"Everybody! Gather around, gather 'round!" A woman ordered, her voice like a siren. The older woman stood up on a well, making it easy to see her amidst this crowd. In her left hand was a horn, and her right held a small wand. She had dull, dark blue skin, blue eyes, and long blonde hair. A few men stood around her with torches and swords.

Anna shuffled into the huddle, holding Leo, as Markus stood beside them. Pressed up against Anna's chest, Leo could feel the anxious beating of her heart. She looked down and gently rubbed his head, a warm smile spreading across her face, contrasting the cool night.

The woman began speaking again, her voice breaking through the hubbub of nervous voices. "We will be heading into the forest! Specifically, the Bladed Forest!" A quick hush fell over the crowd, they knew something that Leo didn't, but he assumed it wasn't good.

"T-the Bladed Forest?" Markus asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. "It's forbidden!" Quickly, the voices returned, now even more panicked and confused, asking questions similar to Markus'.

Anna gasped in surprise as Markus grunted, bodies pushed against them as the crowd shifted anxiously. They were shoved back and forth, left and right, and even diagonal as the group suddenly lost all composure. Markus shouted at the people around them to stop, while Anna pulled Leo flush against her.

"Stop!" the woman commanded. Leo's eyes widened as his body stiffened, this time, the woman's voice was different, an unwavering order, one that you could not disobey. In an instant the children stopped, their voices abruptly cut off. "We will be heading out now!" she ordered again, this time, it seemed like she had released the spell's effect a little. Leo's muscles relaxed, and so did Anna's and Markus'. As the men began leading the way, the lady stayed her eyes gliding over everyone. Leo saw her lips move as she said something, it wasn't long until he figured out that it was another spell. The crowd seemed to relax and follow the men obediently towards their destination.

"Aunty Maggie is really loud," Markus groans, rubbing his ears.

A little chuckle leaves Anna's lips, "Yeah, that's why they picked her to do this."

"The Bladed Forest, I wonder why..." Markus said, his eyes looking down at his feet.

Anna took a moment before answering. "Well, it is forbidden for a reason. I'm sure the Elders know what they're doing. The trees are somewhat cursed, twisted, and overgrown. I doubt any invaders would look there first. Besides, everything in that forest is nearly a weapon, spear-like branches, sword-like twigs, everything's dangerous."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Markus said. "But what if we get lost? The forest constantly changes and twists, like a withering tree."

"I trust them," is all Anna said before going silent.

"I do too," Markus agreed. His eyes looked into Leo's, and a small, genuine smile spreads on his lips. "Do you trust them too? Little buddy?"

Leo mentally furrows his eyebrows in response but feels his eyebrows physically furrow as well. Markus' eyebrows furrow too before he begins laughing. Anna looked at Leo and Markus in confusion.

"Leo doesn't seem to trust them," Markus said, wiping a tear from his eye. Although Leo wasn't fond of Markus earlier, he couldn't help but smile internally at his response.

Anna shakes her head, unamused. "Not like he has a choice."

The crowd slowly forms into a long rectangular shape. Leo could tell because they were towards the end of this line, speaking of the end of the line, Aunt Maggie was the caboose. His ears rang with each word she said, even Anna and Markus winced at certain points.

"Good! Keep the line looking like this! We're almost there!" Maggie shouts, her voice traveling up the line seamlessly.

Anna jumps at how loud it is and Leo finds himself crying. "Jeez," Anna pouts. "I have a baby here, you know," she whispers.

"What did you say? Miss Anna?" A look of shock spreads on Anna's face as the color drains from it. Markus turns to look at Anna, his eyes wide, and jaw dropped.

"C-could you, uh, not, um, yell so loud?" Anna stuttered, "My baby brother doesn't like that." With that, Aunt Maggie walks up to them and looks into Leo's eyes.

"This is the little rascal huh?" Aunt Maggie says as she walks beside them, ushering those behind her to go ahead. "Fine, I'll do him a favor." She pinches Leo's cheek and then cups his ear; with a few silent words his ears recover. She falls back and lets them go ahead of her.

Anna breathes a sigh of relief as her shoulders relax. They continue for what seems like at least an hour before Aunt Maggie shouts again.

"Okay! Okay! We're here, file in two at a time!" Maggie's order cuts through the crowd, having an instant effect. Luckily for Leo, her voice is not blaring in his ears anymore, instead, it's soft and quiet. The crowd instantly extends into a two-by-two line and slowly files inside the forbidden forest.

"Aunt Maggie, I have a question," Marcus asked, turning around to face her. "How will we get out?"

A look of slight disappointment spreads across Maggie's face, "I'm one of the best sorcerers we have, I'm one of the few who get to enter the Bladed Forest. You can trust me, Markus. I'll make sure everyone gets in and out safely." Markus nods and thanks her before turning back.

After a long wait, the men at the sides of the forest are now clearly visible. Their looks are stern, yet comforting as they stand there, sword and torch in hand. As they wait, Leo can't help but take in the sight of the entrance.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

A collapsed, twisted mess was all he could describe it as. The trees were a deathly black, like rotted limbs, while the branches jutted out at odd angles, broken, and sheared off, reminding him of a crude spear. The leaves of the trees were long and pointy, like an arrowhead, instead, their color was a dark, nearly black, green. They hung low and heavy, seemingly exhausted. The trees themselves were folded in on top of each other. Overlapping like a cursed creation—twisting and turning into each other, intertwining together, never realizing they would never fit together. This caused the trees to burst open, exposing their scarred innards. A sense of dread washed over Leo as he finally understood why they feared this monstrosity.

A voice cut through his thoughts. "Go on in, be careful okay?" a man said as he ushered them in. Leo gulped, truthfully, he wished that it had taken longer to get here. Anna and Markus thanked the men before slowly stepping inside.

