Chapter Text
There are exactly three things I am good at: sleeping past my alarm, memorizing useless historical trivia, and losing arguments to livestock.
Right now, the livestock was winning.
“Penny, I swear, if you eat that fence post, I am donating you to a petting zoo.” I yelled, wiping a mixture of sweat and damp Ohio mud from my forehead. The lamb in question–a stubborn, woolly menace named Penny–didn’t even look up. She just gave a loud, judgmental baa and crunched down harder on the rotting wood of our perimeter fence.
She didn’t care that my dad was halfway across the world on deployment, or that my mom was at the local market and not here to help me, or that I was supposed to be finishing my summer reading project. Penny only cared about anarchy it seemed. I leaned against my rusty shovel and let out a long sigh. It was a completely normal, aggressively boring Tuesday. The sky was that dull, predictable Midwestern gray, the air smelled like wet grass and faint tractor oil. My family didn’t own a tractor, the neighbors did. They always seemed to be using it too.
My brain was throbbing with an incoming migraine. I’d been getting them a lot lately. These weird, blinding headaches that hit out of nowhere, usually whenever I get too stressed out or tired to focus too hard on a task. My mom said it could just be part of my growth spurt, but sometimes it felt like my brain was trying to process some radio signal entirely too loud for my skull.
Crunch.
Penny broke off a splinter of the wood.
“Alright, that's it. Inside,” I dropped the shovel and lunged forward, arms wide. Penny, possessing the reflexes of a ninja and the spite of a deity, bolted. She didn’t run toward the barn. No, that would have made sense. Instead, she squeezed her fat little body through the gap in the broken fence line and headed straight for the tree line of the Blackwood Forest.
“Shit-” I scrambled over the broken wooden rails, nearly landing on my face in a patch of thistles. The Blackwood was local legend territory. The town council had put up ‘No Trespassing’ sign years ago because the woods were dense, easy to get lost in, and full of weird, un-mapped sinkholes.
My mom had warned me a thousand times never to go past the first row of oaks. She always told me the story of the little girl who disappeared in those woods some 60 years ago. But my mom also didn’t want to explain to the neighbors why our future prize ewe was being digested by coyotes. I broke into a sprint, trailing her into the shade of the canopy. The afternoon light vanished instantly, and the heavy shadows of the trees replaced it. The air was growing cold–so cold I could see my own breath. That was weird. It was mid summer.
Baa!
“I hear you, you little demon!” I shouted, dodging a low-hanging branch. I burst into a small clearing, blinking at the sudden rush of light. The trees here grew in a perfect, unnatural circle; their roots twisted together like braided hair. In the center of it all sat an old well I had never seen before. I mean, of course I’d never seen it before, I'd never been so far into these woods. It looked ancient, built from moss-covered gray stones. There was no bucket, no rope; maybe it had deteriorated and fell? And right on the edge of the stone well, balancing with the casual disregard of a creature that didn't understand danger, was Penny.
“Penny, don’t move.” I whispered, holding my hands out defensively. “If you fall down there, I am not climbing in after you.” The lamb blinked almost innocently. I walk forward slowly, so as to not startle her, but she just jumps down behind the well. I frown, and leap around the side. My hands close around wool and I pull her to my chest. “There, now let’s–” I curse as Penny squirms and fights my arms, bleating loudly. I stumble back, and my breath hitches as my heel catches on a loose stone. Time slowed down.
I flail as much as I can, left hand going up to try to catch the edge of the well while my right holds tight to Penny. No luck. My fingers scraped against the stone wall uselessly as I plunged backward into the well, expecting to hit a hard stone bottom or the feeling of freezing groundwater within seconds. Instead, I just keep falling. How deep is this well?! I think in panic, clutching Penny. Baa! I completely agreed with that statement.
The air around me rushed upward, roaring in my ears. The darkness began to swirl. I could see a blinding light through my half-lidded eyes. Strange, glowing symbols–letters that looked vaguely familiar, but going so fast I couldn’t catch their shape–streaked past my face like shooting stars. The wind tore at my t-shirt. The blinding light reflected in my now wide eyes. My head began to throb; not just, but it felt like my skull would implode any moment.
The raw pressure of the air around me pressed against my chest, knocking the breath completely out of my lungs. And then, just as suddenly as the gravity had vanished, it returned. The light shattered like glass, and I tumbled face-first out of the air. It felt like I had been spit out of something. I crashed onto the ground with little grace, Penny bleating under me as she squirmed out of my grip. My eyes adjusted and the first thing I saw was pretty white flowers, shaped like little bells. Lily of the Valleys.
