Darkness was something I was used to, it was something that I am most familiar with.

My mind was swirled in darkness as I was covered thick in it as my fate allowed.

Memories of the past started to resurface in my mind.

It was years ago, some time before the war and we were out chasing wanted criminals. The Hero Gabriel was with me and Camille. Our party had split up in search of the possible known bandit hideouts. So the others had gone to a different location while only the three of us remained to look in the Black forest. We were looking for a particular criminal, someone who had terrorized his own village and ransacked it for all its worth.

The small village had collected a moderate amount of money in order to rebuild and expand. It was their life savings and they desperately wanted to make their village grow. The village didn't know that a fiendish man within their own ranks would steal from them. The man was a criminal called the blind bandit Byron for his style to steal from anyone no matter how rich or poor.

Yet he stole mostly from the poor which was why he earned the name, the blind bandit.

The Black forest was southeast of the Western Kingdom and situated around farmlands. Many parents had used what lurked in the Black forest as a tale to frighten their children. Some have said that disaster and apparitions did indeed live in the Black forest. I wasn't scared and neither was the Hero Gabriel of the stories surrounding the area. Only Camille had a frightfully hard time with the stories and she wasn't up to her usual self.

"What's the matter, Camille?" Gabriel said.

Camille seemed to shake and make herself small from the sounds of the wind.

"I-I'm not g-good in places like this!" Camille said while clenching her body with her arms.

Camille screamed when she heard the rustle of some leaves.

The three of us were walking inside the Black forest which looked like any other regular forest. It was near sunset and soon nightfall would come upon us. Camille had dark green hair and emerald eyes which seem to sparkle. Camille's body was naturally curvy with a small waist and she wore tight clothes that accentuated the fact. Her long hair was twisted into two buns on the top of her head. She usually had a twisted personality as she was most obsessed with money. When I saw her acting like a child, it greatly changed her image in my mind.

I came up from behind Camille and took off the hood covering my head.

"How can you be a Martial Arts master and be scared of fairy tales?" I said while looking at Camille.

The bracelets and the muscles on Camille's body seem to shake with the wind.

"I'm not like you Demitri! I don't prance around the dark!" Camille said trying to look defiant.

Another passage of the wind caused her to shrink back down.

"Those stories are just to keep children from being out of line," I said.

"Easy for you to say! You never had parents to tell you these stories all the time!" Camille shouted back at me.

I shook my head and looked at Gabriel who just smiled at us.

"We should keep going," Gabriel said. "How about you stay in between the two of us Camille?"

"O-only if you lead the way H-hero!"

Camille stood up tall and tried looking around the forest but shrank her posture back small again.

Gabriel walked ahead of us in his shining white armor and blue cape. I only sighed as I followed Camille who kept behind Gabriel. I saw nothing to note about from the Black forest. It looked and sounded like any other forest in the Kingdom. The only difference was that this Black forest had a tale stuck to its name.

I doubted the authenticity of most fairy tales and superstition as I had matured quickly during my youth.

Especially since the stories of this forest had only popped up recently within twenty years. It was known as the Black forest because of how it takes children away from their parents. Lost children were usually found in the forest dead and alone with nothing but black bags under their eyes. Some parents who lost their children would come to mourn them in the forest only to see black ghostly apparitions.

The black ghostly apparitions always looked like children to all who dared delve into the Black forest.

The people who lived near the Black forest would call it haunted and frighten their children with its stories. Others have said that it might be the ghost of dead children who roam these parts. We had information that the Bandit was seen entering this forest. It would make sense as a hideout for the wanted criminal as the common folk dared not enter. Tales would say that only children need to be weary of this forest.

Though, tales are just meant to teach moral consequences.

"Stop shivering Camille," I said. " We need to look for a criminal and not be weary of tall tales."

Nothing particularly strange was happening as we continued our walk through the Black forest.

"There are tales for a reason!" Camille said.

"Yes, for children," I said.

Camille seemed to pout at me but was more scared of the noises made by the wind.

"I'm surprised you are scared of this when you are always out fleecing people of money," I said. "Aren't you afraid someone might catch you for your tricks someday?"

"I-I can talk to people but I can't talk to the d-d-dead," Camille said. "B-besides, m-money is essential f-for living! M-my f-family needs money!"

Camille still tried to make her words come out through the stammering of her teeth.

"H-how rude of a thief like you D-Demitri to lecture me!" Camille said.

I shrugged my shoulders as I did know the hypocrisy of my statement.

"Ghosts and scary things are frightening! I hate hearing about them over and over again!"

I scratched my head and kept following behind her through the forest.

"Aren't you the oldest of thirteen?" I said. "Aren't you a little old for stories?"

"My mother loves scary stories and so do my siblings, so she keeps repeating them!" Camille said.

Camille stopped for a moment to look at me while covering her face.

"So I kept hearing them over and over again!"

I understood then how she got her phobia of fairytales and ghost stories. Camille always talked about her family and the need for money. She always used her attractive features or tricks to get money from men. It was so she could support her poor family that lived in the Eastern mountains. The Hero stopped for a moment in front of us to look behind and let out a laugh. It was one of the rare occasions that I ever saw the Hero laugh heartily.

"Family and siblings are funny aren't they?" Gabriel said. "Some minor things like that can live with you for the rest of your life."

I looked surprised for a moment at Gabriel.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Aren't you an only child Hero?"

Gabriel was taken aback for a moment and then returned a smile.

