The Prophecy in the Forest

Chapter Six: The Enchantress's Past

Keena took the last watch, which meant she was awake when the sun rose the next day. She instantly began preparing them for the remainder of their travels to Ravenswood. She also heated the leftover quail and added some dried fruit from her rations. She left some for Rafael and Kallie, who were beginning to stir.

"Good morning," Keena chirped to Rafael. The prince grunted in reply.

"Morning," Kallie said quietly. The assassin sat up, and Keena held back her laughter. Kallie's hair was a wild bush of black curls, sticking up this way and that way.

"Hey, don't laugh at my hair! We can't all have curls that naturally obey our whims," Kallie glared at Keena, arms folded across her chest.

"This isn't natural, silly. It's magic!" Keena snapped her fingers, and Kallie gasped as her hair was tamed into tidy little curls.

"You're brilliant!"

Rafael sighed. "Whenever you're finished with your girl time, we should get moving."

He was still deeply unhappy about having to travel with Kallie. That was fair, Keena supposed. She has made a unilateral decision. But it seemed so clear to her that Kallie was just like them, with stakes of her own that compelled her to take this journey with them. She would make Raf see.

Soon, the three travelers were headed to Ravenswood. Raf wasn't riding Opal, just walking and letting her trail next to them, grazing on the grass. Keena had offered to let Kallie ride behind her on the saddle, but the assassin had refused. She said she preferred walking, it helped her stay in shape.

Kallie was rather fast and incredibly strong. She was so small too, it must have made most of her targets underestimate her. It wasn't hard to see why she was such a fierce assassin. It would be weird to see her kill someone, though. She just seemed a bit too sweet for such a brutal line of work.

"This sun is so hot," Rafael groaned, swiping at his brow.

"It is," Kallie agreed, but if she was going for acknowledgment from Rafael, she wasn't going to get it.

Keena sighed. Why wouldn't he even engage in small talk with the girl? It wasn't as though he had died.

"Just another hour. We should be there soon." Keena was firm on keeping them going at their current pace. Something inside her was screaming that they would find a good lead on where to go next once they reached Ravenswood. Neither a little sunshine nor Rafael's grumpy mood was going to deter her from her intuition.

An hour later, a sign proudly boasted that they had arrived in Ravenswood. Keena's stomach flipped.

Many people still lived in Ravenswood, though what had once been a booming city with many resources had been reduced to a sad village with starving residents.

This used to be my home, Keena thought and was surprised to feel the first pinprick of tears behind her eyes as she took in the filthy scene before her as she rode into the village.

Everything was so run down now. Termites, rotting away ate the wood on the buildings. The paint on what had once been a shoe shop was peeling in long, pale blue strips. The shoemaker stood outside.

Keena recognized him, and pulled her hood up, hoping to remain inconspicuous. Out of the corner of her eye, she studied the man. He was gaunt now, but he still had a paunch. It seemed that dirt and grime had settled into every wrinkle on his face. And his eyes, how empty they were. Those eyes had seen a great deal of trauma.

"Where should we be going?" Kallie questioned Keena. "Do you have somewhere in mind?"

Keena began compartmentalizing her feelings as she considered the question. It came to her instantly once her pain had faded into the background.