Dawned

Chapter 8

Xavier woke up to the light of the sun through the roof. It was midday. He was still drowsy, and the sun was bright. When his eyes adjusted, he saw a face. The face of a white wolf.
"Duncan!?" Exclaimed Xavier. He looked at him again. He had to be sure. "But- you died!"
"Yeah," said Duncan, "that happens a lot here. So much, that we revive when we die. Usually overnight." Xavier stared for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that his friend wasn't dead. At least, not gone and dead.

They left the bedroom, and went downstairs. When they found the kitchen, Sarah and Tasha were talking and laughing in there. Sarah looked over at them. "Our two other guests finally woke up, I see." She said. Then, two guards came through the wooded doors at the side of the kitchen. They laid down two plates of food, and when they saw Duncan and Xavier, they asked, "ma'am, would you like us to get food for them as well?" Sarah cleared her throat, then said in a polite voice,
"Yes, thank you."

The two guards went back through the door to retrieve more food. Tasha ushered them to the table, and they sat down. "I regret that you must leave later." Said Sarah. "But it's ok; you guys will be coming back later, and you will be visiting again." The guards were back with more plates, and set them in front of Duncan and Xavier. On it, they had eggs, toast and boiled carrots. After everyone finished eating, Sarah said "oh! I almost forgot something." She went through the doors, and came back with a tray of the orange and black flowers from last night. They all picked one up, but Xavier didn't know what to do with it. Duncan noticed, and said, "these are called evening Lindals; in Sarah's village, it's a very polite gesture to give someone these when at full bloom. They stay in their current bloom when you pick them, and taste better the closer to dusk it is when you pick them. But your supposed to wait a whole day after they were picked to eat them; it's kind manners." They all put their flowers away, but Tasha put hers in her hair, which made Sarah laugh. "Let's go." She said. She brushed herself off, cleared her throat again, and they walked out of the kitchen. The two guards that were with them began walking with them down the hall. They reached stairs, and started to go down. When they reached the bottom, it was much darker, but it didn't seem unwelcoming. They reached a library, with a large fireplace in the back. They walked though the library, looking at the surplus of books. When they reached the back, Sarah showed them a door next to the fireplace, and they went through. They were in a cave, dark and damp. Eventually, they came to a forest. But to their surprise, they saw a web. A mess of strings, sharp and voluminous. Sarah didn't seem to notice, and walked right into it. "Sarah, wait!" Said Xavier. Did she not see the webs? Did she not know they were bad? And why were her guards doing absolutely nothing?

"Hm?" Sarah asked, but she was still walking, and walked right through the webs. They snapped, and fell down. He sighed in relief. He took a step forward, but a guard stopped him. "Only Sarah can pass these webs." He said. "All others are unworthy, and will be killed." Xavier and Duncan stared in awe, as this ten-year-old girl walked through the thing that had killed Duncan just the other day. "She's protected." Said Tasha. "Look closer." Using the small amount of light they had, they looked at the webs snapping. Except they weren't snapping, they were being cut before Sarah could touch them.

Sarah pulled a lever, and the ground in front of them began to move upward, creating a roof. The guards then moved forward, and the others followed. They reached a clearing, with trees still, although. They had blue leaves ,and were bushy, yet thin. "This is where I let you go." Said Sarah. "Go to the right, through the tunnel, and you'll be there. Just be sure to get back through the tunnel before dark." Their small group of three began walking, but then Sarah shouted, "wait I almost forgot to ask! If you could please, could ask for my wasp? I don't have it yet!" From the far distance that they were, Tasha shouted, "yeah, we'll ask, and bring it back if we can!" Sarah watched as her guests left her sight, and her guard escorted her back to her palace. She stayed behind in the library. She reached into her pocket, and grabbed out a small raven doll. "Well," she said quietly, "I guess it's just you and me again, at least until they come back." She hugged it, and and it kept back the darkness that was trying to envelope her.