Camille skittered down the halls, clutching her books to her chest as she searched high and low for her friend. She peeked into classrooms, and even looked behind cabinets, to see where her friend was hiding, but it was futile.
She grimaced. Jeez, where could that girl have gone?! She climbed up the stairs to the next floor, hoping that she'd be able to find her there. She searched, and once again, couldn't find any sign of her. Eli! Where the hell are you?!?!?!
After scouring the campus from top to bottom, Camille threw her hands up with a sigh, and shook her head. "She must have left already," she muttered to herself. Stupid, stupid girl! How could she LEAVE me like this!
Camille was thinking some pretty dark thoughts (mostly ways on how she would exact revenge from Eli the next time she saw her) while she was walking towards the school gate, but when she got there, she noticed a familiar figure standing near the exit. It was a girl, with longish black-brown hair, a rather narrow face, slightly almond-shaped hazel eyes, and rather thin lips, clad in the same white blouse and blue plaid skirt that she was wearing. She frowned, and lifted her hand in the air, calling the girl's name. "Eli!"
* * *
Eli looked up the moment she heard a familiar voice call her name, and noticed a girl with braided reddish-brown hair, an oval face, rather wide dark brown eyes, and lips that were slightly fuller at the bottom than at the top come running towards her. She smiled at the girl. "Camille."
Camille huffed and puffed for a moment from her obvious exertion, then she looked up at her, brown eyes flashing. "So THIS was where you were all this time! Do you have any idea how much trouble I've gone through to look for you?! I thought you were still inside!"
Eli smirked. "Didn't I tell you to meet me outside after class? What were you looking for me inside for?"
Camille's jaw dropped wide open. "WHAT?!?!? But I thought you told me to-"
Eli shook her head, and sighed. "Same old Camille, always assuming things. If you don't change that habit of yours, it might get you in trouble one day."
Camille spluttered with indignation, but Eli just ignored it. She turned on her heel, and headed out the gate. "Come on, we ought to be getting on out of here."
The two of them walked in silence for sometime, just sharing the pleasant silence of companionship. Best friends since forever, the two of them had grown up together, since Eli lived just across the street from Camille, and their parents were good friends too. For almost all their lives, they had been together, even though they were as opposite as fire and ice.
Fire and ice indeed…Eli mused as she gave a sideways glance at her friend, who was gazing with a smile at the sunset ahead of them. While Camille was talkative, cheerful, and optimistic, Eli was cold, morose, and pessimistic. They may have been opposites, but it is said that opposites attract, and, as in their case, it was true. Their opposing personalities balanced each other out. Eli prevented Camille from making rash decisions, while Camille made her lighten up occasionally.
Suddenly, Camille spoke up. "Hey, look." She pointed at a little path that led off into a wooded area. "That lies on our way, doesn't it? Why don't we take a shortcut home?"
Eli gazed at the path, and then at the way it threaded through the woods. There was still plenty of light left, and it wouldn't get dark until a few more hours. They had lots of time to make it back. Smiling slightly at her best friend, she said, "Sure, let's go."
Camille grinned broadly, and walked down the path ahead of her. "Let's go!"
* * *
Camille continued to walk down the path, whistling a little song to herself as she strolled along. She was in no hurry, and neither was she afraid, even as the woods started to turn into a forest, blocking most of the sunlight from above.
At first, she didn't suspect anything, just continued on walking. And walking, and walking, and walking…
It was only then that she began to feel that something was not right. Why does the path seem to go on and on? We should be on the other side by now. She started to turn around slowly, looking for Eli. "Hey Eli, where do you think we-"
Eli was not there.
Now Camille felt afraid. The forest suddenly seemed much darker and forbidding than it had when she first saw it, and the path by which she had walked wasn't there anymore. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?! She turned to the front, trying to source out the rest of the trail, but realized, with utter shock, that it wasn't there anymore. It seemed to have just melted away into the shrubs and bushes that now seemed to sprout from everywhere.
Camille clutched her books tightly to herself as she looked around her, as if expecting something menacing to leap out at her from the trees. Every little rustle of the leaves and every little bit of movement made her jump. She withdrew into herself, scared. Oh God, oh God, oh God…
She heard footfalls in the distance, and she somehow perked up a bit. Eli! With a happy smile, she raced towards the sound, calling out her friend's name. "Eli! Eli! Oh thank God you're here, I almost thought that you had gone back without telling me!"
However, as she neared the figure, she realized that it was NOT Eli. The figure was too tall, and too broad along the shoulders to be that of her best friend. Nonetheless, she was curious about this person, so she walked even closer. "Excuse me…"
But then, the figure stepped into a small puddle of light that still penetrated the forest canopy, and what Camille beheld made her blood freeze in her veins. The figure she had thought was Eli was a hideously ugly creature, with dark mottled skin, a face that looked like it had come out of a month-old grave, and carried with it a menacing-looking sword.
For a moment, all time stopped, and Camille just stared at this horrible being in front of her, appalled by such an ugly thing. But then, the creature gave a long, bloodcurdling cry, and that caused Camille to jump out of her stupor as a scream tore itself loose from her throat. She turned away from the thing, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not caring anymore which way she went, as long as she didn't ram headlong into any trees.
Tears trickled down her face as she ran, the liquid coursing off her cheeks and leaving a gently glimmering trail behind her that glittered for a while, then faded away just as quickly. The thing was following her, she knew, and she had only one thing in her mind. I don't want to die…
Through the trees, she thought she could see the edge of a clearing, and her heart soared. It was better to get to some wide-open space where she could actually SEE the thing than have it chase her like this through the forest. At least she had some hope of striking at it with a kick or a punch if it got too close. However, she ground to a halt when she reached the edge of the clearing, and to her dismay, was greeted by a high, smooth cliff face. She was cornered.
She heard the footsteps again, and she let loose a cry of anguish and defeat as the creature came stalking towards her, its sword raised. As she backed up against the cliff, she looked at the weapon, and realized that it had painful-looking spikes near the top of it. It was truly a weapon made for murder.
The creature let out a loud howl, and Camille closed her eyes, waiting for it to strike her dead. A thunderbolt of pain came crashing through her shoulder, and she felt the sword rasp against the bones of her shoulder blade till the stone of the cliff she was leaning against stopped it.
She felt immense pain from every part of her body, her nerves screaming in protest. Why didn't it go for my heart? Why didn't it kill me quickly? She opened her eyes in spite of the pain, and watched a figure lean over her, a tall being with golden-blonde hair falling down in streams. This certainly wasn't the creature that attacked her. For some odd reason, Camille didn't fear this being. In fact, she felt almost…safe, comfortable, as though nothing could harm her as long as this stranger was with her.
A voice echoed to her as she started to lose her grip on reality. "You are safe with me, lady. I will do you no harm."
Camille smiled slightly. "I figured that ages ago. I can trust you." She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open for much longer.
The voice spoke to her again, more urgently this time. "Fight it, My Lady! Be strong! Do not go! There are healers where I am from, skilled enough to heal this grievous wound of yours and remove the poison! All I ask of you is to fight it until I can get you to my homeland!"
Though it took all her strength, Camille shook her head. "It's okay, I'll…be just fine. I…I just want to sleep for a while." She leaned her head against something soft and warm, feeling right at home. "I trust you."
And with that, she fell into the waiting arms of slumber.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Mwahahaha! Camille is in DEEP trouble! The smart ones out there might have figured out already what that "creature" was (it's an Orc), but who do you think is Camille's mysterious rescuer?! Find all of that and more in the next chapter!