Story Requests

Caèl

Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, stood in the middle of a few hills, soaking wet and holding their hands up to their faces to protect their eyes from the blinding rain. There were lots of little grassy hills, dipping up and down with fields in between them. There were a few trees scattered around, their branches bending backwards from the force in the wind. 

"Which way is it?" one of the teenagers, a young boy, asked. He had to yell to be heard over the driving raindrops. 

"I don't know! It could be anywhere!" the girl yelled back, and they both moved closer, bodies leaning close together. "Let's split up and search everywhere, and we'll come back here in an hour!" 

"Good idea!" Asher nodded, and they both turned around and trudged through the mud, going opposite ways. Selena knelt down and began feeling around in a cluster of boulders, looking for a button or a lever or even a special mark to tell her where Caèl's base was. Her finger scraped against a rock and she winced. After a time she heard a cry from Asher: "I think I found something!" 

Selena hurried over and stood beside him. She looked down and immediately saw what he was looking at: The ground they were standing on seemed to be disappearing in little lines under their feet. A wave of shock swept over her. "It's a trapdoor!" she shrieked, and clung onto Asher's sleeve as she dragged him backwards. 

The hidden trapdoor opened downwards. Earth tumbled in, accompanied by a few flowers and torn up grass and mud. Breathless, Asher went over to the opening and peered into it. He could see nothing but darkness. His skin brushed the side of metal, but he ignored it and continued staring down into the blackness. He waved a hand inside, but nothing happened. "Selena, I think it's ok—"

Just as he started the sentence they both felt a force pushing them from behind, closer to the gaping hole. "What's happening?" Selena's blue eyes were wide. "Stop touching me! Ow, what— get off me! Asher!" 

"I'm not doing anything!" he protested, instantly irritated. "Whatever it is, it's happening to me too. I think... I think it's Caèl. He must know we're here—" his words turned into a scream as the force shoved them in. They fell down into the dark. He looked up and the trapdoor slammed itself shut, his eyes catching the last bit of dim light from outside as they continued to tumble down into the nothingness... 

After what seemed like minutes, but was really only seconds, Selena and Asher landed on a bed of... something, finally at the bottom. It was a rich green colour and was smooth, save for a few little tiny bumps that one could hardly feel when you ran your fingertips along the surface. Selena pushed her hand against it, finding it soft and springy. "Moss," she whispered to herself in wonder. 

Asher attempted to push himself up, but the wind was knocked out him and he simply lay there for a few seconds before sitting up and looking around. 

They seemed to be in a sort of large crevice underground. Grey, rocky cliffs stretched on either sides, creating a sort of narrow channel at the bottom. A path of moss was at the bottom, twisting and turning around corners until he could see no further. There was nothing else to look at, so he jumped off the bed of thick moss and grabbed Selena's hand. "Let's go," he said, motioning to the path. 

She nodded and they began walking, each at their own pace, drinking in the sights and sounds around them.

 As they went on, Selena noticed there were intricate carvings on the rock. Shapes, strange symbols and patterns, words yet no one could read them. Ivy spread over the cliff sides, different ferns and plants grew from cracks in the rock, and the sound of rain was still to be heard. She neither of them knew how it was possible, but it was. 

When Selena thought they had been walking for as long as anyone could walk, they rounded a corner and gasped in awe. 

They were standing before a large room about as big as a football field. The same carvings Selena had noticed as they walked were engraved in the rock, but smaller and with more detail. Thick vines in all shades of green crept up the sides of the walls, plants grew everywhere, their roots soaking up the moisture. A large waterfall gurgled down from the roof, splashing into a shallow pool below and creating a misty spray. In the middle of the waterfall there was a rock ledge jutting out in the middle, so the waterfall parted on both sides and then joined again underneath. 

On the ledge was a long table where platters of the finest food were laid out. Salads, fruit of all kinds, different vegetables and breads and wine. Men and women sat around the table, eating and laughing, holding toasts and drinking. Loud bird song served as the music. 

Selena felt something tickle her leg and glanced down. A vine had shot up from a crack under her feet and was winding around her, blooming tiny white flowers as it grew. She smiled and picked one, adjusting it just behind her ear. 

Asher was staring at the rock ledge. A tall man with a crown of branches, tiny red red ferns jutting out between the sticks, was sitting at the head of the table. He had dark, curly brown hair and piercing green eyes. He was holding a golden wine glass and laughing about something to one of his friends. Asher knew that was Caèl. "Selena!" he nudged her, and she looked up, following his gaze for the second time that day. 

"Caèl?" she whispered in his ear. He nodded. "Well, let us go to him." She started forward and stopped at the bottom of the waterfall, not sure how to find her way up. "The god Caèl!" she tried, but the waterfall drowned out her words. 

"The god Caèl!" Selena shouted louder, and this time everyone was silent. 

The curly haired man turned, stood up, and walked forward, looking down. His green eyes widened in shock and he held up a hand. As he did, a tree branch grew from out of nowhere, spiralling downwards. He descended to the floor and walked up to Selena. "Yes? Selena, why have you come?" 

She gasped in realisation. He knew her name. But how? She opened her mouth but no words came out. Selena was terrified; he knew her name and he towered over her, eyes narrowed. 

Caèl stepped closer, and she stepped back, intimidated. He reached out a hand and traced a finger along her forehead and down to her chin, lifting her face up towards his. "Beauty," he murmured. "Such beauty. Yet..." he paused. "There is something about you. Why have you come?" 

She didn't answer. Asher ran forward. "Don't tell him," he whispered in her ear.

 Selena nodded, trying to be cautious, but she flinched as Caèl drew her close. "Tell me, Selena. Tell me!" 

They both stared in silence, rooted to the spot. But after a few seconds of silence Selena burst out, "We want you to stop the war! It isn't solving anything, innocent people are dying, and—"

Caèl narrowed his eyes until they were slits. "S-stop the war?" he stammered. "Wha— where did you get that idea?" he doubled over in laughter and drank from his cup which he still held in one hand. "Listen, subjects! These two nobodies think they can march into my territory and demand we stop the war!" His eyes stared straight into Selena's, mocking her. 

Laughter rang out from the merry group, and all raised their glasses and drank.

"Alright then." Caèl waved a hand, and strong vines shot up from the floor and wrapped around their legs and arms so they were glued to the spot. "To the dungeons with you! Both of you!"