The Enchanted Forest

The Forbidden Sector

Iona Kinborough took a deep breath while starring down the empty alley way ahead of her. Today was her fifteenth birthday! Every one in her family, for two generations, vowed to do something either dangerous or extreme to test their determination no matter the circumstances. Iona thought this was pretty stupid but she wasn't about to let her family down now.

            It was already dark outside, the chilling wind whipped her raven purple pigtails around her face. She stood there, just standing. For some reason she couldn't bring her legs to move any further. This alleyway was labeled the “Forbidden Sector” due to the amount of disappearances in the past four to five years. People go in and then they don't come out. Frankly, to Iona, it sounded like some cheap ghost story ripped out of a book but she still couldn't manage to move any closer.

            “This is stupid...” Iona muttered under her breath.

            She took another glance into the alleyway and turned around, “I'll do it in after school. After all, it's my birthday all day today. No one said it had to be at two o'clock in the morning.”

            Her grandmother on her father's side had bungee jumped off Mt. Silver, the tallest mountain in the north; her grandfather from the same side chased a lion in the zoo with a hot branding iron; Iona's father went sky diving from a military jet; and her older brother went on a bank heist with a group of thugs,  even though he ended up turning on them and helped the cops arrest them and get the money back. she had an adopted brother who was even older the Aneurin   but he was past fifteen when mother brought him to live with them. Addar, however, still wanted to do something so he at a bucket of worms....gross.

            Iona decided to do something simple. Just go down a “haunted” alleyway. That should be good enough, right? No one could make her do something else, right? It was her choice, after all. Heading home, Iona thought about her choice. What if there was a murderer in there? But then, why would he stay there after it became “Forbidden” wouldn't he just leave?

            “I should bring a friend....”

---------------------At School----------------------

            Iona brought up her predicament to Swana Thalmus, a sweet girl with large blonde pigtails, forest green eyes, and a bright smile, also one of her best friends. Seeming as how Swana was engaged to the math teacher, Tullos-sensei, and he was an assassin, Iona thought Swana could help out with what she ought to do.

            “Erm.... I don't know, Iona. It sounds dangerous.” Swana said biting her thumb.

            Iona slapped her hand to her forehead, “It is dangerous. That's the point of it. Look, I'm not asking you to go with me, I mean, you're pregnant. If anything happened to you I'm sure I would die. I'm just asking you to ask Tullos-sensei about the alleyway. Perhaps, the Assassin Guild knows something?”

            Swana smiled, “Okay, fine, I'll ask.” she turned to jog down the hallway, waving behind her she called out, “Wait here!”

            Iona leaned against the wall and waited for Iona to return. Someone leaned up beside her on the wall as well. Turning her head, Iona gaped as Sully Gardelle stood next to her. His long white hair swept the floor as his shades hid his eyes. He was dating that.... Moina Rosabel woman, right?

            “Hey.” Iona said nonchalantly.

            Sully smirked, “Hi. So, you want to test you're luck in the alleyway, huh?”