Thousands of them. Spread across the open clearing like a blanket of snow. I groaned, pushing myself onto my hands and knees. Every single muscle in my body felt like it had been put into a grinder, but remarkably, nothing seemed broken. I look backwards, and my eyes meet the well… and Penny. She was sniffing about the ground. I rub my eyes, continuing to watch her move about before frantically turning my gaze to the silver watch on my wrist. It wasn’t broken, thank the stars. My dad had given it to me when he left, and said it was a family heirloom. The hand said 3:14 PM. According to the watch, I had fallen for less than a minute. According to my sanity? None of that had just happened.
“Penny?” I called, looking back over my shoulder where she had been before. She was chewing on the white flowers, little tail moving about happily. She seems fine too. I thought, standing up carefully, holding myself up on shaky legs as I cling to the well. I look down into it, but it’s just blue water. I had fallen onto the grass, like I’d fallen from the sky.
And yet, I’d popped out from the well. It wasn’t deep. The basin was filled with three inches of clear, perfectly still, stagnant rainwater. I could see my own reflection in it–pale, messy brown hair, wide eyes, and a dirt stained grey shirt. “No. No, no, no.” I reach down into the well, feeling for a trap door, a portal, a light, anything. My fingers–which I now noticed were a little bloody–hit slimy rock. I leaned over further, pushing at the rock with a grunt, praying for a light to blind me again. Nothing. It was just an old, shallow birdbath of a well.
I pulled my hands out, dripping wet and freezing cold, letting out a frustrated laugh. “Okay, great. I’m crazy. The heat got to me, I passed out in the woods, and I'm having a very detailed hallucination.” I nod to myself at my own explanation. I spin around, taking in the sights around me. The sky wasn’t the dull grey it was before; it was a deep, vibrant blue. So blue it almost hurt to look at. There wasn’t a single cloud in sight, either.
But the sun–if you could call it a sun–cast long shadows with the trees around me. The trees, right. My forest was made of old oaks thicker than a tractor. But these trees? They were colossal, probably bigger than the ones I'd heard about in California.
Their trunks seemed to shimmer with a faint silver, catching the light as it shifted with the leaves in the breeze. “Penny,” I said, my voice dropping into a softer call. “We definitely aren’t in Ohio anymore.” Penny didn’t care. She was too busy eating up the flowers covering the ground. Were those even edible? Taking a deep breath I walk over to her.
Think. Lucas, think. I pick up Penny easily, holding her close as I look around the small clearing again. Where in the world are we? Literally. There wasn’t anywhere I knew off that had shimmering trees and purple leaves. With Penny squirming in my arms I start walking to the edge of the clearing, holding my breath.
My eyes take in the sight of… more trees. Nothing I expected. But then again what was I expecting? Roads? Phone polls? … Maybe. I shake my head; Penny copies me. Rat. I frown down at her. I look back up at the forest. It stretched out in front of me, looking endless and at the same time beautiful. Sunbeams twisted in turn with the leaves, and I could hear distant chittering. Animals, probably. Taking another deep breath, I step out of the clearing. The woods seemed to go silent as soon as my foot hit the dirt. My heart was hammering in my chest, Penny looking around wildly.
Baa! She bleated, now snuggling up to me for protection. Nothing could be done about our situation now; we had to find a way out. There weren’t any pathways, nor any trail markers as far as I could see. Just trees, bushes, and flowers. Very, very bright flowers. If it’s bright it’s almost certainly poisonous. I thought, maneuvering my leg over a log and hopping the rest of the way over. If I was taller it wouldn’t be a problem. Penny shifted in my arms, restless now.
“I can’t let you down, you might run off again.” I tell her, keeping my voice low. Why? I don’t know, maybe there was something that could hear me? Penny just bleated in my face and continued to squirm. “Okay, Okay!” I huff. “If I put you down will you be quiet?” At her blank stare I sigh and set her down carefully. I brace myself to run after her, but to my surprise she stays near my legs as I walk. She does, however, start eating whatever flower looks good. “That can not be healthy…” I grumble, looking away from the lamb. I freeze. Through the gaps of trees ahead, I see brighter light. “Penny,” She looks up at me. “I think we’re almost out.”
