In the Land of Adira-Chapter One
I carefully aimed my wooden bow at the rabbit, who was sniffing the air, trying to catch the scent of danger. I let my arrow fly, piercing its eye before it could run. I hopped down from the tree I was hiding in, brushed my hair out of my face, and grabbed the dead rabbit by its ears. I couldn’t refrain from letting a smile creep onto my face. The joy of the kill was always my favorite part of hunting.
I started walking home. My home was a small cottage crawling with ivy; patches of random flowers lay around. The cottage was a pine wood color, had curved eave shingles, and windows that always looked crooked. The flowers were a mixture of beautiful-looking and smelling varieties and some poisonous and nasty-smelling ones. My favorites were the trillium grandflorum, even though they were odorless. The three leaves on the white flower, accompanied by the three leaves poking out in between the petals. I used to love watching the little flowers bloom in the late springtime. I now use that time to hunt.
I open the door (and notice that the hinges are a bit rusty), and a surprise awaits me. “Katessa!” Iliana is already making her way toward me. She envelopes me in a big hug. Iliana and her husband, Friedrich, come around about once a month to discuss business with Medea, who took care of me. Medea says I had been found about fourteen years ago abandoned in the woods. She only saw me because Iliana and Friedrich were there with her, scavenging for berries. They found me and brought me here. Iliana and Friedrich have been visiting for a while.
When Iliana broke away, she brushed that annoying strand of brown hair away. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I were her daughter. We have the same blue eyes and the same chestnut brown hair. And we both fidget when we get excited, even if just talking.
Friedrich was there too, but he was buried in a book, sitting on the tree stump chair at the large mushroom table. Honestly, I’ve never liked the table. It smells sometimes. But when you have an old, broken-down cottage with several plants that grow inside, what can you do about it? I’ve learned to love it.
“Friedrich, look at how old she is! Seventeen, right?” Iliana asked me. I nodded, beaming. “Last week was my birthday! I got to spend the entire day hunting,” I said, holding up the dead rabbit. Iliana’s plain face scrunched up when she looked at it. Iliana has never liked the idea of my hunting. But that’s why Medea takes care of me. She needs me to hunt so we can eat.
As I was putting the rabbit on the makeshift wooden table we used for a kitchen, Medea walked in from her bedroom. “I’ve finally found it, Friedrich,” she said, her British accent very pronounced as she talked. Her knee-length blond hair danced around her as she walked over to Friedrich, carrying a pile of books. Then she stirred the pot that was hanging over the fire. I noticed that Medea was wearing the sage green tunic dress I had embroidered flowers and other patterns on a couple of years ago. I’ve always thought Medea, with her long hair and hazel eyes, was extremely beautiful.
“Hello darling,” Medea said when she saw me. “How was your hunting?” Then she spotted the rabbit. “We’ll feast on roast rabbit tonight! And maybe a dandelion salad?” I nodded eagerly. “I can’t wait! Could you also make that sauce you make from mushrooms? It tastes amazing with rabbit meat!” I said. I could practically taste the delicious meal. Medea laughed. “I bet I can whip something up.”
“Katessa,” said Iliana, reminding me that she was there. “How would you like to visit my home soon?” I was stunned, but that soon turned to ecstatic. “Really?!” I said happily, a grin taking over my face. “I would love to!” I could see the excitement on Iliana’s face. I turned around to see Medea’s reaction.
Medea’s hazel eyes were shocked. She stood erect, but I could tell that she was nervous. “Iliana, why would you suggest that? We both know that—” she hesitated. “it’s too far away, the trip is dangerous!” Friedrich also at his wife, but he looked sad rather than shocked. The smile on my face ebbed away. I knew why Medea had said that.
About nineteen years ago the king and queen of Harmony gave birth to their first child. But the mermaids in Dara consulted the stars and had to warn the human royals that their child was prophesied to have a dark life. Medea said that the humans came here when their child was still a baby and she used her magic to give them a magical bracelet that would hinder the dark powers.
The charm wouldn’t last long, but it could give the royals enough time to make a backup plan before the dark child ruined the kingdom. But now, when I sneak into the human villages just barely inside the kingdom of harmony, I hear rumors that the Dark Child will try to take the throne by force.
