A Life Beyond by Mark Church (ebook reader web TXT) 📕

Harvey was still moaning as they were greeted by the sight of the woman standing in front of them, poking at her fire which had a pot sitting above the flames with something cooking inside,

'See I told you she wants to eat us!! Look at the size of that pot!!' A suspicious Harvey had gathered that the smell was whatever it was that was cooking inside,

The woman turned round to them with a burning stick in her hand which she had used to stoke the flames under the giant pot, stared straight at Harvey who was now rather freaked out by the attention he was getting and smirked as she looked him up and down and spoke in a soft tone as not to scare him,

'I have no intention of eating you boy, First of all I live off the fruit that the forest provides, no harm has come to any animals as I let nature take its course, I have been living out this far in the woods a very long time that I have learnt how to use nature as my food supply, I set no traps in the woods to catch my food and I only catch a few fish in the river but I replace them with the same kind , I only venture to the town nearby to buy my bread and milk, so as you see I have no intention of cooking you in this pot, also I think you would taste funny and probably wouldn't fit!!', She cackled as Harvey backed away slightly behind Daniel who was sniggering at the thought of Harvey stuffed in the giant pot.

'You said there was a town nearby, How far is it away?, We really need to get home you see!!', Lillie interrupted the laughter that was filling the cottage as she felt slightly uneasy about where they were,

'Yes there is a town nearby, maybe half a day's walk through the woods I would guess, all in good time though, Where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself' replied the woman who seemed focused on Daniel again as he stood there looking even more confused as she continued,

'My name is Lydia Wren and this is my home in the depths of the Sacred Forest of Pertania, So as I was saying, the woman in the picture I showed you earlier you said that was your ‘mother’?'

'Yes it was..I mean is, where did you get a picture of her??' Lillie asked politely as not to show any kind of anger that someone else has a picture of her family,

'Well you see the woman standing there was known as Lady Runsfield, a truly wonderful woman who I felt very close to a long time ago. We grew up together, lived close to one another in the town. She went on to marry Lord Casborn and lived in ‘The Castle’ deep in the hills of Scandor, it was rumoured that she had two children, who were targeted by Dark Forces from the moment they were born as they would inherit all this land, then one day she just vanished with the children to somewhere unknown to everyone, even Lord Casborn was kept in the dark as to where they had gone as if he was captured then he may give away their whereabouts.

This caused Lord Casborn to seek out those who wished harm upon his family, and the ‘Battle of the Fourteen Bells of began'.

Lydia looked sad as she recalled what had happened to her friend but Daniel seemed intrigued now as to why his mum was in that picture,

'So now I'm totally confused!!, What's the Fourteen Bells thing all about??' Harvey said as he struggled to take it all in, while Daniel listened intently to what Lydia was saying and pressed her for more answers.

'So THAT'S my...I mean OUR mum in that photo??, I knew she was different Lillie!!!' Excitedly he grabbed Lillie by the arms and squeezed her tighter,

'I knew I'd seen that shield thing before, the one in the picture on mum's cape….That's the same on as on my arm!!, So all along I've had something that meant I belonged somewhere else, a clue to my past!!'.

'Lillie seemed taken aback by what she was hearing and decided to dig a little deeper so she could work out for herself what was actually going on,

'So, the man in the picture...who is that?? Is that our father?'

'That man in the background is indeed your father, Lord Aramel Casborn..' Lydia explained confidently,

'Personally I don't know too much about him but from the stories I have heard from the people in the town he seems to be a fearless warrior who is always on guard as their protector from whatever evil is lurking nearby, so I can't help you with anything other than that, I'm sorry'.

'So what's the Fourteen Bells thing you said about then, you haven't answered!!' Harvey was still looking for an answer to his question but was continually ignored,

'Is he here??, In....wherever it is we are!!. I still haven't got a clue where we are and it's getting late, we really need to get back home...' Lillie was sounding more desperate to learn more but realised that they also needed to get back where they came from, 'Home….My dear girl…. you are home, This is where you belong you see, your past is no more a secret, since you returned there seems to be a different feeling in the forest and beyond, even though you have only been here a small amount of time your life is in danger already, you're presence has awoken something deep in the heart of the land to which all life on this planet is connected to, so now seeing as you have no connection to the land then you have all been recognised as intruders of the land meaning that the hunters are aware of your whereabouts.' Lydia’s warning spooked the children who seemed rather panicked by what they were being told.

