Bella lifted her head, looking into that path. The trees there, after a few yards or so, proved to be dormant, all dried like they had never been given a sip of water in their lives, though there proved to be leafs that shook and shivered each time the wind blew. The shadows were darker and more threatening, and all seemed quieter there.
And dead.
"Oh, Mudo, he's done for!" Bella cried, throwing her arms around the animal, which whinnied at her sudden movement. "He's taken the North path, and now I'll never see him again! What am I going to do?" She collapsed where she was, covering her face as she sobbed, and remained there for a few minutes.
He's gone, she thought as she sat there. He's in there somewhere, dead. Dead, or dancing with the faeries, which is where he'll remain forever, never to be seen again.
She sobbed harder.
A feeling overpowered her fear and sorrow, this feeling stronger than the two put together. Stop it, it seemed to be saying to her. Get a hold of yourself! Pouting's not going to solve anything. He's in there somewhere, and all you're doing is crying like a lost little girl. Get a hold of yourself and find him!
Bella slowly raised her head, wiping away her tears and staring at the Northern path. No matter how scary it looked, she found that she didn't care. There was one thing, and one thing only, that she was scared of; losing her father.
And she wasn't going to let that happen.
She stood up, quickly climbing back onto Mudo's back. After sitting for a few seconds, looking over the road that led home, she took a deep breath...
And her journey began.
3
Half an hour was all it took, and fear had already begun growing in Bella's heart, wrecking what little confidence she had that her father was still alive. How could anyone travel this place without some sort of harm coming to them? And there she was, still untouched.
But for how long?
In the North was where stories of the Fae were strongest. It was an alien land to all the world, though the Fae had been rumored to be in a numerous amount of places. The only difference was that the Northern Fae were the most dangerous. All they knew was destruction.
There were tales of a man so tall that he could blend with the trees. Mostly he went after children who were unlucky enough to wander the forest on their own. But it was also said that he had an interest in adults as well, or those in between. Bella was at the exact right age, which was supposedly, in most legends, the eldest he would collect. And there were several more tales about what he did to those he stole away. And none of them were very good.
There were also legends of the White King, sirens, sprites, goblins, alps, spirits, and a many more variety of other creatures. It almost seemed like there were too many to count. And it was difficult for Bella not to think about any of these creatures in such a famously spooky place.
It would be said that she jumped at every noise she heard, but then this would be a lie. Bella heard no noises. No noises at all except, perhaps: Mudo's footsteps, her ragged and quick breaths, and her heartbeat, which pounded heavily in her ears. Her mind, of course, in such a dreary place, played tricks on her, making her see shadows move and jump about. This could or could not have been her imagination, but it would be safe to say that, either way, these shadows could be very dangerous.
"Where could he be?" Bella finally whispered, more to herself than the horse. Talking helped with her fears only a little bit, but a little was better than not at all. "Where could Papa be?" She gazed at the floor of the path, and out a ways into the trees, trying to spot any living form that could be identified as Johnathon.
Naturally, she found nothing.
It is very rare for someone lost in these parts of the woods to find their way back again. And it is even rarer for others to find them. Wandering about even with company was dangerous, but wandering alone was definitely far worse. One does not simply find their way back.
Bella leaned down as she drew her horse to a stop so her face was closer to Mudo's, who's tail flicked anxiously as he stared around the both of them, and she said, "Where do you reckon he went?"
It wasn't that she actually expected a reply, but she liked the idea that he might actually understand their situation and just how scared she was feeling. He must have been feeling the same way, with his ears drawing back as his nostrils flared, twitching whenever the leaves rustled. When she didn't get a reply she wasn't expecting, she gripped Mudo's mane, ready to start forward again.
There was a snap.
Bella's attention was drawn away from her thoughts, and she looked in its direction, keeping a firm grip on the mane. It had come from somewhere in the bushes off to the side, where anything could be lurking, and it was still much too dark to see anything at all past the light given to the path from the stars. The trees were simply too thick to allow any form of light weaker than the sun's through their unforgiving leafs. And the idea of what could be watching her from them frightened Bella, but she remained right where she was and pulled at Mudo when he attempted to start forward.
After a few moments of silence, Bella turned her head and got Mudo to start walking again. They barely took a step before the snap repeated itself, and Bella pulled the horse to a stop again.
It was then that Bella remembered the bread knife at her waist. It wouldn't do much, but it was better than just her bare hands. Even so, she didn't want to use it. But she knew, should whatever horrors that lay out there attack her, she would have to use it in even the slightest attempt to save herself. Though, it would even be difficult to kill just any man with such a small and dull thing.
She put one hand on her waist, keeping the other tangled in Mudo's mane, gripping it with a fierceness that said she refused to be the wondering idiot who decided to jump off of the only source of safety and down onto the open ground, clutching at the handle of her knife in case she had to pull it out. Though, she told herself that she would race off with the horse before that happened. She only decided to take out the knife if anything unexpected--as all things were in the North--leapt at her.
