"Remind me again why are we here?" Leon asked a rhetorical question as he felt the cold shiver down his spine.
"To unfold the secret of Vremoor," Edmund retorted for the third time as he rolled his eyes.
"Why won't you just ask the queen about this or ask me to find out from Cassandra or Matthias or even Isadora," Leon let a shaky breath. "At least wait till the sun rises!"
He was rather afraid to travel along the forest in the middle of the night.
Who wouldn't?
And the fact that they were heading towards the forest, scared him more. He had heard about the dark tales from the villagers, he couldn't tell the difference between which is real and which is a myth. But either way, he learned that the forest was dangerous.
"There's a reason why it's called a secret," Edmund started as the horse kept on trotting along the path. "Anyhow, I saw a pack of foxes that played along the forest from my room."
Leon widened his eyes, "You dragged me along to this dreadful forest in the middle of the night just to see a pack of foxes?!"
The king nodded his head, "My guts told me that it has something to do with the symbol."
"Oh, you've got to be joking. Of course, there would be animals around the forest."
"You told me that this one is dead."
Leon stayed silent as he knew the king wouldn't listen to him, no matter what he say.
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The atmosphere changed as they entered a forest. Those dead trees stood vividly on each side of the road. Crows flew across the night sky while there were a series of craws that echoed around the forest. Dead corpses of different kinds of animals were seen. As they moved deeper towards the forest, human bones were seen scattered on the ground.
But there's no sign of foxes nor any living things aside from the crows. And for once, Leon didn't understand what the king was planning to do.
"We should head back now," Leon whispered, still above the sound of wind crashing through the dry branches.
"What happened to this forest?" Edmund ignored his friend's suggestion.
"Nobody knows and nobody cares. We should head back now while we got the chance."
The two of them started to feel uneasy when they saw the moon being swarmed by clouds and darkness taking over. Something was off.
Then the sound of crack from a branch was heard. They darted their eyes around but failed to spot the source of it.
Before they know it, a group of masked people surrounded them like a lightning flash. Each of them holds many different types of weapons, from sword, claymores, daggers, to crossbows and arrows.
"Seems that the mighty Just King of Narnia has fallen to our trap," a voice of a man called out as his hand was playing with a dagger.
"Tie them up and bring them to the dark lord," a woman's voice declared from behind the group. Her face was covered with a dark veil while the black cloak she was wearing — dropped down to her ankle and swiftly waved on the ground when she moved. But her voice was oddly familiar.
When the masked man was about to approach Edmund and Leon. A pack of crows flew around them and made some sort of a tornado that they had to cover their heads with their arms due to the harsh wind current. The dried leaves and branches that were once scattered on the ground started to lift and attack those groups of people. It was able to distract their attention since they've taken a few steps back away from the crows.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed onto them. Edmund used all his might to let go of the strong grip but that was before he saw her.
"We have to hurry," Elena whispered yelled as she rushed towards the other side of the forest and went further and further — to the point that they couldn't recognize which way they were going to.
"Come on now, faster!" the queen hissed as rushed steps were heard coming after them. They all quicken their pace and went deeper inside the forest.
"Well... well... well..."
They all turned their head and saw the masked man standing in front of them. That man took a few steps forward as they backed away — to keep a safe distance between them.
Edmund looked around to find somewhere to escape. Then he heard the sound of waves crashing ashore. That man seemed to be busy with his dagger and so, Edmund took the opportunity. He grabbed both Elena's and Leon's arms before he lead them to the sound of waves. They didn't have any time to think so they followed Edmund.
They soon reached the end of the cliff and the water was under them. "We have to jump," Edmund said.
"Are you out of your mind?! We couldn't survive down there," Elena exclaimed.
"It's either jump or get kidnapped by those people. You have to trust me on this."
The king saw the hesitation in her eyes but he must take her with him, so he took her by the waist and jumped off the cliff.
The last thing she knew she was falling off the cliff. Her whole body was squirming while Edmund's grip on her waist became tighter. "Hold your breath," she heard him said but she didn't have time to do so and her body dived into the freezing water.
A loud splash was heard as her body was met with the seawater. She tried with all her might to swim like her father once told her but instead, she was drowning. Her arms splashed around trying to find something to hold on to but it was no use. She tried to cry out for help but she couldn't bring enough air into her lungs. Coldwater started to fill her lungs and blood pounded behind her eyes — she felt a burn on her throat and she felt an intense pain on her chest. Her eardrums were wildly vibrating that it began to hurt.
The water was pushing her down from all sides and she was slowly sinking to the bottom, like a stone being pulled to the depth of the unknown ocean. Her eyes became blurry as darkness took over. The last thing she saw was the shimmer of moonlight rippling on the water above.
──────
As soon as Edmund's body hit the water, he released his grip around her. His legs were moving in a rhythmic movement to keep him floating on the surface as he used his arms for balance. The waves were crashing towards the shore and it was hard to swim to the shore since they were from the other direction.
Edmund used all his strength to swim against the harsh waves. Leon swam beside him and that was when he realized the queen's disappearance.
"Where's Elena?!" he shouted as his arms kept stroking the water surface. "I thought she's with you," Leon retorted.
The king quickly dived his head under the water to find any trail of her being. Fortunately, they haven't swum that far so it only took him a few seconds to spot her.
Edmund went to the surface and took a long breath before he dived back in. He increase the speed of his legs as he dragged his arms deeper into the water.
A strange and painful feeling started to fill his chest. His lungs were being crushed from the tortuous pressure of the sea. Yet he kept diving towards her. He owe her that much.
He saw her limp body, slowly sinking to the ocean. Her eyes were closed while her pale skin reflected the moonlight which made her glow under the water. The weight of her hair seemed to fade away as it was floating around her. He had never seen her in such a peaceful state.
Once he got a hold of her waist, he pulled her up to the surface. He used his legs to reach the surface and one of his arms to make it easier, while his other arm was holding her.
Leon helped him carry her limp body as they kept struggling to keep their heads above the water due to the massive waves.
"We need to head to the shore now!" Edmund shouted from the top of his lungs against the waves.
- ☽.
