The Trials

Chapter Eight

I was caught off guard by what Dorian said that it stopped me in my tracks. My sudden bravery to enter back into the terrible forest came to a halt. I needed to understand what he meant by those words.

“Surely you don’t mean that seriously, Dorian. What could you possibly need me for? It looks like you have taken very good care of your people given the circumstances. You should see how my people back home have to live under Erik’s rule. At least you have a home here, people that love and care about you to the point they would go to war for you. All my people are is scared and hungry.”

Dorian looked at me differently then, probably realizing that by speaking about my people in that light, I was giving him a direct link to how I was living back home as well. “What I meant by that is our families were brought together for a reason. Your father told me that I would one day meet you. I was just a boy when I spoke to him for the first time. He told me of your beauty and how it would be you that changed everything for the better. It wasn’t just the way he spoke about you that intrigued me, but what you meant to not just him, but your people. This is going to sound very forward, but with my kind, we need a warrior queen to stand by my side to fight for our survival because we are all that is left. I was thinking…”

“No,” I said cutting him off. “I don’t belong to anyone or have any want to belong to anyone. My whole life I’ve felt owned by someone else. It’s time that I do things on my own and for my friends and family.”

“Oh. There is someone else isn’t there?” he asked discouraged.

He doesn’t let up does he? “Not exactly, though I don’t see how that is any of your business. Adan likes me but I’ve never thought much about it.”

“Adan,” he said repeating his name slowly. “If he loves you then he must be a smart man. Only a smart man knows what he wants and goes after it. Do you feel the same for him?”

I’ve only known this man a few hours and he is invading in every part of my life as if it meant nothing to him. I understand that he is from a different planet, but he needs to understand that isn’t the way we do things here on Earth. “Firstly, it’s rude to ask some of the questions you are asking. I won’t take offense seeing as you’re not from here but know that it’s not okay to ask questions like that. We haven’t even known each other that long and you want me to be your warrior queen. That’s bizarre, Dorian. Just because my father spoke of me to you when you were young doesn’t mean that I’m that same scared little girl. Nothing controls me anymore, understand?”

Dorian smirked and nodded his head. “I understand, Riven. My apologies.” As I turned around to leave, he grabbed me once more. “Caden will help show you the way back to the forest. He will pack you a more fitting weapon than that small knife you had before. I’m surprised that killed the creature attacking you. I’ll also have him put some healing ointment in your bag. Otherwise, you will have a nasty scar from that creature on your beautiful face. We wouldn’t want to damage that.” He stopped and stared into my eyes for several seconds as if he was begging me not to go. “Will you promise that I can see you again? I’m afraid once you return back to your people that you will be lost to me forever.”

“I’ll sneak into the woods and return to you once I feel confident we can combine forces to take care of Erik’s men once I kill Erik himself. Those men won’t go down without a fight even if their leader is dead. I’ll need as many allies as I can get. Goodbye for now, Dorian,” I said softly as I pulled out of his embrace and walked through the sliding doors and out of sight.

Once I was out of sight completely and around the corner, I stopped, huffing harshly. Holy crap. Being around him made it feel like all the air had left my body, especially when he got close to me like that. As tempting as he is, nothing is more important than seeing this through once and for all. It had to be me that killed Erik and put an end to all this misery once and for all. Right now was the time to be selfless not selfish as Erik had been.

Just as Dorian said, Caden had provided me a more efficient weapon. It was a long stick with a blade at the end that was made into the wood. It was a beautiful piece which made me wonder where it had come from. Along with my new weapon, Caden provided me with a new backpack with all the same supplies along with a few new supplies such as water, some food wrapped in paper, and the cream he promised to provide.

“Off you go, Riven. Be careful out there. This place is a dark one and full of things that go bump in the night. Those creatures you encountered aren’t the worst of what you will find in these woods. I’ll bring you close to Karoline but far enough away that we aren’t spotted. The second you are back in that forest Erik will begin to track you again. He will probably muck it up to some kind of interference. Make sure to sell that, okay?”

