The Planets Are Aligned (Original)

Chapter Six: A Journey Begins

     The two humanoids approached the woods with no hesitation. Jupiter was getting more and more excited as they got closer. He was a little anxious, but he managed to push anxiety out of his way and replaced it with an adventurous attitude. Jupiter grew a large grin on his little face.
     "Wow," Mars said, amazed. "I had no idea such a grin could fit on your face!"
     "Thank you, Mars," Jupiter kept grinning. "I don't know how I do it either. Anyways, which direction are we heading?" Mars analyzed the entrance of the woods carefully.
     "Well, I do know that depending on which way you go through the forest, you can either end up at Olivine or Peridot," Mars said quietly while he looked around. "We do not want to end up in Peridot. It's a little too, um, messy for me." Mars inched closer to the woods. He stared into the woods a little more. "I got it. We go left." He immediately headed towards to the left, and Jupiter quickly followed him. He did not want to get lost in a place he had never been to before. The woods had a beautiful arrangement of greens within it. It was absolutely beautiful. It was just as beautiful as the meadow near Malachite. The woods were filled with only the noises of the chirping birds and the running streams nearby. Jupiter felt calm and content, especially since he was with someone who he could share the beauty and silence with. He did not realize how close he was with Mars, however, and he bumped right into Mars. Mars staggered a little and stood still after.
     "Are you okay?" Mars asked Jupiter. "Do you need to rest already?" Jupiter shook his head very quickly. "Alright, then." It was quiet again. The sound of Jupiter and Mars' footsteps got stuck in Jupiter's head, and he almost became entranced with the noise. He was walking at the same pace as Mars. Jupiter could not really say anything because of the weird trance. He then remembered where he was and what he was doing. He regained his consciousness.
     "Mars?" Jupiter spoke quietly and softly. He almost could not be heard.
     "What is it, Jupiter?" Mars replied as he looked just barely over his shoulder to see Jupiter.
Jupiter was jolted with energy as he saw that he had caught Mars' attention. He felt obliged to have Mars' attention all to himself. "Oh! I, um, just wanted to say... isn't it beautiful out here? It's so calm and pretty out." Mars smiled softly and nodded with agreement.
      "It really is," he spoke. "It feels great to be out of the castle and in nature, especially without any guards all around you. Well, I don't think you would understand. You haven't been trapped in a castle your whole life, unless you're hiding something! And no, I wasn't actually trapped, I was allowed to go out, but it felt trapping at times to almost always be in the castle." They suddenly came across a river. Just beyond the other side of the river, they could see some buildings.
     "Well, that didn't take too long," Jupiter commented. "I thought you said Olivine was only a quarter away?"
     "I over-exaggerated," Mars admitted and very quietly chuckled. "I was thinking of how far away Sunstone was, and I made some miscalculations in my head." He looked upon the river and looked down both ends of it. The river looked endless! "It looks like we'll have to just swim across the river. It doesn't look that difficult." Mars, after he spoke, lowered himself into the river from the edge.
     "Wait, Mars!" Jupiter tried to run over to him as quickly as he could. "Watch out for the current!" However, Jupiter spoke too late and Mars was swept away by the river steadily. Mars attempted to make his feet touch the bottom of the river, which they did, but the current kept pushing him forward. "Mars! Hang in there! I'm a relatively strong swimmer! I think! I hope! I believe! I--" Jupiter plunged into the river and swam quickly towards Mars. Mars was astounded by Jupiter's strength. Jupiter took a hold of Mars' hand and began to swim towards the other side of the river. The current was pushing him down the river more, but Jupiter stayed persistent and continued to swim to the other side. He took a hold of a large rock near the ground next to the river and pulled himself up and out of the water. He then pulled Mars out of the water and exhaustively fell onto the grass. The two of them were quiet for a moment. They were trying to catch their breaths. Mars turned his head slowly to see Jupiter, who was showing off his "infamous" grin. Mars could not help but to laugh. Mars' laughter left Jupiter in awe. Mars was finally laughing in front of him! Jupiter felt even more accomplished after seeing how happy Mars was.
     "Oh no," Mars said through his laughter. "I shouldn't be laughing. Smiles aren't funny and I'm a king!"
     "Then why did you laugh?" Jupiter grinned wider. "Come on, you're allowed to laugh! It's healthy to laugh!"
     "I guess so." Mars felt better. "Your contagious positivity is making me happy. I have to thank you for that, Jupiter... oh, and for saving me, as well. Thank you, Jupiter." He stopped his laughter and smiled at him. It was a normal but relieving smile to Jupiter.
     "It was nothing," Jupiter's face was slightly pink. "I had to do something. I usually take actions on things, anyways." He got up and helped Mars up. "Ready to go to Olivine?" Mars suddenly became a little weary. He looked worried, too, almost as if he did not want to face something.
      "To be honest, not really," Mars started to walk slowly. "I'm not ready to meet her face-to-face." Jupiter saw Mars' hand dangling beside him. Without thinking of anything else, Jupiter took a hold of Mars' hand. Mars almost instantly blushed as he looked over at Jupiter. Jupiter gave him a comforting smile.
     "You'll be alright," he said while walking with Mars hand-in-hand. "It probably won't be too bad. Besides, we got each others' backs, right? Don't worry about it." Mars became contented with Jupiter's words. He walked along with Jupiter happily as they approached Olivine. He tightened his grip gently of Jupiter's hand. It made Mars feel more comfortable and confident with the situation that he was going to face.