Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chaykeely Book Three ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

☼ Chaykeely ☼

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☼ Book Three ☼

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☼ Chapter One ☼

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© 2008 Ohne Sie

 

 

 

 

A young girl ran through the forest, her light purple hair seeming desperately to try to keep up with her. The girl realized that she was running out of energy and would soon have to rest, but she could not risk allowing her pursuers to catch her. Spying a blueberry bush sitting beside a tall tree, the girl ran, curling into a ball as she hid inside it. Her ears perked up when she heard a rustling sound and she crouched down even further, convincing herself that the smaller she became, the harder it would be for the person following her to find her.

 

It seemed to work. Footsteps approached the bush and then walked away. Apparently the person had not spotted her. She took a deep breath and started to climb out, when she heard more rustling coming from behind her. She froze, holding her breath as the rustling came closer…and closer…and closer.

 

“Boo,” came a voice from behind her. Rhoswen screamed and jumped into the air…or as close to the air as she could jump, being trapped in a bush. She hit her head on a branch.

 

“Ow,” she mumbled. “Don't scare me like that, Nelia,” Rhoswen mumbled, rubbing her head. The other girl smiled sheepishly.

 

“Sorry,” the blonde girl whispered. “Here, let me see.” Rhoswen leaned her head toward Nelia, and the other girl placed her hand on it, closing her eyes. “Better?” she asked, releasing her hand.

 

“Yes. Show-off,” Rhoswen whispered. “Have you seen the boys?” she asked.

 

Nelia shook her head. “No, but I did restock our ammunition.” She handed a small sack to Rhoswen, who gratefully accepted it. “I'm surprised we haven't heard them yet. Well, I'm surprised we haven't heard Neil, anyway.”

 

Rhoswen giggled. It was true that Nelia's twin brother was extremely loud, unlike the other boy, Logan. Logan barely spoke at all, choosing to open his mouth only when necessary. “Maybe you should have been on Neil's team, instead,” Rhoswen suggested. “Logan and I would have found you easily by following the sound of your arguing.”

 

“Yeah, like I'd want to spend more time with that brat.” Nelia rolled her eyes. “Hey, let's climb that tree,” Nelia said, pointing to the tree next to the blueberry bush. “We can probably see better from up there. Plus, then we can launch an aerial attack.” She grinned wickedly. Rhoswen returned the grin.

 

“Good idea. Let's hurry, before the boys get here.” The two girls climbed the tree and perched themselves on a branch, waiting. After a few moments, Rhoswen became impatient, however. “They probably got bored and went back home,” she whispered.

 

Nelia shook her head. “Neil wouldn't give up so easily.”

 

Rhoswen sat up straight and placed a finger to her lips, motioning for Nelia to be silent. Her ears twitched as she heard a faint rustling sound. “Ready,” she whispered, taking an apple from the sack Nelia had given her. Nelia did the same.

 

“Aim…” The two boys slowly came into view. Logan's green hair shone brightly in the moonlight, while Neil's black hair was barely visible at all.

 

The boys drew closer, and when they were only about ten feet away, Rhoswen whispered, “Fire!” The two girls launched a barrage of apples at their unsuspecting targets, forcing the two boys to flee for cover. Rhoswen and Nelia could barely contain their giggles at the site of the vampire and half-pixie fleeing for their lives.

 

But their laughter was easily contained by an apple that hit Nelia in the head. Nelia's eyes widened and she almost fell out of the tree. Rhoswen grabbed her arm. “Neil, stop! Let us get down first!” There was no answer, so Rhoswen took that silence as an agreement. She and Nelia climbed out of the tree and readjusted their apples. “Okay…now we can restart.” As soon as she said that, an apple hit her arm.

 

The battle was over in only a few minutes. In the end, only four apples withstood massive bruising. The children, however, were not so fortunate.

 

“Ow,” Nelia whined, rubbing her head. “Neil, you almost killed me.”

 

“You shouldn't have been in the tree, then,” her brother said, smirking. “That was a dirty trick, by the way.”

 

“Oh, like you wouldn't have done it,” Rhoswen said, rolling her eyes.

