While Aldric didn’t particularly like the idea of going back into the forest. But he couldn’t think of anywhere else, he could tell about what happened earlier in the day. How would I even tell anyone that I saw a unicorn being murdered by a werewolf? And then the werewolf chased me out of the forest. I barely believe it and I was there!
“Stef? Do you remember where the clearing is?” Aldric asked, hoping for a bit of small talk as they entered the forest to keep him from thinking too much about what happened.
“Sure, do.” Stefan replied cheerfully. “Since you didn’t mention what happened behind the stage, I figured you wanted to talk here?” not exactly what I was hoping for, but I’ll take it.
“Yeah, I don’t know, I kind of just wanted to ask the performers what was the difference between their version of the dance and mine. This old guy said come by tomorrow and bring a practice sword.” Aldric replied sheepishly.
“Good job there Al, didn’t know you were that into dancing?” Stefan replied, “did you know Lil’?”
“How can your head be so big and still not contain anything?” Lilian laughed, Aldric joined a second later. “Haven’t you noticed Aldric practicing every day?”
“Something in this dance speaks to me.” Aldric said, face turning red, when he realized what he had said out loud. “I mean I don’t know. It’s like it builds something in me, it lets me focus. I don’t know how to describe it.”
“By the lady of the forest, Al. I didn’t know you were so passionate. Good on you.” Stefan decided. “Wait, you need a practice sword, don’t you? I’ll carve one for you. Shouldn’t take long.”
“Thank you Stef. you really don’t have to. I’m happy with a stick or something like that.” Aldric replied, looking over his shoulder at the tall boy.
“No chance, I’m carving a practice sword for you.” Stefan said with finality, already looking for a piece of wood in the right size. “Was that what you wanted to tell us?”
“Yes and something else too. But let’s get to the clearing first and tell you then.” Aldric apologized, trying to think of some way to tell them about the unicorn and werewolf, without sounding like a lunatic. “When do we make the turn?”
“In a couple of minutes, we should have a large oak on the left, we should make the turn after that.” Stefan replied without taking a look around.
“You noticed something like that, but you can’t tell what your friend is passionate about. Stefan you are a mystery to me.” Lilian said, baffled by what must seem like a giant to her. “Aldric, can you at least tell us what this is about?”
“I… I experienced something today… something I can’t explain in my mind.” Aldric sighed, stopping for a moment. “Can we please just get to the clearing and I’ll tell the whole story.”
“Of course, it seems to weigh on you. I’m worried about you.” Lilian replied with a deep concern in her voice. “There is the Oak tree.”
Finally, Aldric sighed with some relief. They turned and walked through the bushes and trees, Stefan found a good size branch that he immediately picked up, then pulled out his knife and started carving. Soon after, they arrived at a small clearing, completely surrounded by tall thick trees and broad thick bushes except for a couple of small openings. They had arranged a small circle of bigger rocks in the shade of a tree a bit out of place birch tree; the other trees were also birch, but this one was thicker and a slightly different pale white color.
“We had arrived Al. Spill the beans. What happened earlier today?” Stefan started as soon as they entered the clearing.
“Fair enough. After my father and I tried to shoot a deer and had left the clearing we were in.” Aldric started, “we had just joined the others, and were on our way back to the farm, when I heard something scream.”
“You heard something scream? I was in the forest all day, I didn’t hear anything. What was it?” Stefan interjected.
“Yeah, an eerie scream, apparently nobody else did either. Anyways.” Aldric continued. “I ran into the forest and followed this feeling I had. It led me back to the same clearing, my father and I had just been. In the clearing I saw a white Unicorn with a golden horn covered in blood and a giant black werewolf bender over the unicorn.”
“An Unicorn and a werewolf? Aldric, are you sure that was what you saw?” Lilian said, with a bit more condescension then Aldric thought necessary. “It couldn’t have been a white stag and a dire wolf?”
“I’m telling you it was. Right after the werewolf stood up on its hindlegs and grabbed the golden horn and broke it off and said something like “thanks for the horn, now all we need is a feytouched child.” and then I felt like I was caught outside in a terrible storm and needed to get to safety.” Aldric continued, blushing a bit on the last part. It sounds so silly, when you say it out loud.
Both Stefan and Lilian stared at him, Lilian’s mouth going down and up a couple of times before she said: “this is quite the tale, Aldric. But…”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“It is not a tale, it happened!” Aldric said, raising his voice. Caching himself in the act, he said more calmly “it is not a tale, after this I ran. But the werewolf heard me and chased me through the forest. But all of a sudden there was this sharp sound ringing out, so loud and high pitched I fell to the ground holding my ears. But it was gone as fast as it came and I was all alone. The werewolf was gone. I ran out of the forest, found my father and the others in the same spot as I had left them.”
“All finished!” Stefan declared holding up a nice looking wooden short sword. “It sounds like you were in the feywild, Al.”
“Stefan, don’t be silly!” Lilian chastised, looking up at the tall boy. “But it sounds like it, if you believe the story the elders told us. You clearly hit your head and don’t remember what had happened.”
