“Hey.” Someone was patting my cheek. “Hey, wake up.”
I came to, infinitely drained.
The boy was kneeling before me again.
“What the…?” I mumbled. What was he still doing here? What was I still doing here? I struggled to sit up, squinting in the unfamiliar brightness of the daylight. I looked around and my eyes flew wide open. I was a few steps away from the shade of the Southern Forest. “No—” I panicked and scrambled to get under a tree.
Bad idea.
A feeling of being ripped apart coursed through me as I passed the nearest tree and I collapsed on the grass from the most pain I’d ever felt in a thousand years.
“Hey!” He rushed over to me. “Take it easy.”
“What’s happened? It hurts,” I groaned, still slumped on the ground, unable to move.
“You fell off your tree, remember?” he explained before scooping me up into his arms. “I better get you to a doctor. You may have broken something.”
“Oh no…” I moaned in dread, guessing that what I may have broken was worse than a mere body part.
I was no longer welcome in the Southern Forest.
He, on the other hand, carried me past the tree line again with no effort.
The relic, I realized. The protection of the relic had been transferred to him when it used to belong with me. Used to…
My heart ached at the thought as he carried me away from the Southern Forest, away from my home.
***
Arcain seemed very different up close. In place of the torch lights and faint shadows that I normally saw from the trees, there were wooden houses and small huts with thatched roofs flanking the main road. Colorful paper lanterns had been strung across posts along the path leading all the way to the heart of the village.
A horse-drawn cart rumbled past and I caught a whiff of incense mixed with pungent scents as the animal’s hoofs kicked up the dirt it trod on.
Sharp-eyed folk bustled with purpose about their stacked crates and boxes full of vegetables and dried game for sale while several children ran around shouting.
Everything seemed so alive.
I looked up at the boy as he carried me in his arms. He was wearing a hooded cloak in case some of the soldiers looking for him were still around. His gaze roved around, his chin set in alert, in determination.
Some people passing us by turned back to stare at me. As if they knew I brought misfortune, as if they knew I did not belong, as if they knew me. Undoubtedly, my appearance was an easy giveaway.
I turned my head into the boy’s chest to at least hide my face. I couldn’t discount the chance of my having met some of these people in the woods in the past by accident and it was probably better for everyone if I wasn’t recognized.
We turned onto a narrower path and soon after, we arrived at a quiet house way off the main road. I was certain the seclusion was intentional.
The boy shrugged down his hood before he knocked on the door and an elderly woman opened it.
Her eyes lit up immediately and she smiled. Then she saw me and waved us inside. “You can set her down over here.” She led us to a room in the back and slid the door open.
“Thank you,” the boy said as he laid me down onto one of the mattresses on the floor. He glanced back at the old woman. “She fell out of a tree. Do you think you can check if she needs a doctor?”
I watched him as he spoke, at the same time as he took off his cloak and set down quite a few bags.
The old woman came closer to me and examined several joints for a moment before she shook her head. “Nothing broken,” she concluded. “I would say just terribly tired. You say she fell off a tree?”
“A tall one.” He nodded.
She gave me a look. “You’re a very lucky girl then. I’ll go ask Naomi to fix you both something to eat.” She turned and left with a nod.
“Thank you,” the boy called out. He cast me a glance and sighed before he collapsed onto the other mattress and closed his eyes.
I looked around. The room had two mattresses set up on the tatami floor, a low wooden table, and an open slatted window. By the position of the Great Star in the sky, I could tell it was mid-morning.
I shifted on the mattress, wondering who these people were, how they knew the boy, and how he seemed to be so sure that he was safe here. I wanted to ask him these questions but he appeared exhausted.
I bit my lip. I wanted to thank him too. It occurred to me he could have simply left me to die in the Forest. He had already obtained the all-powerful relic. There was no reason for him to waste time with the failed guardian of the realm.
I opened my mouth to speak several times but closed it back in hesitation. I sighed softly and looked away.
“You’re welcome.”
I glanced back at him, surprised.
His eyes were still closed but there was a hint of a smile on his mouth.
I pursed my lips as I settled back onto the mattress, stifling a yawn with my hand. Four thousand three hundred and… I started automatically then blinked.
I had lost count.
I stared at the food that the old woman had brought into the room, in wonder and awe, or possibly just extreme hunger. The table had been set up with wonderful little baskets of steaming hot food. I didn’t recognize what any of it was but the mere smell was making my mouth water.
I’d started to help myself then froze when the boy let out a slight laugh.
“She’s a little hungry,” he explained for me.
“Oh please, help yourselves,” the girl called Naomi spoke up. Her delicate voice reminded me of bells tinkling from the far north. She was a pretty young woman with long black hair braided down her back. I guessed she would have looked like a younger version of the other woman.
I must’ve been staring at the two women for a while because the boy suddenly sat up.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce you.” He gestured to them. “That’s Naomi and her grandmother Nona. They own this lodge.” Then he nodded in my direction. “This is Magenta. She’s uh…” He stopped short.
I met his gaze in expectation, raising my eyebrows.
The guardian of the Mystic Lake? The guardian of the all-powerful relic? Of the enchanted realm of the Southern Forest?
“She uh…fell off a tree.”
I grimaced.
Old Nona chuckled. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Magenta.”
“Nice to meet you.” Naomi bowed, giving me a serene smile. “You have such pretty hair.”
But my hand was still hovering over the food. I simply gave her a look then looked around at the others. “Thank you for the food,” I spoke up, my voice flat as anything.
“Of course, child.” Nona waved. “Please eat and rest.”
“Yes, please,” Naomi added. “Stay as long as you need.”
I noticed her gaze stray toward the boy and I rolled my eyes. Aha. I ignored them all and started stuffing my face like there was no tomorrow.
