A World Of Treason and Tides

Chapter 31: You want Me to be a Ghost?

I noticed a green and brown stretch of land on my left—it was not very close to us yet not very far. We were going through a bay now, instead of the vast sea, to the border of Village of Magic—Ryan had to agree to take me to the borders— it was the least he could do.

Ryan had said that the route through the bay was shorter than the sea-route. I had only shrugged at that time, however, if not for the bay, I would not have been able to see the long stretch of green, dotted with browns and sometimes, a very rare yellow.

“Isn’t that where we are supposed to go?” I asked Ryan, pointing towards the green landmass.

He looked at me, then towards the stretch of land. “No,” Ryan said. “That is the Band of Forests. Village of Magic is an island, quite a few nautical miles away from here.”

I nodded and nudged Kia to move ahead. We covered I did not know how much distance, in silence, when I remembered that Myra had told me that Aeron only took over the Kingdoms.

I glanced at the thread-like stretch of Band of Forests and frowned a little. We were not that much close to the Forest now, but its thin appearance looked duller than the general bright form of Odalis’s landmasses. Maybe it was because we were going away from it that it seemed cold and lustreless.

“Why did Aeron not take over the Band of Forests and Village of Magic?” I asked him. I was keeping all my interactions with him a minimum, talking to him only when I needed to know something; and like a good human being…uh, faerie…he was answered all my questions.

“The Village of Magic is protected with spells, and the Band of Forests…it—it is a part of Odalis but in a way, detached from it, so Aeron cannot take over the Band of Forests,” Ryan said.

“Deta—?” I started to ask but Ryan cut me off.

“—but he will most probably try to take over the Village of Magic,” he added.

“Detached? Why are the forests detached?” I asked

“Uh…I only know that the dark witches and really notorious faeries are banished to the forests, so that is why, maybe, the forests do not work in the same way as the rest of Odalis. It is, umm, more like a place for the banished creatures to do whatever they want, that will not affect the rest of the continent." Ryan glanced at the now blurred landmass of dull green. "The dark witches are known to cause storms, landslides and many more of such havocs that are destructive to the kingdoms. They can do all that they want in the forests, no one cares since it will not affect the Kingdoms. However, everyone considers the Band of Forests to be an inauspicious place, reserved only for the worst of them.”

“Can’t they come out of the Band of Forests? Is some magic working, keeping them in that place?” I raised my brows.

Ryan gave me a why-will-she-want-them-to-get-out-of-that-place look, in other words, a bewildered expression. I shrugged.

“Those who are banished are bound to live in the Band of Forests forever, until further notice, that is. Once banished, however, they are forgotten, and that further notice is never given,” Ryan said shrugging.

I nodded and looked forward.

I saw the outlines of land—a shore. I was busy inquiring Ryan and did not realize we had come near the Village of Magic.

***

“What are you muttering?” Ryan muttered something under his breath before he proceeded to enter Village of Magic.

Ryan turned to me—he seemed to have been thinking something. I waited a few seconds for him to talk. “What?” I asked again, when Ryan remained silent for too long.