Dawn the Next Morning

The morning sun beams through my windows, waking me up. Today is the day, to think, it's been seven years. It's been seven years, and I haven't had to leave this manor, until now... Well, there's a first for everything, I guess...

To be honest, I’ve been living a pampered life since coming to this world. My father is a part of this super powerful mage group that gave him status amongst the nobles and royals of this continent. As for my mother, I only know that she was, at least, a noble and, she and all of our maids are from the Demon continent, Jigoku.

She doesn’t talk about her homeland much, come to think of it, none of them do... I can’t think about this now, I’ve got to get my stuff ready to leave! I smack my face a few times to get me focused; I grab bags and make my way downstairs.

The Front Door

Mother waits at the foot of the staircase along with Jade and all my brothers and sisters. Jade has Boudica swaddled on her back and is carrying two large bags; Mother holds Monspeed and Minerva's hands, they all wave at me. The looks on their faces make it pretty clear they want to leave immediately, kids, am I right? I wave back at the twins and Mother as I run down the stairs.

“Are you all packed are ready to go,” Mother asks me with a warm smile on her face.

“I can't wait, Mother!”

My brothers laugh cheerfully, the smiles on their faces bring the adults in the room joy.

Jade, Father’s first subordinate crouches down in front of me and pats my head. “Make sure you tell your father goodbye; you won't be seeing him for about a year,” she instructs.

I agree and put my luggage to the side to make my way through the manor’s ground floor to look for Father. I never realized how large our house was until now...

There’s a split in the hallway and my ear begins to twitch. I can faintly overhear two people talking, what are they saying?

The only thing I could think to do was to follow the direction of the conversation. I know this is a horror trope, but I’m a kid, and I was pretty nosy in my previous life... I peer around the corner and see Father speaking with a young man that looks almost identical to him. Wait, I thought the old man’s only sibling was Uncle Aether, who is this dude? Upon closer inspection, I can see that the young man's eyes are the same color as Father's as well as sporting a similar hairstyle, this is too weird.

I remain steadfast and continue my investigation of this sketchy exchange, making sure I don’t cause any noise. Must be as quiet as a Tanuki...

The two men are continuing their conversation, I lean in closer to try to hear the conversation more clearly, until I feel a hand touch my back, pushing me forward knocking over a vase standing on a pillar. There was a loud crash, and the sound catches Father’s and the stranger’s attention.

“It's clear that you were chosen by Time, use that power wisely,” Father tells the young man. “Now, you have to leave, before it's too late...”

The man nods, turns, and looks in my direction, and even though our eyes lock, I’m unable to make out his face. I do feel connected to the man, in a familiar way.

As soon as I get a good look at the stranger, the man's body begins to crumble and turn into sand. Woah...

Father dusts off the excess sand and approaches me. “Father, who was that man?”

“That was... Uhh... That was one of my many subordinates,” Father states, phishing for a lie.

This man is a terrible liar...

Father crouches forward to meet me at eye level.

“I'm going to tell you a secret, that person you just saw. He's from the future,” he whispers. “And he's on a very special mission that I can't share with you right now, but I'll tell you everything he told me, I promise when the time is right.”

Father sticks out his right pinky finger for a picky promise.

“You better, Old Man! I came to say my goodbyes! I'm going to be gone for over a year!!”

Father rises with a cheerful smile on his face, “That's right! My little ones are definitely growing faster as the days pass by!”

I quickly grab my father's hand and we walk back to the front of the house to meet with Mother, Jade, and the rest of my siblings at the front door.

“If you need anything, please, send a Direct spell and I'll be at your location in an instant,” Father instructs my mother who rolls her eyes.

“Yes, Husband! Geez! I'm just as strong as you are,” she yells.

Father admires Mother dearly and gives her a gentle smile, she responds giving him a mischievous grin.

“Jade, come! We don't have to take this from a MAN!”

