The Avallon Chronicles (BOOK I)

31 | Acceptance?

To remain hidden for at least the time when the townspeople's problem with Cithara was resolved, they kept her inside the castle, not allowing the outsiders to see her.

Although feeling a little upset about the news of what Cithara had done, the knights and the castle's servants remained with them, helping Cithara on her first-ever journey outside their kingdom.

The whole castle contributed to them the things they could use. They offered them food, water, and even some other materials for the road.

"Areia, we should not bring too much. It might just be a bargain for us," Cithara said concernedly.

"But, what if something bad happened? What if you suddenly get lost?" Aja asked.

"Cithara's right, You're Majesty. They should just bring enough materials," Clevor stated.

"You can't blame, Areia, Lio," Cithara sang out, "The eventuality of being in a new occurrence is certain in the outside world."

"Anyways, I might have something that you might need," said Clevor as he reached out for something from inside a chest.

He handed Cithara a wooden quiver and a wooden bow. Its arrows were made of special luminescent crystals sharpened into arrowheads, just like what she invented. The color of the arrows shimmered in the room as the light of the moon touched it from the window pane.

"Graxien, Lio," Cithara said gratefully.

"For your transportation, I don't think our pegasi can be allowed to go out to the invisible barrier," said one of Aja's trusted servants. "None of our animagaes are allowed to go out."

"It's alright. I guess we just have to walk," Wil spoke.

"Are you sure, You're Majesty?" asked Aja.

"Lei (Yes)," the two answered in unison.

"It's alright for me because finally, I can explore the outside world," said Cithara.

"And we will probably be heading back to Sepphora sooner than later," Wil added.

After readying themselves for their mission, they were off to a new adventure. With their bags filled with food, beverages, and weapons that would help them survive, they set course towards the sylmora tree once more.

The servants and the knights escorted them to walk away from the kingdom without being seen by the other Liberians. By catching the people's attention and giving them entertainment, they successfully averted their attention from their guests.

"So, this is goodbye, Lio," said Cithara to her best friend Clevor, "I didn't say goodbye to any of you when I left a day ago but, this is now, formally."

"Don't say goodbye, Cithara. You'll come back here sooner than you expected," Clevor stated.

"Take care of Areia and Sirius, will you?" Cithara entreated.

"I will. I promise," he replied in his soothing voice.

"Where's Lady Aja?" asked Wil.

"Lady Aja had spoken that she couldn't bear to see you leave her side, and most importantly, she had a lot of things to do for her problems to be resolved," Clevor stated.

Cithara remained silent, a light smile forming on her lips. Typical Aja Elizell, she thought. Always on the run to make her biggest dreams come true.

As the crystal-gem touched the bark once more, they were engulfed by a sudden force, transporting them towards what the Liberians called 'The Outside World'.

"You have an astounding family, Cithara," said Wil.

"It's rare to see them acting like that," replied Cithara, "They were mostly mad with me and sometimes ignored me like I was never there."

"Maybe being my assistant can truly change your life," Wil spoke.

"Perhaps you might be right," Cithara sang out, followed by a moment of silence.

"Uh... we still have a problem, though," Wil interrupted, "We don't know how to get out from this dark, scary forest."

For just a quick moment, they both realized that it was still in the middle of the night. They were surrounded by several trees that all looked like each other. There were only a few of the bioluminescent plants that lit up their way and at least gave them joy for their journey.

From the dark shadows, there were sounds of howling wolves and unimaginable creatures that none of them had encountered before.

The both of them were frozen with fear, their legs shivering in terror.

"We're going to die," Wil spoke in his shivering voice.

When all hopes seemed lost, they noticed the glimmering light lying inside Wil's bag. "The night crystal!" they both beamed in unison.

Wil shoved it off his bag, and the light of the crystal immediately shone more brightly than ever, lighting up Cithara's arrows as well.

"This is so amazing!" Wil rejoiced, "It's just like I can almost see the stars up close!"

Hearing those words, Cithara's mind was suddenly awakened. "The stars," she whispered. "Of course, the stars!"

"Uh... Did I say something wrong?" Wil asked curiously.

"Deia once said to me, 'The stars will show you the way!" she added.

"So how does that work?" Wil spoke.

Without hesitation, Cithara took her bag, shoving a notebook inside of it. It was covered with a thick piece of cardboard, and inside of it were different writings and sketches.

On the middle of the pages laid a strange writing consisting of dots and star drawings of different shapes and sizes.

"What's the meaning of that?" Wil asked. "Is that... Is that a map of the stars of Enchantria?"

"Yes," Cithara replied, "My Deia said that it was from my Vio."

"Your Vio must be an adventurer," said Wil.

"Now all I need to do is to figure out the stars above us to see our location," Cithara added.

"Maybe this spare map of mine and the spherical ball can help!" Wil rejoiced, handing his map to Cithara.

"Bien (Amazing)!" she beamed.

Both of their eyes were deeply focused on the maps - Cithara navigated their next location while Wil was lighting her vision up with the light of the night crystal. Little did they know that the first snow had begun, gently touching their clothes as they stood.

Minutes had passed, and they still had no idea how to escape the forest as they walked. Finally, they once again decided to stop, looking at the maps once more.

After a few junctures, they finally knew the answer. "Come on, Wil! Our next destination will be on the shores of Serebia!"

•○GLOSSARY○•

⚔️ Areia
- Elven word: Aunt

⚔️ Bien
- Elven word: Amazing/Good

⚔️ Deia
- Elven word: Mother

⚔️ Graxien
- Elven word: Thank you

⚔️ Lei
- Elven word: Yes

⚔️ Lio
- Elven word: Brother

⚔️ Vio
- Elven word: Father