The Crown, The Elixir, The Sword (on hiatus)

Stories By The River

Sunbeams speckled the ground in gold light as they passed through the leaves. Gentle wind tousled Anne's hair, and cooled her face. She let out a deep sigh, watching the forest pass by them.

Marcy rode next to Anne on her horse, Joe. He was a light brown Friesian stallion with white spots speckling his chest and nose. She had her head buried in a map, and kept muttering to herself.

Infront Sasha led the group, her horse was a pure black shire named Nightmare. In the sky above the blond, a wolf hawk swooped in circles, observing the land for danger. Sasha called him Rocky.

"Hey Marcy," Sasha called back. "Which way do we go?"

In Front of Sasha, the path they were travelling down, split into three different directions. Marcy looked up from the map at the road.

"Umm, left?" Marcy said hesitantly.

"Are you sure?"

"Well," Marcy muttered, looking at the map. "I haven't fully translated the map, If we stopped for the night-"

"We can't keep stopping!" Sasha interrupted. "We barely have any time as it is."

"I know," Marcy explained. "But, without a proper translation, we won't get anywhere."

Sasha looked at Marcy, then back at the roads. she sighed.

"Okay, fine." Sasha relented, "I can hear water nearby. Let's go there, and rest."

Sasha then called up to Rocky, who had perched in a tree.

"Do you see the river?" she asked. He cooed. "What direction is it in?"

Rocky jumped into the air, from Sasha's arm and started to fly down the path right ahead of them.

Thirty minutes passed, and the rumbling of water over stone grew louder, until the river stretched out in front of them. The water was crystal clear, rocks glittering at the bottom. To the left, a waterfall spilled into a bowl shaped section of the river. To the right, the river stretched far into the distance, fallen trees arching over the water making bridges.

Each girl called their horse to a stop, and tacked them to a tree surrounded by tall grass. Individually, they unpacked their bedrolls, and laid them on the ground.

"Anne, Marcy, can you two get a fire started?" Sasha asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, sure." Anne said, following Marcy into the woods.

The girls walked under the canopy of trees, picking up small twigs and leaves. They walked in silence for a short amount of time, then Anne spoke up.

"Sooo..."

Marcy stopped and looked at Anne.

"How long have you known Sasha? you two seem pretty close."

Marcy thought about that question for a moment.

"Well, we both grew up in and around the castle. Our parents were high ranking officials in the court, so we spent a lot of time together while they were working." Marcy paused, "So yeah, I guess we are pretty close."

Anne nodded and reached into a bush for some sticks.

"What about you?" Marcy asked.

"What?"

"How long have you lived with the Plantars?" Marcy asked. "I mean, I overheard that they took you in, and raised you. I just assumed they aren't your..." she trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

"I've lived with them as long as I can remember." Anne answered, "I actually didn't know they were not my real family for a long time. I only learned recently."

Anne lifted the pile of twigs and held them to her chest, then looked at Marcy. She carried a bundle of sticks and leaves. Together they walked back toward the river, where Sasha was waiting. She had moved the bed rolls closer to the trees, and cleared a space for the fire. A large ring of stone marked where they would set the kindling.

Now, Sasha sat at the edge of the river, her feet in the water. She turned back and looked at the two other girls. She was no longer wearing her armour, just a loose tunic and pants, she had also taken her hair out of its ponytail. Her golden hair fell down her back, curling in the fog.

"Good," Sasha said. "set those down and we can get the fire going."

After an hour, the fire was lit and food had been cooked. The three girls sat around eating, and talking. Marcy had taken her map and books out to translate the runes. Anne and Sasha exchanged stories late into the night. As the flames dwindled, Sasha covered the coals with dirt to preserve them, and the girls went to bed.

That night, Anne had a weird dream. A deep voice spoke to her.

"Turn back child." it said. "You are meddling with forces you do not understand."

Everything was dark, all she could see was a faint orange light in the distance. The light grew more intense, until it loomed directly above her. It gazed down, watching Anne intently, then it looked past her. Anne turned and saw Sasha and Marcy. Neither of them seemed to notice the light. It spoke again.

"Yes," Its voice rumbled. "One of you, but which one..."

Anne turned back toward the light.

"Who are you..." she hesitated. "What are you?"

The light focused back on Anne.

"Your heart glows strong," It said, making Anne tremble. "But even the strongest fortress must fall."

The light moved closer, and engulfed Anne.

*Author's Note: Hey! Last chapter before the hiatus. I just wanted to let you all know, if you are interested in the canon designs for the characters in this AU I will be doing a few art streams on youtube. They will be on the 18th, 20th, and the 22nd at 7pm MST. If you are interested, go to my channel ArrctykFeather on youtube.