Chapter 6
The Forest of Faylinn was dark and eerie. Trees were covered in vines and the ground was covered in moss and foliage. All around me I heard things moving, but all I could see behind me was a think gray mist. I started to panic. What if we get lost? What if something happened? Every time a negative panicked thought in my head appeared, I tilted my head up to see Orin walking ahead of me in his glowing silver armor and I was okay again. A few times I stumbled or tripped over a large rock or mossy fallen tree, he turned around and caught me in mid air, asking if I was alright. After, he turned around and went back to focusing on our path.
From behind me I heard a voice.
"Is it you little child? How nice of us to meet once more. Come dance with me, come and play with me," it cooed. A figure stepped out of the fog and gleamed a set of white razor sharp teeth at me. I recognized it at once. It was the faery that was dancing around outside my house. Its bright yellow cat eyes shined up at me and its ears twitched. It was now dressed in robes made of scales and fish bone. Its feet and legs were covered in a gray fur and out of its toes and fingers came long, sharp claws. It had a tail too, which swayed back and forth.
"Come to me child, just one dance. Stay with me, stay," it purred to me. I moved towards it. I could not leave it. I will not. Its beauty called to me and lured me in. I wanted to dance with it, and stay forever. Its only eternity, just one dance…
"SOPHIE!" he yelled at me, interrupting my thoughts. He unsheathed his sword and pointed it directly over the creature's heart, and pulled me back with his other arm.
"Leave us creature, or would you like to betray Lady Tetra? Leave us!" he screamed once more, and the creature hissed and faded with a gust of wind.
"What did I tell you about this! Never, listen to one of the creatures here. They will not hesitate to kill you in such a brutal way you will never begin to fathom! Stay by my side!" he ordered. His eyes gleamed a dark green full of anger. "Your carelessness might cause us our lives."
He turned around, never letting go of my hand. We kept going through the forest in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest and day dreaming again. Throughout the forest, things got louder and darker. Small creatures found shelter under the brush, but bigger creatures crept through the under growth to find food. Laughter came from all directions sometimes, and even once I heard my name being called behind me, but there was nothing. Every time I tried to look back, Orin's large hands pulled me forwards.
Finally we came into a small clearing where the brush turned into a grassy patch and a couple of trees became a small shelter. A few bushes carried some blue grape-like fruits nearby, and some fallen logs laid on the ground in defeat. A pond ran still in the distance, bordered by some reeds and water lilies.
"Well, we should probably camp here. It is a long way to your mother and tomorrow we will have to hike a lot more. Let me make some beds and a fire quickly," he said.
He walked over to the fallen logs and pulled two over. He laid them down and kneeled beside them. He held out his hands and placed them on top of one log. His hands started to glow a bright yellow as he closed his eyes, concentrating. The faint glow became brighter and brighter until not only his hands, but the entire log shone. The log started to change shape from a decaying old log into a thick grey mat. I looked at it wide eyed, but thankfully he didn't notice. He repeated the same for the other log too, which turned into a blue mat.
He looked up and laughed at me. What just happened? How did a log, change into a bed? What!
"Its glamour again Sophie," he chuckled. A wide smile spread across his face just like in the meadow. He was amused with me.
"I thought glamour was just something that the fae could use only on themselves?"
"No, glamour can be used on anything you wish, but only if you can concentrate enough to use it. Most of the fae in the Human world use it to turn simple things like rocks and leaves into money, or to change garbage into delicious foods and jewels to sell or lure in innocent victims."
"So all of the Fae can use glamour?"
"Anyone who is apart of the Fae, who has the will and the concentration to do wield it can do so. You just have to feel the need and power for it. It is simple magic." He said grabbing some twigs and leaves and throwing them in some dirt. He pulled a few rocks out and made a pit around the twigs. He took two more pieces of rock and started to scratch them together to make sparks. Soon enough he had a small, but great fire going.
I laid on my mat, looking up at the stars. Orin stared at the fire for a while, concentrating on the flames. What seemed like forever, but I finally broke the silence.
"What do you think she is doing to him?"
"Who?"
"My father," I replied.
"Who knows? She can do whatever she wants to him. He has no power over her and he cannot leave."
"I worried about him. How will we ever get him out?"
"Worries will never help the mind overcome fear. We best let time and fate work itself out in time," he said calmly. Now he was lying on his mat next to mine staring up at the stars too. "The only thing we can do is hope that things will turn out okay."
"I have already lost my hope. What if things turn out wrong, someone is tortured or harmed. What if someone dies because of me?"
"Death is nothing to fear, Sophie. The only thing to fear in this world is not living your life with adventure and love. As for you, never lose hope."
He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed. I stared up at the sky decorated with billions of stars. Soon I too closed my eyes, and drifted to sleep. Orin is my hope now.