𝔼𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤

1} 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔰

(TWO YEARS LATER...)

The arrow whizzed past my chest, narrowly missing my heart. The head embeds itself in the forest floor, still tilted from the direction it came in. I grab the thin arrow, feeling the smooth wood it was crafted out of. By the shape of the head, and the sharp, deadly point, I can immediately tell it is an Avaran arrow.

Staying alert, I survey my surroundings. I know that the arrow came from somewhere behind me, but I can't tell where it exactly came from because of the thick layers of trees surrounding me, silent as they always are.

My advanced hearing won't be helpful this time.

Grabbing an arrow from my quiver, I raise my bow and nock the arrow, silently waiting for another sign of life. I'd rather use my magic for this, as it was way more accurate and would take care of the threat in no time, but it would leave signs that I was in the forest. I had only used magic once in the two years of hiding out- to start a small smokeless fire for roasting a fish - a luxury in desperate times.

After ten more seconds of silence, I lower my bow slightly. Who knows? It might have just been an Avaran hunter missing his prey by a few feet.

A second arrow then whizzes past my head, planting itself in the ground behind me.

No. I was the target.

I try to dodge as many arrows as I can before I shoot one back. I was pretty accurate when shooting, but out of the fifteen arrows I originally had, I now have eleven, counting the one that is nocked.

Three more arrows came whizzing at me, each time planting themselves in the ground. The always came at places I was a second ago, forcing me to speed up my movement. Finally, a flash of armor halfway up a tree revealed my attacker. He nimbly jumped from one branch to another, giving me a perfect opportunity.

I took it. I released my arrow, aiming for his heart.

It eventually hit its mark, spot-on as always. But before it did, he released his last arrow, and unfortunately, he too hit his mark.

A sharp burst of pain exploded through my chest, the blood rising and starting to slowly leave my heart. My attacker fell from his tree and hit the ground like a rag doll. I collapsed in agony as the pain became stronger and stronger. A flash of white obscured my vision, and my eyes started to flutter closed.

This is the end... 

This is the end...

This is the end... 

This is the end.

~ ~ ~

A clap of lightning and thunder woke me from my nightmare, the fictional pain slowly dissolving as my mind slowly returned to reality. My eyes slowly adjusted to the everlasting darkness, and all of my senses returned quickly after. The rain thudded against the thin rock walls of our cave, sounding like a hammer against a nail every time. The weather in Shadow Woods was so harsh that I felt the mildest wind itself could crush our cave into pieces. Or maybe I was just paranoid about the necklace...

The necklace.

I sit up as if I am struck by a bolt of lightning. I hurriedly grab my leather backpack and sift through the belongings, desperately trying to find the one item I need to protect with my life. When my fingers grasp the cool stone and its chain, a wave of relief hits me. I press the stone into my palm, letting the icy stone cool my body temperatures.

I would wear the necklace, but I'm too afraid of it destroying my sister, Allyca. The legend says that any nonmagical human that touches it freezes to death, and that was about the last thing I wanted to happen to her. We had enough on our minds with the hunters.

Allyca's voice brings me out of my thoughts. "Another one?" She leans against the rock wall, staring at me skeptically.

"Yes..." my voice trails off, unsure if I should reveal that I have had yet another vision.She sighs as she collapses from exhaustion. "Evlya. This is the fourth time this week. Shouldn't we be worried?"

 I didn't have to confirm the fact that we should be worried for her to know that we should. I've been having visions now and then, but suddenly they've come rushing upon me whenever I have a moment to relax. Some were clear, others were foggy like dreams that made perfect sense when you had them, but don't many any sense when you woke up.

Some visions were short.

The short ones were usually snippets of time (past, present, and future) that were blurred together, jumbled into a confusing vision like random puzzle pieces jammed into places they didn't belong. The short ones were usually a minute or less and didn't take much energy to see.

However, most of my visions were long.The long ones gave me a splitting headache and I could feel the emotions or pain that I felt in the vision. They usually knocked me unconscious for a good hour, depending on how clear they were.

The clearer they are, the more dangerous they are.

Allyca sat up again, out of ideas. "Ev, it can't continue like this." She ran her hand through her umber hair like she does every time she is stressed. "What would happen if we got separated and you had a vision? What if the Avarans found you?"

What if the Avarans found me? We both knew that I was finished if that were to ever happen.

I copy her posture, leaning back against the solid rock wall. After a few uncomfortable seconds, I take my backpack and use it as a pillow. "I don't know. I don't know what we could do to prevent that."

Her jade green eyes searched mine hopefully, but I was as out of ideas as she was.

"All we can do is hope the visions stop," I concluded, desperate for some type of plan.

She is quiet for a moment, considering our options. "I guess so." Her voice sounds defeated, knowing my life has been on the line so many times before. It was amazing that she was still here with me, given that she had sacrificed so many things just to protect me from the Avarans.

She sunk back on to her pillow, making me feel even more guilty about who I was. She couldn't even rest peacefully without the stress of fate weighing her down.

I start to sink back onto my makeshift bed too until I hear a small crunch of leaves coming from outside. Even though it is still lightly drizzling outside, I can still hear a second delicate crunch of some weight is shifted. Grabbing my bow instinctively, I quickly nocked an arrow from my quiver, silently waiting for another sound. The spaced-out crunches suddenly become more in rhythm, sounding more and more like a pattern of paws swiftly galloping across the forest floor.

Just a fox. I tell myself. Foxes came and went every night, so it was extremely possible that I had heard one right outside my cave. The fox seemed to be heading west, which was where the forest thickened.

My heartbeat slowed as I became more and more confident with identifying the mysterious sound. Yes. The west part of the forest was populated with several fox dens.

My arm slowly dropped and my bow lowered, and I removed the arrow and tossed it back into the quiver.

There is no time for confusing a fox with an Avaran hunter. I scolded myself. After being in the Shadow Woods for over two years, you should know that by now.

But at the same time, I was glad that I had stayed alert and now is triggered by any sound to load my bow.

Setting my bow aside, I once again leaned back and curled up under my wool blanket, trying to use my body heat to warm up after the continuous chills running down my spine like icicles.

I closed my eyes and drifted off into what I hoped wouldn't be yet another restless sleep.