The Second Son

Chapter 7

The sky glowed pink and orange as we silently made our way through the forest. I loved the way I felt when I was in these woods. It felt like home. I've always felt like this is where I truly belong. I love my family and they have always been so good to me but it doesn't change the fact that I'm an outsider.

We didn't exchange many words on our voyage but I was grateful for that. Any conversation would have disturbed the peacefulness of the forest. After a few hours, I stopped at a stream to water our horses and to give Henry some pointers on how to behave with the Arbors.

"First of all, they speak their own language and only a few speak our language. They don't have much interaction with our people because of our prejudices against them. We are stepping into their world and we are the outsiders."

Henry made a "hmph" noise and gave me an annoyed look.

"Did you forget that I have been there before? That I have interacted with them before. I'm not completely clueless," he challenged.

"You had a head injury the last time you were there. This is completely different," I explained.

I took a big deep breath before I started on my next point. He wasn't going to like this one.

"The other thing is....you have to remember that you are not their prince. To them, you are just a normal person visiting their village." I braced for his anger.

His eyes were wide as a smirk slowly appeared on his face.

"You, Little One, are a brave girl. You realize that what you just said is illegal. We are still within the borders of the kingdom so technically I am their prince. But I do see what you are saying. The Arbors live in a bubble. I'll let this one slide but you owe me," he winked at me.

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes at his cockiness. I had done and said things that could get me in a lot of trouble and for some reason, Henry kept letting it slide.

After a few more minutes of rest, we hopped back on the horses and started the last leg of the journey. We rode for about another hour before we started to hear the noises coming from the Arbor village. When the first row of huts came into view, Henry started to ride next to me.

Some of the villagers must have seen us approaching because Alva was waiting for us. I jumped off my horse and ran into her arms for a long overdue hug. It had been a while since my last visit.

Henry jumped down and came and stood next to me. I expected Alva to be surprised but she just continued to smile at both of us.

"My dear Emily, we've been expecting both of you for some time now," Alva turned to me and said.

I was taken aback my her words and I was too shocked to respond.

"Alva, what do you mean you were expecting us? We just met the day before last and decided yesterday to come here. How could you have known?" I finally asked her.

"Our Oracle had a dream about you two. You need to speak to her before you leave. I think you'll be very interested in what she has to say," Alva explained.

I was even more confused. I knew about their oracle but I've never heard Alva talk about her. I looked over at Henry who looked as perplexed as I felt.

"Alva, do you remember me? Do you know who I am?" Henry asked.

"Of course I remember you! You fell off your horse a few years back. And the Oracle informed me you are a prince. You have important work to do," Alva explained.

This conversation was getting weirder and weirder and Henry and I were tired and hungry. Alva invited us to share in their mid-day meal and then she would take us to meet the Oracle.

After we feasted on roasted chicken and yams, Alva lead us down a path that took us deeper in the woods. We came upon a wooden cabin that was surrounded by a beautiful garden full of fall blossoms. I had never been to this house before. And as far as I knew, it was the only permanent structure within the village. Everyone else lived in huts made from logs and animal hides.

We entered the home only to see it wasn't really a home at all. It looked like a worship space. There were several rows of wooden benches. In the front of the space, there was a giant fire pit. I looked up to see a hole in the ceiling that seemed to be covered from the rooftop. There were several windows along the walls to let in the natural light. I was flooded with a sense of calmness.

Next to the fire pit, there was an older woman sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and eyes closed. It almost seemed like she was sleeping. If she had heard us enter, she showed no signs of it.

Alva started speaking to her in their own language. I had picked up a few words over the years but I had no idea what she was saying. The Oracle opened her eyes and turned to look upon Henry and I. A friendly smile appeared and I let out the breath I was holding. I felt Henry relax next to me as well. This was new territory for both of us.

Alva continued to talk. She turned towards us and pointed to both of us as if she was introducing us. Then she switched back to our language.

"Emily and Prince Henry, this is our Oracle, Catori. She's had visions and dreams involving the both of you and it's very important that you two know what she has seen. I can translate for her since she only speaks the language of the Arbors."

We nodded our heads as Catori began speaking to Alva. After a few minutes, she stopped and waiting for Alva to translate.

"About 2 full moons past, Catori had a dream about you Emily. You were walking through the forest but there was no color. Everything was black and white and gray. You came upon a key and when you picked it up, a locked box appeared in your other hand. You used the key to open the box and suddenly, color returned to the world."

Catori started speaking again while I tried to make sense of the dream. I had so many questions but I would wait until after Catori was done. Again, she stopped so Alva could translate.

"The next full moon, she had another dream but this time it was about both of you. At first, you were walking together in the same woods from the first dream after the color returned. The path you were on split in two and you both went separate ways. Then, a black water started to rain down from the sky and the world started to flood. The black water was drowning people and it caused famine and disease. The further you two drifted from each other, the harder the black water would fall."

Henry and I looked at each other in confusion. That vision was terrifying. Henry felt it too. We had to figure it out. Catori started speaking again and I was scared of what else she had to tell us.

"The night of the new moon, she had one last dream. She saw you two traveling here together. She's been waiting for you ever since. She says you two have to fight the black water. And you'll only succeed if you do it together."

A/N  Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! What could Catori's visions mean? 💙