The Prophecy of Moonlight

Chapter 4

The trio reached the deep heart of the forest. Here, the trees were even denser, making the forest seem as though it were composed of a solid wall of wooded trees. But, in the middle, there was a wide glade surrounded by the trees. The bright moonlight lit up the lush green grass. There was a peaceful quietness in the air.

"Here it is. The headquarters of the Society!" exclaimed Al. Lucius thought something was wrong with him. There was nothing there. It was a beautiful clearing, but there was nothing besides the grass and the dark trees surrounding the area.

Al barked with laughter. "Oh, the look on your face! That's priceless!"

"Cut it out!" snapped Beatrix. To Lucius, she said, "Do you see the tree?"

"No," said Lucius, a little heatedly.

"Here. Close your eyes," said Beatrix. Lucius complied and he felt Beatrix's cool hand on his forehead. Lucius expected something to happen, but he felt nothing.

"Open your eyes," said Beatrix, taking her hand off.

Lucius did so. He couldn't believe what he saw. Where there had been empty space before, now stood a huge tree with a wide trunk. It looked as ancient as time itself yet stood firm and strong, its roots digging deep within the ground. The tree was nothing like the rest in the woods. Its large branches split from the top of the trunk and spread out in different directions, reaching far. It seemed to shine with a rich golden brown color. Lucius was speechless in awe. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before.

"Welcome to the Society of Moonlight!" proudly introduced Al as he grandly raised his arms towards the tree.

"Wow," was all Lucius could say.

Beatrix walked to face the trunk of the tree. Al and Lucius followed her. Up close, the tree seemed to take up Lucius's entire view.

Beatrix spoke a single word, "Deschis."

If Lucius had already been in awe, he wasn't ready for what happened next. Within a blink of the eye, a wooden door appeared on the trunk.

"After you," said Beatrix, smiling at Lucius's incredulity.

"Um, you might want to brace yourself," warned Al, a little too late.

As Lucius stepped through, he turned to look at Al. But, he was already falling through air. Letting out a yell, Lucius continued his descent. Looking up, he could see Al above him, laughing, and Beatrix.

This is insane, Lucius thought as he kept falling. Yet, he wasn't afraid. He was actually enjoying himself. Then, all of a sudden, he landed on the ground on his feet. He scrambled out of the way to avoid having Al fall on top of him. However, Al stood where he was.

"Get out of the way, you imbecile!" shrieked the arriving Beatrix, following up with a string of curses.

Al stood there and then, at the last possible moment, moved out of the way. Beatrix landed on her feet, though she seemed to be off balance for a while. Lucius and Al were overcome with bouts of hysterical laughter. Lucius was really beginning to warm to the two of them. Lucius, when he had calmed down, came over to steady the flustered and mad Beatrix.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't funny," apologized Lucius.

Beatrix waved him off. "It's fine." Then, she aimed a glare at Al, who was on the floor in tears of laughter.

They were in a room-sized chamber with numerous tunnels leading off to different places. The walls and floor were made of the same wood as the tree above. Despite being inside a tree and underground, there was a golden, radiating light with no visible source that allowed one to see as though it were daylight.