James and the Fey (Legends of Pinewood 3)

4. You Will Have An Even Worse Time

I had no idea what Xavier and Isen had in store for me when we left my aunt and uncle's home together, against all my better judgement.

I did know I definitely hadn't expected them to take me to a car and drive into the woods.

At first I figured they wanted some privacy, which was already a red flag in itself, but it didn't take long for me to no longer recognise the landscape. I had never gone this way because there were no villages in the direction we were driving—just a whole bunch of trees.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we passed the last opportunity to turn and take a left towards a road that led to other villages. "You'll hit a dead end in five minutes."

Isen glanced at me over his shoulder. "We're going to my home."

"But there's nothing that way," I protested again. "Only trees."

Isen didn't respond.

I turned to Xavier, who was driving the car, instead. "Xavier?"

"Just... try to keep an open mind, James," Xavier said.

Xavier's vague reply didn't calm me down in the slightest. I'd always trusted Xavier because he was from Pinewood, and was well-liked in this area. But I was rapidly rethinking that.

I peered out the window, trying to estimate if I could even find my own way back to town if we kept going until the vegetation grew too thick to allow passage. Jumping out of a moving car sounded unpleasant to say the least, even if we weren't going fast while off-road. Soon, I wouldn't have a choice to either leap out or crash, however.

Up ahead, the forest rapidly grew denser. We had to stop the car, but Xavier wasn't slowing down.

"Xavier? What are you doing?" I asked, gripping my seat. "Xavier! You're going to crash the car. Slow down!"

Xavier didn't slow down. It was too late to jump out. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact.

We should've hit the trees. But nothing happened. The engine hummed peacefully below me, and the car was still moving. Carefully, I cracked one eye open.

There was nothing blocking our way.

Instead, we had an wide, open dirt path stretching out in front of us, leading to the most gigantic, colorful tree I'd ever seen in my life up ahead. From a distance, I estimated the tree to be the height of an eight-story building with white, red, and pink flowers blooming between green leaves. I couldn't explain it, but the tree itself almost pulsed with life, like a heartbeat.

I gaped at the tree, suddenly speechless at the sight of it.

Isen held up a hand. "That's far enough," he said. "Xavier, stop the car."

"...Alright."

Xavier brought the car to a halt.

"James, before we continue and introduce you to our lord, you must know what's at stake and why you are here," Isen said.

"And we're going to do this right here in a car?" Xavier sputtered. "Can't we sit down somewhere nice in your giant treehouse?"

Isen frowned. "I don't see how the location changes the message. It doesn't make James less or more the one we've all been waiting for."

"Excuse me?" I asked, finally tearing my eyes off of the huge, colourful tree. "What?"

Isen turned in his seat so he could fully face me. "There is no easy way to say this, James. You are the fey's chosen one."

I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of Isen's words, in combination with his deadpan tone and stare. But in my shock, I nearly choked on my own spit instead. I coughed. "The fey's what? Who are the fey?"