Leo's eyes widened as something dropped down, nearly hitting him in the face. Anna yelped as she hunched over him, a heavy smack sounded as something hit her back. "Ow!" she cried out, her voice seething with anger.

"Hold still," Markus told her as he reached over and took something off her. She turned around to see what it was.

A vine with talon-like thorns had swung into her back, digging into it. They looked up and around, seeing that more of these vines were hanging from the dark canopy, an occasional violent whipping noise could be heard as vines snapped through the air. They ducked instinctively, not knowing where it would go.

"This is crazy!" Anna groaned as she covered Leo with her body. "No spells or anything?" Markus sighed in agreement.

Up ahead of them were a pair of torches, the silhouettes of the men on each side were oddly haunting, like dark spirits. They tried their best to be nimble, staring at the ground, and stepping over any threats. On the floor were countless vines layered over each other, having been cut down to form this path. Luckily for them, the path was wide enough for at least 4 people to weak side-by-side, allowing them to not worry about bumping into the sharp branches.

"Up ahead a little more and you'll be good!" the dark shadows called out to them. Their voices seemed oddly distant, despite the emphasis in their tone. Leo focused on trying to listen for anything in this forest but heard nothing. It was dead silent, except for the occasional rustle of feet or snapping of vines. This was pure isolation.

After a dozen or more steps they make it past the men and into a small clearing. This clearing seemed to have been created by a spell, trees seemed to block the way, but as they ventured through, they found a clear path towards the other children inside. Just like before, it was silent before they made it to the clearing.

"Woah..." Anna said, looking around the seemingly changing shelter. Trees warped out of their way, allowing them to walk anywhere their heart desired. A small, glowing orb of light was in the center of the clearing, illuminating the area it was assigned.

"This looks safer than whatever that was earlier," Markus sighs as he goes towards the light. A large group of children of a variety of ages circle the light, sitting around it, comforted by its presence. The three of them make their way towards the orb as well, seeking the same comfort.

A loud whoosh sounds in Leo's ears, startling him. Leo gulped, the sound wasn't a friendly whoosh now that he thought about it. It was quite sinister, like a scream carried in a strong gust of wind. After the sound, words materialized in front of him, this time, they were white instead of gold.

NEW LOCATION UNLOCKED

[The Bladed Forest]

DANGER LEVEL: B

'Be wary, dear traveler, for you may lose your ways...'

[2X EXPERIENCE GAIN IS STILL ACTIVE]

LEVEL: 1

His eyes scanned the text, taking in the vague information it provided. He had leveled up, and apparently, he was still gaining two times experience. He sighed internally, disappointed that he didn't know how to access anything else. Maybe it wouldn't be helpful anyway, since he was still an infant.

Anna sat down next to the orb with a sigh. She looked down at Leo, her eyelids fluttering with fatigue and stress. Now that she finally got to rest, everything was setting in. The worries, aches, and pains that were drowned out by adrenaline, all came rushing back in. With a delicate blue-gray finger, she tapped his nose, a worried, yet warm, small smile spread across her face.

"Leo, I'm sorry that it had to be like this," her voice soft, almost too soft, as she apologized. Leo looks up at Anna, his heart wrenching in pain, hearing her apologize for something that isn't her fault. He sees the tears in her eyes and musters up enough will to reach out his tiny, infant fingers, wrapping them around her index finger and squeezing it.

Her eyelids snapped open at the action, tears formed as she looked down at Leo, her tears glistening in the light of the orb. Tears fall as she blinks them away. "Leo? You're...comforting me?" Anna asked, her breaths shallow as she fought the urge to sob. Leo squeezed her finger again as he looked into her eyes. That was all it took, her shoulders trembled as her walls gave way.

Leo kept his grip tight on her finger, doing what he could for her as she sobbed. He wished that he could speak to her, and do more than what he could, but it wasn't possible. Yet, despite all this, he was happy, happy because there were others who did what he couldn't.

Markus patted her back as others came over, handing her a napkin to wipe her tears, and others held her in a tight embrace, whispering words of comfort. She sniffled as she thanked them through her sobs. It wasn't just Anna who was crying, many others were as well.

Leo jumped, his grip tightening as a familiar sound scared him. He internally sighed and scolded the system for scaring him every time.

[LEVEL UP]

[2X EXPERIENCE GAIN IS STILL ACTIVE]

LEVEL: 1 → 3

'Reach level 5 to unlock [Rapid Growth]'

His eyes widened, was it because he managed to comfort Anna? Or was it because he used his hands properly? But amid these thoughts what caught his eye was the message at the bottom: 'Reach level 5 to unlock [Rapid Growth]'. Rapid Growth? Would that mean he would grow up faster? He hoped so, but at the same time, he wanted to be a baby for a little longer.

"Okay, children! I will let everyone know when we can leave!" Aunt Maggie said as she walked into the clearing. "You're safe here; there's food in these baskets once you get hungry." Right as she finished speaking, the men walked into the clearing with baskets full of food and water. Inside the baskets were fruits, pastries, meats, and even sweets. At the sight of food, a good portion of the circle broke off and bounded toward the food and drinks.

"I'll grab us something," Markus said as he stood up.

"Thanks," Anna said as she pulled Leo close. Her eyes lock onto his as she pinches his cheek. "I'm sorry that I can't feed you like Mom, you'll have to eat some real food now. I'll try my best to make it easy for you."

Leo was quite hungry, but there was something stronger: sleep. His eyelids fluttered as he yawned, making his sister giggle at the sight. Slowly, his eyes shut, and he felt himself drifting into a deep slumber.

"Goodnight, Leo," Anna said, her voice finally lulling him into the darkness.