A Ballad of Snakes and Shadows // A Dark Sebastian Sallow Romance

Chapter Thirty One: Don't Follow

(tw: violence) 

"It had to be tubers," I groaned as we took another step into the darkness.

It was well past midnight as Natty and I had made our way into the Forbidden Forest, and the evidence of the hour only bloomed around us as we trekked further in. The sounds of rustling, and the odd growl seemed to whisper here and there as we did our best to make it down the path that was just barely lit by the moon above our heads, which struggled to shine through the canopy of looming trees.

It was an eerie setting that we found ourselves in, yet something about the shadows and the soft chirps of much smaller creatures set me at ease. The little sounds that came from things much larger though only served to increase the anxious fidgeting I had to get this night over with.

It wasn't fear though, that vibrated through me. It was a certain sense of excitement as I finally had the reign on my own resolve once again had me quite excited for a taste of adventure.

Even if it was walking through the woods in the middle of the night to collect terrible, awful ingredients.

"That is what you're worrying over?" Natty's voice came with a soft laugh as we continued down the dirt pathway. Given that Ominis had been so obstinate about the idea of me not going out alone, Natty had seemed like the best choice when it came to this little outing. She certainly had the same glint of exhilaration to her that I had, and while I had wanted to do this alone, I was thankful that she hadn't refused when I asked her to join me.

"Have you smelled them? They're positively vile." I mockingly pinched my nose in her direction, however time had done very little to actually remove that foul stench from my nose's memory. And though Natty found it quite entertaining, I still seethed a little over how I'd encountered those nasty plants.

Sachrissa hadn't deserved my help, but I learned that too late and at the expense of my stomach. The real kicker was that all of that effort had been rewarded with a small thanks, as she paid me with a fucking apron.

Fifth year might as well have been a fever dream.

"I think I'd rather have a whiff of those, than look an Acromantula in all of its eyes." Came Natty's response as we halted at the end of the path. We'd taken a sharp turn until we'd found a weathered tree stump to begin mapping out our respective jobs for the evening.

One of us would be collecting the Bubotubers, and the other would be collecting not only Acromantula fangs, but a leg or two. So on our map we were nestled between a nest that I knew of, and a troll den that was not too far off.

My heart was racing in my chest as I felt that bit of trepidation I'd become so attached to start to rear its head, but it was overridden by something that had nestled its way inside of me. Something that had been stoked back to life in the mess of my own mind as Sebastian had defiled it.

Despite his involvement, I now owned something in my heart that ached to move forward. Something that refused to keep looking behind at the shadows, and it was done cowering.

Damned be Sebastian and his little term. It had been several days since we'd struck that bargain, and given how brittle his own answer had been I decided that perhaps my end of the bargain deserved to mirror that.

It mattered little to me how even though I had made up my mind, it seemed to still chase after errant thoughts of him. Even here, in the dark forest, it felt like he was watching me. Though I suppose it always did, considering how he'd made his entrance at the start of the year.

Stalker or not, he was not going to be my biggest concern tonight. It was going to be getting what we needed, and getting the fuck out of here in one piece.