Chapter Two Part One
907 Words
Arabella looked around at the desolate landscape and sighed with relief. For a while now she had been worried that someone was following them. They had passed a Council Outpost and had slipped past without them knowing they were there. Still her paranoia got the best of her as they continued. She had worried that they had been noticed. Now as she journeyed through this desolate land she could no longer picture what this world used to look like. Did anything remain? She asked herself sadly. She had been excited when she learned that she was to go on a journey to a place that she had only read about. Now she sighed sadly. How had the world come to this kind of state? She asked herself again. She had spent many years learning all about the world before the Great Calamity and the world after.
Arabella continued to walk and investigate the area that she was traveling through. She was sad to see that, like so many other areas that she had traveled to, it had long since been abandoned after the Great Calamity or caught up in the Council's search for the Vosat. Arabella had spent many years hearing about the destruction of the planet. When she became the proper age she was allowed into the library. There she was able to satiate her hunger to learn more about the world and its people before the Great Calamity. Arabella had been astonished to learn that a demon was laying dormant in a mountain. The more she learned the more curious she became. What was this planet and its people like? She still found herself wondering these things. She often found herself lost in thought on this subject.
Arabella sighed and pushed the thought out of her head. She pulled the map from her pack and looked at it long and hard. Even with this map she couldn't be sure that she was going in the right direction. Almost all of the marks were gone and and almost no one left the village any more. That meant that the map had not been updated in hundreds of years. Arabella frowned in confusion. The Elders had been reluctant to let her leave the safety of the village. However, it was decided after much discussion that she needed to travel to the Great Tsaligu. Arabella had been surprised to receive a summons from the Council of the Elders. Even more surprising was the appearance of the Grand Elder.
The old woman never showed up to these kinds of meetings unless something important was about to happen. To Arabella, who had no power, there was no reason for her to leave the village. She had no idea what was so important regarding her that the Grand Elder had to be there. Arabella sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
Genova, Arabella's best friend since childhood, cleared his throat. She looked up at him and smiled sadly. He walked quietly towards her and smiled.
"Are you still struggling with the map?" He asked gently.
"Yeah. Genova, I have no idea what I am even doing out here." She said frowning.
"You know that the Grand Elder has her reasons for sending you."
"I know but she didn't even tell me what I am supposed to be looking for or doing other than marking down the villages and Council Outposts that we see." She said. "That crazy old bat just said to go to the tree." She continued walking. "Then she smiled. You know that creepy smile she does when she knows something but no one else does." Genova nodded laughing. "Then said that I would understand soon enough. I mean how much more confusing can you get?"
Genova laughed. He had known her since they were children. In fact, his family had been selected to protect her. This was something that was not knowledgeable to Arabella or the rest of the village. They just thought that he was being kind to the girl with no family and no powers.
"You never did tell me, Genova, how on earth did you get roped into this craziness?" She asked without looking behind her. Genova swallowed nervously.
"Come on! You are my best friend. Wherever you go, I go!" He said making a hurt face. Arabella glanced back at him dubiously and pushed a long black lock of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, okay." She said casting a look at the sky. "We need to find a place to bed down for the night." Genova nodded in agreement.
He had already begun to notice the changes in her demeanor even if she hadn't noticed it yet. That was the whole reason for this journey he assumed. Once the power awakened in her many of the people in the village would be targeted again. After meeting with the Grand Elder it was determined that not only was the power within her beginning to awaken but that she was unaware of the changes taking place. When he had met with the old woman she had been adamant that Arabella should leave the village. She wouldn't fully tell him why she was so sure that Arabella should leave the village except that it was a very important journey that she needed to go on.
A/N: this chapter is a bit shorter but I am trying to keep related content together. Let me know what you think.
- Writer
