She heard all the stories from her childhood, but simply couldn't believe it. How could any creature command an entire forest to do its bidding like that?
Princess Kyra didn't believe a word of what people had told her about the forest of Werkshire. She may have let her imagination go during her childhood years, hearing things like plants coming alive to bind people, fairies coming out and casting magic upon their victims, werewolves sneaking out at night to capture innocents. But she saw no sign of that from her distant kingdom as she gazed upon the forest from her window in the tall tower. "There's no way! I'm going to prove that nothing happens when you walk into the forest and that it's all just absolute hogwash" she mutters to herself.
"But princess, you do believe the stories, don't you? I mean, isn't it kind of frightful?" asked a handmaiden that was with her.
"No, I don't believe a single word of it. I mean, come on, how could an entire forest live with from the laughter of people AND with magical creatures inside of it. Have you heard any of the laughter your entire life? Have you seen any of these so-called magical creatures? Ever been captured by a werewolf? Obviously not the last one, or else you wouldn't be here!" the princess stammered.
The maiden, being a little distraught, replied "But - but the blacksmith heard stories, and he's seen strange things..."
"Bah, the blacksmith is always drinking, you know this. That's one man you can never believe anyways, sober or drunk"
Staring off into the distance, wondering about the forest, the princess finally remarks "I'm going out there"
"You mustn't!" stated the maiden, "What if the King finds out?"
"The King is not going to know about any of this, nobody will... and I certainly hope you don't tell anyone." said the princess as she turned to gaze at her maiden. "As a matter of fact, come with me."
"Come with you?!? But - but - but"
"Relax, everything will be fine. You have nothing to actually worry about, the stories are false. Secondly, I would like someone to keep me company while I make the long trek. What say you?" asked the princess
The maiden simply replied "Do I have a real choice in the matter or are you simply asking that to be polite?"
The princess smirked and said "To be polite. You actually don't have a choice in the matter, Anna. Prepare some things for the journey, I'll secure us a couple horses."
Since it was still broad daylight out, the princess had to wait a few hours before she could find horses suitable enough for the long journey. While she waited, she dressed in some light cloth armour, suitable enough to be disguised as regular townspeople clothing but still functional enough to protect her from the light damage of thorns that she expects from the forest. When nightfall came, she waited in the stables for Anna, who brought a few packs of things down, one pack specifically for food. She knew it was the food pack since it also had skins of water attached to it. They put the packs on the horses after they put on their saddles. "Oh, one minute" Anna stated as she carefully scurried back up to the princess' chambers.
"Now what?" Kyra thought. Moments later, Anna returns clad in leather armour and carrying two swords, one over each shoulder.
"Wow, that was fast. You look good in that leather gear." Kyra stated
Anna simply smirked and glanced at her quickly before she secured her food pack to her horse. Kyra secured her pack to her horse and they both quietly rode off. Since theirs was a small kingdom, they didn't have any need of scouting for wall guards, so they simply ventured off toward the forest.
Two nights had passed, and when they woke up the day after, Kyra was filled with glee at how close they were to the forest, while Anna started to feel a sense of dread as she still believed in the stories.
"Princess, are you still so certain about this?"
"Yes I am, now stop being a little chicken and come along!" Kyra teased as she jaunted toward a part of the forest. Anna ran after her, trying to keep up, but the leather gear was becoming very taxing during this long trek. She took off a few pieces of gear so as to allow her to run more readily, such as an ailette which was heavy on the shoulders and her splinted leather leggings which started to make her chafe. Removing them made running after princess Kyra much easier. Soon, they found themselves at the foot of the forest and before them was a sort of path laid out in the ground, like thousands of people walked here before them.
Anna's heart started beating faster out of fear as she questioned her own resolve, but Kyra calmly grabbed Anna's hand and they slowly ventured in. As they walked, they glanced left and right, looking for signs of any life, but they couldn't detect anything.
"So far, we're not captured or dead or hurt in any way... we're doing very well. You see? Nothing to fear." Kyra smirked
"Yeah - yeah you're right, princess... nothing to fear, hehehe" Anna laughed nervously as her eyes darted back and forth. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her for she kept hearing noises all around her; the chirping of birds, the breaking of a branch, the slight howl of the wind.
"Oh relax, everything's fine, let's keep going." Kyra reassured as she took a few sips from her water skin.
Anna suddenly shrieked as her eyes locked onto the target of her nightmares and her skin when instantly pale white like she had seen a ghost.
"WHAT?!?" shouted Kyra as she looked to where Anna's eyes led, to which Kyra also gawked in amazement.
What did these lovely ladies encounter?
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