Ch 2: Into the Night

Inspira looked down at her reflection in the fountain pool. A packed satchel sat by her feet. An oil lamp casted a faint light in the surrounding darkness. “Mother will be extremely alarmed when she discovers my absence in the morning,” she thought to herself. She had left a note on her bedroom dresser so the Queen wouldn’t think she had completely disappeared. It didn’t divulge much, just that she had to go do something really important and would be back as soon as she could. How was she going to tell her mother that she was leaving to save The Light? She barely believed it herself, but something inside her told her she didn’t have much of a choice.

Inspira had no idea where she was going, or which direction she needed to head to. All she could do was trust the voice from within. It brought her here in the first place. Two days ago, she was just a princess, wandering the quiet halls of her castle, taking in her daily lessons, reading her literature in the study, eating her breakfast in the dining hall, and living ordinarily, to her standards. The only adventures she knew of were the ones in her books. Yet, here she was. About to potentially save the world. The pressure sank deep onto her shoulders. She was frightened.

Even if her inner guide could tell her where to go, what does she do? What is the end goal, the test, the work? What exactly is she being sent to do? Nothing was clear to her and she had no idea why she was following the call, but she knew she had to.

It was hard for her to accept that she was a healer, like the Light Worker had stated. She had never healed anything or anyone. How does she heal? What does she heal? Who is she healing? Why was she chosen to be a healer, and how could she possibly have any affect on anything that was as powerful as a divine source of life?

Her head fell into her hands. “What am I doing,” she asked the night. “This is crazy. I can not believe I’m actually doing this.” She looked around the yard. The flame from the oil lamp danced behind the glass, causing a sway of light that cascaded out into the dark around her. She looked toward the forest that surrounded the back of the yard.

She grabbed her satchel and slung it over her head and across her chest. The image that called herself the Light Worker had come from within the forest, so that was where she would start. Hopefully, the Light Worker would be there to show her the way, and possibly answer some of her questions. She grabbed the oil lamp beside her and lifted it to light her way.

She made her way to the edge of the wood. She stood there with the lamp stretched out in front of her. The flame was weak against the darkness of the trees. She shook with fear. A lump grew in her throat. I should wait until sunrise, she thought to herself. Even as she thought it, she put one foot in front of the other, inching closer to the darkness. Perhaps she should have waited for first light, but she knew she would risk being caught by the guards. She took a deep breath, marched forward, and allowed the forest to swallow her into the darkness of the night.

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