Legend: The Elize Chronicles - chapter 3

Legend: The Elize Chronicles - chapter 3

Legend: The Elize Chronicles

By, Natsumi456

Chapter 3
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After Luna stopped crying, she gently lifted up her soft blonde head, and looked earnestly into my eyes. Her eyes were green, and her long blonde hair was in a long thin braid. You could see the tear stains from when she had cried, and could see that she had not slept a wink since the night her boyfriend broke up with her, and left bags under her eyes.

After a few sniffs, Luna started to talk. She said that it had happened two nights ago; the brake up. Apparently, a foreign girl caught his eye, and told Luna regretfully that he couldn’t date her anymore. Luna, being the good girl she is, said that it was ok and that she would eventually move on. Apparently, this morning he went after the foreign girl, and after Luna knew he was gone started to cry loudly beside her house; where I soon found her.

I comforted her, and told her that it couldn’t be any worse than my story. Of course, being the curious person she was, she asked why. I began to tell her my story of my earlier events, which had only occurred a few hours ago. I only stopped when Luna had gasped or sniffed. After thirty minutes passed, I was finished with my story. Apparently, from Luna’s request, I needed to explain to her every detail and all of my thoughts.

After a few minutes of silence, I got up and motioned for her to follow. She followed me silently, and I could tell that she was lost in thought. I wanted to tell her of my plan at that moment, but decided to save it until we arrived at our destination. I looked at my surroundings, noticing that crowds of new foreigners, and people from villages that we had formed alliances with. The sky was a light shade of blue, and was filled with few clouds. The wind was picking up, making the trees dance, while the leafs jumped off of the tree, landing safely on the soft ground that we always walked on. The flowers were beginning to close its lips, preparing for the harsh winter that was soon to come.

Winter was almost upon us, and I could tell that people were frantic. Woman were shifting through stores, children crying for their lost mothers, men caring bags filled with either food or clothes, and children gathering around a desolate fire on every corner. You could smell the freshly cooked Turkeys and Pigs, mixed with the smell of whiskey and other products of the beverage called alcohol. I knew little of alcohol, but I knew it was bad for me either way; and never tried it. You could hear children begging their parents for toys that they knew they would never receive, and men laughing at woman who had started to fight over a single piece of clothing. Our village wasn’t exactly poor, but it was poor enough to have women fight over a simple shirt; apparently.

We kept walking until we reached the same river as before, and I sat on my mossy rock while Luna took a seat on an old log. The log looked like it would break, and I told her so. She just admitted that she didn’t care, and that she would just let it fall if it did. I looked across the river, watching the passer-bys. They eventually would stare at me, and start to gossip; but I didn’t care. I was making sure that everyone was gone for my conversation with my best friend; and I was mostly watching out for those mysterious kids from earlier on.

As soon as I saw no one walking up the dirt road, I turned to Luna. “I am going to leave tomorrow. I would like to ask you a few things first” I stated quickly; getting right to the point. I knew Luna wouldn’t ask me why I was leaving, she already knew anyways. She just nodded, her eyes beginning to grow teary.

“Of course, whatever you need” she whispered lightly. I gave her a quick smile, and began to tell her a list of things that I needed. I told her that I needed a horse, money, a bag, some clothes, and food. Luna kept my horse because we had no room for him. She said that she would bring him over tomorrow morning, but I insisted that I would visit her instead. I had a lot of money, but I knew I would need some more to start my new life.

Yes, I was starting my new life. I was going to go far away, get a job, buy a house, be happy, and send my best friend messages once a week. I knew Luna knew this, so she just agreed to it. She was already handing me money; which I knew she had earned from working hard these past couple of weeks. I gave her a sympathetic look, saying sorry that I had to take her hard-earned money. She said that she would pack some food up for me tonight and pack it in the bag that she was going to give me. After a few more conversations about where I would go, where I would live, and how I would communicate with her, we were done.

I started to say goodbye, and waited there until she left. I sat there for a moment, breathing in the fresh air. I knew it was not the right time to start traveling, but if the foreigners did it everyday, I could do it for a couple of weeks. I started to walk back home, and stopped in front of the door. I hesitated. I didn’t want to look at them right now, but I needed to pack my clothes. So, I sucked it up, and braced myself for a long night.

When I walked in, Chloe and Garret were already asleep in their cots, and my step-mom and father were sleeping the other corner of the room, sharing a single mattress. I wanted to spit at them, and curse them until the sun rose, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to start a fight with my family before I left, and I was sure I wouldn’t even get to talk to them. I was probably going to walk out of there life’s without a single goodbye, but I would leave a note. But, knowing my family, they probably won’t find the note until dinner time.

