Alhora

The streetlights went on as the sun set. Most people were already at home spending time with their family. The skyline of the city was magnificent at night. Lights shone from the windows of the houses, shops that were still open and most beautiful of all, the castle.

Princess Flyra was wearing a shamrock green dress and a light green headscarf. An emerald green cloak with the hood on covered her entire body with another layer of clothing. The hood was pulled down such that her eyes were hidden. Clearly she does not intend to attract attention. Flyra made her way as quietly as possible towards the castle gates. With a few casts of magic, she had made the security guards fall asleep. She hoped that there would be no intruders for the next half hour because until then, the guards won't be conscious to realise. She walked past the sleeping guards and onto the main road, leading to the city square. Everyday between noon and evening, this place will be crowded with workers, shoppers, businessmen and many others, filling the square with many activities. Mainly trading and businesses. But now, the street was empty. A few shops still have their lights on. But from the shop windows, Flyra could see the shop owners cleaning up their store and preparing to close them. She walked to the middle of the square where a small marble pole with the replica crown of Combination on top stood in a circle basin of water. Water comes out from an opening in the top and flows down into the basin. A signage was fixed into the road and it states "The King's Crown". Flyra sat on the side of the basin. It's not meant to be seated but it's wide enough for anyone to sit. Then she waited. Soon all the shops were closed but Flyra was still waiting. She started to pace around the square. A few minutes later three animals ran up to her.

'Why are you late?' Flyra asked. She has an angry tone in her voice but even so, her words came out light.

'Sorry princess, we were trying not to cause any attention. The animals are having a party. Everyone's still awake. So we had to sneak out of the woods very carefully' Captain said.

'Have you been waiting long, Flyangel?' Bale asked.

'No worries, I enjoyed the silence' Flyra said, her smile came back to her flawless face.

'What was the plan again?'

'Head north. That's where the avengers went right? Everytime after an attack?' Flyra said.

'That's true, as far as our observation goes' Oliver replied.

'Then that's where we'll be heading. For sure their base is in the north'

'For the last time, are we sure about this? The king will be worried when he finds out you're missing. He has a lot going on in his mind since twenty years ago' Bale said.

'I left a note on my table. I am sure'

'Alright, let's head north' Captain said.

'And what is north of Combination? Did you bring a map Flyangel?' Oliver said.

Flyra took out a rolled paper from within her cloak and handed it to them. Her long sleeve green dress poking out of the cloak for the few moments Captain took to receive the paper, then hid them back within her cloak. Captain unrolled it.

'North of Combination is Alhora. The field is our next stop. Followed by the woods' Captain said.

They set off into the night, walking into a more quiet and creepy street. The kind where you thought someone was following you from behind but actually it was just your shadow. The streets became more narrow and the houses are no longer close to one another. They reached the furthest north of the city where there was less development. The Combination Border Woods was just straight ahead. And they went into the darkness. The moonlight was blocked by all the trees. Flyra's magic was the only source of light. She casted a floating ball of gaslight on her palm to see the path ahead. As soon as the city was out of sight, Flyra pulled back her hood. Her beautiful face slightly gave off radiance even in the dark.

The woods were very cold. It didn't snow as much as how it did in the south, whenever winter comes. Rarely northern Southernere snows. It was a few weeks after winter first arrived and the snow had just started to fall in the south.

'Your birthday is next week!' Captain said excitedly, breaking the silence.

'Yes it is indeed!'

'How is your celebration going to be this time?' Oliver asked. Flyra let out a sweet and soft laugh.

'First we have to finish our mission. And that is to find the avengers' base and rescue Prince Edward and Princess Erieka' she said.

'But I'm not feeling very confident' Bale said. Captain glared at him like he just spoke the most ridiculous thing ever.

'We'll just follow Princess Flyangel wherever she leads us!' Captain said cheerfully. There was a pause.

'Why are you not confident Bale?' Flyra asked.

'King Henry searched them for twenty years but never found them. Not even the avengers' base. I am sure the base is a big building or even a city to hold all the avengers and soldiers of the army. And such big places could not be missed that easily' Bale explained. There was a longer pause.

'You're definitely right. There must be magic involved' Flyra said in agreement.

'If such magic exists, what if their base is in Combination all along?' Captain said.

'Then your observation of them heading north is false' Flyra reminded him. Captain went silent, embarrassed that he made himself sound like a fool.

'It's okay to make mistakes Cap, no one is perfect. But the most important part is to learn from those mistakes and avoid it as far as possible' Flyra said with her usual smile on her.

Less than an hour later they came upon a massive field. It is bigger than the castle grounds, SHAW Academy grounds and the city square combined. And even after placing all that, there are still a lot more spaces to be filled. All around the field were trees. Towards the south is the Combination Border Woods and towards the north is the Alhora Woods.

