“The
forest?” he finished, grinning horribly at her with a high-pitched giggle.
“You’re running away from the king, are you? You won’t bother to ask him, and
Chilly knows why! Your father’s gone deaf, has he? His poor mind has turned to
stone, and his heart, and soon his whole self will be stone. A stone king on a
golden throne, with none to make him flesh again!”
Gaelynn
was fairly quaking in fear now, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Wait
a minute,” I spoke to him, “you said we couldn’t face the forest without you.”
Chilly
bowed with a flourish, “This is true; none in the castle knows the forest like
a fool!”
I
smiled, catching his meaning, “But you never said anything about how wrong we
were to be running away ourselves.”
Chilly
said nothing, only smiled at me with an intelligent glint in his eye.
“Gaelynn,”
I said to the sobbing princess, “There is a key somewhere here. We must find
it.”
“There
has not been a key to this door,” Chilly remarked, speaking as plainly as he
had to me in the king’s court.
“There
must be,” I told him stubbornly, knowing that the mere statement of the fact
from my mouth made it true, “I say that there is.”
“I
think I’ve found it,” Gaelynn remarked, and she drew from a chink in the wall a
large, thick key that undoubtedly fit into the lock on the door. She inserted
it, and we all heard the loud click as
the bolt turned.
Chilly
was staring at me as we proceeded down the tunnel. I heard his whisper echoing
around me in the darkness. “She speaks, and it is so. The words, as good as
written, flow. If anything happened, the writer would know.” I shivered at their significance; had Chilly guessed
my singular ability?
“Laura,”
Gaelynn whispered, groping for my hand in the darkness, “where does this tunnel
lead us?”
I
tried to remember what it had been like when I had first arrived, and had my
first glimpse of the battlefield.
“The
tunnel lets out just behind the Black Fox’s camp,” I said, “southwest of the
castle.”
“Then
to get to the Deep Forest,” Chilly supplied, as we traveled easier down the arm
of the tunnel that led to the opening, “we will need to travel east.”
I
stopped and looked at the man—for I could no longer call him a fool when he
very evidently was not one. In the light of the tunnel mouth, I could see that
his face had changed. He no longer wore the exaggerated, vacant expression he
plastered over his face as the king’s jester. He met my gaze boldly.
“What?”
he asked.
I
smiled, “You sound like a forester, yourself,” I guessed.
Gaelynn
gasped, “Chilly is Jerald?” she shrieked in amazement.
Chilly
instantly shook his head, “Nay; if I was Jerald I would have made myself known
by now. Do you not recall, princess? Jerald was banished from the castle only
after I entered the King’s service.”
“Banished?”
I asked. “What had he done?”
Chilly
(I felt bad calling him that now, but he had no other name that I knew of)
shrugged, “Something to cause him to fall from grace long before that. I was
one of his band, we lived in the skirts of the forest and stopped corruption
from entering the castle for many years. Then the queen—“ he stopped and
glanced to Gaelynn, leaving that sentence unfinished. “Something happened and
Jerald was no longer well-received by the king. We were disbanded, and Jerald
himself asked me to get a post in the king’s court, to watch over the king for him.”
“Because
of the councilors,” I concluded.
Chilly
nodded, “Aye; snakes, every one of them! For an unlearned man such as I,
though, the only post I could get that would place me by the king’s side every
day as Jerald wanted was that of a fool. So I came, singing and dancing, as
Chilly.” He performed a little caper to demonstrate his capacity. He bowed to
us, and Gaelynn clapped appreciatively, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“My
true name is Charlie,” he told us.
“Charlie,”
I murmured. The name didn’t surprise me. He looked very like and older version
of the cabin boy I’d befriended in another world.
“Do
you know where we can find Jerald?” Gaelynn asked as we slunk out of the tunnel
into the trees right behind the backs of the Black Fox and his army.
“I’m
afraid I’ve lived in the castle much like you, Highness,” Charlie sighed. “The
woods have grown dark and treacherous since the days when the foresters roamed
their paths. Much like—“ he dropped off with an abashed glance in the direction
of the castle, and to Gaelynn.
“Much
like the king’s courts, you were going to say?” I asked him as we began
walking, freer now that we were some distance away from the camp.
Charlie
smiled ruefully and ducked his head. “You are a smart woman, Laura. You have hit
upon the very reason I obeyed Jerald’s request to stay by the king. He has
grown overused to listening to the counsel of greedy men, and time has only
increased their greed, so that they will give him only that advice that will
expand their barns and line their pockets, to say nothing of the kingdom.” He
stopped and looked at me earnestly. Gaelynn temporarily lost interest in us and
walked on a short ways, alone.
