Chapter Nineteen

Away from the warding stone, the forest was every bit as dangerous as it had been during the day , but Nia put no thought into that as she trudged down the wide path razed before her. Her mind was a mess of emotions, many of which she failed to put into words. She felt isolated and betrayed, drowning in a sea of uncaring trees with nothing to grasp .

Clarity came to her for a moment, urging her to go back to the pond, to seek its safety from the hidden things around her, but she ignored it. She knew nothing would hurt her; she could hear the reason why following her, keeping its distance. She had thought Mister Greeny was her friend, that he cared for her; now, she didn’t know what to think.

She just had to get away but knew that would never happen. He wouldn’t let it.

Mister Greeny didn’t bother to hide himself. He trundled along, keeping a respectable distance between himself and his little one. He knew he had made a mistake, but it was difficult for him to truly understand the reason why. He only wanted the best for his little one, to ensure that she was kept safe, could keep herself safe from what was to come.

He didn’t know where he went wrong.

She had been learning his magic with an intense zeal ever since she had been able to grow that little strawberry. It was as if that deformed fruit planted a seed inside her, only able to grow by absorbing the vast knowledge he was passing down to her. He hadn’t planned on introducing this particular lesson until much later, but recent events showed him it was necessary.

Why didn’t she understand that it had to happen? That it was natural to have to take another life to survive?

As much as he was changing, those changes would never let him understand the thoughts of another.

He would have to make it up to her and tell her he was sorry. He could tell that she needed more time. He would watch over her until then, like he had been since that night.

Nia stumbled, and then she screamed.

Mister Long erupted from the forest, searching for a threat, the trees next to him snapping at their bases into jagged daggers that stabbed the sky. Mister Greeny lunged forward at that exact moment , the vines constructing his body unfurling as he soared through the air. He didn’t know what was happening ; neither he nor his golem had sensed anything near them or his little one, but something had caused her to cry out in agony, and he had to protect her.

He formed a thick dome of wood around her, a protective cocoon that would shirk off any but the deadliest blows. His magic flared, roiling in his core and casting a green glow in all directions, ready to strike out at the slightest hint of danger. But he found nothing.

Nia was on her knees, breathing hard. Her eyes were wide, and her face drained of all her blood. They were staring at a body before her. It was an elf, and it was female. Mister Greeny thought the worst for a moment, much like his little one must have, but soon saw that the body on the ground was not her mother. She was a younger elf, just a girl, much like his little one. And she looked familiar.

“…Reylein.” Nia whimpered between her rapid, shallow breaths. “Reylein, no…”

It was the girl that had tormented her almost every day when they were young. A spiteful thing that took great pleasure in keeping it from Nia. Although he disliked the young girl lying motionless before him, what she had gone through before her death caused anger to swell within him, unlike he had felt for eons.

What little clothing remained was shredded and soaked in blood and other bodily fluids, exposing her breasts and lower body to the frigid night air. Her once beautiful face was swollen and marred with a kaleidoscope of blacks and purples and greens, telling him a story of prolonged abuse. The rest of her body was not much better, with bruises and contusions , some long healed, spread generously all over. Even through the slow decay she had been subjected to, it was easy to see the cruelty she had suffered at the hands of those who took her.

Nia continued to stare at her dead tormentor, her breathing growing more ragged with each passing moment. Mister Greeny morphed back into his human form and reached for his little one, placing a hand on her heaving shoulder. This was something she should not see; it hinted to her of what was happening to the others from her village, what was happening to her mother.

Come away, little one. He said, pulling her to her feet. Her body was limp and uncooperative, but she still stared open-eyed toward the body on the ground. Come away, and I will ensure she joins the spirits of the forest.

That night, he buried her body amongst the trees. The elves worshiped the spirits of the forest and would often hold ceremonies celebrating the life of those lost, bringing offerings so that their souls could walk among the forest forever. There was no celebration that night, no grand tales of her life and what she had accomplished, only silence and a deep sense of loss and anger.

Others had died deep inside the village ; others had suffered at the hands of the men who came during the night. But Nia had seen none of them . He had sheltered her from that awful sight, so when she had finally laid eyes upon the cruelty, cementing the reality around her, she fell apart.

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She was sleeping now . Mister Long was curled around her protectively, trying but failing to keep her nightmares at bay.

He tore his eyes off of her restless form and placed them on the freshly overturned soil. There was nothing left to do, but he felt as if an unmarked grave was not enough. His magic flared, the mana in his body compacting the mound of soft soil before him, hardening it so that it could support what came next. Twirling, golden mana rolled off of his body like mist, slowly spreading along the ground until it all congregated atop the fresh grave. The soil soaked the mist up greedily until nothing remained.

