“Do you trust me?” Beru asked as we walked through the woods.

  “I'm in the woods alone with you to go see a witch. What do you think?” I kept one pace ahead of him, unsure if he could read my facial expressions.

  “That doesn't really answer my question.”

  “Let's just do this.”

  “She is somewhere between four large trees. The doorway is in one of the tree trunks.”

  The thought had occurred to me he might have suggested the Light Woman so he’d be able to free everyone in the prison. I shuddered at the thought of Beru betraying me. I pushed it out of my mind and held on to the notion he was on my side. That he wasn't the monster everyone portrayed him as. I repeated it over and over, however I couldn't get over the feeling he might have a different agenda.

  “It’s got to be here.” He moved around some bushes as he looked for the entrance to the witch's house.

  “Do you think she has a spell to keep it hidden?”

  “It's possible. If that’s the case, she knows we're here.” Beru stood straight and looked around the area as if he was about to call out to her. “Isn't this your area of expertise? Don't healers have a way with magic?”

  I did have magic abilities, but my parents made sure I never used them. Again, I hadn’t been trained properly, and it wasn't something I would play around with. “If only we had brought Astor along with us.”

  “Not so sure about that kid.”

  “What do you mean?” I arched my back, uncomfortable with negatively speaking about Astor.

  “He can be reckless. He still has a way to mature, that's all. His intentions are good.” Beru seemed to pull back on his real opinion

  Beru wasn't wrong. But it wasn’t his place to speak that way about Astor. We kept looking after the awkward moment, though it was clear we had no idea where this witch was. I walked to the river’s edge as I remembered a fairy tale my father told me as a child, about an elderly witch who lived along the water. She often sank the boats that passed her home and claimed the occupants as her slaves.

  The water was calm and peaceful. A slight breeze washed over me, and the smell of salt water prickled my nostrils. I closed my eyes as childhood memories came flooding back. The water fights we would have after a long day's work in the field. My brother Danny always found a way to dunk each one of us.

  I held back the tears at the thought of him. It upset me I would never see his loving face again. He would never poke fun at me again.

  “Aria,” I heard Beru call my name.

  I looked to where he had been standing before I made my way to the water. He wasn't there. I walked to the spot where we had started into the woods, thinking he had made his way in that direction. But I couldn't see him anywhere.

  “Beru,” I shouted his name as I spun around. I jogged through the woods, fearful something had happened.

  In one swoop I was flung high up in the air. I had stepped in a trap. A net swallowed me whole, and flung me high above the trees. As I tried to gather my thoughts and understand what had just happened to me, the net began to fall.

  I screamed to anyone that could hear me as I braced for the impact of my fall to the ground. I wiggled, pulled, and pleaded with the net to let me go. As the ground got closer, I closed my eyes and waited for it all to be over.

  With the anticipated impact not happening, I opened my eyes and realized I was under the ground now. With a slight slump, I slowly fell onto the ground inside of a dark hole.

  At first, I didn't move. It took a moment for me to catch my breath, but soon I sat up and looked around as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

  “Hello?” I called out into the pitch black.

  Silence.

  “Is anyone there?”

  I heard something move in the distance but wasn't able to make out what it was. I fixated my eyes on what I thought was the location of the movement. After a while, I could see a shadow move within the shadows.

  “I can see that somebody is there.” I tried to move, still covered in the net.

  The shadow came closer to me, and I began to hear its chains as they scraped along the ground. My heart raced as my mind wondered what I was about to see. Unable to fight, I pulled on the netting and tried to find the opening as the shadow came closer.

  “I'm not here to hurt you,” I said in a shaky voice. I fumbled with the netting as I strained to find any way out.

  The shadow moved nearer, as the sound of its chains grew louder and louder.

  I suddenly found the top of the net and was able to free myself. I jumped out of the net and backed away from the shadow until I hit a wall.

  “Show yourself,” I yelled toward the sounds.

  The noise from the chain stopped. My heart pounded in my ears as I waited for whatever it was to make contact.

  “I'm not going to hurt you.” All the while I hoped it would not hurt me. “Are you alone here?”

  I waited for it to respond. I stepped forward, and the shadow didn't move. I took another few steps toward it, and it backed away from me.

  “It's okay, you can show yourself to me.” I reached my hand forward, perhaps not the brightest move, but I needed to gain its trust.

  The shadow came forward. The rattle of its chains was the only thing that allowed me to know where it was.

  “Follow me,” it said. It was a male, a young male based on his voice. It was low and childlike.

  “Can you tell me your name?”

  The chains moved away from me. I had a split second to decide what I wanted to do: should I follow him or try to climb out of this hole?

  “Aria,” Beru's voice carried through the hole.

  “I'm down here,” I yelled back to him.

  “Stay where you are. I'll find a way down to you.”

  I looked back to where I had last seen the shadow. The sound of his chains had grown silent. I held my frustration in as I waited for Beru to make his way down to me. I'd be safer with him by my side.

  “Hurry,” I called up to him, frustrated that I had to stand still.

