Elysium, Part One: Into the Woods
"Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor."- Cinderella, Into the Woods
Author's Notes: In case you were wondering, "Elysium" is Latin for a paradise, or in classical mythology: the abode of the blessed after death. This piece was inspired by (of all things) the musical "Into the Woods". If your not familiar with it, the basic plot tells of different familiar fairy tale characters (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, Rapunzel) journeying though the forest to get their wish. It got me to thinking, just how far would some people go to have their wishes granted?
Midnight.
The tree's gnarled branches reached up towards the sky like clawed hands trying to take hold of the stars. Leaf-less and barren, it had been dead for many years now, still standing only by some miracle.
The girl that knelt before it was a dim silhouette, her form only seen partially in the faint light from the crescent moon that had set itself firmly in the centre of the sky. Her hair was sable, save for a suspicious streak of white that contrasted harshly with the darkness, and hung over her face slightly.
Her name was Lalita.
"I wish…"
She turned her silver eyes towards the tree's top branches; nothing had changed. She frowned.
Reaching to her side, the girl extracted a small leather pouch from the folds of her tattered, white dress. She opened it in one swift movement and, taking a handful of the ashes it contained, spread it at the base of the tree.
Something stirred to life.
"I wish…"
Now, when she looked towards the heavens, though she had to squint through the night's thick veil, a shadowy figure began to form itself. Its features were non-existent, as if someone had simply found a piece of star-less sky and cut the outline of a person into its blackness.
"What do you wish?"
The words echoed in the field, bouncing off invisible walls and seemingly originating from no point in particular.
"Shiver and shake, dear little tree,
Silver and Gold, shower on me."
The words were ancient, and the spell rung with power. It was hard for her to remember exactly where she had learned the incantation…in a dream, or perhaps one of the old magic books that had filled Adwyth's libraries, but the past was hazy…
The tree shook suddenly, breaking the momentary stillness that had settled itself over the field. The magic in the air shifted and gathered at its base, bubbling towards the sky like a geyser about to blow.
The girl watched with wide eyes, half in anticipation, and half in disbelief.
True to the spell, the key that formed itself above the tree's twisted branches was the colour of old gold with tips of tarnished silver. It dropped to the ground with a thud.
Cautiously, she reached out and brushed her fingers against it, drawing back as though it was burning hot, though it was cool to the touch.
Lalita raised her eyes to the tree once more. Both the figure and the magic were gone.
She sat in numb shock for a moment, and then with swift movements, pocketed the key and in a flurry of skirts set off for the dark outline of the forest.
~
A sharp noise made Atala whip around, cape flying behind her.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Is anyone there?"
Nothing but the insistent chirping of crickets.
Mentally scolding herself, she turned and began to follow the path once more.
More than anything, she despised the woods at night. Far from the trappings of the human world, the forest was home to countless creatures…some magical, some not.
At least, it's not a full moon…
she thought; gazing up at the thin sliver in the sky that could only be seen through the thin cracks in the canopy. Of course, the waning moon also meant less light…more shadows.She stopped for a moment to rearrange her crimson hood, and shifted her basket, filled with dried herbs and several bottles of freshly brewed potions, from one hand to the other.
Even more than the woods, she hated the seemingly pointless errands that her mother sent her off to do. Mr. Desero was surely old enough to need help, but was he really so docile he couldn't walk the path into town and get supplies himself?
Next time, she would have to remember not to procrastinate so much that she was forced to do them at night.
Another crash resounded through the woods, and in the distance a flock of birds fled their perch.
Atala didn't bother to turn. Or more likely, would have felt extremely foolish doing so.
It was only until two other sharp noises, each closer than the other, arose, that she decided to let instincts take over and pause to gaze around her, remaining silent.
The woods grew eerily still, with only the distant hooting of an owl to break the silence. Atala hadn't noticed until now just how dark the forest really was, how far away she was from any civilisation and now….just how many beasts could mutilate her until she was nothing more than an unrecognisable blob.
She whimpered and the solitary owl hooted once again.
~
"Where is that girl?"
