Bloodline Chronicles II: Tricks of Fate

Prologue

Prologue

“This is it.”

The middle-aged woman said, talking for the second time to the driver. The first time she spoke to him was the moment when she rode the service car, back from the country where she lives. She asked the driver to take him there, right where the car’s engine stopped.

The driver, slightly hesitant, finally obeyed the woman’s order. He found themselves at the middle of a dark forest, which caused his heart beat twice his normal rate. This was his first time being here. Usually his passengers asked him to take them to the capital city, or just to town centers. But this, this is an odd situation.

He turned his back as the woman prepared herself to leave the car.

“Are you sure, ma’am? This place is too dangerous for you to explore alone,” he said, worried.

The woman looked at him blankly.

“This is my destination, and don’t you worry young man, I am safe here”, she said in her plain voice.

The driver paused for a while, and finally nodded his head.

“Thank you for your concern. Nothing’s gonna harm me,” she finally said, and she went out the car.

As soon as she stepped outside the vehicle, the driver, for the last time, looked at her with his worried face. The woman just smiled weakly, implying that she’s gonna be fine. She waited for the engine to start, and the driver started to move the car, disturbing the quiet forest once again. As soon as the car was already meters away from her, the woman decided to take her own path, walking towards the dark and quiet forest before her.

While infiltrating the dense woods, she felt the cold breeze of the night, blowing gently against her. Despite the gentle blow of the wind, she could feel the intense shivering of her bones. She stopped for a while, and pulled out her black cloak, and shielded herself from the cold breeze of the forest.

At least this could help, she thought. She started walking again, balancing herself as she stepped on the large, exposed roots of gigantic trees around her. She looked up, and she could slightly gaze at the stars guiding her path across the woods.

She continued to walk towards the darkest part of the forest. Even though the path was getting darker and darker, she could not feel any fear.

This place is not inhabited by any living thing. What shall I fear?

Her thoughts turned out to be true all along. There were no signs of any animals deep in the forest. There were no howls, no hoots, not even a single scratch from a miniature living thing. The touch of coldness was the only thing which made her a little bit scared. To divert herself from that feeling, she thought of the thing her father told about this silent place.

It’s funny how people thought that the bloodlines directly originated from a single rock. Who would ever believe that? That’s a children’s story!

The woman chuckled, but her slight noise almost disturbed the peacefulness of the place. Knowing that she’d created the slight noise, she covered her mouth, and continued the path up to the middle of the forest.

It’s almost one hour of travel when she saw something few meters away from her. Despite the darkness, she was sure it was it. She drew a slight smile, and went towards the thing, slightly illuminated because of the stars above it.

But the moment when she’s almost near to it, she heard her father’s voice inside his head.

Someday you will decide to find for her. Someday you will be torn between your duty and the safety of the people around you. But I must tell you this: she now lies in peace, with her Heart safely kept within her. The Key you’re holding right now is for her safety, not ours.

Her large steps turned into small ones. She closed her eyes, and she felt a small tear squeezed out from her right eye. The woman opened them again, and continued her steps.

There’s no point of keeping her safe. It’s time to prioritize my own safety, she told herself.

And she finally reached it. She faced a statue, almost six feet tall. The statue was a lady, stood on a pedestal. Her hands were held together, as if she was praying silently, and her eyes slightly open, her lips smiling vibrantly despite the darkness enveloping around her.

The woman looked around to see if there’s anyone spying on her. She found herself at the middle of a large crater, the statue placed right at the middle of it. After seeing that there’s nobody watching her, she pulled out something from her chest. Dangling on her neck was a vial, half-filled with a colorless liquid. Without any hesitation, she opened the vial and reached for the statue’s chest. She almost poured out the contents of the glass vial, and a small amount of liquid touched the statue’s chest. The liquid slightly burned the material, but then again, the woman heard her father’s voice.

Do you deserve her heart? Do you really deserve the rock which crashed on the Planet’s crust a long time ago? This is her gift to us, not a gift for you alone.

She almost fell back. The words were clear inside her head. She immediately closed the vial, and put it back and remained there dangling. With so much embarrassment, she slowly looked up, and gazed at the statue before her. She could see clearly the melted part of her chest.

I am sorry. I am so sorry. I almost betrayed you. I can see it now. From now on, I will sacrifice everything just to keep you safe. You gave us the gift; it’s time to give back.

She kneeled down before the lady statue, and prayed silently, regretting her mistake of prioritizing her own self. When she opened her eyes, she clearly saw the name of the statue, deeply engraved at the pedestal, slightly illuminating because of the stars above her.

GAEA

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Hello everybody! This is now the second book of the Bloodline Chronicles series. If this caught your attention and found it quite exciting and catchy, I suggest you read the first book to fully understand the story. Thank you very much to those who were able to read the previous book, especially to those who showed support by voting and commenting. Thanks a lot guys! Hope you enjoy this one. :)