Book One:
Into the Woods

Chapter 1

Squinting harder as the oncoming sunrise danced over her face, the girl rolled over so that the light could no longer get into her brown eyes. However, instead of a plush mattress with layers of blankets on top of her, she rolled on the ground, her body sore from spending the night on the rough surface. Remembering where she was, the girl shot upright.

Woods surrounded her. Trees stretched out as far as the eye could see. She had spent the night not in the soft bed in her room, but in a bed of golden flowers.

I really am in Ebott Forest, she thought. Her heartrate went from the steady calm of waking to pounding against her chest in a matter of seconds. I am in the forest where those who come in never come out again.

She tried to not hyperventilate. There was no reason to be scared. Nothing dangerous seemed to lurk in the shadows as the sun continued to rise. Actually, it was sort of peaceful in this forest of trees with red, orange, and yellow leaves. Yellow grasses peaked between dead leaves that covered the ground. The crisp, chill air felt and tasted like a perfect autumn day. The only thing that kept this from being a peaceful sight was that it was supposed to be summer. Good thing she wore a black, long-sleeved dress with black leggings. This dress code her village enforced was miserable to wear in the summer, but at least in this cooler environment, she felt comfortable.

Wiping her chocolate brown bangs from her eyes, she looked around and saw nothing but woods as far as her eyes could see. Before she could think about what to do next, she heard something. It started small, but then it started to get louder. Someone was mumbling.

". . . went wrong. . . . didn't mean for this . . . I failed."

Swallowing her fear, she looked around. It was strange. The voice did not seem to come from behind or beside her, but below.

Eyes traveling towards the sound of the voice, she froze at what she found. There was nobody else lying in the bed of golden flowers with her. However, there was a mask only a few feet away.

There was nothing complex about the design. It was an oval-shaped mask with two vertical lines for eyes, two pink circles where the cheeks would be, and a large smile reaching both ends of the mask. However, the simple design was somehow creepier than if this mask had been made to look like a monster.

Despite her heart pounding in her chest, despite the voices in her head telling her to not pick up things that didn't belong to her, the girl reached for the mask. The wood was smooth against her fingertips. Then the mask moved, and the girl bit back a scream as she jumped away from the item.

"Pardon me," that same voice from before began as the mask rose from the bed of flowers on its own accord and angled its lifeless gaze towards her, "do you not know that you should not go around touching people? It is rather rude."

For a moment, the girl struggled to find her voice. When she was able to form words, all she could manage out was, "I'm . . . sorry?"

"Kids these days," the mask said – the voice was coming from the mask – as it, seeming to talk to itself, floated in the air. "Nobody has any manners anymore. Do parents not care enough about their children to teach them to be decent denizens?"

"Umm," the girl felt her heartbeat calm as she watched this mask continue to talk to itself. As strange as it sounded, this creepy, floating, talking mask was not all that threatening, or she at least did not feel it was. Maybe the mask could be an alley and not an enemy.

"Hey," the girl said when she managed to gather the courage to talk to this living mask, "what's your name?"

"Oh, right," the mask said, ending its one-person conversation. "How rude of me to not introduce myself. My name is—"

The mask stopped speaking abruptly. The bouncing motion it had while talking came to a screeching halt. No words came from the mask. For a moment, it stood there as if frozen. When it finally spoke again, it sounded lost.

"I . . . I do not remember my name. I do not remember who I am. I do not remember anything at all."

"Are you a ghost?" the girl asked, brows furrowed as she tilted her head to the side. "Or are you just a floating, talking mask?"

It appeared as if the mask did not hear her, for it began asking its own questions. "Who am I? What am I? When am I? Where am I? How am I? I do not remember. I do not know. I do not understand."

With each statement the mask made, it began to move again. Each movement through the air got jerkier and jerkier with each word the mask spoke. The girl wasn't sure if it was possible for this mask to emote, but she was certain it was having a panic attack.

"Hey, hey, hey!" the girl shouted. Hearing her raised voice, the mask went silent and stopped moving frantically through the air. When she saw she had its attention, she said, "I don't know the answers to your questions, but there's no sense losing your head over it – um, well, figuratively speaking, that is."

"I do not believe you understand," the mask countered. "You say I am just a floating mask, but is this always what I have been? Or am I a ghost, as you suggested? If I am a ghost, then I am dead. If I am dead, then I do not remember being alive. I do not know who I am, or was. I know nothing."