I quickly went over to a small chest next to my cot, and opened it slowly, taking in the images of my clothes that I had never worn before. I had grown to love sewing, and the clothes in the chest were the clothes I had made myself. I knew that they were suited for mostly winter, since that was my favorite season. I picked out all of my clothes carefully, and set them on my cot. I organized them into six stacks: the shirts, dresses, coats, undergarments, shorts/pants, and nightdresses/shirts. I swiftly walked over to the coat rack, and spotted my usual sack, that usually hung from my neck and landed on my left hip. I grabbed it quickly and set it on my cot. I grabbed a sack from the chest, and started to pack my clothes. They fit perfectly, and I soon finished packing. I put the full sack next to my cot, and put my bag under my soft pillow.

I quickly got dressed in a dark blue long sleeved dress, a black coat, and warm socks. I put my hair in a ponytail that hung low and left some bangs showing on my pale face. I lay there, silently thinking on my single cot. Thoughts of the day’s events emerged, and I soon found myself wondering what exactly happened.

Was I really ready to start a new life? Was I ready to give up everything that I have worked hard for? Was I ready? Could I really leave my family and friends behind? I don’t think I really could. I mean, I have known everybody since I was born, and they naturally know me. How will it be when nobody knows me at all? One answer went through my brain on instinct, and I knew my answer, finally.

Yes

Yes, I was ready. I was ready to begin a new life; leaving my old life behind me. Leaving this cruddy old village in the dust. I wasn’t really ready to leave Luna, and I knew it would be hard to leave little Chloe and Garret behind, but it was for the best. I was thinking more of myself than them, but I had to. I knew I was being selfish, but for once, it felt right.

The night went on, and I still hadn’t gone to bed. I tried to revive my memories, but nothing but the still night answered my calling. The crickets were quiet, the birds were asleep, my parents and siblings breathings were steady, and only sound that could be heard was my heavy breathing.

The next thing I knew, it was morning. The still morning was nothing to me, considering the circumstances. The sky was shadowed, and the moon could still be seen in the darkened sky. It was morning, but no sun shown on this one morning. This one new morning. The animals still asleep, my family still lay in their dreams, and me; getting ready to leave.

I finally decided to get up, and grabbed my stuff quickly. Shuffling around my cot, grabbing my stack and bag, and searching for my worn out shoes. It was hard to find them, and soon found myself thinking that I should have prepared them. I quickly put my stuff back down, and searched the dirty floor. It took my a few minutes, but I found them. My worn out shoes were still wet from the wet ground, and I could see the holes that were still solemnly in the old shoes from past events.

I put the shoes on quickly, and grabbed my stuff once more. As I ran, I ran my fingers through my ponytail; to make it look presentable. I ran as fast as I could, hoping that Luna was ready for me. My bag was strapped from my left shoulder to my right hip, and my sack was hanging from my clutched hand. I was afraid that I would fall, or that I would drop my stuff. I was more afraid that someone might catch me.

As I neared the village, I slowed down to a fast walk. I needed to make it look like I was visiting, since I knew that some shop-keepers were awake at this hour. I passed by the open shops slowly, smiling at the owners as I passed by. I soon neared Luna’s house, and found her waiting in the front of her house, dressed and holding a sack as well. She had a bag similar to mine on her shoulder, except hers was green; mine was blue. I grew suspicious as to why she looked like she was going on the journey as well.

“What’s with the bags?” I asked cautiously; afraid of her answer. She just tilted her head to the right, and gave me a quizzical look. I could tell that she was wondering why I was asking such a question, and I wondered why she would even be ready to go on a journey. I never invited her, and I was sure I wasn’t going to take her away from her home.

“I’m going with you, silly” she responded, hesitantly I may add. As realization dawned on me, I started to glare. I wouldn’t let her go and ruin her life, not now not ever. I shook my head.

“You’re not going” I said simply. As my words sunk in, her eyes widened in surprise, and then she started to glare. I knew what was coming. The whole talk about how “you don’t control my life, I do” talk was about to commence.

“I am going”

“You’re not”

“Am”

“Not”

“Yes!”

“No!”

We were practically screaming by now, and I could feel my throat was going to be sore in a few hours. Before Luna could yell again, I raised my hands in defeat. She had a certain gleam in her eyes, and I knew she thought she had won. And, I had to admit, she did. I couldn’t take anymore; especially since she was starting to wake up her neighbors. I sighed in frustration, and swept my through my chocolate hair.