'The Alhora Field. It is so massive and magnificent that some even called it with a grander name, The Field of Alhora' Oliver said.

'Yes, a lot of books mentioned about this field' Flyra agreed.

'It's historic' Captain said. They all nodded in agreement.

The Field of Alhora is a historical place. A very important event in the CombiNation. It was where the first war between Majuza and Sofya took place. And subsequently, many other wars occurred here. The amount of blood dropped onto this field is uncountable even by magic. But the grass is still fresh and alive and very much green. Magic has always been the solution to clean the battlefield when peace came after every war.

'Should we set up camp here for the night?' Flyra asked.

'It's been a long walk from home. I'm exhausted, I definitely need some rest' Bale said. Oliver agreed to his suggestion and Flyra started working with her magic. Magical sparks floated all around the casted areas as Flyra moved objects, changed their shapes or crafted something else. Sticks and broken twigs floated towards the field from the nearest trees and changed forms. The wood became like liquid (like it was melted) combined with other liquid woods and formed a rectangle. The liquid turned back to solid. It became a wooden door. Flyra continued working, it was a wonderful sight. The three animal friends sat on the grass watching the free show. Five minutes past and a few metres from the nearest tree of the border woods was a small wooden house of one room with a beautiful roof on top. Inside was even more amazing. Flyra had also formed four wooden beds, one for each of them. A pillow on each one, a leaf that has grown in size. A stone bowl was in the middle of the room. And Flyra casted the gaslight from her hand towards the bowl. The room lit dimly.

'Now that's amazing' Captain said. The three clapped.

'Thank you' Flyra said. 'Alright, rest well'

'Who'll keep a lookout? This house will surely attract attention' Oliver said.

'I'll do it!' both Captain and Bale said together. Then they both went into a short argument.

'No one has to keep watch' Flyra said. She twirled her hand. Snowflakes appeared around her hands twirling as well in a line towards the wooden floor. Snow piled up and formed a snowman. The differences between this and a typical snowman are that it has no carrot for a nose, and no buttons. Its eyes are just two holes carved in the face. It's completely made out of snow.

'Now Mister Snowman will keep watch' Flyra said, nodding at the snowman. It glided across the floor, leaving a trail of snow wherever it went. It was about to bump into the door when Flyra sent a force, opening the door. It continued straight out like there was no door in the first place. Flyra closed it back after the snowman left.

'Goodnight princess' the three of them said.

'Goodnight Cap, goodnight Bale, goodnight Oliver'

Flyra put the gaslight out and the room went into total darkness. A few seconds later, Flyra's face glowed. And she went to her bed to sleep.

The sun was up. The house was gone. The snowman was nowhere to be seen. Trails of snow were everywhere. If they want to track it, they have to figure out which trail to follow. Flyra had turned them back to sticks and pebbles. They continued their journey across the field to the other side. Ten minutes past. The Alhora Woods stand tall before them. The trees were much bigger. And in the dark, people may go crazy thinking they saw things they don't want to see here but actually it's not there. The woods tend to trick people's minds. But the creatures living inside are not to be messed around with. In the day, anyone will just have to watch out for these creatures. The tricking part doesn't really work in the day. Flyra went to the nearest tree and traced her fingers around the tree. The bark is dark brown in colour. It is very smooth and slippery-looking. Even from far it seems like the trees are wet.

'Alhora wood' Flyra mumbled.

'Let's move' she said, leading the way. The roots are so big and many. They spread out all around the ground. They hold the ground firm but it is an unstable place to walk on. Flyra looked behind her, the three friends were all huddled up. Their faces presented fear.

'What's wrong?' Flyra asked.

'We've only been in here a few steps and there's already the sense that something is watching' Oliver said.

Suddenly, there was a growl. They all turned towards the direction. It was coming from straight ahead into the woods. Then they saw it. A wild beast. Something like a tiger but it was all black. It's eyes green, it's paws bigger than any four legged animal, it's mouth has fangs poking out and it's speed was super fast. Captain and Bale were already screaming. The beast was charging fast. Flyra released a stream of water from her hands, spun it around and as the beast was a few steps away from jumping on them, she channelled the water to its paws, up its body and freezing it. From behind some trees, the snowman emerged, moving towards the beast now covered in ice.

'Where did he come from?' Captain said, referring to the snowman. The snowman blew ice cold wind out of its eyes at the beast and now the ice seemed a lot thicker.

'That's amazing!' Bale said. 'Your trick is amazing as well Flyangel'

'Thank you Bale. That won't be the only thing we're going to face. I'm sure there's more. Let's keep moving' Flyra said.

They walked past the new sculpture and the snowman, smiling at it as it moved, not paying attention to any of them. Snow trails went far into the woods showing where the snowman must have been exploring the entire night.