 

“You cheated,” Neil said.

 

“No. We used our resources,” Nelia and Rhoswen informed him in unison. They smiled at each other and began to laugh.

 

“Um…guys?” the half-pixie, Logan, asked, interrupting their laughter. “Why were we out here, again?”

 

“To…collect apples…” Rhoswen looked at the busted apples littering the ground around them. “Oops?”

 

“Yeah. Oops.” Neil knelt down and picked up an apple. “This one's not so bad,” he said, holding it up to the moonlight. “It's a little bruised, but…”

 

“We could find more,” Nelia suggested. “Or…” She glanced at the blueberry bush where she and Rhoswen had hidden earlier. “Did they need apples, specifically?”

 

“Eh…we can bring the least damaged apples and a whole lot of blueberries,” Rhoswen suggested.

 

“Well, hold on.” Neil looked at the top of the tree they stood under. “There are a whole lot of apples at the tops of the trees. If someone could get up there…” He looked at Logan, who frowned.

 

“Why are you looking at me?” the boy asked nervously.

 

“Uh, hello? Wings,” Neil replied, pointing to the pair of wings Logan had on his back. “Those are kind of useful for, you know…reaching high places.”

 

Logan shuddered and shook his head. “I'm not flying up there!”

 

“Well, why not?” Neil demanded. “You're the only one who can! And we need those apples…”

 

“Leave him alone, Neil,” Nelia said, narrowing her eyes. “You know Logan's afraid of heights.”

 

“Yeah,” Rhoswen agreed. “We can just take these four apples and some blueberries. Our parents won't mind.”

 

Neil sighed. “Fine. If you won't get them, I will. What a waste of perfectly good wings, though,” he grumbled, beginning to climb the tree.

 

“Neil! Get down here!” Rhoswen cried, reaching for his foot, which was already higher than she could reach.

 

“Neil! If you die, Mom's going to be really mad at me!” Nelia shouted. “I'm not responsible if something happens to you!” She stomped her feet angrily. “Neil, get down here this instant!”

 

“No!” came the response from halfway up the tree. “You'll have to come after me if you want me to come down!”

 

Nelia looked around frantically. “What can we do?” she asked Rhoswen, clearly worried.

 

Rhoswen was also worried. “I don't know…” She scratched her ear, a nervous habit she had picked up from her father, a werecat by the name of Keiran. “What if he falls?” she whispered so that Nelia couldn't hear.

 

Logan had remained silent all this time, frozen in fear. If he falls…will I be able to catch him? Logan wasn't sure. He was so terrified of heights, a fact that made his mother somewhat ashamed of him at times. Even as an infant, he became terrified when she took him flying. He had learned how to fly only to please his mother, but he never wanted to do it again. And now…his best friend was doing what Logan could not, and Neil couldn't even fly!

 

A moment later ten apples landed at Logan's feet. The terrified boy cautiously picked them up and placed them in the sacks. Neil was back on the ground a few minutes later, safe and sound.

 

“That was fun,” he announced, grinning widely. “You guys don't know what you were missing.” He took his sack of apples from Logan and proceeded to walk home. “Come on, guys,” he said, whistling to himself as he walked off. He was followed by three dumbstruck friends, all silently cursing him for his stupidity, while at the same time marveling at his courage.

 

The four children reached the castle in which they lived, each carrying a sack of apples. They placed the apples on the table in the dining room, where their parents were waiting.

 

“It's after midnight,” the vampire, Nelia's and Neil's father, informed them. “Why are you back so late?”

 

“We…uh…” Neil looked at Nelia for help. His sister sighed.

 

“Well, Dad, Neil got us lost. We found the apples right away, but then he insisted on leading us home, claiming that his eyes were much better suited for the dark than ours were.”

 

“So he took us in circles, insisting that he knew where we were going, before we finally let Rhoswen take over, since her eyes are obviously better than Neil's.”

 

Rhoswen nodded. “One of the benefits of having a werecat for a father and an elf for a mother.”

 

“So we finally got home, and here we are,” Nelia finished. “So it was all Neil's fault.”

