The Magical Forest

Chapter 17

A bright light came in through the windows. Olivia sat up in bed yawning and rubbing her eyes. She lazily got up from her bed.

She looked around the room, surprised. She did not remember when she was brought into the room. The walls of the room were off white in colour. There was a lamp and an apple at the side of her bed. But what caught her attention was a huge painting hanging in the right wall. It was the painting of a pleasant looking lady gracefully seated on a golden throne. She was dressed in a bright red gown. She had a kind smile plastered on her face. She had a golden crown on her head which was embedded with pearls.

Olivia had certainly saw her somewhere. She scratched her head out to remember, but in vain. She just seemed to forget.

She shrugged these thoughts out of her mind. She took the apple from her table and went out.

It was a bright, sunny morning. Olivia looked around. There was long narrow road leading somewhere off surrounded by patches green lands and trees. Little did she know that everything was not so fine as it seemed.

Olivia did not exactly remember how she came to the there and she did not want to. It was such a pleasant, morning. The surroundings were beautiful and clean. Olivia slowly started walking admiring the beautiful scenery around her.

She did not notice how far she walked until she came upon a curve. She turned back to look at the house but it was out of sight.

Olivia turned back to walk forward but to her horror, the green patches of land had disappeared. Instead, she saw dark clouds approaching towards her. She took few steps backward. The clouds started coming faster. She turned back and started running. She could feel the clouds casting a shadow over the green fields. A strong wind was blowing.

Olivia did not stop running until she saw someone. It was a female figure. Behind her there were dark clouds. She was looking straight towards Olivia. As she came forward, the figure became clear. She was dressed in white. Her dark hairs were left open. They were flying wildly in her face in the strong wind.

She stood a few feet away from Olivia. Suddenly, Olivia remembered her. It was the same lady from the painting she saw in the morning. Olivia blinked her eyes. She wasn't wrong. It was the same lady. She could recognise her easily by her long dark hairs and deep blue eyes.

"Olivia.... " the lady said weakly. "You must get your revenge, no matter what."

"Who are you?" Olivia questioned.

"You must break the curse. I know you could do that. You are strong." the lady said firmly though she was too weak.

"What?" Olivia asked. "Which curse?"

"You must save us. You must save our kingdom, dear." the lady said.

"Who are you?" Olivia asked. The lady seemed really familiar.

"Don't you remember your mother?" the lady said.

"Mother...." Olivia's voice trailed off.

The lady was starting to disappear. Her figure became blurry. After a little while, the dark clouds swallowed her up.

Olivia stood there, speechless. Suddenly a strong wind blew. Olivia regained her senses. She was about to run when the dark clouds swallowed her up too.

Olivia's vision began to blur. There was smoke and dust everywhere. The were surrounding her. Just then she saw a strange shape emerging from the cloud. Olivia could not see it clearly in the dust. It was about just about to attack her when she covered her eyes with her hands and screamed. Then everything went black.

Olivia woke up with her heart pounding. Was that a dream? It could not be. She remembered each and every detail clearly. Dreams don't feel so real. Her forehead was sweating. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest.

"Such an odd dream, or rather a nightmare." Olivia thought.

Olivia looked around. She was in a cell. Olivia remembered being thrown into the dungeons.

The cell was big and dark. The only source of light was the moonlight streaming in through a hole.

"Well, I will atleast be able to tell myself if its day or night."

The hole was square shaped and big enough to let the moonlight pour in.

"Maybe the dungeon cell." Olivia guessed.

Hello readers! I took a lot of time to write this chapter. But I am glad I updated before a month. Anyway, what do you think about Olivia's dream and her first meeting with her mother? I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter. Please vote and comment. Any suggestion is welcome.
–Edith