The Ravenwood

Chapter 2

I had been running. Sharp stones had torn into my bare feet and thorns whipped at the skin on my arms and legs, all of the combat missions I was ever sent on could not help me with this as I ran deeper and deeper into the forest. The forest was now steeped in plushness and opulence. Light pierced through the trees not even a few feet from where I was so I paused.

The forest beckoned me into this pulsing heart. The deep, haunting ballad of its ancient song called out to me. With a light heart, I plunged into the over-arching vault of leaves and limbs. It was not what I had expected. The beauty of the dawn’s light had not yet lanced to the lush, green meadow. Because of this, hoods of black shadows hung in the groves.

Coils of vaporous mist wrapped the shaggy heads of the oak trees. They writhed around them like a conjuror’s milky smoke, sensuous and unreal. Sieves of mist caressed the lichen-encrusted bark. Adding its phantasmal gas to the damp breath of the forest, it glided with deadly intent. It deadened sound, haunted glades and poured into empty spaces. A gloomy silence overhung the hallowed ground where the trees dared not grow. Nothing stirred, nothing shone, nothing sang. A hollow echoing, like the hushed tones of a great, slabbed cathedral, entombed the wood.

Then a finger of supernal light poked through the misty mesh. It was followed by a whole loom of light, filtering down in seams of gold. Like the luminous glow of the gods, it chased the shadows, banished the gloom and spilled into spaces where the mist once stalked. The light piping of a songbird split the silence just as the forest became flooded with light. A fusillade of trilling and warbling detonated all around me as the ancient forest came alive with the troubadours of the trees. I darted between shafts of lustrous-gold light as I went, admiring the butterflies. They pirouetted in the air, their wings a-whirr like little ripples of silk.

The glory of the forest was revealed in the birthstone-bright light. Almond-brown trees stood serenely, awash with a tender glow. Their bark looked like riffled toast and gems of amber clasped their crusty exterior. The blush of the fading sun gave the leafy bower a shimmering complexion.

Idling past suede-soft flowers, I caressed them softly, getting tingles in my fingers.My ears perked up at the metallic, tinkling sound of a stream. It flashed with a tinsel tint through the lace of leaves. When the trees parted, I could see it was sliding into an infinity-pool. The pool looked like a polished mirror of silver, with layers of swirl-white twisting slowly on the surface. A shiny spillway led to a choppier pond. Boulders colonized the edges of the pond, buffed with pillows of moss. They caused a rocky gurgling as water met stone. Sweet fragrances seemed to flit in and out of my awareness. Sight and smell fought for attention in this soul-enriching dream world.

A snap of a twig pulled me out of my dream like trance. Spinning around I caught glimpse of a large figure of what looked like a man. I silently crept forward, hiding behind an oak tree.

As I was staring he suddenly jerked his head in my direction. His hair caught the light and his midnight black hair gleamed making hints of blues stand out. His hair itself was like spun silk, each thread falling perfectly, weaving together framing his tanned face. He paused for a moment. Bringing his hand up to brush his hair back. His fingers were long but strong looking. My eyes wandered up his arm, to his strong forearm disappearing into the sleeve of his dark gray shirt. His nose was straight, his lips were like Cupid's bow shooting an arrow straight into my heart. Suddenly, he his eyes met mine and I caught a flash of his aqua caribbean eyes.

Almost as sudden as our eyes met he was in front of me. The bold fragrance of vanilla and cocoa swirled around me. His hand grazed down my face while the other held my hip. Electricity flowed thru his fingers into my skin.

"I have finally found you, now you will never leave me my princess." The stranger whispered as his lips grazed my ear. A shiver went up and down my body making the god-like man before me chuckle. I snapped out of it and pushed him away from me. I grew frustrated when he didn't even move an inch.

"You will have to try harder than that princess." he said with a smirk. That's when an idea came into my head. A devilish smile grew on my face as I drew my knee up and hit him where the sun don't shine. He fell to the earthy ground with a groan.

"Was that hard enough?" I chuckled. Turning, I ran back into the forest.