Chapter 4

"We're nearly there. Stop being so dramatic and carry on. We would have been there, if you wouldn't have taken a break every 5 minutes," sighed Keres.

Delmira leaned on the tree and breathed heavily. She shook her head and laid down on the ground.

"If you don't stand up, I'll leave you here," Keres continued.

"Aella, do you see how mean he's being to me?" Delmira whined and stood up. She stood beside me and hugged my arm.

"Stop being a baby."

Keres clearly was annoyed now. I could see a vein popping out of his head. It was clear that he was holding himself back. I patted Delmira's back and made sure, she started to walk again.

"Why are we going to the old man again?" I changed the topic.

"We need to know the purpose of why we're here. We overheard Lilith mentioning him, as she was speaking to someone," Delmira explained.

The leafs crunched under my feet, while we walked through the thick forest. Supposedly, the old man lived right outside this forest. It was very difficult to find the way out, even for the monsters. Delmira had assured me many times that this place is safe.

I stared at the ground while we walked. I still had some doubts about asking some old man about the secrets of this world. I stopped walking and leaned against a tree to catch my breath. The pathway was very difficult to walk on, as it was ver narrow. 

"Not you too," complained Keres.

"Let the poor girl rest! Not everyone can walk fast like you. I mean look at her tiny legs," Delmira pointed at me.

"I know that I'm short, but you didn't have to do me like that," I said disappointed.

Delmira patted me on the head and sat down.

"Do you really know where you're going?," I asked.

"Yes, of course. I'm not like Delmira. I got a map," he said and pulled out the map.

I wanted to ask him where he got the map from but I didn't. Instead I stood up and we started making our way to the old man. I felt relieved when we managed to walk out of the forest and into a village full of humans. Keres managed to identify that these were in fact humans by looking in the eyes of a man, who didn't have a mark.

Children were running around and screaming happily. People were cooking and selling delicious looking food. Oh, how I missed the look of this. No one seemed to notice us. We walked around the village asking people were we could find the old man. But people did not know who we were talking about. After several of hours, we took a break and I sat on a bench. Delmira went somewhere and came back after a few minutes with baked potatoes in her hand. I started to eat the potato. It was still warm and delicious. I wonder were she got it from, as we didn't have any money with us.

A little boy walked to us and grabbed my hand. He pulled my hand and made me follow him. The twins came along with us. We stood in front of a small restaurant. He ran off while we walked inside.

The restaurant was full of people. I smelled something delicious and saw that people were preparing soups and all kinds of other delicacies. My stomach made a loud noise, as my mouth watered. I hope no one heard the grumbling.

"Welcome. I've been waiting for you, three. I can see you guys are pretty hungry, let's talk after we've filled your stomach up with our delicious food," said a very thin voice.

Was he the one we were looking for?

"Who are you are?," I said subconsciously.

"I believe I am, who you are looking for. Now, let's sit down and eat," he answered.

He led us to a table where the waiters started to put our food down. It smelled delicious. Although the food looked unfamiliar, it made my stomach growl very loudly. I was getting excited to eat it.

"Don't worry, this isn't Human meat but actually just some animal that tastes like chicken. I assure you it's safe to eat," the old man said.

Hesitantly, I took a piece of meat. Delmira put a hand on my should and shook her head.

"Well, you know they say that human meat tastes like chicken. So, how can we be sure that it really isn't the flesh of a human?" she questioned.

"Bring it here," shouted the old man.

After a few minutes, a cook came out of the kitchen with an animal that I've never seen before. It looked like a mix between a chicken and a bunny. It had a horns and sharp claws as well.

"It's not that bad. I agree it does taste like a chicken," said Keres as he chewed loudly on the meat. A little too loud. This annoyed Delmira and she proceeded to slap him on his head. This is when Keres face proceeded to land in tomato soup.

Before Keres could do something, we heard a loud roar of laughter. The old man held his chest as he was laughing uncontrollably.

"This reminds me of the time where me and my brother used to argue," he said while wiping a tear from his eyes.

We began to eat quietly. People were having small conversation with one another. The food tasted delicious. I hadn't eaten in so long, so I made sure to fill up.

"Now that you're done, you can ask me for whatever you've come here for. No one will hear us from here," the old man said as he led us to the back room.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"Do you have the crystal with you?" he asked in return.

I put my head in my pocket and grabbed the stone out. Yet again, it was shining brightly. It was truly mesmerising.

"This crystal gave you the ability to come to Kyauven. People from this world are forced to enter yours and send sacrifices so the people in kyauven can be safe. The sacrifices are chosen by these crystals and are given a fair chance to fight back Malleus,," he answered.

"But where did Malleus came from?" Keres questioned.

"The ones with a tainted heart will cause the innocent ones pain. The royal family realised that too late," he responded.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"Let me tell you the story...," he began.

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Here's the 4th chapter! Do you like it? I struggled to write this a little but I finished. I hope to upload the 5th chapter soon, until next time! (⊃^o^)⊃