  “I'm going as fast as I can. It’s pitch-dark.”

  I tried to get a visual on him. Small branches and debris fell to the ground around me. A small glimmer of light to my right caught my attention. It had been where the shadow had run.

  “Keep coming,” I called up to Beru as I hesitated, every ounce of me wanted to run after the shadow man.

  It wasn't long before Beru had made his way down. He jumped to the ground at what he thought was a safe distance. Instead, he toppled over his ankle.

  “Ow!” Through the shadows I could see him hunched over, as his hands wrapped around his ankle. “I can't stand.”

  “Lucky thing to fall into a cave with a healer,” I joked to ease the tension.

  I felt my way toward him and knelt down as I placed my hands on his sprained ankle. I closed my eyes as I felt his familiar energy and tried not to enjoy his natural smell.

  “It's working.” Beru relaxed as he leaned back and placed his hands on the ground to hold himself up.

  I kept my hands on him as I took his pain away. I felt connected to him in a way I couldn't explain. I pulled my hands away, embarrassed about knowing him that intimately.

  Through the shadows I could see him stand up, unaware if he also felt the connection. “There is a shadow, it was a man. I didn't see him very well, but he’s shackled. I heard his chains.”

  “Can you tell where he went?”

  “Yes, I was just about to go when you called my name. It's this way.” I grabbed his hand instinctively in the dark.

  We explored the tunnel where I had heard the chains as they scraped against the ground and where the little bit of light I had seen was. Beru followed willingly and without question.

  As we got closer to the light source, we were able to see our surroundings. The walls, ground, and ceiling around us were all green like grass, but slightly different. I reached out to touch the blades of grass, and they stuck to my fingers. I pulled away from them and noticed tiny scratches on my fingers. The grass was overgrown and became very difficult to track through.

  There were bugs and animals everywhere we looked. But they were unusual. They were brightly colored and didn't pay any attention to us. I had never seen anywhere like this place.

  “Anything in your healer book about this?”

  “No. This is all new to me. Have you ever seen such animals like these?” I pointed toward a large yellow animal with four horns over its head. It rolled over on its back in a little pool of water and moaned adorably.

  “Nothing like this. Let's keep going.”

  As we walked along, a slight movement caught my eye. I turned to look, and I saw a person as they walked along what appeared to be a path. I reached for Beru to stop.

  “Over there.”

  Beru nodded, and we both headed toward them. As we got closer to the person, they stopped.

  “I was just checking my nets to see if I had caught anything for supper,” an elderly woman said. She kept her back to us as we approached.

  “I was looking for a man who had come this way.”

  “Are you sure about what you saw?” The elderly lady turned our way. Her hair was long, white and unkempt. Her skin was pale with blotches of black. Her chin large and pointy.

  “Well, no. It was very dark.”

  “What is it that you seek?”

  “You're the one we look for. The old witch.” Beru said unafraid of her.

  “I'm not accustomed to taking company. But follow me.” She walked along the path to a large tree. She waved her walking stick, and a door appeared that she opened. “This way.”

  Beru followed her immediately, while I lagged behind. I tried not to show fear in front of Beru.

  Once inside, the witch sat down in the living room. I ducked as I entered. Everything was small and short. The old witch was an elf.

  “My apologies, I'm afraid you won't be comfortable in my home. I do like it that way.” She waved her hand in the air in a circle, and a pot with three cups appeared on her table. “Shall I offer you a drink? It’s fish blood, my favorite afternoon snack,” she smirked at us.

  “I'm good.” I waved to her and took my place on a very small chair in the living room. I squeezed my butt into it the best that I could.

  “I'll have a glass,” Beru stated confidently.

  The old witch poured him a glass and pushed it across the table. She watched him with a smile on her face as he drank the fish blood.

  “You surprise me. So, it is true, you have escaped the great prison.” She poured him another glass.

  “Yes, and we've come to you for help.”

  “What is it that I could do? And why should I help you?”

  “We need to know about the Light Woman.”

  “Now that is a name I have not heard in many years. And not one I could say I wanted to hear.”

  “We need to know where she is, and I think you can help us.” Beru's body became tense.

  “The Light Woman was a High Elf in her time. I wish you luck in finding her, but I'm afraid you're too late. She died over a century ago.” The old witch broke into laughter and slapped her knee.

  Beru and I shared a confused look. Was the witch lying to us? She had just tried to trap me after all. One thing was certain: the search for the Light Woman would change us all.

  We headed to Bruhier to get to the High Elves. If the Light Woman was not alive, perhaps she had a descendant that could help us. The prison key would have been passed down to someone.

  Bruhier was an island continent. They were massively tall islands with flat tops, which met very low-lying clouds. They generally had two main areas, the plateaus and below the veil.

  The island's population was very diverse, a combination of humans, giants, and many other races. We would need to go to the plateaus above the clouds.

  The journey would be difficult and dangerous, as we would encounter many great fighters and survivalists who wouldn’t take kindly to our entering their world. We'd certainly face different shifters and dragons, species none of us had encountered before.