For a breath, nothing happened. Then, from the center of the plot, a small sprout, with vivid, golden leaves matching the magic that made it, pushed its way out of the dirt and reached for the twinkling night sky. It continued to grow, its trunk thickening and widening in order to support the new branches reaching out in every direction. Slim leaves tipped each branch and offshoot, and as they grew rapidly, started to look like the flowing hair of the girl buried beneath.

The tree’s roots dug deep, pushing through the soft soil until they reached the girl’s body. They pushed through her as well, whiskers of wood soaking up what nutrients her body offered and guiding the tree as it took on a shape much different from those around it. The tree shuddered and groaned, its trunk and heavy boughs shifting until it loosely resembled a humanoid form— a stunningly beautiful woman with a golden crown of leaves.

Now, she would be with the forest forever. A fitting memorial.

“It looks just like her,” Nia’s voice was somber, matching the atmosphere around them.

My magic used her body as a template, my memories providing the rest . He told her, his glowing eyes still locked onto the tree before them. Nia was behind him, just out of his sight, but he could still feel her shifting her weight uncomfortably. Could you not sleep, little one?

“Is this what the outside world is like?” She asked her own question, ignoring his. “Full of violence and cruelty. Full of… this?”

Mister Greeny shook his head as he turned to face her. I cannot say. Like you, all I have ever known is this forest.

She brought her eyes to his, looking into them with a tired look on her face. “You’ve told me that before…” She started to turn back toward where she came from but paused. “Don’t do that to me again, okay?”

Her tone was indifferent, an apathy that made him think that it wasn’t his little one who was speaking. He worried that this had changed her. Although change was inevitable for all things, not all of it was good. I understand.

“Good.” Was all she said before she silently walked away.

Mister Greeny watched her until she lay down next to Mister Long, and then he returned his eyes to the golden tree. He watched it softly dancing in the breeze until the sun crested over the horizon, the soft sobs coming from behind him the only things keeping him company.

They found several more bodies on their slow march out of the forest, many of them women, none of them were Nia’s mother. That was a small consolation for her, but she did not feel any better for it. It was a cruel thing to be forced to see such depravity fall upon people she once knew. Even if she held no love for them, they were still a part of her life, a part of her that she buried along with their bodies.

She spoke to the spirits as her and Mister Greeny’s magic grew headstones of wood and leaf, imploring them to guide the souls of those who died, to embrace them, and to keep their memories alive. They had hated her, and she them, but in their death, she could not hold onto her hatred any longer.

Of course, she could never forgive them for what they had done. She knew herself much too well to think that she could, but she couldn’t hate them. Not anymore. Not after what they had gone through.

Heavy paw steps broke Nia out of her silent memorial. She stood before a sliver-leafed tree, portraying a matronly-looking woman with willowy branches that swept the ground. Nia remembered her as the aged herbalist of the village, Anelise. She had lost her husband many years before and never remarried. When she was younger, Nia had thought that was why she always wore a scowl when she would see her , but she learned the truth eventually.

Now, she looked so happy. Nia wondered if she had finally found the love she lost so long ago.

“We’re close, aren’t we?” She asked, turning away from Anelise’s tree to face the wooden bear behind her.

They had been walking for weeks, only discarded and scattered bodies marking their progress down the wide trail cut by magic. She looked at him with weary anticipation, hopeful that this would be the last tree they would watch grow.

Men and beasts are further ahead, he nodded. They are not those we seek but should know of them in the least.

“How are you so sure?”

They work to clear the trees left behind. They do not look like the ones slain by the villagers, with no armor and only axes to strip the branches.

Nia ran her fingers through her curly hair, wincing as one caught a tangle as she did so. “I feel sick to my stomach…” She squeezed her eyes shut, “it’s fine. I’m fine… I’m okay…”

Little one, are you alright? Concern echoed in his grating voice as he moved closer to her. She didn’t step away from him like he had expected ; she had been cold toward him since his lesson by the pond. Instead, she rubbed her palm on his rough muzzle reassuringly.

“I’m better now.” She said, her eyes smiling when her lips did not. “We’re… better now. There’s too much at stake for us not to be. I see that now. Just promise me one thing, okay?”

Mister Greeny said nothing, only nodding as he looked down at her.

“My tree… whatever happens… I want it next to my mother’s and father’s.”