Shadows Of The Past Novel: Stolen Heart (Jakovi Poza)

Chapter 6

Foxy walked beside Ella with a menacing expression, it was night, a full moon was coming to meet her. It's been half a month since his last conversation with Roxanne, and he hasn't spoken frankly to his deputy since. All this time, Roxanne constantly looked after Dark, an unofficial member of their group. Foxy couldn't believe that now she was spending more time with Dark than with him. He had the impression that their relationship fell apart because of their last quarrel. He wished to banish Dark, but what would he say to everyone? He still had so many questions for The Sisters or his mentor, Gold who has a friend with powers, but Foxy knew he had to rely on himself now. When he and Ella arrived, Foxy looked calmly at Ella who was sending him a joyful and respectful look. After a while he jumped on the speaking boulder with a serious face, impatiently waiting for all the members to reach the Great Tree. He was still thinking about his decision and The Sisters, day after day, he dreamed of meeting the powerful witches to learn more. As Foxy was about to sit on the boulder, Alex with Gold and Sting entered the Tall Tree area. Foxy watched them closely as they walked towards Ella greeting her. Foxy was still silent, he didn't feel like talking to anyone, he just wanted peace. Everything that had happened these weeks Foxy blamed Dark, but he didn't want to show it. He was always polite to Dark, but whenever he saw him, he tried to avoid him. Foxy straightened up as he noticed Whiteflower joining the others with a smile on his face, a moment later Roxanne came by Dark's side. Foxy felt his anger rise, he noticed Roxanne watching Foxy closely with a calm expression. Foxy ignored it, he tried to keep from screaming in anger. Dark, walking beside Roxanne, limped slightly with a worried look. When everyone was already standing next to each other busy talking, Foxy hit the rock hard with his foot, silencing everyone. The members looked at Foxy with serious and cheerful expressions.
"Welcome to the meeting, I hope that as always we will work together like a real family in this meeting." Foxy started talking loudly.
Everyone nodded as they watched Foxy.
"Spring is coming soon, we must be ready for it. Gold, I allow you to cross the border of our valley as you asked." Foxy said.
Gold nodded at this, Foxy only gave her permission because she was going to meet her friend with powers.
"The rest will be spring cleaning as soon as spring arrives. The thaw may bring us more surprises, so we must be careful of swamps." Foxy informed them.
"Just a minute!" Dark suddenly interjected. All the members looked at him in confusion, Foxy gave Dark a hostile look.
"Can I help with spring cleaning too?" Dark asked, looking friendly at Foxy.
Foxy was amazed at this, he didn't know that Dark would also want to help. The more help the better. Foxy admitted to himself.
"Yes, I think you'll be useful for something." Foxy replied menacingly.
Dark was pleased with this and looked at Roxanne. Foxy stopped looking at both of them in disgust.
"Does anyone have any suggestions?" Foxy asked.
Ella reacted suddenly.
"Before winter, we will clear the paths of snow and sprinkle them with sand so that they are not slippery." Ella said quickly.
"That's a good suggestion, Ella." Foxy replied nodding.
Dark thought for a moment, then stepped to the center looking down at Foxy.
"I also suggest tidying up the garden behind our house." Dark said.
Foxy shrugged.
"That will be done in the spring, but thanks for the suggestion." Foxy said.
When everyone was silent, Foxy nodded.
"It was nice to hear someone's suggestions, if they are of course useful. I thank you for your cooperation in today's meeting." Foxy said, then he calmly stepped down from the speaking boulder. When he noticed Roxanne already following Dark, Foxy started walking towards her with a grim expression on his face. Roxanne then stare at Foxy with a worried look.
"Are you going to help with spring cleaning?" Foxy asked.
Roxanne looked suddenly as all the members were walking home towards the forest, and when they were out of sight she looked at Foxy.
"Of course, I want to help." Roxanne replied politely.
"Okay." Foxy said, then added more sharply, "Be careful, and trust someone who cares about you."
Roxanne said nothing, she just made a menacing face and walked quickly away from Foxy. Foxy watched Roxanne furiously as Gold appeared by his side, he calmed down.
"I'll be going now." Gold said.
"Take care, see you later." mumbled Foxy, smiling weakly.
Gold nodded, she started walking towards the nearby town. Foxy walked towards the forest looking around. Again he felt that he was alone, when he returned home he looked at the cloudy sky with a sad face. Will everything ever change? he asked himself in his mind. He suddenly remembered his quarrel with Roxanne, had he done the right thing then? He tried to find a good reason why he did this, but when he started thinking about The Sisters, he calmed down by taking a deep breath and exhaling, then started walking towards the forest again.
