Forest Origin

Chapter 11

Wolf looked around as they approached the castle. With all the flowers and trees everywhere, it felt more like they were walking through a giant garden rather than a kingdom. The only things that made her believe this was actually a small kingdom was the castle before them and the bustling little town they were now walking through.

It was somewhat like Castle Town in a way. Only the shops were built with wood rather than stone.

But despite studying her surroundings, nothing looked familiar. She had the same feeling as she did when they had first arrived in Miniel. Nirin was just a place to explore.

Though she knew that wasn't what the civilians of the little town thought. Their eyes widening in shock the moment they glanced in Wolf's direction. Instantly there were murmurs among the gathering crowd.

All the prying eyes were like daggers aimed at her.

Wolf was caught off guard when Green suddenly began walking beside her. But he was blocking the townsfolk view.

Now that Wolf's attention was no longer on these new surroundings, she just now began to realize that all her friends had positioned themselves in a way to where anyone they were passing by couldn't see them. How she just now noticed that she was walking in the middle of all of them she had no clue.

Eventually, much to Wolf's relief, they arrived at the castle. Walking through the gates and heading inside. They only stopped when they were about to pass a large portrait hanging on the wall.

"So Bly, does anything you saw so far look familiar?" Rose asked, her voice a lot calmer than the outburst she had not too long ago.

Wolf shook her head which caused Rose to fidget.

"Well uh, looks at this picture. That's gotta be familiar right?"

Wolf looked up at the framed portrait beside them. "Well... I'm guessing that's the former king and queen with us." she said with a shrug. "They're the same people from the other photo you showed us."

"But you know they're our parents now... and you know their names." Rose pointed out. "Looking at it again should bring back something."

Wolf stared up at the picture once more. But rather than some old memory, she felt guilt building up. From what she was hearing, she was staring up at the faces of her parents yet there was no emotional connection stirring.

To her she was just staring at a picture of strangers and someone gave her their names.

"Sorry but nothing is coming up."

'So being here doesn't do anything?' Rose thought worriedly. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

Still, she couldn't do keep freaking out over every little thing. Rose took a breath before speaking once more.

"Okay... well I guess that's fine. Let's just take this one step at a time. Since we spent the day traveling, I bet all of you are tired. Lapis, Raven, escort everyone to the guest rooms... and show Blythe her old room. I need to let everyone know we're back."

Lapis nodded with a smile. "Of course."

As Rose disappeared deeper into the castle, Lapis and Raven led the rest of the group in a different hallway. As her friends start picking and deciding who's going to share a room, Wolf goes over to Ghost.

"Which room are we picking?" she asked.

"Rose asked that you be in your old room." Raven reminded Wolf. "We can take you there."

"I'd like to stay close to my friends." Wolf said. "That was the deal when coming here."

"It's not far. You'll be able to see them whenever you want."

As soon as Wolf looked at her friends worriedly, Ghost stepped forward. "If she's not back in ten minutes, then we'll come and ask you where she is. If there's not a clear and straightforward answer then we'll know that something's wrong and we'll do what it takes to find her again."

Raven sighed, refraining from trying to point out how that could be consider as a threat. "We understand."

It was only then that Wolf was at least somewhat okay with following the two knights on her own. Eventually Wolf found herself staring up at a larger door.

'I guess this is my old room.'

She opens the door and looks around. Like everything else, nothing seemed familiar. There were shades of green and teal, something likely typical for a nature theme. Though the first thing Wolf noticed was all the butterflies in the room.

Not only were there silhouettes of butterflies plastered on the wall, there were also some paper ones hanging from the ceiling.

"I guess I really like butterflies back in the day."

Lapis couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "Yeah. They loved you just as much as you loved them."

"We really do hope we can rekindle what we had with you, Blythe." Raven said. "You're just as important to us as Rose."

Lapis was quick to agree. "Yeah Bly. I know you're nervous but don't constantly hide behind Hyrule. We promise you're safe here."

As soon as they leave, Wolf took one glance at the bedroom before coming up with a decision. There was no way that she was sleeping in here. This room belonged to a princess... which was something that Wolf just couldn't see herself as. She waited a few moments before walking out of the room and making her way back to the guest rooms. There, everyone was in the hall waiting for her.

"Oh good you're not kidnapped." Ghost noted.

Wolf nodded, a small smile forming on her face. "Yeah. Can I sleep with you? Being in my old room is... odd."

Without another word, Ghost opened the door for her friend to step in. After Wolf was where she felt comfortable, everyone else began to settle down for the night.