Nia: Betrothed Luna

Chapter Two: The Forbidden Forest

“Great this is just great isn’t it?” I scream into the darkness. “Happy sixteenth birthday Nia and surprise, I hope you can make your way out of this extremely weird forest! Hey Dad, you could have at least given me a compass!” I bellow as I stare into the darkness.

Okay, this will all be okay. You have two hours to make it to the other side. I mean how hard can this really be it’s only me, the trees and the darkness. I think to myself as I start my much-dreaded walk. Why would he tell me to run, this is going to be like a walk in the?

I stop moving when I hear twigs break on my right, “Hello…. is anybody there?” I slowly say as I shift my body to face the direction the noise had just came from.

My body freezes as I see a set of yellow eyes and some crimson ones several feet behind it. Feet don’t fail me now I think to myself as I take of sprinting in the direction I was just walking towards.

“Oh, Moon Goddess please don’t let me die out here,” I scream as I run, “yes…. I know that I always questioned if you were real because no one else at school has ever heard of you but…. But I promise I won’t even question it if you help me make it out of here alive.”

I keep screaming as I run, pain quickly takes over my left thigh, but I refuse to stop and look at it. “If you can feel you can run Nia” I say to myself as I continue my run. Where am I running too, I don’t know; please let this be the right way I think to myself.

After running for what felt like hours I came to a swift stop when I realized I was no longer being chased. Had those monsters stopped their pursuit? I had to think quickly because I had a bad feeling that I was lost. I looked around until I found a tree that I would not only be able to climb but see in the distance. As I climbed the tree, I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched.

As I neared the top I began to look around, to my surprise I was running in the right direction. I could see my father’s black pick-up truck about two miles away. Two miles…..exactly how long have I been running. I start looking around for the beasts that had attacked me earlier and to my dismay there were not just two of them but what appeared to be a pack heading my way.

I quickly climbed down and began to run in the direction I had seen my father’s truck. Feeling my adrenaline fading I came to a halt when as a brown wolf lunged at me. I quickly dodged it but was unable to block the black one that charged.

I frantically tried to get away from it, but my efforts were unsuccessful. I looked around from something that might save me from death and that’s when I saw it.

My eyes practically bulged out when I realized that my bone was now protruding out of my skin. I leapt towards the dagger that I had spotted several feet away from me. I grabbed right as the beast lunged at me and to my surprise, I heard a whimper. When I gazed up, I was startled, not because of the blood or the pain but because his eyes looked like they were pleading with me.

I quickly shook that out of my mind. They’re beasts Nia, how can they show you any form of emotion. It was then that I realized that the group of wild animals had dispersed. I started limping and then jogging as fast as I could, who am I kidding my jog was more of a limp and a hop.

Covered in blood I made my way towards my kin; it was then that I saw them staring at me in disbelief!

“Run,” Sol shouted, “you’re running out of time!”

That was when I felt it, the ground started trembling like before and I could see the gate slowly making its way up towards the sky.

“Oh, Moon Goddess please no!” I shouted as I willed the strength that I had left in me to run and leap over the gate.

My brother Sol caught me before my body could hit the ground. Although body was trembling my mind was in a frenzy. “You guys aren’t going to believe this, but we need to call animal control there are wolves in the woods, and they started attacking me! I almost didn’t make it but then I found this dagger and I’m pretty sure I killed one of them and then they all disappeared Dad we have to call them! Call them now!” I shouted before my body and my mind went blank.

“Nia….Nia….I need to you open your eyes and look at me” an unfamiliar voice whispered.

“I’m tired, please let me rest” I said into the darkness.

“I thought you said you would not question me if I helped you make it out alive?” the mysterious voice questioned.

I quickly shot up and looked around. “I may hear you, but I do not see you…please do you have any form of light?”

“In order to see me you must open yours first, Nia I am asking you to open your mind and your heart to me.”

For a complete stranger she’s asking for a lot I think to myself as a beautiful viridian light surrounded me. I open my eyes and I realized that I was now in a beautiful meadow and before me was a gorgeous caramel woman with hazel eyes and auburn hair. She smiled at me and motioned for me to sit beside her.

“Am I dead?” I ask through teary eyes.

“Far from it, but you are unconscious” she says as she makes her way towards me.

“Do I know you?” I ask as she sits beside me.

“Not as much as you should, I am the Moon Goddess but you may call me Selene,” she hesitated and said “I don’t have much time you will be waking soon but I wanted to introduce you to Alessia….you will know who she is soon enough” she smiled.

“Alessia?” I ask before I am nudged by a beautiful aurum wolf. I gently rubbed her side and although I could not explain it, I somehow felt connected to this enchanting beast that stood before me. Before I could speak my vision became blurred.