Night Forest

Chapter 12

          Where could she be? Toric kept thinking. He and a few others had been searching for two months now for Kylara. The only thing that they could find of her was stories. They all ran along the same lines of black figures that appear everywhere trouble was. And everyone at the castle remembered the black figure charging out of the stables and off the castle grounds. Kylara was the only person missing and Toric knew it was her that everyone was talking about. But two months of searching had only come up with stories, what Toric wanted was to find her, to find Kylara.
          Toric rode slowly to the clearing. Anthony and Jaxom were behind him. His men didn’t like him as much for making Kylara run off and the things he had said to her. The only thing that stopped his men from hating him was the fact that he had searched hard for her when she was captured. Captured and sent away, he thought with a sigh, by his own father.
          “This place is really creepy,” whispered Anthony, scattering Toric’s thoughts.
          Toric looked around and realized that the clearing had been a village before. Now all that was left were piles of scorched wood and stones.
          Suddenly black figures astride black horses came through the trees like fog. They surrounded Toric, Jaxom, and Anthony. Toric guess there was about fifteen of the figures, but they all had swords and bows. Each figure had an arrow knocked on the bow and aimed at them. One figure rode forward, Toric thought he recognized the horse.
          “There is nothing here for you. Go back to where you came from and never come here again. If you stay, you will not live,” its was a female voice that Toric thought he recognized also, but it seemed different.
          “I am Lord Toric, these men behind me are my two warriors, Jaxom and Anthony. We are only passing through in search of someone important to us.”
          In an unseen signal, the other figures lowered their bows and backed away. The one figure stayed where she was. Slowly she lowered her hood.
          “Mistress! You mustn’t!” One of the black figures started to move to her.
          “Quiet, I know what I am doing, stay where you are,” she lowered her hood the rest of the way then pulled off the mask that hid her face. The three men stared at her, Kylara.
          Toric leapt off his horse and started to run forward, Kylara backed up on her horse.
          “Kylara, don’t you remember me?”
          Kylara scowled, “Of course I remember you, why do you think I told my men to back down?”
          “Then why are you backing away?”
          “Because I have no interest in you. I’m not going back with you, ever! I suggest you leave Lord Toric.” Kylara led her horse around him and walked over to Anthony.
          “Kylara…please come back…we miss you,” said Anthony.
          “I know, I’m sorry Anthony, Jaxom, but I can not come back.”
          “What’s happened to you, angel? You seem so far away, but you’re right here.”
          Kylara smiled faintly, “I am sorry, but I can not explain it to you. I am afraid you don’t understand what it’s like to lose everything at once.”
          “You didn’t lose everything Kylara, you know that. You still have me, and Jaxom, and everyone else at the castle.”
          Kylara hugged him then moved back, “Friends aren’t enough to help me get through each day. Each day I would see the one that tore apart my heart. Each day I would be reminded of everything I lost. Here…” Kylara kept riding back until she was in the center of the circle, there she held her arms out, “here, I am with the ghost of my family. Here, I can take out my heartache on those that trouble others. Here, no one can hurt me, because I am nothing but a ghost myself.”
          Toric noticed something silver flash on her arm, “If you wish to forget us, then why do you keep the bracelet I gave you?”
          Kylara looked at him, “To remind me of the heart you broke. I loved you Toric, but you were out of my reach.” Kylara slid off her horse, and with another unseen signal, the other black figures slid back into the forest. Kylara walked up to Toric. “Go home. Forget me. Live the life that you wanted before we ever met. Good bye Anthony, Jaxom. Good bye Toric.” Kylara took Mystery’s reins and started to walk into the forest.
          Toric grabbed her wrist gently. Kylara turned and saw that they were the only one’s in the clearing.
          “Please, listen to me Kylara. I’m sorry, I am really sorry for everything that’s happened to you. You were right, I would have never understood anything. But I do now. When you left, I felt like I had lost what was the most important thing in my life. I know I’m not perfect, even though I try to be, and I messed up big time when it came to my hear. I was scared Kylara. I was scared of what was happening to me, between us. I know that you had your hear broken when you were young, and I know that you didn’t want to love or try to love anyone else. I made that worse. But give me a chance Kylara. I love you.”
          Kylara felt tears sting her eyes, but she willed them away, “I can’t Toric, I just can’t.”
          “You can. You know it’s right, you know we were made for each other. I know you feel it, just like I do. All I want is your heart Kylara. Just your hear, your love, and your honesty.”
          “Your father will have me sent away again…” Kylara felt herself giving in.
          Toric shook his head, “The men found out that it was he that had you sent away. He’s gone now, he won’t ever get in the way of our love. Please say Kylara, please say you love me.”
          “I…I…” Kylara looked down at their joined hands. Sometime during his speech their fingers had intertwined. Kylara felt herself smile, she looked up at Toric, “I love you.”
          “God Kylara, I’ve been wanting to hear that for so long,” he pulled her close and kissed her. “Will you come back now?”
          “I can’t…the men…they need me…” Kylara glanced into the forest. They were waiting, just out of sight.
          “They should understand, please? I want you to come back. I want you to marry me.”
          Kylara’s eyes widened, “Marriage?”
          Toric smiled and nodded, “Yes, will you marry me?”
          Kylara’s eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she whispered in his ear.

          Kylara did marry Toric and they had a daughter named Fanna, after her great-grandmother. A few changes were made, by the demand of Kylara. One of them was that women became allowed to learn to fight if they chose and they were treated a lot better. Anytime there was a battle against the Night Forest, Kylara could be seen fighting next to her husbands side as they fought for the protection of their land and their people. Everyone who was old enough to understand heard stories of the highly respected Lady Kylara and Lord Toric, and their daughter Fanna who was always get