The Winding Woods: Tales of a Boggle

by Dani Swanson

  "Isabella? Don't be alarmed, but we couldn't allow you to run through the woods on your own." Reyna had joined Izzie, where she stood at the edge of the village. "Welcome to my kingdom, Chimera."

  "I need to say something to you." Izzie didn't turn to look at the shadow queen but kept her focus straight ahead. She could feel the anger brewing in her stomach, and her fear was making her voice crack in her throat as she spoke. "You have taken me against my will, twice now. You took me away from my boyfriend, my family, Zyon.....and that is where I want to be. You don't have the right to do this to me, and I must insist that you bring me back there, NOW." She was able to make her voice sound stern by the end of her thought.

  "I understand your frustrations, Isabella, and I am sorry that you have been brought into the middle of something that you didn't have a choice in being a part of. I would like you to come with me to my home and let me tell you our side of the story. At that point, we will take you wherever you choose to be."

  "I have been told my whole life to be aware of the shadows and to keep my distance. Why should I trust you?"

  Reyna nodded her head as she listened to Izzie. "I suppose you have a point to believe what Zyon told you to since you were a small child. The amazing thing about being an adult is that you get to learn from other sources and decide who or what you believe in, instead of just doing what you're told. We wanted to get to you before your twenty-first birthday, so that you could be a part of making your fate instead of being blindsided. Would you like to have control of your own life for the first time?" Reyna circled to the front of Izzie so she could look her in the eye as she spoke.

  Izzie's eyes were full of tears that she wouldn't allow to run down her face. She didn't know if it was frustration from always being told what to do and when to do it or satisfaction that someone was aware that she felt that way. She just stared back into Reyna's eyes and thought that she could trust her. She seemed kind.

  "I heard your stomach growling. Shall we go chat and find you something to eat?" She reached out her long fingers, offering her hand to Izzie in friendship. Izzie's expression hardened for a moment, as she still could hear Zyon's voice in her head telling her that she shouldn't be doing this. Then again, she did lock the boggle in a box and left to go out on her own. Her actions had led to this result, and she wanted to see what was going to happen.

  "Then I can go?" Izzie raised her eyebrow as she hovered her hand over Reyna's. The shadow queen nodded her head as he gently took Izzie's hand into her own.

  They walked through the town with the rest of Team Zeta behind them. The people of the city came out and waved at their returned friends as they passed by. Izzie could hear their muffled words, "They found her! She's still alive!" and "Phantasma is going to be mad!"

  Izzie could feel her face growing hot as they continued down the brick path; the pain in her stomach was stabbing her, but she didn't dare to show weakness. She still hadn't fully decided if she felt safe there.

  The castle looked like a drawing that Izzie had seen in one of her many fairytale books. The walls sparkled as if they were covered in tiny, crushed diamonds and had a few witches' towers that reached their way to the roof of the cavern. Guards greeted the group at the front gate; a boogeyman lowered a draw bridge for them to cross over the moat that was surrounding the castle. Izzie could see shadows of creatures sleeping on the rocks below. "Mermaids," Jade whispered to her with a sweet smile on her face. "They were affected by Phantasma's spell and have been asleep, but they usually guard the castle or swim out to Silver Lake." She pointed off to the East, where Izzie could see an opening in the cavern. She at least knew which way to run now if she needed to and was glad that her mom made her take swimming lessons with Nathan when she was a kid.

  "Are we in a cave?" She whispered back. Robin interjected into their conversation as he helped usher them into a sitting room. "We're under the Winding Woods right now. I wouldn't call it a cave, but rather our space that The Mother created for us. Caves are wet and smelly." He curled his nose up when he described it.

  Pan and Zallen were already filling up their plates full of goodies, and sat at a small table by the window, stuffing their mouths as they talked amongst themselves. Izzie's stomach gave an audible growl as she watched them eat. It was loud enough that Pan had heard it and nudged Zallen. "Oh, sorry, Isabella! I'm so rude. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you want." Zallen called out to her in the doorway.

