My heart raced as I rushed through the lush Forest with Rolf and my parents in a row. The sun was still low on the horizon, and its rays shined softly through the dense canopy, bathing everything in a golden hue.

I smiled as I remembered these wondrous sights, spending many happy days running under the mighty foliage all those years back when I still used to live in the village.

Yet now, the atmosphere was solemn, and nobody uttered a single word, as my parents still seemed to be struggling to comprehend the dire circumstances we found ourselves in.

'They are also probably pondering what they are going to do now when they lost everything...' I thought, looking back at their gloomy expressions.

On the other hand, I wasn't anywhere that pessimistic - a house can always be rebuilt. What mattered the most was that we all made it out of there alive.

So, like that, we continued onward. We quickly left the relatively safe edges behind and were coming toward the inner Forest.

The surrounding trees have become ancient and enormous. Their trunks were rising into the heavens, blocking out the sky and submerging everything into darkness, except for the occasional shaft of light that broke through the thick branches.

Even the air turned damp and heavy, smelling of moss and decay. I cautiously continued onward, constantly on guard as we were entering the monster's territory.

Right then, I tensed and quickly turned around as my magic sense detected someone or something not too far away.

For a brief moment, I was worried that the soldiers had already found us. But then I shook my head as I realized they couldn't possibly move that fast.

Not to mention, the signal was coming from the depths of the Forest - the opposite side from where the village was.

I readied myself for anything as whatever that was; it must have noticed our presence as it began quickly approaching us.

I raised my hand, signaling everyone to take a cower and be quiet. By now, the rest of my family had noticed the rustling of the bushes before us, and Mother widened her eyes as she began stumbling back in panic.

Father and Rolf readied the sizable hammers they equipped themselves briefly before we escaped from the village.

I couldn't help but smile seeing their determined expressions despite the sad fact that it wouldn't make any difference if we stumbled on a real monster, yet I was still impressed by their apparent courage in the face of coming danger.

I knew that the only thing that could protect us in this situation was my magic; thus, I closed my eyes, focusing on my core, and quickly began gathering my essence, ready to blow away anything that might appear between the towering trees.

We all held our breaths for a second as we anxiously waited, and then, finally, the nearby bushes parted before a lone figure emerged.

'Huh?' I blinked a few times in confusion as a silhouette of an old, disheveled hunter appeared before us.

"Old Swen?" Father asked incredulously, visibly relieved.

"Whadya all doing here?" Old Swen widened his eyes; an evident disappointment appeared on his wrinkled face. "I thought I caught a big boar from all that stomping I heard..."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I lowered my hand, glad it was just Old Swen and not a monster. I opened my mouth to explain our situation, but Father beat me to it.

"The soldiers are coming after us. We barely made it out alive," he said in a low voice.

This statement apparently made Old Swen even more confused. "Soldiers? What Soldiers?"

While Father began hurriedly explaining our situation to the old hunter, I couldn't help but smile.

'This is perfect...' I thought. So far, I hadn't had time to think this whole mess through, but it was more than apparent we couldn't keep going like this for much longer.

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Firstly, I needed to follow after the bastards who were responsible for Helga's death before they had time to disappear forever, but most importantly, it was me whom the soldiers were after, so by traveling with the rest of my family, I was only painting a big target on everyone's backs.

Thus, if Old Swen could guide them through the Forest and lead them somewhere safe where they could all wait until the situation calms down, it would be for the best.

I got to know him quite well from all the time we were hunting together all those years back, so I was sure he wouldn't betray us. Not to mention, Father and he apparently knew each other very well for some strange reason.

Thus, the only thing left was somehow convincing the grumpy old hunter to go along with this…

I looked over at Old Swen, seeing the traces of concern etched across his face as he listened to what happened. I cleared my throat, drawing his attention to me.

"Swen, I know this is a lot to ask, but we need your help," I said, meeting his gaze steadily as I explained to him the plan I just came up with.