But I think that if those villagers call it the ‘Dark Child’ instead of using the proper name, they’re making it up.
Even so, I have seen Medea looking more stressed all the time. I know that the bracelet that she gave to the child slowly drains away her energy.
Medea broke the silence, saying, “We can’t let her yet. It isn’t safe yet.” Medea turned to me. “We’ll go exploring the world together in a few years. I promise.” I managed a smile, to make Medea happy, but inside I felt angry. If I am old enough to go hunting without supervision, then I should be allowed to see the world for myself, even if it is just visiting Iliana at her house.
Iliana walks over to grab one of the books that Medea brought out. “The Mystical Mysteries?” she asked, opening the book and finding many drawings of random objects. “Why are you looking at magical objects?”
Friedrich answered her. “The magical bracelet that Medea gave away hasn’t been working. We’re trying to find out why,” he said. He looked at me with his brown eyes and scratched his head full of short, curly red hair. “I’m sure that by now you have heard a rumor when you go to town, so I must say that those rumors are true.”
“So the Dark Child does have dark powers?” I ask curiously, the same time that Medea exclaimed, “You’ve been going to the town?” She frowned. “You should’ve told me. You could’ve been trading for the game that you hunt.” I sighed in relief. Even though Medea isn’t my mother, she’s like a motherly older sister whom you can’t help but love. I hate disappointing her. “I’ll do that next time,” I promise.
And I do. I go hunting the next day and haul three rabbits, two turkeys, and a pigeon that I happened to hit into the cottage. Iliana and Friedrich left late last night, so Medea was the only one at home. “Look,” I said, holding out my goods. But Medea wasn’t paying attention to me. Her head was buried in a book and she had a frazzled look on her face.
“Dear, that’s lovely. Will you please put them on the table over there so I can finish this spell? I have simply too much work to do and not enough time!” she cried. She got up and grabbed some chopped flower stems and dropped them into a large black pot that was over a fire. Medea told me not to call it a cauldron, but it is. Medea was in every way a witch like those I’ve read about in those old fairy tale books I used to read. Without warts and green skin.
“Do you need any help?” I offered. Medea thrust a mushroom into my hands and said, “Chop it up.” I did as she instructed, but the bright red mushroom with purple dots didn’t want to cut. Medea had to take over for me.
“What is the potion for?” I asked. Medea was still running around, throwing things into the pot. “It isn’t a potion, Katessa, I’ve told you that a million times. It’s a remedy. As soon as it’s finished, I’m going to send it to the castle for the child. Perhaps it will stop the wickedness that flows through those veins.” Medea said. Her hair was going all over the place, sticking to the table, getting caught on the loose nail by the fireplace, and even getting wrapped around her arm.
“You’ve never told me, is the child of the King and Queen a princess or a prince?” I wanted to know. “Katessa, please,” Medea said, the fumes from the potion—sorry, remedy— making her face red. “I can’t speak and brew at the same time.”
“Sorry,” I said, backing off. I decided to go for a walk in the woods. I walked out of the circle of trees that stood a little distance away from the cottage and down the path that I used for hunting. I had forgotten to grab my weapons, so I drifted away toward the nearest human village. The village just barely inside the kingdom of Anima was pretty, but after a while, those dwarves exhausted you with all those festivities.
As I neared the village of Minima, the human village, I could tell that something upset the usually bustling villagers. People were in groups whispering. A horse rode in on the main path, which was on the other side of the village, with only one rider. The rider got off and held out a scroll. I joined the gathering crowd around him.
The man was wearing a suit of armor with a three-leaf flower coat-of-arms. He cleared his throat, brushed his long blond hair out of his eyes, and spoke. “People of Harmony, it is my sacred duty to inform all inhabitants in the land that King Friedrich Amherst de Aldaine and his wife, Queen Iliana Adelia Bozzelli-de Aldaine have passed to the heavenly realm and let the crown pass on to its new ruler. So says I, the new ruler, the Grand Master of Sorcery,” said the man in a deep voice. Then he rolled the scroll and rode away, leaving the villagers to gasp, cry, or whisper frantically. I stood still in shock, thinking, “Friedrich and Iliana were royalty?” was dreaming.
Comments
Post a Comment