White Magic
Chapter 5: Into the Forest
The silence in the car was almost thick enough to suffocate. The dirt road that led into the Forest seemed to no loner be kind and safe but was now menacing and dark. Finally as he parked the car Dean spoke, "What are we even doing here Sam?"
"I don't know."
Now Dean was upset. "Don't tell me that you have no idea why we are chasing this chick into some strange forest that is obviously magical. Why the hell are you doing this?"
"I don't know why Dean! Alright, I have no idea why I have to do this. All know is that I won't rest until I learn what I need to learn and Jezeasha Sparrow has the answers. So if you want to know why I am doing this now you know." With those last angry words Sam opened the door, got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and popped the trunk.
"Sam!" Dean hopped out of the car and hurried to the back end of the car. "Sam, you are not going into those woods alone."
"Well, it looks like I don't have a choice." Said Sam angrily as he loaded a shot gun and put extra ammunition into his pockets. With a sigh of frustration Dean grabbed a semi-automatic and some holy water.
Once they were ready they debated their best course of action. They decided, that since they had entered the forest at the southern end, that going north would be best. They took one last look at the forest's edge, and then plunged into the woods without hesitation.
The only thing they heard for several long minutes was silence. The forest almost seemed to know that they didn't belong. After 15 long minutes they came to a stream. The stream's gurgling was a welcome sound. Dean pulled out a flashlight and looked into the water. "What are you doing Dean?"
"Looking for signs of life." Within seconds he found a little school of Minos.
"Well, at least we know something lives here." Said Sam trying to stay positive.
They crossed the stream careful not to touch the water. They kept going. After another 15 minutes of silence they saw something. A light only a few yards way. It glowed warmly calling them to its light. The brothers looked at each other with a silent question. Dean gave Sam an it's-our-only-hope look which answered the question. They approached the light slowly and cautiously.
It was a lamppost.
"What the fuck is a lamppost doing in the middle of a forest?" Sam shrugged. Neither of them spoke the thought out loud but they were both grateful for the light.
After a moment spent studying the lamppost they moved on. After a moment it became apparent that the lamppost was where the silence ended. The sounds of hidden animals and the wind seemed to over whelm them after that deep silence. They were both unnerved at how loud the animals were even this late at night.
They were walking through trees when they suddenly came to a clearing. Not a large clearing but it was big enough that they could see the stars over head. In the middle of this clearing was a very strange thing indeed. It was a tree. But not just any tree. The tree was white, pure pearly white. But the oddest and most beautiful thing about this tree was its flowers. The only way to describe these flowers was that it looked like the stars had settled on this tree's branches. The glowed with a pure white light that lit up the clearing.
Acting on impulse Sam walked up to the tree and placed his hand on its trunk. It felt like the tree was reading him, judging if he was worthy to enter this wood. After a moment he felt the tree's approval and removed his hand. "Sammy?"
Sammy turned to his brother. "Touch it Dean."
"What?" Asked Dean shocked.
"Just do it Dean. We can't pass until you do." So with much hesitation Dean laid his hand on the tree trunk. He closed his eyes. He felt the tree sooth his nerves and open his mind. Then after another moment he also felt the tree's approval.
He removed his hand. He looked at his brother then back at the tree. He couldn't speak. He looked back at his brother. Yes, they both knew now that they needed to be here. They also knew that this forest was not out to get them.
They moved on with lighter spirits. The forest seemed lighter and the animal's sounds less threatening. They walked quietly taking in their surroundings. They had been walking for a while when the forest floor changed. It was no longer mossy and damp like most forest floors. Now the forest was covered in strange stones covered the ground. The larger stones seemed to have strange holes in them.
Dean went up to a stone to see what was in the holes. He gently laid his hand on the rock. He looked over at Sam and lightly rapped on the stone with his knuckles. A soft hollow echo sounded from it.
"This place just gets weirder and weirder." Dean whispered.
They kept walking. The stones got bigger and bigger. They came to a huge boulder in what they guessed was the middle of it all. Sam went up to this boulder and rapped on it with his knuckles. The echo this boulder made seemed to fill the entire rock zone.
Then one by one the stones began to light up. As they lit up a strange humming came from the stones. They as oddly as it started it stopped. All the light vanished. Both men released the breath they had been holding. Then the stones erupted.
What looked like the biggest lightning bugs ever seen erupted from every stone. They flew around San and Dean in swarms. The two brothers went back to back holding their arms over their heads. Them Sam realized what they were.
"Dean! They're fairies!" Sam yelled. And sure enough with closer inspection they could see that what looked like some big ass lightning bugs were really tiny men and women with glowing butterfly wings. They stared in amazement ant the tiny creatures. They could see now that they weren't attacking them. Sam and Dean tried to get a better look at the creatures but as soon as they did the fairies stopped swarming. As quickly as they started they stopped. They all flew back to their homes. A soft light came from every stone.
Sam and Dean turned to see what had sent the fairies back to their homes. When they turned around they laid their eyes on the most wondrous creature they had ever seen. They had heard of Griffins but only in tales like Alice in Wonderland and other children's tales. Let me tell you right now that those stories did not do this creature justice. The creature was a pure sunfilled gold from feathers to fur; its eyes were large and intelligent, and you could see the creature's muscle's move under his skin.
Then it spokeā¦
"Greetings, My name is Gold Feather. What are your names, pray tell." He spoke with a deep rich baritone with a thick English accent.
Dean couldn't speak so Sam did. "I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean."
"I had hoped so. The Mistress of the Wood told me to find you and tell her how far you have gotten. She also told me to tell give you a message." He then pulled a roll of parchment from under his wing and handed it to Sam. "Fly true dear young ones. Make haste for her home. For many a marvel awaits you." With those final words he took off into the sky.
Dean finally found his voice. "Well, now we know why they have worked so hard to keep this place hidden."
"Yeah, I can see why they would want to see such magic hidden." Added Sam.
"You gonna read that or what?" asked Dean gesturing toward the parchment in Sam's hand.
Sam unrolled the parchment and read the not out loud.
"Dear Winchesters,
I hope Gold Feather found you soon enough he is getting sloppy, I must talk to him about that. I am sending you this note to warn you. A centaur is pregnant and near delivery. Centaurs are protective and do not like humans at all. Though they are magnificent creatures they are very racist. I am sending you a guide. He will guide you around the centaurs and no farther. He will leave you off at the best point for you to continue your journey. The first creature you meet which knows you name will lead you. I wish you speed and luck.
Yours Truly,
Jezeasha Sparrow"
"So she's sending us a guide to get around these centaurs?" Dean asked to be sure he heard correct.
"Yes,"
"Centaurs?"
"That's what it says."
"It's weird how I've seen all sorts of nasties and the idea of all this being real too is what's getting to me." Said Dean shaking his head.
They started off again. "Well, we were raised with the ideas of monsters not that fairy tales are real." Reasoned Sam.
They kept walking in silence. They looked more carefully at the tees and the bushes. If they looked carefully they would see a strange bird every once and a while or a creature that sort of looked like rat. They neared another stream, this one was bigger. They stopped for a minute to rest their feet.
"How long have we been walking?" Sam asked.
"I don't know for sure but my guess would be about 2 to 3 hours."
"You're running out of time." Said a voice. They jumped up reaching for their weapons. "Calm down boys. The Mistress of the Wood sent me. Sam and Dean Winchester right?"
They looked at the owner of the voice lost for words. It was a fox. A real red fur, bushy tailed fox. "Um, yes that's us." Said Sam uncertainly.
