The Last Protectors of Avendale

Chapter One

                                                                         Emmyth Lynne

                                                                               Ch. 1

"Am I dead?" I whispered, though it felt like I was shouting. I looked around but it was complete darkness, there was no way in telling where I could possibly be.  

"...Not yet my dear," a metallic voice replied from the shadows. The voice sent a chill up my spine and gave me a feeling I have felt a thousand times before; fearful. I wasn't scared because of the answer the shadows gave me, I was scared because I heard the voice before many years ago. 

"Who are you?" I asked, this time without whispering. 

"Why you should know who I am dear, I took your sis-" The shadows voice was quickly cut off by gigantic boulders crashing down, all of them landing around me. The entire place was falling apart. Dodging as many sharp rocks as I could in the darkness, the shadows voice appeared again but this time it sounded much closer than before. 

"You'll die here and never see her again." The shadow yelled so loud more rocks fell around me and the ground shook as if it were afraid of whoever was speaking. Panic began to set in within me, my eyes began to sting with tears forming behind them. 

"Do not cry Emmyth. Don't you dare cry, not here." I muttered to myself, though right as I finished my very weak motivational thought a large sharp boulder was hurdling toward me. I barely had enough time to jump out of the way, it happened so quickly the sharp edge of the rock still cut the top of my arm. Running in complete darkness, dodging boulders, trying to ignore a terrifying voice, and now blood rushing down my arm, you could say I wasn't having a good day. 

"Tick Tock, your time is up." The terrifying voice filled the darkness once more, but before I could reply back, a heavy force hit the back of my head, leaving me unconscious. 

- - - - - - - -

"Nooo no no!" I sat up and screamed, finally realizing that I was in my small bed. 

"I can't take these dreams anymore, this one was different this time. Whoever that was mentioned my sister. " I muttered groggily to myself slowly dragging myself out of the small warm bed. Once I got into the bathroom and looked in the mirror I noticed the dark red on the top of my arm. I touched the rough area, realizing that it was dried blood. In complete shock, I stumbled backwards falling onto the bathroom floor. It was too much to process, and I didn't feel like being strong this morning, so I sat on the old wooden bathroom floor letting my tears roll down my cheeks and stain the oak floorboards. After ten minutes of sitting in complete silence, I pulled myself together and washed off the blood in the shower.

"You don't need distractions today, today is a big day." I said in the mirror while wrapping a bandage around the cut on my arm then brushing the long blue hair on my head. Once I was downstairs in the kitchen, I quickly ate some Ram Berries and then grabbed my bow 'n' arrows. I opened the front door of my home and looked out across the land of Avendale. Before stepping outside, I gently touched the photo of my sister and I as kids hanging up on the wall by the door, it was a reminder that she was once with me and will be again. 

"You haven't been forgotten Nei, wish me luck today." I smiled softly at the picture then stepped outside and closed the front door behind me. I looked along the horizon of this beautiful land once more, and I am never bored of what is presented in front of me. Large oak trees hundreds of feet tall everywhere, so big everyone looks like ants among them and their trunks. In the far distance you saw the Elven Castle standing tall as ever, and looked even more powerful today or at least that's what I assumed since that was where I had to be this morning to be initiated into the Elven Army as protectors of Avendale, home of the Elves and Fairies. 

"Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" I panicked and jumped off the ledge of my house completely ignoring the ladder my neighbor built a couple months ago. My home is up in one of the famous oak trees that cover this land just like many other homes here. It looks like a cottage, well that's what my neighbor says but he came from a different land even though he refuses to say where, but apparently wherever he came from they called homes like mine cottages. That's just a weird word. 

"Good luck today Emmyth Lynne!" shouted a group of kids sitting on a wide oak branch eating their breakfast as I ran past them. 

"Thank you guys!" I replied hoping the wind pushed my words back to the group of children. As I ran through the streets of Avendale's village, or as others here called it, Dale Village, I finally made it to the Elven Castle entrance.

"Hey.... hey... woo... I'm Emm.." I held up my finger to indicate to the guards watching the entrance that I needed a minute to catch my breath but all I got in return was a face full of bellowing laughter.

"C'mon Ems! How are you supposed to be in the Elven Army if you can't  even talk after a light jog" said the first guard whose name was Kimo and he continued to laugh. 

"Yeah Lynni-poo!" said the second guard whose name was Kumo. They were twin brothers and also very close friends of mine. 

"Shut up, you two! I did not do a light jog, I just sprinted here and now you two are going to make me late!" I replied slightly annoyed with them. 

"We're just joking Ems" the twins both said at the same time, and embraced me with a huge hug. Getting hugged by, or I should say getting lovingly crushed by twin brothers who are 6'7" and built like the mountains on the outskirts of the land would be nice if I wasn't already late! 

I quickly hugged them both back but my arms could barely wrap around their waist.

"Good luck Ems!" the twins shouted as I ran into the entrance of the Elven Castle to join the rest of my team, though when I walked into the room I was supposed to be in, instead of an exciting celebratory aura filling up the room, death and horror took its place.