Garthia: The Forgotten King

Chapter Seven

~Chapter Seven

I'm falling.

Everything around me is pitch black, but I can feel the weightlessness and the wind rushing by my ears as I fall even further.

I've been falling for what feels like a good three minutes when I see a dot of light below me. It grows wider and wider until it swallows me.

I'm blinded by the sudden brightness. When I look around all I see is white. I flail around, grabbing around me to find something to hold onto, but there's nothing there.

Suddenly, I slam into something. It's soft and firm, but it's not the ground. Still, pain shoots through me. I close my eyes against the light, writhing in agony.

I hear a familiar voice call my name. As soon as my eyes adjust to the light, I look around.

I'm lying on a dirty mattress in another alley. The mattress seems out of place, like it was sloppily placed here.

I can't see where I fell from. All that's above me is the sun and the clear afternoon sky.

Cam and Eve are leaning over me. "Took you long enough." Eve teases.

"Are you alright?" Cam asks, his eyebrows creased with worry.

"Yeah." I try to pull myself up, but I my body aches and I flop back on to the mattress.

"Here. Let me help." He grabs my hands and pulls me up.

The pain has reduced to a throb, so it doesn't hurt that much. I thank Cam and he smiles. Maybe he's not so bad after all.

"Thanks for the help, Eve." I joke.

"No problem." She punches me playfully in the arm. "We fell too. It hurts at first, but you'll get over it."

"Yeah." Cameron agrees.

"Where are we?"

"Where do you think?" Eve says. "We're in Garthia!" She spreads her hands out. "In an alley way. Not exactly the most exciting part of the city. I think the best part is the eternal tree. You know. The place where-"

I cut her off. "Wait. Eve? Have you been here before?"

She rubs her arm and smiles nervously. "Ok. So the truth is-" She takes a deep breath. "I'm a wizard."

I roll my eyes at her. "Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see the trolls, and you wouldn't be able to find the door to the Downtown Brewery. I asked if you've been here before."

She place a hand on her hip. "First of all, don't roll your eyes at me. Second of all, yes I have been here. I came once with my-" She slaps a hand over her mouth. "That parts not important." She continues.

"What's with you?!" I snap, "I feel like ever since left home, I've had no idea who you were! It's like you have all of these secrets! What happened to best friends telling each other everything?"

She just stands there and looks hurt for a moment. Well she deserved it! It's like I don't even know her anymore. I guess everything is different now.

Cam stands in between us like he's trying to prevent a fight. "All right ladies. We'll deal with this later. Right now we should probably head towards the castle. Eve, since you've been here before, maybe you could-"

"Don't call me Eve," she barks angrily. "And yes. I'll lead the way." She stomps out of the alley. Can gives me a shrug, then continues after her.

I don't think I've seen anything more beautiful in my entire life.

The city we walk out onto is filled with people. They're dressed like mortals for the most part: some are dressed casually, while others are more formal. The streets are lined with shops filled with magical and mortal things.

There's only one thing that seems really strange: no cars.

Not only that, but from what I can see, there's no bus stops or train stations or any form of public transportation. Everyone just walks. Maybe that's why the sky is so clear.

But the best thing by far is the view. From this point, you can see the center of the city perfectly. There is a majestic castle standing watch over the city. It's towers seem to reach up and touch the clouds. The sunlight glints of it's bleached stone surface making it look even more stunning. And somewhat familiar.

Cam is standing beside me looking as dumbfounded as I feel. I give him a shove and he snaps out of it. Eve is ahead of us pushing her way through the people. I meet Cam's eyes and we both jog to catch up to her.