Cursed

Chapter 4 - Bandits

"We will rest here"

Alexander declared, dropping his belongings to the hard ground, that would be their bed. Since leaving Aurora (A/N: if you did not already know or I have failed to inform you, Aurora is the name of the Kingdom in which Alexander originates.) both of them had not rested, not even once, and that was 2 days ago. To some it may not seem like a long period of time, but to others...

As Alexander paused to take in their surroundings, he noticed the sun only slightly peaking over the horizon. It was the beginning of another day.

"Is your wound alright?" Evangeline questioned, snapping him out of his daze.

He did not reply as he lowered himself down onto a fallen branch, but glanced down at the bloodied bandage, wishing that Amelia was with him. If she was, he would probably not be in as much pain as he currently was.

"We must not let it get infected" she spoke, swinging the bag containing both the map and wooden box carelessly onto the ground.

"Careful" Alexander hissed, glaring at her. Her brows rose as his arm shot out, grasping the bag and pulling it towards him.

Evangeline turned away from him, the death of the girl she had seen Alexander cradling so lovingly, must have pushed him to his very limits.

Both of them had endured more than a person should in a lifetime, and only in a matter of 24 hours. That day would be scarred into their minds forever, a day that would haunt them till death.

As Evangeline scanned her surroundings, Alexander impatiently searched through the bag. Evangeline was yet to learn of purgatory, the map and the box containing the key.

"Do you need some help?" Evangeline chuckled, trying to lift the mood slightly. Both of them had been hurt, but to get revenge they needed to concentrate.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers, they were clouded with a range of different emotions. Hurt, anger, confusion just to name a few. "Never mind" she mumbled, feeling insignificant under his harsh gaze.

"Go get us some firewood for tonight" Alexander demanded. He could not yet find it in his heart to trust her, even though he had helped her to escape, she was a creature of magic. Unfortunately, his opinion had been tainted by his uncle's and many other's beliefs, since he was a child. Magic was considered the enemy, but mortal men were only jealous of what they did not have.

Evangeline rose from the ground, knowing that at this point in time it was probably not best to question him.

Alexander watched as she disappeared between the trees, without another word. His hand continued to search through the contents of the bag, looking for the map.

As his fingers brushed the fabric, a smile made its way to his face. He was one step closer to finding his Father.

He quickly retrieved it, unrolling the worn fabric. For the first time his eyes scanned the paper, confusion evident on his features.

Every mountain, every Kingdom was written in a different language, an ancient language that no one spoke anymore. This was going to be more difficult that Alexander had once thought.

"What is that?" A female voice startled him, causing him to fold the map closed, hiding its contents.

"Nothing" Alexander quickly replied just as her hand shot out, grasping the fabric for herself.

As it was yanked from his grasp, Alexander scrambled up desperate not to let Evangeline see.

Her eyes studied the map, "is this where we're going?" She questioned, "purgatory?"