 

“No! It was your fault! It was your idea to have an apple fight in the forest!” Neil protested. The other three cringed.

 

“Idiot,” Rhoswen and Logan mumbled. Nelia just shook her head.

 

“Apple fight?” Logan's mother asked. Aisling did not look at all pleased. “Let me guess. You wasted all the apples by throwing them at each other, and then you realized that you needed some more. So you took three hours finding replacements.”

 

“Actually, finding replacements only took a few minutes,” Neil replied, grinning. “I found them.”

 

His mother raised an eyebrow. “And where, pray tell, did you find these apples?” Brighid asked, picking one up and inspecting it.

 

“In a tree,” he replied simply. Rhoswen gestured toward Nelia and Logan to sneak away, so that they would avoid getting into trouble. Both her mother and Logan's father stopped them, however.

 

“What are we not being told, young lady?” Arietta asked Rhoswen, her arms crossed.

 

“Logan?” Kael asked, kneeling beside his son. “Where did Neil find the apples?”

 

Nelia's eyes widened. Rhoswen shook her head. “They were in a tree, Mom!” she insisted.

 

Logan looked at the ground, avoiding his father's gaze. “They're telling the truth,” he mumbled. “They were in a tree.”

 

“Yeah. Apples come from trees,” Neil said. “Where else would I get them? It's not like I could steal them. We're the only ones in Chaykeely, and we don't know the key to leave.”

 

“You climbed a tree, didn't you?” Nevan asked Neil quietly. Brighid gasped.

 

“Yes,” Neil replied simply. He and Aisling both shrugged.

 

“What's the big deal?” Aisling asked. “If he fell, Logan could have caught him.” She looked over at her son, who was still with Kael. Logan's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.

 

“No! I…I froze! I wouldn't have been able…” He trailed off, tears forming in his eyes. I would have let him die…

 

Nelia walked over and hugged him. “It's okay, it was wrong for Neil to put you in that situation, and I know that you really would have saved him.” Logan shook his head again, but he was saved from having to speak when Keiran cleared his throat.

 

“I think a punishment is in order,” he suggested. The four children winced, while the adults nodded in agreement.

 

“What do you suggest?” Nevan asked.

 

“Given that their orders were to go into the forest and bring back apples, and that at no time did we say that they could fight with those apples…” He grinned. “What do the rest of you think?”

 

“Apple fight!” they shouted, diving for the apples the children had brought. They began pelting each other with the apples, while Rhoswen, Neil, Nelia, and Logan looked on in bewilderment.

 

“What's going on?” Logan asked.

 

Nelia shrugged. “Who knows? Our parents are weird.”

 

“Let's just go to bed,” Rhoswen suggested, shaking her head as she turned and walked away. The others followed, leaving behind a huge mess.

 

 

 

 

☼

 

 

 

Rhoswen was up early the next morning. She dressed quickly and ran downstairs as quietly as she could, so that she would not wake anyone. She silently slipped out the castle door and ran down the dirt path leading to the several dozen cottages her parents, as well as her friends' parents, had built over the past seventeen years. The sun was just rising, and she could see a figure standing on the path up ahead, in front of the only house currently inhabited by anyone. Rhoswen ran toward the figure, her feet making no sound as she ran and jumped in front of him. “Uncle Calder!” she shouted, beaming at the surprised man.

 

“Uh…Rhoswen,” he replied, recovering from the initial shock. “What are you doing here so early?” He was not used to anyone else being awake at that time. Dawn was Calder's time to think and reflect on his past.

 

“I wanted to see you,” she replied, grinning. “What do you do out here in the mornings? I saw you out here a few days ago when I looked out my window, and then yesterday I saw you again, so I thought I'd meet you today.”

 

Calder was surprised. He had tried to keep his morning routine a secret from almost everyone, even Keelty, the witch with whom he lived. Rhoswen still had no idea what he did every morning, but she was asking. Calder had no idea how to answer her question.

 

“I just go for a walk,” he replied simply. “Through the forest, sometimes to the gateway—“ He stopped when he saw the excited look in Rhoswen's eyes. “Um…”

 

“The gateway!” Rhoswen's ears shot straight up, departing from their usual place on the sides of her head. “Mom and Dad never let me go there! Can I go with you?”

