Secrets Of Philmar

The Stranger

When Gabby awoke a faint light gleamed from the small clearing and she realized it was morning and another day had passed. She had been gone for three weeks and hoped of finding Alea soon.
         After looking at the map Gabby decided she should be hitting the end of the trail and the end of the Rdoni forest by midday.
         With that to encourage her she began walking once again down the barley visible path. As she strolled her mind was in deep thought about the cat. Why do I keep running into it and why did it follow me? But if it was a specter how did it know to turn into that precise cat and why did it have a troubled look when I didn’t follow?
Gabby was bored and wished the cat would come back just for some company and she even didn’t care if it was a specter. But the cat never appeared.
Gabby then thought about Alea and opened the locket were out escaped the sweet lullaby keeping her entertained.
She drank the last of the water from the canteen and hoped of reaching the end of the trail soon. She guessed it was about midday and became worried that she might have gone on the wrong path. So she bravely found a high tree with lots of extended branches and began climbing it hoping that she would be able to see were she was, from the high view. 
Soon her arms began to burn and she felt weak but as she looked up there was only a few feet between her and the top so she kept going. When she reached the top holding on with all her strength she almost fainted as she glimpsed at the breath taking view.
The forest clearing was only yards from where she once stood on the ground. As she took in the view the warm breeze hugged her weak flesh. Excited that the clearing was so close she quickly began climbing down the branches.
As she grabbed on to a slim branch she heard the terrifying sound of twigs breaking and with in seconds the limb broke and Gabby crashed to the ground. 
Gabby lay flat on her stomach, the breath had been knocked out of her, she tried to take a breath but found it almost imposable.
She began to freak out and managed to turn over on her back, were she finally sucked in some air, taking Small breathes at a time.
She lay there on the ground very weak unable to move and felt as if she was on the verge of passing out. Gabby then felt like giving up, and the thought of home came back to her, being in her big comfy bed and eating a feast of fish, chicken, fresh vegetables and sweet honey cake. Then she though of her Dad at home worried sick about her and her sister lost or even unconscious somewhere. Then that same great filling came upon her like the night she collapsed in front of the specter statue, but it appeared even stronger this time.
It was as if a spirit of peace, comfort, strength and love had just erupted in to her body, giving her strength and determination.
So she slowly stood up and began limping down the path and kept going for what seemed like hours.

She finally burst from the clearing smiling happily as she stood in a grassy meadow of beautiful flowers, with the gentle wind carrying the warmth of the sun to her clammy skin. She collapsed in to the soft grass basking in the sun. 
The next thing gabby knew she was waking up still laying in the same place she had been in; she realized she must have fallen asleep for a few minutes, or maybe hours.
The sky didn’t look the same it wasn’t all bright and cheery, everything was dull and huge black clouds covered the sky and kidnapped the sun.
When she stood up she felt a wet rain drop slide down her face. It brought back the horrible memory of the day Alea was swept over board in the storm.
Then she realized there was going to be a bad storm soon and she needed to find a shelter. Up ahead in the distance she saw the cliffs of stacked rocks and the foggy towering mountains, if she could make it there in time she could find a shelter in the rocks for sure.
         She dashed towards the mountains as the sky fell dark and the rain began to pour, she reached an area traced with trees and roots were a wide river was flowing hard and rapids formed over submerged rocks.
Gabby realized she had to get across as cracks of lightning flashed, lighting up the black sky and the thunder echoed loudly behind her.
She followed down the river a short ways hoping for a miracle, when there in a shorter part of the river a huge dead tree was spread out almost touching the other side of the river, but huge branches emerged all around, sticking out of the water from way below.
With out hesitation Gabby ran to where it was and decided to go for it, as lightning struck dangerously close. So she climbed up on to the slippery log and began crawling across it holding on with her arms stretched tightly around it. She had only a few feet to go, were she would be able to jump over to the other side. She threw her bag over and watched it land safely on the other side.
As she began crawling again her knees became wrapped up in her robe and her legs slipped off the edge, with loud yells she managed to grab on to a short stub with her hands and that was the one thing holding her above water. The freezing rushing rapids were pulling at her whole lower body and she strained to keep holding on.
Her arms ached horribly and she slowly let go, the rapids were just too strong.
The rushing water tried to take her away but her robe got caught on a submerged branch slowly pulling her lower and lower into the freezing river. She received one last breath before water rushed over the top of her head. She tried coming up for air but she just couldn’t. She threw her hands up out of the water hoping to grab anything that could save her life, nothing was there, but then before she passed out she felt a hard tug on her arm.
Then slowly her body went weak and everything faded to black.          
         







