Previously in the story
Miassa stepped forward
-well it seems that you can start your training to be a belladonna Eden will lead you to the training ground where the other apprentices are already good luck.
Jude and I exchange happy smiles we had succeeded.
(We continue)
I nod, Eden smiles then starts walking.
The dormitory tent is behind the tower where the council sits, the councilors stay near the tent talking to each other while I move away with Eden and Jude to join the front of the tower.
Eden thus silently guided us to the training ground of belladonnas.
I readjust my glasses on my nose and with long strides I hurry the pace on the soft grass to join the satyr and my twin who, one with his hooves the other with his long legs, easily distanced me.
I walk forward with my face focused on the village built around the tower, my two fans carefully hung on my waist, Tetia and Roki landed on my shoulders and quickly fell asleep lulled by the rapid rhythm of my steps, Thierry was also asleep on Jude's shoulder.
we cross the main dirt road through the mini village where many people are busy.
The houses, the buildings are quite rustic and the tents are very numerous, everything is built around the tower in a large half circle that extends for at least a kilometer, the different buildings are rare and very massive, I concentrate a little more I can see a forge, a kind of apothecary, there is also a small market a little further down the alley and many other buildings of the same type.
I smile it's really a normal little village finally it is composed of mythical creatures, minor gods and goddesses and Belladonnas warriors, protectors and others, here we speak what seems to me Greek or Latin and many other dead languages but hey it's normal here
Suddenly a loud noise followed by screams attracts my attention to a red brick building which leaves a large sign announces "the joyful inn" the owner has just thrown a satyr and a being with a face hidden by a hat who seems drunk and yells at them not to come back
I laugh discreetly with Jude
whuaoh it's western
Eden who witnessed the scene shakes his head looking annoyed he mumbles to us not to pay attention
We burst out laughing very quickly followed by my guide
We leave, after 15 minutes of walking, the village.
The last tent to pass Jude and I were left speechless.
The sanctuary is built on a floating island.
The island or mountain floats several meters above the ground.
Under the sanctuary stretches kilometers of forest and plains that are streaked with rivers and chasms
High up high mountains soar towards the sky around this valley hiding it from the rest of the world.
and in the sky filled with clouds islands of land of different sizes float connected by a kind of bridge made of rope.
In some castles and sanctuaries are visible
Some seem uninhabited and waterfalls fall slowly in others.
All this forms a mythical and fantastic landscape and it becomes clear that I was in a magical world innascible to ordinary mortals.
(the second one looks a bit like what I imagine but hey I wanted to give an example if my description wasn't clear)
Eden laughs at my blissful look
-Magnificent isn't it... I never get tired of this place thanks to the magic and the monster that surrounds it is one of the places where nature has been most preserved.
Jude nods before noting a rather terrifying word in his sentence
-monsters?????????? Like the mythical monsters from old children's stories????like real monsters that can eat us raw by swallowing us whole????????
-yes of course you thought that only the good guys from the stories existed? There are monsters of all kinds
There are a good number of tales, legends and other stories that are very, very often based on real facts, even if humans are unaware of it. The main mission of the Belladonnas is to fight the monsters that attack humans. It is also because of the monsters that the sanctuaries are built on high ground
I look at Eden, who is as horrified as Jude
-Okay, we have to go to the training ground before nightfall. I don't like being outside after sunset
We take one of the suspension bridges that leads to the nearest island.
The bridge sways with each of my steps, Jude behind me held me by the waist, keeping me stable.
fortunately I don't have vertigo otherwise
I take care all the same not to look down at Jude's hands reassuring me
Eden clings tightly to the ropes that serve as a railing, her face pale.
The poor guy with his goat feet walks on boards is not an easy thing.
The satyr quickly regained his colors once on dry land.
We enter an island where an ancestral forest seems to cover the whole.
At the end of a long walk the trees give way to a huge clearing where a camp is set up in its center where girls from 7 to 30 years old are busy around a campfire.
We have finally arrived.
Eden led us to the nearest tent where a tall woman with eyes as black as coals and platinum blonde hair tied in a strict bun was waiting.
she gave us a haughty look before taking a notepad on her desk.
-here are our new recruits
-yes the counselors asked me to bring them to you and...
-I don't think I spoke to you satyr went out the woman Eden greeted me sadly then left the tent Miss Powell, I am the main letter instructor Olgana I am the director of this camp it goes without saying I will not tolerate any deviation from the rules did I make myself clear?
