Guarded by the Animals

Chapter 1

Everything was eerily dark. The trees stood still, barren of all their leaves, the sounds of the night were silent and a thick layer of clouds covered the stars. The night was too quiet. A dark power gathered along the horizon, seeping across the valley and into every corner of the castle. The queen stood in her chambers staring out of her window peering into the distance. A sheet of black appeared over the hill and began covering the once green land, pillaging everything in its path. The thunderous sound of thousands of men roaring and shouting made up this sheet which came closer; closer to her home.

The queen quickly left her chambers as the sound of the men grew closer, running down the dark abandoned halls of her home before finally making it into the room of a small girl. She ran over to the sleeping child and scooped her up, whisking her out of the room and down the corridor. Together they made it to the throne room where the king stood with a group of his men. He stepped away from the men, approached the queen, looked her in the eyes, kissed the child on her forehead, and then sent them and his men away.

Together the queen and guards walked the dark passages of the castle when an explosion erupted through the building. All of the glass from the windows shattered as the explosion sent everyone to their knees, killing a few of the guards that accompanied the queen. The queen quickly stood with the child still wrapped in her arms, blood running down her arms and face. Her heart was racing and panic set into her body. She continued onward, hastily, until she came to a secret passage when the traitorous men had breached the castle. 

Scavenging through the castle, the men began setting fire to everything and slaughtering all who were in their paths. Flames devoured the castle and smoke clouded the halls making it difficult for the queen to see. Someone grabbed her arm and guided her through the fires until they were in the tunnels under the castle and almost outside on the castle grounds.

Once out of the castle the queen looked at the woman with sadness in her eyes, and handed the child over to her. "Take care of my daughter."

~***~

Cordelia jolted out of bed startling Arianrhod, her snow-white wolf, who was laying at the edge of the bed. The wolf crawled over to where Cordelia lay and began licking her face, trying to comfort her. Sweat still clung to every inch of Cordelia causing her night clothes and sheets to stick to her. She sat up in bed, breathing slowly, trying to calm her ever racing heart. This wasn't the first time she's had this dream.

After dressing in furs and braiding her long, wavy, brown hair, Cordelia came into the kitchen where her mother Hazel was preparing breakfast. She walked over to Hazel, wrapping her arms around the small lady's shoulders and planting a kiss upon her cheek.

"Good morning mother. Can I help you with anything?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, you can go outside and fetch me some more firewood from the shed. The fire doesn't feed itself you know."

"Of course mother." Cordelia smiled at Hazel before walking out of the house and into the snow-covered ground beyond.

As she made her way to the shed, an owl flew toward Cordelia depositing a letter within her hands. Then making its way to the top of the shed where it perched.

"Hello pretty bird," Cordelia gestured to the owl. "What have you brought me this time?"

The owl was a barn owl by the name of Athonia who had white feathers all along her breast and face while brown feathers covered her back and wings.

Cordelia quickly opened the letter, read its contents, then stashed it away in her pocket. She grabbed several logs before making her way back into the house where she deposited the logs next to the fire, while throwing a couple within. Cordelia made her way to her room where she sat at her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and some ink. She scribbled some words quickly onto it, then sealed it with wax. Athonia came swooping into the room sitting on a perch that sat upon Cordelia's desk.