Tales of Aridia

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Lucy paced back and fourth, muttering to herself while the fire blazed in the background. Both Jayden's looked towards me, in search of what to do but I stared at the ground, avoiding their glance. The tension had swept through all of us, silencing everyone but Lucy. What broke the silence was a muffled groan by the fire, and the ruffling of clothes. Elliana had turned to face us, but still lay asleep. Immediately, Lucy whipped her head around, so nearly catching her hair in the fire. She walked slowly to where Elliana was sleeping and tapped her shoulder. And then, she stroked down her forearm all the way to her fingertips. "What do we have here?" She said, an icy tone in her voice. Max leaped forward, only held back by the two Jayden's. "Don't touch her!" He yelled, clenching his fists near his waist. Lucy smiled, enjoying the pain she was causing. 

Elliana mumbled as she awoke, not realizing what was going on. Her hands shook in the cold, as she fumbled around on the ground. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times before she concentrated on the chunk of black hair that dangled above her face. Elliana's eyes traveled from Lucy's hair to the scars that lay deep in her cheeks. And then her eyes widened in shock, causing her to leap back onto her knees and scramble upright. "It's okay!" I shouted, waving over to Elliana. The girl looked at us, and then looked back at Lucy, as she tried to work out the best way to escape. Elliana crept around the fire, sidestepping till she was by my side. Lucy's gaze did not leave hers, she did not blink nor did she seem to breathe. Elliana was grabbed by Max, who threw her behind him. Lucy tilted her head, glancing eerily at all of us. "Abraxas will come for her," Lucy said, still staring at Elliana. "We will protect her," I snapped back, placing a loving hand on Elliana's shoulder. "Only for so long," Lucy said, remaining calm as if she had control over the situation. 

Max had grown frustrated and began to pace back and fourth. I watched his eyebrows twist downwards as he thought, deepening into his forehead. In Lucy's palm she carried a dagger, embellished with strange letters and symbols along the hands. The dagger curved upwards, ending in a sharp point. Lucy suddenly thrusted it towards me, I jumped back startled but then she placed it gently into the palm of my hand. "You'll be needing this," She croaked, her eyes skimming from me to each Jayden, and then across to Max and Elliana. It was a few hours till dawn, and a decision had to be made. I was tempted to let Max choose, but I knew I could not place that burden upon him.  Behind me the bushes shuddered as the wind flew between its leaves. Each one of us turned our heads to look, but looked away again when the noise had died down.  The ruffling happened again, but louder. This time it had caught Lucy's attention. She frowned at us, thinking we had set something up. Max walked towards the bush, dipping his head low so he could see between the branches. As I turned I noticed a shadow, cast over the floor and broken into by the fire. I followed the shadow to my right and looked towards the sky. On a ledge, near a hustle of shrubs a rock lay lodged into the ground, and standing on top of it was a girl. 

She wore a long white dress that scraped along her ankles and small slippers. Her blonde hair fell over her head as she gazed downwards. When the light reached her face Her blue eyes lit up and her hair fell behind her head. The dress swayed as she stepped down delicately from the rock, and then stopped moving as she froze. Lucy stared at our faces, confused as to what we were looking at, before she too was entranced. "It can't be," I whispered, clenching onto Max's wrist. The girl smiled radiantly, capturing us in her beauty.  As she got closer I said abruptly, "You're dead." Which startled Elliana, who stood behind Max. Lucy was gobsmacked, her voice snatched away from her. "Hope," She choked, trying not to feel any emotion as Hope stepped into sight. "Lucy," Hope said, grimacing at Lucy's face which had been wrecked for reasons which we did not know.