Jade snickers and guides all the children outside. My brothers and sister run out of the manor and come to a complete stop at the sight of the carriage. The carriage itself is decorated with flamboyant trimming and is being pulled by two Bicorns.

Bicorns are equine monsters closely related to unicorns. They possess a coat and mane colored like silver armor. Though smaller than horses, they are lean and strong with an energetic aura about them. One characteristic that physically differentiates them from unicorns is that they have two horns instead of one.

Father approaches Mother before she makes her exit and pulls her waist. The two gaze into each other's eyes and share a passionate kiss. “Return to me, my Love,” he whispers into her ear.

Mother looks up and stares at Father with her enormous lunar-eclipse- like eyes, “As you wish, my Love.”

The two embrace one last time before Mother steps into the carriage. We wave goodbye to our father as they take off. Mother sits back and takes a huge sigh of relief, while Jade peaks her head through the carriage door, “A much-needed break, M’Lady?”

Twyla pulls out a fan to cool herself off, “I'm raising seven children, five are my own, and the other two, well...”

The two Demonesses burst into laughter as the rest of us either stare with confused faces or admire the outer landscapes of our quiet little village. Jade flashes a gleeful smile before closing the carriage door. I look out the window to admire the scenery.

This is, beautiful...

My eyes begin to tear at the sight of the approaching forest. Aside from the standard trees and bushes, The LeFey Forest is filled with exotic plant life that can only be found in Shangri-La. The wildlife in the forest can be described as terrifyingly beautiful; deer-like animals with jagged horns and fangs graze the fields and stand majestically in the morning sun.

Elsewhere in the LeFey Forest

The Lizardmen are escorting a group of elven slaves into an underground bunker a few yards from the trail. The leader of the Lizardmen, Rango, watches as his underlings mistreat one the elven slaves.

She trips and falls over, causing the other slaves to come to an abrupt stop. “Quit dragging your feet,” Rango scolds while he lashes her with his whip. The other slaves try to assist the young elf girl, only to receive the same treatment.

Two Lizardmen lieutenants, Naga and Belinda, approach an unhinged Rango. “Naga, Belinda, report,” he hisses.

“Scouts west of the forest entrance spotted a carriage coming from the Western Dragon Empire-” Naga reports.

“The estimated arrival time is approximately thirty minutes. Intel Division reports four Asura younglings and two adults,” Belinda finishes.

“Good... We'll take all of them; should fetch a good price,” Rango states flicking his tongue. “Let's set the trap...”

Both Naga and Belinda salute Rango and set off on their tasks; all the elven slaves stop and stare at Naga with fear and confusion. The Lizardman aggressively grabs the closest female elf and starts to roughly handle her. The elf starts to whine and pull away.

“Quiet! Elf whore,” Naga yells, beating the elf to make an example of her. The other elves cower as Naga strikes their feet with his whip.

The LeFey Forest Entrance

The carriage makes its way towards the entrance of the forest and comes to a halt. She dismounts from the carriage and strokes one of the Bicorns' mane, the Bicorn shivers and huffs. She then gazes past the dense trees of the forest and starting to feel a bit uneasy. She walks around the carriage and knocks on the window and cracks the door open.

“M'Lady, we must proceed with caution,” Jade instructs. “We're being watched...”

Twyla sticks her head outside the carriage; she exhales deeply, and moon-like eyes begins to glow a warm pink color and by using her fan, she begins to scribe her name in the air.

“Infernal Signature: Detect Blood-Lust” Twyla chants.

A wave of green energy pulsates from Twyla reaching twelve yards inside the forest, and the birds in the trees scatter as the energy spreads.

Belinda finishes setting their trap, she perks up and gives Rango a concerned look. Rango nods his head and flares his nostrils. The two lizardmen communicate with multiple nostril flares and tongue flicks. Belinda nods her head and flees towards the dense foliage to hide. Rango double-checks the trap and follows Belinda in the bushes. They wait patiently as the Bicorn-drawn carriage approaches the trap.

End of Chapter Six