Chapter Five Part One

I woke up with a start. Realizing I had fallen asleep last night. The wood and sticks that burned overnight were now a pile of black soot, the torn-up paper I set up beside me turned out to be useless as it seems that I fell asleep last night. I was completely unguarded last night. What would have happened if a bear came in here while I was asleep? But fortunately, nothing happened last night to my relief. I glanced over to the books, and to the candles beside it.

I sat there staring at the candles, wondering at my stupidity for not noticing the candles that were just beside the books that I tore the pages of. If there were candles, there must have been a box of matches somewhere in there. I facepalmed myself for not realizing this sooner.

“You really are stupid as what that old lady said.”

I jumped up on my spot and stood up, fixating my focus on the female voice I heard – her arms crossed with a smirk on her face. I became cautious, ready for a fight even though I didn’t know how to fight, but it was worth a shot trying to bluff the lady standing at the entrance of the cave. She was wearing a brown classic bomber jacket that pilots wear during the 19th century, under the jacket was a white simple shirt with a black skull printed clearly on it, she had this fitted dirty black-colored pants with lace-up fly in the front and a wide worn out black belt on her waist, and her shoes were – doc martens boots? That’s surprising, but I’ve got to admit, she has style.

“Who are you?”, I said in a stern voice, surprising myself for not breaking.

She uncrossed her arms and slipped her hands in her pants pockets, pushing the worn out white sling bag to the back as she slid her hands in her front pockets. Leaning on the side, she took a look around the cave shortly before her eyes landed on mine once again. She shrugged, “Leah.”

My brows furrowed. “Leah…?” Inclining for her last name.

“Just Leah.” She started walking towards me. My guard intensified as she approached me. She chuckled. “Relax fighter, I’m not here to fight. Besides, granny told me to help you.”

Granny? “Who?” I asked, confused, who this granny is. I don’t know any granny at all. I mean aside from Mrs. Hasse, but she couldn’t mean her, right?

Leah gazed at me – she was now crouched down near the books and candles, and the broken glasses. She flipped through the pages and tore one page out. She folded it, which piqued my interest and curiosity as to why she did that and placed it in her jacket’s pockets inside. “The ol’ librarian, you know? You may also know her as Mrs. Hasse?”

So it is her. “Oh. You’re her grandkid?”

“Pft, what? No.” she stood up and fixed the sling bag on her shoulder. “Everyone calls her granny here.” She started walking out towards the cave and stopped midway to glance back at me, nudging her head, “Come on.”

“What?” I asked stupidly.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Do you want my help to survive or do you want to starve out here and freeze to death?”

I took a glimpse outside the cave – the snow still didn’t dissipate and I pondered that as much as I did not want to freeze and starve in this cave, I couldn’t possibly walk in the cold snow barefoot. Much less with a wound on my foot. I looked at her, who was still waiting albeit impatiently. “My feet will freeze.”

She sighed. “Didn’t granny tell you about your powers?”

I shook my head, feeling like a child who’s getting lectured by a parent. She bit her thumb lightly, thinking, then she walked up to me. “Close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Tsk, you ask too many questions. Just close your goddamn eyes. We’re doing magic.”

“Magic?” I said to which she got annoyed. “I don’t have powers, I’m totally normal.” I reasoned, which was true on my account.

She groaned. “Yes, you do have powers, idiot. You’re a damn royalty. What princess, who by the way is the daughter of the two most greatest people who created this world, doesn’t have powers?”

There goes again about my being as a princess and my parents being the greatest people who created this world. “I’m not, okay? I’m totally a normal girl with normal parents who just got tangled up in this mess of a world you have.”

She went quiet, her eyes searching for something in me. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but her face became stern and serious. I did not want to be this princess that they expect me to be or the daughter of someone great. I only wanted to escape from the reality I lived in. I only wanted to have a peace of mind, not some troubled and chaotic things that I need to be thinking about. I don’t want to be someone else that the world depends on. I can’t carry this entire world on my shoulders.

“Alright.” Leah sat down and untied her boots. Pushing it to my feet. “Wear it. You’d freeze your damn feet if you don’t.”

I was about to tell her of her own feet getting frozen when she added, “And don’t complain.”

I shut my mouth and just wore her boots in. It was a nice comfortable feeling to have something warm on my feet. Surprisingly, her boots fit mine perfectly. I looked at her stand up and glanced at her feet – to my shock, she was now wearing black-colored chucks like it magically appeared. Ironically might I add since we are in a world where magic exists.

“You…” I started. But she didn’t seem to care what I was going to say as she continued to walk out of the cave. I followed her on her trail, afraid that I’d lose her if I lost sight of her. I walked up behind her silently, the crunch of the snow under us was all that was heard from the silence around the forest.

Everything was white, including the trees that were once lush yesterday. There were a few small animals that loitered around – a blue bird sat atop the snow-white branch, tilting its tiny head at us in wonder, chirping and flying out. A red fox with a blacked-tipped tail ran on the side, stopping after it hopped and turned its head towards us, his beautiful yellow-golden eyes looking at us in curiosity, his ears twitching left and right, not letting his guard down, his tail straight in anxiety. When he deemed us not a threat, the fox continued to run out the opposite direction – leaving a trail in his tail.

I gazed up at the gray sky, it started to snow.

A single snowflake fell through my face, caressing my cheeks gently. I breathed out a puff of air parting the snow that fell. A smile found its way to my face, spreading my hands slowly, I giggled like a little girl and twirled around the snow-covered ground and skipped as I gaze up, looking at the snow fall down my face. I stood still for a moment, relishing the beauty of the snow as it fell.

What was it that was so great about this place despite the danger it has lurking around the forest or beyond this place? I could hear that muffled thunder from afar once again. I couldn’t pinpoint where it was exactly, but I heard it loudly like a boom in the sky. I took a glance at Leah who now stopped to lean on a tree, looking at me in amazement with her smirk on her face. I felt shy suddenly, my cheeks getting warm. I glanced down at her shoes, not daring to look at her as I walked up towards her.

“Where does that thunder come from?” I asked as I reached her side, looking up once again after hearing the loud muffled thunder.

She looks up at the sky, hearing her sigh, “It’s from the Center.”

“The Center?” Now looking at her at the same time she looks at me. I hadn't noticed until now, but she had the most beautiful emerald-colored eyes.

She nodded and pushed her back against the tree she was leaning on and continued to walk. “Yup. The Center is the center of this world. Its name is self-explanatory itself, Selina.” She pushed away a branch that blocked our way. “You’d be dumb enough to not understand that. But knowing that it’s your first time here, that’s an exemption.”

She looks at me whilst holding the branch. Well at least she was kind enough to do that – but I spoke too soon, of course, when she smirked and let go of the branch leaving me to fall back on my ass. I heard her laugh. “Really funny.”, I said sarcastically.

“Oh that was really funny.”, she sassily replied. I groaned and started to stand up when she offered her hand to me. I look at her not trusting her. She shrugged one shoulder, “What? I’m not gonna bite you.”

I scoffed and slapped her hand away and stood up, not trusting her and her help. She chuckled. “Come on, princess. We still have a long way to go where you want to go.”

I looked at her curiously. “Where I want to go?” I haven’t even told her where I wanted to go. In fact, I wasn’t even sure where to go.

“Yeah,” she glanced at me shortly before facing back in the front. “Where your heart desires.”

“What?”