Forevermore

Forevermore (Reagan)

R E A G A N

         Winter is my favorite season. I can't help but admire how the snow falls gracefully on the cold ground, or how it lands perfectly on top of the trees, making everything glisten. My long white dress and short white gloves made me almost invisible in the winter wonderland. The only thing that could give me away was my black hair, that fell halfway down my back. But nobody would find me. Nobody ever came to this side of the volcano, where the Ashwalkers lived. The Ashwalkers were a group of fairies that ate any creature they could get thier hands on. They were given their name from the first man who had seen them. He had said that they could walk on ash made from the volcano. At the time, the man did not know that the Ashwalkers were a type of Fey. Since they were Fey, that meant they had wings, and it only appeared that they were walking on ash. The name had outdated them now anyway. The volcano had gone to sleep many hundreds of years ago. It was resting peacefully, but there were still whispers of activity throughout the cities below.

          I wasn't afraid of the Ashwalkers. When I was only two years old, my mother had made a deal with them so that I was safe. She had been brave, giving her life for the sake of her child. Now I lived alone on the dangerous side of the volcano. I had no intention of going to the other side unless I needed to. There was nothing for me there. In a harsh winter, not like this one, the Ashwalkers would graciously give me food and blankets. They were kind people if you made a deal with them. If not... it's best not to talk about it. Occasionally, even with the threat of the Ashwalkers, some brave men would come to the volcano to hunt. They hunted a beast called the Abac.

          It was only a bit larger than a deer. In the middle of its forehead was a huge, black, curving horn used to defend itself. There was also another horn on the tip of its nose, but not nearly as big. The brave men would come up to the volcano, and I would watch them hunt. I admired their bravery, but pitied their stupidity. For as I was watching them hunt, so were the Ashwalkers. They would attack at a time of total surprise, killing every man left. As part of the deal with my mother, I was the Ashwalker's messenger. It was my job to go back to the vilage or city and tell the people about the casualties. It was only about a day's trip for me, but for a normal man it would take weeks. Every so often a man came back with an Abac. He would skin and eat the animal, whose meat was said to be the richest in the world. He would either sell the horns or hang them on his wall as a trophy. The horns of an Abac were extremely rare, since the volcano was the only home for the Abac in all the world. My side of the volcano was flooded with these animals, which I hunted as I pleased. I had a huge trunk full of Abac horns, which I kept just in case I needed some serious cash.

          Speaking of Abac, there was one now. I froze in place and looked at it. I had been so silent that it had not yet noticed me. After all, when I walked through the snow, it didn't crunch beneath my feet. The Abac munched on a piece of grass, it's top horn almost touching the ground beneath it. Abacs were omnivores, they ate meat and plants. Since they were not killers though, they only ate plants on the volcano. As I was about to pull out my dagger to kill the gentle beast, it made a sort of braying sound. I smiled as a baby Abac made its way out of the underbrush. It's little legs wobbled and I sighed. Both Abac turned to look at me, frozen to the spot. I reached behind me and slipped my hand into my dress. There was a small pocket in the back that held anything I needed for any situation. My gloved fingers touched something cold and wet, and I grabbed it. The Abacs were still staring at me as I lifted up a piece of dripping red meat.

          The baby Abac brayed and clumsily made its way towards me. I knelt down and held the meat out. The mother Abac snorted and pointed her horn at me. I bent my head down, kissed the back of my palm, and gracefully held my hand out to her. This was the sign of peace that all people and animals knew. The mother Abac nodded her head and knelt down to eat more grass. The baby Abac finally reached me and chomped down on the juicy meat. This was probably his first taste of blood. When he was done the chunk, he licked the blood off of my gloves. I laughed and pet his small head. Suddenly the two Abac's bounded away.