Avalon Mysts

Chapter 2

With her head pounding, Aurora rose from her mysterious collapse and sleepily listened for the sounds of her mother making breakfast. A bird chirped loudly in her ear instead.

She bolted upright, only to lay right back down again. The sun shone cheerfully as the morning birds tweeted their melodies and rodents chattered among the trees. Dizzy and disoriented, she recalled her surroundings, remembering where she had landed herself the night before. The clearing was serene, glimmering with dragonflies and the sun's sweet rays. Confusion tugged at her brow as she realized the odd statue was replaced by a large boulder with the same kinds of markings the orb had the night before. What made her pass out so ferociously? Some new flower or maybe mould? Aurora shrugged, got back up and strolled down the walk she had come the evening before. Strange that she slept through the entire night without so much as a twitch.

Aurora reached the sand bridge where the two bodies of land met and was taken aback by the beauty of the morning's golden sunrise. Slowly she trekked down the sandbar, watching little minnows swim up to the edges and back out again. Geese paddled across the calm waters, their little ducklings following close behind. She realized how out of tune with nature she so recently had become. Her mother always loved to take walks in the northern forest hiking trails, dragging Aurora along with her for weekend trips, but not long after that, Aurora would drag her Mum to the National parks and campgrounds to get away from all the traffic and people. 'When did that change?'

The landscape was almost as beautiful as the evening prior, only it shone a whole new life upon the wilds. A smile crossed her lips as she glanced at the morning horizon in front of her, shining so happily and readily for those that cared to see. Her eyes caught sight of the pillars and her smile began to fade. Instead of two worn and crumbled stones before her, a wondrously sculpted arch stood at length before her gaze. Aurora bit her lip in confusion... was she still dreaming?

She strode down the beach and glanced down the winding trail of forks and turns she had taken there. The path was lined with the same fist sized stones leading back to the estate. 'Is this what was there a century before? Ideas for the future? If this is a dream, it's surely an odd one to decipher...'

The house came into view as she rounded the last turn. The silver arch glistened much more noticeably within the bright green foliage, making the fountain much more beautiful than she had left it. Aurora blinked in disbelief as she gazed upon the styling of an intact mansion. The trails that went through the garden were chalked full of healthy thriving plants; The cobblestone wall was clean and whole, with German ivy clawing its way up every stone; Windows were unbroken, stained and spotless; and the fountain, oh that beautiful fountain, was sparkling and spouting water like it never had before.

Amidst all the wonderment and beauty, crouched a boy hiding in the shadows with a terrified expression on his face. His hair was a messy tangle of curly blonde locks, and his cloths were raggedy and dirty. His face showed the same innocent youth that Aurora held, yet his stance depicted more experienced and skill than his age should allow. She stood at the arch, gaping at this new development. Should she move closer to the boy? Should she say something?

"... Hello?" Aurora called softly. His head quickly snapped to her direction, eyes wide with fright. Staring at her breathlessly, his bright eyed gaze turned from frightened to confused, cautiously glaring at her as if she would pull out a blade and slice his gullet. "What are you doing here?" She muttered harshly, not liking how he so rudely stared at her. He continued to quizzically ascertain whether she was truly a threat or not. Vile booming voices slithered to their ears as an impatient rustling sound startled both out of their stupor.

Without warning, the boy grabbed Aurora's hand and darted down the trail Aurora had just come, half dragging her at his side. Neither looked back as they wound their way through the endless trails and brush, cutting across the woods and back onto a random animal trail. The hair on the back of Aurora's neck stood on end as the grating voices were impossibly gaining pace.

Aurora glanced over her shoulder and her eyes nearly popped out of her skull at the sight of their pursuers. "Holy mother of god-what-the-hell-are-those-things!" She blurted loudly as the boy tugged at her hand.

Five grizzly monsters came barrelling after them with looks to kill on their scarred and appalling faces. The bodies were delusively buff with great blobs of fat hanging within their greasy bluish skin. They sneered and growled at their prey through rotten jagged razor-pointed teeth; their beady red eyes trying to keep them in their sights, with their long flat pig-like noses snorting and squealing alien noises as they ran... And if their appearance wasn't scary enough, the scent that fell upon the wind and into the nostrils of which ever animal that was unfortunate enough to be in its path wreaked the hideous aroma of rotting flesh, animal intestines, vomit and blood.

The chase was on, and Aurora didn't have to be dragged to want to get away from whatever those things were. She bolted ahead of the boy, yelling profanities and little yelps along the way.

The forest tilted downhill and began to thicken, dropping short into a swiftly flowing brook about a half mile down. Without warning, the boy yanked Aurora beneath a small incision in the river bank, disappearing amidst the tangled roots of a half dying tree.

The creatures stampeded to the bank and impatiently scanned the waters for floating bodies. Aurora nearly passed out trying to control her breathing and almost tossed her cookies as she caught their stench on the breeze. The two covered each others mouths as one of the creatures got far too close for comfort, sniffing and glaring into open space.

"Bleddy litta mould and peuk blikkens.... Haevin' uz flitten abouh..." One complained aloud as the creatures grudgingly made their way back up the sloped woods, pushing down trees and kicking up old logs out of frustration.

The two looked at each other, astounded that both had actually escaped the ultimate creatures of nightmares. Both released their hand from the stranger's face and looked at one another with wide eyes. Aurora wanted to laugh, but feared she still might puke if she took a deep breath.

"... I'm Peregrith..." The boy mumbled, still in the midst of aftershock.

She gazed into the quiet green eyes that exposed his innocent soul. "... A-Aurora..." She whispered back. He nodded and sat there, knees up to his chin and quietly stared at Aurora. She grinned nervously, slowly inching away. "... What?"

He just shook his head and smiled. "You.... are Aurora..." he muttered, a puzzled look of disbelief fermenting on his face. "Why have you come back?"

Her brows knit together in frustrated confusion. "...I've never been here before."

His smile broadened as realization suddenly hit him square in the face, "... I see." He muttered plainly with a smirk, knowing that he knew something that for some great reason, she did not.

Aurora curled up like the boy, resting her chin on her knees, and closed her eyes. More and more this little Adventure she was having, felt like the beginning of Alice in Wonderland. She didn't recall eating any mushrooms or anything recently though, and this dream-like state felt a lot more real than any nightmare ever was. 'I must be in a coma...' She concluded.

Peregrith rose still smirking, and offered his hand to her. "Well Milady, it seems as though you need a guide." Aurora glanced up at his hand, still unsure if she should even trust the guy.

With a whole-hearted sigh, she sloughed off the gesture and jumped to her feet. The boy shrugged it off and tilted his head towards the rough path leading further into the woods. "Shall we?..."

Next chapter coming soon...