“Truthfully,
Laura,” he told me in a low voice, “Those men you saw in the castle are all that
Phantasia has left. Every able-bodied man and boy took up arms to defend their
castle, leaving the rest of the land open for the Black Fox to claim. Jerald
must hearten the king, so that he may rise up and establish the nation again—if
he still yet lives.”
I
saw the pain in Charlie’s eyes, and I fervently hoped that Jerald could still
be found.
“Are
you beginning to doubt that he lives?” I asked.
Charlie
bobbed his head uncertainly, “He has not been seen for many years,” he mused.
“Of course, that is not unusual for a forester; we are well-trained at becoming
invisible, even in the forest, but—“
“You
think he would have contacted you by now?” I inquired.
Charlie
most likely would have answered, but just at that moment, he held up a hand to
warn me to keep still and quiet. We heard Gaelynn’s voice, speaking with one
who sounded like an old man. Charlie and I approached carefully, but by the
time we reached the princess, she was alone.
“Whom
were you speaking with?” Charlie demanded a bit brusquely.
Gaelynn
waved her hand passively, “Oh, just one of the forest-dwellers; an old man, I
think. He said the last time he saw the forester, he was headed down this road
here! We are close, I think!” Her eyes danced with anticipation.
Charlie
frowned as he studied the path Gaelynn designated.
“What
is it?” I asked him, “Could the old man be telling the truth?”
Charlie
did not respond for a long while. When he did, his voice sounded uncertain.
“I’ve heard stories about these parts of the woods,” he hinted, “how dangerous
they might be.”
“But
if the forester is there,” Gaelynn observed, “shouldn’t we risk going anyway,
for the sake of the kingdom?”
That
got Charlie’s attention; he was devoted to Phantasia, he would do anything to
help it keep its rightful king. “Oh, very well,” he sighed, “We’ll go there;
but all three of us must stay together; our lives depend on it!”
Gaelynn
shrugged as she linked her arm in mine. “It’s not like those rumors are true,
you know,” she chided Charlie. “We’ve traveled over probably half the Deep
Forest, and there has not been one ounce of difficulty!”
“Yes,”
Charlie replied, gritting his teeth at the princess’ careless, lackadaisical
attitude, “but this is the heart of the Deep Forest. This is where the queen
went when she—“
“Well,
she was alone!” Gaelynn cut him off and flounced down the path in a huff. I
heard her sniff a few times, and knew she was crying.
I
shot Charlie a look, but he rolled his eyes and followed after the princess. I
heeded his warning and stayed close to him.
We
walked for several hours; Gaelynn stayed close enough for us to see her, but
she refused to join us. She put a bit more distance between us when Charlie and
I stopped to drink from a small spring (after Charlie had made sure it was safe
to drink, of course.) I welcomed the cool, clear water.
“Charlie? Laura?” Gaelynn called to
us from up ahead. “Come look at these!”
We
joined the princess. She stood in a muddy clearing, gazing up at trees with
black vines hanging down. Closer inspection revealed that these were not so
much vines, but they looked and felt just like sticky black cords.
“It’s
all very queer, don’t you think?” she said, gazing at the strange, spectral
trees and tipping her head from side to side.
“This
whole forest is queer,” Charlie said, his eyes roving around the shadows. “We
ought to find a place to camp. Not here, of course,” he tapped his foot in the
wet, muddy ground, “but someplace safer, away from the queer parts of the
forest.”
“Oh,
it’s not getting dark yet.” I wanted to get a closer look at the black vines
that looked like nylon rope. “I think—does it look like the vines are getting
longer?”
I
stood still and watched; sure enough, the vines seemed to lengthen as we
watched. After only a few moments, the vines that began near the tops of the
trees had nearly reached the ground. The ground…
I noticed as I stood next to
Gaelynn that my boots suddenly felt rooted to the spot. I looked down to the
ground and saw that the princess herself had sunk to well past her ankles.
“Gaelynn,
look out!” I cried.
Gaelynn
looked down and screamed. She tried to move her feet, but to no avail. I saw
that Charlie was stuck as well. Terror caused my heart to jump into my throat.
How had this happened? How long had we been standing here? The sun looked
considerably lower than it had been when we first entered the clearing. Night
was coming on fast, indeed—but by now we could not move to safety!
“Grab
a vine!” Charlie yelled, lunging for the nearest black cord.