  "Yes! Please fill up on anything you want. We will also pack you some food if you choose to leave after our talk." Reyna gestured with her arm toward the spread of food laid out on the far side of the room. For the first time since Izzie had met the shadows, she didn't feel threatened. She took a deep breath and went to explore the table. There were fruits and pastries with whipped cream, roasted meats, cheeses, and pieces of bread. In the center of the table, there was a steaming sausage pizza.

  "You eat pizza?" She turned around and looked at the members of Team Zeta.

  "We've been spending a lot of time in your world over the years, and we have found that we absolutely LOVE pizza!" Robin declared as he brought Izzie a plate with small pink flowers painted on it, and a pizza slice. "It took a while for us to figure out how to make it, but we think we're pretty close to what you eat."

  Izzie took the plate and could see them all watching her, waiting for her to take a bite. She let out a sigh and bit into the slice. She smiled and nodded at them. "Pretty good!" Her tone didn't cover her surprise.

  "I TOLD you guys we could make it!" Robin walked next to Izzie and pointed out his favorite things on the table. "Here, you need to try this Fe-Fe Nut salad. It's not a salad, though. It's a dessert." The "salad" he gave to her was a mixture of nuts, cream, and some kind of periwinkle-colored berry, all blended in a light, fluffy pile on her plate. "Don't forget to try our Fizzy drink too! It's like a tart soft drink that you would drink." Izzie graciously excepted everything that Robin had her try; after all, her mother had always taught her to be polite when eating at someone's home.

  "It sounds like you did a lot of studying of the food I ate." She said to Robin as she took a seat at the table with Reyna. She noticed a vase in the center holding more of the golden flowers that she had witnessed on the walk there. The room looked like an upgraded family room that Izzie and Nathan had spent so much time in. Lots of comfy chairs covered in a soft upholstery that matched the green moss growing outside. The furniture was just a bit smaller than a standard set that Izzie was used to, but as the shadows were only slightly smaller than her, she felt that the room was cozy.

  "We spent a lot of time making sure you were safe where you were, and a shadow has to eat." Reyna was eating a mixture of cheeses and a green fruit shaped like raspberries that she thought she heard her call narkles.

  "There's that word that everyone keeps using to tell me what to do. "Safe," doesn't make me feel very safe." Izzie used her hands to make air quotes as she spoke. "But I'm glad that you found some enjoyment while you were there."

  "I suppose that Zyon has always told you that he was protecting you, hasn't he? That is what he thinks he was doing."

  "Why do you say it like that? How else would he have been put in charge of me?" Izzie didn't mean to spray food onto Reyna as she spoke, but her need to know the whole story and fill the void in her stomach was equally important.

  "I assume you know what a boggle is? Since you have had one with you." Reyna was trying to decide where to start with her conversation on Izzie's life.

  "Yeah, aren't you guys basically all the same?" She used her fork to make a circle motion around the room.

  Team Zeta started to laugh at that assumption. Even Reyna snickered for a moment before regaining her control.

  "No, dear. We are not the same. We are shadows or boogeymen like you had called us before. We are the keepers of dreams."

  "Ah, that's why you called your Kingdom Chimera. Dreams...." Izzie remembered the word out of her Fae class, as she was expecting a
creature with a lion's head and goat's body to appear, but then remembered the name also was a synonym for dreams.

  "Exactly. We are the cousins to the boggles. They are the keepers of the nightmares, the dark and tortuous things that happen during sleep. So no, we are not the same." Reyna was sitting back in her chair with her hands folded in her lap. "Did Zyon ever tell you the story of Phantasma?" Izzie nodded, trying not to interrupt the story. "And The Mother?" Again, Izzie nodded. "Good. That's half the story right there."

  “Phantasma put the Winding Woods under a spell, and she wants you as part of it. Zyon was keeping you hidden away for her until you became an adult." Jade excitedly spewed her thought across the room.

  "Zyon wouldn't do that! He told me always to be wary of all of that! He protected me and loved me!" Izzie was instantly angry again.

  "But he did and had been lying to you your whole life. We wanted to bring you to The Mother to see if she knew how Phantasma cast the spell using you."

