Forged in Exile

The Shadows Over the Horizon

Note from the writer: Please feel free to leave comments for me! I love getting feedback!

It was a cold, windy night in the quiet town of Dolber. All but a few of the townspeople were warm in their beds, not a care or worry to be known. Nothing ever happened in Dolber. Knights and merchants from the surrounding kingdoms came through to rest and trade and then were on their way; Strangers didn't stay strangers for long. But this all changed one autumn night.

On the outskirts of Dolber, two shadows skittered across the darkened grassy plain, their cloaks violently flowing behind them. The taller of the two shadows pulled the smaller shadow behind them, the small shadow barely able to keep up with the taller one.

When the shadows made it to the gatepost at the entrance of the town, the taller shadow raised a staff with a white jewel entangled in vines. The jewel glowed softly and illuminated the town sign and for the first time, the faces of the shadows. "Dolber." The taller shadow read. The taller shadow was an ample woman with skin the color of rich earth. Her honey eyes were heavy with exhaustion and anxiety. Her disheveled black curls framed her face as she knelt down to eye level with the small shadow.

The small shadow was a girl who had coarse auburn hair braided like a thick but short rope that curled upwards at the nape of her neck. Her face was scratched and covered in ash. Her eyes were filled with tears as she held her left wrist close to her chest. "I know my sweet little one. I know it hurts." The woman wipes the tears away from her eyes. "Stand behind me, I'll cast a spell to keep the bad guys away." The girl hid behind the woman, burying her face into her cloak. The woman raised her staff and began her incantation. As the jewel on her staff lit the path, a dense smoke billowed forth from it, flowing against the biting wind and creating a wall that rippled like water, then disappeared. The barrier erasing any trace of their existence there. The woman dimmed her staff and held the girl tight to her side. As if on cue, two hooded figures on horseback crest the horizon and approach the gatepost.

"I still don't think they would have made it this far, commander," one of the figures exclaimed.

The larger of the two riders anxiously walked his horse back and forth across the road, oblivious to the two standing inches away.

"If that little spawn survives she could contend for the throne. The prince was foolish to fall for the folly of that elven witch. Our hard work cannot be wasted all for -"

"For love?" the thinner of the two riders asked. Hidden behind the invisible barrier, tears fell from the woman's eyes as she bared her teeth. The figure known as The Commander draws his sword and points it perilously at the throat of the other.

"Careful Captain. Wouldn't want the troops thinking you fell for that lovesick story the Prince spun. They'd hang you as a traitor at first light." A sickening chuckle shook the commander's chest. Suddenly another figure, a boy no older than twelve rode up and bowed to the riders before addressing them.

"Commander, Captain! I was told to fetch you. They think they've found traces of the witch and the spawn at Briggard's Creek." The commander sheaths his sword and chuckles again.

"Come along Captain, let's put that nose to good use." The commander followed behind the young boy and crested the hill leaving the Captain at the gate.

The Captain dismounts his horse and lowers his hood revealing the head of a hound. He raises his nose to the air and takes in a long whiff. His ears twitch as he catches a familiar scent. He walks closer to the barrier nearly nose to snout with the woman. He bows his head in reverence and begins to speak. "I know you're there your majesty. You need not reveal yourself to me. I shall throw them off the true path. I owe you and the Prince my life and my station. I would never dream of allowing harm to befall your spa-" He catches himself and clears his throat. "Your daughter." He mounts his horse turning towards the barrier one more time. "I know you don't care for your relations in the northern woods, but maybe that would be the best place for you now until things die down. I will send you a letter in a fortnight. Be safe, your majesty." With that, the Captain raised his hood and thundered off behind the Commander.

The woman let out a sigh of relief she didn't realize she was holding. She knelt eye to eye with the child. "My darling, we are safe now. Captain Puck would never allow anything bad to happen to us." She waved her hand, the air of the barrier rippling and falling to the ground. "Come, we'll seek shelter here for the night." The woman takes one last look at the sign for the town. Hoping beyond hope they could be safe there, at least for the night.