Tales of Aridia

The Crone

The floorboards creaked as we stepped through. I shut a few windows to block out the breeze and turned on the kettle. The whistling pierced my ears and drowned out my thoughts. Even Max did not know what to do.

He sat, quietly, flicking the pages of a book he'd picked up from a shelf above him. He seated himself on the dining table carelessly, it seemed that his thoughts were elsewhere.

The kettle stopped brewing and I poured the boiling water into two mugs. The steam filled the cold air, warming me. I passed one to Max but he rejected it, still flicking the pages of the book he held in his hand.

I eagerly waited for him to say something, but it was quiet. The faint humming of the kettle still carried on and the sound of flicking pages was like nails on a chalk board.  "What was that?" I asked.

He looked up surprised, as if he had not expected me to ask any questions. "Well..." I ushered, urging him to explain. "This book, may explain it to you." He said. From his hands he lifted the book he had been so interested in.

It was the one Hope gave to me. The one she had found Idly waiting on her doorstep. The title, as Max had told me, was "Tales of Aridia." Quite frankly I had no idea how this had any relevance to me.  I hadn't had the chance to read it, it had just been staring at me up on my bookshelf. When Max flicked with pages I was met with nothing. Each one was blank, and the pages were clean and new like they had been untouched, yet the cover was worn and untidy, like it had been handled many times before.

"This book might explain things," Max said. I looked at him not knowing if he was joking or not. "But it's blank," I said. Max flipped the pages to the back, presenting an indent in the back cover of the book. It was a small circle carved out in the back, which explained why it was so thick.

"What do I do?" I asked. "That pendant, the one you are wearing around your neck." He said pointing at it. I grabbed pendant and fiddled with it in my hands nervously. "Take it off, and put it in here." He said.

I unclipped the pendant, taking the cold chain off my skin. Surprisingly the blue diamond encrusted in a silver plate slotted into the hole perfectly.

Max held my hand, "you'll be okay." He said. Confusion spread across my face and as Max's hand slipped away from mine he faded into nothing. His body disintegrated from the room and I stood alone.

To my left the back doors of my house were wide open, letting in a gust of wind. However, the doors did not open to the midnight sky but rather the opposite. A beam of light shone through, blinding me.

A voice whispered quietly, "look closer."

I stepped forward, and with every step closer to the light the kitchen faded more, until eventually it was an empty room. "Hello?" I said. My voice echoed loudly but became quieter with every edge further to the light.

Bracing myself, I walked into the light. And the next thing I knew, I was in a darkened cabin, a contrast to the blinding light I had just experienced.

The stump of a tree broke through the cabin floor, leaving the floorboards broken and upturned. The walls were full of random pieces of decor, paintings, photos, and shelves piled with books and random bits and bobs. Two small chairs sat in the corner, and a fire blazed wildly in front of them. It was cold by the door of the cabin but the fireplace warmed my skin and I sat in front of it with my hands held out.

The opposite side of the cabin was dark, almost cloaked in a sheet of black. I stared at it, looking for hidden shadows. And in the midst of darkness an old women appeared, crooked and frail she stumbled over with her hand outstretched. "Robyn.." she said, toneless.

I jumped away from the fire as she stepped closer, pushing my into the shadows. "It's been a while since I've seen your sweet face." She croaked. Her voice became warmer now, more welcoming. She was so close that I fell back onto one of the chairs, yet she continued to loom over me.

"You want to know what's happening?" She asked, gesturing with her long bony fingers. I nodded slowly. "Do you believe In magic?" She said. Immediately I thought I was dreaming and got up to leave. "You think this is a dream?" She said. I nodded slowly again, still not daring to speak. "If this were a dream, how would you feel this?" The old lady burst out of her shell of frailness and swiftly pulled a knife from the side and sliced my forearm.

I let out a yelp and the blood welled for a moment. And then it stopped, and so did the pain with it. "You should believe in magic, it lives in your very blood." She said, using a bony finger to poke the wound she had caused. "What are you trying to say?" I asked nervously.

"Where we are, right now, is a place called Aridia. It lives in an opposite dimension to humans and we live our lives separately but in peace." The old crone explained, pacing around the cabin.

"You dear, are heir to the throne of aridia, Max was sent to watch over you while you lived out a year of being human." She said. I processed what she was saying, "a year?" I asked.

"Yes, one year. Unfortunately you have no memory of your other life, just memories placed in your mind which are lies given to hide the truth." She said sinisterly. "The truth?" I asked, eager for this nightmare to end. A smile spread across her face, it had a tint of evil in it. "The truth that you are the rightful queen of Aridia, a magical being born to protect other beings such as yourself." She said.

I was going crazy, living in a dream. How could I, Robyn Jones, be queen of a fairytale dimension full of magical creatures? I wanted I leave, run as far away as possible, escape my mind which had trapped me in a nightmare.

The crone stopped pacing, she looked out the window. Pulling back the curtains she urged me to look out. What I saw could only be described as horrific. The forest was destroyed, body's lay scattered on the ground and a rain of fire poured down upon them

"Your name is not Robyn Jones, it is Robyn Woodlands, princess of Aridia." The old lady said, fixated on the bloodshed outside of her cabin. She paused for a second.

"We need you Robyn...save us."