Hey everyone! Again, this is my first attempt at writing fantasy, I hope you like it! Sorry that it is kinda long,(:
Chapter 3, Remca:
We left when it was still dark. I had been several hours since I first met Trenton, and I was trusting him to lead me all the way to the elves. Thinking about the logic of this proved it wasn’t ingenious. It was my only option other than fleeing without accomplishing anything.
Jerrard presented us with money, and some food for us to eat on our travels in a pack. I added the money which my grandmother gave me with the money Jerrard provided.
My body was in the today, while my mind felt behind, still pondering on the fact that my parents were the beginning of this war, the very start. My whole being felt confused. How could I be given in so easily?
“Get back.” Trenton shoved me again into a structure at the edge of town. Two men walked by, clearly drunk. Trenton watched wobble by, trying to stay upright. They hadn't noticed us.
Once they were gone, we began running into the trees. That whole time, I held my breathing to a minimum, thinking we will get caught at the sound of my lungs filling with air. In the trees, I felt relaxed. I grew up in the comfort and cover of trees and forest. It was home.
“To get to the elves, we must go South. We may cross through some towns or farms.” Trenton informed me.
“How do you know this?” I asked.
“I have been there many times, secretly of course.” Trenton smiled.
As we began walking through the undergrowth and trees, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why
am I doing this? Why must I?”
Trenton stopped and grabbed hold of my shoulder and whispered, “You must. You can end what your parents started. If not you, no one. You have the greatest amount of power to rid of the King. You could end this, Elle.”
Trenton let go, and continued walking. Dumbfounded, I followed. I couldn’t help but think that I couldn’t do this, I just can’t. My grandmother had taught me much, all the way to Moving air, the third element to master, but ended with fire, the most powerful of them all. My grandmother told me that to master fire, I had to master the other three first. The way my grandmother taught me was that water was first since it focuses on technique and flow. Next was earth. Earth is mastering power and strength. Then air, which is mastering grace. To master fire, you have to complete the other three, add thus and emotion to create fire.
Curious, I ask, “Is something wrong?” Trenton looked distracted.
Trenton looks at me with realization and says, “No, everything is fine.”
“How long do you guess this travel will take us?” I jumped over a log on the ground. Just to my left, the sun was just hitting the ridge, rising in a beautiful hue of pinks and oranges. On the right, the sky was still a musky gray from the darkness of night.
“I would say four days.” Trenton informed. Just by the way he walked, I could tell he was confident in me, thinking I am the cure for this horrible time. I only wished I acquired that much sureness in myself.
“Put your hood on.” Trenton ordered.
Puzzled, I followed. I asked, “Why?”
“We are coming near a town. My father and I used to pass through when we traveled to the elves.” Trenton cowered close to the ground as did I.
“Do you think word has reached this town?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible.”
A slight breeze ruffled my loose strands of hair, cooling me.
“We have to go around, but we may be spotted. It may cause suspicion.” Trenton reasoned, “We will have to go through. Don't take off your hood.”
I didn’t argue, it sounded reasonable.
“Stay near me.” Trenton ordered, watching the surrounding area.
“What’s our story?” I stopped before entering the clearing that led into the town.
Trenton stopped as well and asked, “Our story?”
“We should probably have one in case we are asked who we are and where we are from.” I looked down at the town. It seemed to taunt me with fear.
Trenton ran his fingers into his hair, ruffling it up, and said, “We are siblings
and are going to see our aunt who lives in the Capitol.”
At first I was fine with it, but after I began thinking, it didn’t match ourselves very well. Just as we began walking again, I stopped.
Trenton turned around, “What is it?”
“The story doesn’t fit right. We don’t look anything alike. We couldn’t possibly be siblings.” I pointed out.
Trenton sighed, “Okay, then we met on our travels to the Capitol and decided to accompany one another.”
That story sounded more realistic to me, so I let it be.
Trenton led me down into the valley, and we crossed over onto the road. He stayed so close to me, I thought I heard his own heart beat. The town was somewhat dead looking, except for wandering chickens and ducks.
The town looked sickly, poverty streaking across it, hurting whatever stood in it's path. The road wasn’t clean, the stench making me want to vomit. Houses were on the brink of collapsing, the roofs rotting away. How could any human live in this circumstance?
“This is what the King caused,” Trenton inferred my question from the look on my face, “Our town is better kept since it is richer and stronger than Remca. After this town was raided by elves, the King didn’t care much for it.”
