Acariana

Chapter 1

Pulling her hood further over her face so as to stop the fat droplets of rain hitting it, Everliana stepped silently through Flagrane Forest. It was one of the few places that she felt the safest hiding out in when she was in the 'Hunting Ground' as its trees stood close and grass stood high. A perfect place for someone who needed to stay hidden.

Stepping over a felled tree, Everliana's stomach erupted a loud groan piercing through the silence of the forest. She'd not eaten much over the course of the past few days, only a handful of berries, and her stomach was now starting to protest.

"Fine," she sighed to herself and took a seat on the log. She wanted to keep walking, to keep moving forward, but her body had hit its limit. Surveying the area around her, Everliana's eyes fell onto some violet coloured berries littering a nearby shrub. Scooting across the log to inspect the berries closer, her heart sank. They were Loclovel berries. The kind of fruit that you wouldn't eat unless you were either stupid or craving death and, thankfully, Everliana was neither. She knew the danger behind the berries and it wasn't to do with them being poisonous like most others. No, it was to do with their heritage. Closing her eyes, Everliana recounted a story that her mother had once told her. She had explained, after Everliana had tried to eat one, that the Loclovel came from a very special plant. One that was sacred to the Fae - small, sprite-like creatures with an inimitable connection to nature.

"You see Everliana," her mother had said, "the plant that you took that berry from was the first ever plant that nature sprouted. If you were to eat one of those berries, the Fae would have to sacrifice you in order to re-right the balance that you had wronged."

A sad smile spread across Everliana's face as the memory of her mother tugged at her heart. She was gone.

After what seemed like an eternity, Everliana stretched out her legs and peered up at what little sky she could see through the trees. It was turning a dark shade of grey. Time for her to start looking for a place to rest for the night. Mustering up what little energy she had left, she hurled herself to her feet and began her hunt for shelter.

It wasn't long before the sky grew dark turning the beauty and greenery of Flagrane Forest into an eerie and dark setting. About to concede and climb up a tree for the night, Everliana saw a slight ray of moonlight pour through the trees up ahead. Terrified that she'd wandered to the edge of the woods, she stepped quickly into the shadows of the trees and crept forward on her haunches.

When she got close enough, she parted the brushes and found herself staring into a circular clearing with a small castle-like building stood proud in the center. Sweeping her eyes over the clearing and satisfied that there was no threat, Everliana rose slowly to her feet and stepped out. She waited there for a few seconds, looking for any signs of movement, then made her way slowly toward the old and stately build. It seemed as if she'd found her shelter for the night.

After scouting out the entirety of the castle, Everliana decided upon sleeping in the study. There was an old battered desk stood at the back near a large window and she'd decided that she would sleep behind it so that she wasn't in clear view if anyone was to stumble upon the place. Even though she'd been completely satisfied with her findings, Everliana had learned not to let her guard down. The last time that she had done so a rabid dog had cornered her in the night and, if it hadn't been for the animal letting out a low vicious howl, she would have been mauled in her sleep. Shivering at the memory, Everliana took her cloak off and folded it to make a pillow. Then, when she was ready, she rested her head on it and let herself drift off into a long needed sleep.

She stayed like that, asleep, for some time until she heard the creak of a floorboard close by. Opening her eyes, Everliana froze in place. The best thing that she could do at that time was stay still and wait until whomever (or whatever) was there was gone. After staying frozen for a couple of minutes longer, Everliana rolled over onto her back, only to find a man stood at the base of her feet staring down at her with a face that screamed predator.

"Well hello there," The man smiled menacingly at her. She didn't answer, just stared at him.

"Not much of a talker then, are we?" As the man folded his arms across his chest, Everliana noticed that he held a silver dagger in one and a wooden staff with a speared end in the other. Weapons made to kill or seriously injure werewolves or vampires, she realised.

"I have nothing to say to you." Everliana spoke, sitting herself up. Lying down made her an easy target for the brute and she wasn't going to let herself be caught that easily.

"Oh really? Could that be because you're a fugitive? Maybe even... a hybrid?" After the pause but before he spoke his last two words, the man grabbed her left arm and yanked it palm up toward himself. Eyes opening wide in shock, Everliana knew that he was looking at the engraving in her palm. The one that looked like a circle, with a dot on either side, and lines in the middle in the silhouette of a tree. The man dropped her hand and looked back toward her.

"Well, well, well, it looks like I've found my ticket to Locklonai." The man grinned, showing a total of six teeth. Everliana reeled back in disgust.

"What do you mean? The Koniglich would never let you live in their city! They only allow their own kind in," Everliana snarled back at the man. Did he really expect the sorcerers to allow him to live in their perfectly prosperous city? They were selfish, racist rulers that would never allow someone as filthy and lowly as him into their realm.

"Well, they'll make an exception for me. Y'see, they're on the hunt for you little hybrid." Watching the words sink in and seeing a look of shock and terror spread across the young woman's face, the man chuckled in delight and ran his dirt clad fingers along the blade of his dagger.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you take me straight to them?," Everliana spoke, "Do you really think I'm going to waltz all the way to Locklonai with you?"

"No. I don't. Which is why it's a good job that they rather you were killed instead." At that, Everliana's flight mode kicked in. She flashed her foot across the floor, knocking the man's feet from under him. Then turning around as quickly as she could, she grabbed her belongings and headed for the door as fast as she could.

"Come back here, you filthy maggot!" He growled, grabbing his staff and smacking her in the back with the dull end. Falling forward onto the floor, she gasped out in pain, tears streaking down her face. The man strode over to her and, rolling her over onto her back, he dropped his staff and straddled her. Everliana watched in horror as the man raised the dagger above his head ready to strike and then, as is she couldn't bare it any longer, she closed her eyes and awaited the puncture of her own heart. It never came. Everliana opened her eyes and gasped in shock.

She was staring down into the face of a young woman who looked to be no older than 20. The girl had her eyes closed and a look of deep slumber across her gaunt, pale face. Her long black hair pooling out at either sides of her. It wasn't long before she realised that the young woman was her. She was looking at her own reflection. No, she was straddling her own reflection. Looking down at her hands she saw that they were big, callused and holding a dagger, the point so close to her unconscious self that she was surprised to find that it hadn't pierced the skin to her heart.

Composing herself, Everliana clambered over her unconscious body and walked over to the window. She had switched. She knew because she'd done it a handful of times before, each time being as random as the last. Looking out of the window, Everliana fought the urge to chuck herself and the man's body out of it. She could kill him. All she had to do was smash the glass and hurtle herself to the ground. After that, she'd be safe again. She would probably awake in her own body with a headache but she'd walk away unscathed from the whole ordeal. Or would she? Turning around, Everliana stole a glance at her form splayed out on the floor. She wasn't a killer. That was what the order of the Koniglich were. Not her. If she killed this man, she would never forgive herself. She would never be able to separate herself from the murderers of her parents again. 

Not knowing how much time she had left controlling the body, Everliana opted for the next best thing. Gearing herself for the flash of pain that would surely ensue, she sprinted as fast as she could until she hit the wall headfirst on the other side of the room. Feeling only a split second of pain, the burgundy of the wall faded to black.