Thana's speech motivated them all and they immediately started training. Thana walked around the secret room with her sabre in her hands, watching the girls as they practiced. Khalida trained with a puppet, and after some advanced moves, she stabbed it, so that her sword looked out on the other side. Kylie and Tallis trained together, one with a boomerang and one with a kon. Gertrude simply had a gun, while Zakiyah mastered sai. The Guerrillas practiced until noon and then left the room unseen.
Friday came and Khalida left her home once more. Every full moon she walked out of her castle and entered the Forest.
The Forest of Lights, as it was called, was a well-known forest, bordering the western side of the town. Inhabitants of the town have been telling stories of magic happening in the Forest from the very beginning of history. They have feared it, for humans always fear the things they do not understand.
There she was, our famous princess, walking through a beautiful forest, where everything was quiet, except for occasional chirps of birds. No breeze blew, and no leaf stirred. It was as if the entire forest was holding its breath.
Khalida was looking at the ground in front of her and didn't mind for the green colours of the leaves that attracted your gaze, and the pretty flowers, blue, pink, and purple, which grew on both sides of the narrow valley she was walking through. The grass was soft beneath her, and the birds seemed to watch her from all directions, but she continued to stare at the ground ahead of her, deep in her thoughts, for she knew that there was no danger awaiting her. The Forest felt like home...
Thana noticed, of course, Khalida walking into the Forest, but she didn't mind it much. She knew her sister has had some secret business in that forest, even though she never told her about it. It was one of the very rare secrets Khalida kept. Thana has never been to the Forest of Lights, and she didn't wish to go there. The Forest seemed very secretive and also slightly spooky to her. From the way Khalida went there without a single weapon (she thought so, at least), she suspected the Forest was not as dangerous as they said.
After long minutes of walk, Khalida came to a small clearing in the middle of the Forest. Right through its half, a stream ran, not wide or deep, but as clear as the summer sky, and colder that the coldest night of winter. In the middle of the clearing, a small rock stood, not taller than 5 decimeters, right in the middle of the stream, forming a pool.
This was the sacred clearing Khalida visited every full moon. There she sat, in the moss next to the pool, and waited in silence that wasn't disturbed even by the birds' singing. The sun started setting. Pink clouds appeared on the horizon. The night will be clear. As the last rays of sun disappeared behind a mountain, they came.
YOU ARE READING
The Forest of Lights
FantasyLong, long ago, in a mysterious town lived two princesses. The younger one's name was Khalida, the older one was Thana. They were known to be most respected individuals in the country. Next to the town was a forest, it was called the Forest of Light...
