CHAPTER 10.

ANNA

Anna sprinkled an onyx-coloured substance in the square of the village. The substance formed in multiple shapes of diamonds, intertwining into a specific shape that seemed like it doesn't exist. She finished the final touches to the portal by tracing a circle around the diamonds. It was early that morning, the sky was dusted gold and pink. Vibrant rays started to ascend within the horizon. The beginning of a brand new day came like a kept promise. A soft and frosty wind nipped against Anna's fingertips. Brilliant rays beamed off of the rising sun and entwined through the thick pines of the forest.

A billow breath came from Anna's lips, as she finished the final preparations to travel to Camelot. No plans were discussed that night about when and how they should prepare for their travels.

The village was isolated near the bay, it was difficult to locate through the Agavan forest. Anna decided on the behalf of the group that they would travel a very uncomfortable way. If they despised horseback travelling, then she knew they would despise travelling by portals even more.

Explaining the physics of a portal would prove to be impossible. Anna chanted the final words to the portal, her staff started to glow and she pressed it against the ground. A green aura levitated off from her staff and around the circle.

Between reality and fiction, she stared into the overlapping hole of magic. In between, there was a clear barrier on the opposite side she was on. Anna made sure that this was a one-way ticket and nothing comes through or back to the village.

She had to make sure that she wouldn't open any other gateways. Uncommonly, this was something she managed to master. If the sword of legend was truly real, then she had to encounter it herself. 

There were points she questioned if she should follow them through the portal. After all, Camelot and Londinium were the first cities to burn witches, Mages, and anything of the supernatural.
But it was for the best, she had a group to protect her. The Mage didn't want to hurt anyone, nor get attacked. She had this constant series of thoughts rolling through her mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep yawn.

"Morning-" Marcus greeted her.

The mage placed her staff in front of him, stopping him from foolishly stepping into the portal. After all, he was half awake and he needed time. He wobbled a bit and stepped back. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Is that a portal?" he questioned in disbelief.

The clueless man stood there waiting for an answer, he was fascinated by how she had opened one in the middle of the village.

"Yes, and I need you to be careful to not step into it. That would be terrible news because I would've had to recreate a new one from scratch if it closed." Anna explained, recalling what happened previously.

"Does this happen to have anything to do with the legend of the sword that we discussed last night? Well, not all of us. But I would think it's fair if that's your answer." Marcus corrected himself and took a seat a couple of feet away from the portal.

Anna turned away from the portal and took a seat next to him.

Anna sighed deeply, "It does. I've taken things into my own hands to create a solution for the Riders. You may not enjoy the stomach-twisting feeling while travelling through a portal. But it's better than going on a horse and being hunted down by the Riders for the second time. They were after Axel, I just know it." Anna explained.

"How will we determine if she is someone from the royal bloodline?" Marcus questioned. Anna sensed a trail of fear in his voice, something he held back.

"If we can find the sword. There isn't a doubt that there will be a massive line of men. They'll be fighting for a turn over the sword. I can sense that the bay has a low tide and the sword will reveal itself or I may be mistaken for it has already revealed itself." Anna replied confidently.

"But the legend says a man will pull the sword from the stone. This means Gavin has to give it a try. After all he's the one having the dreams." Marcus tested the Mage.

Her expression was calm and it didn't surprise him as much. To him, Mages seemed to be an intelligent species of Humans that unlocked secrets to this world. He was attracted to her intelligence and beauty. A warm feeling remained in his chest, while he kept his gaze away from the Mage.

"Gavin's not the only one having frequent dreams. Axel has passed through the void and entered the realm of Illusion. Another realm between our world. You can only enter it if you're half asleep and half awake." Anna corrected Marcus. Marcus shook his head in disbelief.

"Anything else she doesn't want to tell me about?" Marcus questioned, sarcastically.

"And how do you know these things in the first place?" Marcus said in an upset voice. 

"Your friend and Axel ran into deep trouble. They were face to face against a Wendigo, and Axel took a nasty fall off the cliff while it dragged her down the depths of the Forbidden Pool... That wasn't all." Anna trailed off. She took a deep breath remembering a shallow amount of water that filled Axel's lungs. It was around the time Magnus brought her back to the village after hunting for a deer.

A deep pit formed in the depths of his stomach. 

He swallowed thickly before speaking, "What happened?"

"I didn't find a pulse when I began reviving her. That's not all I saw, I saw the dreams she-"

"Planning on entering Camelot?" Gavin questioned, recognizing the abandoned part of the market the portal showed.

The interruption startled Marcus, whether Gavin heard the whole conversation or pieces of it. 

Marcus remained calm and smoothly spoke, "That's her plan. Not mine."

Anna rolled her eyes playfully, "Our idea, since Marcus, you, Axel, Magnus, and I are going to be investigating the reality part of your vision, I decided when I first woke up to make our journey a bit...shorter." Anna found the correct word for her sentence.

"I'm not going to like this one bit. I'm hoping if I get sick that this experience will be a one-time-only." Gavin joked with Anna.

Unnoticeable, Marcus started to play with the grass, occupying himself away from the conversation. His muscles became tense and untensed, even when Marcus had a theory that Gavin liked Anna as much as he did.

It wasn't his fault, Gavin was naturally a social butterfly and had this natural and beautiful smile about him. Nothing disgusting and rotten like most of the poorer folk of Camelot.

Marcus looked over to Gaven and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Gavin questioned.

