A chill went down my spine as an old lady came out of the shadows, her skin a murky green color and had no eyes
"Welcome to my home" she spoke sending a shiver down my body
"D-did she just say we were twins?" Raine muttered to me as we looked at each other in shock
"Did you not know?" the lady let out a high pitched crackle sort of laugh
Raine and I stared at each other, as if we we had just met for the first time again. This was amazing; I was delighted just to be sisters, but we were actually twins! Raine and I hugged, Petal letting out a soft awe. Today was such as bad day, yet such a good day.
"Enough with the mushy feelings. Lets get you two washed up and into a bad for the night. You may ask your questions in the morning" She commanded, almost like a grandma
"What about me?" Petal asked, flying out of Raine's hair
"You, my little Petal get a flower bed" she spoke, going to what looked like a stair case
"Echo, please escort the twins to their rooms" She spoke eying us carefully.
"Yes Ma'am." A woman's voice spoke as she made her way down the stairs
She had straight black hair that was tied back in a single ponytail, with a small clip in her hair, which I couldn't make the shape out of. She had pale skin which was almost the color of white and large black eyes. She wore a red kimono style outfit, with a large bow in the back that flowed around her body. In her hand, she held a small orb that seemed to be almost glowing.
"Please follow me" she spoke, almost monotone, yet with a slight ring to it
Raine and I followed after her, going upstairs going into a pretty large room with two beds. I guess this is where we will be sleeping for tonight. Raine immediately jumped into the bed, probably sick of sleeping against trees. I put my spear agenst the wall next to my bed, taking off shoes and slowly getting in it.
"Good Night" Raine spoke sounding as if she was smiling
"Night" I mumbled, not sure if I wanted to sleep at all.
x o x o x o x o
I opened my eyes, bubbles floating above me. Where was I? I tried moving my body, but I had no control over it; almost as if I was frozen. I took a small breath in, still able to breathe. What the hell was going on? I exhaled the little breath that I had, taking in another small breath.
"Pheobe" I heard a male's voice call.
I tried answering back, but nothing came out of my mouth
"Pheobe" the voice called again, closer
I closed my eyes, opening them a second later; everything went black.
"Pheobe" the voice called, putting his hand on my shoulder
I felt like I was brought out of a pool, like the water had drained out, bringing me back to the present world to live once again.
"Pheobe I'm sorry" Achelous spoke to me, now standing next to me, his hand on my shoulder
"W-What was I just in?" I mumbled, trying to find my breath
"You were having a nightmare" he mumbled taking a step back
"Oh.. I see" I spoke taking my own step back.
At least that's one more nightmare I get to miss.
"What do you want this time, then Ache?" I asked looking into his eyes
"I know that you were really upset today becau--"
"How did you know that?!" I cut him off of his sentence
Achelous eyed me as if he wanted me to believe some weird excuse that he never gave me.
"Don't even try to lie, Achelous"
"When ever I'm in someone's dreams, I have to be in a twenty foot radius of the person" his face went back to being flat; even if had been like that the whole time
"So then.. your saying you've been following me around this whole time?" I frowned, yet slightly rejoicing inside
"More or less"
"Dammit Achelous! Why are you doing this to me?!" I strained my voice mumbling, putting my hands to my face
"Do what?" He sounded confused
"Pressure me like this last minute!" I brought my hands to my side, now seriously frowning
"It's not like I planned to pressure you" He spoke monotone
"Then why'd you do it?!
"I wanted to tell you before you.. left" his voice suddenly became quieter
"Oh.. I see" I felt my face heat up as I looked to the ground
"Then.. Achelous, as I'm sure you've heard a thousand times.. I love you" My face felt like it was burning in a coal fire
He walked up to me, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my hands around his neck as he bent down to bring his head closer to mine. He seriously was too tall for his own good. I looked up to see his yellow eyes staring at my own grey eyes, as if he wanted to kiss me again. I smiled, bringing my lips onto his before he could do or say anything. He pulled away a couple seconds later looking down at my eyes as he brought his head by my ear
"Good morning sunshine" he mumbled into my ear as my eyes opened.
I was back in the cabin bed room with Raine who was sitting on her bed, looking quite happy. I sat up, bringing my fingers to my lips again, my face going red. Would that even count as a kiss?
"What's up with you?" Raine asked as she must of noticed my face color
"N-nothing. Just a dream" I mumbled jumping out of bed.
Today was the day we were going to find our way home.
"What about you? You seem very happy" I began putting my boots on
She just shrugged
"Ready to go home, then?" I fixed the bed as my boots were now on comfortably.
"Yeah.. I can't wait" She mumbled as if she was almost sad
"Girls, you may come downstairs" Echo's voice spoke as we opened the door; going back to where we first walked in,
"Please, follow us to the living room" the old lady spoke quite creepily
"Good morning!" Petal exclaimed cheerfully.
I wonder what her question is.
"Morning" Raine and I spoke in sync, slightly giggling.
We all made our way to the living room, where there was a medium sized couch on the southeast wall, three chairs scattered on the north, northwest and south walls, and a small round table in the middle with two square pillows on the east and west side. I sat on the couch facing the southeast wall, leaning my spear agenst the wall and my bag on the floor.
"So ladies, who will ask their question first?" Echo spoke, sitting on the east side square pillow, her crystal ball in the middle of the table on it's own specialized rest.
Raine had another question besides how to get back? I looked at her confused, but she almost looked away from me when she saw me looking at her
"ME!" Petal almost screeched as I flinched from the sound
"Yes, very well young Petal. What is your question?"
"Where is my true home?" She asked sitting upon the table instead of the square shaped pillow across from Echo.
Echo closed her eyes, moving her hands around the orb as if it would tell her the answer if the kept her hands moving.
"Follow the river to the very end, and you will see a single cherry blossom tree" She spoke clearly, her voice echoing through the room. Petal smiled and flew onto Raine's shoulder again
"I believe Petal has chosen you go to next, Raine"
"I'll go then" She spoke still avoiding eye contact with me for some reason
"Well then. When ever you're ready." Echo slightly laughed as if she already knew the question
"Why did our parents leave us in this world, and not to the human world?" Raine's face was completely straight, as if her good mood was gone
"My. What a good question." She came to a pause, moving her hands around the orb, closing her eyes.
We had to wait about a minute in silence as Echo thought.. or maybe seeked the answer from her little glass ball.
"They wanted you to live a world untainted by greed and envy" She spoke opening her eyes, looking directly at Raine.
Raine nodded once, moving back onto the couch in silence. Was the human world honestly that bad? I could feel Echo staring at me, waiting for me to ask my question. I quickly ran it through my head, making sure that I wouldn't screw up the wording. I sat down where Raine had sat a second ago, looking at the oddly pale lady.
"Where is the route to the human world?" I asked directly before I had any chance of screwing it up
Another minute pause rolled around as she closed her eyes, moving her hands around the orb. If the rumors were true, she was a truly amazing person.
"There is a cave near the end of the river, and deep inside there is a small rock that you will undoubtedly not miss."