Chapter 3

A splitting headache was the first to greet Amara when her vision began to return. She found herself lying on a bed, staring at a ceiling. Her heart began to pound as she recalled what happened: a hooded man knocking her out with some sort of gem latching onto her. Did it paralyze her? How long had she been out?

Amara jolted up in her bed, desperate to get answers, but the headache worsened as she sat up and Amara squeezed her eyes tight, gritting her teeth. “Augh!” she hissed.

“Relax, dear,” said a soothing voice from the shadows. Amara glanced over to see an outline in the darkness, and the person made their way forward, the moonlight from a nearby window illuminating her face: an old woman with short gray hair and dark eyes, wearing a pale green dress, her light skin covered in wrinkles.

“Who are you?” Amara blurted out. “Where am I? What happened? What—what year is it? Well, I mean, how long was I out? Not too long, right? This man, he—”

“Calm down. Have a drink of water,” the old woman said, handing her over a glass of water. Amara hesitated before bringing the glass up to her lips as the old woman continued. “You’re in a carriage. The boy Tallius threw a paralysis gem on you to knock you out because he was ordered to kidnap you. It’s only been a few hours.”

Amara set the glass down on her lap, her mouth gaped open. “Why did he kidnap me?!” she yelled in disbelief. “Is it some sort of ransom?! Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have gone in the Dark Forest. It’s the Dark Forest for a reason! My family is probably worried sick—”

“Shhh,” insisted the old woman. “Relax. Your questions will all be answered, but remain calm. You’re going to be all right; it’s not a ransom. We’re trying to help.”

“How?” Amara whispered. She tightened her grip around the glass, feeling tears welling up in her eyes, and a lump forming in her throat. She had been kidnapped, and there was no telling what was going on back at home. These strangers now had her.

“It’s tough to explain, but we’ll get to it,” the old woman said. “To start, my name is Arla. And you can trust me, dear.”

Amara looked at her. “Really?” She wanted to believe it, but she could recall her sister’s words: “Amara, you would trust a bandit if it told you to. You can’t go around believing everyone is telling the truth.” But this Arla woman seemed so sincere, so trustworthy. And she was an old woman. What could she do?

Arla nodded. “Yes. I understand if you don’t want to, but I won’t do anything bad. I know you must be terrified, confused. Everything will come clear eventually, as it always does in the end.”

"The man who kidnapped me,” Amara said. “His name is Tallius?”

“Tallius Mason Argulus. A member of…my group. The Silent Ones.”

“Who are the Silent Ones?”

“That’s for later, dear. Tallius was reluctant to do the job, but he had to. If we are to save this country…”

“Save the country?” echoed Amara. “Do you think…I can save Acirewiel? It doesn’t need saving, and how can I? I’m the princess of Agraud’s Kingdom. The smallest Kingdom. What can I do?”

“Nothing by yourself. But with some others, more than you think,” said Arla with a small smile. “It’s all a part of a bigger plan, Amara, one that I’m sure my friend Erkar would be happy to explain to you; he’s better at that than I am.”

They then sat in silence for a while, and now that Amara listened more closely, she could hear the clopping of horses and see the shaking of the carriage as it moved. “Where are we going?” Amara asked after a while.

“Foreviel’s Kingdom, dear. I trust you know where that is?” Arla said. Amara nodded in response as she continued. “That’s where our next destination is. To continue our trip.”

“How long will this ‘trip’ be? Why are we going on it?” Amara asked.

“We don’t know how long. But right now, you need your rest. Lie back down.” Amara did so, staring at the ceiling before closing her eyes again.

Before she fell asleep, she heard Arla speak again, in a hushed voice. “Acirewiel will be preserved. It will not fall…”

Eventually Amara had fallen asleep and woke up with sunlight coming in through the window. Her headache was gone, and she felt a lot better than she had when she woke up earlier. She sat up and looked around; she was still in the carriage.  It continued to sway in the rhythm of the horses pulling it.  She noticed a bed next to hers that Arla was asleep in.

Still in the carriage. Not at home. Her fear began to settle back in – she needed to know more about this. Arla hadn’t told her everything.

She crept towards the door at the back of the carriage and opened it slightly. The sunlight was even brighter, and she squinted in the light.  She could hear a voice.

“…anyway, she should be fine. Arla healed her so when she wakes up, she’ll be feeling better.”

Amara was hesitant to do anything. What would these two do? She wished her sister was here – Kara would know exactly what to do. By now, they’d probably be on their way back to Agraud.  Kara would speak to them, she told herself. Demand to know what’s going on.