Old Swen's gaze shifted from me to my family, taking in their weary and anxious expressions. He stayed quiet for a while, seemingly thinking it through, but in the end, he sighed heavily and gave a short nod.

"I reckon I might know someone who could set ya up in another village for shelter."

Old Swen said thoughtfully before continuing. "But it's too late to start heading that way now; we betta find a place to spend a night in the Forest."

Seeing his agreement, I showed a bright smile as I pointed in a particular direction. "I know a good spot... It shouldn't be too far from here!"

Everyone immediately turned their heads toward me with a silent question on their lips, and I paled as I realized that I had said something I shouldn't have.

My father furrowed his brow and was already opening his mouth to ask the question on everyone's minds since I never shared my adventures in the Forest with anyone except Helga.

So, to buy myself some precious time to come up with a suitable response, I hurriedly said, "We don't have much time before it gets dark... Follow me!" and began walking forward, thus forcing everyone to follow after me.

Soon, we came to a small clearing with a still lake sitting under a pair of enormous ancient trees. I looked around, taking in the sights as I vividly remembered the last time I came here while searching for the Moonlight Aster.

Sadly, this time, no beautiful flowers were floating atop the lake's shining surface; however, it didn't change the fact that the two gigantic trees provided a perfect hiding place for the night.

"What a wondrous sight," Mother murmured, her gaze wandering over the canopy above.

"How did you learn of this place?" Father inquired with narrowed eyes, and I sighed as I couldn't escape his question this time.

"Well, you see... actually, it was by complete accident! Last time I visited you in the village, I went to the Forest to look for some herbs I had read about in one of Isadora's books and stumbled upon this lake."

I was mostly telling the truth since I actually found this place by accident, only much sooner. This answer seemed to placate him, although Father still looked at me with a mild suspicion, but I decided to ignore it.

We then made a small fire in the tree's shadow and sat closely around it to keep ourselves warm.

I decided to also stay here and leave in the morning to keep everyone safe during the night.

Although I kept my decision to leave to myself for the time to not worry my mother more than she already was.

"Swen, we are grateful for your help," my father said solemnly.

"Ya betta be," Swen laughed, his eyes twinkling as he cut open a rabbit he managed to catch previously and began preparing a deliciously smelling dinner.

Moonlight pierced the darkness, casting ghostly shadows on the forest floor as we ate silently, everyone submerged in their own thoughts.

Shortly after, we went to sleep as my family was too tired and not at all used to such a heavy strain of continuous travel.

I volunteered to take the first watch as my mind was still too agitated by everything that happened recently, so I had no thoughts of sleep.

As they settled down, wrapping themselves in blankets against the chill of the night, I took a position at the edge of the clearing. My eyes were scanning the darkness while I was trying to catch every strange sound that would signal a potential danger.

Luckily, the night passed out uneventfully, and I even managed to steal a few hours of restless sleep after I changed my watch with the Old Swen after midnight.

As dawn's light seeped across the sky, I knew it was time to say goodbye. Mother's face contorted in grief as she grabbed my arm, pleading for me to stay, saying she couldn't bear the thought of losing me, too.

Father stood behind her, his strong arms cradling her shaking body as tears streamed down her weary face. She knew that this moment of separation had been inevitable, yet still begged for it not to be.

I wrapped my arms around Mother and Father, feeling their warmth and love seep into my bones.

"I'll come back, I promise," I whispered, knowing full well that there was a chance I might never return.

Before I left, I placed a small pouch with all my remaining silver into my father's hands as a small compensation for all the trouble I caused them.

Initially reluctant, he swallowed his pride and accepted it, as it would be very tough to start over without any money.

I couldn't give them any of my gold coins as typically only nobles used them, and it would be too dangerous for them if someone would start asking around.

Then, with one final nod at Old Swen, I turned around and headed straight into the untamed wilderness of the ancient Forest.