  We traveled by our carriage and managed to make up good time. We had traveled for most of the day and decided to set up camp just before nightfall. Iri was able to catch us an evening meal with one shot of his arrow from the carriage.

  The men worked together to set up the camp while Sade and I gathered wood to cook the meat. My thoughts drifted back to Beru. As time went on and I began to know him better, I observed he put me first—in a protective way. It annoyed me. I was a great warrior. I could easily defend myself, but for some reason, he didn’t trust I could.

  Sade reached over and pushed me with her hand. “How many times do I have to say your name to reach you?”

  “Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind.” I broke out of my daze, and I tried to light the fire by rubbing two sticks together.

  “You were never good at that.” Sade grabbed the sticks from my hand and began working them.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically, knowing she didn't have any patience.

  “What’s on your mind? This journey?”

  “Yes….”

  “What's really on your mind? Or do I even need to ask?” Sade put the sticks aside and blew on the smoke they produced.

  “No, likely not. I just don't know what I think about him anymore. I want to stop thinking about him, and that's hard to do when he's always around.” I sat back on my heels and hugged my knees. I turned my head slightly to catch a glimpse of him.

  Beru and Iri had gathered some logs for us to sleep on. They were adding branches to the top to make it more comfortable.

  “Why don't you just do the dirty and get it over with? Can you stop thinking about him?” Sade laughed, and she threw a tiny branch at me.

  “That's not going to happen.” I smiled and threw the branch back at her.

  “Then talk with him. Get to know him better. But don't expect anything. Eventually, he's going to want to lead his own life.”

  “I know. I wish I could explain this unnatural draw toward him. He's always on my mind.” I glanced over again. He stood there staring back at me. I quickly turned my head back to Sade and worried he had heard us.

  “Go.” she nodded toward him. “Get it over with so the normal Aria can come back.”

  I got up almost on her command, while I had the courage to. I gradually made my way over to him, and Sade called Iri and Astor over to her.

  “Looks like a comfortable bed,” I said awkwardly, not knowing how I should even start this conversation.

  “You looked intense over there. Is everything okay?” Beru sat down and patted the spot next to him.

  I sat down at the end of the bed, farthest away from him. “Just strategizing.”

  “I’ll have to take your word on that.” Beru didn’t look at me. Instead he watched the water.

  “How are you doing? Being outside in your old world again?”

  “Living and breathing.”

  We both sat in quietness, uncertain of what to say to each other. This was the first time we were alone and not in jeopardy. I was awkward and uncomfortable, yet I had so many questions to ask him.

  “I can't stop thinking about them.” Beru broke the silence.

  “I'm sorry you can’t get any closure about them.”

  “I can't stop thinking about what they knew. If they thought I was evil as well.” He looked down to the ground, but he was too slow. I watched as his eyes filled with tears.

  “They knew who you were at your core. You can rest easy with that.” I sat awkwardly, unsure where I should look or where I should place my hands. I struggled with not getting up and leaving him. But being that close to him scared me even more. I couldn't fall for him, no matter what.

  “I don't even know who I am anymore. Being in prison for so long, being forced to do things I never want to speak about. Not seeing the sunlight for over two hundred years. I’m still fighting the darkness as I sit in the sun.” Beru slouched over and placed his head in his hands.

  I slowly got up and sat next to him. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, and the warmth of his body made me tingle. “That's all over now. You're free.”

  “Free? What does that even mean? My mind is not my own. Every time I close my eyes I'm back in that damn prison.” Beru straightened up and shook my arm off him.

  “You have to change how you’re thinking.” I stayed in my place, unsure if he wanted me to be around.

  “I don't know how to think right anymore. There's a darkness in me. I'm fighting to keep it inside.”

  I remained quiet, feeling like I was intruding on his personal thoughts. I stayed back as he walked away, convinced he had spoken more than he wanted to. I stayed on the bed as he joined the rest of the group by the fire.

  I was disturbed by what he had confided in me. It reaffirmed I couldn't trust him. He wasn't aware of who he was now.

  “Are you coming to eat?” Sade yelled at me and waved her arm.

  I got up and walked over to them, and I sat as far away from Beru as possible. I slightly glanced over in his direction, and he didn't budge. His focus was on the fire and his food.

  “There's nothing like fresh meat.” Aster rolled his stick of meat over the fire evenly.

  “Can't you just use some magic and cook all of this up for us?” Iri raised an eyebrow at him.

  “That would be too easy. And you wouldn't have this experience of sitting around the fire with your friends waiting for your meal.” He explained as he tipped his hat.

  “In other words, he has no idea how to do it.” Sade jumped in and poked him in the shoulder with her finger repeatedly.

  “That's quite a way to ruin a good evening.” Astor poked her back.

  “Now, now. No fighting kids.” I joined in on their fun. We all chuckled except for Beru, who wasn't paying attention to us. He stared into the fire lost in thought.

  “What about you Beru? What were your kids like?” Sade looked over to me and winked. As if she had done me a favor asking about his private life.

 

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