The Forest of Life: Part 1

                                                        The Forest Of Life                                                              

           The two kingdoms of Aldold and Emtolia were both beautiful. Their cities had towering buildings that cast cool shadows over the streets. They were ruled by twins, Queen Amarita of Aldold and Queen Ellspento of Emtolia. They were mortal enemies. Queen Ellspento was also known by her nickname, the Black Claw, and Queen Amarita by her’s, the Pale Beauty.

It was well known that Queen Ellspento would have done anything to get rid of Queen Amarita. Queen Ellspento had a rather small empire and wished to expand it. That is why it was no surprise when The Pale Beauty received a death threat from The Black Claw.

This was not a run of the mill death threat. It was a painting. A beautiful painting really. It was black and white, featuring a chessboard where many of the pieces were already scattered across the board. The Pale Beauty actually thought it was an offer of peace, until her head guard informed her otherwise. In the painting the black queen had just placed the white king in a checkmate.

The Pale Beauty’s head guard was named Aquafina, a name that had come over with the first traders. She was a pretty girl, with pale skin and straight white-blond hair. She was about 15, though not precisely. Her best feature were her eyes. They were a piercing violet that seemed to hypnotize everyone. They had hints of blue around the irises. She was an orphan, left at the castle gates as an infant. The previous head guard had taught her everything she knew, and by now she was pretty lethal.

All these traits contributed to The Pale Beauty’s decision to send Aquafina to kill, not capture, The Black Claw. Aquafina was to take her most skilled girls with her. She only took two other girls, Ampathia and Amperadia. Only three girls. A lucky number in Aldold.

The girls set off at midnight the next day, with daggers hidden in the folds of their flowing dresses. They had to journey through many a city before they even reached the border of Emtolia. It took a day to reach the outskirts of the city. They had crossed through the gleaming city and into the countryside. The countryside was fairly big, and no one could cross it if they were as exhausted as the three girls. They made camp and prepared for a long needed rest.