Telenia

Chapter 1

"Telenia, get ready for bed."

"Okay mum." Telenia dragged her feet to her room. Her mother, Queen Safariyah of Jaccarva, followed. She watched Telenia change into her crown printed pajamas. She tucked the 10 year old girl into the castle's colored sheets. The color was a gold and metallic blue, made with a thick silk.

Safariyah kissed Telenia goodnight. Before she could turn around, Telenia grabbed her mother's arm.

"Mother, will you tell me a bedtime story?" She asked. "Could it possibly be about Narvor?"

Safariyah grew tense.

"We must never talk about Narvor Telenia and you know that."

"But why mother?"

"I just do not feel comfortable talking about it." Safariyah sighed. "Your father adored that place. And now he's gone..."

Telenia saw the tear that slipped from her mother's eyes.

"I'm sorry mother. I shouldn't have asked." She kissed her mother's forehead. Safariyah smiled. "Goodnight mother. I love you."

"Goodnight Telenia. I love you too."

Safariyah got up and turned off the lights before closing the door behind her, leaving with a look of guilt and sadness.

The next morning, Telenia woke up with the hope to explore. The night before, she had a dream about Narvor. A surprisingly good dream, where Narvor was filled with wonder and beauty. A dream where good was actually great. The stories told about Narvor had to be fake right? What horror could a forest possibly hold? 

In Telenia's defense, no one actually knew what Narvor was like. Only her father. And he was gone. She knew she needed to see for herself. So she got out of bed with a positive mind and got dressed ready to feed her curiosity.

She put on her clothes, grabbing her sword and shield, before exiting her room. Before she could make it out of the door, Mrs. Arthrob, leader of the castle's guards, stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked.

Telenia froze in place. She turned towards her.

"I'm just going to the forest to do a little training." She said, patting her sword.

Mrs. Arthrob raised a bow.

"Training?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am!" Telenia replied.

"Do you need someone to come with you?"

"No thank you! I want to learn and teach myself. That's how I get better. I don't want to depend on anyone." Telenia smiled. Mrs. Arthrob gave her a caring look.

"You're becoming such a strong woman Telenia." She said. "I'm proud."

"Thank you Mrs. Arthrob." She smiled. Mrs. Arthrob nodded her head towards the door.

"Get out of here." She smiled.

With that being said, Telenia ran out the door. She hopped on one of the horses and rode toward her dream. There was no way of telling where Narvor actually was, so she set herself to follow the wind. Her father used to tell her "As long as you're looking for something, the wind will take you to it," and with that, she rode towards the sun.

During the ride, she came across an entrance hidden by shrubs and flowers. She peeked inside and could see an entire entry way. She swallowed the lump that began growing in her throat and cut through.