The Stranger in the Forest

lora ran blindly through the woods, not knowing where she was going, or what she was going to do. thorns snagged her clothes, tearing them. once in a while she would trip and fall, dirt smearing her face and clothes, but she just stumbled back to her feet and kept running. her hair was a mess and she was sure she was all cut up.

 

once she could no longer hear the blood chilling screams of Derek, she slowed, but she didn't stop until a little bit later. she stopped in a cluster of fallen trees and scrub and found a little dry niche under a fallen tree to rest. it didn't take long for her to drift into a dream filled sleep.

 

the town burned before my eyes. houses and people engulfed in blue flame. what happened? i couldn't remember. where was the flame coming from? i searched the town frantically, trying to find the source to stop it. i could not let all these people die.

suddenly i found myself in the town square staring at a horrid picture. Lora stood in the middle of the square, a devilish grin on her face. she had her hands raised with a ball of blue fire in each. her once kind eyes ablaze with an evil presence. safield stood behind her, a smile of wicked pride on his smooth evil face.

" Lora! Lora please!" i yelled at her trying to get her back. "please! come back to me! i need you! don't do this, these people are innocent!" 

she looked at me with her empty eyes, her dark black hair flying around her head like a dark halo. she was gone, and i knew it.
"im sorry nerel, this is me, these people took everything from me, now i'm going to do the same to them."

"SAFIELD! how could you do this! why do you insist on destroying everything! you won't win!"

safeild look at me and his grin flickered, but only for a moment. "one thing you may never learn, nerel, no matter how hard i try to teach you, is that somethings are worth fighting for. your beloved lora here, she's the perfect puppet, but if you really loved her you would do everything possible to try and get her back, even if it means giving your life."

suddenly lora stepped towards me. "please nerel, we can still be together! join me. if you still love me you would help me put these people in there place."

i stared at the girl i once loved, believed in, who was now a monster, fighting for the force she once swore to stop.
"i do not love you." i sneer "i love the lora who cared about others. who did everything in her power to protect the innocent. this is not her. you're a demon, a puppet. worthless." tears ran down my face as she screamed in anger and gather one big ball of fire, flinging it towards me. it hit me in the chest and i fell back pain searing through my body. i stared up at a broken mirror and saw a cut up, broken version of me. the same dark black hair but messy and caked with mud up, my face was covered in cuts and bruises, and my icey blue eyes told me i was going to die, and by the hands of my first and last love.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this nerel." i heard her say right before everything went black.

 

lora woke up with a start. she sighed and rubbed her temples. the dream was disturbing. is that what she'll be like in the in the future? will she destroy towns and ruin peoples lives?

 

she crawled to the opening of the niche and almost screamed in surprise. an elf stood  a little ways away fighting a dark black creature. he whirled around as the thing came up behind him and swung his sword. the flat of his blade hit it knocking it to the side. it got up as he ran at it and Lora squeaked, giving herself away. the creature, hearing the sound, came scurrying towards her. she fell back letting out a yell, expecting to be torn up by razor sharp teeth, but the pain never came. she heard a screech and a grunt and so she crawled back and looked out. the elf stood over the creature, blade stuck in its chest.

 

he walked over to lora and stuck out his hand. taking it, the elf helped her out of the ditch. she bent over and brushed the dirt from her jeans, though it made little difference. suddenly she was very self cautious. she was a mess, a disgrace compared to this gorgeous elf. he looked at her carefully, then he stepped back in surprise, his eyes wide. "you need to come with me, quickly." her grabbed her hand and started running, dragging her behind him.

 

they dint get very far before she tore away from his grip. "hey! what do you think your doing! I don't know you, and all of a sudden you try to kidnap me! what's wrong with you! gosh! who are you?" she yelled, glaring at him.

 

"im sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. my name is nerel, and you must be lora. am I right?" he said bowing slightly as she stared at him in surprise.
"now I know that it must frighten you that I know who you are, but truth be told, every one in derina does. you are well known as the queens mage, marthel's, daughter. many things are expected of you but at the moment I have to get you out of safety and into a less........noticeable.....color. purple isn't good here." he looked her up and down as he said this, and her face flushed.

 

"well im glad everyone in a world I never knew existed knows who I am before I, my self know who I am." she said lifting her chin a little higher. then she realized something. nerel. that name. it was the same name the evil her said in her dream. she looked at nerel's face. she almost gasped with surprise. the dark hair, brilliant blue eyes. there was no mistake, he was the guy from her dream.

 

"well your kind of famous here, and you wouldn't remember derina since you left only shortly after you're birth. now if you will, follow me please and Ill take you somewhere safe." he said with a smile.

"ok" she said reluctantly and followed.

                                                            * * *

James appeared in the clearing shortly followed by Amanda. They looked around closely looking for any sign of lora and Derek. Not a moment later did James noticed the dark figure laying in the the middle of the clearing surrounded by a puddle of a dark red mush, where blood had soaked the pure white snow around him. Weird gurgling noises came from his throat as he struggled to breath. His dirty blonde hair had become plastered to his head by his blood due to a failed attempt to brush it out of his face.

 

James and amanda approached cautiously, bows pulled taunt and ready at the slightest sign of danger. Derek turned his head to them and smiled a nasty bloody smile.
"Fancy seeing you here. What brings you to these parts? Its obviously not the view." He said with a laugh that was interrupted by a fit of coughs that caused blood to splatter from his mouth, making him sound oddly like there was a frog lodged in his throat. Amanda had to grab james arm as he tensed up ready to kill.

"Don't play dumb. you know damn well why we are here. Now where is she!" James said in anger.

 

Derek laughed again. "And why would i tell you? Im going to die anyways." 

 

James smiled. " but if you help us maybe we could help you." He said in a quiet voice.
"And why would you help me?" Derek sneered.

 

James forced another smile. "Because, derek, every person deserves a second chance. So if you tell us where she is, ill let you live."
 Derek looked confused and was silent for a moment. His breathing was raged and he was still bleeding.

"Here to prove that we are serious..." Amanda knelled down next to derek, tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the hilt of the dagger and pressed down on the wound with a little more force than necessary. Derek screamed a blood chilling scream and then stopped.
"What the hell?!" He yelled.
"Be happy, i stopped the bleeding. Now will you help us?" Amanda asked.

 

Derek looked at James and then Amanda and back to James. "Fine, when she left me she was heading south towards las narith. But let me say this, you'd be lucky to find her alive, seeing as nerel is out hunting in that direction." Derek said tiredly. Amanda and James exchanged looks. Amanda quickly stood up and put her bow back onto her back.
"You ready?" she asked James.
"Yah lets go." He said as they turned and headed in the direction derek indicated. "wait what about me?" Derek asked as they walked away.
James turned around and looked at him. "Last time i checked i said every PERSON deserves another chance, your not a person." Then he smiled and turned away from Derek's angry sobs.