Hope's Flight (temporarily on hold)

Chapter 2

Hope leapt to her feet searching for her daggers. The sudden rise caused her head to spin, and she staggered back against a wooden wardrobe. An elderly woman stepped out of the shadows and reached to steady her. Hope drew back and tensed for an attack.

"Easy, child. I won't hurt you," she said. "Your knives are on the table." She pointed to a small dining table set by a window.

Hope quickly strapped the daggers to her hips before examining her surroundings. She was in a small, sparsely furnished cabin. The fire she'd been sleeping next to gave the room a reddish glow. A large, overstuffed bookshelf was the cabin's most prominent feature. Looking down, she saw that her feet had been bandaged and she was dressed in a simple, cotton gown.

She turned her attention to the old woman. Though she held a cane in her left hand, her back was straight. Her face was heavily lined, but her eyes were sharp. She was clothed in a worn, yellow dress, and appeared unarmed. Hope wondered who the woman was and why she had brought her here.

"You don't miss much, do you, child?" The woman said. "I am Cecilia, and this is my home. I brought you here to heal." She sat on a footstool and reached for a steaming kettle over the fire. "Have some tea."

Hope kept her eyes on Cecilia as she edged over to an armchair near the fire and accepted the tea warily. She watched the woman drink before taking a sip herself. Her thirst overcame her, and she drained the cup. Cecelia silently poured her another and gazed into the fire.

As she sipped the second cup, Hope considered the woman and the cabin. She didn't know what realm she was in, and wasn't sure how to ask without arousing suspicion. She doubted many travellers fell from the sky.

"This is Elysion," Cecelia answered her unspoken question. "A forgotten Shadow Realm."

The answer startled Hope, and she examined Cecelia carefully with her magical senses. She 'felt' distinctly human to Hope, but with just a spark of something else.

"That's quite an ability you have there," Cecelia said. "Could be very useful one day."

Hope stared at the woman for a moment as she pondered her surroundings. It was clear from the furnishings that Cecelia lived alone. She seemed to answer Hope's questions before they were even asked. You're telepathic, Hope thought. It would explain her solitary lifestyle and her conversation so far. Telepathy was a rare 'gift' indeed.

"That obvious is it?" Cecelia chuckled. "Not much of a gift if you ask me. Hard to get any peace and quiet."

Hope stood and walked to the window. Outside, a steady rain fell upon an enormous mountain lake. She could see the outline of steep, rocky peaks in the distance, and more rose to her left, surrounding the lake on at least two sides. To her right, she could see a rocky trail that seemed to descend toward an unseen valley below.

"The town of New Hope sits below us," the old woman guestured towards the trail. "This is Hope's End," she swept her arm to encompass the lake and the surrounding area, including the cabin.

Hope tried to hide her surprise at the names the woman had just spoken, but laughed at herself when she remembered Cecelia's gift.

"Hard to keep secrets from a telepath," Cecelia smiled at her. "Your arrival will cause quite a stir, so I'd best fill you in on a few things." Cecelia turned back to her seat by the fire and sighed as she settled in. "Rest, child, and listen carefully."

Hope settled back in her seat and waited for Cecelia to speak.

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