We
did so, but the vines grabbed back! They stuck to our hands as we pulled, and
wrapped around our wrists. Pulling on the cords gave enough counter-movement to
pull us free of the mud, but our weight upon the cords only caused them to pull
us higher and closer to the trees.
I
reached up and tried to pull the vine off my wrist, but in the process, my free
hand brushed another vine and was instantly entwined. As it drew me closer to
the tree, the cord slowly worked its way down and around my body, like a sticky
boa constrictor, until I was completely cocooned in the sticky black cord.
Wriggling and pulling only made it tighter, until I began to feel dizzy; the
vines were choking me! Charlie and Gaelynn had already passed out. We looked
like three black mummies in the tree. I stopped moving, and the vines stopped
squeezing. I hung there in the falling darkness, listening to the various
growls and howls of countless deadly woodland creatures, praying for the
daylight and wondering how on earth we would escape our vile bonds.
After
a tortuous night, I could no longer sleep when dawn shone in my eyes. I looked
over. Charlie and Gaelynn still remained unconscious and tightly bound high
above the forest floor. I looked around. Everywhere was empty, but I could
still make out the paw-prints of several large animals in the mud below us.
“Hello?”
A hoarse voice came from behind us, in the bushes somewhere. “Is that someone?”
“Hello?”
I called back, trying to crane my neck, but I could not see behind me, no
matter how hard I tried.
“Oh,
thanks be, I am not too late!”
I
saw Charlie begin to stir.
“Charlie!”
I hissed, “Charlie!”
“Hmmm…”
he groaned, “Wha—“ his eyes popped open and he stared down at his bonds.
“Can
you help us?” I called to the voice.
“I
believe I can. Do you see the cord between your feet?”
I
looked down. “Yes.”
“And
that branch below it?”
I
shifted my feet slightly and saw a jagged stub. “It’s there.”
“Try
and work the cord around the branch till it breaks.”
“What
breaks, the rope or the branch?”
The
voice paused. “Either one will do.”
I
rolled my eyes and began wriggling to obey. I nodded to Charlie, who had heard
the instructions as well and worked at doing the same.
Charlie’s
rope snapped before mine did. He gasped as the whole coil slipped easily off
his body, and he landed carefully on the branch, free as a bird. He looked up
at me. “Do you need help?”
I
shook my head. “Don’t bother with me; see if you can help Gaelynn.”
Charlie’s
movements were almost casual as he whipped the knife from his belt and cast it
at the tree right behind Gaelynn’s back. The ropes fell away from her, and he
swung over on his length of rope in time to keep her limp body from falling. He
hoisted her onto a wider branch as my rope snapped, and I was able to free
myself. Carefully, I gulped to see the incredible distance between me and the
swamp below. There was no way I could make it to Gaelynn’s tree—no way except
one.
“Moving
carefully,” I whispered, “she joined the others.” In a blink, I stood on the
branch just below Charlie and Gaelynn just as the princess regained
consciousness.
“Mmmm,”
she moaned, “What happened?”
“We
were tied up,” I explained as I climbed up to the branch, “but a man was there
when I woke up and he explained how to get out of the trap.”
Charlie’s
face broke into a wide grin. “Man? That was no mere man, Miss Laura.”
I
frowned in confusion. “What?”
“Hello,
there!” Charlie called out.
“Are
you all safe?” the voice responded.
“Yes
we are,” Charlie replied, “Will you come out, so we can thank you?”
“I
think not,” the voice replied. “It would be better to say you did not see me. I
will see that you return safely from whence you came.”
We
all climbed down from the tree, and Gaelynn snooped around the bushes, intent
on finding the mysterious speaker who had saved our lives.
“Well,
if you will not introduce yourself,” Charlie persisted, “Then I will introduce
us. The ladies with me are Laura and Gaelynn—and I am called Charlie.”
Silence
reigned. I scanned every shadow I saw, but our mysterious “no-mere-man” was
very excellent at remaining invisible. I turned to Charlie to say something,
but he raised his finger toward my lips.
“Wait,”
he instructed. His eyes were strangely bright.
Finally,
the voice came again, slightly stronger, and oddly familiar.
“Charlie?”
I detected a note of shock in the voice.
“Aye,
sir,” Our guide seemed respectful of the man.
I
gasped as I realized who this must be. “Charlie,” I hissed, “Is it—“
We
all stilled as the man emerged from the shadows, actually nearer to us than I
expected. I caught my breath.
“Jerald?”
I guessed, not daring to believe my eyes.
The
old man nodded, but could not take his eyes off of Gaelynn. He approached her
slowly, reaching out as if to assure himself that she was indeed real.
