Free Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians by Unknown

and how she could find her sister.
The longer she looked at him, the more impossible she realized that would be.
He could see the defeat in Elizabeth’s eyes though she did not relax. “Why,
what could possibly make her do this?” her voice was quiet but rough from so
long a sleep without water or speaking.
    “She
had to go find someone… If she is to-” he took pause to gather his thoughts.
After a moment he sat back and looked at her squarely. “While you slept I
wondered how I would explain this to you. The only way that I really can,
though, is to be honest. To become the Emissary the person must swear not just
their allegiance but offer their eternal life as forfeit. To gain the
Guardian’s true power she has to find the last Dragon and prove her fealty
without question.” The silence lingered between them. Though Elizabeth’s gaze
held Allos’ it was clear she was far away, lost in the thought and worry for
her sister. “She’s gone to Dia.”
    “Dia,”
Elizabeth echoed as she looked out the window, as if she would see the mountain
just beyond it.
    “You
should know that all of my faith is with your sister Aryaunna.”
    Legends
surrounded Mount Dia. The mountain looked otherworldly with its white edifice.
It was said to be carved from Dragons. No one knew what the stone was.
    Elizabeth
knew the stories simply because she’d grown up hearing about it from the locals
of Kenan. Now her sister, her baby sister, had left the protection of the
Hollow alone to tempt fate again. Aryaunna had a way of doing that, she always
had. Never had she been one to deny a challenge. Aryaunna was a strong girl,
bold, too brazen for her own good. Elizabeth, too, shared these characteristics
but she’d learned early how to bury her freewill deep inside of her.
    A
renegade tear escaped to run down her cheek. Turning her head she looked back
out the window to hide it. “I would like to be alone, Allos,” she spoke low,
but she knew he would hear her. In such a small room the sound traveled easily.
She waited, expecting him to depart while she refused to meet his gaze.
“Please. I wish to be left alone,” her tone grew vehement. He said nothing, and
still yet she could feel his gaze upon her. Frustration forced her to give in
and turn her chin just enough to look back at him.
    “I
gave my word, Elizabeth. I’m sorry, that’s something I cannot do.” Allos looked
a little less sorry than his words implied. His mouth twitched to suppress a
smile when she scowled openly.
    “Do
you honestly think I would run away?” she spat in frustration, as if the idea
were just absurd.
    “Do
you honestly take me for a fool?” He smiled to see her defeated frustration,
but the moment ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. “I see the look in your
eyes as you gaze out. I know what it’s like to feel powerless to help those you
love most.”
    The
way he said it took her off guard. It penetrated past her barriers to the raw
fear and pain beneath. Her crystalline blue eyes dropped gaze to her wrenching
hands. “She’s all I have. And now she has chosen a path that will surely see us
taken from each other,” her voice cracked as she choked on the very idea, as if
the words were lumps of dirt.
    Leaning
forward, Allos hesitated before placing his hand over both of hers to stop them
from fretting. When she didn’t look up, he inched closer and rose his other
hand to place his knuckle under her chin. “There would be no sense to lie to
you, and tell you that your sister will find no danger in the Dark Wood. So
know that what I tell you to be the truest words I can find to give you…”
    He
gave her a moment to consider that as his hand dropped to join the one covering
her own. She looked on at him with shimmering blue eyes, keen with the
knowledge of what she feared most. “There is no doubt in my heart that your
sister has not just chosen to become the Emissary but that it is her fate. I
cannot say how I know this to be true, I