Chapter 3> Away from Oakridge

~Avery’s Pov~

I ran. The screams behind me slowly grew fainter until they were swallowed by the silence of the forest. The only noise I heard was bird chirping.

Branches whipped against my face, and sharp twigs scratched my arms and legs, leaving thin cuts across my skin. I didn't stop. I couldn't. If the guards caught me, I was dead.

My lungs burned with every breath, and my legs screamed in protest, but fear kept me moving. I stumbled over roots and pushed through thick bushes, desperate to put as much distance as possible between myself and Oakridge.

I didn't know where I was going. I only knew I had to keep running, and somehow, I felt like I had more strength than I should have. My legs kept carrying me forward even though I had been running for what felt like hours. Branches scratched my arms, thorns caught on my clothes, and stones cut into the soles of my feet, but I barely felt any of it.

All I could think of was getting far away from Oakridge,from the eyes of everyone who saw me touch the relic, and faraway from the Greymoors. The thought of them made me sick and what Orion did to me, but right now all that didn't matter to me, what matters was what happened when I touched the relic.

I looked down at my arms as I continued running, the strange marks on my skin were glowing, that sent shivers to my soul, those marks had not been there, I hadn't seen them on my body until I touched the relic and why were they glowing.

The faint golden lines moved across my skin like they were alive, glowing brighter whenever my heart beat faster. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself rubbing my arms, hoping the marks would disappear but they didn't.

I had never learned magic, I never even showed signs that I could use it, in Oakridge, everyone knew who the powerful mages were, I wasn't one of them, I was just a servant, an unwanted girl nobody wants, nobody even knew where I came from.

I was abandoned in a forest, left to die. I was still grateful for the Greymoor’s for taking me home. I might have been dead by now, I was only two, who leaves a two year old in the forest alone.

And now I feel like my identity wasn't ordinary, I might be cursed, was that why my own parents left me to die. I suddenly felt a sharp pulse travel through my body, I stumbled, my heart raced, the golden runes brightened and for a moment, I thought I could hear something,not a voice exactly. It was more like a whisper buried deep inside my own mind.

I stopped running and then I turned around searching, but I didn't see anyone, just trees. The forest suddenly felt strangely quiet now. “Who is there?” I asked but got no answer, I swallowed and forced myself to keep moving, I didn't know what was happening to me and I didn't want to find out in this forest.

I just wanted to survive, my legs were beginning to ache now. The strange strength that had carried me this far was fading, leaving exhaustion in its place. I stumbled over a root but caught myself against a tree and tried to breathe.

My ribs hurt,and my feet felt numb, I looked back through the trees, expecting to see the guards chasing me but there was no one, maybe I had finally gotten far enough. I allowed myself to slow down. I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. My whole body trembled from exhaustion.

I had escaped, at least, that's what I thought but where was I supposed to go now? I had nowhere. Oakridge had never truly been my home, but it was the only place I knew. Despite everything the Greymors had done to me, I knew every street, every path, every corner of that village.

Now I was alone in a forest I had never seen before, I didn't even know if I would find my way back maybe that was for the best. There was nothing waiting for me in Oakridge except people who hated me. I thought about the ceremony and the moment everyone looked at me after the relic cracked.

The way the High Mage had looked at me frightened me more than anything. "She's cursed." His words echoed in my mind. What if he was right? I pushed away from the tree and continued walking, but my steps became slower, I took one step then another, my vision became blurry.

I blinked several times, the trees seemed to move, even the entire sky was moving.

I grabbed a branch for support, but my fingers slipped, my knees buckled, I fell hard on the ground, pain shot through my body, but I couldn't even bring myself to move, the trees spinning above me.

The runes were glowing brighter than before,I stared at them helplessly. "I don't understand, what's… what's wrong with me?” I said weakly, my voice came out barely above a whisper, I was trying hard to stay awake and not fall asleep but eyelids grew heavy.

I tried to lift my head, but even that felt impossible. Then I heard footsteps, someone was walking towards me, my heart skipped, the guards caught up with me, I tried to crawl away, but my arms barely moved then a figure appeared between the trees.

I couldn't make out his face because everything was blurry, like I was looking at him through a thick layer of water. He came closer,I wanted to run, I wanted to scream but no sound came out.

The stranger knelt beside me, and I felt his hands gently touch my shoulders,his lips moved, he was saying something,but I couldn't hear him,everything around me sounded distant, muffled beneath the pounding in my head,I tried to focus on his face, but my vision kept fading.

Who was he? Was he one of the guards?

I didn't know,I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore,the last thing I saw was the blurry figure lifting me from the ground,then everything went dark.