To the End

Chapter I

Explosions...Fire.......Smoke.....Ringing...... Screaming......

I was hopeless. I couldn't do anything to stop them. The necklace was all I had left of her. I begin to lose consciousness. A four-year-old in the middle of nowhere. I was very cold, hungry, and weak. I try to get up but the world starts to get dark. I blackout.

Fifteen years later

I open my eyes quickly sitting up from my bed and taking in a deep breath. I was sweating and my hair was a mess. "Klara!" I heard my aunt yell. "It's time to get up," she said in a joyful voice coming into my room. I groan, putting the covers over my head. "Come on darling, you can't stay here all day. Where's that happy little girl I know." She stated before tickling me through the bedsheets. I laughed and pulled the sheets off my head and smiled. "OK fine," I said, dragging out the n. She smiled at me and put my hair behind my pointed ears. You see, I'm an elf and my aunt was my only relative but she was human and as a child, it was hard sometimes to tame me. Plus every elf is born with a clever mind and is very impish but she managed. As I got up I grabbed some clothes and slipped into the washroom. I started to fill the big barrel we used for a tub with warm water and stripped my lavender nightie off. I put both feet in one by one before dipping myself into my neck.

I have a quick bath and soon get out because the water has gotten cold and put on my chemist and black stockings, slip on my white floor-length skirt and tie a brown apron around my waist. I put my hair up in a low ponytail and walk into the main room of our little cottage. Our home was small and on the outside looked round. It was nice though, the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all in the same area and the only separate rooms were the washroom, my room, my aunt's room, and the study. There was an attic and if I were to sit on my butt my head would be at least three inches away from the roof. I only go up there when I have some free time. I like to read or look out the circled-shaped window and draw what I see. Around our tiny home, we had a small garden and a farm with one cow, six chickens, one horse, and three pigs. There was already some breakfast for me on the table, eggs and bacon, the normal stuff. I assumed aunt Adalie was in the garden. So I started my daily chores: washing the clothes, doing the dishes, feeding the animals. As I was feeding some of the chickens a few mountain bluebirds flew and landed on a nearby tree. I keep feeding the chickens some seeds and just loosely throw them everywhere. A small mountain bluebird tries to get some that I threw near the tree but Becka, one of our meanest chickens steals the seeds. "Ugh, Becka! Be nice!" I scold the chicken and she runs off. I then get a small bowl from the inside of the shed where we keep all the animals' food and pour some seeds in it. I place it high enough so the chickens can't get it. I backed up a bit so I wasn't too close and they had room to eat. I watched with wonder before being pulled from my thoughts by my aunt. "You know the bluebird is a symbol of hope, love, and renewal. It symbolizes the essence of life and beauty." I smile, "They are beautiful creatures." I say as I turn to her. She agrees and tells me that she had picked all the carrots that were ready and that she got some Swiss chard too. It was now the brick of dusk and I was sweeping the floor when I heard Aunt Adalie call me for dinner. The smell of vegetable soup weaved through the air as I picked up a plate. "Mmm, it smells delightful," I say politely, scooping in some of the creamy liquid. She thanks me in the same manner. We ate for a little while enjoying each other's company when we heard a window smash. I looked over at my aunt with slightly worried eyes and got up from my chair and slowly walked down the hall. "Hello?" I called out but no one answered. I went to turn the corner to the small living room and saw the window shattered all over the floor. I went to go turn but a hand grabbed me. They put a hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. I kicked and squirmed. All of a sudden I heard a thud and the person who had a hold of me just let go. I turned to see my aunt with a shovel. "Come on they found us, you have to go." She grabbed my hand and rushed to my room. She ran quickly as she packed warm clothes, food, and lastly, she put in at least a gallon of money in a sack. She handed the bag to me and rushed me over to the living room. I asked her what was going on and she just told me to hurry. We heard another crash and Aunt Adalie lifted up the carpet revealing a secret door. She opened the hatch and told me to get in. "No! I'm not leaving you!" I whispered. Her eyes then softened "I promised your mother that I would take care of you no matter what. I have prepared you for this day since I got you." She then reaches into her pocket and takes out a piece of parchment paper, a compass, and a lantern. She hands the items to me carefully. "Take this and follow the tunnel to the Halodon forest, you will travel up north and then there you will find the Feldjee. They are a tribe of pixies that will lead you to your true destination." She sighed while putting her hand on my cheek. She quietly whispered an I love you before pushing me down into the hole. "Remember you must go to the end to start a new beginning!" She yelled as she shut the door. I quickly pulled out the lantern and turned the little nob lighting the flame. The air was damp and it smelt like a dead animal carcass. I slowly walked into the dark tunnel but when I was only a few steps into my journey I heard an ear-piercing scream. I drop everything and start to climb up the ladder. I tried pushing the door up but it wasn't any good. Aunt Adalie had locked it. I then heard two voices. They both belonged to men. The first man's voice was very deep and could catch anyone's attention. "We got the aunt but we need the girl." The second man's voice was very different from the first's. It was kind of high-pitched and not normal for a grown man. "I know and Sire wants her by the end of the month, or else we'll have our heads decapitated." He says worriedly.

