SHADOW KNIGHT'S REVENGE: A Minecraft Diaries Fan-Fiction

Chapter VI: Return to Phoenix Drop

That dream was disturbing, yet oddly comforting. Arabella wished it would've lasted longer, but that didn't matter right now.

Arabella was still lost in this weird forest-like area which seemed to carry on forever, so she needed to find a village, pronto. However, the fact that this was such a nature-infested place meant that there was a lesser chance of any village nearby. That didn't mean Arabella gave up hope. There was bound to be something nearby. Why else would the portal construct itself here?

Wielding her battle-axe, she set out to find people.

At first, when Arabella trekked through the woods, there was nothing but lots of green trees, wildflowers and occasional tame animals. Nothing seemed out of the place, but at random times, she would come across abnormally large trees with some rare sort of wood. They reminded Arabella of the special saplings that Zoey had once given Aphmau. She couldn't recall the name, but they seemed like it.

Speaking of which, what had happened to Phoenix Drop? Arabella hadn't been told anything about it. She didn't care about it, though. She was just merely curious.

However, at one point, the woods started to get narrower and even familiar. Arabella possibly couldn't have been there before, but it seemed so known to her. It seemed like an exact replica of the outskirts of Phoenix Drop.

Could it be? No, there was no way. After fifteen years, the place was bound to change.

Then why did it feel so familiar?

Arabella wanted to shrug it off, until she noticed some sort of structure made out of stone. Inquisitively, she approached it, battle-axe at the ready in case this was some sort of trap. However, as she neared it, she recognised it as a tombstone.

As sad as it was that someone had died, Arabella piped up with excitement. If there was a grave here, then civilisation had to be nearby!

Arabella hurried to the grave, and as soon as she read the name, her adrenaline died out.

The tombstone read 'Arabella'.

As far as she knew, Arabella wasn't a common name, so finding someone named Arabella who was also supposedly dead like the Arabella reading it would be very difficult. Not only that, but the tombstone looked very new, as if it was placed down only a few days ago. That led her to one conclusion only.

This was meant to be Arabella's grave.

Arabella didn't know whether to be happy that someone remembered her, or mortified.

Who would've done this? The only people who knew--and even remotely cared--about Arabella were some villagers of Phoenix Drop.

That explained it. The familiar forest, a grave for someone who used to live in Phoenix Drop...

Arabella was right beside Phoenix Drop.

Before she had a chance to think about what to do next, the unmistakeable sound of a sword being unsheathed turned her attention elsewhere. She whipped out her battle-axe which clashed with a gleaming sword. Upon seeing the user, Arabella was confused.

"Who are you?" the two asked each other in unison.

The sword-wielder blinked. "You're in the territory of my village, so identify yourself."

Now, Arabella dealt with crazy fools calling places their villages (cough, cough, the Chicken Shaman). She knew for a fact that she was near Phoenix Drop, and this was not their lord. "What do you mean, your village?"

"I'm the lord of this village," he explained, but he didn't lower his weapon, and neither did Arabella. "Now, I'll ask you one last time: who are you?"

"But isn't this Phoenix Drop?" inquired Arabella, continuously straying away from the stranger's question. "Last I checked..."

Oh.

The truth hit Arabella like a sack of rocks.

It had been fifteen years. Aphmau couldn't be the lord of Phoenix Drop. There was a new lord.

Apparently, the new lord understood the look of realisation on her face as she lowered her battle-axe. He did the same, but kept his sword at bay. "Yeah. I'm Levin, the lord of Phoenix Drop. You might've mistaken the fact for my mo--the last lord, Aphmau. Now, for the last time, who are you?"

"Oh!" Arabella totally forgot about the question yet again. Levin looked so grown-up that she didn't even recognise him. However, Arabella had only seen Levin when he was a baby, so he probably didn't remember her. Plus, she was supposed to be dead, and, in fact, killing him. As a Shadow Knight, that's what she was supposed to do.

However, Gene only said to kill Laurance. She didn't have to kill anyone else, right?

They deserve it, though, Arabella told herself.

Shut up, another part of Arabella replied.

Arabella could stall, but she still needed to protect her identity. The fact that a former guard of Phoenix Drop returned from the dead would be too hard to explain, so she needed to introduce herself as a new person. Hopefully, the rest of the village wouldn't remember her face.

"Well?" asked Levin, getting impatient.

"Sorry." Arabella recomposed herself. "My name is... Mona. I, um, just completed guard training in the village of... Krisalis. It's a small village, so you probably wouldn't have heard of it. I left it to find another village to serve."

Levin seemed to buy it. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you come to Phoenix Drop to join the guard?"

"Absolutely."

Levin pondered it, looking skeptical. Arabella only needed him to buy the act a little longer. "This village doesn't need any more guards as of now, but you can stay as a resident until we see it fit to let you into the guard. By the way, is that a battle-axe?"

"A pretty unorthodox weapon, yeah." Arabella had the strangest feeling of déjà vu. 

"Well, Mona," said Levin, warmer than their first encounter, "welcome to Phoenix Drop."