  "That makes no sense! He wouldn't do that! You don't even know how she did this? Or why? I don't think I have anything to do with it! I think YOU are the ones who are trying to keep me from my family!" Izzie wiped her mouth on her napkin and stood up. "I don't feel comfortable with how you're speaking of the only FAMILY I've ever known! I would like to leave, NOW."

  She started making her way to the door, and there was Robin, holding a care package for her to take with her. "I knew you were going to leave. I saw it in a dream yesterday." He said softly as he gently handed her the food. All she could do is mouth the words "thank you" without crying as she started for the door.

  When Izzie reached the door, it wouldn't open.

  "Wait! Just wait a minute and let me finish, Isabella. We didn't mean to upset you." Reyna was following her.

  Izzie could feel the heat growing on her face and the tingling of anger through her stomach and rising into her throat. "You said I could leave when I wanted to, and I want to leave NOW!" As Izzie yelled, a stream of silvery energy came rushing out of her fingertips of her free hand, pushing against the door. The force alone caused the door to burst, sending splinters of wood fly off in every direction. The shadows, too, went flying through the air, landing hard amongst the furniture. Izzie could feel her breath escaping through her gaping mouth. She could hear the high-pitched squeal of silence ring in her ears as she paused for a moment, looking down at her hand in disbelief. The shadows, too, had slowly started to emerge from where they had landed, cautiously making it to their feet. "I'm....sorry." She was able to stammer out.

  "It'll be all right, Isabella. You can leave if you want to. Robin will show you the way out. Do you see why she wants you now? Do you see your power?" Reyna was rubbing the bump on her head but kept her voice calm as she tried to reason with Izzie.

  Izzie stood for a moment and fidgeted with the sparrow charm around her neck. "I need to leave. I can't listen to this." With long strides, she was out the door and down the brick path with Robin chasing after her.

  "Wait, Isabella! I'll show you where to go to get up to the main path!" His words were breathy as he was struggling to stay with her. "I won't bother you with any of that; just please slow down! I don't want you to get lost."

  They were far enough away from the castle that she felt comfortable enough to slow down. She had started to the East to where she saw the opening in the distance. The closer she got to it, she saw that the water was too deep for her to get out, and she wasn't sure how far under the rock it flowed.

  "There is a path this way." Robin pointed to a tree with a door carved through the center of it. "If you follow it, it will lead you to the surface."

  When Izzie made it to the doorway, she could see tiny figures carved into the wood. They looked like the shadows worshipping a tree that was at the top. The golden paint that was used glowed against the dark grains of the bark. "Robin, thank you. Can you please tell me how to find Zyon? I need to get back to my world."

  The little man looked down at his shoes for a moment and kicked a rock before lifting his yellow eyes to meet her gaze. "She wasn't lying to you. Zyon really is bad news."

  "So, that's a no. You're not going to tell me." The anger was back in her voice as she was just barely above shouting when she was talking to him.

  "Relax. I didn't say I wouldn't tell you; you have to make your path. I understand that. I just want you to understand that WE, the shadows, are the ones trying to protect you...You'll find Zyon's kingdom in the darkest part of the Winding Woods. From what we heard back from Team Beta is that Zyon may have been spotted in the woods. Head West with the setting sun, and you'll reach a part of the trees that are so thick that no sunlight makes it through the leaves. If you head that way, you'll run into the monstrosity of a kingdom called Incubus. That is where the boggles live. If Zyon has made it back to the Winding Woods, I'm sure that is where he went."

  "Thank you." She gave the little man a nod before setting forth through the tree. She looked over her shoulder only once to ensure he wasn't following her. He wasn't. He stayed at the entrance and waved at her as she went off into The Winding Woods.

