Tamed

Chapter 33. The messenger

Sunlight infiltrated the darkness which had engulfed the dense forest. Birds chirped from the branches of the tall trees and the sweetness lingered in the pleasant atmosphere. The giant trees stood tall and proud, witnessing another day start by.

Aiden mumbled a few words in his sleep, smilingly and tossed on his side, forgetting that he was sleeping on a branch. And the next moment he was on the ground, covered in a heap of dry leaves, wincing. "ugghhh!" he cried, trying to sit up. Once he managed to sit, he let out a long sigh and looked around. That's when it clicked him that last night, Nat was also sleeping on the same tree.

"Natalie!!!" he called. No one answered.

"Nat???" his voice was louder this time. He stood on his feet slowly and looked up. The branches were empty except for a giant raven which was looking back at Aiden with sharp, shiny eyes.

"Scott!!!" Aiden yelled, looking around. His voice reverberated in the thick dense forest.

"Kraaaa" The raven cawed.

"What are you cawing about? Have you seen my friend? A girl, jet black hair, blue eyes.." Aiden wasn't sure why he was talking to a Raven which looked like it was plotting Aiden's demise.

"Kraaaaa"

"oh like that was of any help" Aiden rolled his eyes. "Shooo away fat bird" Aiden said, waving his hands.

The angry Raven came swooping down and clawed on Aiden's head, before zooming past him.

"Go away!!" he yelled in frustration.

The bird was stubborn, it kept coming back and attacked Aiden. Aiden had no choice but to run away from it.

"What's with this forest?" he whined and hastily moved forward. The Raven followed him. Aiden pulled the jacket over his head, tightly gripping his wand. The bird flew past him, into an area covered with beautiful shrubs.

Aiden stopped dead on his tracks, pulling down his jacket, when he noticed a bevy of tribal girls leisurely walking around, their lustrous strawberry curls dancing to the tune of the forest breeze. The Raven landed on one of the girl's shoulder and made some clicking sounds, startling her. The girls huddled together and whispered to each other in their language. The raven flew away into the wilderness. Aiden realized that the raven wasn't just a bird but a messenger who just informed the tribal girls about an alien presence in their territory. As the girls started looking around for this intruder, Aiden bent down to the ground, hid behind the bushes and looked for a possible escape. He found a giant oak standing ten feet away, it's branches sprawled in the air.

Aiden crawled up to that tree, and slowly climbed up to the highest branch, making sure he doesn't get caught. He watched them move from above. They were headed towards different directions in search of him. But suddenly they all disappeared into thin air. That wasn't something he expected. Where had they gone? Are they coming for him? He sat there, pondering about it.

A few minutes had passed when he heard footsteps in distance. He saw two tiny figures move hastily in the woods. From where he was seated, it was hard to make out their faces and bodily features. Aiden waited on the tree restlessly to get a better look at them. The figures came closer and closer. Aiden recognized the freckled face with red curly hair. He climbed down the tree like a monkey and ran behind them.

"Hey stop" he cried, trying to catch his breath. Horrified faces of Charlie Weasley and Owen Haywood scanned their surroundings swiftly, to look at the source of the voice.

"Ha.. It's just you" Charlie sighed in relief.

"Aiden.. my buddy..." Owen sang, running up to his best friend and climbing on top of him. "Finally we found you" he said, squeezing Aiden with all his might.

"What's up mate?" Aiden asked, freeing himself from the tight grip of Owen and walking towards charlie. He looked pale. "Are you all right?" Aiden asked, concerned.

"It's Nat" Charlie muttered in a feeble voice.

"Did you find her? I have been looking for her the whole time and then I got chased by a Raven and almost got caught by these tribal women.."

Putting a halt to Aiden's rants "She is missing" Charlie cut him off , his eyes glistening with tears.

"What do you mean missing? You found her right?" Aiden looked puzzled.

"We did mate, but something strange happened. Some invisible man or creature or some kind of force, It took her. something dragged her away. She disappeared. Just like that she was gone." Owen said, his voice faded with each word he uttered. Horror crept in through their skins.

"Thereis something strange about these mountains. There are weird forces here. Something is happening that we aren't aware of" Aiden told them.

"We have to find Nat!! We have to save her. At any cost. At any damn cost!! Alright??" Charlie shouted in a tone mixed with multiple emotions.

"We will Charlie. We are not leaving here till we find her "Aiden assured, placing his hand on charlie's shoulder.

"Does someone know we are here?" Owen gulped.

A conch blew from a distance. It's vibrations shook the ground. Birds flew askew. leaves trembled. And so did the hearts of the dragon keepers.