Surprised by the coldness of this woman I nod my head.
-I can't hear you Powell
-yes Madam answered me my twin and me
The instructor narrowed her eyes
-yes instructor Olgana corrected me the thirty-year-old
-yes instructor Olgana repeated my twin and me
the woman smiled coldly at us
-your first lesson will be to respect your elders She wrote something down on her notepad then she added I will assign you to a tent as well as an instructor we will prepare your apprentice uniform.
-good instructor Olgana
The instructor took our measurements then she wrote several things down on her notepad she asked us several questions then she dismissed us.
-Joined tent 4 the instructor Theresa will explain to you how the camp works.
I quickly got out of the tent
A feeling of joy mixed with excitement ran through me as if I felt that something big was going to happen
Unknown external POV 1 in a valley unknown to humans
I'm tired lol I'd like to go back
Fortunately my guard tour ends in a few minutes
Since the last full moon we've been forced to do guard tours around this being of argh
All this because of this damn prophecy
The moon is at its zenith the clouds partially cover it the rare lunar rays that manage to cross the cloud mass are lost in the black waters of the lake
-Belladones Aria nothing to report?
-no nothing I answered like yesterday the day before yesterday and all the last month I added in my heart
-stay on the alert she could appear at any moment
As I was getting ready to answer I heard a kind of crack coming from the other side of the being.
I quickly straightened up.
Scanning the surroundings of the look
-Aria what's happening?
I didn't answer, I cut the communication.
Emerging from between the trees two small silhouettes appeared one hooded the other not.
The tallest one the one wearing the hood, support with her left hand the second one who was a sleeping blonde girl.
she turned her face towards me as if she had felt me.
I approached the strange duo stealthily.
A sliver of the full moon passed under her hood and thus illuminated the angelic face of the little girl.
A violent gust of night air lowered her hood revealing bright golden blonde hair.
I was blown away by the inhuman beauty of the little girl.
My red eyes met that icy blue of the little girl.
She lurched suddenly I barely caught the two children who were barely 6 years old.
the little girl huffed then murmured before fainting.
- please help us
i put my hand on my necklace and whispered
-they are here i bring them back, instructor Theresa
approximate view of the being
External POV unknown 2 in a secret laboratory in Scotland
researchers congratulate themselves on the success of their experiment
-it worked congratulations
a door suddenly exploded
a woman in her thirties appeared with black hair and intense blue-violet eyes.
She threatened all the scientists with her wand
-where are they?
-who are you? yelled the chief scientist with his white hair on fire
-where are they? asked the belladonna calmly
-you're too late, advisor, the prophecy will come true whether you like it or not yelled one of the scientists with a crazy look
The belladonna tied them up then she noticed a hidden door near the scientific instruments in the north corner she opened it violently.
A dark corridor, without windows, stretched for several meters on each side of iron cages where magical creatures were locked up for the experiments that were carried out in these places, the belladonna closed her eyes disgusted, she advanced towards the cages at the back taking care to count the cages and check what they contained.
The last cage contained what she had been desperately looking for for over a year.
The cage contained three 5-year-old girls curled up in a corner, two had gray hair and were crying softly, the third had black hair and stood in front of the others as if to protect them.
Belladonna crossed the metallic gray eyes of the brunette sparkling with cold rage.
The counselor leaned towards the lock and inserted her hairpin, after a few minutes the lock gave way and the cage opened.
With her hands in evidence, Belladonna motioned for the child to come closer
- I am a friend of your parents, they asked me to find you
The brunette girl hesitated for a moment before nodding and gently lifting her two sisters by the arms, they came forward like wary animals, they were thin and full of fat.
Something that the counselor noted sadly.
-where is... the belladonna left her sentence unfinished.
But the brunette understood and pointed to a white door not far from the cage.
The belladonna nodded and gently opened it to the three girls.
The room was empty, plunged into darkness, in its center, lit by the moonbeams that passed through the only window, a little girl with long black hair had fainted and was tied to a chair.
The belladonna rushed towards the child barely older than the other three and quickly untied her with a knife
A red puncture mark shone on the girl's thin neck.
-they contaminated her said one of the gray-haired girls
-contaminated repeated the other two
-contaminated? did the belladonnas
-the moon was content to answer the brunette
the belladonna understood horrify
lycanthropy... the prophecy... no
i arrived too late
i must bring them back to the camp
Theresa must be waiting for me