Rosewood and the legend of the Unicorn

Chapter 18- A Dragons Palace

Her theory is yet to be justified.

And of course she is no closer to understanding why she seems to have the same powers as an Amorylliss. Because she knows her second souls is a mermaid. Which is certainly not a dark one.

However, it is now 7pm, and Ariana is still deciding whether or not to go meet Ridge tonight.
She is yet to have told Falcon about it. Or anyone.
But going to see Ridge may give her the answers she needs.

At 8:30pm, Ariana eventually arises from her room for the first time today, and tells Falcon she needs to leave.
"Um... it was a letter from Ashton. He wants to meet tonight. Go for a swim or something with some friends."
"Oh that's lovely Ari. You go have fun, but it is dangerous out there , make sure Roy knows about this."
"Of course he does. We'll be fine dad. I promise."
And cautiously, Ariana leaves the house. She feels overly guilty for constantly having to lie to Falcon lately. But it's for the best. What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

Ariana makes the trek to meet Ridge at his residence. But she doesn't really know what to expect when she gets there.
She keeps her head low along the way.
Most souls are back in their homes now anyway, who knows what's lurking around here at this time. And of course Ariana knows, that they're not just rumours anymore.

Eventually, she comes across the large wooded area, she stumbles and crawls all through the prickly nettles, and amongst plants she'd rather not come in to contact with. She is pretty sure she's lost. After all, she's only been here once. And that was with Falcon by her side.

After several more minutes of bending in and out, over and under branches, she begins to give up. But as she's about to try and turn back, a bright purple light shines in the distance.
Immediately attracted to its blinding beauty, Ariana heads forwards and straight towards it, forgetting about everything around her. She walks straight through, as if she can no longer feel the sharp cuts and jagerred edges of the trees. As she reaches closer to it, she notices it's actually a bright purple ball of fire. It floats just centimetres above the ground, roughly the size of a tennis ball. Without thought, captivated by its glistening presence, Ariana leans down and attempts to scoop it from underneath her hands. Never fully coming in to contact with it, she lifts it off the ground and up to her eye line.

Her eyes widen and her cheeks redden. Being in the presence of something so mythical has captivated her attention from all angles.
But it's not just a ball of fire, she feels a force within it. No words are spoken, but she can feel its presence as if it was alive. Ariana gets an overwhelming feeling which causes her to urge forward. Again, completely ignoring her surroundings, she walks straight through all the brambles, and suddenly seems to know exactly where she's going.

Soon, straight ahead, light becomes visible.
The purple flame begins to dwindle away. In a panic Ariana tries gathering up all the power she has in her body to keep the flame alight!
But as she creeps closer to the opening at the end of the woodland, it becomes further out of her grasp.

Not wanting to take the last step out in to the open, Ariana resists its force. But soon enough, she is pulled forward against her will. And the purple flame diminishes. She instantly feels sad. As if she's just lost a friend. A sensation she can't begin to comprehend.
But after standing still for a while, she eventually looks upwards, and realises she is directly facing Ridges castle.

And there's someone standing in front of it.

"Ah! My Ariana! You made it..."
"Ridge - It's nice to see you again." Ariana now stands directly opposite Ridge, who remains frozen on the top step heading towards the castle.
He speaks in a very demanding voice, almost sounding more sinister as each syllable is spoken.
"Come in my darling. We have much to discuss." Still remaining a good few feet away, Ariana is shocked as Ridge turns around, and heads back inside the castle. Without Ariana.