Hain flew his eyes open.

A raucous din cut through the prevailing silence and stirred him from his slumber. How long had he been here, upside down? He no longer knew.

Panting faster and faster, he tried to take a peek over his shoulder and catch a glimpse of what woke him up.

But it didn’t work. He lost too much strength from hanging upside down for several hours. At this rate, he’d certainly bite the dust.

But that was the last of his concerns, to be honest. His head throbbed out of control and felt as heavy as a rock.

The rush of blood turned his face bright red and meddled with his ability to think straight – or think at all – for that matter.

Heaving a deep breath, he looked around himself for the umpteenth time. The nearest stick that could help loosen the rope around his ankles was out of reach.

Even if he rocked back and forth with all his might, with the wind lending a helping hand from behind, it still wouldn’t be enough to snatch the stick and escape this stupid trap. Who even put this thing here?

Yet there was no other way around this. He either had to try over and over again until he succeeded or accept his ill fate and kick the bucket. But passing away here, like this, wasn’t an option.

He travelled all the way from Mazheven and defied fate already – this couldn’t be the end. He had to try his luck one last time before giving it all up.

This was but one single hurdle. Throughout his miserable life, he faced a lot more afflicting and trying situations. This? It was a piece of cake.

With these thoughts in his mind, Hain took a deep breath and pushed his upper body forwards with all his might.

Swinging back and forth for the umpteenth time, he clenched his jaw and fixed his eyes on the stick in the distance. Just a little more, he thought, as he tried to reach the wooden stick to no avail.

“Argh!”

He broke off with a groan. Something hit his head. His hand instinctively flew to his head. Blood dripped down from his brows and painted the blades of grass crimson.

He frowned. What the—? A stone lay on the ground, right between his brows. It was the same size as his fist. But it wasn’t there before. Someone threw it at him.

As panic set in, he twisted and turned to take a look over his shoulder. But there was nothing behind him. Yet it made little sense!

The stone couldn’t have hit him by its own will or with the help of the wailing wind that barely visited the dense woods.

As he was about to look over his shoulder again, a squeak took him by surprise and made him jolt up. Running his distressed eyes through the woods, they finally landed on something below him.

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Not even a cry escaped his mouth as he stared into a pair of tiny eyes. Huh? A hedgehog? Its tiny eyes were, strangely enough, as blue as the cloudless sky.

Was that even possible? It was almost human, he reasoned, the way it looked into his eyes with a knowing stare.

But what was it doing? The hedgehog stood up on two legs and picked up the stone, raising it above its head. It looked rather cute, like a tiny human.

Before he knew it, the hedgehog aimed the stone right between his eyes. Wait a second, he thought, it wasn't going to do what he was thinking, was it? The hedgehog, as if it knew what went through his head, smirked.

“H- hey! D- don’t do it! Please! P- put the stone down!”

But it was too late. It threw the blood-smeared stone at his face again.

As the hedgehog raised the stone once more, he shut his eyes with a grimace and anticipated the hit. But it didn’t come.

When he carefully opened his eyes, a pair of shoes made of straw emerged before him. He raised his eyes and followed the slender legs up until they landed on those blue eyes again.

This time, however, the blue eyes belonged to a human like himself – or rather, a girl with long, wavy blond hair. Her hands were placed on her hips as she stared him down with a lopsided smirk.

“What are you?” she asked.

“I should be the one asking that!”

“You must be a human I suppose?”

“W- what? Wait, you’re not? I mean… a human?”

“Hmm, something like that! You people call me a witch…”

Hain glanced up and wriggled his numb legs, which turned purple from the lack of blood.

“I’m sorry. Can you help me with…?”

The witch followed his gaze. A knowing smile crept on her face. “I could. But I won’t.”

Visibly panicking, Hain, “W- what do you mean, you won’t? I- I need help!”

“You need help?” She looked at something behind him before facing him again. “But what are you two even doing here in the first place?”

“What…?”

“You don’t know her? The girl sitting against the tree like some sort of dead fish?”

Hain replied before she finished the sentence.

“No, of course not! Why would I—hold on a second! What’d you just say? A girl? C- can you describe her?”

“She’s got some nice black hair, but it needs some washing, honestly. And she’s wearing this really outdated black cloak I’d never put on – like never!”

Hain briefly looked away. Elise? But what was she doing here? Was she the one who woke him up? Then it hit him. Like a dead fish? Why? Was… was she hurt? He had to know!

“Is- is she okay? I mean…”

“She looks like she needs a bath and a good scrubbing.”

He breathed out in relief.

The girl, “But what are you two doing here? You never replied…”

“It’s…” He looked up at the tightening rope and his numb legs. “You cut me free and I’ll tell you why. What do you say?”

“Clever aren’t you? But you’re too heavy and that girl seems to have passed out. I need help, not you! Well, uhm, so do you think you can wait?”

“Do I think I can wait?” he repeated with a bitter smile, more for himself than for the girl to hear. “Don’t have any other choice, do I?”

“Well, in that case, wait here and don’t budge an inch until I return.”

Hain forced a smile, in utter disbelief. Did it look like he could move or something?

“Yeah, that totally makes sense! ‘Budge an inch’, huh?” A smirk crept up on his face. “Had I—”

She placed a finger on his lips.

“Aye, you’re talking too much! Just say thank you and leave it at that, hmm?”

“[indiscernible noises]”

“You’re welcome!” She turned her back to him and was about to leave when she faced him again. “Oh, by the way, I’m Brettlyn! With a Y, not an I.”

“I didn’t ask!”

The peculiar girl cracked a smile before turning into a hedgehog again and venturing deeper into the woods.

Just as he thought everything was over, another stone hit his head. Harder this time.

Unable to keep his anger in, he shouted with all his might so that there was no way the hedgehog could’ve missed him.

“You just wait, witch!”