The Eclipse: Chapter 1

 

    “Elara! Come on! Let's go!” Auron yelled. He took off down the wharf towards the forest, his wavy brown hair flying around, his blue eyes excited. I couldn't blame him. Who wouldn't be excited at the prospect of escaping from school after listening to our teacher, Gehn, drone on about The Eclipse? To me, they had grounded the Eclipse into our brains so hard that it left a print a mile wide. We never learn about anything else, except for our letters.

    I took off after Auron, dodging the Healer as she carried some flowers and leaves in a woven basket, running past Bristan, the old fishmonger, and toward Cyrus Glen, and Starry River. Aiza, Auron's sister, and Brynlynn, his cousin, waved as I rushed by. Aiza was only seven winters old, while Brynlynn was 16 this fall. Auron and I were best friends, born three days away from each other. We looked so alike we could've been twins, although Auron is the tiniest bit taller. We are both fourteen summers old.

    “Elara! Elara, come here, child,” Mother's voice shattered my thoughts. I screeched to a halt, nearly making her tumble over. My mother is a frail and sickly woman, with large blue eyes set in a too-pale-face. Her eyes were filled with an ocean of sadness that took my breath away. I knew it was because of my father, who left us at my birth. Mother never got over it. She wouldn't tell me anything about him, except that he was the most wonderful person she had ever met. I learned early on not to talk about him, but it didn't stop my curiosity.

    “Elara, storm's coming. Best be ready for it.” Her gaze held my puzzled one. The sky was a light blue, and there was only a couple puffy white clouds in the sky. The sun shone strong. What the heck did she mean?

    “Uh, Auron's waiting for me, Mother,” I stammered. Mother's confused and faraway look came into her eyes.

    “Where did I put those eggs?” she mumbled to herself as she moved inside our house, me gazing sadly after her. Every day she seemed to slip more into her mind, leaving me with more and more to do. One of these days, she was going to crack, and the Guards would take her away. At that time I felt sorrow about it, but I did not try to hide her, or fight the thought. I just accepted it, because that was how I was raised. You win some, you lose some.

    “E-LARA!!” Auron yelled so loud that Ole Draylen, the deaf beggar, jumped a foot in the air. Adults of the village Erstelle turned and glared at me. A slow flush crept up my cheeks as I raced, headdown, toward the forest where Auron was impatiently waiting.

    I ran into something hard, falling back with a surprised grunt. I looked up, expecting to see the village blacksmith, Torias, but instead I smacked into a man with a black cloak. He was impossibly tall and thin, and his cold, unforgiving eyes eyed me shrewdly. His hair was a pale, pale yellow.

    “Oh!” I gasped. This man was a stranger. “I'm so sorry, sir! Cap'n! Guv'nor!”

Fire flashed in this man's eyes. “Watch your tongue, urchin, before I cut it out,” he hissed softly. His voice was as cold as ice, and cut through everything like a knife.

Offended, I stood up and opened my mouth again as Auron appeared. “Watch your tongue!” I snapped back.

    Anger was now present in his eyes, and he laid his hand on the hilt of a dagger. “Do not talk back to me!” he growled.

    I was furious. Who did this cretin think he was? I was about to retort when Auron snapped a hand over my mouth and tugged me away. The man watched our every move until we were out of sight in the trees, and on our way to Cyrus Glen.

    “What in good name of the sky above do you think you were DOING?!” Auron yelled, his eyes tight. “That guy had a dagger! He was about to skewer you alive!”

    I punched at an unoffending tree as we walked by. “I don't know. But I do know this. That man is evil. Just plain evil. Did you see him? He had this black aura around him, this coldness...”

    Auron rolled his eyes. “Now you're making up things again! I don't know what you mean by these auras. Like that trader from Latchnor? You said for me not to trade those pieces of seaglass, and I listened to you. Later, when I asked you, you said that he had a dishonest aura! Or the new Healer, who has a kind aura. Can you please explain or stop this? Please? It's just weird.”

    “It's not something I can stop, Auron.” I stared at the trees above while trying not to think about the stranger �" and failing.

    We arrived at Cyrus Glen. I felt peace as I gazed around the beautiful green meadow, blossoming with wildflowers and small animals. I turned to see Starry River, at the bottom of a gently sloping hill. It was named for its appearance at night, where it will light up.

    As I waded in Starry River's shallows, I thought back to what my mother had said. 'Storm's coming.' What did it mean? Was there a change to Erstelle coming? I shook my head, gritting my teeth. This was my mother, for crying out loud. She had no idea whether it was day or night, rain or sunshine sometimes, when things were bad.

    Come....Come to me, come come, come Elara, come.....A voice whispered in my mind. I yanked myself into a standing position, waiting.

    “Did you hear that?” I breathed to Auron, concentrating on hearing the soothing voice.

    Auron frowned with concentration, furrowing his brow as he attempted to catch frogs. “No. Ssh! You'll frighten 'em away!”

    Without really knowing what I was doing, I took a step, and then another step towards Thunder Falls. Soon I broke into a trot. Something was waiting for me there. I knew it.

    “Elara! Where are you going?” I heard Auron call, but I was beyond hearing anyone, only on the calling voice, the soothing voice....

    “ELARA, NO!” Auron screamed as I raced to the top of the falls, and readied my knees, preparing to leap. Something grabbed me, and pulled me away from the edge, tugging me back towards the meadow. “ELARA!” Auron was somewhere far behind me, but that didn't occur to me at the time. All I knew was that something was stopping me from reaching the voice.

    “Oi! You!” A gruff voice growled, and a blow to the head made me stop my assault. I stood there breathless, blinking in the harsh sunlight.

    “Elara!” Auron almost sobbed as he reached us. “What the heck did you think you were doing?”

    I blinked again, dazed. “I...I don't know. Didn't you hear the voice? Something was calling me...” I trailed off, looking at the man who saved my life.

    He was tall, with brown hair and hard blue eyes. He seemed to be in his 20^th year. His clothes were travelworn, and he picked up a good, solid oak staff that was at his feet. As he bent over, I saw the hint of a sword. He's dangerous, I realized as I felt his aura, but good.

    “Who are you?” Auron asked.

    The man grunted. “A traveler.”

    “Thank you for saving my life,” I said solemnly.

    “Well, if you looked after it better, I wouldn't have needed to!” he snapped rudely. My eyes flashed.

    “Well, excuse me, guv'nor. You didn't have to save it, but you did, and now you have to pay the consequences!” I hissed.

    The traveler stared at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. Finally he said, “Fine. Call me Fabian.”

    I exhaled. “Well, that wasn't hard.” Auron wasn't really paying attention. He was staring nervously at the bottom of the pool.

    “Hey, Elara? Is that who I think it is?”

    I stared to where he was pointing, just catching a glimpse of a dark shadow disappearing into the trees, but not before I caught a good look at him.

    Auron and I looked at each other, horror on our faces. “It was that man. The stranger. The evil, dangerous one,” I whispered.

    “He was the one that tried to kill you,” Auron replied.

    Fabian growled. “I don't know what you two are going on about, but I guess it ain't pretty.”

    I was still staring after the stranger. “My life is in danger because I mouthed him off.”

    “Why can I believe it?” Fabian muttered.