The Girl in the Woods

The Forest

   The sun shone through the leaves, leaving patches of sun and shade scattered around in all directions. The breeze blew softly through the trees, making them sway back and forth, back and forth. A bush rustled softly as a rabbit emerged out of it, and stalking it silently was the Fox hiding behind the stone. The brook murmured softly as the doe and her fawn leaned down to take a drink. The birds chattered amongst themselves, the raccoons wrestled in the dirt, and two new bear cubs followed their mother obediently through the underbrush. All the excitement and life of the forest went on totally and completely undisturbed.
    But little did the forest know that there was another hidden in their midst. High up in the branches of a mighty oak tree, hidden against the trunk, a mysterious being looked down upon the happy frolicking of the animals in silence, searching for its prey. The cloak clasped tightly under its chin hid it in the shadows, and the rustling of the leaves disguised any noise it made by moving. It could stand there for hours and nothing would have noticed it. But then, a beautiful elk wandered into the clearing, and it knew it wouldn't be there for too long at all.
It clutched the bow it held tightly in its hand as it reached back to grab an arrow from the quiver strapped across its shoulder. The elk lumbered along without noticing as the being knocked the arrow to the bow and drew it back. As it was about to take the shot, the beast's ears perked up, and it turned tail and ran off into the brush. Confused, it brought the bow down and placed the arrow back in the quiver. It looked in the direction the elk had, and then almost fell out of the tree in shock. It scrambled back against the trunk, enveloping itself into the shadows completely. And then, carefully, ever so cautiously, it peeked around the tree.
It was a small group of soldiers, barely more than a tenth of a battalion, marching through the woods. Some were cavalry men, while others went on foot. But the most shocking part was that they had a small wooden wagon they were pulling with them, heavily laden with supplies. This was an exploration mission of the forbidden forest.
      As the men clambered noisily through the clearing, the mysterious being stayed glued to the side of the tree, watching their every move in silence. Towards the middle of the formation, behind the wagon, there was a figure that stood out from the rest of the group. He was taller, with finer armor and clothing, and on his head he wore a circlet of gold and silver, giving him an air of authority. That must be their leader it thought. Could it possibly be the king? For he wears no crown, just his circlet. And he wears no cape, but a simple traveler's cloak. And he marches instead of riding his mount. What king is this that leads his people from the back and not the front of the line?
       As the last men stomped out of the clearing, the being became very curious. These men had never entered the forest before, at least in such large numbers. What had quelled the fear in their hearts? With a new determination, the mysterious being jumped out of the shadows for a brief second to the next tree branch, making nary a sound in the process. It  jumped from branch to branch, making so little noise that if any of the men had listened hard enough, all they would have heard was the soft rustle of the trees being shaken by the wind.

     As the sunlight began to fade into the soft shadows of night, the men stopped at a small clearing to set up camp. The man with the circlet started barking orders to the soldiers to start putting up the tents and making the fires for cooking dinner. The men started about their work, making the place look as if it was swarming with busy honeybees, until there was a very small encampment set up, with half a dozen tents and one large fire right in the middle. The king's tent was set up at the head of the ring surrounding the fire pit, though you could barely tell the difference. The only indication that it was his was that there was a small opening in the flaps, where you could see a purple blanket by the sleeping mat on the ground. The tent itself looked just the same as the others, and the king had even insisted on sleeping on the ground like the rest of the soldiers. What a strange king thought the being in the tree. It was sitting in the branches of one of the evergreens surrounding the camp, watching the comings and goings of all the soldiers. It had followed them all day long, curious to see where they were going. The only thing it had learned, however, was that they had no idea where they were going and were mainly just wandering through the woods, stopping every few minutes to take a breath and chart out a map of what they had 'discovered.'
As the soldiers started to drift back to their tents, a few came out to keep watch, swords at their sides and spears in their hands. The being in the tree watched long enough to figure out when they changed posts, and then decided to take a short rest. In the morning, before they picked up and left, it would sneak in to find their plans and figure out what they were doing. Then it would leave, back to the forest to finish its hunting trip, for it had never gotten that elk that got away. The others must be wondering where I am it thought. I will have to tell them about this tomorrow. With that, it settled back against the big, thick trunk, and fell to a light, dreamless, enlightening sleep.