The Fallen Throne

Chapter 10.2 ✦ Mystic Forest

"I found the strength inside to see,
Found the better part of me,
And I'll never let it go."
~ Lancaster (Hedley, Invincible)

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"Really, your highness? Him?" Lancaster says with a hint of disagreement, stealing glances at Kai from time to time, until Alaina nudges him.

"I'm right here, you know," Kai says from behind him, fuming. Trying to contain his temper, he pushes Lancaster to the side and steps forward. Facing the forest, odd noises creep up into his ears, but he shakes it off, thinking he'd imagined it.

Kai creates a small flame on his right palm to light the way before them. When he stretches it out to the path before them, they find the giant vines under their feet extending deeper in the dark forest. Looking back at the others for a final sign of approval for him to enter, he then proceeds with the fire guiding his path.

The moment he enters, Kai shivers as he hears soft whispers in the air around them. When he turns to the others, he knows at once that he is neither imagining the whispers nor the only one hearing them, as the others are scanning about quietly in search for the source.

"What --" Lloyd manages to ask through pale lips and dry throat, poking his head around nervously. Breathing hard, he listens closely, only to hear the creepy whispers louder and so close in his ear that he immediately whips his head to the right instinctively -- only to slap away air.

For a moment, Lloyd smiles awkwardly to himself, thinking he is only hearing things due to hunger; after all, to him, seeing is believing. But that moment is so brief that it is as if it was never there in the first place, as Alaina and Lancaster cover their ears at the sudden crescendo of the whisperings.

Lloyd does so himself, all of them wincing at the whisperings that has just turned into shrieks.

In the midst of all the noises and pressure, they barely make out Kai, who slowly turns around to face them, a hand clamping over one ear and his tiny flame still dancing on the other. They manage to take a last look at Kai, whose eyes are wide with alert and urgency, before his fire disappears along with him into darkness.

Immediately as darkness befalls them, the shrieks hover directly above them, accompanied by what sounds like fluttering wings.

As if hearing something uncomfortable up close isn't enough, now they can't even see the source even if it's directly above them, no matter how hard they squint their eyes.

Alaina can only feel Lancaster close by as the light in the dark. Heart pounding so hard that it's drumming in her ears, she starts moving slowly and quietly to where Lancaster stands, not daring to trigger whatever's above them. She swears she hears Lloyd just nearby, and the shuffling here and there makes her believe that he is stumbling out of panic. Worried, she tries reaching out for him in the dark, following his small awkward steps.

Her worry diminishes as Lancaster somehow finds her and grabs her by the arm, putting her heart at ease. When she thinks she finally found Lloyd, another hand grabs her, a grip that's definitely firmer and stronger than Lloyd.

Her eyes find Kai's glowing ones, and she tries looking past him for Lloyd, but he pulls her down. "Get down," he whispers, and only then she realises Lloyd is just beside him.

Finally feeling relief because everyone around her is safe, she and the others stay low, waiting patiently for the shrieks to dwindle and for the fluttering wings to pass. Gradually, they vanish into nothing, and Kai lights a fire once again when all they hear are the occasional night wind and the rustling of leaves.

Getting up and dusting themselves, they aren't too sure what has just passed, but are glad they didn't need to see or collide with whatever that was.

"Faeries," gasps Kai suddenly. "At least they don't kill."

Lloyd's mouth falls open. "Those are myths!"

"Not anymore, from where we are," Kai states plainly, crossing his arms. Alaina raises a brow at his cheeky smile.

But Kai drops his smile at the sight of Lancaster pushing his way through to him, knocking Lloyd out of the way. On instinct, Kai backs away and throws his hands up as Lancaster closes in, glaring angrily at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I told you -- this isn't your typical --" they hear howls in the distance, "forest," he finishes nervously, wincing slightly at the howls brought by the winds. "Those are probably werewolves, by the way."

The howls aren't the only ones forcing them on their toes though, as the occasional glows of trees or bushes make them jump from time to time. Tiny dots blink colourfully near Lloyd ethereally, and he nearly yells. "Just what is with this place?"

Lancaster sighs frustratedly, realising on the inside it's true that they'd ignored Kai's warnings earlier. Ignoring the nagging feeling inside of him, he turns in the direction of the vines that are beckoning them deeper into the dangerous and foreign forest.

Knowing the rest would soon follow, Lancaster begins making his way back towards the extending vines. Not more than several seconds he's back on their trail, he steps on something sticky yet somewhat slippery. Stepping aside, he tries to make out the ground and whatever he'd just stepped on as Kai approaches with their source of light, only to find greenish gooey slime.

"That's nasty," Lloyd comments as he draws near them.

Approaching cautiously from a safe distance, Alaina observes the remnants of the disgusting liquid and spots more of it scattered in several places ahead. Taking a deep breath, she silently makes a note to herself to be extra careful in order to avoid the same fate as Lancaster when they proceed later on.

"Hopefully Rose is doing better than us," she says expectantly, wincing at the sight of Lancaster's boots.

"She'll be fine," Kai states confidently, without a single sign of doubt. "Nature protects her; this is her domain."

The others can only hope he's right as they return to their mission, at the same time hoping nature doesn't have anymore surprises in store for them.

Now more vigilant than ever, they proceed with maximum caution, acknowledging the fact that they had just stepped into a whole new world of unknown.