“You…”
he murmured, “you…”
“Jerald,
sir,” Charlie spoke gently, “We have ventured into the Deep Forest in search of
you. The castle is under siege, and you are our only hope!”
Jerald,
the famed forester, gazed around quickly, “Follow me,” he instructed us, “The
forest has ears.” We followed him back to a small hovel in a remote part of the
forest. All the while, I couldn’t help wondering, Would he return with us?
We
received our answer as we sat around the table, sipping mugs of warm cider with
the legendary forester.
“I’m
sorry,” he announced right away, “but I cannot help you anymore.”
“Jerald,”
Charlie pressed, “We need you! Phantasia will fall without you!”
Jerald
frowned bitterly, “The king should have thought of that before he sent me off
at the behest of his councilors! Let them help
him, see what good it does him!”
“Jerald,”
I leaned forward, “What happened at the castle that resulted in your
banishment? From what I hear, you are quite renown for your skills in
preserving lives.”
“Well,”
Jerald tossed his calloused hands in the air, “there you have your answer! All
the lives I’ve saved mean nothing next
to the one life I—“ He broke off and bit his lip.
“The
queen,” I said quietly for him.
Jerald’s
face was drawn with pain as he closed his watering eyes. “I led her out here;
she wanted to go through the forest, and I was tasked with being her guide. We
came to the cord trees, as you did—“ He broke off, and his hands clenched to
fists as he tried to control his emotions. “I didn’t know how to save her! I
should have figured it out, but everything I tried only made them pull tighter
and tighter—“
A
long moan interrupted him. We looked over to see Gaelynn weeping profusely.
Jerald laid a large hand on her shoulder.
“Child,”
he said gently, weeping along with her, “you are the king’s daughter?”
Gaelynn
nodded, too overcome to speak.
Jerald
took the young princess in his arms and soothed her. “You are the very image of
your mother.” He turned back to Charlie and I. “I have spent all the years of
my banishment studying those trees, figuring out the best way to escape the
enchantment, determining that, should anyone else come into the forest and be
caught by them, I would know how to save them.”
“Thank
you for saving us, sir,” Charlie replied gratefully.
“Please,”
Gaelynn’s voice came small and pitiful, “The Black Fox will surely kill my
father if you do not come! Please help us! He is the only family I have left!”
“Yes,
yes, I will come,” Jerald’s resolve crumbled at the simple petition.
We
started back immediately. With Jerald with us, it did not take nearly as long
to reach the area I knew was the entrance to the tunnel. Jerald seemed familiar
with that particular feature as well.
“I
would use it all the time, when the king needed a forester at his side quickly.
It was much easier than having to negotiate the moat and the gate.”
We
entered the small tunnel. Jerald stopped and turned back toward us.
“Hold
a moment; princess, I have something to say to you.”
“What
is it?” Gaelynn responded.
Jerald
sighed and shuffled his feet a bit. “See, it’s like this: the king isn’t your
only family, you know.”
The
princess frowned, “What do you mean?” she asked innocently.
“The
queen…” The forester sighed awkwardly, “well, she’s… she was—my sister.”
“Sister!”
Gaelynn’s hands flew to her mouth as her cheeks flushed. “Why, then, that means
you are…”
Jerald
nodded. “Yes, I am your uncle.”
“Oh!”
Without another word, Gaelynn flung her arms around him. “Thank you for coming
with us,” she said.
Jerald
smiled, “Of course I must come; it’s what my sister would have wanted.” He
sniffed and Gaelynn pulled away. “Now, let’s get to that castle!” He strode
forward into the shadows.
Gaelynn
freaked out as soon as it got too dark to see.
“Laura?”
I heard her cry, “Charlie?”
I
was having trouble finding anyone, myself. Why had we not thought of some
system of keeping track of each other in the darkness?
I heard Charlie tell the princess,
“Here, your highness.”
He must have offered his hand, for
she did not utter another sound. I had thought to follow the sound of the
foresters’ boots on the rocks, but after about five minutes, I stopped at the
realization that it was only my own footsteps I heard.
“Hey
guys?” I called out, too concerned with finding the rest of the group to worry
about proper vernacular. There was no answer. I did hear a clamor in the
distance. Perhaps there was some fighting in the castle. I dashed forward. A
bright light appeared in the distance, and I raced toward it as fast as I
could. The ground evened out, and I emerged from an alleyway and nearly crashed
into a little old lady walking her dog.
“Oh
my!” she gasped, stumbling a bit at the sight of me.
I
looked around, confused.
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