Nona watched me, amused. “Try the stew.”
“Naomi makes great stew,” the boy informed me with a smile.
I saw Naomi blush prettily. Gag. I did help myself to the stew though.
Once Nona and Naomi had left the room, the boy shook his head at me in silent laughter. “Your people skills really need work,” he remarked as he ate.
I merely made a face at him across the table since my mouth was filled with food.
After a while, he spoke up. “Food’s good, huh? Naomi really cooks well.”
“Better than you,” I said frankly in between mouthfuls.
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he said, his tone wry. “This is what I get. You know, you should be glad to have me around. I’m a very resourceful person.”
“I already know you can get a lot of things easily, remember?” I asked, bitterly reminded about the relic which was still in his pocket.
He frowned. “I said I was sorry.”
I kept eating.
“Look, if there was any other way, I wouldn’t have—” He stopped his outburst short before starting again, his tone calmer. “If I had known taking the relic would’ve hurt you in any way, I wouldn’t have done it. I swear, you never look on the bright side of things,” he rationalized. “You have your own life now. I can’t imagine it was all that fun guarding the relic all day anyway.”
I didn’t say anything. His apology changed nothing.
He merely sighed and kept eating.
I wrinkled my nose as I held the dress Nona had found for me to wear up to my face. It was a light shade of blue. Then I glanced down on the floor. Something else Nona had found for me. I cast the dress aside and picked up one of the shoes, peering closely at it, turning it over in my hands. Curious little thing.
The sound of female laughter drew my gaze to the window in time to see the boy with Naomi as they walked under the shade of the rose arches in the little garden outside the lodge. It was a beautiful day and the pair of them had decided to take advantage of the fine weather.
I supposed after lunch, the boy had decided to seek out better company than a bitter, raging relic guardian.
I had always been the ruler of my domain. Back in my Forest. My home. My territory. I was always the big deal on top of the tree, seeing all and commanding everyone to “Halt and beware, for you are in the realm of the Mystic Lake. Turn away from this place immediately or suffer the consequences.” I dominated everyone. They were on my turf after all.
I’d never had to get along with anyone.
I turned back to the empty room.
Never felt so out of place. Never felt so alone.
Someone knocked on the door and I whirled around. “May I come in?” the voice of the old woman came through the sliding canvas door.
I didn’t reply but she came in anyway. She saw me with the shoe in my hand and smiled. “I was wondering whether you needed any help with the clothes,” she offered, walking over to the side of the mattress.
She held the dress up and noticed my grimace, her smile widening. “Not really your color, is it? Do the shoes fit?”
I blinked and looked down at my bare feet. I didn’t have the slightest idea how to put them on. I’d never needed shoes.
“Here.” She came over and I stiffened abruptly but she gave a gentle tilt of her head, seeming to communicate that she had no intention to harm me. She seemed to emanate peace, warmth, and I relaxed a little.
Nona took one shoe and bent down to lift my foot to slide the shoe on. She stood up in time to see another grimace on my face.
The shoe seemed so…restrictive.
“I’m sure you’ll get used to it in no time at all,” she remarked.
I watched her face. How could she know I wasn’t used to wearing shoes? I was sure the boy wouldn’t have told her who I was, or where I’d come from, or what my particular field of expertise was. She couldn’t possibly know me. Could she?
“Are you still sore from your fall?” she asked, snapping me out of my trance.
I shook my head. Other than a slight headache, I felt fine. Better than this morning, that was for sure.
“You’d better be careful climbing trees next time,” she advised. “Especially with the trees around this area.”
I met her gaze. Her expression was neutral but her tone carried a hint of ambiguity to it as if she knew something. When I didn’t respond, she went on.
“It’s always been legend that the Southern Forest was cursed a thousand years ago,” she relayed. “There have been many a townsfolk who have been heard to have gone into the forest and never come back out.”
“Really,” I mumbled noncommittally.
“According to the legend, a magical forest nymph lives in the woods,” she started. “To protect the forest and the ancient lake. Some say she is there to guard something within the lake. Something very powerful. But nobody has ever confirmed the tale.”
Nymph. I narrowed my eyes. Nobody had ever called me a forest nymph before. “Who told you that?” I wanted to know.
Her hooded eyes were mysterious. “I was born here and I grew up and married here. When you’ve been around a place for so long, you get a sense of these things. This village does not typically deal well with strangers. There was even a time when curious travelers would come by the dozens, eager to find out if there really was a magical lake, or the elixir of life, preposterous things,” she remarked with a rumbling chuckle. “We did what we could to keep them away. It’s easier now. People are simply afraid to go into the woods. They say it’s as sure as death.”
Okay, that was a little extreme. But I didn’t comment and looked away.
“Do you know what I’m talking about?”
I shook my head quickly “no.” I wanted to change the topic and the first thing my gaze happened upon was the scene outside. “How are you related to him?” I nodded my head in the direction of the window.
Nona walked up beside me to look outside. “Hm? Oh. A few weeks ago, we found him on the other side of the village, unconscious and wounded. We brought him back here and tended to him, Naomi and I.”
“What happened?”
“He’ll only say he got lost and got into some trouble with the locals at another village,” she informed me. “I think he means it as a protection to us. He’s a very nice boy. It seems Naomi has taken a liking to him.”
“Seems.” I tried to keep the ridicule out of my voice.
“I warned him about going into the forest but he wouldn’t listen to me,” Nona continued. “He assured me that he would be back.” She smiled again. “And he is. But I know he has to leave soon again. He says he still has a long journey ahead.”
All this new information baffled me. “Where does he come from? Where is he going?”
Nona shrugged before she replied, her tone vague, “I’m sure you’ll find out.”