The feywild, that was dumb. But still… Aldric thought back to the stories the elders had told the children about the Feywild. “Never venture too deep into the Pale wood alone, if you do, you might find yourself lost in the Feywild. Those who go there and come back are never the same.”
It had always seemed like a convenient excuse to Aldric. But maybe there was something to it. While he had heard about unicorns and other creatures of the feywild coming into the forest. He had not seen any. Stefan, on the other hand, often told stories of seeing pixies or spirits in the deeper parts of the forest. But Aldric hadn’t really believed them. Since the only things he had seen were an Ettercap, a couple of dire wolves and an owlbear, which had been scary enough.
“Stef, do you really believe I could have been to the feywild?” Aldric asked, reaching for his new practice sword.
“I don’t know for sure. But it seems to me, that would explain what happened.” Stefan replied, giving Aldric the wooden sword. “Show us what you can do.”
“Now? What about what happened to me earlier?” Aldric asked grasping to understand Stefan’s lack of empathy.
“Well, you can’t do anything about it. It might have been a dream or you might have been in the feywild. Either way, it is in the past, nothing to do about it now.” Stefan remarked. This might be the smartest thing he has ever said. Aldric was dumbfounded, so was Lilian.
“Stefan is actually right, believe it or not?” Lilian said, also unsure if she believes it. “While it sounds like a terrible experience, there is not much to do, other than learn from it.”
“Yeah, but how and what? I was chased from the forest by a giant wolf!” Aldric, raising his voice again. “I saw a beautiful creature get murdered right in front of me!”
“We know, Aldric. But the best we can do is to help you cope with the experience.” Lilian said with as much empathy as possible. “We would love to see you perform the water ritual dance for us. It can help you take your mind off it.”
“Al, we are here for you if you want to talk more about it and we are here if you want to do something different.” Stefan said in a rare moment of sincerity. Do I actually want to talk about it? No, it doesn’t feel good. I want to forget it for a while.
Aldric started to move his body with the dance’s movements. The calm flowing, control of water. He had thought the sword would be in the way or feel awkward. But it didn’t, it felt natural, like this was how it was supposed to be. He closed his eyes, imagining the flow of the water. The calm lake water, softly moving back and forth. He heard both Stefan and Lilian gasping in wonder.
“Aldric, this is amazing!” Lilian said with wonder in her voice. Aldric opened his eyes again, while going through the movements. He moved the sword in an arc over his head and saw a thin blue line follow the wooden blade. Lady of Movement, is this magic? Am I wielding magic? This is awesome! He closed his eyes again following the movements. Thinking about the calm sea at dawn. The waves moving in and out over the sand. Suddenly a stormy sky appeared over the ocean and the waves became bigger and bigger. Panicking, Aldric opened his eyes, at the same moment Stefan pulled him into the bushes.
“Stef, what the hells are…?” Aldric tried to ask before Stefan grabbed him by the mouth and whispered: “Someone is coming this way.”
Aldric first thought to struggle, but immediately shut his mouth and listened. When he heard a pair of males walking through the bushes. First he saw a broad shouldered man with black hair, wearing a black chain shirt, a long ragged sword just as black as the rest of him all but for one red rune at the hilt, and a wild look in his dark green eyes, bushy beard and a fur coat over his chain shirt, like he was planning to travel through a blizzard. After him came a less broad man, but the same height. That is the same man my father talked with, at the carnival. Clyde, I think he said.
“Chief, I’m sorry. I’m only a bit late. Please let me make it up to you.” the man named Clyde said.
“Clyde, for the hundredth time, I am your king not your chief. If it wasn’t because you were so damned useful, I would have hanged you long ago.” a deep slightly irritated, yet familiar voice sounded from the apparent king. “How quickly can you get me to the village? The rest of the bands and those pirates should be pillaging Palewood already. I need to get there before the feytouched child is killed. We need her alive.”
“I can move us there in a couple of minutes. But why did you tell me to meet you out here in the woods?” Clyde inquired, clearly afraid of this king. “My king.”
“I had an errand to run somewhere else and you are the fastest way to get around.” the king seemed to believe that was enough explanation.
“If I can ask, what kind of errand can you run here in the woods?” Clyde continued, apparently more curious than afraid.
“One, that infuriating pirate White Strip, demanded as a part of the deal.” the king sighed in anger, pulling out a golden horn from his fur coat. Oh my gods, he is the werewolf! “But at least I got to visit an old friend.” His face splitted into a giant hungry grin.
“Right, I am almost ready to move us there, my king.” Clyde replied clearly sorry he had asked.
“We need to get back to the village!” Stefan whispered a bit louder than needed. Aldric turned to him in a panic, certain the two men would have heard him. He looked towards the clearing again as a thunderous bang sounded and the clearing was empty. What was that!
Stefan jumped up, “we have to go!”
“I agree!” Lilian joined in. Aldric looked between the two.
“That was the werewolf, I’m certain of it!” he then said in a shaky voice.
“All the more reason to get moving!” Stefan shouted, as he started sprinting for the road back home. Seconds later, Both Aldric and Lilian joined him.