 

“No,” Calder replied quickly. Rhoswen pouted.

 

“Please, Uncle Calder? I don't know the key or anything, so I can't get into any trouble. And the animals all know me, so they won't hurt me. And even if they did, you could protect me, right?” She smiled. “Unless there's another reason you don't want me to go. Uncle Calder, are you doing something bad out here?”

 

“Bad?” Calder shook his head. “I just don't want your parents to get angry with you or me.” He sighed. “Rhoswen, go back to the castle, alright? Or go inside my house and talk to Keelty, I guess.”

 

“But…can't I just go for a walk with you?” Rhoswen asked, pouting.

 

“As much as I appreciate your willingness to spend time with me, Rhoswen, I really like having this time to myself to think about things. We can go for a walk later, if you want.” He winced, noting the disappointed look Rhoswen gave him.

 

“I guess,” she replied sadly. “I'll go talk to Aunt Keelty. Sorry to bother you.” She shuffled away into Calder's cottage. He waited until he was sure that she had entered the house before he started his walk.

 

The birds chirped wildly in the forest where Calder walked. He did not understand them, but he knew that they were sending him a greeting. “Good morning,” he said, looking up at a bird that had been following him by hopping from tree branch to tree branch. The bird chirped back and flew down to land on his shoulder. Calder smiled and stroked its feathers with one finger. “You're awfully friendly, aren't you?” The bird remained on his shoulder as he approached a calm lake surrounded by willow trees. “Ah, finally,” Calder announced. He knelt on the ground next to the lake and the bird flew off into one of the trees, watching curiously as Calder drew a circle in the ground where he stood. Then he closed his eyes. The water in the lake rippled, slowly at first, and eventually forming small waves. It formed a dry walkway, which Calder gladly crossed, until he stood directly in the center of the lake, with water on either side of him. He attempted to take another step forward, but something blocked him. He smiled. “Here we are,” he mumbled. “Ginel hima tosher.” The lake, and trees, in front of him vanished to reveal a paved road and many houses along it. Calder frowned. “When did this happen? I came here only a month ago…” He jumped back a step as a large object seemed to come out of him, moving along the road away from him. “What is that?” he asked himself, before declaring, “Yora hila tosher!” The lake and the trees reappeared and the image before him vanished. Behind him, the bird cocked its head to the side. Troubled, Calder ran the way he had come out of the lake, allowing the water to fall back into place. The bird followed quickly after him.

 

 

 

☼

 

 

 

“Aunt Keelty, where does Uncle Calder go in the mornings?” Rhoswen asked, taking a sip of the tea the witch had made for her. Keelty sat across from her, looking mildly surprised.

 

“I imagine he goes for walks, Rhoswen,” she replied. She looked out the window, as if she spotted something in the distance. “You know, he's had a horrible life, and—“

 

“I know,” Rhoswen said suddenly. Keelty looked back at her in surprise. “I am not insensitive to your, his, my parents', or anyone else's plights, but no one else goes for a walk at the same time every day. He's up to something.”

 

Keelty shook her head. “We all have our quirks, Rhoswen. Calder did some terrible things. So did I. He's had a harder time forgiving himself for what he has done. I suspect that, whatever he's doing, it's to make amends with everyone and everything he feels that he has wronged.”

 

“I…guess that makes sense,” Rhoswen said doubtfully. She was about to say something else, when her father burst in the door.

 

“Keelty! We need to see you in the castle, now!” His eyes drifted to where Rhoswen was seated, looking surprised. “Rhoswen…your friends are playing in one of the vacant cottages down the street,” he said. “Go join them.”

 

“You always tell me not to play in—“

 

“Please, just go,” Keiran begged. Rhoswen detected a sense of urgency in his voice, making her nervous and even more suspicious, but she dutifully obeyed, leaving the house and running to find her friends.

 

“What is this about, Keiran?” Keelty asked as they ran toward the castle.

