This is an excerpt from my novel in progress. I will appreciate any comment or critic to improve this story. The rest of the novel will be for reader only.
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'So, when will I die?'�

The Oracle did not answer immediately. Instead, she studied the face in front of her. There was no fear in it. No desperation. Only exhaustion that was as deep as an endless ocean. Weariness that made her features looked much older than her actual age of twenty.

'Why did you ask that?'�

The young woman's face had not changed ever the slightest. 'Surely this is not the first time you encountered such a question?'�

'No, this is not. But I still ask every single one of them, including you.'�

The question was left hanging in the air. Candle lights danced when a breeze blew into the room, casting strange and eerie shadows on the walls. A scent of lily wafted from the candles, hanging in the heavy atmosphere. Sitting there almost felt like attending a gloomy procession of the dead.

The shawl dropped from the young woman's shoulders, baring ghostly pale skin under it for an instance. She drew it back nonchalantly, shivering slightly from the night chill. Her long hair, light blonde almost white, framed her equal pale face. In all she appeared like a very pale sun.

What an irony, thought the Oracle.

'I am a very sick woman,'� the young woman answered finally. 'I do not want to live in this world anymore.'�

'I know,'� answered the Oracle.

'Then why did you still ask for my reason?'� she laughed. 'I don't understand how an Oracle thinks.'�

The shadows moved again, creeping along dusty bookshelves. Like hands that intended to pull away every life from their soul. The air hung heavy, making it hard to breath.

'Come on, you are the Oracle,'� the young woman smiled. 'Amaze me.'�

'As you wish,'� she replied calmly, not tempted with the challenge. 'You are a very lonely soul, Child. Trapped in a powerless body. Hating the one thing you love most. Spending your life counting the day to your freedom. Not caring for anything, not even your family. A restless soul hoping that the nightmare will soon be over so once, just once, she could see the morning again.'�

For a moment there was fire on those grey silvery eyes. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone, and the young woman sat serene again.

'You did amaze me, Oracle,'� she replied. 'Now, end my yearning and tell me, when will I be free from this world?'�

'What if I tell you that I know the cure for your disease?'�

A glint of hope was on her platonic face, like a sudden rays of sunlight through the leaves. She dismissed it with a chuckle.

'I have spent my life seeing every Healer and Potion Master in this country, and not one of them could cure me. What an Oracle could do when other experienced master failed?'�

'I could tell you that your cure lies with the Moon Children.'�

The young woman's fortress of coldness finally crumbled down as she sat there, all of her emotion flooded out. Hope, doubt, anxiety, and more fatigue marred her beautiful face. As though pictured her heart, the shadows danced wildly as night wind blew into the room.

'The Shadow Stalkers? They are just myth. A story used by mothers to scare their children. They do not exist.'�

'They did exist. They still do. Hidden in a place so far away that no human ever laid eyes upon them again. Thus they became the creatures of legend.'�

The young woman sat very still, but her quivering body betrayed her plain face. 'How do I know that this is not your attempt to lift up my spirit?'�

The Oracle shook her head sadly. 'Child, I am an Oracle, not a court bard. I do not entertain people. Many people take me as the messenger of bad news because I gave them the simple truth. And that is what I did. I gave you the truth. To believe it or not, it is completely up to you.'�

Silence surrounded them again. The young woman stared into the candle's flames, lost in thoughts. For once the room was not as heavy as before. The Oracle took a deep breath.

'Where are they?'�

'They dwell in an ancient forest, far west from here. The forest itself lies from the south west border of the Kingdom of Helein to the Ocean of Storm. Somewhere in the forest is where your cure lies.'�

'Yes, I know,'� her eyes drifted to layers upon layers of books on the shelves. 'I read about it once. The forest covers almost ten miles. How am I supposed to find a lost civilization in such a vast place?'�

'Visit my sister in the Sentria Town. Her name is Marienne. She will tell you how to locate the Moon Children.'�

'Is that all?'�

'That is all,'� replied the Oracle. 'Again, I can not give you any evidence to support my words. To believe or not, is up to you. Good night, Child. Fare you well.'�

A maid appeared out of nowhere, ready to escort the Oracle. The young woman still sat on her chair, even after the Oracle had long departed. The candle lights swayed silently in the night breeze, casting long shadows across the room.

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