The Evermore Forest

Chapter- The Tree:

I made my descent through the forest, as the light through the leaves turned a shade of dull blue. The only reliable source of light was behind me, guiding my every step towards the witch herself.

"Yesina, that's the name, right?" I ask them, without looking back.

"Yep!" Cedar exclaims happily.

"We'll come in with you, just in case she tries to murder you." Fagus says oddly calmly.

I can't help but gulp of the thought of meeting witch. It's like an old fairytale, except it's all real and happening right now.

"Don't mind him. You'll be fine, as long as she's not too much of a grump today. Plus, if things go South, we can..." Willow pauses. "Come up with another plan!"

"Sounds great." I couldn't help but say that awfully sarcastic.

"Watch your tone, Priscilla." Fagus noticed quickly and hissed at me. "If you sound like that around Yesina, then she'd actually kill you."

I kept my eyes forward, thoughts of what I am supposed to say to her without giving off a single hint of me originally being an ass.

Should I talk about me being tricked? Or how I want to make up for everything I've done wrong and start making myself a better person? Oh! Maybe I should talk about how these guys got tricked by—

Holy fuck that's a giant tree.

The questions in my mind faded away as I stared in awe of a big, strong looking tree. It's leaves hung down, and crystal's of green shards seemed to drape down the branches. The nice glow made the atmosphere feel even more mystical-er than it was before.

"Don't just stand there, knock!" Fagus whispers over to me.

I shake myself back into focus, and notice a nice little wooden door on the tree bark. There's a small window on it, giving off a yellow glow. There was light on the inside for sure. Someone was home.

I walk over reluctantly, still unsure what to say. I hesitantly knocked on the door, which gave way and opened it slightly for me to peek in.

A woman with poofy, dark brown hair stirred a witch like cauldron, the aura turning different shades of orange and yellow.

She was murmuring something, until she suddenly stopped what she was doing. She gave a quick glance behind her, locking eyes with me. Yellow mist spilled from the giant pot, filling my view, before the woman sprung up in front of my face.

"OH F—" I screamed before she covered my mouth.

"Who brought you here? Huh?!" She whispered sternly to me, giving me and the surroundings nervous glances.

I muffled though her mouth, making her realize that she has to let go of me first so I can respond. She freed my mouth.

I gasped for breaths while explaining it, "These kids, or like ghosts, brought me here, saying you can do some really cool magic stuff."

The woman gave a few more glances outside before tugging me into the tree cottage. She slammed the door, and locked it.

There was a pause.

"How much?" She spoke up.

"What?" I asked.

"How much do you got?" She replied harshly.

I gave her a very confused look.

"Money. Jeez, do you think I take commissions for free?" She says, walking over to her cauldron.

"Oooh! Yea... about that... it's kind of a long story." I sit down on a chair nearby.

"So, you're broke?" She gives me a really dirty look.

"Yea. But! I have a really good excuse why you should still help me out!" I finger gunned her nervously, and she isn't amused by it.

"Let me guess, part of that long story thing." She rubs her head, probably preparing herself for it.

"Well, I guess. It's about the ghost things that brought me here. I want to help them to better myself of being an ass. If I'm going to bring them back to their kingdom, I'm going to need some magic stuff to keep me from dying." twiddled with my fingers for a bit.

She paused again.

"What were... their names?" She asked with a hint of worry.

I looked up. "Fagus, Cedar, and Willow." Maybe she did know them.

Her eyes lit up. "Well, why didn't you say so! I haven't seen those kids in a while now." She suddenly looked down somberly. "So... they're... dead."

I stood up, trying to soothe her. "Heyy, it's alright. They're doing fine. They just got kicked out of some heaven or something cause of this dick bag Maū, long story by the way, but they're fine."

It seemed like when she heard me say Maū's name, anger flared in her eyes. She looked straight into me, and I felt that intensity crawl up my spine. I gulped.

"Did he do that to them?!? That fucking little piece of—" she cut herself off before she could say anything else.

"Wait, you know him too?" I ask, suddenly very curious.

She scoffed, "I do more than know him."

I gasped, excited to have a witch on the same page as me. "That guy told me that I needed to clean up my act and sent me to this forest in the first place!"

"He's really stooping low for that." She gave me a good eye balling up and down, making me feel very self conscious.

"How do you know him?" I asked her.

"He's... a high commissioner. Made me feel like I was his, and he was mine, but in the end, it's just business he wants from me..." She was clearly leaving out more than she could've given.

"Is there any way we could stop Maū?" I asked, but she rose her finger up for me to stop.

There was a long pause.

"What is it that you want from me?" She asked.

I stumbled back into thought. "I—uh— right! I'm going to need some sort of shield or something to keep the heat off. Heard the fire kingdom is a bit warmer than I'm used to."

She thought for a moment before she nodded. "That'll be easy, now all I need it your name."

"My name? Why do you need that?" I asked.

"For your receipt, idiot." She retorted.

I sighed and nodded. "Priscilla. Priscilla Bradley. I've been told your name is Yesina?"

She held out her hand , and I grabbed it into a shake. "Just call me Ina. Glad to do business with you."

-you hear that? It's the sounds of saltiness for Maū everywhere