Chapter 25 Aanya

Chapter 25 Aanya

            My eyes burst open and immediate pain rushes through my head. I push my hand up against my skull moaning from the pain. I place my hands behind me and slowly push myself up into a sitting position. “Where am I?” I think to myself. I look around and observe my surroundings, “Vines?” I mutter, “Why are there vines?” I stand up and my head pounds once again, “Stupid old bearded guys, now my head hurts.”

            I look around a little more before jumping to realization, “A jungle, I’m in a jungle.” I look up above me and see monkeys racing through the trees searching for a place to find fruit and small little ants running across the ground on a mission to find their own food. I spin around land look at everything around me, trying to find some sign telling me exactly where I am. I decide to walk forward in hopes to find an exit. After walking for several minutes I suddenly hear a large growling sound coming from deep within the jungle.

            I stop and spin around quickly trying to figure out exactly where the roar was coming from and I freeze feeling hot breath against my neck. I tense up and close my eyes tightly as another deep growl rings through my ears. More deep noises spread throughout the jungle above me and I slowly tilt my head up to find a dozen baboons staring down at me.

            “Uh-Oh,” I mumble. I jerk forward and begin to sprint into the depths of the jungle, the baboons howling after me. I look behind me as I race through the many vines and leaves to find the baboons swinging through the trees and chasing after me. I get a good distance ahead of the evil monkeys before I trip on a rock and tumble to the ground.

My headache begins to throb even harder now and my vision blurs. I lay stretched out on the ground, the screams of the baboons getting closer and closer. The world starts to go black and I see to figures standing above me yelling and shouting at me. Roaring, howling, yelling, and I enter back into the real world, “Aanya! Aanya,” I hear Rachel and Talith shout.

“We need to go,” Rachel screams. I pop up off the ground and we all begin to run through the jungle away from the baboons.

“How’d you guys find me?” I ask.

“Run now, talk later,” Talith advises.

“Good point,” I agree.

We continue to rush along and a black hole begins to slowly emerge in between the trees. It gets closer and closer to us just as the baboons do, “What is that?” I interrogate Rachel and Talith.

“A portal,” Talith tells me.

“A portal?” I falter.

As we approach the black hole I am able to make out small magical swirls and a baboon jumps out of nowhere and lands right on my tail. “Uh, guys,” I scream.

“I know Aanya, just a few more seconds,” Talith says. “Jump now!”

We all jump at the same time through the black hole just as the baboon snaps its teeth at my leg. We spin in crazy rough motions before landing back at our original camp ground, the baboon that was on my tail landing with us.

Talith grabs a large branch and begins to beat the snot out of the monkey. Rachel and I push ourselves back away from Talith and his aggressive hits. Finally the baboon stops moving and Talith chucks the tree branch off to the side. “Dang Tailith, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Rachel admires.

“Yeah, me neither,” I agree.

Talith looks at us and laughs, “Well, he’s not dead so we better get out of here before he wakes up from his nap.”

“Agreed, I’ve had enough with baboons for one day,” I say.

            We all begin to venture away from our campsite in hopes that the baboon won’t follow us. As we travel my head continues to throb and I take a deep breath, putting my hand to my head.

            “You okay Aanya?” Rachel asks.

            “Yeah, I just have a really bad headache,” I reply.

            “I’m sorry, maybe you’re just dehydrated.”

            ”That’s very well possible, but I also think it has something to do with the bearded dudes knocking me out before placing me in that possessed jungle. What exactly happened to us after the cage anyways?”

            “The guys made you each drink some of this blue potion that knocked you out,” Talith joins in.

            “Then what?” I ask.

            “Well then I was knocked out by the guys after me,” he replies.

            “We were outside the Forest of Unknowns,” Rachel elaborates.

            “What’s the Forest of Unknowns?” I inquire.

            “It’s basically this forest where if you go in it you are placed somewhere outside it randomly. You never know where you’ll end up.”

            I look at Rachel questionably, “This girl I met told me,” she smiles.

            “A portal just showed up where I was, and that’s how I found Rachel, then you,” Talith explains, “It doesn’t just take you to a random place, it takes you to your paradise.”

            “You know what I think,” I imply

            “What?” Rachel asks.

            “I think we need to figure out where we are. Not the Forest of Unknowns where we are, but like where the Forest of Unknowns is.”

            “I would have to agree,” Talith nods.

            We continue to walk for about six more hours before arriving in front of a large wall of trees. I peer down the wall of trees in both directions but only continuous forest for miles. I lean my head back to get a better view but all I see are tall trees with seaweed like leaves hanging from each branch. “Should we go through?” I turn to Rachel and Talith.

            “I don’t know, seems a little creepy to me,” Rachel croaks.

