CHAPTER 2 : MEETING ADAM

The Zhatiera village was filled with houses made from straw but covered in pure white snow and the people, children, farmer and everyday people with their Zhatierians traits, platinum hair and skin as white as snow, beautiful and hardworking people are spending their day like any other evening.

Doing their chores while passing by each other with a smile on their face. They were all happy, busy and sounds of laughter can be heard from every part of the town.

Everyone seems to have powers as spatters of magic is seen everywhere with them using them for their chores or the children, playing with their friends. Sounds of horses approaching making everyone turned and cheered seeing the King and Queen walking in the midst of the busy street.

Eve herself was walking in front of them and she held a basket fill with fruits and going to each villager. Greeting them as she passed.

“Hello princess! Good day to you!” She hears people calling out to her and Eve approach them. She offers the fruit in her basket to them .

“Hello there sir. Here is a gift form the palace. Harvesting season is near. Do have one from us." 

The round old lady smiled ,"Why, thank you very much my sweet princess. May the Goddess bless you for your kind gift.”

She hugged the princess and place a kiss on her cheek. It didn’t seem to faze the king and queen since the bond between each Zhatierians, including the royalty are close since they all share one thing in common, blood line of the Goddess Khione herself. 

Everyone Eve approaches took her fruit their lips drips with words of gratitude to the beautiful princess. 

It made the King and Queen smile including the knights around them seeing how sweet Eve was to the villagers and how much she was loved by the people. A true value of a princess for what is a princess if she is not loved by her people? 

What they didn’t notice, throughout the laughter and cheers around them was Eve's eyes sparkling, gazing at the gates, further away from the village and heading towards the snow covered forest.

When she see he parents was busy speaking and spending their time near a shop which is gathered by many people, she sneak away from everyone’s eyes and flee towards the pathway heading to her secret hideaway.

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It took some time but Eve succeed in finding her way to the forest she has visited earlier. She had never went this far and as much as she was a bit scared, her need for adventure made her enter deeper, jumping and gazing at the floras around her. 

It was odd the trees around her have so many flowers, pink flowers to be exact and most of it fill the ground to a brim that her feet were bury in it. Eve was amazed with its beauty and quite surprised not ever seeing it ever.

Meanwhile, a small great horned baby owl was resting itself on her shoulder. Its eyes were open and it has golden eye with black circles around it. It has pure white fur with black specks highlights its chest and thick feathers grew around its neck just like a fur. It keeps making a small ‘hooo’ sound every time she jumps. Eve hisses at her owl in a low voice.

“Marion! You have to keep quiet! If anyone hear you, they will catch us and we’ll be punished for sure. Do you know how hard it is to hide from Khalid?”

The owl makes another hooo sound which ended with what sound like a sigh before closing its eyes. Eve smiled at her pet and moves closer into the forest. 

“You know Marion,” She whisper to her owl, “I always wonder what is on the other side of this forest. There’s another one up front call the dark forest. Apparently, it is connected to this Forrest but a barrier is placed between them. No one can enter here but it is the only way for anyone to enter Zhatiera.

She moves deeper and notice the trees in front of her and see old trees with barely any leaves or flowers blooming from there. When she reaches a spot in front of her, she stops. She sees how the pathways of the forest stops there and two huge barren trees was on each side of the pathway.

“This is it, Marion. If anyone finds us, we’ll be dead.”

The owl was of course had its eyes closed while Eve, stands there with her blue strapless gown and platinum curls falls freely down her back staring forward. She gulped in air and closes her eyes. Her hand reach out towards the forest. When her hand went passed the barrier, her hand disappears, becoming invisible and her whole body followed her.

The view that appear before her after that was shockingly breath-taking. Hills around looking so green and lively with small pond in the middle of the nature made garden, surrounded by blooming white daisies that was flooding the ground. 

A huge apple tree next to the pond and butterflies floating around with no fear or concern just add to the beauty of the land. They were happy and so was she, from the look on her face. 

It was such as beautiful surprise. Her parents had mad it clear that what behold before their forredt is a place fill with dark creatures evil being that would hurt her or wants her dead but there was nothing but beauty here and she was making sur not to waste any of her time there.

She was about to run to the middle of meadow when she heard a sound of water splashing. She turns towards the pond near the apple tree and cover the sunlight flashing her vision. When the sound becomes louder, she quickly rush to the spot.

She saw small hands on the surface of the water trying to reach up and grabbed on something but the hand started to sink before she can reach for them. Eve knows that someone was in trouble and it was important for her to act as fast as she can.

She looks around for anything that can help but not one seems to be helpful. She then raised her palm and stare into them, knowing it may be the only thing that can help the stranger. She puts her palm on the ground and closes her eyes.

She breath hard and tries to push as much power as she can. Her power seems to be weak and slow. Marian eyes were open and it keeps giving out longer ‘hooo’ like it was cheering for Eve.

She closes her eyes and with one more push, her powers came in full blast that she can feel the bottom of the pond is starting to freeze and quickly pushing the stranger to the tops.

When a body of a boy came out from the water, Eve quickly grab her hand and pull him to the ground. Her eyes widen seeing the boy and it took his breath away. It was the first time he got to see  a boy with dark brown hair, all wet and in a white shirt and black pants starting to cough out the pond water.

His eyes snapped wide open and a pair of hazelnut brown orbs was staring deep into her. She can feel blood rushing to her cheek. The boy  was so handsome and different. Uniquely interesting and she felt odd at how fast her heart was beating. She raised her small hands and gently place her palm on his cheek. 

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

He was quiet and Eve was pretty sure that he was as entranced as her as she did him. At least that's what she think since his eyes was so wide as he stare at her and his check seems to be sickening. None of the knew that this meeting was going to change their life forever.