Curse of the Oak

Chapter Nine

To say that riding a mythical horse in a forest full of foreign life is something that most people dream of. Some even feel like they are riding in a meadow with the wind flowing through their hair and the horse nickering at the flies around.

For Des, riding a shadow charger had been the most uncomfortable thing she has ever done. For starters, the horse didn't have a body. Or at least a visible one. Des only saw a black cloud of dust swaying slightly in the night. It was like staring at a swarm of beetles fixing to attack. Although, it didn't matter. Cedrik literally picked her up under her arms, grabbing her a bit too tightly, leaving small bruises just beneath her arm pits, and threw her in the air.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, afraid to see what was happening before her. Des thought for sure she was going to go crashing down to the ground, diving into the black smoke like she was a plane gliding through the clouds. However, instead of landing in a region of fluffy water vapor, she landed with a hard thud, feeling like she just shattered her tailbone.

Des knew she hit the hard ground. There was no way for her to ride this animal, no matter what the dark elves declared.

But when she opened her eyes, she was astonished to find herself floating in the air. She was not just floating, she was straddling the shadow charger, seeing him throw back his mane. She jumped as Cedrik mounted the steed behind her, taking the reins into his hands.

Cedrik scooted up, the inside of his legs pressing hard to her backside. Desiree's body reacted quickly, turning rigid. She heard his deep voice chuckle. "Relax young one. I'm just making sure you don't fall off. Besides, I'm already betrothed to someone else."

The horse took off in a dead sprint, not showing any sign of warning. Her body went slamming backwards, her head almost knocking Cedrik in the chin. She was thankful, surprisingly, for Cedrik's giant body, without it she would have flew backwards and into a tree.

The air was cooler, as the sights of the forest blurred by her. She could only see shadows of the trees. They were going so fast it felt like she was flying. She saw the shapes of giant trees as they zig zagged through the forest. It was sort of scary, afraid that Cedrik wouldn't guide the horse fast enough. But his moves were swift and timed just right. It was like a game, seeing how close they could get to the tree before hitting it.

She glanced over to see Griffin, but the branches of the trees hindered her vision. Only seeing fragments of him and Rhaegr.

After dodging at least ten more trees, they finally moved onto a path. Des noticed the tiny flowers on the sides, seeing them glowing a silver light. A memory flickered in her mind, seeing the rose like plant. It was like lighting up lost memories inside of her. Memories forgotten...

Finally, she saw a huge stone wall in the distance. The closer she got, she saw how ancient the stone was as dried moss and vines hid it in the forest. Camouflaging it from something. Des admired the wall, astonished to find that she couldn't even see the top. She followed it up as far as she could, until it disappeared in dark clouds.

She had concluded two thoughts.

The first was that the dark elves were hiding something. Something lurking in the forest, as dark and soulless as the screechers. Something that even they were afraid of, which had to a creature or essence so powerful and petrifying that it made the elves fear it. Even Eznia, as confident and tough as she claimed to be.

And the second was that the wall wasn't meant to keep the elves in.

Or to even show it as their territory

No... It was too tall for that. It was too sturdy to show off that kind of supremacy and dominance in the forest.

It was built to keep something out.