            “Why not?” Talith requests, “Let’s go.” Talith walks straight through the trees and into the forest pushing the leaves aside. I look at Rachel and all we hear is silence. “Tailith?” Rachel calls,  “Tailith are you still alive?”

            Rachel and I look at each other startled, “Let’s go in,” I murmur. I grab Rachel’s hand and squeeze it hard as we both walk through the leafy seaweed and into the forest. My jaw drops and I let go of Rachel’s hand, and stand in awe. “That’s disgusting,” I hear Rachel gag.

            “What’re you talking about it’s beautiful,” I assure her.

            “I don’t know what your idea of beautiful is Aanya but for me it doesn’t include millions of butterflies sitting in nests and spiders invading the ground,” she defends.

            “Butterflies? Spiders? Rachel, they’re fairies and the spiders are carriages remember. The nests resting in the trees is a tiny little fairy village.”

            “What,” Rachel asks astonished, “Fairies?”

            I let out a small puff of laughter and stare at the fairies flying above me. The trees around us sparkle with fairy dust and lights blaze from the inside of small fairy homes. All of sudden we are all pushed down by a wave of air and I see Rachel and Talith’s eyes light up.

            “Okay now I see what you’re talking about,” Rachel marvels, “and it is incredible.”

            We all get up off the ground and continue to look around when a pink fairy flies down in front of us and in a small squeaky voice asks, “Who are you?”

            “Well I’m Aanya and this is Rachel and Talith,” I reply.

            “Are you all newcomers?”

            “Yes we got here, well I’m not sure when, but we’ve been traveling for quite some time since we’ve got here.”

            “I see, well welcome we are glad to have you here.”

            “Excuse me,” Talith interjects, “What is this place?”

            “How rude of me,” the pink fairy hoots, “This is Farendelle, Forest of the Fairies.”

            “But where is the Forest of the Fairies?” he elaborates.

            “Where? Why this is Letherland.”

            “Lesterland?” Rachel echoes.

            “Not Lesterland, Letherland.”

            “Letherland?” I whisper to myself.

            “We are definitely not on Earth,” Rachel expresses.

            “Would you mind telling us where we might be able to find the nearest town or village,” I implore.

            “Of course, I can take you there if you’d like.”

            “That’d be great,” I nod.

            “By the way I’m Evelina.”

            “That’s a cool name,” Rachel comments.

            “Thank you, I’ve always liked it,” Evelina replies, “Now when would you like to leave?”

            “Well how far is it?” Talith requests.

            “Deventon? Not too far, about a day’s walk through the forest. It’s getting late though; I can ask the queen if you can stay for the night.”

            “That would be great, thank you,” I agree.

            “Alright then, I’ll be right back,” Evelina nods and flies up into the trees above.

            Not too much later we see a blue light descend from above and it stops in front of us forming the shape of Evelina. “The queen has approves of you staying here and says you are welcome, she senses great things about you.”

            “Thank you,” we all say in unison.

            “This way, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.

            Evelina sprinkles light shimmering blue dust on us and we shrink down to the size of a fairy. The trees grow taller as we grow smaller and the world that was once the perfect size for us now felt as though it belonged to a giant. I look down and find that I am only six inches off the ground, just like any other fairy, except with no wings.

 Evelina softly lands down on the ground with us a carriage by her side, “Just get in the carriage and I will direct you to the house.”

            Evelina floats carefully in front of the carriage and begins to fly forward and the carriage begins to follow. There’s nothing attached it’s just all pure magic, it follows her as though they are one, as though they’re attached. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Evelina begins, “What brings you to the Farendelle?”

“Well,” I reply, “We were attacked by some burglars and put outside the Forest of Unknowns”

“How did you get out of the forest?”

“Talith found a portal, and rescued Rachel and I.”

“What did the portal look like,” she inquires.

“It was a black hole with purple swirls shimmered in it, giving it a magical quality.”

“That sounds like one of the queen’s portals, only special people can see it. Do you often see unusual things?”

“I often see unusual things now, yes,” I admit cautiously.

“The queen said she sensed something special about you three, I wonder what.”

“We have yet to find out ourselves,” I laugh.

 We continue to chat with the pink fairy before reaching a small fairy house settled on the ground. We each step out of the carriage and follow Evelina inside.

            The door is crafted from a tree and has a handle carved out of an acorn. We enter through the door and find ourselves inside a large home with a fan on the ceiling and a couch in the front room. It was like any regular home but made out of the elements of nature. “This is amazing,” I mutter.

            “Agreed,” Rachel and Talith nod together.

            “Enjoy your stay and just whisper my name if you need me,” Evelina squeaks before heading out the door.

            As soon as the sun falls behind the mountains we separate into different rooms and close the door. I walk towards a small bed and cuddle up under a soft wool blanket. I take deep breath, close my eyes, and drift off to sleep, nothing has ever seemed so peaceful.