“How...?” was the only thing I could say.
Trenton held close to me as a little boy covered in scum stumbled up to me and begged for some food. I could feel Trenton’s pace quicken. My heart wanted to help, give him some rations, something.
“Just keep walking.” Trenton tugged me further along.
My eyes kept gliding over the people, homes and setting. Men, women, and children all cowered and hunched, just trying to fill their hunger. I glanced at a doorway and saw a man being pushed out of his house, a wife holding an infant close behind, wailing. The thing that shoved the man into the streets was a servant clad in armor, holding a sword at the frightened man. I gasped as the soldier pointed the silver sword at the man’s chest. The servant forced the sword through the man, a puddle of scarlet oozed around the corpse.
“That’s what you get for stealing you filthy pauper.” The servant hissed, placing the sword back into it’s hilt. The women and baby cried for the loss of a loved one.
I was then quickly pulled away from the scene by Trenton and kept moving.
My heart ached. I wanted to help.
“Just keep walking, Elle, just keep walking.” Trenton soothed into my ear. I could feel him hold onto to me tighter so I wouldn't wander. It felt as if i were his own kin, a younger sibling perhaps.
I tugged my hood further over my eyes to hide everything that awaited in front of me. Suddenly, I felt an abrupt halt. My fingers flicked my hood up a little to see what caused the stop. A group of famished and sickly people were gathered around a few men who were atop horses of all shades of browns and grays. They wore the symbol of the King, etched onto the smooth metal of the chest plates. Trenton kept me close, somewhat hidden behind his shoulder.
A man beamed, “This girl is wanted by the King. If reported, the witness will be given a great reward.” In his hand was a sketch of me. “If you encounter her, don’t try to capture her. She will kill you.”
Shocked, I gasp, “That’s a lie! I wouldn’t kill someone...”
Trenton shushed me.
“Again, if found, report her immediately. If not, you will suffer consequences.” The men then shooed the villagers away so they could make their way through.
“Come on, we have to keep moving.” Trenton pulled me along and kept us furthest away from the servants, “Once we get out of here, we need to run into the forest so that if we have any followers, we can rid of them.”
I nodded.
In the distance, I could see the end of this horrible nightmare. I wanted to run, run away from this place. My legs itched to dart away. Trenton looked behind to search for followers, I could feel his paranoia in myself.
As we reached the edge of Remca, I felt instant relief that made me want to crouch down into a ball. The dirt from the road stuck to my muck covered shoes as we began to hustle our way into the trees lining the road. Once in the forest, I felt like running free and laughing and let joy control my actions. I could feel my legs start to dash through the trees, Trenton behind, trying to keep up.
“Elle! Stop Someone may see you ”
Trenton’s hollers made me stop. I felt like I was a child again, playing in the woods that surrounded my home while my grandmother picked berries.
“Don’t do that again. Someone may see us.” Trenton panted.
I looked back at where Remca stood in the distance behind the trees and realized how far I sprinted. “I’m sorry.” I said, astonished at what I did.
I waited for Trenton to catch his breath before we continued.
“Those villagers are who you are fighting for. They are the reason why you must defeat the King.” Trenton said sternly after he caught his breath.
I had nothing to say, except to let my mind get overwhelmed with guilt.
As we began to walk further into the trees and further from the road, I was hit with sudden tiredness. My being felt exhausted from staying awake for hours with only a small amount of sleep and rest. It must have been adrenaline that gave me the sudden engery.
“Trenton? May we rest here? I can’t go much further.” I whined.
“You just ran quite a distance for someone who is tired.” Trenton joked, then said, “Alright. I will keep guard while you rest.”
We found a little patch of tall grass that wasn’t overrun with brush and I laid down with relief. “Are you alright with keeping guard? You must be tired.”
“I will be fine, just rest for now.” Trenton reassured me as he opened up the
pack that had our supply of a small amount of bread. He plucked a piece out and began to chew it.
I turned my head to the side and let my exhaustion creep over me and consume my whole being.
lord knows I've been reading your stories FOREVER and you are definitely improving. *throws confetti into air* Yeah, quiet a few typos but we can't win them all lol. Just make sure you keep in past or present tense because if you switch from he said she said to he says she says it gets a little confusion. Haha I remember when you got the idea for this story ages ago? Man haha way different from now. Anyway just make sure about the left out letters or words, besides for that it was really good 