The Last Princess

Chapter 65

"Do you know how to be quiet?" Aiden hissed.

"Maybe you should try to yourself!" I hissed back, though my heart had leaped when Birch had stirred. Just because I had stepped on a twig. "Come on, guys." Arden whispered. He and Maple were already near the Forest. We'd gone one at a time, so Aiden was a bit ahead of me.

I balanced the heavy swords (six of them, one each for Maple and me- though I didn't see how we would need them- and two for the boys), trying to quietly move towards them. Finally, after several agonizing moments, we made it.

Together, we turned and took one last look at the slumbering elves who'd done so much for us- then we turned our backs on them and walked away.

Every small sound seemed magnified in the darkness as we walked silently. It was so dark I could barely see the plants around us, and the canopy above was so thick I could barely see the stars above.

After a long time, when Aiden was sure we were out of earshot, he said, "Okay, we need to find somewhere to hide later. And we need to move fast. When they realize we're gone, they're going to come to find us. And they can move a lot faster than us."

That made sense. But how could we go faster? "What are you thinking?" Arden asked him. Aiden seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Well, I've been practicing the 'moving through the trees' thing Dad does...and maybe, I could do it?"

Forgive me if I was not too reassured.

"I don't think we should risk it." Maple said, sounding worried. "Maybe, when the sun begins to come up, we could find a good place to hide." I suggested. "Let's do that." Arden agreed. Aiden grunted, which we took to mean that he was okay with it.

We continued walking until Maple spoke. "Wait. What if...um, no offense, you guys, but...what if your dad put that trace thing on us like the Queen did? Can we break it?" The twins were silent. Of course, they might have been offended, because she was accusing their dad of that.

A horrible thought struck me. "Maple, did Ivy's trace on you ever break? After the attack, did you manage to use the Forest in any way?" She was silent for a moment, and I was worried, until she said, "Yes. When you were unconscious. It was small, though..."

Finally Aiden spoke. His voice was not as angry as I had expected, though of course I couldn't see his face. "For Dad to have put that on us, he would have had to touch us with some part of the Forest. Did he?"

"Well, when he made us travel with the trees thing, maybe he did." I said carefully. "Maybe we should just...I don't know, lift a leaf or something. It's small, but it'll break the spell- if it's there. Better to be safe, right?" I said.

"Let's just do it." Arden said, sounding eager to end this conversation. I closed my eyes ad focused on a leaf at my feet. It had just fallen, so it was still alive. I felt a tug in my head, and I knew it had been lifted.

I let it go, and as I was about to open my eyes, the darkness under my eyelids changed to an aura of gold. I recognized it, because I had seen this figure before. Nalvia? I asked silently.

Her reply flew back immediately. Yes. I was confused. Why are you here? I asked silently. Not that I was ungrateful for her presence, but it was slightly strange. You must understand. She said. Understand what? I asked.

Her golden figure dissipated like before. Like she was showing me another vision. Why are you showing me this? I asked. See. She said.

My eyelids were still closed, but I saw what she wanted me to see. Another vision of my parents.