Once Upon A Dream | on hold |

Chapter Eight: Home

"I wish I had a memory of that first violent shove, the shock of cold air, the sting of oxygen into new lungs. Everyone should remember being born. It doesn't seem fair that we only remember dying."
― Lauren DeStefano, Fever

Arielle awoke to a slight chill in the air. it felt refreahing to her and she knew that if she opened her eyes, she would somewhere see the sun starting to peak its way up again, ready to start a new day. But she did not want to open her eyes. She remembered too well the strange dream-like world she was trapped in, and hoped that she still wasn't there.

Considering she finally remembered her death, she figured she would giver herself a few moments to grieve before she opened her eyes and figured what she would do.

She figured It was only just to pay your respects.

She could have laughed at herself, making jokes in a time like this.

As the sweet melody of a near song bird reached her ears, she realized that there was no use in waiting. It would only delay what she would sooner or later have to face.

The first thing she saw was death.

A rotting tree stood above her, hanging to the little life it had left. Its leaves turning a sickly yellow and brown. The leaves that had already fallen surrounded Arielle, and some even coved her. When she looked around she noticed that all the trees were in some way in the same state.

Some looked trampled like beasts had walked carelessly through it without any thought, while other trees were even covered in webs. There were a few older oaks that stood firm and looked much helathier than others, but it was only a matter of time before they reached the same fate as their brethren.

A sickness hung in the air, something she hadn't noticed until she saw all the death surrounding her. It made her feel like she couldn't breath, she sucked in air but she still felt as if her lungs would not accept it. It also clouded her mind so much that her thoughts were frantic.

Where am i?

She never thought that she could go anywhere worse then that last place she escaped.

Why am I here?

She couldn't understand why she was sent here, and she wondered if there was anyone nearby that could possibly help her.

But who could live here? Who could live in this death?

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on her breathing.

Me

Her breathing was back to normal. She still felt the heaviness in the air, but it was managable now. She opened her eyes once again and tears started to flow down onto her cheeks.

How could she forget her home?

This was her home, the very place where she spent her childhood and shared laughs with her mother. This was the forest that she went of on adventures with Legolas and come back to a very angry and worried mother and Thranduil. She spent most of her life in this forest. and now it was a foreign land.

Greenwood.

The name no longer seemed to fit.

"What have they done?" Arielle asked the forest.

How could the orcs have possibly done this? How long could she have been gone?

A rage welled up inside her and she let out a yell of frustration before she leaned her head back to the dying tree behind her. She was tired of sorrow, and she was tired of questions.

It was time for answers. She decided that she would find her way back to the palace...

''If the kingdom still stands." she couldn't help the thought coming to mind.

From there she would find Legolas.

Her heart ached to see him, she didn't know how long it had been and she just hoped that he hadn't changed, for she couldn't handle anything else that she held dear to be gone.

She opened her eyes again, motivated to start her journey. But a glimpse of green stopped her.

Surrounding where she sat was a ring of fresh grass and sprouts. The rich green was a happy sight to her still tearful eyes. In the midst of her mess, she completely forgot of her gift.

She brushed some fallen leaves aside and placed her palm on the ground, and concentrated on bringing the forest back to life. She imagined it slowly spreading from her and outward to the forest like the warmth of the sun when it first rises.

When she glanced up, she was happy to see that the trees around her were starting to come to life. They began to sprout new leaves and shook off the dreadful cobwebs as they straighening themself out so that they were standing proudly once again.

Arielle smiled wearily, and slowly stood up. The effort drain a great deal of energy from her, but she did not regret it. As she started her journey, she coninued to spread her powers as far as she could without burning herself out.

She was determined to bring back her home.

Thanks For reading guys :)

The picture on the side was an edit made by my bestie!

Thanks again for sticking with this story. i promise it will get interesting... very interesting muahahahah1

Sorry I got a bit out of control there...

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-Em