The Forgotten Kingdom || Editing

Chapter 1

The long shadows lengthened as the night went on. No one had entered the house after the murder, no one had dared. The curtains were still hanging down, the windows were still open as it had been since that day. There was no moon visible, only the bright twinkling stars helped light the night sky.

A girl crept into the room for the first in months, looking at all the dusty furniture and decorations. Walking as silently as possible she glances through everything she had left behind, and her eyes lingered on the bookshelf. The floorboards creaking under her feet, she trails her fingers along the books she had once adored. They had been left there, and now dust had settled on their worn bindings. Their golden titles still gleamed as brightly as ever, and the girl remembered all the worlds that she had explored inside them. Her heart broke at the state of the books now, and she couldn't stop the tears from dripping down her face.

A gust of wind blew through the open windows, slamming the door shut behind her. Yet, the girl didn't care because she was no longer scared. She went to the window and inhaled the cold crisp air into her lungs clearing her head.

It was your fault that they died. No one else.

Suddenly, a familiar ringtone echos through the empty room. Jumping, the girl reaches into her coat pocket and sees that it had been the third call from her best friend. She had ignored the first two and knew that Grace was likely out of her mind with worry. Guilt finally overwhelms her and she picks up the call.

"Elora, oh my god, I was so worried. Where are you?" Grace yells, fear lacing her voice. Elora hears a thump come from the phone speakers and a loud bark.

"It's fine, I'm coming back home in a couple of minutes, don't wait up," Elora says quietly. Sighing, she looks sadly out of the window one last time, remembering the view of her childhood, before leaving the room, closing the door with a small click.

. . .

Grabbing a cab, Elora looks out at the passing world without interest. Not many things interested her anymore, all her old hobbies seemed dull and faded. The lights of the city was a blur of brightness that never went out. They had said that she would be the brightest girl, the pride of the city. Not anymore. Now instead of looks of praise, they gave her looks of pity and fear.

"That'll be ten dollars," a voice says, startling her out of her thoughts. The taxi driver was holding his hand out waiting. Digging into her purse, she pulls out a crisp twenty dollar bill.

"Keep the change as your tip." Opening the car door, she steps out into the snow, and with a wave the taxi drives away. Looking up at the old apartment, she sighs before entering, leaving the world behind her.

. . .

Elora enters her apartment as quietly as she could, her shoes making almost no sound on the floorboards. The moment she comes in, her two dogs leap onto her barking. Elora hears a laugh come from behind them as she gets covered in dog kisses.

"Bailey, Stella, come back here you little rascals," Grace calls out. "El, good god, I was so scared. You didn't pick up any of my calls."

"I turned off my phone," Elora lies. Sitting up, she hugs her dogs before standing and hugging Grace.

Grace rolls her eyes, since that was the excuse that Ivy used every single time. "Where did you go?" Taking the dogs from her, Grace turns on the kitchen light and starts boiling a pot of water. The warm light flooded across the room, making the cold that had risen up inside Ivy dissipate.

"Out for a walk, I needed to clear my head." Again, she feels the guilt rise up inside her. She hated lying to her best friend, but if Grace knew where she had gone, she would've started panicking as she had the first time Elora told her.

Sure enough, she sees Grace's taut body relax. "I'll call you when it's time to eat okay?"

Nodding, Elora turns and goes to her own room with a sigh. Sitting down on her bed, she scans the small area. All that she had taken from her past life was a picture of her mum and dad. Looking at it, Elora picks it up from her bed stand and kisses the smiling portraits of her parents.

"I miss you guys so much," she whispers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make the world crash down onto you guys. I didn't mean to get you guys killed. It's all my fault."

. . .

thank you guys so much for reading! sorry that this is chapter is so short, it will get progressively longer, i promise! if you guys liked this please vote and leave some comments!

-midnightskies-