  The sun was starting to set, and the already quiet woods was even more eerily silent. "I should have stayed until morning," Izzie grumbled as she began to walk through the trees, doing her best not to step on any of the slumbering creatures but also trying to stay off the main road. She always thought that the story of Phantasma was something that Zyon had made up to keep her in line. Just as her parents used the boogeyman's stories to have her and Nathan be fearful of strangers and mind them. How could anyone think that Zyon would do something to hurt her? He was her best friend, and she loved him, just as he had always loved her. "It couldn't have all been a lie, right?" She was so used to having the grizzly voice echo response from her shoulder that she continued to talk to herself out loud.

  She found a small opening beside a large tree with low hanging branches that reminded Izzie of a weeping willow. She crawled inside and placed her back square against the tree. She could see a few shadows moving through the branches and would hold her breath as they passed by. She didn't know if they were THE Shadows, or a shadow cast off from some other foe...or maybe a friend. There she hid through the long hours of the night, trying to fight off sleep to no avail. She shut her eyes, only for a moment to rest them, and found herself in a deep sleep. She stayed that way until she was suddenly awaked by violent shaking and a scream that echoed through her ears.

  18: A start to a horrible joke: A camper, an archer and a witch enter the woods.

  "Wake up! Girl, you better wake up!"

  It took a moment for Izzie's eyes to focus. She felt like she was waking out of a surreal dream when she could see Xander's sweet face.

  "Babe, can you hear me?"

  "Izzie? Are you with us?" Nathan's golden hair fell into the frame as she shook her head, trying to focus.

  "Guys, I had the weirdest dream." She rubbed her temples as she got up. She wrapped her arms around Xander's neck, meeting his lips as she greeted him. Izzie then took her free arm and wrapped it around Nathan's neck, realizing she was still holding the care package that the little shadow had given her. She let the boys go and pushed them out of the way to see the long strands of the tree branches falling around their sheltered area. "Oh, it wasn't a dream."

  "I've learned a lot about you in the last few days," Xander said as he rested his hand on her hip.

  "We're in the Winding Woods, Iz. You're home."

  "How did you two get here? Did the Guild of Shadows take you too?"

  "No." Nathan's face was twisted in confusion. "We found Zyon in your closet and let him out of the box. He brought us here through an old oak tree in Hyde Park.....is that food?" She could hear the rumble of his stomach.

  "Here." She said, opening the bundle and revealing enough for all of them. "Don't go nuts; I have a feeling this needs to last us a while. What happened to Zyon?"

  "He took off on us when we got here. We haven't seen
him. There's a lot of strange fairytale stuff around here, all asleep though." Xander was surveying the area under the tree. "What happened to you?" His attention was back onto her.

  "The Guild of Shadows got me. Remember the stories of the boogeyman that our parents told us when we were little? They're true.... except they save kids, not kidnap them. Or at least that is what they told me when I got here. They live underground and have a whole kingdom down there."

  "Saved you? Why did they think you needed saving?" Nathan's face was twisted even more in a confused look as he was eating a sandwich from the care package. "You weren't in any danger."

  "They seem to think I was...or still am actually. The shadows told me that Zyon had kidnapped me and was holding me for Phantasma."

  "That witch thing he used to tell us about when you were telling stories on the porch?"

  "Yep. So, I'm guessing The Mother is real too. I thought he was just telling me stories to keep me entertained. I never guessed that it was real."

  "I hear that you're a witch?" Xander's voice was playful as he watched her face.

  "Apparently? I don't know. Sometimes things happen, and I don't know how to explain them." Izzie nervously looked at her hands.

  "That's kind of hot." Xander winked at her as he could see that she was uncomfortable with the conversation.

  "All of this doesn't freak you out?" She shyly lifted her head to meet his gaze.

  "Izzie, he came all the way here to get you. He loves you." Nathan added, followed by a long awkward pause by all three of them.

  "Thanks, bro. I was going to tell her that." Xander was annoyed as he went over and kissed Izzie on her cheek.

  "Oh, you two haven't done that yet? My bad. I'll go back to my sandwich now." Nathan smiled at his sister and sat down on a mossy patch, watching the two of them stiffly stand there looking at each other. "So, since you're already mad at me, I would like to take a moment to point out, "I told you so" about Zyon. He's an evil little man. How do we get you out of here?"