Gwen

We stand waiting at the end of the tunnel. The army seems to be still looking for us around the house's perimeter, but we're far off from there now.

Madeline went after waykeyme. How stupid of her. How brave. She was always the bravest one out of us. She is also far better skilled than I am in combat.

I have no doubt she probably did get out. But a small part of me still wonders what if she didn't? What would happen next?

Tears begin to roll down my cheeks.

Reagan sees me crying and comes to sit next to me. For a moment, it's just silence between us, but then she speaks.

"She will be fine Gwen, just give her some time."

"I know I'm just worried."

"I know how you feel."

She gave me a gentle smile. It was heartwarming but not enough to take the fear of my sister being dead away. So I change the conversation.

"How are you?"

She seemed appalled by the question.

"Umm..well, I'm not sure what to feel. I mean, this place is beautiful, and this mission is giving me a sense of purpose,e butIi I also just left the only mother I ever knew behind, and now there's an army of demon soldiers trying to kill us."

I laughed, and she joined me with a wide smile. Her eyes met mine, and our contact deepened. I never noticed how extraordinary her eyes were.

A perfect mixture of green and blue. As I gaze into her eyes, she smiles at me and then looks away.

My attention is averted away from her, and a feeling of embarrassment hangs over me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen," I say very awkwardly

"There is no need to apologize."

She smiles and gets up, and joins her friends. I study their friendship. It's like family. Maybe that's why the gate let the outlanders in. Those are the sets of people that she couldn't replace. Those were her brothers.

My thoughts were interrupted by a creek in the bushes.

Everyone is now up and on alert. Shadows come into view, but as this shadow ventures closers, we quickly realize that it was Waykeyme and Madeline.

Oh, thank the gods they've made it out okay, but Waykeyme is hurt.

I rush to help the two. I spot that Madeline has been injured.

"You're cut"

"It's nothing, and I promise you he looks worse than I am."

She chuckles, and I embarrass her with a long hug.

"I was so worried."

"You don't have to, Gwen. You don't need to."

"I do...I'm your older sister. It's been my job to worry since our parents..."

Up to this day, I still couldn't get myself to say it to her. The protective instinct in me wouldn't allow it.

"Died"

Her voice weary and shaken.  We just sat in silence while mother helped waykeyme with his wounds.                

We're walking through the Edenwoode mother, and I take turns holding on to waykeyme supporting him, giving Madeline a break from it.

Reagan and her friends walk behind us. I wonder what they could be thinking. Lucky for them, they hadn't encountered one of the foul creatures.

Still, what they are going through is a lot. I remember what it was like for me 7 years old Madeline, almost 5. It had been 4 years since Diane had taken us in.

At first, we spent our time indoors studying history and equipping ourselves with knowledge.

Then it all changed, we began to learn how to fight, and at 10 years old, I was supposed to be a warrior.

"we've been walking for hours. We should make camp," the mother says

Neither of us bickers over the thought of some rest. We have no horses and were defenseless. This should be a 3 days ride by mount, but now we'll be walking for a week.

A week we don't have.

Madeline and I go out to get some wood for the fire. It's silence between us. Not a word is spoken.

When we got back, my mother called for a meeting. We lit the fire and surrounded it.

"Well, this is not the beginning I expected for our new companions, but we must press on."

My mother's voice stern and urgent yet giving nothing up.

"Some things have been brought to our attention that we can't ignore, and with the coming of our heir, the issue has become more forthcoming."

I look at my mother with confusion and then my sister. It seems a lot had passed while I was gone. And now that I think about it, I wonder why Waykeyme was here in the first place.

"Mother..what's the problem?"

"We've tried to prepare for every situation, and I've always feared that things wouldn't go as we planned."

Her words were anxiety-filled yet no emotion leaked from her expressions. Mother always did want to stay calm and collected in situations of mass worry.

She was Chief Councillor, the head of everything. It was her job to show no fear in the face of great danger.

"We have a traitor."

The words echoed in my ears. The thought of it clouded my head. I couldn't fathom the thought that someone would betray us for Ragdore of all the people in the lands.

