Within the Shadow

Chapter 3

On the other side of the kingdom, horses ran through the woods with their owners, looking for their enemies. Once none were found, they went to find their way out of the woods. A girl with long red hair emerged from the bushes. She sighed as she brushed the leaves off her head.

" They're gone," she whispered. From another side of the woods, a girl who looked similar to her, except with short red hair, sighing of relief.

" Thank God," she muttered and walked towards the other girl. " Are you okay Luna? I know I pushed you into the bushes quickly, but they were coming quickly. There was no other choice."

Luna nodded with a smile on her face. " That's okay Celestina, I know you did it to protect me."

She held her hand out for Luna to reach. Once she accepted it, they looked around the woods to see if there was any other enemies appearing. As they heard nothing, Celestina sighed of relief.

" They're finally gone," she muttered.
" Do you know why they were in this area sister?" Luna asked. " I haven't seen them around before."

" Perhaps they could be travelers, but with the weapons they were carrying, makes me have second thoughts about the whole thing."

" Wait, the way they were traveling, it's the way Joshua and the others are!" Luna exclaimed. Celestina bit her lip.

" Let's hurry before more trouble is caused by those people."

~

There were four more people hiding somewhere in the woods, getting ready to ambush the ones that passed through. A boy with blond hair signaled the girl next to him, who had similar features. The girl nodded, and aimed her arrow at one of the men's head.

His comrades panicked as his fell to the ground. " We're being attacked!" The leader shouted. " Attack anything that moves!"

The boy smirked as he said that. He then made his way through the trees, with arrows missing him. To him, he thought they were arrogant of their power.

" Juliet," he said. " Let's end this once and for all."

She nodded and jumped down from the tree. The attacks saw her and aimed their arrows at her. She stood still, waiting for them to shoot her.

" What are you waiting for? She's just a little kid!"

" Little kid?" she repeated. She frowned. " Don't underestimate someone like me." The leader then noticed the mark on her neck. The mark of Virgo.

" She's one of them! The zodiac!"

Juliet smiled sweetly at the leader. " Are you really gonna kill me?" she asked. The leader didn't give in and commanded his men to shoot her. As their arrows were released, they stopped mid-air. Juliet smiled and held up her hand. The arrows were sent back to the men. They cried out in pain, as their own weapons were pierced into their bodies.

The leader and his two best comrades backed away from Juliet. " Are you going to try and kill me now?"

" You're a demon!" he shouted.

" Demon? Quite a funny word." On their left side, another one appeared. He had black hair and blue eyes, that were unique. The leader gulped.

" There's more than one sir," his comrade said. " What should we do? The others are down."

" We'll fight until they're gone," he said. " We're not giving up this fight to some teenagers."

" I see Stella and my brother sure are taking their time. Aeron, do you know what happened to them?" Juliet asked. He shrugged. They both talked as if the enemy wasn't around them. The leader ordered the last two his men to try and kill them. But, the end result was already known.

Juliet watched as the leader's body fell apart and landed on the ground, full of his own men's blood. Aeron looked over at his friend.

" So, what do we do now?" he asked. Juliet smiled, not fazed by the scene in front of her.

" I don't know Aeron, but right now we should find Joshua and Stella. Celestina and Luna should be on their way back to the hideout."

Aeron looked down at the bodies, unsure of what to do with them, but he listened to Juliet. They both walked away from the bodies. The next people who come through the forest, shall see how their bodies rotted.

~

Celestina and Luna ran through the woods, only to be greeted by Joshua himself.

" Joshua?" Celestina said, almost in disbelief.

" Did you see the men from before?" Luna asked. He nodded.

" Course, but don't worry about. Juliet and Aeron took care of them, they shouldn't be bothering us anymore."

" That may be the truth, but what about...." Luna stopped talking.

" What is it Luna? Do you have something to say?" Celestina asked. Luna sighed and looked Joshua.

" Since you killed those men, what about their other comrades? They're bound to get revenge over their deaths."

Joshua nodded. " Yeah, you're right, but those people walking through these woods? I think they were asking for a death wish."

" Not by you," Luna mumbled. Celestina smiled at her sister before turning her attention back to Joshua.

" Did they find out about...?"

He nodded. " Only Juliet, but of course, they would make theories about it."

Luna lightly touched the mark on the top of her back. The zodiac sign, Aquarius. Unlike the others, Luna didn't get her powers from the mark. It seemed like, it was put on her just to be a label. Celestina noticed her twin's distress, and put her hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle smile.

" Don't worry about it. It will activate one of these days," she told her. Joshua nodded as he crossed his arms.

" Celestina is right. It takes time, I remember when mine took five years to activate after I got it when I was fifteen."

" Yes, but yours is the strongest out of all of us. I can't imagine what you had to go through after you found it."

Joshua sighed. She was right. He was tough for him to control, and the one that made him the leader of their group. He looked behind him to find Juliet and Aeron walking.

" You two sure took your time," he said. Juliet rolled her eyes.

" You're the one who left us to fight them off, though they weren't much. Just simple soldiers." Aeron stood on one of his legs, arms crossed arms.

" Where's Stella?" he asked.

" Back at the hideout. She might be working something out with the bodies that are in the middle of the woods."

Juliet smiled sheepishly. " Yeah, we really didn't have a choice. It's a sign that they shouldn't walk through here."

The five of them walked back to their hideout, awaiting for more danger to cross their path.