After a not so peaceful night of rest, Sapling and I wake up to the sound of knocking.
“One moment!” I call out, hurriedly leaving the bed with a disheveled Sapling at the foot and scurry over to the door.
Upon opening it, I come face to face with big green eyes.
“Aella, hello. Is there something the matter?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe.
“Oh no, nothing of the sort. King Leon asked me to fetch you for a meeting? He has some important information to pass along.” Aella says, her blonde pixie bouncing with her gesturing hands.
My eyes widen, “Oh, I apologize! Sapling and I must have overslept. Can we have one moment to get ready?”
“Absolutely, take all the time you need!” I give Aella a grateful smile before closing the door back and glancing over at Sapling.
“Did you hear that? We need to hurry up, we cannot keep the King waiting!” I rush to find a comb and begin making my unruly brown curls look somewhat put together.
Sapling stands up, stretches like a cat, shakes himself off, and then looks over at me, “I’m ready.”
I scoff.
“You foxes have it so easy.”
Before long, I’ve made myself as presentable as possible with the little belongings I have and we both make our way back to Aella, who then leads us down the same path as yesterday.
“Both of you slept well, I hope?” Aella asks, throwing a small glance over her shoulder.
“Wonderfully.” I roll my eyes at the fox. Of course Sapling was able to sleep like a baby through the night, despite the chaotic mess we’ve found ourselves in.
I give a slight nod, not really feeling like explaining how I twisted and turned all night long because I simply could not rid the image of Queen Marianne’s lifeless body from my mind.
“Good, good. Well, this is us. I wish you both well on your journey to Moonhaven and hope to see you both again soon here in Whisperwood.” Moonhaven? Whisperwood?
I just nod my response and look over at Sapling, surprised to see he doesn’t look the slightest bit confused.
“Thank you, Aella.” Sapling replies and begins walking into the same room we stood in only hours before and I follow quickly after him.
“Ah, hello. I have some things I must discuss with the both of you.”
I jump, not expecting the King to be standing to the side of the room this time.
“Your Majesty, we are ready whenever you are.” Sapling supplies, bowing his head in front of the king.
I follow his lead to not look disrespectful and patiently wait for King Leon to begin.
“Sapling, after what you told me yesterday—about how Harlan can feel when a big cluster of trees is dying—I believe I know what’s causing this.” King Leon starts, shifting his hazel eyes to me as he speaks, “Harlan, I do not know why you can sense this, but the only way trees could be rotted to death in big clusters like this is something that the kingdom of Whisperwood has been trying to prevent since the beginning of us. You see, long before any of us were even born, the Earth Bearers had a pendant. Not very large, but the pendant held powers that most of us truly know nothing about.
“All I’m aware of is that this pendant was created by Demeter, Gaia, and Artemis, the Goddesses of the fae and nature itself. It is said they created this pendant as an out, in case the humans are to ever make the Earth unlivable. If this were to happen, the Earth Bearers would activate the pendant and thus would begin a self destruction.
“To put it simply, the ‘self destruction’ would commence in three parts. The death of plant life, the death of animals, and then the death of humans. Once the Earth Bearers and the Gods themselves decided this pendant was too powerful and could end up in the wrong hands, they broke it into three parts. Each piece symbolizes a part of the full destruction.
“Demeter is a Goddess of agriculture and plant life, as well as the fertility of the Earth. She left the first piece in the hands of the Kingdom of Whisperwood. In the hands of the Queens that would reign this Kingdom. Of course, Queen Marianne is no longer with us, which can only mean whoever carried out the last moments of her life managed to take the first piece of the pendant.” King Leon pauses to take a breath, a light film of wetness glazing over his eyes.
“The only thing I can tell you both for certain is that whoever took the piece has no idea how to use it. That much is clear. But, this is an advantage we need to take before they figure out how to work it properly. Of course, with it only being one piece of the full pendant, its powers will not be strong enough to do more damage than a forest at a time. I can only assume the person plans on gathering the last two pieces. If this is the case, then I have to send the both of you to Moonhaven.”
Sapling and I look at each other and I swallow, unsure of how to take this new information. “Why us, King Leon?” I manage to ask the question that’s been on the tip of my tongue.
“I cannot answer that, because I simply do not know. Moonhaven may have more answers for you, but I doubt they can tell you much more. The Earth Bearers will know everything and you will get a chance to speak to them, but now is not the time.” King Leon walks towards the door and glances back at us, “Follow me.”
Sapling and I jump into action, following closely behind the king. “I must warn you, Moonhaven is the kingdom of shifters, mainly wolves. Do not be frightened when you get there, they already know you are coming. The Kingdom of Moonhaven is the holder of the second piece. Artemis entrusted them with the piece in charge of the life of animals. You must go there and involve yourself with their plans to stop whoever my wife’s murderer is. They are more equipped for this, and the Kingdom of the Earth Bearers will be joining you sometime soon, I am sure.”
King Leon leads us further into the basement of the wooden castle, and as he talks we come upon a door at the end of the long hall. The king opens it and ushers us inside.
“This is where we will be going our separate ways. I’ve sent Aella to gather your things and grab any other necessities you both may need, but going to Moonhaven is crucial. There is no other option if we want to stop whoever this person is. I wish I could tell you why, but you will find out in your own time. The Gods have a way of revealing things when you least expect it.”
After stepping inside the room, it becomes apparent what King Leon is speaking of. A large blue portal sits in the center, little blue specks breaking off of the magic entrance and floating about the room. It’s a weird sight, there is no edge to the portal so it tapers out to nothing, making it appear as nothing more than an illusion. An odd angle of the light perhaps. But, I know that’s not what it is.
There is nothing else in the room, just the blue oval in the center. The magic ripples over itself and more particles break off the edges, circling the three of us as we stand there in awe of the sight.
I know when I have time to fully process what was said and seen, I won’t be able to function. But, I can feel how important the king’s words are and know that now is not the time to fall apart. I look down to Sapling for comfort and am relieved to find him already looking at me, concern flashing through his brown eyes.
I feel helpless now as I try to come up with questions to ask. I know I’ll have many once we’re gone, but by then they’ll be useless.
Before I can get my thoughts in order, Aella enters the room and hands me my messenger bag, now heavier than it was before.
“Go! The portal will not take you straight to Moonhaven, that is simply too dangerous. But, you’ll be within reach. Go east and you will reach Moonhaven within a matter of days. I wish to come along, but the duties I have here have been doubled now that Marianne is gone.” King Leon says to both of us, but before we can even turn back towards the portal, he stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Harlan, it was a true honor to meet you. I hope once everything is resolved, you will return here and I can tell you the truth about me and Marianne. Please, be safe.” I’m caught off guard by the look in his eyes, but I do not have time to ponder on it before being ushered towards the portal.
“Are you ready, Harlan?” Sapling asks, the blue light emitting from the portal casting a soft blue glow on the side of his fluffy face.
“Do I have to answer that?” I try to offer up a smile, but I’m sure it looks more like a grimace.
“I suppose we do not have much of a choice, do we?” Sapling takes the first step into the portal and my eyes widen when his paw doesn’t come out on the other side.
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