The Duke's Reluctant Bride

Chapter 13: The Old Woods

🛡️Lucien❄️

The wind stirred through the trees, tousling my hair as I watched the girl standing a few meters away. Her hazel green eyes were fixed on me and to the shadows ahead, wide with curiosity and a hint of defiance. From the first moment I saw her, I can sense she had potential but this fascination of hers with the old woods... it left me hesitating.

My father used to speak of this mysterious forest, always with a slight tremor in his voice, as if the words themselves could summon something dark and ancient. He would tell us stories of the days before Wintermere, when creatures prowled the land that no sane mind would want to face or lived in this realm.

There were dire wolves with eyes that gleamed like molten gold, their thick black fur blending into the night. Dragons whose vast wings could eclipse the sun and turn day to shadow. Enormous serpents that glided soundlessly through the tangled undergrowth, and Yetis lurking in the icy shrouds of the snowbound peaks. This land was theirs once, until my ancestor, Alysanne, came upon them with an iron will and arcane magic.

They say she was a seeker of secrets, binding those creatures not out of mercy, but to hold dominion over their power, drawing from their essence in ways still unknown.

It doesn't make sense to me, why would a mage as powerful as her in history stoop to such measures? What could she possibly gain that she didn't already possess?

After she defeated the Dark Lords, she went into a place, a scarred, barren ground left in their wake and breathed life into it. The dead trees sprouted fresh leaves, flowers bloomed in wild profusion, and the earth that had been poisoned turned green and rich. They say she created the place as a sanctuary, a place of healing after all the battles were over. A place even some of the great beasts were welcomed, bound to the truce that Alysanne had forged with the land, each honoring the quiet power of the one who had tamed both darkness and earth alike.

On the other hand, my father told me there was another story, one that was never told aloud. He claimed that the magic she used to transform the old woods was meant as a tribute, not just to the people she saved, but to someone she had lost during the battle of overthrowing those lords, perhaps she's only fulfilling this persons wish.

Centuries have passed. Now, the old woods don't feel like a sanctuary at all. Before the forest disappeared out of nowhere, people who tend to visit there noticed something different that made their spines tingle, They started to sense of being watched, as if something has taken root among the trees that no longer welcomes visitors. Some say the woods are guarded by the unknown entities, that a presence lingers to protect whatever lies hidden beneath the soil. Or maybe... maybe whatever Alysanne left in that place refuses to rest, as if waiting for someone to return.

According to my father, the way to find the old woods lies in a single clue: the blue rose. A rare flower that only blooms here in Aetherwood, its petals are said to mark the hidden path. No one really knows where to find it, or if it even still exists. But if this girl somehow knows where to look... she might actually have a chance.

Still, I can't let myself grow complacent about her safety. I can sense a powerful magic of terra within her. But the place she wants to find is dangerous, and whatever entities resided there in the old woods might possessed a magic that is beyond any magic she's ever known. That's a reason enough for me to be wary. And if she stumbles too far down that path... there may be no coming back.

"Very well. If you're still so persistent about this, I won't stop you." I said, my voice steady and composed.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting my response.