Amara took a deep breath and stepped out the small covered porch attached to the carriage and found herself standing between two men sitting there on wooden chairs.

"Hello?” Amara said, and the two men whipped around in alarm upon her speaking up.

The one on the left was short and pale with messy brown hair and green eyes.  He wore a black cloak and studied Amara. Next to him was a nervous thin man with olive skin and brown hair that was side-swept, with dark brown eyes, wearing a brown cloak. And Amara recognized him; the one who kidnapped her.

"You’re—you’re the one who took me!” Amara blurted out, trying not to shake as she stared down her kidnapper; Tallius, she recalled his name being.

“Uh…yeah,” said Tallius nervously, seeming unsure of how to respond, which took Amara by surprise. Shouldn’t a kidnapper be a bit more tough? “I-I—”

“Why did you take me?!” Amara demanded, fighting tears down to try not to appear weak. Kara certainly wouldn’t. “I…I have family back home that misses me! You took me against my will! You stole a PRINCESS!” she yelled.

The man with the dark cloak spoke up. “Uh…Princess Amara—can I call you that?”

“Sure. What?” Amara demanded.

“Don’t…hold Tallius against this. He was very reluctant, and he had to do it because it was his job,” insisted the man.

"Y-Yeah,” Tallius nodded. “I-I’m really sorry, uh…Princess Amara…but…what Erkar said. I didn’t want to.”

“So don’t do it!” Amara protested. “Why do I have to go to Foreviel anyway? I want to go home.”

The man in the dark cloak – Erkar – nodded. “You probably do. But we need you for this…plan of ours. You’re…destined for great things.”

“What do you mean?” Amara asked, steadying herself against the sway of the moving carriage.  She did not want to fall.

Tallius looked at her nervously. “Ever heard of…the Powered Ones?”

“Of course I have,” said Amara. Her mother taught her about them when she was younger: a group of people with special powers, who were spoken of only in a prophecy saying they’d save the land. Amara was never really sure whether to believe it or not though; Acirewiel was fine. If the Powered Ones were to come, it’d be years later, when the land was actually in trouble.

“They’re…real. I hope you believe in them,” said Erkar, with some caution to his voice. “Because…you’re one of them.”

Amara just stared the two down. “So…not only are you kidnappers, you’re crazy, too,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion, the lump in her throat returning. She just wanted to be able to take back ever going into the Dark Forest. Why would she go in there, after so many times of being told not to? You’re so stupid, she told herself, biting on her lip in attempts not to cry.

They both shook their heads rapidly. “We’re not crazy,” Tallius insisted. “We’re not.”

“Well, I’m not at least,” Erkar snickered, and Tallius gave him a look – not an accusing or angry one, but more of a “what are you trying to say” one. Erkar then cleared his throat. “But, uh…you are a Powered One, Amar—Princess Amara. The tablets lead us to you.”

“No, you’re crazy. I want to go home,” Amara insisted, not bothering to ask what these “tablets” were.

“Okay – we’re the Silent Ones. A group of mages. And we’ve made it our mission to unite the Powered Ones and save Acirewiel,” said Erkar.

The word flashed in Amara’s mind: mages. Her heart began pounding harder; mages were people with magic powers, but her father always taught her that they were bad, that they killed people with the powers they had, which is why they all had to be killed on sight. “Mages?!” she shrieked in alarm.

“Oh, gods. I should not have said that,” Erkar muttered.

“W-Well look, Princess Amara, we’re good mages. We do not kill,” said Tallius. “I will not lay a hand on you, and neither will Erkar, Arla, or anyone else.”

“You did when you kidnapped me!” Amara protested.

"Actually, I, uh, threw a gem on you,” Tallius stammered.

“Then how did I end up in a carriage?” Amara retorted.

“Okay. We are nice mages,” said Erkar. “And like Tallius said. We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Then what do you want with me?” Amara asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Didn’t we just tell you? You’re a Powered One,” Tallius pointed out.

"N-No, I’m not. That can’t be the reason.”

Tallius sighed. “And to think this part would be the easy one…”

“Look. You’re the Powered One who can control plants. Have you been able to do anything unordinary like that before?” asked Erkar.

Amara shook her head. “Plants treat me like they would anyone else.”

“Treat you?” Tallius laughed, almost falling off the still moving carriage.  He regained his composure. “…How so?”

