Return of the TruNightians - 1st book of the TruNight Series

3. Past the Frost

There was a silence following Jisri's explanation of who she was and who Lacéan and Xevie were. For the two of them, it didn't feel like anything hearing their 'duty.'

"Are you sure?" Lacéan asked.

"I would be a fool to not see the signs," Jisri replied.

"Oh, alright." Lacéan hid her frown and looked elsewhere. While she still thought little about being a hero, Lacéan felt reluctant to believe that also because she knew she was still young, and being the guardian felt overwhelming.

"Would you like fruit? I hope you don't mind they may be bruised," Jisri said.

Lacéan and Xevie looked at each other. "We're not hungry," Xevie replied. "But what's in your hand?" Xevie asked when Jisri looked relieved after pulling out a paper from her pocket.

"Oh, this? It's what helped me find this place, and that leaf led me to you. Well, it led you to me." There was an elated expression on Jisri's face like she found something precious. She continued on, "I remember little about TruNight, but I'm grateful for the memories I have."

"Why is it no longer your home?"

"I don't remember that part well—which is odd considering I was old enough to remember well—but my mother remembers it a little more than I do. There was an attack so destructive that all the trues and TruNight and the Santles were hidden, but some trues were not fortunate enough and ended up in a whole nother world, like me."

"What is this other world you speak of?" Lacéan questioned.

"It's called Earth, and Rivmore is just a city in it," Jisri said. "You know, I'm actually frightened by the changes happening with trues living on Earth. I didn't even realize until now, but my memories of TruNight have been fainting!"

Lacéan and Xevie let out a subtle gasp.

"Why would it?"

"It may be because trues live on the power of TruNight, and there is no such thing as what TruNight has on Earth. Retelling the story of TruNight is all that's kept me so hopeful and connected to my kind."

"Hold," Xevie said, putting a finger up. She glanced over the little stones and crumbles that slightly moved, and it was more noticeable the longer it occurred.

"What's happening?" Lacéan asked. She looked around, seeing that the entire castle was shaking and dust fell all around.

"The ground's shaking, right?" Jisri said with a higher pitch.

She was answered by a sharp jolt, throwing the girls off balance, and a few stronger sharp shakes followed. They looked up and outside, the leaf that had been subtly glowing shone brighter and expanded, making the ground tremble more, then it zoomed into the sky, disappearing behind the white clouds. The ground stopped shaking. The girls remained still, expecting more jolts. They skeptically let themselves at ease, examining the broken castle in case a piece of it would fall on them.

As they took a few moments to recover, they felt wet droplets hit their skin. They scrambled to their feet and rushed to the window and looked out. It was raining—just lightly—even though it was clear and there shouldn't be any. However, there was one particular spot where it didn't look like it was raining. In fact, there was the familiar green glow that faded in that spot.

The girls stayed quiet, simply watching the unexpected rain. There were a few scratches on them from falling. It was raining, yet the sunny weather remained and so the rain looked out of place, but it was calming. There was also the presence of a cold temperature, the rain was cold to the touch as well, contrasting the warmth.