Timeweaver

What's Wrong with This Picture?

"You are not going anywhere in this downpour!" A clap of thunder accentuated her point.

"But Mom," Griffin whined like a little kid, and Catalina couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not. "I'm seventeen years old. I can take care of myself."

"And then some," Lyss muttered under her breath. She had had a rough day and she wasn't in the mood to sugarcoat anything. Flame let out a low whistle, which sounded more like a weak howl. Cat nudged him and he lifted an embarrassed paw up to his snout. Flame trotted after her as she disappeared into the guest room, leaving Griffin and Lyss alone in the kitchen.

"I'm leaving," Griffin said and Lyss recoiled at his staccato tone.

"Griffin, I don't care how old you are, you still need to - "

"See you later." The door slammed shut and Griffin was on his way through the Golden Forest again, the paths he knew so well. "You can't just leave on that note, Tabitha. I'm coming for you."

Okay, I know that sounds a little creepy, but in your mind try to read it with a dramatic, heroic flare. Because Griffin sure felt heroic trudging through this crazy storm. Yeah, heroism sure makes people do some stupid things.

But Griffin had his reasons. He wanted to be the one to save the Timeweaver. The last Timeweaver. Avalon's princess. Imagine the redemption he would feel. No one would care about his past then. His mother would be proud of him... hopefully. Larian would really respect him. And maybe, just maybe, he would even be recognized by the king and queen of Avalon for returning their niece. Imagine that, a whole day dedicated to his rescue of the very last Timeweaver and last heir to the throne of Magdilus's third kingdom. Tabitha would be there too, of course, and they would be treated like gods, and Griffin would finally be important, and -

Smack! Griffin wiped a wet leaf off his face and kept walking, determined to focus on where he was going.

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Tabitha didn't feel safe. The storm was going strong above her head and she felt eyes on her from the dark depths of the golden trees, felt as if the majestic Golden Forest itself was watching her every move. A raven suddenly burst from the branches before her and Tabitha couldn't hold back a scream. She ran harder.

Griffin's boots were squelching in the mud and when one was completely sucked off, she kicked off the other and pushed forward, uninhibited by the heavy leather. Lightning flashed all around her, teasing her, and she weaved through the trees - something she had gotten good at over the past couple of days - afraid of getting hit at any moment. As if acknowledging her fears, a tail of white hot light whipped across her path and Tabitha leaped back in fright. She was congratulating herself on dodging her death when a thick limb came tumbling down towards her head.

The world went black.

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Lyssandra stared at the front door for a good five minutes, half-expecting Griffin to walk back inside, drenched and remorseful, at any second. She finally admitted it to herself: he wasn't coming back.

"Please be careful," she whispered in the general direction he had gone and hobbled to her bedroom. What is this family coming to? All because Tabitha showed up here in the forest. "Was that your plan all along, Mila?" Lyss asked the ceiling. "Did you trust me that much? To take care of your daughter? Because I failed. She's gone. I'm sorry."

Lyssandra sank to the ground beside her treasured chest, defeated. Opening it up, she felt around the garments until she found it. She leaned her back against the wall, knowing it'd take magic to get up again, and glanced down at the object in her hands. A lone tear dropped onto it, and she immediately went to wipe it off.

"Ouch." A small drop of blood appeared on her finger, and she noticed what was wrong with this picture - literally. The glass was missing, but there were a few sharp fragments along the inside of the frame. She stared at her young face, happily looking up at him. Who had done this? No matter how angry she got with herself or with Griffin, she would never do this to her wedding portrait. It was her last tangible memory of him. Of them. That he had actually existed.

It was the only thing that made real her choices, and someone had tried to destroy it. And she thought she knew just who did it, but he had just run out into a dangerous storm on a potentially-dangerous quest.

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Tabitha awoke with the scent of wet dirt in her nostrils. It was the second time she had woken up in the forest after a head injury. The only difference was that, this time, she was moving. Walking.

She had just opened her eyes and here she was, walking, and it felt like she'd been doing it for awhile. "Oh goody, she's awake," a voice cut through the silence right behind her. Tabitha spun around, wincing as her brain thumped against her sore skull. A single black feather floated to the ground, and Tabitha was momentarily distracted by the bird disappearing into the trees.

A hand gripped a handful of Tabitha's hair and she was overwhelmed by pain unlike anything she had felt before. Someone just put me out of my misery and cut my head off right now. "Lookie, lookie, what do we have here?" A sharp cackle rattled Tabitha's bones. "Follow me," the foreign voice said abruptly, and Tabitha saw through the spots in her vision a tall blonde woman with striking blue eyes wearing a golden robe that, like the trees, appeared dull in the gloominess. Tabitha couldn't help but think how well it worked as camouflage, but she halted her thoughts there, not allowing herself to jump to any scary conclusions.

The woman had taken several strides forward and stopped suddenly, searching for the reason for Tabitha's hesitation. She didn't find much because Tabitha had stumbled into the forest, running blindly, her only goal to get away from the woman. Though she spoke with friendly confidence, Tabitha could sense all sorts of evil oozing off her skin.

A screech sounded overhead and Tabitha forced her eyes up to see a black bird diving at her. It went straight for her hair; she was really starting to wish she had put it in a braid. Clamping its pointy beak in the dark locks, it slowly dragged Tabitha, who reluctantly followed to avoid going bald, right back to the woman with cold, cruel eyes.

"Trying to escape, are we?" she asked, and Tabitha cringed at her frosty tone. "Well," she continued, resigned, "I tried to be nice." Kicking Tabitha hard in the back of the knee, she spat, "Walk." Tabitha pulled herself up from the ground, refusing to show weakness even though her head was about to explode, her scalp was surely bleeding, and her feet were raw and sore.

Occasionally as they trampled through the Golden Forest, the woman would shove Tabitha or send her wicked raven to peck at Tabitha's hair. Why don't you just move in? she thought but didn't say aloud. I'm sure it looks like a nest anyway.

After what felt like hours but was surely less than ten minutes, they came upon a cottage and for a moment, one fleeting moment, Tabitha's heart leaped at the sight of Lyssandra's house. Then she realized... it wasn't Lyss's house. How many cottages are hidden in this forest?

"Get in." Tabitha tripped over the door jamb but luckily the woman was there to catch her by her shirt and jerk her back to her feet. Tabitha kept her mouth shut in pained determination, but when the woman forced her down a flight of stairs and into a dark, smelly basement and shackled her to the wall, Tabitha spoke up. "Hey! Who are you and what do you want with me?" The woman, who had begun climbing the steps, looked back and chuckled icily.

"You are all the same, aren't you?" Tabitha raised her eyebrows in confusion. "My name is Gwendolyn, and I am your worst nightmare."