“Listen to my voice, answer me, you know. Don’t they talk to other people, too? Well, not talk, I mean, they can’t speak, but…maybe elsewhere, I don’t know—”

“Princess,” said Erkar slowly, “plants can’t talk.”

“Yes they can,” Amara retorted.

“Not to us anyway,” Tallius quickly added. “Only to you.”

“That’s…ridiculous.”

Tallius then turned to face a tree by the road. “HELLO! You there! Tree!” he called. Amara expected it to turn to him, but it remained standing there. He looked back at her. “See? You try.”

Amara frowned. It just doesn’t want to talk to him, she told herself. She then looked at the tree. “Uh…hello?”

The same tree – and others around it – turned to face her, remaining to watch her even as the carriage kept moving. “See?” said Tallius. “You have plant powers.”

“They just don’t like you, or something,” said Amara hastily. She looked at the tree. “Okay…am I a Powered One?” she called. If Tallius and Erkar were telling the truth, the plants would only respond to her because she supposedly had plant powers – so they would know.

The trees all seemed to nod in response before moving back to place. “The trees have spoken,” said Erkar. “There you go.”

Amara frowned, shaking her head slightly. “They’re just joking…messing with me—”

“I’m pretty sure trees don’t joke, princess. You’re a Powered One.”

It couldn’t be true. Amara slid down to a seated position on the floor  between Tallius and Erkar, putting her head in her hands.  But why would trees lie anyway – especially about something like this? They never had before.  She looked up at the two mages – how could she trust them? They kidnapped her, and they claimed she had plant powers. They had to be lying.

But what if they were telling the truth?Amara pushed the idea away, recalling her sister’s words of caution, telling her not to be so trusting of strangers. But at the same time, the plants wouldn’t deceive her. Would they? Despite they were capable of communication, they never showed much emotion – which means they probably would not make jokes. Amara was completely confused, unsure of who to trust – she had never had that problem before in her life.

“Well, Foreviel’s just down the hill,” spoke up Erkar.

Amara leaned and  looked around him.  Sure enough, down the slope of the road, was a Kingdom on the sparkling blue water, a large drawbridge connecting it to the land. Docks came out of the Kingdom, with large ships in port by them. The ocean that Foreviel was on stretched into the distance and seemed unending. The Kingdom much bigger than Agraud; and it looked beautiful. Momentarily Amara had forgotten about her troubles. “Wow,” she murmured.

“Alright then,” said Tallius. “It’s about midday. We'll spend the rest of the day settling in—”

“Who’s leader here, Tallius?” Erkar asked. There was a hint of teasing to it, but Tallius seemed taken aback, like he couldn’t detect it. “But I agree with you. We’ll go to the inn that Margo and Triesa are in and see how they’re doing.”

“Who are Margo and Triesa?” Amara asked.

Tallius didn’t respond right away. “You’ll see.”

The carriage continued down the stone path, and as it did Arla emerged from the carriage. “Are we here?” she asked.

“We are,” Erkar confirmed.

A smile spread across the old woman’s face, which warmed Amara’s heart. “It’s just as beautiful as I remember it to be.”

“Hey Greuder! Hold up!” Tallius called. The horse responded and the carriage came to a stop.  Amara had never seen such a well-trained horse.  Tallius hopped out. “Thank you!” he said, running to the front of the carriage.

“Him and his damn horse. Anyway, we need a plan,” insisted Erkar, getting out to follow Tallius. Amara and Arla walked after him. “I have a vague one so far: we are here to find the two other Powered Ones who are supposed to be here.”

“You’re still going through with this?” said Amara. How far were they willing to go to try and convince her she had powers?

“Well…it’s kind of our job to find the others. You’re not the only one,” Tallius pointed out as they came to the front of the carriage. The man was standing by a smoky gray horse, feeding him an apple.

“I’m not a Powered One though,” Amara insisted.

Erkar opened his mouth to retort, but Arla spoke up. “She’ll need time to trust us, Erkar. Let her remain in her denial.”

I’m not in denial, Amara told herself. The plants may have insisted she was a Powered One, but that was…crazy. Impossible. There had to be a better explanation.

“Anyway. The plan,” said Tallius.

Erkar nodded. “Right. Margo and Triesa are already working on finding the fire and water Powered Ones. They may already have them, but I doubt it. Amara and I will join them in the inn they should be staying at, and work together to find the other Powered Ones. Tallius and Arla, you’re staying out here with Greuder and our carriage. Sell some items so we can have money for our journey. And once the other Powered Ones are found, we’re out of here and going to Lynareth.”

