Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Arianna was pregnant, beautiful, and enigmatic. She was ready to give birth at any moment, walking through the woods in her hiking gear. She was holding an ancient map of the world that had marked on it the locations of the seven hidden temples, one for each of the seven great magical kingdoms.
“We’re almost there, Scar,” said Arianna.
Scar was muscular, her protector, and enamored with Arianna. He wanted to be the father of her child, but never got the chance. The deep scar across his face always bothered him. It was a reminder of the sacrifice he almost made to save her.
“The Forest Kingdom is a bitch to crawl through,” said Scar, following behind her in the woods. “We’ll never find the temple or the jewel in here.”
“They call it hidden for a reason,” said Arianna, who was becoming exhausted by her unborn weight.
Scar took notice of all the eerie sounds and strange movements in the woods. “This forest gives me the creeps,” he said. “I have a bad feeling about this place. I’ve heard of magical forces here.”
“Don’t be afraid, Scar, this is not where you die,” said Arianna. “Trust me, I have foreseen your death. It awaits for you a long time from now.”
“How is the child?” asked Scar, though Arianna didn’t respond.
They traveled more for a short distance until they finally arrived at their destination. The church-like temple was made of cracked stones that were old and gray. There were vines crawled all over it and it was shrouded in nature, smothered by trees and bushes. It stretched for as high as the eye could see.
Arianna looked at the map and then back to the ruins to make sure they were indeed in the correct spot. “The jewel is here,” she said. “This is the temple.”
“This ancient trash looks like it couldn’t be missed,” said Scar. “My guess is that if it’s been here for thousands of years, there’s no stone unturned. We’re wasting our time.” He was getting fed up with Arianna’s obsession and plan to find the jewel, but he liked her.
“Rumors are it’s here,” said Arianna, investigating. “Just not found.” It was her confidence in the matter that sold Scar. He couldn’t disagree.
Arianna approached the creaky and rotten wooden door barely hanging on by its hinges. However, Scar stepped in front of her with his hand out to stop her.
“Hold on, Arianna,” said Scar. “Please, allow me. You’re much too valuable.”
She stepped away to allow him entry, though was slightly annoyed with not being able to do it herself.
Scar entered and found himself in an unlit tunnel-like hallway, occupied by only cobwebs, carcasses, and used furniture. He found nothing out of the ordinary. It was all what he expected from ancient ruins devoured by nature. The smell was rotten, everything creaked, and of course there was nothing of what they were looking for, like some jewel.
He stepped further into the temple, trying to reach the end until he could go no further, just to say to Arianna that he tried his best and fulfilled his duty.
“I was right, Arianna! There’s nothing here!” shouted Scar.
Arianna didn’t believe him. Her map couldn’t be wrong and more importantly, her visions of the future couldn’t be wrong either. This was the first temple she had found and not all of what she had been searching for up until this point could be for nothing.
“Keep looking!” replied Arianna loudly.

Scar was getting frustrated with her and what seemed like her impossible demands. It wasn’t just this one that was getting underneath his skin, but all the others before this one, too.
“Impossible woman,” he muttered.
Scar kept searching, looking for clues, and then it happened. It started with one stone and then many. They cracked and collapsed on each other like a floor of sand. Scar panicked and fell through, trying to grab onto anything he could. He fell into the rubble pile of cracked and gray stone.

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The sound was troubling to Arianna, worried for her brave and loyal protector. She hadn’t expected this, but in a way, was also appreciative. A disaster was better than finding nothing.
She stepped into the temple to see down the hole that Scar collapsed into, seeing him twenty feet down at the bottom, buried in rubble and looking like he had just recently come out of a coal mine.
“Oh my God, Scar! Are you okay?!” she asked.
Scar began to regret everything. He had almost got killed and now was lucky to be alive. But maybe this accident would lead to something. It could be a sign of fate.
“Yes! Stay back, Arianna!” replied Scar.
After he composed himself, he saw the faint red glow of what was in front of him. He knew this was what they had been looking for, a bright light to indicate their search was coming to an end. They had made it. All hadn’t been for nothing.
Scar picked himself up out of the rubble and entered the octagon-shaped room. It had seven walls, each with a cave-drawn portrait etched with a warrior or sorcerer holding a weapon or item. In the center of the room was a chest-high stone podium that held a silver ring embedded with a red gem that lit up and down at its core like a beating heart and was alive.
Scar knew this could only be one thing. It was the jewel and he didn’t know what would happen if he touched it or if he was blessed enough even to do such a thing. He didn’t want to risk damaging its beauty.
Scar edged closer, feeling the warmth of its light on his face and skin. He was mesmerized. “The jewel,” he said softly.
“What’s down there?!” asked Arianna from above, though Scar wouldn’t have the time to tell her.
She grasped her belly and left the temple to drop to her knees and scream the pains of labor.
“Arianna, what’s wrong?!” asked Scar. He hoped it wasn’t the worst.
“Ah! Scar! The baby is coming!” she screamed.
Scar rid his worries of touching the bejeweled ring and snatched it from the podium. Holding it made him feel worthy and deserved. Then he made it his priority to escape the temple to assist Arianna with the delivery of her baby.

***

It took time and was painful for both, but was most of all a miracle.
Scar held in his arms a calm and relaxed baby girl wrapped in a blanket. He looked to Arianna who was holding another baby, a boy.
“Did you know it would be twins?” asked Scar.
Of course she did. Arianna couldn’t keep her eyes or herself off her children, wanting to hold them forever. “I kept it a secret,” she said.

“Along with many others, I’m sure,” said Scar. “What will you name them?”
Arianna had their names planned out for a long time. They came to her in her visions and there was nothing she could do to change them. “Roger and Karen,” she said.
Scar still hadn’t shown or told Arianna about what he had found. He thought of the unthinkable, not telling her, and keeping the jewel to himself, but his ethics wouldn’t allow him. His loyalty to Arianna was stronger.
Scar gave Karen down to Arianna and pulled out the bejeweled ring. “Look what I found,” he said.
Arianna couldn’t believe it. Everything she had done had been worth it now. Her map and visions were correct and she could only smile up at him, feeling the perfection of the moment. “You found the jewel,” she said.
Scar was proud to be part of her adventure now feeling the magic of their discovery. “It looks like destiny is on our side after all,” said Scar. “It’s a beautiful day to be alive.”

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