Gabby awoke spitting up mouthfuls of freezing water and was startled to find herself starring into the face of a handsome young man. He had a round face with a perfectly carved chin. His eyes were the color of bronze treasured coins, as she stared into them she saw great passion and boldness. His soaked auburn hair was scrunched down past his chin still dripping with chilly water. He shyly starred around with his head lowered, then smiled a unique charming smile and whispered concernedly to gabby, “madam, are you okay?”
         Gabby slowly sat up remembering her new worst memory of almost drowning. She found herself in a small cave, probably inside the one of the mountains. Her soaked leather bag was laid neatly next to her. She was shaking terribly from being soaked in the chilly cold.
         “Who are you?” gasped Gabby.
         “Oh pardon my rudeness, I’m Warrien,” he spat out with red cheeks of embarrassment.
         “No no, pardon me, you just saved my life and I’m sitting her spitting out questions, when what I really need to do is say…thank you… by the way I’m…” She hesitated as she pondered, should I tell him my true name? He did just save my life, but I just can’t risk it.
“Sudaria Felondie,” she sadly lied. There was an awkward silence that was soon broken by Gabby’s shivering lips.
“How did you find me? If you don’t mind where did you come from?”
“I’ll tell you but if you don’t mind, we need to get warmed up, your shaking badly from the cold, and I think were trapped in here for the night the storm is still crashing down right out side the entrance. I’ll make a fire”
Warrien began gathering arm full’s of sticks. Gabby stood up dizzily getting the old robe from her bag luckily nothing in the bag was wet. She laid out all her merchandise and hung the dripping bag to dry. When she grabbed the hair clip from the bag she winced with relief and gently placed it in her robe pocket.
In the back of the pitch black cave Gabby changed into her old dry robe and wondered back to the front of the cave were Warrien was.
As she stood up against the wall in the dark, she gasped at what she saw.
Warrien was hunched over a pile of neatly laid out sticks traced with a circle of stones; his hand was hung out over the heap. He starred intensely at the ground as he produced melting flames from his palms, and with in seconds there was a tall dancing fire that lit up the cave and brought quick warmth.
He jumped around nervously when Gabby interrupted him with excitement.
“How did you do that?”
Warrien wasn’t expecting the curiosity and how interested Gabby was in what he did. Any other being would have expected he was the worst and fled.
“Well…its simple magic…anyone can do, with lots of very intense training,” gasped Warrien shyly.
“ I’m not a shade or anything of the such, so don’t worry, you can sleep sound tonight,” Joked Warrien bringing a smile to gabby’s face.
“What all can you do with your magic,” exclaimed Gabby engrossed in the subject.
Warrien’s stomach growled with hunger reminding Gabby how long it had been since she had last eaten. She gestured for him to wait a second; wanting to hear much more but her hunger over took her curiosity.
She ran to the heap of her merchandise were she retrieved the two blueberry muffins and what was left of her old blanket.

