Chapter Two
Peace Disturbed
The sun beat down on Alexandria's back as Josef lead her deeper into the Ancient Forest. This place had terrified her as a child. Her friends told her stories of monsters that lurked amid the foggy depths. The townspeople maintained that the journey of the legendary princess had led her to the Ancient Forest. They claimed that many years ago the legendary princess from the famous folk song and her companions had ventured into the forest and been the first people to ever come back out alive. Something about that story intrigued Alexandria... perhaps it meant that the forest had been purified of the horrible creatures her friends spoke of. She hoped, anyway.
The reminder of that story had stirred up a long lost sense of fear in her heart. She gripped Josef's hand a little tighter. He looked down at her, a questioning look in his eyes. A blush spread across her face. "Um, I'm a little frightened," she admitted with a smile. He returned her smile, and squeezed her hand in reassurance.
He led her through the forest to a beautiful clearing. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair, allowing her golden tresses some freedom in the wind. The rays of the sun broke through the mist as though it were a piece of glass that had cracked where the light had touched it. This would be a gorgeous place for a proposal! Alexandria sighed longingly. A thought of fantasy crept into her mind. No way! Is he going to admit that he has feelings for me? She had feared that all of this time her affection had been unrequited. If her dream was coming true, she could finally have someone in her life that she could call family!
"Josef..." she whispered softly as he let go of her hand. Josef stepped backward, seemingly on unsteady feet. His breathing became heavy and labored as he struggled to maintain control of himself.
Alexandria sensed the change in his demeanor. She reached out to place her hand gently on his shoulder. With a grunt, he shrugged it off violently. He looked up at her, but his expression was not one of love – or anything else Alexandria may have expected from him. His eyes were full of anger.
"J-Josef?" Alexandria stumbled back as a wave of panic shot through her. What in all of Midgard could have caused such a calm, peaceful man to be so angry?
Josef began to chant words that she did not understand. The gentle breeze that had played with Alexandria's hair became a howling wind that threatened to trample her as dark clouds gathered hurriedly in the sky around them. A crack of thunder exploded above them, and strange creatures started to take shape around Josef. A large wolf crawled to Josef and stopped in front of him, acknowledging him as his master. Two disturbances in the mist swirled around him. Seconds later , the mist cleared, a large flower creature formed out of the howling mist on joined them on Josef's left, while a horrid-looking fish creature stood on his right.
The wind continued to howl. Alexandria backed against the tree. Was he showing her his magic? Is that why he brought her out here? "What's happening, Josef?"
The menacing look he shot back at her sent chills throughout her entire body. "Stop calling me that name you damned woman!"
Alexandria gasped and pressed herself harder against the trunk of the tree. Josef was not here to profess love to her, not at all! Fear rolled through her body, paralyzing her. How could her childhood friend, this man she had such strong feelings for, be so angry with her?
Eyes full of hatred bore into her, threatening to drill into her soul. "You stole Lenneth from me! Finally, I will have my revenge upon you Alicia!"
Alicia. That name. Why had he called her that? Why did that name send a wave of terror through her entire being?
Josef sneered at her. The terrified girl slid down the back of the tree trunk so that she sat on the ground, recoiled, and confused. Calmly, Josef whispered to his companions, "Kill her."
A nagging feeling tugged at the back of her mind. Silmeria felt something amiss.
Her senses turned her in the direction of Coriander. Someone was using ancient magic. It was not completely unnatural for some of the more powerful wizards in Midgard to know the ancient magic, but the fact that it came from the area of Coriander – the place that Lezard and Alicia lived in their reincarnated bodies – set her on edge.
Quickly, she teleported to Coriander to see what was happening.
All seemed normal in the little village. There had been rumors about the young magician from Coriander growing powerful in the ancient arts. Was she just being hypersensitive in light of these rumors?
A disturbance in the wind tore her attention away from the village and towards the Ancient Forest.
"Of course." Without a second thought, she teleported to the forest.
Silmeria hovered just above the forest canopy. A woman's scream to the west directed her to the location of the disturbance.
In a small clearing, a young sorcerer chanted spells in front of a young a young maiden. Upon closer inspection, she recognized that the monsters had been conjured, inferring that this was some sort of attack. The young magician's dusty blond hair grew darker as the air around him became more and more disturbed. The young lady with golden tresses watched on, paralyzed in fear.
Silmeria sighed. "I dislike watching the death," she muttered under her breath. "I wish I could just gather Einherjar after they have fallen."
A sudden realization bolted into her head like lightning. She recognized both parties. A sensation of horror rose within her. Asgard's worst fear since the death of Odin had been realized.
Lezard had broken the seal on his memories.
