Fan Fiction ❯ Lee'anara's Curse ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter 2

As Ailey ran down the passage with her brother, she thought over what
was happening. The castle, her home, was under attack. That was the
first thing. With the army away there were almost no defences.

If her father and uncles had been there it would be different. Her
father, Sar, and her Uncle Chaim, Skylar and Teae's father, were two
of the best swordsmen in Lee'anara. Kit's father, her other uncle,
Alvion, was an inventor and had designed the castle defensives.
Unfortunately only he knew how to work them. Yahto, Kyvin's father,
would have been able to help hold them off with his excellent fighting
abilities. However, they were all with the army.

Now Ailey was running down a secret passage while the female members
of her family fought. She understood their reasoning but she still
wanted to help.

Suddenly she heard a scream of pain behind her. Skidding to a stop she
spun around. There was Skylar, kneeling on the floor with his arm
around Taea who was crouched on the floor holding her head.

"Not now." Ailey ran back, dragging her brother with her.

"She had a vision." Skylar said.

"I know that." Despite her tone Ailey was quite worried. Taea hadn't
had a vision in years. The last one had been only a minute before a
dragon attacked. Unfortunately Taea hadn't been able to warn anyone as
it took about a minute for her to be able to think again.

"We don't have time for this." Draco said. "For all we know that
vision was of us being killed."

"I'll carry her." Kit said as he and Kyvin caught up. "If one of you
can grab her bag and mine, I'll take her out and prepare our rides."

"I'll grab them." Kyvin bounded off on all fours before anyone could
object.

"Just hurry." Kit easily lifted Taea out of her brother's grasp and
headed off the others just behind him.

Everyone managed to get their bags without any trouble and met in the
stables. There they found Kit attempting to saddle a large black
stallion. Taea was sitting on a bale of hay watching.

"You're doing it all wrong." Draco walked angrily to Kit who was still
trying to saddle the stallion. He quickly saddled the horse and
attached the bags. "You know Adrian doesn't like machinery. Last time
I checked, that hand of yours classifies as machinery."

"Just hurry." Taea whispered.

"Are you okay?" Ailey rushed to her best friend's side.

"Yes, but, that vision." She shook her head. "They were put under a
spell."

No one had to ask who. A grim silence fell over the six.

"What spell?" Ailey asked.

"Death Sleep." Ailey and Skylar's eyes widened. Death Sleep was one of
the most powerful spells. It put the victim in a deep sleep. They
showed all the signs of being dead, but weren't.

"We can't help them." Draco finished putting the bridle on Adrian and
spun around. "Now, get the Acornlings."

"Right." Ailey and Kyvin to the far side of the stable, away from the
castle, and whistled a note so high it couldn't be heard by human
ears.

Three horse-like creatures burst out of the forest. One, the larger,
was pure white with gold hooves, mane and tail as well as a small
black horn in the centre of it's forehead. The other smaller ones were
black with gold hooves, mane and tail. Each also had a small horn on
their foreheads, but theirs were gold. They were identical except that
one had a white star around its horn while the other had a white
splash on the end of its tail. The Acornlings were half unicorn and
half horse. The black ones were only a quarter unicorn, as their
father was a horse.

Ailey flung her arms around the white Acornling. "Oh, Eve!" She cried.
"They have Mother."

Angel is captive? A soft voice filled the children's heads. Eve,
having unicorn blood in her, was telepathic. Her offspring, the two
black Acornlings, were only partially but still heard and understood
it. Is this true, Adrian? Eve's head turned to her mate who nodded.

Mom? Another, younger voice called out. The black Acornling with the
white star stepped forward. What's going on? Are Angel and Aislin and
Kamia and Reama hurt?

"Yes, Nightstar." Skylar said. "And now we must leave."

"But there are six of us and only three Acornlings and a horse." Taea
whispered.

I can carry two. Eve said. And I'm sure Adrian could as well. The
stallion nodded.

"Fine." Draco checked that his sword was attached firmly before
mounting Adrian. "Taea, get up here."

"Oh, wonderful." Taea said dryly. "I'm with two emotionally challenged
males." Nevertheless she jumped up in front of Draco, sidesaddle as
her dress wouldn't let her ride like the men.

"Kit, you can ride with me on Eve." Kyvin said.

"Alright." The went over and scrambled up. Being an Acornling, Eve
never wore a saddle and the boys had to hold on with their knees. In
Kits case he had to wrap his arms around Eve's neck as he was
terrified of falling.

"Guess that leaves you and me for Nightfire and Darkstar." Skylar
walked over to the black Acornling with the white tail tip and
scrambled up.