When she got back to where the fire was Warrien had made him self-comfortable sitting on a wool blanket. She then noticed he also had a small bag of some sort laid next to him.
He had changed into dry black breeches and a flowy white cavalier shirt that tied down his chest. It reviled his masculine shape and the fire glowed on his tan skin. 
He had hung his dripping clothes next to the fire were Gabby did the same.
Then she sat down close to him gesturing at the muffin and he happily accepted it.
Warrien eyed her blanket and asked bewildered, “what happened to your blanket most of its missing.”
“Oh, I was attacked by a wolf in the Rdoni Forest, he took a good bite out of me, and so I used my blanket for a bandage.
“Wow what were you doing in that bad area? Were did he nip you at?” asked Warrien concerned.
Gabby rolled up her sleeve and unwrapped the cloth and they both starred at the huge cut. It was just beginning to scab and was still soar and open.
“Man, that evil creature sure got you good, you are a really strong person just to wrap that up and go about your will.”
Warrien lifted her arm towards him and very gently slipped his finger down the wound. Then he placed a soft hand cupping the soar area.  His hands began to glow a lightning blue shade.
Where his hand rested Gabby felt a rough tingle, then out from her arm all the throbbing hot pain rushed into his hand. He winced back removing his hand and the swollen bruised slit was gone he brushed his fingers over her new smooth skin only a faded scar remained, but it was an awkward shape like that of a slithering serpent.
Gabby glimpsed down at her arm with amazement and was speech less.
Warrien sat back weakly reaching by his bag where he retrieved a rolled up Ocean blue blanket as he handed it to her he whispered, “here you can have mine, I can tell yours probably wont last very much longer.”
She accepted the gift with great enthusiasm and slowly unrolled it. Still surprised by his healing magic.
On the ocean blue cotton there was a majestic work of embroidery, it resembled the bottom of the ocean with random fish scaled with gold and silvers, but what caught her eyes was a mermaid of fine thread with long bright red flowing hair and the most beautiful tail shimmering with different colors of gems.
As she stared into the embroidery it was as if the ocean was coming to life, the mermaid seemed to float with the flow of the water.
“It’s beautiful, it’s an honor to have such a blanket but where did you get it,” exclaimed gabby?
“Lets just say a really old friend.”

They both fell silent as they chomped on the delicious muffins.
Gabby felt safe for once and the company brought her great happiness.
Soon the muffins were gone and Warrien comfortably sat laid out on his rolled out bed, admiring the fire casting dancing shadows across the cave walls.
Gabby also rested on her old blanket and placed the thick elegant one over her.
  Then interrupted the silence saying, “You never told me were you came from and how you came across me.”
Then she rolled over on her side were she met eyes with him about a foot away.
“Okay then, my full name is Warrien Tyr Sculie, from the far away kingdom of Agias. I had just gotten back from some business in the Oniant Mountains and I was on my way home. I was walking threw these here mountains when it started to storm. So I hide in this cave. When I heard screaming in the distance I thought it was only a whisper in the thunder, but I went out on my gut feeling and I managed to grab your hands before you went unconscious.”
Gabby interrupted with a straight face, “once again, thank you so very much Warrien, for saving my life, you have no idea what all you have saved.”
She wanted to learn more about this intriguing stranger but if she asked more questions that would open up a chance for him to ask more about her and she didn’t feel like telling any more lies, he was not going to find out that she was the future Queen of Philmar thought Gabby tensely.
It seemed like they both were hesitating to tell the truth and they were both hiding very interesting secrets about who they truly were.
“So Sudaria what were you doing all alone in the Rdoni Forest?” 
“All I’m going to say is I have been on a really long journey for some one very important, and loved and very missed.”
Then she spoke again, “it seems like every thing that can go wrong or anything horrible that could happen happens to me… yet I seem to make it threw all the hard trials still alive. When I feel like giving up and just stopping, this strange filling comes over me and gives me strength when I feel like I have no more.”
Warrien replied with deep thought, “it’s obviously just not your time, there’s so much more in store for your life, some bad times but most likely lots of really great times. Have you ever noticed that when you find yourself way down in the pits that’s when you grow the most as a person and find out who you truly are, and that’s where you discover what life’s all about. You just have to have faith and believe it will be okay.”
Then they both fell silent yet when Gabby looked back over at Warrien he stared straight into her as if he was reading everything about her threw her eyes, everything she’d been threw. She couldn’t help but stare back. They were lost in the moment, lost in everything. But then reality and the wariness of the day kicked in as Gabby yawned and it quickly spread to Warrien. 
“I think we need to get some sleep because we both have a long tomorrow ahead of us,” whispered Warrien with blinking drowsy eyes.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Goodnight,” whispered Warrien sweetly.
“Goodnight.” Then they both rolled on their backs and pulled their warm blankets over them and soon enough they were both asleep.