“Why am I going in with you?” Amara asked. “And why Lynareth?” She knew she’d be dragged there too – along with other people accused of having powers – so she at least wanted to know why.

“Because it’d be best if you were to meet the other Powered Ones – and we’re going to Lynareth because the lightning Powered One resides there,” said Erkar. “Any other questions?”

No one spoke up. “No? Good. Don’t draw too much attention to yourself, and especially no magic in front of other people,” said Erkar.

Erkar began to walk down the drawbridge, and Amara walked after him, looking over her shoulder at Arla and Tallius, who were now talking to each other about something Amara couldn’t quite hear.

“Have you been to any of the other Kingdoms before, princess?” asked Erkar.

“No,” said Amara. She could practically hear her sister telling her not to talk to him. Amara didn’t want to, but the other half of her wanted to open up. They seemed trustworthy…said they wouldn’t do anything to her…but she was still kidnapped. I can come up with a way to escape, she told herself. Play along for now. “My father’s overprotective.”

“Well, you’ll like this Kingdom. Everyone does,” Erkar nodded. “And look, I’m, uh…sorry about all this. We’ll get you home as fast as possible and try to keep you comfortable in the meantime, okay?”

Amara nodded back, and she couldn’t help but give a smile too. There was more and more proof these people were good, but the fact that they took her from her home was holding her back from liking them.

They approached the gates and one of the guards spoke up. “Halt. Who are you?”

“My name is Evan Gold of Arsen’s Fist. This is Rose Templon, of the same town,” said Erkar, before Amara could answer. She gave him a look, wondering what he was doing, but he kept his gaze fixed on the guard.

“You may enter,” said the guard, and Erkar gave a respectful nod before walking forward to the gate, opening it.

They stepped into a dark tunnel. “What was that all about?” Amara asked. “I mean, aren’t you not supposed to lie to guards? We could get in—”

“We’ll be fine. It’s for undercover purposes,” Erkar said. “If I said your real name, they’d definitely recognize you as a princess. And if I said my real name – and got in trouble because of…well, magic – then I’d be wanted across the country.”

“Oh,” said Amara. There was silence between them before she spoke up again. “Why do you use magic? Isn’t it evil?”

Erkar looked at her. “You can’t help how you’re born – but this country would like you to think that you can. Mages are born with their powers, and from a young age we have trouble controlling them. We can learn how to harness them, and yes, some mages will use it for dark purposes. However, that’s a stereotype overall – a lot of us aren’t evil.”

More silence as they began to approach the second set of gates. “I didn’t know that,” commented Amara.

“Because they don’t want you to,” sighed Erkar, opening the gates in front of them.

Sunlight filled the tunnel as soon as the huge doors were pulled open, and Amara could see the Kingdom before her.

The place was full of people walking around. In front of Amara was a fountain, and there were buildings all around in a circle, with a path on the opposite side of Amara that lead further into the Kingdom. In the distance Amara could see ships, noticing that the Kingdom’s wall cut off to show the ocean that stretched on behind Foreviel.

“The inn is right in this circle,” said Erkar, and Amara turned to look at him as he spoke. “It’s called the Black Sheep Inn.”

Amara looked over to an inn that was made out of wood, looking to be a bit run-down. A sign was held up over the door, a painting of a dark sheep on there and pretty handwriting labelling it as “THE BLACK SHEEP INN”, with ivy growing up the side of the building.

“Well let’s go then,” said Amara, heading for the building. Erkar walked after her, going around the fountain and towards the inn.

Amara opened the door. Inside the inn there were quite a few people, although it wasn’t crowded. Soft music was being played, and there was a lot of conversation around the place. People were sitting at tables, some standing up, and overall the inn had a sense of warmth to it.

“Hello,” said a voice, and Amara glanced over to see a boy behind the bar, looking to be about her age. He had dirty blonde hair and brown clothes, with sea-green eyes. “Welcome to the Black Sheep Inn. Need anything?”

“Just two rooms please,” said Erkar, diving into his pocket and taking out some gold pieces, placing them on the counter.

“All right,” said the boy, handing them each a key. “You get them for a week. If you need it longer, give us more pieces.”

“A week should be fine,” Erkar nodded. He then turned to Amara. “Now let’s go find Triesa and Margo.”

- - -

Author's Note:
Sorry for not updating! Just started high school. Plus our wi-fi is being stupid (as usual).