Chapter 6

Magical Forests

Yuki led the group until they reached the magical forest of Gedrallef. Gedrallef was one of the seven forests in the magical kingdom where the ancient forces of magic slept. No mortal who entered the forest lived to tell the tale but at the moment all Yuki cared about was to escape the imperial guards. As soon as the group entered the forest the sound of breaking glass filled the air.

"Where are we?" Kyo asked. There was a piercing cry and he instantly took out one of his swords, the sword of frost. He cautiously inspected the surroundings. His eyes widened in surprise when a slimy rotting hand reached out for his horse. He instantly swung his sword towards the hand and the hand instantly turned into ice and shattered. Another cry was heard and out of the bushes a creature with dark brown skin and bright green eyes instantly jumped out to attack. The creature was missing one arm and Kyo and the others could only assume that the monster was the owner of the hand. Yuki instantly took out an arrow from his quiver and shot the monster. The arrow harmlessly bounced off the monster's chest.

"Prince!" Momiji yelled since he still couldn't remember Yuki's name. "The only way to harm that monster is through magic!" He yelled. Momiji raised his hands and the leaves around the trees started rustling. He gathered his power and slowly the leaves started gathering around his hands. The creature sensing Momiji instantly started charging towards him. Momiji waited for the right moment and instantly let go of the bunch of leaves that was floating over his hands. There was a loud whooshing sound and the leaves quickly floated towards the creature. The leaves were now coated with steel around the edges and they were sharp enough to slice human skin. The creature let out a howl as it felt the leaves tearing through its skin. Blood, the colour of night, started oozing out from its wounds. Thinking that the creature was dead Momiji raised his hands again and the leaves innocently fell down the ground. The only proof that they were actually dangerous was the blood that smeared around the edges of the leaves.

"What was that?" Hatsuharu asked. His face was passive but the way he was gripping his reins gave of the fact that he was scared.

"One of the magical creatures of the forest" Momiji replied. "The creatures living here cannot be harmed by normal weapons. Magic is the only way to defeat them"

"Great" Hatsuharu muttered. "That means I'll be defenseless" Hatsuharu never had the patience to learn spells and the only spells he knew were protective spells.

"Let's get out of this forest" Kyo suggested and he started heading straight towards the opening. There was a loud crash, later followed by a curse and Kyo came back looking angry. "I was just heading towards the opening and all of a sudden a huge blue wall came out of no where! What just happened?" He asked.

"You can't get out of the forest from where you entered it. The only way for us to escape from this forest is to go to the other side. If I'm right there are only two openings that lead to the forest. Each of them on the opposite side of the forest facing each other" Momiji explain and he flashed them all a bright grin "I study" he cheerfully added.

Yuki bit his lower lip. "Finding the other opening is just one of the problems. The other problem is food and water. We can't eat what's in the forest unless we want to stay here forever. If I'm right once you eat or drink something that came from the magical forest you are doomed to stay forever"

"Oh that's no problem!" Momiji proudly told Yuki. "I have this mind spell that prevents hunger" He brightly told them. Yuki and Hatsuharu simply nodded. "Nice spell huh?" He gaily told them. Were trapped in a forest in danger of staying here forever and Momiji is acting like as if were going to the fair. Kyo thought. That kid is too cheerful!

"Won't that affect our state of mind?" Hatsuharu asked. His snow coloured eyebrows were snapped together in suspicion. He was still the prince's bodyguard and he did not trust the two strangers, even though one of them was the prince's childhood friend. Over in time people change. Hatsuharu thought as he watched the young blond happily stroking the mane of the palomino colored stallion that he was ridding on.

"Well…not really" Momiji replied.

"What was the pause for?" He growled in a low dangerous voice. The blond just looked at him innocently as if he didn't understand what he just said.

"If I were you buddy I'd strongly advise that you stop picking on my little companion" Kyo warned in a low dangerous voice. Hatsuharu and Kyo exchanged dangerous glares, their hands resting on the hilt of their swords.

"Hatsuharu, stop it" Yuki commanded in a stern voice. Hatsuharu gave Yuki a reluctant look before turning his back on Kyo.

Four hours later…

The group sat down in exhaustion. No one felt like admitting it but they were lost. Kyo angrily sat down the ground with a loud thud followed by an o-so-happy Momiji, an angry Hatsuharu and a tired and sweaty prince. The four stayed silent for a while as they watched the skies slowly darken.

"It is not safe to travel in the magical forest by night" Hatsuharu mumbled as he casually leaned his back against a nearby tree trunk. Kyo snorted in reply.

"Any idiot would know that" Kyo said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He still didn't forgive him for snapping at Momiji. When it came to friends Kyo was like an avenging angel protecting them fiercely. Hatsuharu gave him a murderous look in reply. Yuki and Momiji both let out a sigh. They were simply too tired. For the past few hours Kyo and Hatsuharu constantly argued and they were getting sick of it.

"Can you do a fire spell Yuki?" Momiji whined as he shivered from the cold. "I'm out of energy" He finished as he quickly curled up into a ball. Yuki nodded in reply and did a few hand gesture that imitated the dancing flames. Slowly flames started forming around the. Yuki was in the middle of finishing the spell when a spear struck out of no where, narrowly missing him.

"Fire is forbidden within the ancient forest of Gedrallef" A voice whispered from the darkness.

x

And chapter six is finally up! I would like to thank faeryespell, susie202, CallaRose4ever, DarkKyo, the-everglow, Blue-eyed snowflake, .X.Phoenix.X., littleduck, Dolphindreamer and fan999123 for reviewing.