Marcus managed to bring the smile out of him even with the jealousy, "Nothing. I just zoned out." Marcus lied through his teeth.

"Sure." Gaven rolled his eyes catching Marcus's lie.

"Please, both of you. Can we have a day without arguments?" Anna scolded noticing the alpha male rivalry between these two. The two males opened their mouths to protest against each other, but they chose not to create an argument.

Gaven wasn't attracted to Anna, he was naturally this friendly and it pissed Marcus off. Marcus jumped up and distanced himself from Gaven and Anna. Anna acknowledged he needed space and it was for their own good.

 Marcus couldn't help but to feel raw anger crawl through his veins. His jaw locked, he watched a small Robin soar through the sky and gracefully land in her nest. She held a worm between her small beak and began to aid her chicks. Marcus slowly began to feel his anger diffused into nothing after seeing something so innocent and flightless.

"What the hell am I doing?" Marcus began to quietly talk to himself, realizing that this was his fault. If he didn't engage and open his mouth things would have been different. He felt a pang of deep guilt, for what had happened between Gavin and him. Anna watched Marcus closely. Examining what he felt and why?

Gravel crunched beneath Magnus's boots, he accompanied Axel. The Prince had dark circles beneath his eyes, he continued to yawn when he reached where Anna stood.

"Sleep well?" She asked the two, curiously.

"I took the floor. But I regret drinking my seventh cup of Meed. I should have stopped before I passed out. Now, I face the consequences." Magnus explained to the Mage. His head felt heavy and he had enough energy to withstand the day. But he could say other for the splitting headache he had.

Axel shrugged, "I didn't have the greatest rest either. I- never mind." Axel refused to share the recent dream she had. Anna furrowed her brows and watched as Axel fidgeted. She allowed Axel to keep it to herself, understanding that she would probably open up later about it.

"What if we can make your dreams go away?" Anna questioned Axel. 

Axel combed her hands through her hair, "How, please explain." Axel began.

"By confronting the things in your dreams, we'll have to start with the sword you saw. Then we'll work further on." Anna listed possible outcomes that could put an end to the frequent dreams.

"Gather around," Anna ordered. The four gathered on each side of Anna, obediently. 

Anna opened the leather bag that hung over her shoulder. She pulled out five glass vials, filled with a green liquid. As disgusting as it looked, she passed one to each of them.

Gaven popped the cork and a strong incense entered his lungs. Gaven scrunched his face up in disgust, the smell was malodorous to him. He held it away from his face and coughed into the other arm. His eyes started to water, due to the smell.

"That is the most disgusting smell that I have ever inhaled." Gavin's voice croaked.

"Ignore the smell and drink it," Anna answered with a bit of an irritated voice.

"Why should I? This shit is disgusting and you're telling me to drink it? No thanks!" Gavin refused to cooperate with the Mage. Frustration started to build up within her, she masked it with silence and decided to have self-control there.

"Unless you want yourself to be torn apart by time and space. Then I suggest you chug it back like a man and listen to Anna." Magnus stepped in.

"Ya, just because you say so, pretty boy." Gavin fired back at Magnus. 

Magnus kept calm and preferred that name any day, over the insult that Marcus called him last night.

"Come on, Gavin. We all have to do this, do you think I want to drink this? The answer is: hell no, but I would rather not get torn apart by space and time." Axel pressured Gavin into drinking the substance.

Gavin was the first to swig it back. He scrunched his face and shook his head in disgust. The rest of the group followed his lead.

"Maybe you should put a mix of blackberry in it, to mask the taste," Gavin suggested.

"It's not meant to taste good, otherwise I would have the whole village breaking into my cabin for the potion." Anna exaggerated. A bubbly feeling rose up from Axel's stomach. She chuckled lightly. Observing Gavin trying so hard to convince Anna, she found that it was entertaining.

"Alright! Maybe next time." Anna hollered. Gavin hit a nerve, making the Mage crack with an annoyed expression.

"What now?" Marcus questioned, changing subjects.

"Each of us needs to step through the portal at the same time, so no one is lost in a different dimension. So, it's best to hold onto each other." Anna reasoned with the group. Each of them exchanged an awkward look.

"Oh great, we're holding hands now?" Gavin joked brightening the sour mood and changing it into laughter.

"I'm cool with it," Marcus says, he took a different approach to his mood.

"Good attitude, Mark." Axel complimented Marcus. She admired that Marcus was one of them that didn't want to piss off the Mage. Axel saw the way Marcus looked at Anna. He looked at her differently than how he looked at Axel.

Marcus looked at her with a deep passion, almost as if Anna was the most brilliant woman he's ever met.

Marcus's lip curled into half of a smile. Gaven Axel's right hand, while Marcus took Anna's left, considering she held a staff in her other hand. Marcus placed a firm grip on Anna's shoulder. Anna looked down at Axel's other hand. Axel bit her lip and hesitated to take the Prince's hand. But what surprised Anna was that Magnus took her hand, without noticing Axel's hesitation. 

Anna could easily tell that Axel was intimidated by the Prince. She couldn't blame Axel, many were intimidated by him. Marcus's fingers intertwined with Axel's smaller hand.

A small smile formed on Magnus's face. He hasn't felt a specific emotion in a while, ever since his previous love died. That smile slowly faded away with the thought of the women in his mind.

He felt like a traitor for substituting someone he began to admire, replacing the previous love of his life. He felt selfish, but he pushed those emotional regrets back deep down and inside. He felt as if he lost a part of himself. He didn't even know who he was anymore.