Even surprising myself, I wrapped my arms around Caden, embracing him. He reminded me of a younger version of my father. “Thank you for all the kindness you have shown me. How should I reach you again when I’m ready?”

He smiled and embraced me the same as I did him. “Come to the clearing. I will find you, Riven.”

Caden was the first to pull away and as he did, all I could see was a flash of light and when my eyes adjusted, I was back in the darkness of the forest.

As I began to move forward I felt more and more dizzy, completely off balance. I’m not sure how I got here but however I did it affected my body. I began to move slowly through the forest, feeling as if eyes were on me again as I did before Dorian and Caden saved my life. I could hear growls as well as tree branches snapping all around me. Suddenly I was regretting my decision to come back into these woods rather than stay in the safety of Dorian’s home.

I was moving as slowly as I could, careful not to make much noise to draw attention to myself when I heard the sound of the tree branches snapping getting closer. When I moved around a large tree in my way, I nearly screamed when I collided with Karoline.

“Riven!” She screamed, hugging me tightly.

“Shh. Remember we aren’t alone out here. Are you okay?’

Karoline nodded slowly as she pulled back from me and began to whisper. “I was so scared, Riven. I thought one of those creatures had gotten you.”

“They did,” I whispered back. “But I was able to fight it off and kill it. Luckily for me, I ended back at the clearing and that’s where I woke up. It got me good. Did you know of a safe place for us to camp out tonight? We can start up again in the morning when its safe to see two feet in front of us.”

She grabbed my hand and led me a few feet further into the woods when we stopped at the biggest, tallest tree that I had come across in this woods. “This is where I’ve been staying. Climb. Those creatures can’t get us up here.”

I wasn’t much of a climber, but Karoline managed to get us both to a safe distance. I laid back against the branches that were strong enough to hold my weight when I opened my bag and pulled out some bread that Dorian gave me.

“Oh my God!” Karoline shockingly said. “Where did you get this?”

Of course I had to lie even though I felt slightly bad for doing so, but Erik was back to watching us again. I had to watch what I said, even around Karoline. “I found it when I woke. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly where it came from. I don’t believe there is only creatures out here but something else watching over us.”

Karoline grabbed the piece of bread that I handed her and sniffed it as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Bread wasn’t common in our homes. It was one of those luxury foods that we only got to have when a special event happened. Most of the time it was small things just enough to keep us from starving, but nothing more. “Well, thank goodness for whoever found you and brought this to you. I’ve been starving.”

We scoffed the bread down quickly. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was with all the excitement that had happened over the last few hours. I could tell that Karoline could sense something was up with me but instead of pestering me about it, she left it alone. A small part of me felt bad as this woman has risked her life for mine, but if I told her now, we would never be able to return home alive.

Soon we were both asleep, only waking to the chirping of birds around us. I stretched out, trying to wake up quickly even though I was exhausted. Karoline stared at me with concern in her eyes.

“What is it?”

“The gash across your face.”

I nodded. “A gift left behind by the creature. Don’t worry, it will heal with time. While I was gone did you manage to get any further to see what we need to face next?”

Karoline grabbed her things and began stuffing them in her backpack. “Yes, but you aren’t going to like it.” If only she knew what I had been through in the last few hours. I’m sure I could handle just about anything. “It’s a maze and I’m pretty sure its one of the last trials.”

“What makes you say that Karoline?”

She insisted that I climb even further into the trees with her. I struggled of course but with her help, I made it to the top and that’s when I saw what she had. “It’s not just a maze, Riven. It’s a maze that leads right back to Erik’s home. What does that mean?”

I clenched both fists. Dorian was right, though I didn’t question that much. Erik was just using us women to slaughter us to see who was strong enough to survive the fight back to him. I’m sure that he was hoping we would all die but I wasn’t about to let that happen we were so close.

My hand rested softly over Karoline’s. “Don’t worry. We are going to get through that maze and make it to Erik’s to see the look on his face and when we do we are going to get some answers!”