 

“I'll explain inside.” Arietta, Aisling, Kael, Brighid, Nevan, and Calder sat at the dining room table. Everyone but Calder looked just as confused as Keelty felt. They all looked expectantly at Keiran, who sat down, catching his breath.

 

“For the past sixteen years,” he began, “Calder has been checking on the state of the outside world…the mortal realm.” A few of the others raised their eyebrows, but all remained silent as Keiran continued. “Nothing had changed. Today, Calder informs me, a month since he last checked, everything has changed.”

 

All eyes shifted to Calder, who nodded. “It's true. There is a road leading directly out of Chaykeely. I don't mean to say that it is in Chaykeely; rather, it apparently goes through the empty space that is Chaykeely. Anyway, there are many houses where none were a month ago. There are strange objects…not animals. They are shiny and very big. They move on four large wheels. And they're fast. They move on the road, which is not made of dirt, but something black…”

 

“Not to be rude,” Aisling interrupted, “But why does this matter to us?”

 

“For one, there are no trees in that area. For another, we believe that, well…time is changing. One year in Chaykeely was once equal to ten in the mortal realm.” Keiran paused, allowing the others to acknowledge that fact. “And now, it seems, time is moving much more quickly out there. How could an entire forest be transformed into a moderately sized village in just ten months? Obviously, time is progressing much more swiftly out there.”

 

The table was silent. Arietta, who had been resting her head in her hands until now, suddenly jerked upright. “The trees are missing?” she asked, apparently just realizing the implications of that statement.

 

“They've all been chopped down, I imagine,” Calder replied. Arietta looked troubled.

 

“But…the animals…”

 

Calder shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe they migrated. I haven't seen any additional animals in Chaykeely…”

 

“That is strange,” Aisling mumbled. “You'd think they would find their way here. They always have in the past…even without the key.”

 

Calder shook his head. “I really don't know. Like I said, there doesn't seem to be much of an increase in the number of animals in our forest. I don't know what this means, really, regarding the mortal realm, but…”

 

“What can we do?” Brighid asked, clutching Nevan's hand. “Meddling in their affairs does not seem to be a good idea…if things have changed that much, perhaps the people have changed, as well. We can't venture out there…”

 

“That's right,” Nevan agreed. “We have no idea what it is like out there anymore. It has been 160 years for them.” He looked at Keiran and Calder and added, “Probably more.”

 

Keelty bit her lip nervously. “Apparently much of their spirituality is gone. Cutting down so many trees…was there really a need for it?”

 

“Probably not,” Kael mumbled. He looked at Keiran. “So, what do we do?”

 

Keiran raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking me? It isn't my decision.”

 

“You're our leader, aren't you?” Kael asked. “You're pretty much our king and all. You make all the decisions. And you sent Calder out to check on the state of things without informing any of us, right? So…you know, I just assumed you already had a plan.”

 

“I don't,” Keiran replied. “It's something we all should decide…”

 

“Arietta,” Aisling said suddenly. The young woman turned toward the speaker.

 

“Hmm?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

 

“There is a way to permanently lock Chaykeely, is there not?”

 

“Ah…” Arietta's face contorted as she considered this option. “There is,” she said slowly. “But…it's not necessarily the greatest idea…”

 

The others leaned in inquisitively. “What does it entail?” Keelty asked.

 

“It has obviously not been attempted before, but it is rather easy,” Arietta explained. “First, a word or phrase is chosen that will not be easily guessed. Then a spell of oblivion—a spell of forgetting—is cast over all who know the key. Then the gate can ideally never be opened again. Of course, the obvious downsides are than anyone outside Chaykeely at the time that the spell is cast can never enter, and all who are within Chaykeely at that time are trapped inside the gates forever.” She sighed. “It is really only recommended as a last resort.”

 

“Isn't that what this is?” Brighid asked softly. “I know, it may seem like we're being overly paranoid, but…”

 

Arietta laughed. “No. It's not being overly paranoid. Remember what happened to Chaykeely 160 years ago. Virtually everyone died because one resident of Chaykeely decided to reveal the key to outsiders who decided to kill everyone.” She looked at Calder and Keelty, who winced.

 

“Sorry,” they mumbled.

