Chapter 19 As she stomped through the woods, Germaine cursed her fate. How was it that amongst the trillions of population on earth, it was her bakery Storm and the others had appeared in. It was preposterous at best. Why did that have to happen to her? What kind of shoddy fate do I have? She thought. It is your destiny. A voice whispered inside her mind. "Shut up already." A deer which had been drinking from a nearby brook looked at her for a few seconds before running off. "Great! Now I've chased that harmless animal away." She kicked at some stones at her feet, but instead of hitting them, she missed and stumbled. She fell flat on her backside as pain lanced her behind. She could not help it. She began to bawl like a baby she was not. Ever since the mage had cast a mind sharing spell, she had not been able to rest from foolish remarks coming from inside her head. It was either Storm was chastising her on following a path she should not have taken, or Keratin was telling her
Chapter 20 Germaine had begun to realize something. The other worlds, at least the ones she had encountered, like the werewolves and the dryads, were full of magic. As she looked at the large camp site, she realized her assertion was correct. As far as her eyes could see, tents and tents spread out and lots of people milled around. It seemed to her inexperienced eyes like a gypsy camp, one that would soon fold up and leave at any moment. There were different make shift stalls set up at different corners where people sold knick knacks for their kind to buy from. As Daya turned to talk to someone, she approached a stall, marveling at the goods on display. There were colourful materials that attracted her eyes. As she moved closer, she found out the patterns on them changed intermittently. She gasped as a triangle changed shape into a circle. "Tree spirit magic." Someone whispered from behind her. She whipped round, almost colliding with Meeka. Her impossibly green eyes were almost to
Chapter 21 "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Germaine's eyes were twin orbs of fear as she gazed at Daya. "I said I will take you-" "I know what you said, but why?" Daya rubbed a spot on her nose and let out an exasperated breath. "That is the only way, child. You can never get in unless I take you there. You will not even know where to find them in the first place. You will only wonder around in circles in the forest until you become frustrated and go back the way you came or.something much worse happens to you. And let me just say this - when I do take you there, it has got to be as a hostage because they do not like visitors." She shrugged her shoulders. Germaine's shoulders tensed. "Are you saying that without this plan of yours, I will not get the ork." "You finally understand what I have been trying to tell you." Fear laced the insides of Germaine. The way Daya had painted a picture of the original Dryads was not a good one. If they were as harsh and unyielding as she un
Chapter 22 Germaine pulled at the heavy metal chains binding her hands and stared balefully at her surroundings. She felt with her feet, the odd-shaped ridges jutting from the ground. Hot mist seeped out and heated the dark cell she was locked inside. It was a good thing because she had begun to get cold. She tried to stretch her legs fully but found out the cell she was in did not have enough space for that. Good thing she was not claustrophobic otherwise she would not have been able to stand it. Echoes of clangs of metal rang out from the walls all around, keying her into the possibility that there were other prisoners. At first she had not believed it was possible. It was crazy to conceive that other creatures and beasts inhabited the earth, apart from humans, animals and insects. After the appearance of Storm and Keratin in her bakery as well the vampires, her eyes had gradually opened to the truth. Something strange indeed was afoot. She still did not understand why she was ch
Chapter 23 The noise which began at a dull hum suddenly boomed all around making Germaine flinch. Ever since Storm had told her of the plan, she had felt ill at ease. Her stomach began to heave, like she was going to puke at any moment and her palms were sweaty. She was still bound hand and foot and the clothe across her eyes was still in place. She could sense activity taking place around her. Things seemed to be heating up with the dryads. She wished she could see her surroundings at least. It would help plan her next move. As if her thoughts were spoken out aloud, the clothe around her eyes was removed and she squinted at the sudden brightness. Where is it coming from? She wondered. She did not have long to find out as she looked up to see the sun peering down relentlessly at her. She closed her eyes against its glare and looked down, right into the eyes of the strangest being she had ever seen. Green eyes peered at her from a face that could only be described as full of roots.
Chapter 24 When she finished speaking, she felt a great burden lift off her shoulders and a gentle nudge in her mind. It felt like an encouragement from Storm, even though he remained silent. Surely, he had been listening. The elderly dryad looked pensive. The twigs on his face deepened, if that were even possible. He turned to his counterpart who was still standing behind Germaine, and said something to him. Suddenly, the twine around her hands were removed and a stool appeared. "You may seat." The elderly dryad said to her kindly. Relief poured through Germaine and she smiled and thanked him before sitting. Murmurings rose amongst the other dryads in front of her. "Listen to me, fellow tree spirits. The elderly dryad addressed them, the earthling will stay for the feast. After that, I will decide if what she says is the truth or not." Turning to Germaine, he continued. "If I find out you speak anything but the truth, mark my words, your blood will be spilled directly on the Or
Chapter 25 The first two sips almost made her bend over and wretch it all out because of it's foul taste. The next three sips made her change her mind and drink more of it greedily. The last four sips made her realize she was actually amongst friends. Storm stood in front of her with a smile on his lips which made her think he was hiding something. Keratin stood beside him, but he was not smiling. Kenki was beside Keratin. His smile was from ear to ear. It did not fit well on his face. "Storm!" She was delighted to see him and rushed to hug him, but he put a hand up to stop her. She turned querying eyes to Keratin, who just shrugged and looked disinterested. "What's wrong? How did you guys get here? I thought you said you could not do so unless by magic?" "But that is how we came to be here. By magic. We decided to help you out because we didn't want anything to happen to you."Kenki said, still smiling. It was the first time she had seen a smile on his face. He always wore a sco
Chapter 26 "It's a unicorn!" One of the guards exclaimed, wonder coating his voice. "But - there has not been a unicorn in this forest in the past one thousand years." The second guard said, as if speaking to himself. The elderly dryad took two steps towards the creature, the Ork pressed close to his chest once more. "Every thousand years, a unicorn appears on its own in the forest. It comes with good luck and good tidings." He stepped closer to the creature with a reverent awed look on his face. Lifting one of his hands, he petted its head. It was a massive thing, all white and beautiful to look at, it's long horn glistening. It's flank rippled with energy and the hair on its body was blindingly stark and white against the darkness of the forest. It was too beautiful for words, even Germaine was spellbound, and she too moved forward, wanting to be close to it, but something stopped her. She spied a chain hanging snugly around its neck. She was certain she had seen it before. Wh