The Reign of Darkness

Chapter Three

Anna woke up in the middle of a dense forest, light shinning through the thick leaves of the surrounding trees, then she noticed small huts made of wood and straw around her, with a much larger structure behind them. She sat up groggily and looked for her siblings and dog. They were close by and waking up from their unconsciousness. "What the hell happened? I feel like shit" complained Neill, as he rubbed his back. Helping up her siblings, she heard a faint noise come from behind her. After helping her little brother she scanned the area, trying to find the source of the sound. Inside one of the little huts, she saw a small, hunched over figure, barely visible in the dim light. "Who are you?" asked Alan, hiding behind Anna. The small figure staggered out of the hut and they could make out what he looked like. The figure was a tiny, very elderly man, with a long white beard and wearing a brown robe. "Y-your back!" he stuttered excitedly. They looked at each other in confusion. "We're back? What does that mean?" Anna thought. Eleanor stepped forward, towering over the frail little man before them. "What do you mean that we're back? You have us confused with someone else" Eleanor asked him. The old man smiled. "Your Eleanor, Neill, Anna, and Alan, correct?" he answered, pointing at them when he said their names. Eleanor took a step back, maybe the only time Anna has seen her look intimidated. "You may not be exactly them, but you were destined to fall into their footsteps" the old man said. "Your great aunts and uncles, who you were named after, were the protectors of this realm, but sadly they had to leave us".
Anna cautiously looked at her siblings. "Uhh, ok. That sounds really crazy, but then again, we were just sucked into a painting and transported into a different dimension!"Anna said sarcastically. Anna stuck out her hand and shook the old man's hand. "So we got off on the wrong foot. You already know us so who are you?"
The old man bowed. "I am Ronaldo, your faithful servant"
Anna looked back at her siblings to play along. "Nice to meet you, Ronaldo. Can you tell us why we're here and please be discreet" Neill said, shaking his hand as well. "Like I said, Master Neill, you were destined to be here. You are here to complete your great aunts and uncles quest" Ronaldo replied nonchalantly, like this is a common thing teenagers do.
"How do you expect us to complete their quest? We're just kids" Alan asked. "Hmm. Maybe we should ask the council, they were the ones who sent me to find you" Ronaldo said. He quickly turned around and started heading towards the big structure behind the huts. Anna motioned towards her hesitant siblings to follow. "It's our only chance of getting home" she said. Then they all headed to the(what Anna assumed) the town hall.