 

Arietta shook her head. “My parents, rest their souls, have forgiven you. I know this for a fact. It was not your fault.” She paused. “My point was, though, that we are not being overly paranoid. I just want to make certain that everyone is aware of the dangers of this spell.”

 

“We'll make sure that everyone is within the gates before we use the oblivion spell,” Nevan said.

 

“Is everyone agreed?” Keiran asked. “Are we all absolutely sure that this is the path that we wish to take?” The nodding heads indicated universal agreement. “Then we've decided. In order to protect ourselves from whatever dangers have introduced themselves in the mortal realm, we will cast the spell of oblivion. I suggest that the spell be cast a week from today, in order to prepare.”

 

“What is there to prepare?” Aisling asked. “We should perform the spell now.”

 

“The spell of oblivion requires many days of preparation,” Arietta mused. “There are supplies to be gathered, and the words must be memorized…”

 

“Also,” Keiran added, “We should continue observations for a few days, at least, to see how quickly time is progressing.”

 

“Why does that matter at all?” Aisling demanded. “If we're just going to trap ourselves…”

 

“Shh, Aisling,” Kael whispered. “You can't tell me you're not a bit curious about what is going on out there. This will likely be our last chance to find out.”

 

Aisling agreed reluctantly. “Fine. A week, then. But no more. I don't want to waste time waiting around for someone or something to invade Chaykeely again.”

 

“None of us want that, Aisling,” Calder said. “On a somewhat unrelated topic, are you going to tell your children?” he asked.

 

Keiran, Arietta, Aisling, Kael, Nevan, and Brighid looked at each other. “No,” they said in unison.

 

“Why not?” he asked.

 

“They're our children,” Brighid replied.

 

“They'd find some way to sneak out before we cast the spell and get into some kind of trouble outside,” Kael explained.

 

“Yes, and there's no need for them to know until the spell has been cast. No harm will come to them that way,” Keiran said. The others nodded.

 

 

 

 

 

☼

 

 

 

 

“I can't hear,” Logan mumbled. “What did they just say?” He, like the other children, had his ear pressed against the door of a secret passage in the castle leading to the dining room. Rhoswen has remembered the passageway from when her mother had first shown it to her, years ago. It had never come in handy as much as it did now.

 

“They're going to close off the gate,” Nelia whispered. “They're casting some kind of spell next week that will make them forget the key, or something like that.”

 

“No fair!” Rhoswen squeaked.

 

“Shh!” the others warned her.

 

“Sorry,” she whispered. “But we've never gotten to go out into the mortal realm! And now they're going to close it off for good!”

 

“It's probably for our own good,” Logan whispered. “There must be something dangerous out there.”

 

“Or they're being overly paranoid,” Neil mumbled. “Which they are. Definitely. What could possibly be that bad?”

 

Nelia shrugged. “We can't do anything about it, though. We might as well deal with it.”

 

“But it's so boring here,” Rhoswen whined. “We never get to explore or anything. There are only so many times you can play Apple Fight—“

 

“Or listen to our parents tell stories about their lives—“ Neil rolled his eyes.

 

“Or explore the vacant houses,” Rhoswen finished, “Before it gets tiring. Out there, we'd have a whole new world to explore.”

 

“Yes, but our parents don't think it's safe,” Nelia warned them. “They've always had good judgment before.”

 

“But they've also had enough adventure to fill several lifetimes. We haven't,” Neil said. Rhoswen nodded.

 

“He's right, you know. It's just not fair that they're preventing us from having a good time.”

 

“It doesn't matter,” Logan said decisively. “We can't do anything about it, anyway.”

 

“We could find the key.” Neil grinned. “Then we could see for ourselves what it's like.”

 

“Yes!” Rhoswen nodded emphatically. “I have a plan, and it involves a little something I like to call `mind-reading.'”

 

“Rhoswen, none of us have mind-reading abilities,” Nelia reminded her. “So what good would that do?”

 

Rhoswen smiled devilishly. “Oh, it would do a lot of good.” She walked off, away from the secret door, leaving her friends to wonder what, exactly, the little werecat was up to.