Ailey went to the other and pulled herself up sidesaddle. "Come on
Nightfire" Nightfire turned around and galloped out of the stables,
the others just behind.

As they were riding through the field between the stables and forest
the beastie burst out of the castle. The teenagers barely had time to
look back before their steeds sped up. They soon lost their pursuers
and continued riding until dawn.

"Lets stop here." Taea called back from Adrian's back. The others
agreed and quickly dismounted.

"We should go through our bags and see what's in them." Kit said once
he got his footing.

"Fine." Draco untied the bags and lay them out on the ground. It was
easy to see which belonged who. Draco's was dark green whit a small
blue dragon, his symbol, embroidered on it. Ailey's was yellow with a
red flame, the type of magic she used. Skylar's was white with a blue
raindrop, his magic type. Taea's was black with a purple diamond, the
same shape as the jewel on her staff. Kyvin's was grey with the symbol
of his family, a blue cat eye inside a circle. Kit's was just plain
purple, the colour of his regions flag.

"Well," Ailey said. "Guess I'll open mine first." She loosened the
drawstrings on her bag and dumped the contents out. Inside was a
leather bound book, some red crystals and candles, a pouch of
something and a map. The book was Fire Mage's Greatest Spells. It
would be useful if she ever hoped to save her mother. The pouch turned
out to be filled with fire oak leaves. They would help Ailey in almost
all of her spells. The crystals and candles would be helpful in more
complex spells. A quick look at the map showed it to be of the Faerie
Forest in Drayala.

Skylar went next. His bag also contained a book, a map and a pouch. He
also had crystals but his were blue. Instead of candles he had a small
jar of water. A quick sniff told him it was magic and would never run
out. The crystals, like Ailey's, would help in complex spells. The
book was Water in Spells. It listed all know spells that used water as
a source of power. His pouch contained powdered water lilies used in
most water spells. Skylar's map was of the Mermaid Sea in Kikaru.

"My turn." Taea empted her bag and sorted through what she had. Like
the two magic users, she had a book and a map. Instead of magic
supplies she had men's clothes; a pair of black pants, a purple tunic
and black boots. She also had a map but hers was of Hag Island in
Kikaru. It was an island in the ocean that was almost completely
unknown as it was surrounded by whirlpools.

After changing into her new clothes she motioned for Draco to check
his bag. Unlike the other's it didn't have a book at all. Instead it
had a plain sheath that was the perfect size for his sword. Draco
looked at the sheath he had and understood the change. His own sheath
was engraved with the royal crest. The beasties would recognize it.
His bag also contained polish for his sword and dragon bone daggers
and dragon milk. The daggers were strong enough to cut through
anything and the milk had healing magic. His bag also contained a map
of the Dragon forest.

Kit's bag contained parchment, ink, a quill, a right hand glove and a
map. The parchment, ink and quill were all important for him as he was
like a diplomat. He was learning how to draw up deals and agreements.
The glove would cover his mechanical hand that replaced the real one
lost to a bandit eight years ago. His map was of Gryphon Mountain in
Esban.

Kyvin opened his bag last. In it was a smaller bag filled with money,
enough to last them for a month. He also had a rope, as that was his
weapon of choice, and a magical compass that would point to whatever
the owner wanted. Aside from a map, the rest of the bag was filled
with three fake bridles. Each was gold with a hole just big enough for
an Acornlings horn and no bit. The map was a layout of a castle none
of them recognized.

The teens looked at the assortment of items on the ground before them.
It was obvious that the bags had been planed in advance. How else
would they contain everything that was needed?

"Well," Kit sighed. "I doubt we'll be going anywhere tonight. I, for
one, am too tired to do anything."

"Yeah." Taea said. "We should get some sleep."

Everyone nodded and tried to find something comfortable to sleep on.
Kyvin just curled up in a ball to sleep. He was used to sleeping
outdoors as his mother and father didn't often stay in cities. Ailey
piled her hair up under her head as a pillow and quickly fell asleep.
Draco sat against a tree that was covered with moss. From there he
could see the entire area and watch for danger. But he also was asleep
quickly. Taea and Skylar cushioned their heads with Eve's body as she
and her children lay down while Adrian stood guard over them.

Kit took one last look at the group as he lay down on a patch of soft
grass. Being the oldest he felt responsible for them. But as his
untrained eyes swept the area, he completely missed the pair of eyes
staring out of the darkness. And as he fell asleep, he didn't notice
as they slowly crept closer. A pool of darkness formed that slid over
to Ailey and melted into her shadow.