'What do we do? Where do we go, we have no idea where we are or what we are supposed to be doing, I just want to go home!!' Daniel muttered loudly, his mind was racing as he tried to take it all in but he seemed slightly scared.

'Fourteen Bells?, Battle?' Harvey pitched up, seemingly less scared by what Lydia was saying to them all, still waiting for an answer to his question but he soon realised he was being ignored by everyone in the room.

'You are close to the town known as ‘Erwin’, located deep in the heart of the province of Vaymia' Lydia proudly told the children of where they were,

'And the only way I can see you all staying safe is to seek out your father, Lord Casborn, But I must warn you that it won't be easy finding him'

'Why is that?, We really need to meet him!!, we've dreamed of this all of our lives' said Daniel as he listened intently again to Lydia who was busy tidying up part of the cottage as if waiting for someone to arrive,

'Well..' She added, ' The journey is long and rather perilous you see, as I said earlier you are at least half a day's walk to the city of Erwin, but once there I have some people who will be able to take you in for a while so you can rest, but DO NOT stay too long…' She warned ' As the longer you are at rest the easier it will be for you to be tracked down so you MUST reach the castle in the Hills, It's best you travel by dark but I will guide you, When you reach Erwin you will need to look for ‘The House of a Hundred Lights’, Knock three times and you will be met by the keeper of the house, Lucas, who is a dear friend of mine. He will look after you, I will send a message on to him and explain what is happening'.

So Lydia went on to explain to the children how to get to the town, making sure they stuck to the safety of the shadows and not to deviate from the path she was sending them on as the woods were patrolled constantly and now there would be even more men out looking as word spreads of Daniel's return to the City.

'I'm also missing my dog Bucksy, he's black and has odd coloured eyes, I followed him into this place but can't find him, have you seen him?' Daniel asked Lydia in desperation about his whereabouts as he was now getting increasingly worried about his other best friend,

She paused for a second to think if she had seen his dog but the look she gave Daniel seemed to show him that he wasn't seen by her,

'I'm afraid I haven't seen any such creature around here since I have been out collecting food, I'm sorry Daniel, I'm sure your friend will turn up soon, I'm sure of it' Lydia said, trying to reassure him that it will all be ok.

'Bells?? Any chance of telling us about them??' Harvey tried one more time for an answer to his question which Lydia finally decided to answer,

'Ahhhh yes, The Fourteen Bells...Well they play a big part in the safety and security of this land, you see…..' She stopped suddenly as she was distracted by what sounded like footsteps outside the cottage in the surrounding woods,

'Well?? Do carry on!!' Harvey muttered.

'Shhh Harv', Daniel lifted his finger to his lips warning his friend to be quiet,

'What??, I'm just trying to find out something that interests me but you won't let me sp…..', Harvey didn't get to finish what he was saying as Lillie had leapt behind him and had clamped her hand across his mouth, holding it tightly so he would shut up.

Lydia slowly opened the curtain just enough to peer out and not be seen and she could see what looked like burning torches surrounding the cottage, the figures loomed ever closer, their footsteps grew louder and louder as they reached the cottage door, heavy breathing could be heard, filling every inch of the cottage with a feeling of complete fear and dread by what was waiting outside,

‘BANG BANG BANG’,

Whatever was outside rapped on the door so hard that the whole cottage shook to its wooden foundations, followed by a sound that chilled them all to the bone but scared the children so much that they all froze on the spot.

'AAARRWWOOOOO' The sound shuddered through the cottage causing them all to cover their ears to shield it from the ghastly noise outside the door.

'What….was….that??' Harvey’s voice trembling as his imagination thought of all the things it could be waiting to pounce on him,

'I'm too handsome to be eaten!!' He continued as Daniel was looking for something to defend himself with when he spotted Lydia over by the big pot on the fire.

'So what do we do now??' He asked, his voice sounding ever more panicky as the seconds ticked by.

Lydia was tugging at the side of the big pot which eventually swung outwards to reveal a hole underneath it and what looked like a ladder leading into the darkness below.

'Quick children, in here, this is the only way out now, the soldiers must of tracked you here' She gestured the children forward,

'This will lead you to safety, It will bring you out by the edge of the forest, but then you will be on your own, '

'How can we trust you??' Harvey sneered as the banging continued on the cottage door,

'You must believe me that all I want is peace for this land and you children are the only thing that can help us, if the prophecy is true then you MUST find your father and you must complete the circle, remember to stick to the paths I showed you.' Lydia became more desperate for the children to leave,

'Now please go and remember, find the town and the