"Aiden..."
The shadow knew his name. No one knew about his past. His horrible and terrifying past. A past that he wished to keep hidden. But that shadow, the shadow that he has been seeing for years now, knew about his past. How? And why was he seeing shadows?
" Luc, are you listening?"
Luc's vision immediately returned to normal. He looked at Asher, whose mouth was filled with food, and smiled. " Yeah, I'm listening". Asher nodded as he took a second glance at Luc. He raised a brow as he returned his attention to eating.
....
The next morning, Luc strolled out of the apartment building with a grey sweat shirt and khaki pants. He was heading to the Elven Glades. It was a forest where most medicinal herbs were gotten. The Elven Glades was past Cadnia, so he had to pass the divider. The divider was a line which divided Cadnia from New Tenoria.
He walked for some time and finally passed the divider. On his way, he saw Old Man Waller. Old Man Waller was a cabbage seller. He sold cabbage to the people of Cadnia and he was extremely friendly. He was a man who cared for anyone when he could and gave regardless of what was left.
Luc smiled as he approached the old man. " Old Man Waller". The old man roses his head with a smile which grew wider when he saw that it was Luc.
" Luc. Are you on your way to the Elven Glades again? Boy, I don't know what you go to do there". The old man wasn't pleased that Luc took a lot of herbs. He was always worried that those herbs would strain Luc's body. He told him to eat vegetables instead. They did the same work as herbs.
But Luc would always smile and say he was alright. He would say herbs were good for the body and better than tablets. The last sentence would make the old man feel better since he never liked medicine tablets. He always thought they were poison.
" Old Man Waller, I'm just going to pick some fruits and herbs. I could pick some veggies too, if you want them that is" The old man grinned. He always liked the boy's charisma. " Of course. Besides, I need a new stock. The cabbages in the Elven Glades are fresh and good. They are crunchy too. It's healthy. I'll have to trouble you to get some for me" Luc smiled as he nodded.
He looked at his watch and said, " Well, I best bet on my way if I'm gonna get the good ones. I'll talk to you later Old Man". The old man nodded and watched Luc leave.
" What an amazing kid".
.....
Luc arrived at the Elven Glades gates. It was a bit creepy but not dangerous. He walked in as he looked at the plants around. He took out a paper from his pocket and looked at it.
It was a list of herbs. The reason Luc took herbs was not to increase the function of his body, it was to maintain his eyesight. Whenever his vision turned black and white, he would be temporarily blind when it returned. If he didn't take these herbs, he stood a chance of being permanently blind. This was because of one rule, you are not supposed to see the dead.
But he saw them. Those shadows were spirits of the dead. He didn't know why he saw them, he just did. He didn't want to. But he had to. He didn't have a choice. He just needed to live like this.
He looked at the list and the first thing there was Lysium. Lysium was a type of flower. It was violet in color and sparkles like a gem. When boiled, it brought out a kind of purple water. He was to mix this in a soup. Lysium was a key ingredient in this soup. The soup would help him solve the temporary blindness issue.
All he needed to do was drink the soup when the blindness occurred.
He walked through the Glades in search of the flower. Normally, Lysium flowers would be in bloom by this season, so it shouldn't be hard to find them. But it was strange that he couldn't find even one flower. They had all mysteriously disappeared.
Luc frowned, " Where did all the Lysium flowers go?"
Suddenly, Luc senses something. Movement. Someone else was here with him. He sniffed, he could tell it was a female. Her scent was mild yet intoxicating. As if, there was....Dandellas. That scent....
He began to feel weak. He started swaying. And soon, it turned black.
.....
"Wake up!!" " Wake up, you dimwit!!"
Luc felt groggy as he opened his eyes. He moved his hands to feel his head. But he couldn't move them. He was restrained. He had been tied up.
His eyes darted wide open as he looked around. He seemed to be in a treehouse. There were different herbs, and potions in the treehouse. He looked to his right and there was a big cauldron. And near the wall was a bunch of... Lysium flowers!!
" The Lysiums!!" Luc tried to get up but immediately felt a force pulling him back down. He fell to the ground with a loud thud.
He looked up and saw a short figure. She was about a head shorter than him. She wore a brown cloak and black boots. He couldn't tell her facial features since the cloak covered half of her face. Only her pink jelly-like lips were visible. The rest of her body was tightly covered. She even wore gloves.
Luc looked at her, he could tell she was about seventeen years old. He was two years older than her. He looked at her and asked, " Who are you? Why did you have to kidnap me?" He didn't ask about the Lysiums. He wasn't a fool.
Someone who needed that much Lysiums was definitely up to something. And it wasn't good. And judging from the decor of the treehouse, he could tell she was a witch. And witches were bad news.
The girl simply stood there. It looked like she was scanning him. He didn't know why. He wasn't dangerous. He should be the one scanning her. She was a witch. That was already terrifying.
He saw the girl's red jelly lips open, her voice was soft yet had a commanding tone, it was definitely pleasant to hear, " Why were you looking for Lysiums?"
So that was why she kidnapped him. But couldn't she ask like a normal person instead of kidnapping him. He wasn't dangerous. He just needed those for his eyesight. But if he told her that, he didn't know what she would do. The fact that a young person needed Lysiums for his eyesight was definitely suspicious.
Therefore, " I need them for my grandfather. He has poor eyesight and I heard the soup from Lysiums can cure that".
The girl kept quiet. After a minute or so, she said, " You're lying". Just two words. How did she know? Was it some sort of potion?
But then, it happened again. His eyes...he began seeing black and white again. And behind the girl was a shadow spirit. This one...he could tell this spirit was a female. A woman. She stood behind the girl. And her eyes. They were white but held a touch of tenderness. He could see it.
The girl noticed his eyes go black. His eyes had gone black. She took a step back. In the process of doing so, she bumped into the shadow. The shadow disappeared. And his eyes went back to normal.
But the eyes of the shadow lingered for some seconds more before disappearing. Why? Why did that one seem different from the others?
The girl looked at him in horror as she removed her cloak. Her face was menacing. Her eyes were green, pure dark green with no pupils. She had a fierce look as she said, " You're no human. And I can tell you aren't a mage. What are you?"
....