Prehnite - Prologue

Instructions

Prologue (Ten years ago) The forest was eerie and silent. The trees lacked the sound of the singing birds that usually thrived in their wide, lush leaves. The sunlight that flickered through the treetops, was dimmed by a cover of cloud. It felt as if the forest knew something was going to happen. Twilight angled her ears, and could only detect the silence of the forest animals, and the intense rustling of the trees in the breeze. She held her tail high, so that the leaves that coated the forest floor wouldn’t mess up her grey fur. Twilight spotted a daisy just off the path. She walked over to it, crouched down and plucked it from the earthy soil. She dropped the daisy in her straw basket. She shivered as a small gust of wind swept through. Her old, dirty clothes didn’t protect her from the cold that well. She checked her basket of flowers and turned to go the way she had come. She needed to get back to the village. Twilight looked up the hill at the small village at the top. She gasped as she heard a howl. She stopped and looked around. The howl had come from the village. Her eyes widened as she heard two more howls. They sounded angry and desperate. She began running up the hill, still carrying the basket of flowers. Twilight watched in horror as soldiers came streaming out of the village houses, dragging young foxes out into the street, cries of rage and grief sounded all around her. A tall red fox clawed and barked at a soldier, trying to get his little brother back. Twilight dropped her basket and ran over to a small hut with a straw roof and mud walls. “Ash!” She cried. She pushed past a tall Fox soldier and tried to pull a young grey-furred fox from another's grasp. He snarled at her in frustration, and the other soldier pulled her away as if she was merely a piece of straw in his way. “Twilight!” the small fox sobbed as he was flung over the shoulder of a soldier. Twilight reached out to grab him and missed. She crouched on the ground and howled as the two foxes marched out of the hut. There was nothing she could do. Those soldiers served the king, and if she attacked them, she would be killed. Twilight felt the grief strike her like a lightning bolt. What if she never saw him again? Tears streamed down her face and dropped gently onto the dirt floor, creating small puddles. Twilight tried to cover her ears as the other young foxes of the village outside shrieked and cried out to their families, who could not help them. As she finally stood up, shakily on her legs, she managed to make it to the doorway, before collapsing onto the ground. As she weakly looked out into the street, she prayed with all her heart that she would one day see Ash again. The giant black wolf wearing a black hood that stood in the middle of the street, howled in victory. He was the one who was stealing the villages future. Twilights heart filled with rage and hatred for that wolf as she realised. The Wolf turned around and began leading the soldiers out of the village, along with all the young foxes. Twilight looked at the black wolf. His black fur, and dark armour made him seem like a shadow. A long scar was etched into the wolf’s leg. Twenty years ago <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Twilight laughed, as she splashed through the clear water on the riverbank. Hawk’s laugh came from behind her, and she ran harder, sending droplets of river water up her legs.