Volume 3 Chapter 14 Abandoned Cabin

Chapter 14 Abandoned Cabin

I

The four were resting inside the Cabin.

Outside of the windows, the rain was still pouring down, and the ethereal sounds of raindrops were as beautiful as the song of angels.

On the surface of the window glass, raindrops kept streaming down, and the window was blurry because of mist.

There was a hearth fireplace in this cabin, and there were still some coals that could burn inside it. Yanni lit the fireplace. Fire began to burn, the dark room was illuminated.

This abandoned house was pretty old, and there were spiderwebs everywhere.

Fortunately, the beds were comfortable and relatively clean. Anyhow, sleeping on beds was much better than sleeping in the barren grassland of the wilderness.

All the four were totally wet because of the rain. Before the rain, Floria, Yanni and Stasha had swam across the strait between two continents, so they three had been wet for more than ten hours.

Luckily, they had Aisling with them right now.

“Aisling, can you cast the drying magic over us?” begged Stasha.

“Yes, I can. My mana had resumed slightly. Cover your mouth and nose with your hand now please,” Aisling nodded.

She summoned a mist composed of active charcoal. This mist of desiccants wrapped Floria, Yanni and Stasha as well as herself, drying the water that wet them.

“Dry clothes are comfortable,” commented Stasha.

The hearth fire was warm and cozy on their skin. Though outside of house was a world of grey mist, they still felt safe and comfortable.

“When is it now?” queried Yanni

“It’s afternoon right now, though it is no different with night, since the sunlight has been blocked by the rainclouds,” answered Stasha.

“Let’s go to sleep now … It’s satirical. I am the princess of Lower Desertia, but now I have to live in a shabby house,” urged Stasha, yawning in sleepiness.

They hadn’t slept for more than thirty hours, because they spent the last night fighting with Hoemuo, Cheius and Fungruus. Anyway, though it was tired, it was worth the time and the fatigue since both Hoemuo and Cheius had been defeated.

After checking the whole house, they found out that there was only one bedroom. Luckily, the bed was big enough to accommodate four people.

Upon going to bed, Yanni heard his stomach rumbling in Hunger.

“I’m Hungry, Floria,” muttered Yanni.

“We have no food right now,” revealed Floria.

“Your life seems to be tragic without me,” joked Aisling.

“Yeah. It’s really hard to store food without your Pocket Dimension,” consented Yanni.

“Indeed. Anyway, I’ll hunt some rabbits or other animals tomorrow morning,” proposed Floria.

Outside the cabin, the rain was still pouring down. The ethereal sounds of raindrops were really hypnotizing, as if they were from another world.

This rain reminded Floria and Yanni of the day they and Aisling knew each other. They were lost in the Dream Forest and chased by a giant spider. Aisling saved them, and then there was a rainstorm.

They were sleeping in the room that used to belong to Aisling’s parents, listening to the dreamlike sounds of the rain.

“Aisling,” called Yanni gently, half asleep, half awake.

“What’s up?” asked Aisling.

“Are you really going to sacrifice yourself to bring the Rain of Regrowth to this world?” breathed Yanni.

“It’s my fate, Yanni. It’s the only way to stop Trigon and save the earth,” answered Aisling without hesitation.

“Is the world of humans worth saving?” pursued Yanni, half in his dream.

“It’s worth saving, Yanni …” whispered Aisling.

II

Midnight.

Yanni woke up. He found that Aisling was not on the bed.

Quietly, he got out of the bed and went outside of the cabin. The rain had stopped but the world outside was still wrapped by a barely detectable layer of grey mist.

Aisling was standing alone beside the cabin, her hair dancing in the nocturne wind. She was looking at the bright crescent moon on the sky, the light of which sprayed on her azure hair as well as her sapphire stone given by Yanni. She was zoning out, bathed in the moonlight.

Right now, the whole world was quiet, with only the sounds of some humming cicadas. After the rain, the sky had become clear without clouds. Some fireflies were flying in the air, the sparkles of which were decorating the starless sky of this lonely night.

“Aisling,” called Yanni quietly.

Aisling looked back at him emotionlessly.

“Yanni …” she breathed.

“What are you doing here?” asked Yanni with concern.

“I’m thinking about things … I’m afraid of tomorrow,” answered Aisling.

“I know. Maybe you don’t have to sacrifice yourself. There must be another way,” guessed Yanni.

“No, there is not. I am not omnipotent, Yanni. Magic is not something beyond the rule of physics. It has rules too. No sacrifice, no purification,” sighed Aisling.

