Ch 7 – Encounter in the Dark Forest

Tora and Darling were whisked into the Dark Forest. Darling set Tora down on the ground, hovering over him. She unwrapped the bandages slowly, afraid to see blood come out of the wound. When she saw that the bleeding had stopped, she sighed in relief. "Princess," he said quietly, as he woke up, pushing himself off the forest floor. "Don't push yourself," she said softly, helping him into a sitting position. "Where are we?" he asked. "Your father teleported us into the Dark Forest," she said, looking around at their surroundings. Tall dark trees with twisted branches seemed to reach out for them, dead leaves littering the ground along what seemed to be the only pathway, leading deeper into the forest.

Looking in the opposite direction, she saw in the distance, light penetrating the deep darkness. "There is where we need to go," she told him. "Here, get up," she said firmly but gently, helping Tora to his feet. While the healing spell had stopped the bleeding, the wounds had not completely healed yet, as Tora grunted in pain as he got to his feet. They walked together towards the light, occasionally stopping on the way to rest. After two hours of walking, they heard the sound of running in the distance. "Quick, hide," Darling said, as they both ran into the brush out of sight.

Poking her head out of the brush, Darling saw a young girl with short dark brown hair with white streaks and a red hood run towards their position, followed by two girls chasing after her. "Cerise, stop," said a girl with long, raven-colored hair. "What are you looking for?" she asked. Cerise turned, looking back at the girl. "Raven, I smell blood," she said, turning in Darling's direction. Her eyes suddenly turned yellow, as she slowly walked over to Darling, and uncovered the brush.

"Who are you?" she asked Darling in a harsh tone, who in turn looked up at her with wide, scared eyes. "Cerise, what are you looking at?" asked Raven, anxious to see what her friend had found. "A girl, along with a wounded boy," she said as she moved back to let Tora and Darling stand up, brushing themselves off. "Where are you from?" Raven asked them. "We came from the royal palace," Darling said quietly, unsure as to how to respond in the situation. "The Royal Palace? How did they end up here then?" asked a girl with long, curly blonde hair. "Apple, be quiet," Cerise told her quickly. Looking at Tora, she turned to look at the light. "Come with us, you can explain how the two of you got here to Headmaster Grimm. And, it looks like he's in no condition to move" she told them, as the three girls slowly led Darling and Tora towards the light.