Myst

Prologue

Dedicated to all mystery and adventure lovers. I hope you enjoy this. It's not been edited. Sorry about the mistakes.

It was a hot day. Emilia Ruth Ard fanned herself. The humidity seemed to cling to her skin. She wondered why she had let Clive talk her into this in the first place. "The great adventure" as he had put it, was turning into a nightmare. She wiped her sticky forehead with her damp handkerchief and walked quietly beside an enthusiastic Clive and their guide. He seemed oblivious to the fact that she was having a horrible time. Well, she was partly to blame for that one. Anytime he looked at her she pasted on her "am having such a great time smile" and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

She sighed and and looked around at the thick growth of forest trees. Mosquitoes were buzzing around their heads and once in awhile their guide who was not wearing any bug protective lotion, kept smacking his exposed arms. It was most irritating. Emelia gritted her teeth each time he did it.

It seemed like they had been walking for hours.They were headed to an old temple of the Brahma people. It was said to be one of the most beautiful in the world.

She had seen it in the brochure Clive had given her. It was magnificent and she had told him so. Little did she know she would be here two months later for their three year anniversary.

They had gotten married after a whirlwind romance of one month. No one including their families could believe they were getting married so soon. Clive's mother had even suggested they sign a prenup, but after finding out she was an heiress in her own right, that suggestion quickly vanished and was replaced with what their wedding colour schemes should be.

She rolled her eyes at the memory. She looked up and there it was, the Brahma temple. It was even more beautiful with gold and precious stones and dome ceiling. It was breathtakingly huge. The temple doors were guarded side by side by seven foot gold tigers. They looked ready to pounce.

" It's beautiful isn't it? " Clive asked.

" Yes, it is," she answered.

"The Brahma temple took ten years to complete. The people were very humble despite the thousands of acres that they owned. They were very wealthy. It's true beauty lies in the hearts and hard work of the people who built it. The architecture is of a time well beyond their time. They had vision." The guide spoke from beside us.

"Those two are scary," Emelia said pointing to the bejewelled tigers.

"They are said to be the temple guards." The guide said.

"What secrets are they guarding?" Clive asked his voice laced with amusement.

"Treasure! A lot of it. No one's ever discovered it though."

Emelia was about to say something when she heard cries of a child. She looked at Clive puzzled, he looked as puzzled as she did.

They followed the sound to the temple side.

"Stay close," Clive whispered to her.

They saw a toddler sitting in the clearing. She was crying and her little hands were balled into fists. She was beautiful with curly black hair and caramel coloured skin.

Emelia stepped closer but Clive stopped her.

"She's just a child."

She bent to examine the child.

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A dark curly-haired beautiful young woman watched from behind the trees. Tears fell from her big hazel eyes.

"Now you can live your destiny my child."

She whispered to herself, wishing the toddler could hear her.

"One day you will be back!"