Folklore Forest | A Zodiac Story

Cliffhangers

Gemini was in charge of Devan's search party. She had been forced to babysit the poor kid when her parents died in war, but Gemini was not very good at babysitting. She wanted to stay back and rally the troops because Leo was better with kids, but no. Apparently, Gemini was "not likable" and "very angry."

Well, she was stuck on babysitting duty while flittering through the woods with a giggling mermaid and a annoying human. Life couldn't get much worse.

"Aries is asking where we're going," Virgo said. She had been dragging around Aries' cauldron for quite some time.

"To the edge of the forest," Gemini said, weaving around leaves.

"What's at the edge?" Virgo asked, trying not to trip on tree roots.

"You ask a lot of questions," Gemini growled under her breath.

"That's funny because you never seem to give me any answers," Virgo retorted, dragging Aries along.

The three of them kept quiet as Gemini led the way to the forest's edge. Neither Aries nor Virgo has been this far before and it was quite intriguing. A wooden fence had been built and the tundra lessened. Virgos ginger traced old warnings that scratched the weathered wood. They had to be centuries old, maybe older. Scratch marks from animals that she had not yet seen marked the wood.

"What's on the other side?" Virgo asked. Aries was craning her head to see.

Gemini was silent for a moment. She fluttered up to the top of the fence and stared out into the unknown. When she turned around, she looked nearly 100 years older.

"The end of the world."

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Sagittarius wandered around until he finally ran into something large... and invisible. He cussed out a swear word as someone came rushing to his aid.

"Sagittarius, are you okay?" Libra asked, checking his forehead.

Sagittarius looked as if he had seen a ghost, though those didn't exist in this realm. "Libra. How? Where? You came from nothingness..."

"Why don't you come inside, I'll explain," Libra said, helping him up.

Sagittarius, though confused, followed Libra inside. When she touched the invisible doorknob and opened the door Sagittarius gasped.

"What is this place?" Sagittarius asked, ducking his head to get through the door.

"I call it the hideout hut, but it's an old house I found. A few potions and I made it invisible," Libra explained, brewing him some mixture for his wound. "I use it to hide out from Cancer. It's a long story."

"I have all the time in the world, lady Libra," Sagittarius said, sitting down.

Libra hid a smile and started talking. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors. Some of them at least."

"Cancer came here with a girl, but the girl hasn't been seen since," Sagittarius verified, "Yes, I'm familiar."

"I'm that girl. I'm the one who disappeared into the woods and was never seen again. I came across this hut and hid for a while. When I came back out, no one seemed to recognize me and I got into some trouble. A friend of sorts both helped me out of it and then into more."

"That was not a very long story," Sagittarius noted. "Who else knows of this?"

"A few of the kids Cancer kidnapped," Libra admitted. "Otherwise I'm not sure."

"Which Fae brought you here?" Sagittarius asked impatiently.

"Leo, the first guy I ever hated. There was another but I ran away before I could find out her name. White hair, a resting bitch face, she mentioned something about names having power," Libra explained.