The next day, it was sunny and cloudless. Foxy was near the edge of their valley with Sting. They eagerly awaited the return of Gold who didn't return last night, Foxy got worried but quickly told himself that Gold is strong and knows how to defend herself.
"She's been gone all day." Sting mumbled worriedly.
"Don't worry," Foxy said, grabbing Sting's arm, "I'm sure she'll be back soon."
"And if she doesn't come back?" Sting asked.
Foxy hesitated at this, but he shook his head quickly.
"Gold would never leave us." Foxy replied calmly.
"That's not what I mean, something could have happened to her." Sting said.
May it not be true. Foxy thought grimly. He suddenly imagined Gold lying in a pool of blood, Foxy was frightened by his thoughts. He hoped Gold was in a safe place.
"If she doesn't come back, how will I ever tell her how much I care about her?" Sting mumbled closing his eyes.
Foxy remembered how he was going through it then because he couldn't tell Roxanne how much he loved her. Gold, however, appeased his emotions and taught him how to be honest.
"You care too much, Gold is a great fighter and you need to know that." Foxy said seriously, giving Sting a polite look.
"I know this." Sting replied.
Foxy smiled at Sting then, nodding his head. Just as they were about to look ahead, Gold suddenly bumped into them. Foxy was surprised at this, but he managed to keep his balance. Sting didn't care though that he fell in the snow.
"Gold! You're back!" Sting screamed in delight.
Gold was panting fast with fear in her eyes, Foxy was already thinking that something is wrong.
"Something happened?" Foxy asked.
"Roxanne and Dark need our help!" Gold screamed, breathing uneasily.
Foxy and Sting exchanged uncertain glances, then they looked at Gold incredulously.
"What are you talking about?" Foxy asked.
"The ice broke under her on the frozen lake!" Gold choked out.
"Where?" Sting asked quickly with a scared expression on his face.
Gold without a word started running crossing the border, Foxy ran next to Gold as fast as he could, he wanted to save Roxanne as soon as possible. But he wondered what Dark was doing there. As they ran, after a while they ran across the bridge and then his eyes saw a cliff and at the bottom of the cliff there was a frozen lake. Foxy desperately looked around for Dark and Roxanne, when he spotted Dark on the edge of the lake looking at a hole in the ice, he quickly began to descend. He heard Gold calling him, but Foxy ignored it, his heart pounding like a hammer. Hang on, Roxanne! Foxy screamed in his mind. As he got close to the hole in the ice, he felt the ice begin to crack beneath him. Foxy began to walk slower and more carefully towards the hole, then he looked quickly into the hole.
"Foxy! Roxanne is drowning! Help her, please!" He heard Dark's desperate voice in the distance.
Foxy took a deep breath and exhaled, he jumped into the freezing water. As soon as he entered the water, he quickly dived to find Roxanne. Roxanne was nowhere to be seen, his mind began to panic. She can't die! Not now! Foxy screamed desperately in his mind.
However, when he looked down, he noticed a silhouette in the distance, Foxy began to swim quickly there. He was relieved to see Roxanne, but she seemed unconscious. Foxy quickly grabbed Roxanne's two hands, then quickly began to pull her towards the surface, he felt the energy disappearing from his body. His lungs wished for a little breath, suddenly as he was near the surface he felt someone's grip on him. When they took him out of the surface, he started coughing up water, he felt like he had been frozen for days. Once he realized what was going on, he crawled quickly towards Gold, who was giving Roxanne artificial respiration and Sting watched in horror. Foxy tried to choke out his beloved's name, but he still felt water in his lungs. He started coughing up water again, and Sting ran over to him with a worried look. Foxy choked on the water, then he started coughing again.
"Lie on your stomach, you're exhausted." Sting had told him.
Sting helped Foxy lie down on his stomach while Foxy watched as Gold continued to give Roxanne artificial respiration. Please, witches, don't take Roxanne from me. Foxy thought in despair.
Suddenly Roxanne was trying to catch her breath and started coughing, Foxy was relieved that Roxanne had regained consciousness but still didn't have the strength to get up or say anything.
"Everything will be fine, Roxanne has regained consciousness." Sting reassured Foxy in a calm voice, though there was also fear in his voice.
"Breathe calmly." Foxy heard Gold a bit further on.
When Foxy felt better, he pushed Sting slightly away from him and began to slowly get up. He was shivering from the cold, but he didn't want to show that he was weak. He quickly approached Roxanne and Gold with a serious expression on his face.
"What happened?" Roxanne asked hoarsely.
"The ice has collapsed under you, but you're okay now, luckily Foxy saved you in time." Gold said, grabbing Roxanne's arm who was already sitting next to Gold.
Foxy then looked at Dark with a menacing expression, now he had bad thoughts, what if Dark had caused this accident? I'll have to ask Roxanne or Gold about that. Foxy thought calmly.