“Let’s go. Cinnamon is just in the stables and after I grab Ginger, we can go” she said. I sighed in defeat, and just started walking in the direction of the stables.

Cinnamon had been my horse since two years ago, and it so happens that Luna got Ginger at the same time. We both thought it was a conspiracy. Cinnamon was a chestnut colored horse, with a black mane. I named her Cinnamon mostly because that was her favorite food; which I always thought was weird. Cinnamon just so happens to be the fastest horse in the village. She is a really nice and caring horse, but when she doesn’t get what she wants you have to stay out of the way.

Ginger was a chocolate colored horse, with a white mane. I always thought she looked weird, but Luna thought she was perfect. Ginger was a soft and caring horse, and never held a tantrum; unlike Cinnamon. Ginger was the second fastest in the village, and we would race all the time to see if Ginger’s speed had quickened at all.

We quickly unhooked the gates, and let our horses out. I put a saddle on Cinnamon’s back, while Luna took the same action. I started to hitch the stuff up, when I remembered the food. I quickly turned to Luna to ask about the food, but Luna knew me so well that she held up a bag of food up to me. I smiled at her action, and gave her a nod. I got up on the saddle carefully, and watched as Luna struggled to get on Ginger.

“After all of these years you still have trouble getting on your own horse’s back” I teased. Luna had already successfully got on Ginger’s back, and was now glaring at me behind her disheveled hair. I just giggled; cautiously so that I wouldn’t wake up Luna’s neighbors. Luna just continued to glare while she pampered her messed up hair. As soon as she was finished, I gestured to the exit. She nodded, and we started to trot off towards the village exit.

As we exited the village, I looked back once more. Memories rushed at me from behind as I looked at the village I had grown up in. I would never forget the village; but I was going to try. I gave a sigh, and quickly told Luna to keep going.

*****

The day wore on, and I found myself exhausted, and I could see that Luna was tired as well; especially since her eyes were half open. I stopped Cinnamon, and took out a map from my bag. I looked at it closely, trying to find a village close by. I finally found one, and it was only five minutes away. Luck was truly on my side today.

I told Luna how far the village was, and told her that we could easily make it. Luna nodded happily, and started to trot once more. Luna’s trot soon turned into a run. I motioned for Cinnamon to do the same, and in the next few minutes, we found ourselves in front of the village. I looked for around, searching for the name of the village. I finally spotted it, and read it:

Maeve Village

I had heard of this village before. It was the closest village to our own, and I soon found myself worrying that we would be found quickly. I turned to Luna, and looked strait into her green eyes. She just nodded; she was brave. She nodded, saying that it was ok. We trotted over to an inn called “Maeve Inn”. It was a two story inn, and it looked like it held only a few rooms. We would be lucky to get a room here.

I got off of Cinnamon, and told Luna to stay and watch the horses. Luna just nodded, while I walked into the small inn. A woman stood at the counter. She had copper curls, and green-silver eyes. She was very petit, and was wearing an outfit that a maid would be seen wearing, but longer. She had a nice smile, I noticed. I walked up to the counter.

“Hello. Welcome to Maeve Inn. How may I help you?” the woman said in a sweet voice. Her voice was like cotton, weaving in and out of my ears as quickly as possible. It was nice to listen to this petite woman.

I smiled at her earnestly. “My name is Elize, and I would like two rooms for one night please” I asked her as sweetly as I could. The woman’s grin grew, as she nodded. I watched as her thin and pale hands grabbed a single peace of paper, and brought it to my attention. She asked me to sign my name on the piece of paper, and handed me two keys. I thanked her kindly, and walked back out into the dark and foggy day.

I noticed Luna and the horses right away. Luna had taken out a carrot from the food sack and had given one carrot to each horse. The horses were practically jumping up and down, and I was afraid that they would topple over Luna. I laughed as Luna turned around with a stunned expression.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her confusingly. Luna’s face went from shock to a grin. I soon realized that she had only had that expression as a joke, and started to laugh. After we finished laughing, I told her that we got two rooms, and led her to the stables; as I had asked the woman at the counter for.

As we neared the stables, a boy appeared in front of us. He was only a few years younger than us, and had dark brown hair, with plain silver eyes. I believed that he was the lady at the counters son, but I couldn’t be sure because of the hair color. I grinned at him, and told him to place the horses next to each other. The boy simply said “yes ma'am” and left with the horses following behind him.

I gave Luna’s a key, and entered my own room. I closed the door behind me and jumped onto the comfy bed. I wanted to roll around in the soft sheets, but wanted to act properly and was just satisfied by just laying there. I finally looked around the small but cozy room that I got all to myself; until tomorrow.

