That night Ira Forest was alive with the usual noises of the night; owls hooting and bugs making their own different noises. There were also unusual noises that night. Two figures raced through the dense undergrowth at the forest floor, tripping every now and then, but helping each other when they did.
One of the figures, a young girl, tripped, but this time she didn't get back up. The other figure, an older boy, stopped and ran back to help her. The boy was trying to help her up when their pursuers caught up with them.
A small platoon of soldiers on horseback rode up to them, the leader shouting orders to his men. They all carried weapons and looked ready to use them.
The boy gave up on getting the girl standing and picked her up. He ran into the forest, followed by the soldiers. The boy had the advantage though, for he was on foot, and quickly ran into denser foliage. He ran on until he was sure the horses couldn't follow him and stopped.
He laid the girl down on the grass and looked her over. She had many scratches and scars on her pale skin, some still bleeding. Her clothes, a worn cloth shirt and identical pants, were torn terribly, even dripping bloody sweat in some areas. The girl's flushed face was scratched on her cheeks and forehead, her long, dark blue hair disheveled. He knew he looked similar, if not worse, although his hair was a red color.
The boy whispered urgently in her ear, "Ziluna, Ziluna you must wake up!"
The girl, Ziluna, moaned and sat up. "What? Where are we Kanth?" She asked loudly, causing the boy, Kanth, to put his hand over her mouth and shush her.
"To the East of here is a village called Raitsou Village. You must hurry and go there, do not ask any questions, just go! There should be a portal to the mortal realm there. You must escape and blend in with the humans, they won't be able to find you!. I will distract the soldiers but you must survive. Now go!" Kanth said and pointed to the East.
"B-But brother-"
"Go Ziluna, I will catch up to you later!" Kanth said squatting next to his little sister.
"Promise?" Ziluna asked, fixing her intense mint green gaze on him.
"Yes, I promise, now please, GO!" Kanth said and pushed her in the direction of the village as he ran the opposite.
"I love you, brother." Ziluna choked out, tears streaming down her face as she ran, for she knew her brother had no chance against those soldiers.
Ziluna stopped and turned around, about to run back to help her older brother, but stopped.
He promised. Ziluna reminded herself, then turned and ran towards the village as fast as she could, not bothering to look back.