Kyla flinched backwards upon seeing the dagger. She glanced at the woman who had been smiling with her all day on the ship, but her face betrayed no hint that she knew how to smile.

  Shilly stepped slowly towards the red haired girl. Her knife flashing under the glint of the red moonlight seeping into the vault, through several fault lines on the ship. The young girl retreated, the weight of her murderous aura causing her steps to falter as she stumbled backwards.

  “I don't understand, if you didn't want this place to be found, you could have locked it,” Kyla broke the silence, she’d been thinking the entire situation over in her mind.

  Shilly shook her head. “That would make it obvious,” she sighed. “The floorboards are not supposed to be noticeable, how you easily knew there was a trap door buried there is beyond me but that doesn't matter now.”

  “What if I promised I am not going to tell a soul of what I saw today,” her heart was beating faster with each step she took. She glanced back, realizing she would soon run out of room.

  “I could take your word for it, or I could make sure you won't tell anyone myself. One is a fifty percent chance, the other is dead certain.”

  Kyla realized there was no compromise to be made, the woman’s eyes held no hint of concern nor conscience. Her eyes were cold and calculating, and the way she flicked the dagger in her hand, this wasn't the first time she’d done this. “Won't you at least tell the captain first?”

  “No.” she replied simply.

  A sense of calmness descended on Kyla after the woman's cold and dismissive answer. She realized that she was actually going to die. She stopped walking back, her face twisted from that of a frightened girl to an angry one. Heat began to rise within her body and her eyes were fixated on the knife.

  Her heart stopped racing and it began to beat a bit slower than normal. Shilly seemed to notice something was wrong with her, causing the elderly woman to hesitate.

  Kyla no longer heard the soft wash of the river or the creaks and murmurs of the ship. Her hearing tightened until there was only the woman before her—the killer. She caught the steady thud of her heartbeat, each breath she drew, even the faint whisper of her dress as it slid across the floor.

  She looked at the woman and Shilly shifted back in fear, her heart skipping a beat. “What…” she tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out.

  Kyla couldn't see herself, but she knew what she looked like. Her eyes had been replaced with a subtle golden glow. It was usually unnoticeable, but in the dark room it stood out clearly.

  Shilly didn't try to attack her, she’d seen a lot of bizarre things in her life to try and underestimate a kid with glowing eyes. She turned around and fled, climbing the flight of stairs with the grace of an elking. She pushed open the trap door and ran outside screaming. “Witch! Witch!”

  Kyla didn’t stop either. She followed her briefly, then fled through the other side, screaming as well. “Witch! Witch!”

  The entire boat woke up from its slumber and everyone started popping out of their cabin, confused by the two hysterical women screaming witch. Kyla didn't even look back, she knew she was at a disadvantage after all this was Shilly’s ship and they all probably were slave traders.

  She ran back to her own cabin and bashed open the door. She glanced at the bags in the room. Two of the largest ones were for Mia and there was one other that contained a few things Mia had gotten for her. She shook her head and picked up her small bag and then turned around.

  Three men were blocking her left path, the moment they noticed her, they pointed and dashed forward. The red haired turned around and fled.

  The familiar sense of heat rising within her surged again and her irises burned with a golden light. Her focus tripled and she was able to run faster.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  When she got to the entrance to the upper deck, she was already surrounded in a half circle. She didn't stop, she pushed open the door and escaped to the open deck. Her eyes were still glowing and she felt the power of this energy wash over her.

  This strangeness had been with her for as long as she could remember and she’d never revealed it to any soul, not even her mother. She only called upon it during her night time adventures. When it first started she could barely control it as it surfaced during danger and when she was in an extreme situation.

  “What are you going to do girl, we are in the middle of the largest river in the inner ring,” Shilly said as the crew marched to the upper deck encircling Kyla with her back against the starboard.

  Kyla didn't speak, she glanced at the horizon and discovered they were surrounded by a dense forest. She sighed. “Commonly princess, you need not do such acts. Come in, we talk, we get a better understanding with each other ey,” Captain Hobly said, walking towards her softly. “See, Mia is big friend of mine, I will not hurt her ward. My word is seal!”

  “Oh, right, then why did she pull a dagger on me?” She protested, her current situation giving her a good understanding of Drunken Isith.

  “Sure Shilly is one with us, but she sure is a woman. She only got jolty and scared, sure you understand how that is. I promise, I will keep her in check. What say you boys, ey!” The other sailors nodded.