I turn my head slowly. I already hate it here. I could hear the light drops of water as I took small steps. I heard the sound of critters' feet crawling as it echoed through what seemed like an endless tunnel. I then came to a stop. In front of me were five more tunnels. I took a quick look at all of them and they all look the same. All of a sudden something in the corner caught my eye. There were carvings on the wall. The first drawing looked like people all gathered around a fire, dancing. They looked like they were celebrating something. The next image looked like they had all stopped and backed away from the bushes. The third picture would send shivers down your spine if you were sitting in bed in the middle of the night reading a ghastly book. A beast with wide eyes, hairy arms and legs, edged teeth, and feet long and wide took over most of the picture. It looked like a lot of people had been killed by the beast and everything was destroyed. In the last photo, there were five beings that stood towering over the monster. They all looked heroic but the third one stood out the most because they were holding what seemed to be a sword up in the air while everyone else stood around them. Underneath it, there was writing that was in old ruins.

ᚹᚺᛖᚾ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚹᛁᚾᛞ ᛒᛚᛟᚹᛋ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚹᚨᛏᛖᚱ ᚠᛚᛟᚹᛋ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛒᚱᛖᛖᛉᛖ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᚨᛚᚹᚨᚤᛋ ᛚᛖᛏ ᚤᛟᚢ ᚴᚾᛟᚹ, ᚤᛟᚢ ᚲᚨᚾ ᚠᛁᚾᛞ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚹᚨᚤ ᚢᛈ ᚨᛒᛟᚡᛖ ᛒᚢᛏ ᛒᛖᚹᚨᚱᛖ ᛟᚠ ᚹᚺᚨᛏ ᛗᛁᚷᚺᛏ ᚲᛟᛗᛖ

"When the wind blows and the water flows the breeze will always let you know, you can find the way up above but beware of what might come"

I read out loud to myself. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Come on, think Klara! I told myself. I looked up to see more carvings in the ceiling. This time it was only one image. There was a picture of a cloud, underneath that there was a picture of someone sleeping, and lastly there was a picture of a crown. I have seen those three pictures all together before, but where. All of a sudden I have a flashback from when I was eight.

"Klara it's time for bed dear." Aunt Adalie says. I tell her I don't want to go to bed. She just smiled and said, "Oh but Klara if I don't get you to bed the Willowfel will come and do it herself." I looked at her a bit scared. I ask her who the Willowfel is. She told me she would only tell me if I got into bed. I don't think I ever moved faster in my life. Aunt Adalie chuckled as she sat next to me. "Well, the Willowfel is a beautiful elven spirit that keeps all the tiny elven people to have good dreams so there wouldn't be so much evil in the world. She even made sure that she made some elves have dreams about her so she wouldn't be forgotten. But she couldn't do that if someone was still awake. Before she would get a chance to spread her magical dust throughout the lands and made sure everyone would stay good. But some elves started to forget about the sport and what she needed to do. Elves started to stay up all night and Miss Willowfel wouldn't have any time to use her power. Soon more wars and battles started and she grew angry. She lost herself and became someone who didn't believe in good. She started to spread nightmares instead of dreams. But for little children like yourself Klara, she would frighten them. Some say she visited one of the elvish princes and gave him the last dream she would ever give out." "What did the prince dream about?" I asked. "He dreamed he could fly. But only for three seconds. Then he fell into a small lake that had three waterfalls. Then he walked for three minutes until stopping at a cliff. Then he woke up." I looked at her in awe. Of course my mind was blown. I was only eight but that sounded like a crazy story. "Do you think the Willowfel will come and frighten me if I don't go to bed?" I asked, clutching my blanket. "Maybe, but we probably don't want to find out." I shook my head no and she quietly laughed for a second. She kissed me Goodnight and left me to fall asleep.

My flashback ends and I clutch the side of my head. The third tunnel. It all made sense. How in the third picture everything went wrong. How the third person in the picture stood out. How the prince's dream constantly had the number three in it. They were all there. So I quickly started on my journey again.

I walked for what felt like forever but soon enough I saw a light. It must have been the end of the tunnel and boy was I right. Before I could take another step I came face to face with a very colossal forest. It felt nice to smell the fresh air again. I plop to my knees and just take a sec to breath.