Chapter 10
The sound of rushing footsteps reached her sensitive ears. She turned to see everyone run in. Daine gasped and skidded to a stop, it hurt her to see Numair like he was.
"Goddess save us." Raoul whispered, making the sign against evil on his chest. He then looked over at Mara. She was shaking violently, looking over the pond. He walked over and set his hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes snapped to him and she pulled away harshly "What's wrong, Mara?"
She glared at him, then drove a punch into his gut. He wheezed and doubled over.
"You're not real!" she screamed at him. By now Alanna had taken care of any immediate problems and was handing Numair over to Baird. She saw Mara hit Raoul.
"Hey! What's the meaning of this? What are you thinking, Mara?!" she yelled. Mara punched her too, only in the face. The knight stumbled back a bit, holding a hand over one of her eyes.
"You're not real! Nothing here is real! I wasn't supposed to end up here! You're not real! Magic isn't real! Female knights never existed! And I'm no MAGE!!" With that she ran away. Ran from the palace, the comfort and warmth she had been welcomed with. Ran from the man she loved. Ran from her magic and her power. She ran till she could run no longer.
She collapsed onto her stomach, exhausted. After a few minutes of calming her racing heart she rolled over onto her back in a way to find out where she was. She found that she stared up at the dark, rich color of pines and the light summery color of oaks and maples. Her running had brought her into the Royal Forest. She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, tears running in an unstoppable torrent.
"I don't understand." she whispered "I shouldn't be here. It's not a world I belong in. I'm not even sure it's a world. Something's wrong. I'm supposed to be dead." A cold wind blew causing the the branches of the trees to rattle and creak. It was growing dark and she would never find her way back to the palace. She shuddered. She didn't know the animals here. She didn't know anything here. For the first time in a long time she was afraid. Letting go of her legs, she laid down on the leaf covered ground and cried harder. It wasn't long before her tired mind and body took her into sleep.
She woke with a start as she noticed a pair of pale yellow eyes staring at her. Mara's stomach turned in fear until she noticed that the creatures stare was gentle and soft not harsh and hungry. After a moment the eyes moved forward as a large white wolf moved out of the darkness. She drew in a sharp breath. This was the most beautiful creature she'd seen in long time.
The wolf continued to bore into her dark eyes with it's own shining ones. It then lifted it's white muzzle to the moon. The howl was haunting. Full of sorrow and joy, tears and smiles. Mara sat up and she too brought her face up to night sky, holding her arms out as though to embrace the cold darkness. More howls joined the white one's song. It was was amazing, never before had she felt so free.
As the howl ended she looked back down, coming once again face to face with the wolf.. For a moment, Mara could swear that the wolf's eyes were vibrant emerald green. Then, she didn't know if she had blinked or if it just disappeared, but the wolf was gone.
Slowly she laid back down, her mind in a complete state of calm. She gently shut her eyes as she once again slipped into blissful oblivion.
"Sleep well my daughter. Sleep well."
Okay, the wolf thing was actually based on something that happened to my dad, so that's where I got that idea from. And yes, the wolf was the Goddess. Remember how she got transported in a silver mist? Uh huh. I thought so. Anyway, hope you liked it! Don't forget to review!! Please. (gives puppy dog eyes -they're irriesistable-) PureElement