Hello, my name is...Chapter Five
The Adventures of Grettle and Tunisha: Out of Scary Forest
The two princesses and the fairy stayed in the meadow for the rest of the day. Aleza wanted all the sunlight they could get to travel the rest of the way, so they were going to wait until the morning to start walking again. Grettle chose a spot in the meadow to sleep. It took a lot of Grettle's coaxing to get Tunisha to sleep on the grass.
"Fine. I'll sleep on the ground with the bugs, and bacteria, and dirt, and bugs, and dirt..." Tunisha grumbled as she finally layed down on the grass. It took a few moments of acceptance before she could fall asleep.
Some time, she didn't know when, Tunisha woke in the night. A light had awoken her, constantly shining in and out from her eyes. She looked around at the light. It was Aleza. The glow from her wings had grown even brighter. She was facing the infinite darkness beyond the light of her wings, but Tunisha knew something was there.
"Leave us. I will not let you harm them!" Aleza demanded fiercely. The darkness is front of the shining fairy remained silent. Aleza's wings were steadily growing brighter and brighter. A noise erupted in the black. Tunisha could hear tree branches jerking and even some trees falling with a sharp thud to the ground. The trees of the forest seemed to be in a frenzy. Paws padding the ground could be heard running away.
Aleza's wings went back to their previous state. Tunisha wanted to ask her what happened, but the constant running and traveling from the day left her exhausted. Before she could say anything, Tunisha drifted back to sleep.
The moon was solitary that night, the usually bright stars veiled by a blanket of invisible clouds, that in turn was flecked with the small, darker shadows of leaves from the fringe around the clearing and the small trees within. Only the clearing itself was even partly lit up by the moon's light, and the walls of the trees around them were even darker then the clouds above. Still, in the gaps between the trunks and branches, there was a small array of white lights, expanding in and out of the darkness in ones or twos, like jewels glimering in a pool of murky water. This could be seen all over the northern half of the forest, and although it didn't have a name it had several tales about it from the castle's village, where it could be seen from the walls and even the windows of the houses that rose above it.
The most credible and popular of these tales was that these circles of light were the moonlight, filtered through the narrow canopy of the forest onto armour and weaponry, once spread like a blanket over the earth, now wrapped into the roots of the ancient trees that twisted and curled into round patterns over the metal. Obviously there had to be explanations for the armour and metal's being there, expecially for the denizens of the pub which was coincedentally built into the part of the wall closest to the forest, and these ranged from the forest being the site where armour that had mysteriously gone missing from smithies around the world was dropped from the sky, to the place where the first invading Norman army had lain down for naps and never woke up. The real truth was more violent, but the multitude of bones that far outnumbered the metal didn't glitter at night and that truth was quickly diregarded.
The sun slowly began to climb above the trees as Grettle and Tunisha were prodded awake. They slowly sat up, squinting at each other through the dim, blue morning light. Aleza floated above them.
"We need to get moving now so that we can get to Isolement by noon and to the castle by evening," she said, and immediately began flying out of the meadow. The two girls got up and lazily trotted after her.
The sun began to rise as they walked along the clusters of monotonous trees. Grettle and Tunisha both listened for the sounds of following footsteps, ignorant that they were both fearing the same thing. Tunisha couldn't get her mind off the disturbance last night: the threatening darkness that was seperated from her only by Aleza, the glow from Aleza's growing brighter and brighter, and the subsequent chaos happening in the darkness. Was that the sound of the creature running away, or was that Aleza's doing?
They walked for a few hours, and the two princesses were starting to grow weary.
"May we please take a break, Aleza?" Begged Grettle. Aleza stopped, looking around them. Then she turned to the girls.
"We're close. Walk in the same direction we have been walking. Isolement is only a few hundred feet away."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Asked Tunisha. Without Aleza, their only protection would be their kitchen knives.
"No. I am not meant to be seen by too many of your kind. You must make the last part of the journey on your own. We will meet again soon," And with that, Aleza left the girls as abruptly as she had met them.