  She relaxed her muscles, letting out a sigh of relief and Hobly stopped walking towards her. She glanced at them as they expected her to walk over. “I would be a fool to believe a word you said,” she turned around and dove into the river. She hit the surface with a perfect diving stance, the weight of her bag driving her further than expected.

  She struggled for a while before finding her balance. She swam upward and glanced back at the ship and it seemed the sailors were planning something.

  Kyla wasn't planning to wait around to see what was happening, she called upon the strangeness within her and began to swim forward as her eyes burned gold again. Her swimming pace increased and she drifted through the water with the efficiency of a one-finned Gobler.

  A lot was going through her mind, she wondered if Mia was aware of this. She couldn't be a slave trader or could she? In the past, slave trade was something that was actually legal. In fact it was encouraged.

  The older kings of Egrimorth used it as a way to improve the peace between the kingdom and Eleinberg— the kingdom of the demigods. However when the war between Egrimorth and Eleinberg broke out it became an opportunity for lots of merchants as both sides of the war needed human resources more than anything.

  Many lesser towns and villages suffered a lot during these times. Mothers had their children torn from them and even grown up men were kidnapped from their own home. Slavery reached its height during this war and the war extended for thirteen years. This ended about twenty years ago when Queen Miandra; the Kinslayer, killed her own father and ascended the throne.

  The queen brought an end to the war within a year, forcing the people of Eleinberg back to the confines of their own kingdom. The queen ruled for another five years before her sister — Queen Minerva, the current queen, ascended the throne. After imprisoning the former queen , one of the first things she did was oulaw slave trade.

  That law made a lot of elites very angry because it meant they couldn't own or trade people, so most of them continued to do it in secret. Kyla felt it was barbaric to even put animals in shackles and it was beyond her wildest imagination that people would do that to themselves.

  She has always felt an attachment towards freedom. She loved being in open space with the wind caressing her face and surrounded by nature. That was why swimming through a river wasn't necessarily horrific to her, in fact she felt better in the large body of water than she felt inside the cabin.

  “Pull!” she glanced back. The sailors on the ship were lowering a small canoe into the river.

  “Dragons!” Kyla cursed as she swam forward with an increased pace. By the time she arrived at the shore, the canoe was already halfway there.

  She glanced over, clearing wet hair from her face. There were five men on the canoe, all of them yelling something she couldn't hear. She turned around, beholding the huge forest in front of her. The roots of the trees were mostly what formed the river bank. She could barely see the tree leaves up above as it was covered by a dense fog.

  These trees were ancient, and within them was a profound hollow and darkness, the kind that would scare anyone but Kyla saw it and smiled, she welcomed the mystery of nature with open arms. She disappeared behind the trees and she felt the atmospheric conditions change immediately.

  The air was heavier and thicker, and the temperature was even colder than when she was in the river. She was starting to feel uncomfortable in her wet clothes but she had no time to think about that because the shouts of the men behind were now audible enough for her to understand.

  “She won't go into the Harrowing, follow her!” She heard one of them yell.

  Kyla dashed forward and they followed her. If she’d been running at normal speed, they would have caught up with her easily but the strangeness within her boosted her physical capabilities and her glowing eyes allowed her to see clearer. So although the light of the two moons barely penetrated the forest she could see clearer than all her pursuers.

  “Girl! Stop, are you trying to kill yourself?” One of the men yelled. “You are already too deep into the Harrowing, just give it up!”

  Kyla didn't even falter. She’d of course heard tales of the Harrowing, one of the deadliest parts of the Great Forest. Apart from the Wandering Paths and the Silk Trees only uncharted areas could boast of being as dangerous as the Harrowing. However, right now, she’d rather get lost in a mystical forest than surrender herself to slavery or worse.

  “Stop!” she heard one of the men yell and the footsteps chasing her halted. “We are almost in Ghar territory, don't worry about it, she won't live to see the next day!”

  Kyla however didn't stop running through the woods, she only stopped when she couldn't hear the sounds of their feet anymore. When she stopped her eyes stopped glowing and she collapsed on the ground wheezing from exhaustion.

  Using the weirdness within her always took a physical toll. She dragged herself to the bark of a tree and rested against it for a while.

  The forest was quiet and nothing was moving. She frowned, glancing around just to make sure she wasn't in any mortal danger. She allowed the heat to rise within her and she used her glowing eyes to scan the environment. Apart from a small earthworm she spotted burrowing into the soil in a frantic manner, she didn't spot any living thing in the area.

  Then, a feeling of wrongness descended upon her. She got up instinctively, her heart racing and her hand trembling involuntarily. For the first time in a while, Kyla was afraid.