Sorceress of the Void

Chapter Three - The Woodland Nymph

Chapter Three

The Woodland Nymph

     Before she knew it, the sky began to lighten in the coming of a new day. The sight was not unwelcome, but the thought of another day of straight walking already had her muscles groaning in protest. She looked down at the pair of sleeping children who had somehow tangled themselves into a mess of limbs and Eira's dress in the night. It was a heartwarming sight, but she could not rekindle the fire for a morning huddle around the hearth if she was not able to get up. 

"Collan. Mindarie." She shook them both gently, hoping that neither would cast a spell on her this morning out of habit. They mumbled in annoyance, the disturbance to their sleep an unwelcome gesture. 

They all sat around the newly rekindled fire, saying nothing. Their form of communication being the meaningful glances sent each other’s way, the unspoken words of reassurance rung in their ears. 

Collan was the first to break the silence. “Do you know what it’ll be like in Iridia?”

Eira shook her head. “I’ve never even left Arnelia before.”

The twins eyes widened at that, and though she did not mean to, she flinched after admitting she had never even left the city before. Sure, she had been outside it’s gates for horse rides and camping trips, but never had she been to another area of the country. She flushed in embarrassment and turned away from the two pairs of eyes trained on her. 


"How have you never been outside the city?"

She shrugged in response. "Never had a reason to."

The twins shared a look. Eira both loved and hated when they did that, it made her feel like she was missing out on something. On the other hand, the fact that they had a relationship in which they did not even have to say a word to each other to understand what the other meant was truly endearing to see. 

A few minutes more to enjoy the fire and they stood and kicked out the flames. The people around them had joined up into groups of threes and fours, most of them being strangers to one another before this.

No one joined her and the kids, but that was hardly a surprise. Mindarie and Collan were not only the royal heirs, with whom interactions were usually avoided by the common peasant out of both respect and fear, but they had also shown themselves to be much stronger than their outer appearance had seemed. To find that two things did not match up would be unnerving for anybody. 

Eira sighed. It looked like it was going to be a long and rainy day.

Normally, she would not have minded in the least, but after a night of being chilled to the bone, it made one annoyed with the incessant drizzle and damp clothes. She thought about how much she would have loved to sit on a windowsill back in the castle and look out over the city as shimmering trails of rain twinkled down on the cobblestone streets. Her favorite part about those days though, were when she and Friara could chat late into the night over tea and end in an amiable silence, simply listening to the therapeutic pitter patter on the roof. 

Instead of the calmness of a lazy rainy day, they hastened through the trees, moving along the weathered path in hopes of reaching civilization soon.

Every time a leaf crackled or a twig snapped, the entire party of over twenty people whirled on their heels to face an imaginary adversary. More often than not, a bird would chirp back at them and they would all let out an awkward laugh that had more to do with relief than anything remotely humorous.

Hours later, after seeing nothing but an endless sea of trees and listening to nothing rain tapping the ground, leaves crunching underfoot, and the occasional whisper between individuals, the sweet sound of a bubbling creek made itself known. Mindarie sighed loudly in relief, visibly brightening at the sound. The last day had taken it's toll on all of them, Mindarie having to wipe a few stray tears inconspicuously when she thought her brother was not watching. Eira watched when Collan hovered around Mindarie, immediately helping if she stumbled, and periodically looking behind him at Eira as if to check and make sure she was still there.