Magic in The Woods

Chapter 5 - Chase

"Hey! Whatcha doin' up there?!"

It was Kael.

He found me.

What do I do now? It's not human-like to be perched on the top of an inch-thick branch. My mind went blank as I desperately searched for a way to get out of this.

Kael called out again, "It's dangerous, you'll fall down!"

No kidding, I thought, humans always fall down from things... I stopped for a moment, and wondered what would happen if I fell. Well, I won't die, that's for sure, but it might just hurt... A lot. But it's not like I'm getting stabbed in the heart with an enchanted,  pure silver knife—the only way I actually can die.

With that thought in mind, I stood up, raised my head to the sky, and fell.

Even though I was certain I wouldn't die, the rush of falling from that height created a flashback of my parents' death. With the dragon in the woods, and Mr.Drake staring at us magical creatures...

I came in contact with the ground, expecting a piercing pain through my entire body. I expected it to be a killing sensation, without actually taking my life—like a gunshot just missing my heart of stone. But instead, I found myself wrapped in somebody's strong, warm arms, and white steam blew in my startled face as the person puffed heavily. I slowly gazed up, half expecting it to be Mr.Drake—he's always following me everywhere in case I ran into trouble.

My saviour had a brown fringe, knotted from the heart-racing catch, and wore wooly clothes that smelt of humans. How could a singular human be able to catch me from that height? He must be pretty strong... The boy's head raised and looked at me with concerned black eyes, which seemed oddly familiar.

Kael!

For the first time in what seemed like forever, my usual emotionless face converted into an expression similar to the one I pulled when the dragon first appeared twelve years ago.

Shock. Utter shock.

Since when did Kael have superhuman strength? I pondered, well, I guess I don't know enough about him to judge... For a couple of seconds my mind blanked, until finally I realised that I was sitting in Kael's arms.

Panic struck through my body as my mind raced to find a way to get out of there. A short moment passed before I realised that I had to run—and fast.

Kael's brow creased in worry as he held my small body, "Hey, are you alr-"

In a split second I was out of his strong arms and was sprinting at an extraordinary speed (well, to humans it was), dodging the trees and bushes that stood in my way.

It wasn't enough though.

Behind me, I could hear Kael's boots trudging in the deep snow, gradually accelerating to a swift sprint—around half the speed I was going. There was no way he could catch me, but if I didn't find somewhere to hide, I was practically dead.

My house was just over the hill, but leading Kael there wouldn't help me at all. I considered the lake, but then realised it was frozen...

The lake! That's it! I swerved myself in the lake's direction, knowing that the weeping willow that grew there would hide me in its long, sweeping leaves.

"Jeanette, wait up!" Kael's voice was very faint in the distance, yet I sped up—jumping three metres with every step I took. Turning a sharp corner, I arrived at the weeping willow with its dangling branches rippling the half-frozen pond that surrounded it.

The willow stood alone on the island in the middle of the pond, with only a metre thick strip of land connecting it to the rest of the world—almost like a bridge to another kingdom. I usually spent my free time there—alone in the silence of the forest, watching the ripples grow wider, and wider, and wider.

There was no time to admire the scene though: Kael was right behind me and I still hadn't hidden. There was only three spots to hide—the pond, the tree, or to disappear using my magic.

No, I shook my head, refusing to use my magic. If he saw me use my powers, what would I do? The lake was frozen and would nearly kill a human, so I scratched that idea. Which left the option of hiding in the tree—my original plan.

"Jeanette!" Kael was getting closer. I panicked, sprinting across the grass bridge and pulling away the leaves to my hideout. Hiding in the tree's branches, I spotted a small opening in the leaves and found Kael, puffing as he searched for me.

Finally, he found the willow with it's leaves still swaying from my entrance. I hid around the trunk and listened as Kael made his way across the bridge. His steps were surprisingly light on the grass, slowly growing louder as he inched closer. I peeked around the wide trunk to find Kael pulling away the leaves of the willow, still searching for me. I reverted back, quickly flying high into the branches of the tree and pinning myself against the rough bark.

He gasped at the sudden rustling of branches."Jeanette? Are you here?"

He cautiously made his way around the trunk and was in my view. If he had tilted his head up, he would see me and I'd have no where to escape. Realising he was about to look up, I vanished in the blink of an eye. Half a second later his eyes were on me, or rather, where I used to be. Now I was no more than an empty space.

But despite my invisibility, his eyes stared straight at me, almost as if he could see through the spell. After what seemed like forever, he gave up and walked away. I sighed in relief and slowly floated down, careful not to touch any nearby branches that may reveal my presence.

Once I was on solid ground, I slowly crept up to the edge of the willow's protective layer of leaves and watched as Kael crossed the bridge, back to reality. But halfway down, he stopped and turned back to the willow. I froze and my heart rate quickened.

Kael took a deep breath and with his hands cupped over his mouth, he said something that I thought would forever haunt me at night.

"Jeanette, I know you're here, so let me just tell you this: Your secret is safe with me."

And then he left. Just like that.

At that point of time, I was in complete and utter shock. My body was frozen and my eyes unfocused, leaving me in a completely blank state.

I emerged out of the leaves and stared into the crystal clear water, until my legs finally gave way and I dropped to the floor—my hands shaking as I hugged my thumping heart.

He knows. He knows. He knows. I couldn't get those two words out of my head. They seemed to echo through my entire brain, only these echoes increased in volume and intensity.

The sun had nearly disappeared into the mountains when the echoes began to disappear. My throat was dry and there was dirt all over my left side from where I was lying down. The past few hours went by in a blur and I couldn't remember anything but Kael's voice.

Once I was able to think properly, I transported myself to my bathroom, where I stripped off and ran a hot, soothing bath. Almost an hour passed when I had gotten into my pyjamas and slipped into bed. Both my body and mind were exhausted, and in a matter of seconds I was fast asleep.

My mind went blank and all I could see was darkness. It was comforting—homely—I was finally at peace. But suddenly, a beaming light shone through my darkness, blinding me with its brilliance. Since it was a dream, I shut it out, expecting it to disappear forever. For a few seconds, the world was black again, and I was happy. But the light came back even brighter than before, and through the light I could see a body. Whether it was human or not, I was determined to get rid of it.

I shot various spells at the body and did whatever I could in hope of exterminating the light, but every single spell I cast passed through the body as if it were a ghost—a ghost that I knew would start haunting me every night. After a while I gave up. It was pointless to try, so why waste energy on something impossible?

I sighed and looked back at the body, which seemed to be the source of the light. I wondered how a single body—even if it were a magical creature—could produce a blinding light like that. I decided to figure out what exactly was creating this miniature sun, and how to get rid of it. I walked towards the body, which seemed oddly familiar. It was a male, most likely human, and it had a warm but mysterious smile...

And that was the first night I dreamt of Kael.