I start to run toward the gaps in the trees, Penny’s hooves thudding on the ground behind me. I could feel my lips curving into a smile. I reach out, hands finding the edge of a tree and hoist myself through the dense leaves. Warm air hits my face as I blink to adjust to the new light. It looked…normal? The sky was still bright and blue, no clouds, but a few birds were flying a bit away. My eyes moved to Penny, who was currently trying to get through a fence– Wait, a fence? There was some kind of metal fence in front of us, standing maybe 6 feet tall. It looked like one of those fences people use for dogs, but this one stretched seemingly around the forest. I panicked. How was I supposed to get out now?
Before I could even think about climbing over, a loud shuffling and clink-clink-clink of matching foot-steps filled my ears and cut through the silence. Four heavily armored men came walking into view outside the fence. Knights? I thought, quickly moving back into the shadow of the trees. They wore gleaming silver breastplates over midnight blue tunics, carrying long spears in their left hands.
But it was the massive, dragonfly-like wings on their backs that caught my attention. I had to do a double-take. One of the men with wings was holding out a crystal. It gave a sharp, loud ping noise every few seconds. And that's when I realized the man was pointing it in my direction. He seemed to be looking straight at me, but when a small bleat filled the air my stomach dropped. Penny. She was still in front of the trees, bumping her head on the fence over and over in an attempt to get out.
“Hold,” the man commanded. His voice vibrated my entire being. My feet were tingling. The three behind him went still. He was eyeing Penny with peaked curiosity. “How did this lamb get behind the fence?” He asked, voice carrying far. The three others didn’t respond to him, maybe he was their superior? …of course he was. They followed his orders. “Get it out,” He ordered the others. They all snapped to attention, moving quickly to the fence. A shorter knight clasped a small gem in his gloved hand, moving it in a way that looked ritual. The fence shimmered for a moment before a hole melted into the fence big enough that another could grab Penny. I began to panic. This might be my only way out of the forest, but I didn’t want to get into trouble for being here.
I didn’t even know where ‘here’ was! Penny bleated out loudly and dashed away–straight to my hiding spot. The knight cursed under his breath, moving through the fence and heading over to the treeline. Penny knocked into my legs, bleating with her whole soul as if to say “don’t let them take me!” My wide eyes move from Penny to the knight approaching ever so quickly.
I took a step backward, intending on moving farther back into the forest once more, but Penny had other plans. She bleated loud, moving behind me and ramming her tiny head into my legs so hard that they buckled and I fell forwards. I felt and heard a loud clash, my body falling along with metal. The man I had fallen onto grunted in surprise, and Penny just bleated from the bushes.
“What-” I finch at the voice, wearily looking up at the knight. His eyes were wide in shock. My gaze moved to those still behind the fence, and their expressions matched his. For a second, no one moved. Up close, I realized his eyes weren’t just weird–they were a solid, glowing amber color. No pupils. No whites. Just pure amber. Also, his pointed ears were twitching. Wait, pointed–. I scrambled backward on my hands and knees, my heart attempting to jump out of my throat.
“I’m so, so sorry,” I babbled, hands raised in the universal gesture of please don’t impale me. “I was just trying to catch her, then I fell through that thing and everything is–” The knight didn’t answer. He didn’t even pick up his spear. He just stared at me. Then at my shoulders?
“Wingless,” He whispered, his voice dropping into a shocked whisper. His voice wasn't as strong as their captains. The other knights held their spears tighter, their dragonfly wings fluttering wildly.
“And where are his appendages?” another whispered. “Is he…disabled?” The leader rolled his eyes, though his amber gaze never left my face.
“Don’t be brainless, Kaelen. Look at the garments. He has a lack of essence. It’s a human.”
Wow. Rude, I thought. I looked down at my dirty mud-stained grey shirt, then at my completely average, entirely featherless and wingless shoulders. Then I looked at Penny, who had casually strolled out of the bushes and was now sniffing the lead knight’s fallen spear like it was food.
“An interloper?” the short one muttered, tapping the ritual gem in his hand like it was glitching. “The portal shouldn’t be open for another fifty years! How is he here?” The guard I’d run into stood up, brushing dirt off his midnight blue tunic. He looked down at me (dam he’s tall), his amber eyes burning with a mix of confusion and suspicion. He raised his hand, pointing a heavy, gloved finger right between my eyes.
“By order of the Lumina Vanguard, you are to accompany us to the capital,” he declared, though he sounded more bewildered than threatening. Two of the knights had come through the fence and were hoisting me up by my armpits. Now that I was standing, each held onto one of my arms. Tightly. Had I broken a law? Was I trespassing? Probably. But I definitely hadn’t meant to. Penny bleated at my ankles. “And take the lamb, too.” The lead guard said.
If I got out of this, Penny was being traded for a hamster.