THE RAVEN GIRL

“Jing!” She shouted as she reached the room. She saw Jing reading a book. Jing raised her eyebrows and folded the book. She saw Magenta who called her name. She took a deep breath and asked her friend. “What do you need from me?” “Mrs. Luz wants to see you.” She rolled her eyes. “Usual, she saw me again as her messenger. Ugh! I want to finish reading this book.” She put all of her belongings in her bag. Magenta patted her on her shoulder. “Alright, Mage. Just wait for me here for the next class.” Magenta nodded and smiled, then she left. --- “I WANT you to deliver these files in the faculty room, on the fourth floor. Put them on my desk. Got it, Jing?” She nodded at Mrs. Luz's order. “Good.” She took all the files, and then leave the room. Jing is thinking of why Mrs. Luz’s faculty room is on the fourth floor? She’s wondering why. A few minutes later she reached the fourth floor. She is gasping when she stopped in front of the door of the faculty room. She laid the files on the floor before she opened the door. When the door was opened, her eyes widened. That is not a faculty room! There are no papers, tables, and chairs. All she saw was darkness. It was a very dark dead forest and a haunted kingdom that is full of crows. “What. . . the. . . hell,” she whispered. She stepped back away from that place that is full of darkness. She already memorized how it looked. The black kingdom was filled with crows. The trees are shrubby and no leaves, it looks like a forest of death. A black smoke surrounded the whole place. She heard the cries of many souls from a deep pit. Her body weakened because of fear. Suddenly, she heard footsteps from her back. The ground is shaken, and the crows roared in the air. A black smoke struck her, causing her to feel dizzy. Strange strength sprang up all over her body. She stood up while her two hands were on fire, and suddenly, she is wearing a suit of armor. She looked like a human crow. Abruptly, she heard a loud moan again. A rolling smoke is approaching her, but she broke it using the fire in her hand. “s**t! A giant creature!” she whispered with gritted teeth. Whatever the reason she is in this place, the important is she need to survive and save her life. She needs to protect this kingdom full of darkness. And she’s sure, that is her mission at this moment. She needs to fight! -- “JING! Jing! Are you okay? She woke up immediately because of Magenta’s voice. Magenta is her friend, or so she thought. She got up from her bed then she touched her head when she felt it’s aching. She glanced around the room where she was— she is inside the clinic. What happened to her was mysterious but why has everything seemed so real? “Mage, how many days have I slept?” “Duh! How many days? You have only an hour’s sleep. Mrs. Luz found you on the fourth-floor unconscious. What happened to you?” Her forehead creased. In her dream, she had been there for a week. But why in this world, it is only an hour? Did she come to that palace? “Go ahead and rest. I’ll just buy you something to eat,” Magenta declared. She had let Magenta go. She took deep breaths and stared at her two hands. She tried again to build a black smoke and fire out of it, but nothing is coming out of her hands that looked like in her dream. Once again she felt pain in her head and a little dizziness. She tried to open her eyes but she could not. Again, she became unconscious. -- SHE WAS in the place where she had been. In a castle surrounded by black smoke and crows. According to the Giant in her last dream with whom she had spoken to, that kingdom was cursed by a witch, and all the peculiar creatures there were transformed into crows. The Giant also said that the Prince she needs to save is a huge crow and it only appeared once in the palace. The said prince can only be found at the top of the palace. The palace has been cursed for decades. It was also decades ago when a woman came to the Blackerous kingdom to choose someone to be the raven girl. Unfortunately, that woman is not the chosen one, and then she came. For her to know if she was destined to save the cursed palace, she has to fight the prince. She has to wrestle him, and when she beats the prince it means she is the one they have been waiting for to get rid of the curse. But when she is beaten by the prince, that means she is not the raven girl they are asking for. If that happens, she will be brought back to where she came from; her memory will be gone and no one will remember her. “Are you ready?” the Giant asked her. It is next to her, and she seems a handful size as for his size. She took a deep breath. “Ready for what?” “Ready to face him.” Her forehead creased. “I came here to meet him at this time?” “Yes.” “I’m not ready yet! Then I don’t know how to fight!” He grabbed her and placed it on his huge right-hand palm. “You don’t need to know how to fight, my dear princess. Just use your heart and mind, that is how to fight.” She smiled because of what the Giant said. Something built in her chest— a burning fire of heart— maybe she is ready now. No hesitation. She faced the palace, ready to face the prince. No matter what happens, she needs to end it all. For the sake of this kingdom.