COMPLETED
Nereida has always been shackled to her royal duties as princess of Triteria, and when her kingdom becomes involved in a series of mysterious vanishings and deaths she begins to seek answers. Rebels soon shatter her world, and she finds he...
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"These woods are always shifting; they like to play tricks. Be careful; it is easy to get lost," the voice continued. My head snapped quickly to the sound. Sitting on a fallen tree was a man. He greeted me with a smile, but there was this coy twinkle in his eyes, a warning. So instinctively, I lifted the pistol and pointed it at him.
"Stay back," I threatened. A booming laugh sprung from the man as he jumped from the tree, effortlessly landing on his feet. He was much taller than I had assumed and wore no covering on his chest except for many necklaces made from what looked like twine. His long hair was pulled back, with some spiraling while others were braided, falling on his muscular shoulders. Around his waist was some makeshift belt, followed by trousers and boots. On his wrists were covers made of a more rigid material. He could have passed for a pirate, but something about him felt older, like a warrior from the old stories and not of this time.
"Aren't you courageous?" he teased.
"Who are you?" I shouted. "And what was that? Why do I continuously return to this spot?"
"Oh, that was just the spirits who inhabit these woods. They can't hurt you, though, but they do enjoy tormenting. Can't help themselves, they protect the island." My mind began to feel less foggy, and clarity was returning. I knew I was recovering from the mass confusion. The woods started to clear, and the sun appeared, shining its rays on us.
"It wasn't real?" I gasped.
"I would lower your weapon, Nereida. It won't do you any good." Despite my hesitancy and confusion about how he knew me, I did as instructed. "And to answer your question, no, it wasn't real. It was an act to keep you in disbelief and confusion. Had you remained in it any longer, they probably would have led you off the cliff, just a few feet behind you."
"You know me? Are you working for Governor Bancroft?" I continued to question. He laughed again in response, which made me more upset. I lifted the gun again.
"Answer me, or I swear to you I'll shoot." He suddenly stopped laughing and instead started to approach me. "Stay back!" I spat the threat, but he continued despite it.
I heard the gun go off in my hand, and I waited for the sound of his body making an impact on the ground, but instead, the bullet stopped mid-air, directly in front of his chest. My eyes widened at the sight; he went from looking at me to looking at it. As he gently shook his head, he repeated a "Tsk, tsk" sound, completely unfazed.
As if things could not get any stranger, my mouth fell when I witnessed the bullet beginning to melt as it remained suspended in the air. Silver droplets fell to the ground like skydrops. Then suddenly, the pistol started to get warmer and warmer til I could no longer hold it. I let it drop to the ground, where it, too, began melting. Both were now silver puddles of their former selves.
"There now, that's better. Shall we start over?" he asked casually.
"How did you do that? That's not...are you not human?" I questioned.
