Lake Wood

This is my original story, please don't copy, please don't edit except spelling/grammar, there might be blood and violence, now let me begin before I make everyone, including myself, go mad.
== Chapter One ==
Today is the day. I can finally open the chest mother left me when she died. 
"Happy birthday, River," Aunt Winter says. "I was just going to get you for breakfast." 
"Can I open the chest before breakfast?" I ask, following her down the stairs. 
"No," Father calls. "You've waited six years, what difference does 30 more minutes make?" 
Sighing, I turn the corner into the dining room. 
"Where's breakfast?" I ask. 
"We're eating outside today," Aunt Winter explains. Father opens the back door and the three of us walk outside. 
"Surprise!" lots of voices shout, as my cousins, aunt, and uncle jump out from behind bushes and rocks. Our backyard is huge, and has lots of trees, bushes, and rocks, with a pond off to one side and a big clearing in the center. A bunch of tables have been dragged into that clearing, with a long table off to one side loaded with food. I recognize the table from Uncle Oak's dining room. There is a pile of pouches and wooden boxes piled next to the food table. 
"You can open presents later," Uncle Oak says. "But right now, let's eat!"
Breakfast is pancakes and sausage. It's really good. After that it's time to open presents, and it seems like everybody got me something. Uncle Oak got me an ornately carved box that he had made himself. His wife, Aunt Lily, gave me a pouch full of earrings. The twins, Birch and Silver, gave me a box filled with wooden animals. Waterfall gave me a pouch full of ribbons. Storm gave me a new satchel, with lots of pockets and even a few that are hidden. My favorite cousin, Rose, gave me a little box filled with miniature animals made from real crystal! Aunt Winter gave me a little travel cooking set, for when I go in the woods. It comes with a little pot and a little pan, plus a plate, cup, knife, spoon, fork, and little containers. It comes in a wooden box with bushes and trees carved on it. I've seen the same set for sale in the market, and have always wanted one. Father gave me a pouch filled with gold coins! 
And then it is time for me to open mother's chest. The chest was always meant to be mine someday, but I wish it could be later. I'm excited to open it, but I would have opened it when I was married and had my own family if mother hadn't died. Aunt Winter told me that. She knew my mom really well, because they were sisters. Aunt Winter had been like a mother to me, but I wanted my mother. That meant Aunt Winter knew me really well, and she could tell that I want to open the chest. But she also knew that I want to be alone when I opened it. So Aunt Winter made sure I only have to wait an hour before everyone left. After that, I can finally open the chest. 
I start by reading the card by it, even though I have read it a million times.
My dearest Riverling,
I love you to the end of time and back again. Everything in this chest is for you, because I can feel the end is near. This sickness took your sister, and now it is going to take me. But as my end is coming, I can see that you can do what I could not. I will not say more than that. Your destiny is yours to decide. I will choose a small part of it for you though. I have to. Otherwise you will not be ready. Do not open this chest before you turn twelve. You can open it on midnight on your twelfth birthday, or a day later, or a month later, but not a second before midnight on your twelfth birthday.
All my love,
Mother
Aunt Winter hands me a key. This is finally it. I can finally open the chest. After all these years. 
I place the key in the lock. Closing my eyes, I slowly turn it and open the chest.
== Chapter Two ==
At the top of the chest lies something made out of midnight blue silk. I lift it out and find a beautiful dress. 
"I remember that dress," Aunt Winter murmurs. "Your mother got married in it." 
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," I say. 
It really is. 
It has short sleeves, like on a tank top. There is a sash tied around it, made from deep purple silk. Underneath the dress there is a smallish pouch. Inside I find several hair ribbons, two in midnight blue, three the same deep purple as the sash, and one black. All of them are made of silk. There is also a pair of earrings inside the pouch. I pull them out and am surprised to see that they're made out of real gold. The gold dangles down on a gold chain, and ends in a teardrop shape clustered with diamonds. 
I pull out a bundle wrapped in paper. Unwrapping the bundle, I find a bunch of jewelry. A strand of pearls, all of them a uniform shape, but ranging in color, from a teal that looks like white to a blueish-green that's almost black. Several charm bracelets, a pair of pearl cluster earrings and a pearl bracelet, with the same range of colors as the pearl necklace, and a small silver locket. 
I open the locket and find a picture of my mother holding me. In the picture I'm still a baby. 
I quietly close the locket, and pull the next thing out of the chest. A ragdoll. Mother had showed it to me before. It was hers when she was a kid, and she named it Rain, because the dress that the doll is wearing is a shimmery blue. 
I gently set Rain on the ground. There is only one thing left in the chest. A map. 
I unfold it. A town is marked. It is here. is written beside the town. 
I read the town name. Lake Wood. I've heard of it before. Uncle Oak travels there to trade his wood carvings once a month. It's only a three day walk away from here. 
I look to Father, a question forming on my tongue. 
"No," Father says sharply, before I can get the question out. 
"But Father..." I say. 