"Well," she tried, heartrate quickening again, "do you know how to get out of this forest?"

The mask considered her question. It looked around the surrounding woods, possibly to take in where they were. The it answered, "Yes. I know where we are, and I know how to leave."

Hope sparked in her heart. Coming to this forest would not have to be her biggest mistake after all. She could leave and be free again. "So I won't have to stay trapped in Ebott Forest forever?"

"I did not say that. I only said that I know the path out of this forest."

"I'll tell you what then," the girl slowly pushed herself to her feet so that she was eye level with the living, talking mask, "help me find the way out of here. In exchange, I'll help you remember who you are."

The mask snorted, or at least that was what it sounded like. "You, help me? How could you possibly help me? I cannot remember even my own name. I know not how I died or how long ago I died, if I ever lived at all. We have nothing to help either of us figure out where to begin searching for the truth."

"True," the girl agreed, "but if there's any way you think I can help, I'm more than willing as long as you help me leave this place."

"And if we reach the exit before you help me remember who I am?"

This got the girl to stop and think. It would be easy to lie and say that she would stay for however long it took to solve the mask's mystery, but she would not feel right lying. If she really wanted help escaping Ebott Forest instead of becoming another one of its many victims, she needed this mask to be there guiding her every path. All she wanted was to escape. However, leaving was not all she cared about.

With the final decision in mind, the girl said truthfully, "I won't leave until we figure out who you are."

The mask, not to her surprise, was doubtful. "You would truly condemn yourself to stay in this place you are so desperate to leave for my sake? What if it takes us years, or more, to so much as discover my true name?"

Determination rose and pour at of the girl as she proclaimed, "Then I'll stay. Forever."

"Would you really spend an eternity here if it meant discovering who I really am?"

"I walked into this forest knowing that those who enter are never seen again. If it is too late to have regrets, then so be it." Although these were not words she wanted to say, she meant them.

For a moment, the girl and the mask stared at each other. There was no emotion to be had on the mask's face. Even as it floated, contemplating, the girl had no idea if it truly was considering her offer or going to tell her that it did not trust her.

After a minute or two, the mask said, "I agree to your bargain. I shall lead you to the exit, but only on the condition that you help me discover who I am. The more we learn about me, the closer to the end I shall direct you. Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." The girl wasn't sure what to do now. Normally, whenever she made a deal with friends, they would shake hands to seal it. However, the mask lacked hands to shake.

However, the mask did not seem phased. It started to float away as it said, "First things first, the way out of this field is down this path. Anywhere else you take would lead you in circles, leaving you to wonder for hours or even days before you return right back here. Do you understand, little lady?"

Feeling a sharp pain in her chest, the girl said, "Please, do not call me that."

"I apologize. I did not mean to offend you." The mask floated down a ways before asked, "If you do not wish to be called 'little lady,' then how do you wish to be addressed?"

"My name is Frisk," the girl answered. "You may call me Frisk."

"Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Frisk. I am sorry I do not have my own name to offer you in exchange. It feels odd, knowing your name but not my own."

"Until we discover your name," Frisk said, taking one last look at the bed of golden flowers before stepping out of it to follow to mask, "do you have anything you wish to go by?"

"I have no preferences," the mask replied. "Whatever you wish to call me will do."

Frisk considered calling the mask a funny name then insist she was granted permission to call it whatever if the mask protested, but she decided against doing so. It was too soon to know if the mask liked jokes and accepted teasing. Until she knew this character better, it might be wise to play it safe.

"Is Mask all right to you?"

"Again, I have no preferences."

"Okay, and . . . Mask, are you a boy or a girl?"

Mask froze, and Frisk stopped behind. Turning around slowly, Mask said, "That I also do not know."

"Oh. Okay."

"If I am just a mask, then perhaps I am no better than an it." Mask began moving forward again. "I do not care, though. For now, let us go someplace else. A change of scenery might be nice."

Following behind Mask, Frisk again swallowed her fear and gathered her courage. A part of her wasn't sure she should trust Mask, but without its help, she would be hopeless. However, if she could not help Mask discover who or what it is, then this whole situation was hopeless either way.

Filled with determination, Frisk swore that she would do all within her power to help Mask discover the truth as she followed her new companion deeper into the woods.