The light of the ngọn lửa, chữa cháy faded as I got further into the forest. I jumped over roots and ducked under branches that threatened to whip my face. I ran as hard as I could. To escape, I had to keep my sister an toàn, két an toàn and fulfill the wish of the village chief. My tears already used and dried, but the pain in my tim, trái tim still wouldn’t leave. An emptiness had taken hold where my safety and secure feelings had once been.
    On the edges of my vision, I saw a flash. I skidded to a stop and looked to where I thought I had seen it. There was a clearing where the full moon shone upon the ruins. They once must have been magnificent, but now they were just a pile of stones.
     I decided in my Nữ hoàng băng giá mind that I should be thêm cautious. The humans had found the village, what if they were in the ruins? Waiting for any elves that might have been looking for a way to escape. I glanced at my hand, I had to protect my sister.
    I turned my pointed ears to any sound I heard, I took each step with the greatest care. The progress was slow, but I forced myself to keep the pace. If I went any faster, I could possibly snap a twig hoặc trip on a root. No, each step made only the slightest sound. Only a highly trained warrior would be able to sense my presence.
    I stopped at the cây line. The ruins of old laid just a few paces ahead, but now there would be no trees to cover me. A soft gentle breeze brushed past me. I felt it brush my hair and rustle my clothes. The village chief. I had to get to the ruins.
    I took a breath and stepped into the clearing. No human jumped out, no trap was sprung. Breathing as quietly as possible, I made my way to the ruins. Crouching as the low to the ground as I could, I sprinted to the ruins. The moons light reflected off the white stones in a soft hue. A small tường surrounded the ruins. But as I got closer, I saw that I could not reach the edge of the wall. Try as I may I could not get over the wall. Feeling frustrated, I decided to look and see if there was an entrance.
Staying close to the wall, I walked its length. The moon inched slowly through the sky and still I did not find an entrance. But I had only looked in the parts of the ruins that were shadowed. Eventually, I found myself at the last of the shadows. The rest of the tường was in plain sight. I already was insecure with walking around without cover, but going out into the moonlight would leave me fully exposed.
I felt my finger grow warmer. Looking down I saw my sister glowing ever so slightly. It seemed to wink at me in the shadows. I smiled ever so slightly, my sister worried about me.
“It’s okay, Shela,” I whispered to her, bringing her up to my face. “Remember? I promised to get bạn out of this.” I watched her light grow dimmer as she calmed down. I kissed her, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Her light went out completely but the warmth stayed. I lowered my hand and looked again at the tường exposed in the moonlight. It no longer seemed so threatening.
Full of resolve, I began my tìm kiếm for the entrance anew. The chief wouldn’t send me here without reason. I still crouched low to the ground, unwilling to expose myself completely. I ran my hand on the wall, in case I could feel something I couldn’t see. But then I saw it.
It was huge. I was surprised that I hadn’t seen it before. Arabesque figures intertwined the structure as stony leaves stretched out to the sun that wasn’t there. The arch seemed so old, but timeless at the same time. I was afraid to touch it. Instead I looked through the arch.
But it was empty. I rubbed my eyes, thinking that maybe that it was a trick of the light. But another glance told me otherwise. There was nothing.
It seemed like I was looking into a pit. There seemed to be no light on the other side. I looked at the arch, I could see it clearly in the light of the moon. But the other side, the one in the strange darkness, just wasn’t there. I shivered at the idea of going through the arch. My sister began to warm once again, sensing my unease.
I rubbed my thumb over her, trying to erase any ill thoughts that she might have had. I thought back to what the village chief had told me. It was then that I noticed the coldness that seemed to grow at my chest. I reached into my chest and found the moonstone.
màu sắc danced across its surface without pattern. Cold emitted from the stone but seemed to calm down now that I held it. I looked back at the arch, the moonstone has done this before.
It had happened at a village festival, a band of rogue elves had taken the opportunity to try and destroy the village. The village chief had taken care of them all with just a wave of his hand. No one had seen hoặc heard anything, but where the rogues were once at had become a field of flowers. The moonstone had grown cold at that time, just as it did now.
I looked back into the arch. Knowing full well that I would have to do just the thing that I didn’t want to do. I sighed and took a step toward the arch.
And instead, I fell forward. Pain tore through my shoulder in blinding pain. I threw my foot forward, stopping my fall, and swung around to face my attacker. Someone clapped their hands in a slow beat, mocking me.
“Bravo, bạn actually made it this far,” stepping out of the cover of the trees, my attacker slowly made his way to me. “I had never expected the village chief to throw bạn into the trees.” Moonlight shone on his long, gangly features. Recognition flashed through my mind.