"No," Father says again. "You can not go to that town, River." 
"Why not?" I ask. 
Father's voice softens. "Because you belong with me, Riverling." 
Riverling. That's what Mother called me. Father has never called me that before. He really doesn't want me to go. Which just makes me more determined. 
"Alright, Father," I say, pretending to agree. I pack everything back into the chest, and Father carries it to my room for me. 
Later that night I slip out of bed. I swiftly pull of my night clothes and get dressed. I slip my shoes on, then pull all the satchels that Storm had ever given me for my birthday, all seven of them, one every year since I had turned five, out of my closet. He knew I liked satchels, and so he kept giving them to me. He gave me six of his old satchels. Three when Mother died, to try and make me feel better. 
I picked the three biggest ones. I stuffed one of them full of the rest of the satchels. There was still a little room, so I buried Mother's charm bracelets at the bottom. Then, as an afterthought, I put Rain on the top. In the box Uncle Oak gave me this morning, I put the box of crystal animals, the box of wooden animals, the pouch of earrings, and a few other pieces of jewelry. I feel guilty, because I plan on selling it, but I will need money. 
Then I pull the box of crystal animals out. I can't bring myself to sell it. It might be the last thing Rose ever gives me. Instead, I hide it in the satchel full of satchels. 
I fill the box with jewelry and close it. I fill the bottom of another satchel with the box, jewelry, and other valuable items, hiding some in the remaining space in the satchel. 
After I hide all the valuable items with clothes. I'm about to put the cooking set from Aunt Winter in the third satchel, when I get a better idea. I grab my biggest backpack from my closet, along with my five biggest canteens, and my three biggest water carriers, which can strap across my chest. I put the cooking set, along with several containers, in the backpack. Next goes my First Aid Kit. Then I check the contents of the First Aid Kit. All good. Knife kit, which includes five knives, three daggers, a carving knife, and two sharpeners. Everything is in it. Good. A match box, just in case. 
I try to think if I need anything else. The pouch of coins from Father! 
I grab it and slip it inside the hidden pocket in my backpack. It just barely fits. The only thing I need now is my bow, and plenty of arrows. I only have three quivers of arrows left, but all of them are as full as they can get. They, along with my bow, go into the special compartment in my backpack, specially designed just for a bow. 
I place the water bottles in my the backpack, close it, slip it on, fasten the water carriers to my chest, and sneak down the stairs. 
In the pantry, I fill the third satchel entirely with food. Bread, meat jerky, dried fruit, nuts, granola, and several leftover pancakes in a container that I'll have for breakfast. I scribble a hasty note, saying that I might never get back, sign it, and am out the door. 
I only make it a few steps before I realize I forgot Mother's map. I sneak inside and tiptoe up the stairs. I grab the map and am heading towards the door when Aunt Winter's door creaks open. 
"River? What are you doing up so late?" she asks sleepily. 
"I'm just, uh, using the outhouse," I lie. 
Aunt Winter steps into the moonlight, frowning when she sees the satchels, backpack, and water carriers. 
"Are you running away?" she asks softly. 
Seeing no point in lying, I nod. 
"I won't try to stop you," Aunt Winter says. That surprises me. "But I do want to know.. Why? Why are you running away?" 
"I want to find out what Mother meant. On the map, she wrote 'It is here.' I need to know what that means. And after that.. I want to explore the world," I reply. 
Aunt Winter nods. "Just like your mother" she says. "Goodbye," she whispers, so softly I barely hear her, as I step out the front door. "Wait" Aunt Winter calls after me. I turn around. "Do you have your letter?" Stupid. How could I forget that? I step inside and grab it. Then I leave. 
In the woods I find the fort I made with Rose. I lie down, to get a little sleep before dawn. As I drift off to sleep, it occurs to me that I didn't bring a blanket, and I'll need to get one at Lake Wood. 
== Chapter Three ==
I know that I'll need to move quickly in the morning, so when I wake up, I don't waste any time. I pull all my bags on, and walk to the stream a short distance away. 
Once at the stream, I fill up my water bottles and water carriers, before putting them away again. I drink as much water as I can without being sick. Now I need to start walking. 
I keep up a brisk pace, eating breakfast as I walk. I only eat two of the four pancakes. I need to ration food, like I've learned to do before. The farthest I've been from home is a few miles. I wonder what I'll find in Lake Wood. What would Mother leave there? She must have hidden it, because she wouldn't want anybody else to find it. But she must have wanted me to find it, because otherwise, why would she leave me the map? 
I glance down at the map right now, to make sure I'm going in the right direction. I see a large pond, and Lake Wood is directly left of it. I'm headed straight towards the pond, and I decide it will be easiest to walk to the pond and turn left, so I keep going straight. 
It takes me two days to reach the pond. I forage and hunt for food whenever I can, and refill my water supplies at any clean body of water I encounter. When I reach the pond, I turn left, and it only takes me another day of travel after that to reach Lake Wood. 