Grettle and Tunisha stood for a few silent moment. They looked at each other, and began to walk. Tunisha found herself walking as silently as she could, while Grettle found her hand resting on the handle of her knife. In their imagination the forest had gotten darker. Or was the forest actually getting darker? At long last, they saw light in the distance. They were almost out of Scary Forest. But before Grettle and Tunisha could smile at each other in relief, the crack of leaves on the forest floor clattered behind them. They whipped around.
There it stood: the creature that had been following them. Its red eyes glowed even in the daylight. It looked like a large, bony dog, with no fur, but only black skin. Its legs were unusually long. The head of the creature was more similar to that of a horse than a dog. For a moment, the princesses were petrified in fear, staring into the unblinking eyes of this morbid creature. Slowly, Grettle broke out of her trance. She looked out of the corner of her at her little sister. She had to protect Tunisha. Her hand slowly clinched Tunisha's arm. She pulled her away and they began to run.
They didn't dare look behind them, but they could hear the creature chasing them. It didn't let out a sound except its paws rapidly bounding toward them. The edge of the forest was near. Grettle and Tunisha sprinted with all their might. Just a bit closer...
They made it. The creature didn't follow. They began to slow down. Grettle looked over at her sister, and saw tears running down Tunisha's face. Grettle put her arms around her sister. They were safe, or at least they were for those few moments. Footsteps could be heard running toward them. Grettle looked up. The four men were surrounding them smirks on their faces. They knew there was no way this time. Tunisha looked up too, but instead of fear on her face, there was anger.
"Could you please give and my sister some alone time!" She cried. The smirks slowly drooped of the men's face. Grettle stood in front of her sister.
"We're here to see the Green Lady!" Grettle declared. She realized she had her hands on her hips, and seeing that it tacky, put them down at her side. The men stood, confused. After a moment, however, something dawned on their faces and they broke into laughter. Why were they laughing? Grettle tried not to appear confused.
"Let us escort you, my ladies."
To be continued...
Written by Alex Julio and Christian Walker
The two princesses and the fairy stayed in the meadow for the rest of the day. Aleza wanted all the sunlight they could get to travel the rest of the way, so they were going to wait until the morning to start walking again. Grettle chose a spot in the meadow to sleep. It took a lot of Grettle's coaxing to get Tunisha to sleep on the grass.
"Fine. I'll sleep on the ground with the bugs, and bacteria, and dirt, and bugs, and dirt..." Tunisha grumbled as she finally layed down on the grass. It took a few moments of acceptance before she could fall asleep.
Some time, she didn't know when, Tunisha woke in the night. A light had awoken her, constantly shining in and out from her eyes. She looked around at the light. It was Aleza. The glow from her wings had grown even brighter. She was facing the infinite darkness beyond the light of her wings, but Tunisha knew something was there.
"Leave us. I will not let you harm them!" Aleza demanded fiercely. The darkness is front of the shining fairy remained silent. Aleza's wings were steadily growing brighter and brighter. A noise erupted in the black. Tunisha could hear tree branches jerking and even some trees falling with a sharp thud to the ground. The trees of the forest seemed to be in a frenzy. Paws padding the ground could be heard running away.
Aleza's wings went back to their previous state. Tunisha wanted to ask her what happened, but the constant running and traveling from the day left her exhausted. Before she could say anything, Tunisha drifted back to sleep.
The moon was solitary that night, the usually bright stars veiled by a blanket of invisible clouds, that in turn was flecked with the small, darker shadows of leaves from the fringe around the clearing and the small trees within. Only the clearing itself was even partly lit up by the moon's light, and the walls of the trees around them were even darker then the clouds above. Still, in the gaps between the trunks and branches, there was a small array of white lights, expanding in and out of the darkness in ones or twos, like jewels glimering in a pool of murky water. This could be seen all over the northern half of the forest, and although it didn't have a name it had several tales about it from the castle's village, where it could be seen from the walls and even the windows of the houses that rose above it.
