Tales of Aridia

The Journey

"Can't we just use magic?" I asked. Max had started to pack away the things in the van, he twisted his head, "You mean we teleport there?" He asked. I nodded my head, "We don't know how long we'll be walking let alone where it is. To teleport would take a lot of power, it would take days before we were fully recharged." Max replied. Jayden picked up the last of the supplies as we readied ourselves for the journey. The smell of fuel filled the air, the black oil had leaked out the van and ran across the ground. Elliana clung close, holding the bear in her right hand. The oil splashed against her shoes and the edge of her dress, staining it black. "Where are we going?" She asked. I knelt down in front of her and took of my bag. Out of it I pulled a small jacket, to which I wrapped around her. Her hands and waist were lost In the oversized jacket but it kept her warm nonetheless. "We are going to find somewhere to stay. The journey might be very long and hard and you must always stay close to us. We'll get you home soon," I said, buttoning up the end of her jacket. Jayden stood not too far away, smiling. He held a jacket in his hand. "And one for you," He said passing it to me. I laughed quietly then put it on, thanking him. 

Elliana ran ahead of us, catching up with Max. She grasped onto his arm, struggling to keep up. The river could be heard to the east, crashing onto the banks. We had been walking for hours. Eventually we approached an opening, where the grass separated and the ground grew higher. We climbed up, edging nearer to the river. I stepped through a mesh of bushes and appeared on the other side.  A waterfall attached itself to the river, flooding the ground beneath. A path was carved out behind the waterfall. We climbed up carefully and walked along the path. We stood behind the waterfall, staring at our reflections in the flow. I had become distracted, not noticing how close Elliana was to the edge. Her foot slipped and she fell backwards. Max leapt to her rescue, gripping onto her hand. The path was too slippery and so Max slipped too. Jayden crept forward, his feet carefully perched on the edge. Jayden grabbed Max's wrist and tugged him up slowly. I bent over the side, my hair soaked in the waterfall. Elliana struggled to hold on, her hand slowly pulling away from Max. I reached down, grabbing onto Elliana's other hand. Jayden fell back and we were all pulled to safety. 

In relief a placed a kiss on Jayden's cheek  before holding Elliana close. Her heart beat fast, taking shallow breaths. Max clung as close to the wall as possible, holding onto Jayden. Water trickled down my sleeve, deepening into the wound. I squealed quietly, avoiding attention. "What's wrong?" Max asked,  breathing heavily.  "I'm fine." I said shortly. Jayden stared guiltily at Max, then gazed at the floor. I rubbed Elliana's arms, still struck with shock. "Robyn..." Jayden said timidly. I whipped my head around, "What?" I said irritably.  My sleeve at rolled up without me realising, Max stared at it in worry. His head shook side to side, before locking his eyes onto mine. Water dripped down his face, tapping onto the floor. "It's poison..."He said, looking to Jayden for confirmation.  Jayden stared at the ground, and then all eyes fell upon mine.