Between the Willow Trees [NaNoWriMo 2013] (Editing)

Chapter 17: The Elethorian from Earth

Chapter 17: The Elethorian from Earth

A few days after the party we get ready to leave the castle to travel to the wood elf camp in the west. Thorne explains that if he were going there without me then he would travel alone, without his minion demons. As I am going with him though he is worried about me getting hurt and so he plans to bring a small army of demons and Ebonaria along with us. Apparently Ebonaria won't leave my side while we're there and she's sworn to protect me. 

To be honest I really don't think this is all necessary at all. I'm not worth protecting that much and surely their main target is Thorne, not me. They probably won't try to attack me at all. In fact, they probably won't even know who I am. When I explain this to Thorne he says that I really underestimate my importance sometimes. He believes that by now the news of our engagement will have spread across Elethoria and people might harm or kill me in an attempt to scare or anger Thorne. That is why I will be heavily guarded on our journey. I don’t argue back anymore.

We leave in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun is rising. All the demons ride on horses and so does Thorne but I ride in a carriage with Ebonaria. I said to Thorne that I would learn to ride a horse so that the carriage wouldn't be necessary but he said that we weren't just using it because I’ve never ridden a horse. He wants me to stay in the safety of the carriage for most of our trip because I’ll be a lot safer in there.

It does get awfully boring sitting in the carriage for hours with Ebonaria as my only company. We are on much better terms now, in fact I would go as far to say that I consider her a friend, and we do talk a lot to pass the time. I wanted to watch the world pass by out of the carriage window but Ebonaria insisted that we have the shutters closed just in case the carriage gets attacked.  There are holes in the shutters to let in some light and air but it doesn’t stop me from feeling a little claustrophobic being stuck in here all day.

I do believe that the lengths they're going through to keep me safe are a tad over the top but I try not to complain too much. I fully understand that I am a weak human who probably needs protecting in a world beyond the realm of normal. I have no powers and no superhuman abilities. I'm just a human, powerless and easily killed. And of course we wouldn’t want me hurt or killed because it will screw Thorne up if that happens. No doubt he’ll go on a rampage and kill anyone involved with my death.

It takes all day to reach the camp. We arrive just as night is falling and that's when I'm finally allowed out of the carriage. After the long journey it feels so good to stretch my legs and breathe the fresh air. Out here in the wilderness where there's very little light pollution it's easier to really see Elethoria's night sky. It is very different to the sky back in the sister world of earth. This sky is full of rainbow nebulas, like bursting blooms of flowers decorating the night sky. None of the constellations are the same here as they are back at home. Ebonaria tries to show me some of them as we sit by the campfire that night.

When I struggle to understand many of the names of them she moves on to telling me about the moons instead. There are four moons that can be seen in Elethoria, though not all of them can be seen at the same time. There's only ever three in sight and all four moons match the seasons. There's the red moon of summer, the blue moon of winter, the orange moon of autumn and the green moon of spring. The moon that's in the centre of the sky matches what the season is and the two either side of it are the last season and the upcoming season. Apparently many Elethorians still worship the moons as gods and goddesses. It is believed that if they don’t worship them then the seasons will freeze in time and the next season will never come. That would be disastrous here because they heavily rely on the seasons for things like crops. Of course, if they did stop worshipping the moons it shouldn’t matter too much because nymphs have the power to protect nature so they can easily save the crops.