Everlast

Chapter 14; The end of the woods, the beginning of the adventure.

They rested that night directly on the path, not lighting a fire, not sleeping, and generally being all-around miserable.

However, once morning dawned-- meaning it grew SLIGHTLY lighter out-- and they set off once again, miserable, exhausted, and hungry.

"We near the end of the forest now!" Grimble said, "Then we shall be able to have a proper rest."

"Where are we going?" Ajay heard Thistle pipe up with the exact question he's had for ages now.

"We must resupply and make a plan of attack, so to speak. I believe the best place to rest would be the home of the elves; they live not far from here and they will welcome old friends such as Emmer and myself. There, we will take time to train Ajay in the skills he will need to be our Chosen One. Then we shall gather armies--"

"Gather armies?" Ajay exclaimed, his heart thudding in his chest, "What for?"

"Boy, if you think that the goblin king will simply return Jareth's throne if we ask nicely, then you are far more dense than I thought." the old man huffed. "We need armies, lad. And though using the goblin prince as a bargaining piece may help us to avoid war, I do not think we can fully escape it."

The weight of his words rested heavily on Ajay; he was the Chosen One. Someone important. The person most likely to lead all those armies into battle. And yet he knew nothing of battle or gaining thrones or magic or any of it.

But all those thoughts were chased away when a new idea suddenly entered his head. "You said we're going to see elves? Real elves?"

"What do you think I've been all this time?" Emmer muttered.

But Grimble only nodded in response, a slight smile curving at the corners of his mouth at Ajay's obvious excitement. "Yes, lad. The elves."

The rest of the journey out of the woods seemed less dismal then and Ajay could hardly wait to leave.  Elves! He was going to see elves other than the ones who yelled at him or tried to eat him. Why, just a week ago Ajay would have laughed at the thought of meeting elves. They did not exist, after all. But when one has been chased by a lake monster, saved by an antlered boy, and been nearly eaten by dark elves, it tends to put things in a different light. Like perhaps the fact that elves and magic COULD exist.  And while the whole thing was madness, Ajay could not simply keep denying what was right in front of him. Magic here was real. Monsters were real. All the things he had wanted to be real as a child...they were real here and now.

And a good majority of them were terrifying.

Perhaps now he had to stop trying to be so grown up and let the part of him that was still a child run free and wild for a bit. Here, there was no room for logic or science, or anything that grownups believed so thoroughly in. Perhaps, Ajay needed to let go of that part of him that told him he was too old for adventures or that magic did not exist. For, it clearly did. 

Looking up again, he saw a glimmering of white light shining down the path like a beacon of hope, of new beginnnings. Ajay smiled, and without warning he ran toward the light, a giggling Thistle on his heels.

There is was; the end of the path! Bathed in the sunlight of a world filled with luster and life, with the chirping of birds. Gone was the smell of decay, and though the stench of rot still clung to Ajay's clothes, a swift breeze quickly carried it away and ruffled his raven-black hair. Taking a deep breath, Ajay felt a smile flutter over his lips and excitement flooded his chest.

Yes, this was the end of the forest...but only the beginning of the adventure.

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When Ajay fully stepped out into the glorious sunlight, he felt two things; one was the warmth and life of everything around him. And the other was that the sun. Burned. His. Eyes.

He yelped, rubbing them and blinking until his sight adjusted then he took in the wide open plain before them where the forest abruptly ended and rolling fields of endless white snow began.

Gulping in lungfuls of air that did not smell like death, Ajay spread his arms open wide, letting the wind rip at his clothes and hair and taking away with it the feelings of anxiety and despair. Beside him, he heard Emmer chuckle at his actions.

"It is wondeful, is it not?"

Ajay only nodded, elation at being free of the forest flowing through him. That was up until he realized how bloody tired he was.

Sadly, Grimble did not let them rest and instead led them through the plains of snow for the rest of the day. They trudged wearily over hill after hill, slowly making their way toward the Elven kingdom.

Ajay groaned; his legs felt as though they were made of lead, his back ached, and his eyelids sagged from lack of rest. He soon grew bored of the endless sea of white snow and the oncoming grey clouds that now began to obscure the sun--for now not even it bothered to grace them with its presence. And while Ajay longed for Jareth to sing a song to pass the time and lighten the mood, the Nightling was not speaking to him for the time being. Apparently, he was not too keen on letting Dagon join them on their quest and blamed Ajay for even suggesting the notion. Though, who could blame him, really? It seemed as if Ajay had a knack for ruining things for everyone.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?" he asked Emmer quietly as he walked alongside her.

"For bringing his worst enemy into the questing party? No, I do not think he will."

Ajay swallowed hard, guilt resting like a heavy hand on his chest. "Was I so wrong as to save a life?"

Glancing back at Dagon, Emmer looked at him for a moment and the goblin gave her a seductive smile in return. Frowning, she looked back at Ajay. "To save his life? Maybe you WERE wrong."

"But what did he do that was so terrible? Why does Jareth hate him so much?"

"It is not my place to tell and I doubt Jareth will ever tell you. Perhaps you should ask your goblin prisoner." And with that, she walked away to join Jareth.

Blowing out a puff of air, Ajay tugged on the rope binding Dagon, urging him to hurry up, for they still had a long ways to go.

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