The journey continues with new knowledge.
After leaving the town and Jemma I found myself walking towards the mountains for days on end, I had no idea that the mountains were really that far away. It felt like with each step the mountain only grew farther and farther away yet at night it seemed to fill the whole sky and haunt the night. I found myself often thinking back to what Jemma had told me, from the tale of the Writer and the Sparrow to the knight she once knew. I found myself wondering if maybe there was more to the story that she wasn't telling me. She just seemed to have such a connection to the story that it led me to believe that there was more to it. In the middle of my pondering I jumped as a raven cried loudly from above me.
It was the first sign of life I had witnessed since I left the town and I couldn't help but be suspicious. It had been nearly five days since I had left the town and I am no closer to the mountain than I had been the first day. Now I find myself wondering if this is another trick of the ravens to keep me from getting close to Ahiru and the kingdom in the hills. Keeping an eye on the raven I slowly drew my sword and called out, "I know you are trying to trick me. You are a coward if you have to hide behind your magic like this. If you really want to stop me come and face me, stop me with your own hands."
"Is that truly your wish little knight? To be stopped so early in your quest?" The raven called out with an eerily familiar voice.
"You were not able to stop me last time what makes you think you can stop me this time?"
"The reason you even survived last time was because she was stronger than we had expected, but that was something easily fixed. She probably put up a bigger fight than you ever will, little knight."
I growled loudly and tightened my grip on my sword, "What have you done to Ahiru? Where is she?"
"She is waiting for you little knight before the beginning and after the end. She will stay there. There is nothing you can do to save her, you never could. The moment we took her she became forever ours."
"You lie, the Ahiru I know would never stop fighting monsters like you!" I shouted though I remember just how willingly she had tried to end her own life just so she could save one person. It truly scared me. I worried that she would give her life to try and protect me but if I lost her I would have no reason left to live. Did she know that or had I been too cruel in the way that I had treated her?
"Is that so little knight? I remember a very different girl than the one you speak of. One that would do anything to help, even if that person could never love her back. She was never meant for you, you may hold a pen but her destiny has already been written. Somethings cannot be changed, the ending cannot be rewritten again."
"It can be and it will be! I have changed her story once and I will change it again, she deserves to be happy and I will be sure she gets that happiness."
"Yet already you have ruined that once. She would have been happy to die in that lake but you had to dive in afterwards and save her. Was that really for her or was it for you? Are you even doing this for her? Was it ever for her or was it always for you? What kind of knight is so selfish that they have to keep a princess around or their own happiness?"
The raven's words made my blood boil and I picked up a nearby rock then with a growl I threw the rock at the bird knocking it to the ground with a solid thud. To be sure it was dead I poked the bird with the blade of my sword and it burst into a storm of black feathers. I rapidly swatted the offending feathers away only to look up and see I was standing at the base of the black mountain on the bank of a clear stream. I take a long moment to look between the mountain and the stream before I smiled to myself, it was just like Jemma had said her knight had described it. I knew those ravens would pull something nasty like this, now the question was how to break the curse and find Ahiru.
As I pondered the next step of this quest I found myself distracted by a sparrow that landed on the bank next to me. I watched the bird for a moment before stepping out of its way, "I'm sorry princess, I had not meant to get in your way."
Though I had no idea what had prompted me to say that I was shocked when the bird turned sharply towards me clearly startled. As the two of us looked at each other I couldn't help but notice the bird had a very eerie human quality to it, maybe this was more than just a fairy tale.