The old woman wiped her hands on an old rag, turning her cold blue eyes to Damien, who was lounging on an armchair watching a muggle chessboard. There were only a few pieces left on the board, so intermingled that is what impossible, at least for new arrivals, to work out who was White and who was Black.
"You know how Lalita is…"
After a couple of moments, Damien moved a white bishop, placing it between his king and a black rook. Having done that, he glanced briefly at the empty chair across him and returned to his contemplation of the board and his gentle drumming.
The woman clicked her tongue.
"You and your experiments. I can't believe you enchanted that thing to play by yourself. I'm trying to run a business and you're fooling with that human game."
Damien was indifferent.
"This business runs itself. There could be no one working here, and the customers would still poor in."
"Ah, but who would serve them?"
Damien ignored her, scowling as an invisible opponent placed his king in check. "Besides, it's Lali's turn to be on the floor now."
The woman narrowed her eyes, and emitted a small growl. "Well, she's not here now, is she? No one's running the bar! Go!"
Reluctantly, Damien waved his wand at the board and the pieces froze.
The woman sighed. "I'm sorry, but someone has to help…"
~
Lalita only caught a glimpse of the scarlet figure as she raced through the woods, one hand clenched over the pocket that contained the key and leaves tangled in her raven hair. Eyes blurred with tears from the wind, she didn't know what was happening until she found herself on the ground, free hand pitifully holding her head.
~
Atala watched the girl with wide eyes. Her skin was deathly pale, and her dark hair was spread out around her like a mane, horrible tangled from her run.
She was clutching her head with one hand, the point which had obviously gotten the worst of their impact, and the other gripped her frock so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
In the dark, she looked like a ghost.
Atala scrambled to her feet, basket held out before her like a shield. The hood of her crimson cape had fallen and lay bunched around her shoulders.
The girl was immobile. For a moment, Atala wondered if she was in fact dead, but the barely visible rising and falling of her chest told her otherwise.
She moved forward and nudged the girl's side with her shoe.
Nothing happened.
"Hello? Are you okay?"
She stirred slightly and emitted a small groan that sounded suspiciously like "Ow", then releasing her head; she propped herself up on her free elbow.
"Are you okay?" Atala repeated.
The girl raised her eyes (were they grey…or silver?) to look up at her. "Sorry, I mustn't have seen you."
A thick accent was prominent in her voice, but it was hard for Atala to identify it. The closest thing it was comparable to was the Northern Welsh cadences, which were common in the area, but still there was something…off. It was as if she'd been raised to speak another language.
At the moment, Atala did not know that she was correct in her assumption. Although it had never crossed her mind that it was a language long dead.
The girl stood, brushing soil off her dress, and reaching out for her shoe, which had obviously fallen off during their crash. "These things," she laughed, putting it on once again. "I've got to run."
Atala stood silent, not knowing what to say. It wasn't often that she was crashed into by wild-looking, young girls running through the forest after midnight. Especially not ones with streaks of white hair, who seemed oblivious to any abnormality of the situation.
She watched as the other took off, disappearing behind the thick veil of the forest.
"Nutter," she sighed, under her breath, listening to the rustle of leaves growing dimmer and dimmer until the girl was out of sight and sound. When she was gone, Atala allowed her eyes to wander around the area, searching perhaps, for some other unexpected visitor. What she found instead was a glimmer of gold, shimmering softly on the forest floor.
She leaned forward to get a better look at it.
The object was most definitely a key, though as she saw now, it contained not only gold, but also silver.
She must have dropped it when she fell…
She stood straight once again and called out. "Oy, girl! You left your key here!"
As she had expected, there was no answer. Reaching out, she picked the object off the floor and placed it in her basket. Within her mind, a small war was going on debating whether to set out off the path in search of the young woman or to be the good girl she that was expected to be and continue her errand.
Well, it must be important to her, one side of her mind spoke.
Important enough to get eaten over? the other side retaliated.
"That's it. I'm done being the coward!"
She said the words out loud in an erroneous plan to convince herself, and with doubts in her heart, strayed off the path and set after the girl, hooded cap flying behind her…