Fraya and The Shadow

Chapter 1

" Again," Fraya commanded. Beads of sweat rolled down her face, her chest heaved, and her body sagged with exhaustion. She'd been sparring with Lay-Loni for two days straight, only stopping for food.

20 people. Murdered in cold blood. Fraya could still see their bodies lying on the ground surrounded in their own blood. All she could see was the agony and pain in their faces begging for mercy as they were slain without a second thought and not a trace left of the murderer. But, everyone knew who it was and the amount of sheer terror and panic coming from her people made her blood boil even more.

The Shadow.

" Fra, we've been practicing for days. I'm tired and we need to rest," Lay-Loni whined. She knew she was pushing the queens limits by complaining at such a difficult time especially when she was mourning.

Fraya's bright violet eyes flashed dangerously reminding Lay-Loni who she was, what she had done, and who she had become. Lay-Loni sighed and reluctantly raised her blade and the queen attacked.

*******

" Fraya you can't be serious right now sending soldiers will do no good you know what the Sha—"

Fraya whirled around to face her head council member, glaring angrily at him. The poor man gulped not knowing what to do when the queen was angry.

"Don't tell me what to do if I want to send out my soldiers, I will not need to be judged by someone below me." Fraya could see the hurt and fear in his eyes, but reminded herself not to care.

As the pair continued down the hall, the man of course a few steps back, Fraya noticed a change in the atmosphere as they got closer to the north side of the castle. She tensed and drew her sword, her father's sword, ready to strike down the possible threat.

" There is no use for that little girl." Fraya froze, racking her brain to figure out who the voice belonged to.

"Turn around girl let me see how you have grown," the strange, but slightly alluring voice stated. Fraya, almost painfully slow, turned to meet the beautiful woman. A gasp escaped her lips as she gazed at the strange woman who she'd seen only once before.

"Oracle, what brings you here?" Fraya questioned bowing in the waist to acknowledge her high status. The enchanting woman raised a long, crooked finger towards Fraya and began to walk farther down the hall. Fraya hastily followed the oracle, trying to recall the stories her mother had told her as a child about them. As they walked, Fraya couldn't help but stare at the woman. She knew they lived for a long time, almost as long as a fae lifespan, this one seemed almost like an ancient goddess.

"If you are wondering, which I'm sure you are, I am the Oracle of Wisdom and Future. I have served your family since I was created. Although, you always seem to forget I'm here since you dump all your bloody crap in my peace space." The Oracle looked back at Fraya condescendingly, silently telling her to fix that.

The Oracle led them to a tavern with the Goddess of Telling written on it. She is the mother of all oracles and resides in a sacred keep all the way in the mountains, far away from everyone.

The Oracle pushed the tavern aside, showcasing a small doorway that appeared as if it had not been occupied in years. While the Oracle leisurely walked in Fraya walked in a little slower, scared of what was to come.

"You better hurry, child, the spiders get hungry around this time." Fraya hurriedly sped up to keep pace with the Oracle, for no matter how brave, she had always been absolutely terrified of spiders. Fraya gazed around, looking at all of the ancient inscriptions on the wall, trying to comprehend what they were saying. They continued down the dark and dusty hallway until they came upon an open space.

It was absolutely filthy. There were rags soaked with blood and something else unfriendly Fraya decided not to think about. She could feel the embarrassment burning through her cheeks, because of the awful condition The Oracle had to work in.

" Starting tomorrow morning, I will have my workmen and the maids come down and freshen this place up," Fraya paused, "until then, you can stay in one of the guest wings on the east side of the castle."

"Thank you." The Oracle then began to walk to the center of the room. Fraya had no clue as to why The Oracle had summoned her or brought her here, but Fraya's stomach was beginning to fill with dread.

The Oracle moved to one of the many shelves, searching for something. Fraya couldn't help but notice how graceful she moved, like water,so loosely and free but not wild like the raging river waters in the Pakistan Gulf.

"Ah, there it is!" the Oracle exclaimed, walking back to the center of the room and poured what seemed to be salt in a form of the circle. Then, she began to chant in a language that only oracles could speak.

As Fraya watched, she found herself enchanted with the words of the hymn. It was a new awakening for her, and she suddenly felt like she was no longer a queen but simply a girl surrounded by peace and prosperity, not giving a single care in the world.

The Oracle made a silent gesture for Fraya to come to the circle, with this what Fraya did without any hesitation. The Oracle stepped closer to her, now mumbling the hymn and began to draw what felt like the family crest on Fraya's forehead.

Darkness was all that could be seen for miles on end and it seemed to spread even further with each passing second. Fraya ran forward, trying to find an escape, but to no avail. The darkness seemed to smuggle her and her lungs began to close up. She desperately, almost in agony, began to claw at her skin as if she wanted to rip the darkness away from her.

Then there was a blinding white light and Fraya, not even thinking, ran towards it. She reached out her arm to touch it and went through.

When Fraya looked around, she wanted to immediately run back into the smoldering darkness, wishing she could unsee the tragedy.

Bodies. Mountains of bodies lay all across the field. Her parents, siblings, Lay-Loni, and her people. People whom she promised a better life to promised to keep them safe, lay dead at her feet, eyes open and full of nothing. She could not help the terrible ear piercing scream that escaped her lips.

"Awaken!" The Oracle shouted, knocking Fraya out or the terrible dream. She fell on the ground, backing away from the Oracle with panic clear on her face.

"What was that!" Fraya yelled, as she started to hyperventilate.

" That was the future." The Oracle stated not looking in the slightest bit affected by the vision.

"You need to discover your true potential child. You need to stop crying over a few people dying because soon, everyone will be dead." Fraya continued to stare at her with wide eyes with her mouth opening and closing like a fish, not even listening to what she was saying.

" Fraya, you need to listen to me very carefully. You can stop this from happening. You can defeat The Shadow. You have to look within yourself," the Oracle spoke slowly, looking Fraya directly in the eyes.

"It's your responsibility to get rid of this imposing danger."

" How do I do that," Fraya asked.

" Look within yourself, child," the Oracle stated.

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Truth be told I wrote this when I was in 8th grade. It started out as a short narrative but my teacher loved it so much she told me to continue writing. I did for a while until I hit writers block and haven't touched it since. Now since I'm in 11th grade I figured I might as well finish it and hopefully get it published.

This is a short story but I've been thinking of making a novel out of it but I probably won't since it was originally  written to be short story.

I really hope you all enjoy this as much as I did writing it.  Don't hold back on anything that could improve this I am very open to changes.

Thanks, amazers.