And What I Found There - Book Two

17. Forces Us Into Goodbye

Everything in the tenebrous Hills is eerie and bewitching. The air here even tastes different, it tastes ancient. 

Dark, colossal trees loom stories above our heads, as imposing and sinister as the gallows. We travel beneath their enormous root bases, climbing over and under the arching bridge-like roots. It is simultaneously humid and suffocating in the forest and yet everything is covered in a chilling frost, and we can see our breath on the air despite being drenched in sweat.

"Did you...mention a... campground?" Adisonia calls as she profusely fans herself. She even has the White Rabbit fanning her with a larger fan but nothing can take the unnatural edge off the air.

"I said we have to find one, Your Highness." Cornelius replies curtly.

We're all struggling to move through the Hills, everything seems like a trap waiting for us to fall into and -more than once- we all have taken a wrong step and have fallen over the roots. And everything is coated with black-green webs, even the trees are covered in the webs. The webs are really sticky and really wet so by now we're all soaked, dirty, and covered in a blanket of webs as we trudge along.

I mean this place is sooo miserable! "They should call this place Hell Hills," I mumble as I claw at the webs clinging to my curls.

"Good one," Adisonia snickers. I smile at her in surprise and for a split second, she actually smiles back.

We eventually find a "camping ground" though I'd hardly call it ideal. The ground is still bumpy and uneven and the bulging, twisting roots and vines form a barrier around this small clearing that looks like a giant bird nest. But I guess this is the best we have seen in a while.

In a flash of silver-blue light, Cornelius sets up our two tents. "I'll take first watch," he tells his apprentice. "Everyone else, try to rest, and please," he gives Adisonia a look as she loudly unwraps a pastry. "Try to make do with what we have. I'm not entirely sure for how long we'll be out here so let's try to ration our supplies and keep the complaining to a minimum."

"Wait, what?" She nearly chokes on her pastry. "Are you trying to tell me we might run out of food? Oh hell no," she shoots me a look. "I'm not letting your curse wipe me out with starvation. What the hell kind of ingredient are you looking for anyway?" She shoves the rest of her snack in her mouth.

"Umm...?" I shrug helplessly. "I know it when I'll see it?" I cringe as she glares at me.

"Don't worry about it, Adisonia," Quill huffs.

"You aren't worried about starving to death out here?" She snaps.

"No, and you shouldn't be either."

She gasps. "What's that supposed to mean?" She throws her wrapper at him. He just chuckles. "You wish you had hips like these," she retorts. "And so do you." She fires at me and tosses her hair over her shoulder before briskly marching into our tent.

"Alright, that's enough pestering the Princess," Cornelius scolds his apprentice. I can't help but laugh. Quill rolls his eyes with a faint smile. "I'll be scouting around. In the meantime, rest well, you two. I'll collect you for next watch, Quill. Good-night, Adara." The White Knight ventures into the forest, he disappears from view almost instantly.

"Are you alright, Adara?" Quill asks me when he realizes I haven't gone to my tent.

"I'm in Ghost Hills," I smile and gesture.

"That's answer enough," he chuckles and shakes his head. "I never thought I'd be here," he admits as he looks around. It's nearly too dark to see anything, there isn't even a moon or any stars to offer a shred of light. The only vague sense of light we have is from the lantern that can just barely be seen through the padded tent Adisonia and I share.