The room had light blue walls, and a turquoise colored rug. The bed’s sheets were a light green decorated with dark green lines that looked like lines. There were a few pieces of furniture, including a small desk, a few chairs, and a bedside table. There was a small lamp on the bedside table, and the desk was made of some really dark wood; that looked red. There was a chest at the end of the bed, and I could tell that it was for long-term guests only. After looking at my room, I wanted to see Luna’s.

I quickly grabbed my room key and shoved it into my coat pocket. I ran out of the room, and started banging on Luna’s door; forgetting to close my own door. I didn’t stop banging on the door until Luna finally opened it. She was frustrated; as you could tell. Her eyes were burning with fire, and her hands were clenched in fury. I backed away slightly, and held up my hands in defeat.

“Calm down, I just wanted to see your room” I said quietly. I could tell that Luna was still agitated, but she moved anyways. I threw her a quick smile, and entered her room. It was the same as mine; and I was disappointed. I stalked out of the room, waved goodnight to Luna, and slammed my door behind me. I sat back down on my bed, and wondered how it would feel to sleep on a bed.

It didn’t take long, and I soon found myself sleeping, and dreaming.

The dream was like no other. There was a girl who resembled when I was five years old. She was running, running away from the shadows. I didn’t quite understand, and just stood there for a few seconds, watching the young me run from nothing but the lurking shadows. Before I could try to help my poor young self, I was surrounded by the shadows. I screamed, as pain rippled off of my skin.

I screamed, and shot up from the safe covers of the bed. I was covered in sweat, and my hair was in tiny knots. I took another gasp of air, and walked slowly over to the bathroom. I slowly opened the door, and looked at the mirror in the middle of the room. I gasped.

My hair was not only in little tiny knots, it was a darker shade of brown, it looked wet, and the there were bigger knots on the top of my soft head. Before I could grab a brush, I was hit with a wave of pain. My head ached, and I soon found myself groaning and searching for something to hold me up. I looked around the room, only the sink was there. I started to wobble over to the sink, before I started to sink to the ground. I braced myself for impact, but it never came.

“I can’t leave you alone for one night and you go nuts!” I heard Luna shout. I was still in a daze, as I felt her grip on me lighten as she started to pull me up. After a few woozy moments, I was able to look at Luna. She was furious. Her face was almost red, her eyes had lighting dancing around, and her hair was so messed up that they looked like yellow flames.

Before I could help myself, I laughed. I laughed so hard that fell on my back. I started to roll around on the floor, clutching my stomach. It hurt so much. I couldn’t breath, and I could tell that Luna was pretty mad. I closed my eyes, hoping the pain (and Luna) would be gone while I closed my eyes. I rolled around for another few minutes, with my eyes closed, and suddenly my rolling came to a stop. I think I finally came under control, because I was able to breathe and look up into Luna’s amused, but angry, face. My cheeks puffed up as I held in my laughter. Her face was bright red, and her hands were on her hips. I could tell that she was amused at first, but now she was getting annoyed.

“Done yet?” she asked angrily. I slowly calmed down, and nodded my head. Luna let out a sigh, and held her hand out to me. I pointed at her hand, indicating if I was right on the fact that she was going to help me up. She just giggled, and nodded her head. I smiled, and grabbed her hand. She pulled me up instantly, and I suppressed a giggle.

“Ok, you can go now. I need to take a shower” I told her, after I successfully suppressed the giggle. Luna gave me a scrutinizing look, but left the room with a smile. Before I knew it, I was jumping into the shower and was loving the warmth that the warm shower gave to my cold skin.

After probably an hour in the shower, I was finished with my hair smoothed out, and fully dressed. I left the peacefulness of the bathroom, and started to pack my old clothes into the sack and started to make the bed. As I finished with the room, I looked at it once more. I would miss this room, but alas it was not mine. I sighed with a hint of sadness, and walked out of the most comfortable room I had ever been in.

Luna was already on at the counter paying the same woman from yesterday for our rooms when I reached the bottom. I walked over to them, wondering what they were talking about. As I got there, I could just hear what they were saying, and I finally realized what they were talking about.

“Is there a shop here where we can buy supplies for camping trips and such?”

“Why, yes. There certainly is”

“Is it far?”

“Actually, it’s just two shops down”

“What’s it called, just in case?”