"Who is it? And what do we do about this?"

Nothing could have prepared me for this, but I had to remain came and collected as well.

Simon and William look so worried. I presume it's for their safety and not for the concern of the kingdom.

But Reagan..well, she looks rather interesting, thought-provoking. I don't know what she could be thinking about. She just got here and barely knows a thing.

"Waykeyme has brought to our attention some leads we might have to this problem."

"He seems stuck to the thought that General Alik is now against us," Madeline adds.

"That can't be if anything General Alik is nothing but for this cause."

I couldn't sit here and listen to them taint the name of the one person who has been for us since the beginning.

"Do you have proof?"

I spit out at him.

He scowled.

"I was nearly killed by an ambush most certainly planned by him.

I laugh.

"An ambush to kill you, Waykeyme? For what? As if you were a matter of grave importance."

Now the heat is really up, the tensions between everyone are on a high.

"GWEN"

Madeline shouts at me. Her face reddened, and she stands in front of me as if in a position to fight.

"You would fight me for him? For that elf? We don't even know if he's telling the truth."

"Why would he lie, Gwen?"

I stay quiet, but I have the most uncomfortable feeling. We don't know if he's telling the truth, for all I know, he could be the traitor.

Mother interrupts our tensions.

"Whether he is or not, the matter at hand is we no longer know whether the outpost is safe."

"Are you saying we cannot go back?"

"It's a possibility, yes. We must think of the heir and her safety. If he has turned, we don't know the intentions he has for the heir."

"Reagan, my name is Reagan."

"My apologies."

She says this, offering a simple bow, and Reagan begins to speak again.

"I know I don't know a lot about here, but where I'm from, if we know we have a mole or traitor, we don't let them know we are onto them. We stake them out and figure out what he or she wants."

Silence breaks when she's done talking, and she looks nervous, but without a moment to react, her friend Simon steps in.

"Yea...Rays right think of it like this if we don't go wherever we need to, then he might send people after us assuming that we know something..so we must play like we know nothing."

"Yes, but this is no easy task and dangerous nonetheless."

"I don't think that would be a wise choice...Councilor. You mustn't go near there...much too dangerous."

I snap at him once again.

"And where would you have us go Elf to a city that's now ash perhaps a village where the people are made servants to those horde creatures, or perhaps you want to lead us to Ragdore aye."

"LIAR"

He shouts back at me, and I laugh and look towards my mother

"The outpost is the best place to go there. We have weapons and resources and access to an army, at least. We must go there."

Silence again arises, and for a time, it's just us and our thoughts, but mother then breaks that silence.

"What they say is true...we have more of a chance at the outpost. We journey there, and that's my final say. It will take us more days than we bargained for, but we might be lucky, and we can buy some horses at the nearest town."

Waykeyme scoffs at the decision, but I am pleased. He gives me a very uneasy feeling, one I will investigate as soon as I get to the outpost. For now, I need to make amends with my sister.

I go over to where she sits alone and give her a very playful nudge.

"I'm sorry. I know he's your friend, but something about this doesn't feel right, Madeline."

"Do you always have to be like this, so big-headed and ego-filled?"

"This has nothing to do with that, I promise you."

"But it does, Gwenevere, it does."

Gwenevere. She hadn't said my full name since we were children. It has such an effect I'm left in nothing but shock.

Snap.

My head pops up from its drooping position, and the dark, noiseless forest is now filled with low laughter and growls.

Slowly the creatures begin to show themselves.

Demons

They seemed to have caught up to us.

The one who seems to have been the head speaks.

"You thought you could escape" He laughs.

We don't say a word, but we are ready to fight.

"Kill them all."

They step towards us, and a new fight begins.

I slash and dash as many as I could, but it all seems so hopeless. Everyone is cornered. Madeline is on the ground, still fighting.

I look up to see Reagan watching as everything unfold. Not the end she expected but what she got.

Something then grabs hold of her two friends, bringing them to the ground.

"NOOOOO"

With her hands facing the air, she strikes down, and all that I saw was

LIGHT