King of Hearts

33.

Val and Dánica are already out of the forest when they come to a halt for a short break to regain control of their breathing. "What was that?" Val pants anxiously. She has never seen anything like it, those things weren't animals, that's for sure. Both are still panic-stricken, not taking their eyes off the Patchwork Forest behind them. Those creatures aren't following them, thank goodness. "I have no idea, I- I have never seen those before. I really cannot explain what they were. But I still don't feel safe, let's go home, " Dánica stutters in fear. 

The girls make their way to the shop, without sharing a word. Senfira is as lively as always, and especially this morning since tonight the masquerade will take place. Everyone is busy preparing and buying gifts for the Prince, purchasing gowns for the ball, doing daily activities for which they won't have time this evening. Everything seems oddly ordinary that the event in the forest almost feels like a dream. 

"We should Garan about it. Maybe he will have an explanation," Dánica says in low voice, not wanting others to listen to their conversation.
"You think so? Will he believe us?" Val echoes in response. If someone would explain to her what they saw in the forest, she wouldn't believe a single word. "He will, he knows a lot about the inside and the outside of our world. He knows a lot. He has to believe us." Silence follows after that.

After a short time, the girls finally reach the shop and find Garan keeping himself busy behind the counter. When he notices the girls entering, he greets them with his cheerful smile, but after he acknowledges their pale faces, he soon notices something off. "Oh dear, you don't look any good. Where have you been?"

Dánica puts the basket with the plants on the counter. "I'm sorry, that we left the shop without a warning ", her voice is still shaky. "We wanted to go to the Black Lake to take a bath. I wanted to show Val the Patchwork Forest. But we managed to pluck all the plants on this list". She hands him the list. Garan takes it but puts it down on the counter, not spending a look at the plants either. He looks ultimately concerned. He doesn't seem to care that the shop remained unattended.

"It's fine, don't worry about that, but why do you look so ill? Did something happen?" he frowns and looks sincerely concerned. Dánica opens her mouth only to close it again, not knowing how to explain what happened in the forest. She looks unsure of whether it wasn't just a hallucination. Fortunately, Val was also there. "We were at the lake when all of a sudden they appeared ", she begins telling. Garan takes a step forward, leaning his head to the side curiously and attentively. "Who appeared?"

"They were strange creatures with no eyes, no mouths, no faces at all. They were all black and moved like shadows. They also had some type of horns or maybe they were ears, I'm not sure. Luckily, they were too far away to make out," Val heats up by just talking about it. Only now, reality hits her. What the hell was that she saw in the forest? It makes her wonder if those were the forest demons people tell stories about. If that's the case, does it mean, that the stories about the Black Lake are true? Those were the kind of monsters and demons that are shown in horror movies but not in an ordinary forest. Although, nothing's ordinary here.

Garan's face loses color, and his eyes widen alarmed. He just stares at the girls from left to right and right to left. That's when both know, that Garan might have an explanation for what happened, and that explanation might not be a pleasant one. 

"So, they have come to the point, where they even show themselves at daylight," Garan starts fidgeting with his hands as if he's nervous. Val would've never been able to imagine Garan being nervous, yet here he is, walking up and down the shop with an oddly serious expression. It's almost as disturbing as these forest creatures. Dánica furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "They? Who?"

Garan stops, his bottom lip is slightly hanging down. "Prince Sulo's demons," he responds shortly. "There have been a lot of cases, some even worse than others, where people have witnessed the Prince of the Underworld's demons, but never at midday. They are creatures of the dark. They come alive at night when people's minds are the busiest. They come when they sense fear, anxiety, and worry, and the fact that they are here, and show themselves even in the light, means that no one is safe anymore." Garan's eyes are fixed on Dánica's basket, but the plants are clearly not what he's thinking about.