“It’s called Artio supplies shop”

“Cool, thank you”

“You’re welcome dear”

That was the last thing the woman said before Luna grabbed my hand. I looked at her questionably. I was wondering what she was going to go to a supplies shop for, when practically had everything already.

“Why do want to go to Artio’s supplies shop?” I asked her finally, as we grabbed Cinnamon and Ginger after we paid the stable boy. Luna gave me a grin, and started to giggle. I glared at her. I knew that she thought this was funny, because I had no idea what was going on.

“We do not have a tent, sleeping bags and such, or a light source for that matter” Luna said as she calmed down. It dawned on me that she right. I quickly smacked my head as we neared the shop.

********

The shopping was finished, and we were soon back on the dirt road, making our way to a far away city. It took me quite a while to get all of my stuff hitched up on Cinnamon’s back, but I got it on; after about twenty tries. My butt was officially sore from falling off of Cinnamon, and Luna was practically out of breath from almost laughing to death.

I kept silent for the rest of the day, ignoring any comments from Luna. I was deep in thought. I hadn’t once thought about my dream till this point, and I was going to figure it out; one way or another.

I finally noticed that the sun was going down, and turned to Luna. Luna looked mad, and I knew why. I would be mad to if your best friend was flat out ignoring you. I gulped, and motioned for Cinnamon to ride closer to Ginger. I tapped Luna’s shoulder as I got close enough, but she did nothing; she didn’t even flinch. I was getting pretty depressed at this point.

“I’m sorry. I was just so lost in my thoughts, that I didn’t hear you; and that’s the truth” I swore. I could feel my Luna’s body shake from her shoulder, and looked at her weirdly.

Was she laughing?

She was. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to hold in her laugh; tried. After a few seconds of trying, she failed completely. She burst out laughing, and almost fell off of her seat.

I of course had no idea why she was laughing, and just stared at her in shock. Luna seemed to notice this, and finally stopped laughing. She gave me a wavering look, before patting my dark chocolate hair.

“I knew you were thinking, I was just fooling with. I was wondering when you would notice” she giggled. I just glared at her; completely unfazed. Luna locked with my gold eyes, and immedietly began laughing again.

I waited for her to finish this time, and was getting pretty ignored. She had been laughing for over ten minutes now, and the sun was completely gone, and the only thing you could see in the sky were the stars and the two moons: Sol and Mani.

As I looked at the moon, ignoring Luna’s constant laughter, I remembered the tale of the two moons and how the seasons.

The moon Sol, was apparently the goddess of the sun from way back, and was the leader of the sun since then. She was apparently a kind spirit, and brought light to our world.

Mani, Sol’s brother, and the god of the moon, was a bit shy but powerful. He was the moon god since back in the day when Sol was named as the goddess of the sun. They were total opposite. Sol brought light to the world, and Mani brought shadows.

The day and the night were called Brono, and the night was called Fenrir. I had always preferred Fenrir than anything else, but Brono was good for me as well. Brono made me feel special, it made me feel warm. Fenrir was so cool and calming; I couldn’t help but like it. Even though we had special names for the day and the night, we only used them during ceremonies and such; so basically we just called them the day and the night.

The seasons were Gefion, Gerd, Skadi, and Idun.

Gefion was the season where it was the hottest days of the year. The sun would beat every minute that past, getting hotter and hotter before Gerd started. Gelfion was always after Idun. In one other country Gelfion is called summer. But we do not call it that.

Gerd was the season where leafs would change color and fall to the ground. I think I liked this season best. You never knew what the weather was going to be, since it sometimes was hot, but also on other days extremely cold. In one other country Gerd is called fall.

Skadi is the season where it snows all the time, as well as rains. It is the coldest season of the year, but I loved to play in the white covered ground. Skadi was known as winter in one other country.

Idun is where the flowers bloom after the cold weathers of Skadi. The season was one of the best. Sunny warm days, flowers ready to bloom, and the leafs getting the color that they usually are; green. Idun is also known as spring, in one other country.

Right now, it was Idun, and I couldn’t wait for it to be Gefion. Sol and Mani brightened our path, showing us a river just bit farther up the road.

I looked at Luna, once I heard her laughter stop. I looked at her sternly, as she too stared at Sol and Mani.

“We need to camp” I said simply. Luna just nodded, and we continued on our way, following the lit river.

We finally set up camp as we reached a simple meadow, and set up next to it; afraid of squashing the fully bloomed flowers. It took us a while to unhook our stuff, and to set up camp at all.

We ate briefly and quickly started to sleep next to the now lingering fire. I let my dreams take over; which included dreams of Luna and my new home.

Life was going to be good, I could just feel it.

********