She stared at the spot the noise came from, squinting and trying to make out any shape that could be just six feet away. Her hand on Mudo's mane tightened, and her nostrils flared at her wild imagination, which was telling her just what could be standing not too far from her. Then she let out one single word, the word which meant everything in the world to her.
"Papa?"
There was a yip, then a yowl. Definitely not Papa.
Startled, Mudo reared back, kicking his front hooves in fear. This action knocked Bella off his back and onto the cold path below, sending her flat on her back, her breath knocked away. Then Mudo peeled off, disappearing into the gloom.
Terrified, Bella hissed his name, whimpering only the slightest bit as she watched his form grow smaller until he vanished into the dark of distance. Not only had he left her with no escape, but the bag of food she had packed was still tied around him, and that was the only food she had packed to last her a while. Now she had nothing, save a certain amount of pointless money, a cloak to cover her gown, and a knife that wouldn't work.
And her wildly furious imagination.
There was another yip, then a drawn out sort of laughter that sent goosebumps exploding across Bella's skin. Several more snaps sounded from the same place as before, then crackled up a tree. Something leapt across the path, into another tree across, and landed with more snaps and screeching laughs. Then several more of these sounds occurred in more places, seeming to surround Bella.
It was then that she realized, with a dawning sense of horror, that there was more than one.
"The creature has left us something," a voice called from the spot where the noises had started. Bella saw branches of the brush wiggle, as if the being was peeking at her through the branches.
Bella stood up and slowly paced towards whomever had spoken, squinting, trying to peer through the darkness, but the shadows never gave. All she knew was that whoever had spoken was
female, unless it was a male with an extremely light and singing voice, though scratchy as it was. Either way, they sounded human, so perhaps she had nothing to worry about. That was, unless the natives were far more dangerous than accounted for, and not as civilized as she was raised to believe.
"Too bad it's nothing," someone else hissed from someplace behind her, which made her whirl around and fall back to the ground, and they all cackled.
She tilted her head nervously as she thought, deciding that, perhaps, they were a completely different group of people, one that closed itself off from the rest of the world. If so, they probably wandered through the woods killing people.
And if that was true as well, Bella was more than likely their next victim.
"She's a horrible little sacrifice," another called.
"I say she'll suffice," the original said.
Bella repeated these things in her head, not only noting the fact that they were rhyming, but they were possibly talking about killing her. Or worse.
“When one wanders where they should not-”
“-they tend to scream and drop and rot.”
Amused, howling cackles filled the air.
"Please," she attempted, standing up slowly, looking around. "I'm just looking for my papa." The least they could do was understand that she was young, lost, and scared.
If anything, they understood this too much.
"Papa?" one of them asked.
"Papa?"
"She's looking for her papa."
An explosion of giggles.
"P-please," Bella pleaded, grabbing the bag at her waist and untying it. She held it out in the air in front of her, gazing around. "It's not much, b-but you can have it—all of it. I j-just want to find my papa." She bit her lip as she cursed herself for her stuttering. It was a nervous habit that was hard to break, something she mostly only did when she was terrified, and she preferred not to sound like a frightened girl in the midst of danger.
"What has she there?" a curious voice asked, again from behind her, but when she turned to look, there was a scuffling noise and movement in the treetop. "Might I have a look?"
"Do nothing but stare," someone cautioned the first voice. "She has a hook."
Bella stammered, unsure what they were talking about, and looked down at herself. There wasn't any supposed hook in sight. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've got nothing of the sort."
"What is that upon your side?"
"Rid yourself of it, and we'll forget you lied," a dreamy voice added, as if trying to lure Bella into listening to them, though she was sure it was also to add to the rhyme.
Then she realized, with ever growing, fear that they were talking about the knife. And that knife, Bella thought to herself, may be the only reason they haven't approached yet. Who knew what they would do if she were to toss it aside?
"I think," Bella said, gulping quite noticeably and staring around, still holding out the bag of money, "that it would only be fair to leave me a-...armed...since you are so well in number." Judging by the different voices, and directions, there were probably about five of them. Five people against one small girl.
The chances were not in Bella's favor.
"Can't you all just let her be?" a new voice asked.
This voice was different from the rest, smaller and gentler, though somehow it was just as strong. Bella couldn't decide if she had been there all along and had only just decided to speak, or if she had just arrived. It occurred to her that they were all female, possibly, since their voices were all slightly high and feminine. Unless the men of their kind had such voices.
That was, if "their kind" was different than her own.
Mostly, Bella thought the idea of the women not being human was ridiculous, but like all others of the world she had been raised with stories from all over the place, and so was told that many of them were true. So, deep down inside, there was a critical voice that asked her how the impossible is, in fact, impossible. Because, as she was raised to believe, everything was possible. So there was no such thing as impossible, or, rather, normal.
And that was that.
