A/N: My goal is to post at least a chapter every two days or so; thanks for the follows/favorites/reviews! They really help me keep writing. And the other fanfic I have is dead. Sorry. And my lack of creativity just shines in this one, with the really bad ending/ cliffy

The Road Not Taken

Alonna started into the bathroom that the two rooms shared. The sun was rising; it was about half past five. Knowing that the two girls in the next room, Lora and Leya, would die if they woke up now (but not before murdering her), and that Kit, who was sleeping on the pullout bed with the cousins, would be irritable until lunchtime, she slipped out as quietly as possible, slowly pulling open the bottom drawer where she had placed her clothes in the night before.

Alonna sighed, hearing a muffled noise behind her. Aurelia was the lightest sleeper amongst them all, and she had failed to be quiet enough to let her sleep. As the oldest in the group and an independent child, she instinctively cared for the other girls, and had wanted to let Aurelia sleep longer; not only was she a light sleeper, waking up at small noises, temperature changes, or light, but she was also a picky one. She had to sleep in a certain position, with only certain clothes, not after eating, next to a wall, blankets covering her feet, and so forth. Otherwise, she would have to be exhausted to even manage to fall asleep. On Kit's suggestion, she had started t

The said girl stretched her arms. "Are you going on a run?" Aurelia sleepily brushed her hair away from her face, bleary eyed. She slid off the low bed and started to stretch on the wooden floorboards, clearing her eyes and waking herself up as Alonna nodded and closed the bathroom door quietly.

When she was ready, Aurelia was already outside and also ready to go. The two were like sisters, and they would often run together. The air was crisp and clean, and the path through the woods was solid: not to muddy, not to dusty. By the time they got back and showered, the other girls were slowly waking up.

"Let's go down to the field today," Aurelia suggested. She and Alonna were the only two who were truly awake. Kit was only functioning because of the giant stack of pancakes in front of her, drowning them in syrup; Leya was staring unblinkingly at the melting butter with a thin blanket wrapped around her, while Lora was still hugging her pillow in one hand. "The one with the really long grass, next to the river? We can have a picnic, and plus Leya can practice for her tournament."

Alonna nodded. "I can practice with you, Kit can work on her portfolio, Lora can finish her paper, and Aurelia can also practice." Leya and Aurelia had met through history in freshman year; Aurelia was studying languages and history, while Leya was also studying history. For fun, they had gone to a medieval convention, where Leya started medieval sword fighting based off her knowledge of fencing and kendo. She and Aurelia would cross reference each other to check the historical accuracy of their work and had become close friends. The other girls had encouraged Leya to join the fencing team at college; Aurelia had joined archery club on top of cross country.

Slowly, the girls finished and migrated out the door. "Are we walking?" Kit asked, slightly awake.

"Yep. It's literally over the river, through the woods, over a hill or two, then the field is right past the gate," Aurelia said. "We saw it from the top of one of the hills."

"How far is it?" Lora asked warily.

"Only a few miles," said Aurelia with a smile. Lora groaned and threw something at her. "Hey!" A surprised Aurelia brushed the red hair out of her face. "Wait, you brought your pillow out here?"

"Obviously. Hey, let's camp out there!" Kit said. "We can bring a net tent and sleep out under the stars tonight! It shouldn't rain."

"Yeah! And plus, we wouldn't make it back in time for dinner, so we can just wheel the icebox with food," added Leya. "Don't say anything." Leya cut off Aurelia, who had started to open her mouth. "Last time you said a few miles, it was two hours there, and three back."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. The land belongs to all the people who live on the hills, right? They share it, like a park. They wouldn't mind. And knowing your awesome directional skills," Alonna said, facing Aurelia, "we would get lost. Again. Like every other time. And Kit and Lora aren't the best runners, so it would take a while." Alonna quickly returned with a small collapsible tent and the wheelie icebox.

They arrived around lunch time, and spent a leisurely afternoon play-sparring; Leya had a mock duel with everyone, Alonna had given up and ambushed Leya with Lora, and Aurelia narrowly missed being shot by an arrow that Kit had tried to shoot. It was the solstice, and they had a full day of golden sun. At night, they started a small fire on top of an old fire site, drying off their feet after playing in the river.

Suddenly, their relaxed conversation stopped, interrupted by a low snarl and the sound of something moving through the woods behind them, breaking branches. Aurelia stood, instinctively grabbing her archery set in case they had to run, along with Leya, who was wearing her bag of swords across her back. Kit froze, holding a smore halfway to her mouth. "What the he-" Lora's nervous whisper was cut off by a hand movement from Alonna, who stood like a barrier between them and the woods.

The snarl grew, and voices could be heard. Out of the corner of her eye, Alonna saw Lora starting to move, rising cautiously, and Kit finishing her smore as Leya picked up a wooden shinai from where it lay at her feet.

And then all hell broke loose. Five monstrous goblin-like creatures, armed and smelling of carrion, burst out of the forested area, armed with old weapons. An arrow flew and hit one between the eyes, but it stumbled forward. Alonna turned and delivered a sharp kick to the hand of one and heard a loud snap as it released its weapon. The crickets stopped, but were replaced by the harsh sounds the creatures made, growling at each other and at the girls as a scream pierced the air. Aurelia shot another as Lora met an axe with her shinai, which shattered at the top.

And then everything was black, at least in the eyes of Kit, her last image that of Alonna desperately reaching for the sword that the hideous creature had dropped before, scrambling back, as the girls tried to retreat, and the once friendly moon watched helplessly, fading slowly, as if it were dissolving, and turning a blood red.

An eclipse.

And then it was silent, as well as dark. And then it was all gone.

A/N: Thoughts?

Hint (tiny tiny tiny spoiler) those are orcs. But they don't know that yet.