Yanni didn’t say anything but looked up to the sky as well. The crescent moon was shining on the sky. The moonlight was as white as the snow in the winter …

“We elves always think that life is like the eternity. We grow up, live, breed and have our young in the forest. Everything is slow and time seems to have been frozen in the land of us elves. We can live for centuries and in our worldview, many things are meaningless, especially time, age, heaven, soul and hell … But now, I can feel the fear for the time, because the end of life is standing in front of me,” said Aisling, her expression as cold as ice.

Yanni put her hand on Aisling’s shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid, Aisling, we’re with you,” Yanni reassured her.

“I can feel the souls of the high elves that once lived inside Cuore Celeste. They have all sacrificed to guide me to the Sanctum of Life. I cannot fail them. Trigon must be neutralized, and the Rain of Regrowth is the only way. After that, the earth will be pure once again,” whispered Aisling.

“I know,” Yanni hugged her tight.

They could feel the breath of each other. Aisling buried her face into Yanni’s arm. It was warm and comfortable.

“ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᛚᛌᚴᛆᚱ ᛑᛁᚵ,” whispered Aisling.

“It’s Elvish, right? What does that mean?” queried Yanni, smiling.

“You guess,” tittered Aisling.

Bathed in the pure lights from the night sky, the lips of Aisling and Yanni touched.

Crystal-like flickering tears were streaming down from the eyes of Aisling all the way down her cheeks. They dripped down to the purplish grasses on the ground, as if they were dews of the morning.

Time seemed to have stop around them, and this seemed to be a moment of eternity, as if everything else in this world had no meanings. The only thing that did not belong to the nothingness was each other.

They could see the images of themselves in the eyes of each other. Nature, civilization, justice, evil, the destiny of the world … Nothing was really important to them. The only faith for them was the accompany of each other.

“ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᛚᛌᚴᛆᚱ ᛑᛁᚵ ᚮᛍᚴᛌᛆᛆ,” whispered Yanni tenderly.

Some remaining rainwater was dropping down from the leaves of a tree above the two …

III

Floria and Stasha woke up too. Their stomachs were rumbling because of hunger.

“What time is it now?” queried Stasha.

“It’s the wee hours now. We have slept for more than ten hours. By the way, where is Aisling and Yanni,” replied Floria.

“I don’t know. Maybe they are … uh, like kissing or … somewhere,” guessed Stasha, chuckling.

“That’s gross …” muttered Floria.

“Yanni may love Aisling more than you … You must be jealous,” tittered Stasha.

“Shut up, Stasha!” complaint Floria, putting her hand over Stasha’s mouth.

Stasha struggled in an attempt to pull Floria’s palm of her face.

“Wow, you’re strong! ” commented Stasha. She kicked on Floria’s belly playfully.

“You’ve gone too far, Stasha. You’re a princess, and you shall have been more elegant …” groaned Floria.

With force, Floria put all her weight on Stasha’s body and entangled her arm with her body.

“Fine, stop, you win, Floria,” giggled Stasha.

She was panting on the bed.

“Surprise attack!” shouted Stasha suddenly, and she punched on the breast of Floria as fast as a flash of lightning.

Flushing, Floria punched back. After fighting playfully on the bed for a while, both of them lied on the back, panting in fatigue.

Floria looked at Stasha affectionately. Bathing in the moonlight that sneaked through the window, she was beautiful. Floria took a deep breath. She really wanted to kiss Stasha right now … This desire was somehow irresistible.

“This room is stuffy. Do you want to take a walk? I’m really curious what Yanni and Aisling are doing right now,” proposed Floria, trying to divert her attention from her sexual desire to something else.

“Good idea. Let’s go, or my curiosity will kill me,” consented Stasha.

“I really wish that there were another way to beat Trigon without letting Aisling sacrifice herself,” sighed Floria.

“Maybe it’s the best ending for Aisling. She has become too much like a human. That’s her destiny. If she doesn’t sacrifice, her future will be even more painful, because all her friends are going to get old and leave her one by one while she will always be young … Solitude is more horrible than death … You know … Perhaps what I say is cruel … But …” muttered Stasha.

“You’re right, Stasha,” agreed Floria, lowering her head.

The two got out of the bed and walked outside of the cabin.

Yanni and Aisling were sleeping on the barren grassland. Aisling was hugging Yanni tightly. Both of them had fallen asleep.

“They’re so lovely,” tittered Floria.

“Yeah, won’t they two be cold sleeping there?” asked Stasha with concern.

“For sure they will. Let’s build a campfire for them,” advised Floria.

Floria and Stasha built a campfire beside Aisling and Yanni. It was warm, and the sounds of campfire reminded the two of roasted beef.

