Armendora - Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Tree House of Empty Forest

 

 

The view from the Old Castle’s entrance is breath-taking; the green fields, huge mountains with unexplored forests and a small river flowing towards the sea at the east of the castle. Fresh air entered Ned’s lungs as he takes a deep breath, enjoying the most beautiful scene he has ever seen. If you were there, you would say ‘I wish I’m living here right now,’ which is exactly what Ned’s thinking in his mind. A huge waterfall can be seen at the west of the castle; coming down from the river which flows from the mountains high above.

“Come. We have to go and meet my guardian. She’s been waiting for me to return. At least, I hope she’s still waiting,” said Alyssa.

“Wait. Let me at least take a good look at this scenery. I might never see this place again,” replied Ned.

“Don’t say that. You will see this place again. I’m planning to live here when I became Queen. That is, if I get back my kingdom,” Alyssa replied back.

“You will get your kingdom back, Alyssa. I’ll see to it. I’ll help you in any possible ways that I can.”

“Thanks, Ned. I appreciate it very much,” said Alyssa.  “We can’t waste any more time. Let’s go over there,” Alyssa pointed out near the waterfall. “My guardian’s little house is just beside the waterfall.”

“It’s so far. How long will it take?” asked Ned.

“About a day. We have to spend a night in the woods. Don’t worry, Ned,” said Alyssa as Ned opened his mouth in shock. “My guardian and I had built a little tree house there. We used to come over here when she’s teaching me the history of Armendora.”

“You mean there’s a tree house in that eerie looking forest?” asked Ned.

“Yes and no. Yes because there is a tree house there and no because it’s not that scary, especially during the night. It’ll be beautiful than you can ever imagine!” said Alyssa.

 

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The forest is just like what Alyssa said—not scary or eerie and simply beautiful. The trees are so tall with lots of leaves, forming a canopy above their heads, casting a dim green light. As far as they had walked, there are no animals that Ned can see and this surprises him. As far as he’s concerned, there are animals in every forest in every world. Was it possible that there are no animals in Armendora?

“I don’t see any animals. Are they hiding?” asked Ned.

“No. There are no animals here. This is The Empty Forest. There’s nothing here but trees and trees,” said Alyssa.

“But surely there should be animals here,” Ned said.

“Of course. There are animals here in Armendora. But, there’s something about this forest that animals are so scared of,” said Alyssa. Her eyes are focused, looking for the tree house she mentioned earlier.

“And what’s scary about this forest?” asked Ned.

“The ghost. There are a few ghosts here in this forest,” said Alyssa.

“Ghost??? Alright, now you’re really making me scared. Why didn’t you warn me about ghost earlier?” asked Ned, frightened.

“Relax. Those ghosts are friendly. There’s nothing to worry about. They’re my ancestors anyway,” said Alyssa.

“Ancestors? As in your great-great grandfather?” asked Ned.

“No, more like the first few Kings and Queens of Armendora. They’re the ones who conquered Armendora,” Alyssa explained.

“Conquered? What do you mean by that?” asked Ned.

“Well, at first this land was ruled by an evil king. Don’t ask me his name. I didn’t really pay attention in History class. This particular king was very cruel, he made all his people his slave. The rules were very strict, every crime is punishable by death,” said Alyssa.

“Death? Oh, you do know how to give me the shivers,” said Ned.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s different now. Or at least it was different,” Alyssa said with a sigh.

“Why? Because of your stepfather? What did he do?” asked Ned.

“He’s trying to do what the old king used to do; every crime’s punishment is death. Before I leave Armendora, he made a rule that says whoever is involved in my escape will be executed,” said Alyssa.

Seeing his one true love’s scared face, Ned gives her a hug, calming her down. “Come on. We can’t waste time. The sun’s setting and very soon it’ll be dark. We need to find a place to rest,” said Ned.

“We don’t need to find any place. We’ve arrived at the tree house,” said Alyssa, pointing to a large tree.

What was on that tree was the most beautiful tree house Ned had ever seen in his entire life. To tell you the truth, Ned has never seen a tree house before; only in books. The tree house was quite high from the ground; one might think that there are wild predators living in the forest. As Alyssa had pointed out earlier, there are no animals in the forest, so there’s nothing to be scared of. A small ladder, made up of planks and rope, leads the way up to the tree house from the ground. Inside the tree house, there were chairs, books, a table and two bedrooms. The red carpet on the floor was magnificent, beautiful; even though it didn’t have a pattern of its own.

“It’s beautiful, Alyssa,” said Ned.

“My guardian and her brother built it for me. I like tree houses so much, they built one for me. When I spend the night with my guardian, we used to sleep here each night,” Alyssa replied, with a sigh. She continued with a confusing face as she stares at the table. “There’s something missing.”

“What?” asked Ned curiously.

“There should be some pictures on this table; pictures of my family. I wanted to show them to you so that you can know my family. But they’re not here. Where are they?” said Alyssa.

They searched the house for thirty minutes, with no luck. It was then when Alyssa saw a single note stuck near to her bed. She quickly took it and read aloud:

 

 

Dear Alyssa,

            I have all the photos that you have on your table. Your stepfather was here and I can’t risk the life of that boy. Do come and see me as soon as you can.

 

Your guardian,

Gloria Grayne