"Ah yes, I meant when I hear other people talk about their siblings."

The Hero had a sort of sadness in his smile and then he continued walking while we followed.

"Do you miss your family Camille?" Gabriel said.

"Yes, every day," Camille replied while looking around.

Gabriel nodded his head faintly and then suddenly halted.

In only a few feet we had stopped in our tracks as the Hero kept still.

"W-what's the matter?" Camille said.

"Something's up ahead," Gabriel whispered.

We all crouched down and scanned the forest. Nothing seemed out of the regular until we heard the faint sounds of someone sobbing. Camille sat down on her knees and almost let out a scream. I hurriedly covered her mouth before she could do so. Camille looked like she was about to cry as she stared at me. I gave her a stoic expression as I put one finger to my lips.

Gabriel looked back at us and I could see that he had some suspicions.

"Demitri, scout ahead and see what's going on," Gabriel whispered. "It might be the bandit we're looking for."

I nodded my head and made my way around the area.

Sunlight started to fade away and the temperature became a bit more chilly. I stealthily made my way around to see what was in front of us. I noticed a small camp in the forest with a tent and what looked like various things scattered about. The campfire was just put out as I saw the smoldering ash of a fire. A dark shadow was sitting in the middle of the camp and the sound of crying emitted from it.

I approached a little closer and the ruffle of leaves startled the shadow. I knew my mistake and I tried to react. Quickly I rushed into the camp only for the shadow to disappear in front of me. I looked around and didn't see any other movement in the forest. Something strange happened and I couldn't understand what. I let out a whistle to call Gabriel and Camille to come forward.

"A-a camp?" Camille said.

"Yes," I replied. "Someone was definitely here and something else."

"What was?" Gabriel asked.

"I saw a shadow here but it ran as soon as it heard me," I replied.

Camille seemed startled at my words while the Hero scanned the camp. Gabriel looked down at the various items and I searched the tent. I found a stash of money and it looked to be the same amount that was stolen from the village. I moved to the others and showed them my findings.

"It seems the bandit was here," I said as I held up the bag full of money.

"Good work Demitri," Gabriel said. "Now we just need to catch the blind bandit."

"It's strange, though, why would he leave this money here and run off?"

We heard a scream and looked towards Camille who was cowering next to a body. The body was just on the other side of the camp. Gabriel moved next to Camille who hugged his legs. Gabriel comforted Camille and urged me to inspect the body. I walked towards the dead body which was leaning next to a tree. The features all confirmed the details that were given to us by the village, it was the blind bandit Byron.

"It's him," I said. "It's the blind bandit Byron."

"What happened?" Gabriel said.

I looked over the dead body of the bandit who still had his eyes wide open.

"No major injuries, nothing external anyway, he has sunken eyes like he hasn't slept, and nothing that I can really tell how he died," I said.

"I-it's t-the c-c-curse of the forest!" Camille said. "We should leave!"

A strong wind blew in the forest and we all covered our faces for a moment. A child appeared in the middle of the camp. It looked like a little boy made out of dark shadows. The air around him was swirling with green lights. The little boy wore some strange clothing but it too was covered in darkness. Camille screamed again and I drew my blade from my side. Only the Hero Gabriel looked at the little boy made out of the darkness with confusion.

"Sam…?" Gabriel said.

I looked at Gabriel who seemed to know something about this apparition.

"Rick?...Rick?...Is that you?....Where are you? It's cold here….I'm so cold…..I'm so lonely...I've been here for so long…Rick? Where's Mom and Dad?.....Where's Elizabeth?...Rick?...Are you there?...We were going home, weren't we?....Where's the car?....Where's everyone?...."

The boy that looked like a shadow cried.

I didn't understand what the dark shadow of a boy was saying. Gabriel seemed to want to reach out to the shadow but Camille prevented his movement. Then a green light enveloped the little boy and he disappeared. I was confused and Camille was frightened to the core. The Hero seemed shocked at what happened. Tears streamed down across Gabriel's face and I didn't know what that was about.

We stayed only for a little bit and searched the area some more. Nothing important was in the forest as it returned to being common again. Nothing like what we saw occurred again. We gathered everything of value and even took the body of the blind bandit Byron for confirmation. I didn't want to leave the body here in the case that it might rise up as an Undead.  

Camille breathed a sigh of relief as we left the Black forest. Our duty ended quickly with not much conflict at all. Yet something strange happened to the Hero. Something had changed within Gabriel and he seemed to have been looking for something. He searched the Royal library of the Capital often and searched historical records inside the Church of the Veil. Many of our companions voiced their concerns but none knew the true matter of what was going on.

I didn't really know what it was about and I didn't care as the Hero still acted like himself. He still made with the airs and gestures of a Hero. Though I could tell that he became more distant after this encounter and the war would start not soon after. Gabriel had become more cold and aggressive but we didn't know why. I thought that I had knew who the Hero was but I was wrong.

Who was that little boy and what did he say to make the Hero change?

Sometimes I felt that I was that little boy covered in shadows and this memory was nothing more than a  dream. How I searched for something or someone to help me. That I was alone in the middle of a forest with no one around. But I had become covered in a different kind of darkness, one of my own choosing.

I didn't know why I thought of this memory as I drifted in the darkness but it seemed like a clue into why Gabriel had changed.

The light came piercing into my mind and my eyes.

I woke up from my unconsciousness and found myself in an unfamiliar room.

I hoped that I would not change much as Gabriel had done.