“I’m Hungry, Floria,” Stasha looked at Floria, stroking her stomach.

“So am I. I’ll Hunt some rabbits and make a breakfast,” responded Floria.

“Breakfast? It’s still in the wee hours!” giggled Stasha.

“Then take it as a midnight snack,” Floria smiled.

Floria and Stasha went to hunt rabbits. Floria was a good huntress and she had gotten three rabbits within twenty hours. When she was about to carry on, she heard something, seemingly some sounds of steps.

“What’s that sound?” questioned Floria.

“I don’t know. Is that Fungruus?” Stasha shrugged.

“Anyhow, we’re not afraid of him now. We’ve gotten Aisling in peak form,” whispered Floria confidently.

“Yeah. Since that, let’s check out who the owners of those footsteps are,” proposed Stasha.

They went closer to the source of the sounds of steps and a main road came to their sights. Many people were passing by on that road. There were also wagons running along the way.

“What a broad road!” murmured Floria.

“I think I’ve gotten an easier way to get foods than hunting rabbits,” revealed Stasha mysteriously.

“How?” asked Floria in confusion.

Stasha walked to the centre of the road.

“Hey, Stasha, what are you doing?” inquired Floria, waving hands at her.

A cargo wagon was moving on the road, but its way was blocked by Stasha.

Stasha off the reins that bound the horse with her daggers and the horse ran away happily. The owner of the wagon was frightened. He jumped out of the wagon and ran away too.

“What a crazy girl,” sighed Floria.

Humming happily, Stasha walked towards the car that she just looted.

“Wow! Floria! Check this out! This cargo wagon ships foods!” exclaimed Stasha in unstoppable excitement.

“Bravo!” exclaimed Floria.

IV

When Stasha and Floria arrived back at the campfire, Aisling and Yanni were already awake. They were both zoning out and staring at the campfire, their minds deep in thought.

Floria and Stasha sat across from them. They had taken back three boxes of foods that Floria robbed from that cargo wagon.

“Aisling, could you store those foods in the Pocket Dimension?” asked Floria.

“For sure,” Aisling held out her hand and a translucent green whirlpool-like portal appeared above the campfire. Carefully, the four put most of the foods inside the portal, except a small bag of raw beef.

“So you two like sleeping in the wilderness more than sleeping on the bed?” chuckled Floria.

“That bed sucks. Four people on one bed is a nightmare,” complaint Aisling, forcing a smile.

“Indeed … Anyway, let’s eat some roasted beef. I guess that you’re all hungry,” proposed Floria.

“That’s great,” Aisling smiled slightly.

Floria began to roast that bag of raw beef, while Aisling were summoning some magical condiment to make the roasted beef more delicious.

After five minutes, the roasted beef was ready.

Though the four didn’t have a clock right now, they guessed that it was nearly 4:00 P.M. right now.

The moon was going to set down in the western sky and the sun was about to rise. The grey mist that once wrapped the world had already dissipated and now the world was clear.

From the west, the moon was casting long slim shadows of everything and all things looked harmoniously and beautiful right now. There were a few stars in the firmament. They were shining weakly through the clear sky.

“You’re brave, Aisling. If I were you, I think I may not be selfless and brave enough to sacrifice myself for the world. I may tell myself that the world isn’t worth saving, though it’s a lie,” breathed Floria.

“Do you think the world is worth saving?” asked Aisling.

“The world itself isn’t worth saving, but in this world lives at lot of people that we care for, that we love,” answered Floria.

“I always wondered what the world was like in humans’ eyes, and now I know. When my life is short and when I know that I need to cherish everything I have right now because I may leave this world one day soon, I will see the world in a different way. You’re right, this world is worth cherishing and saving,” consented Aisling.

Slowly, the sun was rising up from under the eastern horizon. The dawn was coming. The era of elves and magic as well as Trigon will end soon. A new era of humanity will come. In the new era, there will be stars in the night sky once again, and after the Rain of Regrowth, the balance of this earth will be restored.

The four can feel the sunlight which was shining warmly on their skin. The campfire had burnt out and became ashes, and they didn’t need it anymore, because the sun was rising.

“Where shall we go right now? Fungruus has taken away Cuore Celeste but we don’t know where his base of operation is,” queried Yanni.

“It’s easy. We four can stand on the centre of the main road, stop every passers-by and force them to tell us where Fungruus’ palace is,” replied Floria.

“I don’t think that there are many Reauneians that can speak Normanish,” argued Yanni.

“Since that, I’ll try both Normanish and Desertish. I don’t think that it will be difficult to find a bilingual person,” proposed Stasha.