journey down the path continued with Jacquelyn turning every few minutes, checking to see if the rabbit was following them.
°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°
Alianor looked up between the trees, watching the stars in the night sky.
Just a while ago, they, meaning Henry, had found this patch of grass and decided it was the best spot to settle down for the night.
The brunette was having trouble falling asleep and wondered why her fellow guardians found it so easy. They were in the Forbidden Forest after all. She looked to the right and with the help of the moonlight, she saw Henry's sleeping form, his head resting on the satchel he had brought along. She caught sight of Ryia and Philip, who were only a few feet away from her feet. They were sleeping suspiciously close, and she had noticed. On her left, was her sleeping best friend, covered in a blanket Royale had given them. Her last words were "Look out for that shadow bunny", before laying on the ground and knocking out cold.
Her eyes went back to the night sky, her mind going over the events of the day. The fight, the speech, the weapons. Her fingers smoothed over the book that was clutched in her hand. Why was she given this and not a weapon? Did Merek's not think she was strong enough? Yes, she wasn't the most athletic in the group...she was the least. But did that mean she was unable to use any weapon? A dagger would have been totally fine. No, she wasn't skilled, but she had helped her mother enough with dinner to know how knives worked.
But for some reason, she was given this book. For some reason, this book was HER weapon. She turned on her stomach and placed the closed book on her pillow slash satchel. The moonlight was shining perfectly on the book. What was this book? Why would this be the right weapon for her? Did it have anything to do with her love for writing and reading? She had to find out.
She opened the book. Her eyes widened at the writing on the front page.
This was not the kind of book she expected.
°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°
And there you have it, chapter 11. Thank you so much for reading. If you guys liked it, please be sure to vote and comment.
Be sure to check out my other books. Until next time.