The most credible and popular of these tales was that these circles of light were the moonlight, filtered through the narrow canopy of the forest onto armour and weaponry, once spread like a blanket over the earth, now wrapped into the roots of the ancient trees that twisted and curled into round patterns over the metal. Obviously there had to be explanations for the armour and metal's being there, expecially for the denizens of the pub which was coincedentally built into the part of the wall closest to the forest, and these ranged from the forest being the site where armour that had mysteriously gone missing from smithies around the world was dropped from the sky, to the place where the first invading Norman army had lain down for naps and never woke up. The real truth was more violent, but the multitude of bones that far outnumbered the metal didn't glitter at night and that truth was quickly diregarded.
The sun slowly began to climb above the trees as Grettle and Tunisha were prodded awake. They slowly sat up, squinting at each other through the dim, blue morning light. Aleza floated above them.
"We need to get moving now so that we can get to Isolement by noon and to the castle by evening," she said, and immediately began flying out of the meadow. The two girls got up and lazily trotted after her.
The sun began to rise as they walked along the clusters of monotonous trees. Grettle and Tunisha both listened for the sounds of following footsteps, ignorant that they were both fearing the same thing. Tunisha couldn't get her mind off the disturbance last night: the threatening darkness that was seperated from her only by Aleza, the glow from Aleza's growing brighter and brighter, and the subsequent chaos happening in the darkness. Was that the sound of the creature running away, or was that Aleza's doing?
They walked for a few hours, and the two princesses were starting to grow weary.
"May we please take a break, Aleza?" Begged Grettle. Aleza stopped, looking around them. Then she turned to the girls.
"We're close. Walk in the same direction we have been walking. Isolement is only a few hundred feet away."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Asked Tunisha. Without Aleza, their only protection would be their kitchen knives.
"No. I am not meant to be seen by too many of your kind. You must make the last part of the journey on your own. We will meet again soon," And with that, Aleza left the girls as abruptly as she had met them.
Grettle and Tunisha stood for a few silent moment. They looked at each other, and began to walk. Tunisha found herself walking as silently as she could, while Grettle found her hand resting on the handle of her knife. In their imagination the forest had gotten darker. Or was the forest actually getting darker? At long last, they saw light in the distance. They were almost out of Scary Forest. But before Grettle and Tunisha could smile at each other in relief, the crack of leaves on the forest floor clattered behind them. They whipped around.
There it stood: the creature that had been following them. Its red eyes glowed even in the daylight. It looked like a large, bony dog, with no fur, but only black skin. Its legs were unusually long. The head of the creature was more similar to that of a horse than a dog. For a moment, the princesses were petrified in fear, staring into the unblinking eyes of this morbid creature. Slowly, Grettle broke out of her trance. She looked out of the corner of her at her little sister. She had to protect Tunisha. Her hand slowly clinched Tunisha's arm. She pulled her away and they began to run.
They didn't dare look behind them, but they could hear the creature chasing them. It didn't let out a sound except its paws rapidly bounding toward them. The edge of the forest was near. Grettle and Tunisha sprinted with all their might. Just a bit closer...
They made it. The creature didn't follow. They began to slow down. Grettle looked over at her sister, and saw tears running down Tunisha's face. Grettle put her arms around her sister. They were safe, or at least they were for those few moments. Footsteps could be heard running toward them. Grettle looked up. The four men were surrounding them smirks on their faces. They knew there was no way this time. Tunisha looked up too, but instead of fear on her face, there was anger.
"Could you please give and my sister some alone time!" She cried. The smirks slowly drooped of the men's face. Grettle stood in front of her sister.
"We're here to see the Green Lady!" Grettle declared. She realized she had her hands on her hips, and seeing that it tacky, put them down at her side. The men stood, confused. After a moment, however, something dawned on their faces and they broke into laughter. Why were they laughing? Grettle tried not to appear confused.
"Let us escort you, my ladies."
To be continued...
Written by Alex Julio and Christian Walker