"Let's go home, it's cold." Sting said quickly and signaled Dark. Dark reacted quickly to this and began to walk slowly on the ice out of fear.
Gold helped Roxanne get up and they started walking side by side, Foxy joined them walking beside Roxanne. He felt good saving Roxanne, surely if it wasn't for him, she might have drowned by now. Foxy was surprised when someone grabbed his hand, it was Roxanne. Foxy looked at her in confusion and surprise.
"Thank you." Roxanne mumbled, smiling slightly.
Foxy smiled and hugged Roxanne to him.
"You're welcome, you know I won't let you die." He whispered to her, then he kissed her forehead.
Roxanne cuddled up to him and they walked close together with calm expressions, Foxy had the feeling that their early argument never happened.
"I love you, Foxy." Roxanne said quickly.
"I love you too, with all my heart, and I'm sorry for our…"
"It's not important anymore," Roxanne interrupted, "Let's forget about it, please."
Foxy nodded and he looked ahead with pride and joy.
Once they were home, Foxy was sitting on the couch in the living room next to Roxanne drinking the tea Gold had made. Roxanne was drinking warm tea in the same way, she was covered with a blanket and stared at the fireplace.
"I'm glad it ended well." Foxy suddenly heard Roxanne next to him.
"Yes, me too." Foxy replied.
He suddenly wanted to ask how the accident had happened, but he was afraid that Roxanne wouldn't be honest with him.
"How good that Gold made us good tea." Roxanne said, laughing softly.
Foxy chuckled softly in amusement.
"If it wasn't for the tea, we'd probably feel like we came out of the ice." Foxy said, smiling at Roxanne.
Roxanne nodded, then she looked back at the fireplace. Foxy suddenly looked serious as he looked at Roxanne.
"Actually, how did this happen?" Foxy asked quietly.
Roxanne stopped drinking her tea and looked sharply at Foxy, Foxy saw the fear in her eyes.
"It was just an accident." Roxanne replied politely.
"I want to know what happened, Roxanne." Foxy said calmly with a worried look.
"I...it doesn't matter anyway, we were just walking across a frozen lake and..."
"I see, don't think about it anymore." Foxy whispered, calming Roxanne.
She's lying, why is she doing this to me? Foxy asked himself.
"I'm going to my room." Roxanne said quickly, then she stood up and headed for the stairs.
Foxy noticed that she had left an empty cup of tea on the table.
When Foxy noticed that he had already drunk his tea, he took two cups to the kitchen and left them next to the sink.
Foxy suddenly looked out the window, he noticed that Whiteflower and Sting were talking together outside. Do they talk about the accident?
"What are you looking at?" He heard Gold behind him.
"At nothing." Foxy said, turning to her.
Gold had a worried look and watched Foxy, did she suspect what he was thinking?
"Listen, Gold, you promised to be my spy." Foxy started saying, "Now, tell me how this accident happened."
Gold was silent for a moment, looking at Foxy, then she stopped looking at him.
"I don't know if that matters anymore." Gold replied uncertainly.
"I know you witnessed this event, be honest with me." Foxy mumbled.
Gold sighed heavily and turned her back to Foxy as if avoiding his gaze.
"Roxanne and Dark were waiting for my return because I contacted them via phone call." Gold was telling.
Foxy already knew that Dark and Roxanne crossed the border of their valley, but they did it just to wait for Gold?
"Once we met, we started to head back towards our valley, but unfortunately we came across a frozen lake." Gold said.
Foxy was already asking himself, who came up with such a stupid idea to get across a frozen lake? Didn't they realize how dangerous it was?
"Me and Dark decided that the lake was so frozen that nothing would happen, but Roxanne had doubts, but she agreed to come with us." Gold said, "While we were halfway across the lake, we suddenly heard an unsettling crackle of ice, we noticed that Dark was in danger."
Dark? I don't understand, it was Roxanne who was drowning, not him. Foxy thought.
"Roxanne was telling him what to do, but Dark took the wrong step." Gold mumbled, adding, "before the ice collapsed beneath him, Roxanne pushed Dark away, causing her to fall into the lake."
Foxy was surprised, Roxanne sacrificed herself to the enemy? He felt the anger rising inside him, he longed to punish Dark for it.
How dare he? He thinks everyone will save him? Foxy thought angrily.
"Thank you for telling me that." Foxy replied menacingly.
Gold then turned to him remorsefully as if she regret she had told the truth.
"But... you're not going to do anything about it, are you?" Gold asked.
"I can't leave it, do you even know that frozen lakes are always dangerous?" Foxy growled, then walked away from Gold without letting her say anything. He was furious not only at Dark, but at Roxanne, and he know he has to do what is right.