The Realm of Dreams

ch 7

Chapter 7: The Fear in the Forest

The next day Emerald went outside for a walk while Raven and Tristan were out with the recruits. She walked deeper and deeper into the woods not realizing that she was being called to the statue again. The man with the hooded cloak followed close behind her but with much stealth and silence. Her senses were not what they had been in her unicorn form, and sadly even when she was in her unicorn form she had not been able to detect this hidden man the first time. He had always prided himself on his abilities to remain undetectable and he was gloating. He prided himself as a master at blending into his surroundings, no matter the surroundings.

Emerald got to the statue and stared up at it. The hooded man watched with much interest from the shadows, breathing as quietly as possible. This was the one he had been waiting for, no he had been hungering for. He eyed her with greed in his stare and sat in appreciation for the undoing that would occur soon. Or so he desperately hoped. No matter when the anticipated act happened it would be to long.

“I wonder if you are the goddess that Raven and Tristan are trying to find. Perhaps I should show them this place when they return from training.” Emerald said aloud to what she thought was herself. Her long white hair falling slowly from her shoulder as she leaned closer to the statue. The statue was gorgeous, strong alabaster stone, and surrounded by four unicorns. The unicorns were either trapping the woman or protecting her, Emerald was unsure. All she knew is anytime she was near this shadow she felt sick, scared, and hunted.

The hooded man slowly walked nearer to Emerald, listening to her as she spoke with the goddess. Emerald began to cry as she threw her hand through the water that surrounded the statue. He neared Emerald as she cried. She did not see him as he neared her and she cried harder. Emerald missed home and hated this feeling of dread and fear which seemed to come from the statue. The hooded man stood beside her and gently put his hand upon her shoulder. She was startled and jumped up as she spun around towards him.

“Are you alright?” He asked in a deep raspy voice. His cold dark black eyes piercing through her, she could smell the hunger from him, but hunger for what?

“Who are you?” Her voice quivered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Fear quaked in her voice. He body and soul warning her against this strange man.

“I am the guardian, why are you here?” He looked down at her with his cold black eyes. He introduced himself as the guardian "due to my sole purpose being to protect this statue" He explained further that he "had always been near the Goddess in the shadows protecting her and the entire time she had been trapped in the statue he had done as he was created for; to protect and serve her."

“My nightmares drove me here." Emerald whispered through her tears as her voice still trembled. "I traveled a great distance and this statue calls to me but I don’t know why.” She sighed as her long white hair covered her eyes falling in streams about her face. “When I am near it I feel great fear and dread, that is why I was crying. Despite this being the case I am drawn here like a moth to a flame. I just hope it's not to my destruction as is the moths destroyed by the flame." She fearfully looked up at him in fear.

“I’m sure that I know who you are then. You must be the great sacrifice.” He took his hand and moved her hair away from the spot on her forehead where her horn would have been if she would have been in her true form.”Yes, it is as I expected. You are the sacrifice.” at that last statement he smirked and vanished.

Emerald looked away, not believing her eyes. Now she was even more terrified. Why did some strange man touch her forehead and speak those words to her? "I am the sacrifice, what does that mean? Why, what, how I am so confused and I am so terrified. I don't know what to do." She spoke quickly to herself out of desperation and out of dread.

“I’m the great sacrifice..but what does that mean?" She quizzed the air once again. "I tire of this place. I will tell Raven I am leaving when I see him again. I don't know where I will go but I'm not staying here any longer.” Emerald ran back to the tavern, her heart flooding her veins with great fear as her legs pounded desperately hard on the ground trying to get to the tavern as quickly as possible.

She heard Raven and Tristan yelling her name as it looked like they were searching for her. She saw the manner they were acting and she ran back to the tavern. She would bring this up inwith them when she had time, for she desperately needed to know what was going on. Not only did she need to know what was going on, but she wanted to say good-bye to the men that had befriended her.

The guardian watched from his way point as she ran off. Once it was safe he re-emerged and sat near the statue. “Soon you will be with me again goddess. Soon.” He stared up at the statue, it had been so long since he had been with the goddess. Her advisor, her helper, he loved her, she never truly reciprocated that love but he would do anything for her. The man had stayed with her from before the time she had been encased in stone as well as the entire time of her entrapment. The Gods had trapped her in the stone and set the rules for the needed sacrifice in order for her freedom. “Damn woman why did you have to be so brutish to the Gods, for this fate would never have happened to you if you could have just looked the other way. No..no...I would not love you if you were not as stubborn and strong willed as you are. This is how it has to be and I know this. It has just been so long. It has been more than a few eons I believe. I will gladly follow you to the ends of the world, my goddess. I believe the sacrifice has been found and by the looks of the sky you should be set free soon. My goddess!"

As the guardian spoke to the statue a blood red tear fell from her eye. She could still hear him, she just could not reply, she longed to be free and she longed even more to set her punishment right. What the gods had punished her for was foolish from her perspective. On the day she was forced, screaming, fighting, trying to prevent her entrapment she had found her sword. She and the sword had immediately linked and the amount of immense power instilled into her was far too much for the old gods to accept. They spoke the words and the statue encasement formed in secure formation around her body. The unicorns were then set in place, one to represent the needed sacrifice as well as to prevent her from freeing herself. The old gods had always had too much trouble from her and all extreme measures were needed to keep her where they wanted her. She could recall all of this from her hell statue which were awoke from her d guardian speaking to her, as well as the woman with white hair crying into the water that surrounded the statue.