Arkalia

Chapter 2 - Jae Miller

"Where... Where am I?!" Lilia exclaimed.

She was panicking on the inside but she knew she had to keep calm and study her surroundings.

Around her was the ocean and she was on a hill. She looked down below her and saw a village living through their normal days. Their clothes were like they were from another realm, like it was from a storybook.

Lilia looked past the village and saw a dark and gloomy forest, darker than any forest she's ever seen on Earth. Looking to the right she could see a big castle, it looked like a prison, the only reason she knew it was a castle was because of its flag.

Lilia decided that she would try to use the portal to send her back home. But to her surprise, the stone cave turned into a beautifully carved portal frame but the portal itself wasn't there.

She ran over to the portal frame, telling herself "Oh no, no, no, no!" Her voice growing desperate, she ran around the frame, looking for a button or lever, anything! She just wanted to go home.

After minutes of running, she sat against one of the frame's pillars and she groaned in frustration.

"What am I going to do now?!" She rested her head on her hands, on the brink of tears. She suddenly started to remember something her Mother had told her long ago.

It was the night before her 9th birthday, or known as the day of their death. Lilia always had been bullied ever since she was young and one night she came home crying to her Mother about Emily.

"Mom! Emily used her gum to stick it in my hair!" She ran over to her Mother and hugged her waist tightly. Her Mother chuckled as she pulled apart from the hug and placed her hands on Lilia's tiny shoulder.

"Whenever you get angry or sad, remember that the bullies will get what they want. They want to see you cry or get mad, don't let them have the satisfaction. Take a few deep breaths in and out, it'll teach you to be calm and aware of your surroundings."

Lilia sucked in some air through her nose and breathed out through her mouth. She did a couple more times before smiling brightly, "you're right Mom! It did work!"

"That's my girl!" Her Mother giggled. And that was the last advice her Mother ever gave Lilia.

Still leaning onto the pillar, Lilia decided to heed her Mother's advice and took a breath in and out. She stopped and thought about what she should do next. She got up from the ground, dusted her skirt and walked down the steep hill. The village was in full bloom, the beautiful sunset on the horizon, the cheerful music coming from a festival happening.

Soon, Lilia reached the town, she looked up at the town sign, 'Linus Port'. She decided to walk around a bit and got to know her surroundings and the people more.

She saw a friendly baker, holding out freshly baked bread. He was shouting, "COME GET YOUR FRESHLY BAKED BREAD! ONLY HERE ON LINUS PORT!"

Lilia went up to him and asked, "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where am I?" He smiled widely and replied, "Well, you're in Linus Port!"

"Yes, I could tell from the town sign. But what is this country?" She was getting annoyed that he couldn't answer her simple question.

"What's a country? We're on the border of the Yukita Forest of Death and the Ceravios Empire! You look like you're not from here..." He started to squint his eyes and looked suspiciously at her.

"Oh thank you! I'll uh... be on my way now!" She knew he was getting suspicious of her. She couldn't trust anyone right now. Especially these town people, they just seemed... off to her.