This is it. The first time I meet people who aren't from the village. 
There's a girl sitting outside the town, reading a book. A book. I should have brought a book with me. 
"Hello," I say, and the girl looks up. 
"Hi," she says. "You aren't from here, are you?" 
"I'm from the village of Leaping Lily." 
The girl's eyes widen slightly. "Are you related to Oak Emarie?" she asks. "You kind of look like him." 
"He's my uncle," I say. 
"He makes the best wood carvings ever!" the girl says excitedly. "What's your name? I'm Flame Song, but you can call me Flame," she says, not waiting for an answer. "Welcome to Lake Wood! You can stay with my family tonight." 
Flame seems really excited to meet someone new. I guess not very many people come to Lake Wood. Nobody's ever come to Leaping Lily. "I'm River Song," I say. 
"Our names go together, River Song," Flame says. 
"Call me River," I say. "And they do go together, except for the fact that fire and water are opposites." 
"I didn't think of that," Flame replies. "I guess that's true. Let me show you my family's house now." "Mom! This is River Song, but she prefers River. Our names go together, and she's from the village of Leaping Lily. Oak Emarie is her uncle. Can she stay with us tonight? I told her she could stay with us tonight. I probably should have asked first." 
"Yes, you should have." A middle aged woman with brown hair comes into the living room, wiping her hands on an apron. "Hello, River," she says to me. "I'm Petunia, and of course you can stay with us tonight." Then she turns to Flame. "How many times have I told you to ask before inviting people over?" 
"A lot?" Flame says sheepishly. 
Petunia sighs. "I need to finish washing dishes," she says, heading back into the kitchen. 
"Come see my room," Flame says, leading me up the stairs. 
Flame's room is spacious, with a large wardrobe/dresser against one wall and a fancy bed that looks like two beds stacked on top of each other against another. Flame sees me staring at the bed. "That's called a bunk bed" she says. "My father made it. He's a carpenter, and your Uncle's best friend. I think my father used to live in Leaping Lily, but he met my mother and moved here" "That's.. intresting" I say. "I've never seen a bunk bed before" "Now you have" Flame says. "So... why did you come to Lake Wood?" "I want to explore the world" I say. It's part of the truth, but it feels to personal to say why I'm really here, in this village. "and I've never left Leaping Lily before this" "Cool" Flame says. "Tommorow I can give you a tour of the village! And maybe I can explore the world with you!" "umm- yeah" I say. I cannot see myself exploring the world with Flame. We're comeplete opposites. I think my name might make more sense for her. She's so bubbly and energetic, like a rushing river. I'm more like a flame. Fierce and strong, but hidden by all the raging wildfires. 
Chapter Four
I've been in Lake Wood for four days, but I don't have any idea what Mom could have hidden here. Nothing looks like it doesn't belong. Mom could have buried a box or something, but if it was on the map, and she left the map for me, she wanted me to find it. I still haven't told anyone why I'm really here. Flame and I have gotton a little closer, bonding over how much we love reading and how much we dislike Samantha. She's the mayor's daughter, because Lake Wood is big enough to have a mayor, unlike Leaping Lily, which is run by a council, and she's spoiled. She's not a brat excactly, but she says she's the prettiest girl in the village. Her dad gets her anything she wants, and she's mean to anyone who won't be her friend. Flame is the only one who refused to be her friend, because she hates fake people, and Samantha is fake nice. Flame comes outside and sits on the chair swing in her front yard. She hands me a giant cinnamon roll. "Thanks" I say. Samantha walks past us, two girls following behind her. "Hi weirdos" Samantha says, and the one of the girls laughs. The other look at her feet. "I would call you the same thing," I say, "But weird is a side effect awesome, and you are the opposite of awesome" Flame giggles, and I grin at her. "She's just jealous" One of Samantha's friends says. "Why would I be jealous of a spoiled girl who has to force people to be her friends and says she's the prettiest girl in the village even though her dresses look ugly?" I ask. "Hmp" Samantha says, storming off. The girl who said I was jealous follows her, and the other one sends me a thank you look before following them. "Personally, I think your much prettier than Samantha" Flame tells me. "So are you, and about half the other girls in the village" I point out. Flame laughs. "That's probably true" She says. I take a giant bite of the cinnamon roll. Flame takes a bite of her own cinnamon roll. "Have you read the final book in the trilogy that I can never remember the name of?" I ask.
Somebody knocks on the door. "Who could be knocking this late?" I ask. Flame shrugs. We were just about to got to bed. I hear Petunia opening the door. I haven't met Flame's dad yet, because he's traveling in other villages to see if anybody needs new furniture. "Mr. Mayor! I wasn't excpecting to see you at this hour!" I hear Petunia say, suprise evident in her voice. "Where is your daughter and the girl who's staying here?" The mayor demands. "Girls! The mayor wants to see you!" Petunia calls. Flame and I exchange looks and head to the stairs.
Category:Stories
Category:Incomplete