Emerald Forest And The Black Birds

Ch.4~ (Anneska's POV)

I sat Indian style with my back against a large tree trunk. I twirled a decayed leaf between my index finger and thumb and watched as the wind gently blew; causing flakes of the dead leaf to swirl away. Suddenly, my ears pricked as I head the crunching of snow underfoot. My brows wrinkled and I lifted my head to get a better listen. Someone, or something, plopped down directly behind the trunk I was leaning against and I hushed my breathing. Fear struck me as the person's breathing became heavier. 

Was it a magpie? 

I swallowed hard and tried very hard to stay still; to not make a sound. The person on the other side of the large ash tree shifted and I heard them begin to move toward me. My heart was pounding at my ribs and I felt that it would leap out of my chest and run away. Appearing before me was a set of almond shaped eyes; as crystal as a stream. 

"Please, don't hurt me." She cried, out of breath. Her face came into the light and I saw a young girl; maybe my age. She had short black hair and a creamy white face with dried tears and dirt smeared on her pink cheeks. I leaned forward. 

"Who are you?" I questioned firmly. The girl's mouth opened but no words came out. Right then the cawing of a crow echoed throughout the sky, sending a shutter down my spine. 

"I'm Freya." She said in a hushed voice, as if someone was tip-toeing throughout out the forest, searching for her. I wondered who she was and where she had come from. She most definetly did not live Emerald forest; I could tell from her strange form of dress and haircut. 

"Hi Freya." I greeted her, holding out my hand for a handshake. Freya flinched at the movement of my hand and I quickly pulled it back. 

"Um, why are you here?" She pondered with furrowed brows. 

"Hmph, I could ask you the same question. I live here." I responded, tracing a sad face in the snow with my finger. Freya watched silently as I did this and finally responded, 

"I ran here. I had no choice." 

I eyed her questioningly. 

"Why? I don't see why you'd run to a place like this willingly. Ignorance maybe?" I crossed my arms and looked at her curiously. 

"No! I, something bad happened to me. I had to hide here, or he'd find me; my dad I mean." Freya said rubbing her arm.

"Oh. Well I'd advise you to hide elsewhere. There are unexplainable things in these woods. Things that someone of a simple mind would never understand. Are you simple minded?" I pondered. 

"Listen, I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I know I shouldn't be here. I've seen things in this forest that I probably shouldn't have." She admitted.

"Like what?" I dared her. 

"Like those crow, bird people. I just escaped a group of them." She said, shuttering at the memory. 

"Ah, those are magpies. You should avoid them, they will peck your eyes out." 

"Yeah, no kidding." Freya muttered. "And what are you?" She added. 

"What am I? I'm a girl, no different then you. The only thing that sets us apart is that my life is at stake, yours isn't." I sighed, glancing towards the path that leads the the palace. 

"Why? What's going on?" 

"It's a long story. There are a group of dangerous thieves called the blackbirds. They took over my palace and have my parents held prisoners." I said in a shaky voice. Freya hesitated before inching forward and placing her hand on top of mine. 

"It's okay-" 

"No it's not. My parents are probably being tortured as we speak and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not strong enough on my own." I frowned.

"Well," Freya paused for a moment," Could I help you?" 

I stared at her suspiciously. 

"Help me? Why? You don't even know me, so why would you care?" 

"Because. I'm the kind of person who cares. And, well, maybe in exchange you could show me how to get out of here." She offered. 

I but my bottom lip and nodded slowly. Freya climbed to her feet and held out a hand to me, which I grabbed and she pulled me up. 

"So what now?" She questioned. 

"Now..." A bush quivered behind us, causing us to exchange confused looks. 

"Get behind me." I ordered her. Freya shook her head and placed a hand on her hip. 

"I'm not afraid." She stated. I nodded and we moved toward the bush. The closer we got, the more my heart ached to know what danger was awaiting us. 

"Who's in there? Come out at once!" I instructed. 

"Okay, okay you got me!" 

Me and Freya watched- wide eyed- as a small elf girl crawled from under the bush. 

"Who are you?" Freya asked. 

"And why were you spying on us?" I added sternly. 

"Uh, your highness," she bowed," I- I heard about Artem taking over your home and, well, I want to help! I have my wooden staff and I can turn him into a frog... maybe." 

I looked at Freya, who shrugged, and I inched toward the elf girl. 

"What's your name?" I asked, kneeling down to her height. 

"Oh, where are my manners! My name is Odessa." She bowed again. 

"Odessa." Freya breathed. I smiled and bowed my head to her. 

"I do appreciate your concern and wanting to help, but your simply too untrained in magic mastery." I shook my head sadly. Odessa looked at me pleadingly. 

"Please! I may not be the best at magic, but I really do think I can help! At least better then that nimrad over there!" She snorted, pointing to Freya. 

"Hey I'm not a nimrad! What is that even?" She retorted. 

"Will you guys stop? Listen Odessa, if I let you tag along you must promise me that you won't insult Freya or screw things up. Got it?" I inquired. 

Odessa's pink eyes lit up and she clapped triumphantly. 

"Oh brother." Freya groaned. 

"Hey, give her a chance. Perhaps she can be of assistance." I chuckled to Freya. 

"Perhaps.." 

"Come on Princess Anneska and Francis!" 

"It's Freya you-" 

"Shhh! Stop it! Come on, the palace is Northeast." I said nudging them along. The three of us walked into the grey mist of the snowy forest with nothing but each other and Odessa's wooden staff. I wonder if us three could really save my parents and rid Artem of the forest... 

A/N: Heyo! sorry for not updating last week, something very negative and somewhat traumatic happened to me and I'm still dealing with it :( But I wanted to push out another update today! Anywho, I changed the cover. What do you think? I suck at making covers so if anyone could give me tips on how to improve please comment here >