[OLD] Cursed

Chapter 13

    Forbidden. The word rang in her ears as she approached the wall, the barrier. Outlawed. Cursed. She glanced behind her, making sure that no one was following her. Last chance to stop. It was just seeing what was beyond her world of mountains, there was nothing wrong with that. Then why do I feel so guilty?

     She glanced up at the sky. The Silver Sun was almost at its highest point in the sky. Caroline picked up a fallen stick and drew a dragon in the dirt. "Could pass for stick dragon." She muttered to herself in human thoughtfully, looking at her drawing. The barrier suddenly let out a sharp, blinding light, forcing her to shield her eyes. The bright light slowly faded and she turned towards the wall.

     It was giving off a soft, silverish-grayish light, like the same kind that the Silver Sun radiated. Just looking at it, just being near it seemed to calm her. Ignoring the whispers of warning and danger around her, she stepped through the wall. The grass crunched underneath her and the warm night wind whispered to her in greeting.

     Thump. Thump. Thump. There was the sound of footsteps behind her, gradually slowing to a halt. "You came." She said, her eyes still fixated on the stars. "Yeah, I did." Hmm... he sounds a little angry. I wonder why. "You know, my Captain banished me from the seas when he found out about this." Oh, so it's my fault? Caroline just shrugged. "And Monah forbade me to come, but I left." "You ran away?" "Yes."

     She gazed up at the sparkling bits of light, focusing particularly on the stars that made up Shootingstar. "When mad," she started. "I look at stars." Thomas nodded, and she realized he was holding something. "What is that?" He held it up. "A scroll." "What is a-" "It's basically the older version of a book." "Hm... I like books. What is it telling you?" She was proud on how much her human language had advanced from the past meeting, but she knew it wasn't perfect.

      Thomas looked the other way. "I don't know." He admitted. "I can't read." Caroline tilted her head, confused. "Human can't read the human scribbles?" "I was never taught." Thomas said, defending himself. Caroline shrugged again and held out a paw. He placed the scroll in it and she unrolled it. "Law." She muttered. "It is a law. What is a law?" "It's a set of rules that a certain nation has to follow." She skimmed through a few more words she didn't know. "Humans too complicated." She muttered. "Do not understand." "How about you read, and I'll explain?" Thomas suggested. She nodded, then looked back at the scroll.

     It looked battered and torn from the centuries that it had lasted. But her instincts told her it was older than that. The edges were a little crinkled, but she could tell that they were new, probably done by Thomas. She laid it flat on the grass, letting it bask in the Silver Sun's light. "Dark." She muttered. "Hard to read." But she managed to make out what they said.

Law

This is the law of the people.

This is the law for the people.

Let it be known that anyone who breaks this law will suffer the consequences.

The worlds are now separated, do not mingle. Anyone who crosses them will lose something from their lives in exchange.

The barrier is there for a reason. Touching it will result in a possibility of your kind being endangered.

Do not seek wisdom, be satisfied with what is given.

Go beyond your home and you will discover that you cannot return.

Any things left behind from the past will not be looked at, read, or inspected.

Anyone will breaks all of these laws will have a consequence worse than death.

On the third dawn, all will return and stay in their world, and the barrier will be destroyed.

     Caroline and Thomas glanced at each other. "What does this mean?" She asked, completely confused. "It means," Thomas started. "that we've broken every single law." "What are the laws though?" "The first law is something about... not allowing to meet someone from a different world. I'm guessing they were divided long ago. Like, you're a dragon, and I'm a human. Caroline nodded thoughtfully. "What was the consequence?" "Giving up something that you value from your life." "Harsh." She muttered.

     "The second one is to not cross the barrier, which is the silver-gray wall. If you do, 'your kind' will be endangered." Your kind? "Like for you, dragons would be endangered." She almost hissed out loud at the thought.

     "Then there's the law of only knowing what other people, or dragons tell you. For instance, Captain said that the land was dangerous, but look at me now. I can touch it and walk on it." She nodded, deciding not to ask who 'Captain' was.

     "What is the fourth law?" "Once you leave your home, in our case, the mountains and the seas, well, you can't go back." "I do not want to go back." She said, but then saw his expression. Does he want to go back? But why? Why would anyone want to be stuck in their own world, only being able to rely on what other people tell you, not knowing anything but what's around you?

     "The last law," Thomas started, interrupting her thoughts, "is the one we're breaking right now. This scroll is from the past, and anything from the past belongs to the past. We can't read, inspect, or even look at it." "That seems unfair." She muttered. She glanced up at the Silver Sun. Good. Still time left. "So, um..." Thomas said. "The last time we met, didn't you call the moon, the 'Silver Sun'?" "Moon? You mean that?" She pointed at the silver orb in the sky. Thomas nodded. "Yes. We call it Silver Sun since it was made from the Sun." "Really? Where I come from, Sun and Moon were made from the four elements." She nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me."