The forest was large, almost as if growing in size every time Ava tried to reach the other end. The woods were her playground, but since Sydney and Kerá were more focused on working in the palace a couple of miles away, Ava was usually on her own.
She rarely saw her parents for hours upon hours after she woke up, since they worked so long. They had neighbors, but Ava and her family lived at the edge of the kingdom, which was normally where lower - class citizens lived, but Ava's father decided that his children needed to live a little.
Both of her parents were poor growing up, but they grew the moment they were married, buying a small store and having it grow and grow to the point where they basically owned half of the kingdom.
But Ava felt left out by the rest of the world.
Sure, she was the youngest and spoiled, but that doesn't mean she's happy about people constantly teasing her and never taking her seriously. Sydney and Kerá were always jealous, and sometimes purposefully left her out in conversations or activities, so all Ava ever really had was the forest.
The little girl, around 8 or 9, was passing through the trees, deeper than usual. She just... didn't want to go back, honestly. Between constant fights with her mother and her jealous siblings, the plants seemed to be the only things she could actually talk to.
She was smaller for her age, but she looked ahead to see the base of a steep hill. Curious-but also excited, she broke out into a sprint and came to a stop, staring at the hill's peak. It had a lot of ledges that she could step onto, and so, the small girl got to work.
Leaping, she climbed up almost effortlessly, pulling and twisting, clenching her jaw at any loose rocks she stepped onto. Finally, she made it to the rigged top, and sat down.
The sky was a light gray, so Ava knew she probably had to head home soon, but she picked up a few small, flat, thin and smooth black rocks that seemed to appear everywhere, and passed them back and forth between her hands, staring out over the trees to the distant mountains and tensing with every gust of wind that threatened to throw her off of the peak.
"So anyway, what's the Maharagan?" Sinbad asked. He, Ava, Pipirika, Hina, and the leader sat in one of the many huts, all sitting on their legs. "Our annual festival. We gather to celebrate our heritage." Pipirika explains.
"We applaud those who have achieved the right of passage. It's also the time when one's warrior name is given." Hina adds. "More over, we show gratitude for the blessing of the harvest."
"And because you took down that narwhal, starting tomorrow you'll officially be a warrior!" Pipirika cheered happily. "Speaking of which you should probably be aware of these strange happenings that occurred while you were away." The leader mentioned, causing both Ava and Sinbad to perk up.
"Strange in what way?" Hina asked, urging his father to go on. "While you were on your journey, an unfamiliar structure appeared at the northern waterfall. I have selected a group of warriors to investigate this oddity. Hina, I'd like for you to join them -"
"Not a chance," Ava hissed, interrupting the man's sentence. All eyes snapped to her, Pipirika's and Hina's surprised, the leader's cold and abrasive, and Sinbad's with agreement in them, letting his partner continue.
"You shouldn't go anywhere near it." Ava claimed, and the leader narrowed his eyes. "Why not?" "It's called a Dungeon. Back in my country Parthevia thousands of soldiers tried for it, and not a single one survived."
"Hang on," Hina cut in, "I think I've heard of this before. All of the troops that were sent there were annihilated. All but two people, a boy and a girl who had succeeded in capturing the Dungeon."
His shoulders tensed in realization.
"We're them," Ava concluded. "You can't possibly be serious. I refuse to tolerate those who spread false rumors." The leader bellowed, reaching down and grabbing his red spear. Ava retracted her sheath from her belt, holding it up to her face and unsheathing her sword.
It glimmered brightly, shining a light and vivid orange. "Huh!?" Hina and Pipirika both jumped, shocked. The leader simply hummed in curiosity, only moving his eyes as the rest of his body was turned forward. Shadows gathered in the room, becoming darker when something became brighter. Sinbad nearly smiled, but Ava's eyes were glued to her own blade.
"So that is your emblem as a Dungeon Capturer then?" The leader asked. "Yup, that's right," Ava said, attempting not to sound cocky. "It's where the Dungeon's Djinn lives." While saying that Ava sheathed her sword, putting it back on her belt.
She sighed quietly, and jumped in surprise when a bowl appeared in front of her face. "Courage is valued in Imuchakk, and our bravest people revive the greatest honors. I hope you will forgive my rudeness."
Ava smacked her ears together before reaching out to grab the bowl, still uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on her. She smiled at the man in a determined yet soft way before bringing it to her lips and drinking from it.
She kind of felt like the man was lying to gain her trust, annoyingly paranoid that whatever she was drinking was poisoned, but she brushed it aside.
What she nor anybody else in the hut noticed was Hina staring it a jealous and envying at her, an idea forming in his head.
Ava brought the bowl down to rest on her thighs, "It's natural to be vigilant of outsiders, especially when you're the patriarch whose responsible for the entire clan. So I ask you please, don't allow anyone to go near the Dungeon."
"Understood, I trust your word." The leader nodded, and Ava offered him the empty bowl, which he took.
"Brother, have you gotten around to telling her the good news yet?" Pipirika asked, turning to Hina in question while still being as cheery as ever.
"Uh, well not exactly." "Now that you're finally a real adult, you can go and ask -" "Just stop it!" Hina's voice rammed over hers, his voice still somehow gentle and shy. "I can't do that..." "Why not bro? What's wrong?"
Suddenly, shouts sounded from outside, causing the leader to hum curiously. Ava's ears stood upright, and the girl was a second away from jumping up.
Suddenly the leader said, "That's right! Tonight is the Maharagan. Let us celebrate the birth of a warrior and the harvest of the sea!"
***
Night came quicker than expected, and Ava was exhausted while everyone else cheered and chatted. A couple of small kids came over to pet her ears and tail - gently (besides one prick who she threatened to punch) and people danced.
A few were drinking, but Ava was good. One, she was hella underaged, and two, she probably wouldn't drink in her life. It tasted bad (she knows because her parents let her try champagne and that shit was nasty so no thanks) and honestly, she preferred to be the sober one - to blackmail people :D
Sinbad was being treated by the leader and woman, as well as playing with the children. Ava watched from afar in a quiet corner that barely anyone sat in, either talking quietly to each other or roasting kabobs.
Ava chuckled to herself as she watched Sinbad face. It was pink from the cold, but he managed to pull it off in a cute way. Cute... Ava stopped in the middle of muffling her laugh, a sense of dread immediately bursting in her chest.
Now don't lie to yourself, she... liked looking at his face. Liked flustering him, liked teasing him, got annoyed when he flirted with other woman, and being with him just... The last time Ava fell in love was back home across the sea with this older boy, and well, Ava's chest literally hurt when she was around him.
It was love at first sight, but only for her. He had an age group of people he loved, and probably had a girlfriend, so Ava couldn't help but be bashful. Did he know? If he did, did he enjoy seeing her swoon and turn away quickly any time their eyes locked?
Come to think about it, Ava's chest did kind of flutter when it came to Sinbad, but not in a painful way? The only people Ava's ever even dated were the ones she just knew were attractive, and thought she was attracted to them, but no one could compare to that boy she first fell in love with.
And now, there's Sinbad...
Sinbad...
Ava sighed, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her elbows on them, her gaze drifting from Sinbad to the snow around her. It wasn't snowing, much to the girl's dismay, but it was still snow.
Ava brought her vision to the sky, a part of her wanting to count the stars.
But really, who could count the stars if they sat where she did?