"Ah, Yasandre," one of the earlier voices said, the one from where the chaos had begun, which was also the one Bella guessed was in charge of them all, since her voice held that of warning and authority, all held together with an air of confidence that said she would be listened to or something utterly terrible would happen; and it frightened Bella to even think of what the woman, or whatever she was, could do. "Have you come to join us?"
"Let her be," the small voice insisted. "She has done nothing to harm us, has she?"
"She has entered these woods," one of the others hissed, as if angry. "What right has she to enter them? Her kind do not deserve such privileges."
"We should kill her!"
"Torture her!"
"Make her suffer!"
Horrified, Bella stumbled backwards, far back enough until she almost brushed one of the trees on the other side of the path, and she realized just in time to throw herself back onto the middle of the path as groping hands grabbed for her. Her hands clung at the money, as if it was her only protection, and she held it in front of her defensively, not once thinking about the knife on her hip, though not even that would help.
"Please!" Bella shouted. "I've done nothing wrong! I just want to find my papa!" Unable to help herself, her voice caught in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes. But she clenched her jaw, refusing to cry in front of these horrible creatures, whatever they may be.
One of these creatures strode out from the trees.
She was terrifying, beautiful, and ugly all in one. Mostly the most wondrous of things Bella had ever seen, and her voice caught once more at the mere sight of her. She was only a fraction taller than Bella with hair that frizzed in every which way, yet flowed straight down her back until it barely brushed the floor of the forest.
She could be any other woman, Bella thought to herself, not even trying to stop herself from staring, if it weren't for the features I know humans such as myself do not contain.
Her eyes were yellow. Not a sickly sort of color, but that which glows when her head tilted a certain way; much like an animal. Her nails were long and sharp and a strange red color that looked about as dark as her orange hair. There was some sort of black paint that designed her face in a sort of artwork that travelled across her whole body, loops and carvings covering every inch of skin that wasn't hidden beneath what little scraps of cloth just barely hid what parts should be hidden.
Most frightening of all was not just the fact that there was a scar that tore through the left side of her face, nor the fact that she looked nearly human all aside from the animalistic features, but that she looked hardly older than Bella. Although so young, she had seen much pain. Not only was that physically revealed, but something in her eyes told a story, one that Bella knew that no one else would ever understand. She had seen more horrors and sadness than anyone so young could ever hope to avoid.
She slowly approached Bella, watching her cautiously, stopping a few feet away as if to avoid frightening the poor child any more than she was already, or to simply keep herself from any harm. It seemed a mix of both. She studied her carefully, hands held out on either side of her as if to show that she was unarmed; save, perhaps, those sharp nails.
"Are you harmed?" she asked, revealing small, sharp teeth. It was that same voice, the voice that had told the others to leave Bella alone. For some strange reason, it made her feel relieved, as if she was reassured that, since this creature stepped forth, no harm would come from the others.
"I'm fine," she managed to say once she found her voice, unable to keep from staring at the creature. Though it was obvious that she was far from it. If anything, she should've been in a shock. In a way, she kind of was, instantly telling herself that this was all a dream, that none of this was real.
She was in denial.
That creature, Yasandre, smiled; something that brightened her
face and made her seem ten times more harmless, though even that couldn't hide the fact that she, truly, was dangerous. "Good. Now, you say that you're looking for someone?"
"She speaks with it!" one of the others hissed.
"As if she's one of us!" exclaimed another.
The leader, as Bella was assuming, said, "Yasandre, leave. You have no business here. She is like the others; human. She'll kill us all."
"In case you've forgotten," Yasandre snapped in her direction. "I was human once too. You were all born into this life, so do not tell me where I do and do not maintain authority. I may be young, but you will never understand what being human feels like."
"Half breed," someone muttered, which made Yasandre hiss in her direction, and it went quiet again.
Bella stared at her in disbelief, unsure of what she had just heard at first, then gaped. "You-you were human?" Impossible.
Denial.
The creature gestured to herself, looking at Bella carefully as if she knew that the girl was refusing to believe any of this. "For a short time, as I'm sure it's obvious. I look to be about the age between old and young, do I not?" When Bella nodded, she smiled sadly. "I am much older than that. This is simply when I stopped growing."
Bella felt her jaw slacken even further, but before she even had the chance to ask, exactly, what that meant, the bushes that had started this whole situation shook, twigs snapping, as if someone was violently throwing them about.
"Why are you speaking to her about this?" Her voice was a squeaking hiss, as if frustrated. Or scared. "You are betraying us!"
"I am betraying no one!" Yasandre snapped in her direction, eyes flashing for a brief moment, though long enough of a moment to frighten Bella. She looked about ready to tear something, or someone, apart. Then her expression sweetened and she looked back at the girl. "She doesn't mean to harm any of us, so you don't need to worry; none of you do. She's just trying to find someone." Her eyes were familiar, holding something ancient and spoken of before, though also something far more alien than Bella had ever come across before.
Beauty's Beast- The Light Page 4
